ncftangent.org | @ncfcatalyst| a student magazine of New College of Florida
TANGENT MAY 11, 2016
VOLUME XXXIV ISSUE
VI
Dance C o l l e c t ipvg . 1e0
Choreographers Jeeda AbuKhader and Abigail Lang perform with fellow dancers Iyanu Corniel, Lizabelt Avila and Lauren Stockton to Haifa Wehbe’s “Fakerni” at the 2016 Spring Dance Collective.
RA Shortage pg. 3
AA on campus pg. 4
Protests in Sarasota pgs. 8-9
TANGENT The Tangent is an academic tutorial sponsored by Professor Maria Vesperi. It is developed in the Newspaper Production Office using Adobe Photoshop and Adobe InDesign and printed at Sun Coast Press with funds provided by the New College Student Alliance. General Editor Kaylie Stokes Managing Editor Pariesa Young Copy Editor Yadira Lopez Online Editor Caitlyn Ralph Layout Editors Haley Jordan Audrey Warne Staff Writers and Photographers Bianca Benedí, Katelyn Grimmett, Giulia Heyward, Sydney Kruljac, Ryan Paice, Charlotte Redman, Jasmine Respess, Magdalene Taylor “aaron [sic] edidin and michael valdez have the same eyes when they [sic] smile.”
Direct submissions, letters, announcements and inquiries to: The Tangent 5800 Bay Shore Road Sarasota, Florida 34243 ncfcatalyst@gmail.com The Tangent reserves the right to edit all submissions for grammar, space and style. No anonymous submissions will be accepted.
In this issue:
Commencement speaker
...................... p.4 Paris Climate Agreement ...................... p.7 Make your own AOC ..................... p.11 Prof. Bauer retires ..................... p.12 Front page photo: Kaylie Stokes/Tangent © 2016, the Tangent. All rights reserved. The Tangent is available online at www.ncftangent.org, facebook.com/NCFcatalyst, @ncfcatalyst
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Looking to next year’s cohort by ryan paice As commencement nears and many students prepare to say their farewells to New College, another heavy class prepares to roll into the school. Out of 1049 admits, 63 percent of which were from Florida and 37 percent out-ofstate, 213 have so far enrolled or deposited at NCF, wherein 81 percent of which are from Florida and 19 percent out-ofstate. Of the 213 enrolled students, 8.5 percent are transfer students and 91.5 percent are first-time college students. When it comes to the racial makeup of the deposited/ enrolling admits, 31.4 percent are underrepresented – including 22.5 percent Hispanic, 5.2 percent Asian, and 3.7 percent Black/African American – 65.3 percent are white, and 3.3 percent unknown. While the numbers are incomplete as of now, none of the incoming class are either American Indian/Alaskan Natives or Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander. graphic courtesy of Ryan Paice/Tangent
Letter to the editor: submitted by marianny de leon
The purpose of this letter is to encourage the New College community to continue take action in regard to the recent signing of HB 1411 into law by Governor Rick Scott. Many of you signed petitions, volunteered and spread the word, yet despite our best efforts, effective July 1, hundreds of individuals (primarily poor women of color) will lose access to Planned Parenthood services if they are currently using Medicaid. This will have a devastating personal impact on the lives of the individuals that rely on these health services; this loss will increase present health care disparities and interrupt lives to a potentially dangerous degree. In light of this, I wanted to speak to the power of the New College community to turn our anger about bills of this nature into productive action. This is crucial, as the only way to make sure that politicians are held accountable for this is to take them to task. We have access to the names of local politicians who supported this bill and we can make sure that they never see the inside of a political office again. We can support those that are currently in Tallahassee lobbying on behalf of Planned Parenthood and those who taking their cases to state and federal court. We can get on the ground and make sure the people that need these services have a voice in a political space that seeks to oust them at every turn. The political spaces we create can and do exist beyond the internet. Let’s use them.
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CAMPUS NEWS
Bringing down the house RA shortage puts strain on staff by yadira lopez & Kaylie Stokes
Everyone thinks they know what a resident advisor (RA) does. Unlock students’ doors, plan programs and pass out condoms, right? But there is so much more. RAs are responsible for supervising and assisting other students who live on campus and creating and maintaining a safe community. In addition to the day-to-day practical matters such as meetings and reports, there is the emotional labor. RAs routinely mediate student conflicts, carry out wellness checks and respond to crises. They are the first and last students on campus since they arrive early to prep dorms and stay after the school year ends to conduct room inspections. Being responsible for the safety of students and often times stepping in as the first responders to crisis situations can make RAs feel like they are never really off the clock. While almost everyone takes on the position because they care about the community, this school year has put a noticeable strain on RAs. • The 2015/2016 school year started with 21 RAs. By January 2016, five had either resigned or been let go, yet only one additional person was hired to make up for the loss. There are currently 17 RAs, the lowest number in at least five years, despite a student population that is reported to be the highest in the school’s history. • Due to the staff shortage this year and increasing duties, RAs report working more hours than ever before. The demands of the job have continued to increase from year to year, but compensation has stayed the same at $8.05 an hour for a fixed 10 hours a week, totaling a biweekly stipend of $160. • Only two RAs were hired for the month of ISP in 2016. While they received assistance from two Residence Hall Directors (RHDs), four staff members is only half as many people working during ISP as there were in 2015. • Despite the reported RA burnout and discontent this year with a 17-person staff, there were only 18 RAs hired for the upcoming 2016/2017 school year. This is the lowest number of RAs to be hired at the beginning of a school year in at least five years. • Turnover rates among the Campus Life Coordinators (CLCs) and RHDs has been dismal. Some students who have been RAs for the past three years have had up to 6 direct supervisors during that time. In the 2014/2015 school year, RAs were on duty once every three weeks. In 2015/2016, they have been on duty once every nine days.
A night on duty entails being available in the RA Resource Room from 8 p.m. to 11p.m. on weekdays – 8 p.m. to midnight on weekends – going on rounds and keeping the RA cell phone overnight. On-duty RAs respond to calls at all hours of the night that range in severity from lockouts and maintenance issues to situations involving EMS or other emergency responders. “Knowing that we had a larger incoming class we hired more Fall RAs in preparation of this number,” Senior Associate Dean of Student Affairs Mark Stier wrote in an email. “Typically a Fall staff for our campus is around 17-18, which is where we currently are this spring.” However, past numbers indicate otherwise. There were 22 RAs hired for the 2014/2015 school year, and the starting staffs have typically hovered around 21, according to alums who worked as RAs. Stier added that RAs who were fired or resigned in 2015/2016 were not replaced because, “From Fall to Spring term we lost approximately 50 students. With fewer students we did not need as many RAs.” Although the hours worked per week can be extremely variable, RAs say that 10 does not cut it. Some RAs report working closer to 15-20 hours a week, more if they are on duty. This does not include the 40 plus hours a week completed during the two-week training. RAs are not allowed to work more than 10 hours outside of the job, a measure that is meant to ensure that they stay focused on their campus responsibilities. “It’s problematic because people who need to make more money to survive cannot do that,” second-year RA Rachael Murphy said. Murphy, a first-time RA, chose not to reapply for next year. The RA compensation package includes a 75 percent discount on their dorms. Some RAs report that Stier promised to petition the Board of Trustees (BOT) during the summer of 2014 to secure fully paid housing as compensation for additional demands. When RAs returned to campus, this was never brought up, and it was found that the proposal had never been submitted to the BOT. In an email, Stier said that New College RAs are the fourth highest paid in the State University System. “Balancing this job with the extra work compared to last year would not work for me when I’m writing a thesis, and it’s hardly working for me now,” third-year RA Olivia Talton said. “It’s a lot of things that I find unnecessary. A lot of bureaucracy … and not having my opinion valued by my supervisors.” Talton has been an RA since Fall 2014, but chose not to reapply for
next year. “Each year, at least from last year to this year, there has been an increased amount of RA burnout, and not just from thesising RAs,” thesis student Samuel Weldon said. Weldon has been an RA since Fall 2014. Although he is graduating this May and is thus, ineligible to reapply, he said that he probably wouldn’t do it anyway. “There have been positive changes,” Weldon said, acknowledging that RHDs succeeded in securing a $10,000 RA discretionary fund through the Student Allocations Committee. He also noted that the addition of a supporting RA has been beneficial for campus safety. However, the increased demands on a smaller staff with no additional compensation has caused pushback over the past two years. Beginning in fall 2015, Student Affairs added an additional RA on duty every night. Near the beginning of spring 2016, after concerns expressed by RAs due to the reduction in staff, the Prostaff agreed to alter the second RA to a more limited support role. The two RA on duty protocol will once again be fully implemented next school year with a starting staff of 18 RAs. The staff shortage this school year extended to ISP. Only two RAs were hired for ISP in January 2016, a staggeringly low number compared to previous years. There were eight RAs working during ISP in 2015. In an email, Stier said, “The ISP positions have always been offered as an additional opportunity for employment. The number always changes depending on the number of RAs interested in working during this time frame. This year we increased the PROSTAFF’s responsibility during ISP to address any concerns regarding safety and security.” In previous years there had always been at least eight RAs working during January, oftentimes 10 or more. This year, RAs were informed by Student Affairs that the 2015/2016 budget would only allow for four ISP RAs, placing one person on duty per week. Furthermore, the usual increase of an additional $5 per week added to their $80 weekly stipend would not be offered. Since ISP lacks the structure that the rest of the semester provides, it is considered by many RAs to be a high-risk time of the year due to a notorious increase in drug and alcohol use. RAs questioned the rationale behind Student Affairs’ decisions after having previously been told that having two RAs on duty each night during the regular semester (even during Fall
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and Spring break) was a safety precaution. Some RAs felt that once Housing was footed the bill for the additional labor of a second RA on duty during ISP, this safety precaution was quickly ignored. Pushing the blame on the budget also seemed questionable since, before the school year even started, the staff had two fewer people than originally anticipated. Only two RAs ended up applying for the 2016 ISP. “That attitude of just being shut down the moment I asked why these decisions were being made was the reason I didn’t apply to be an ISP RA [this year], because I was on campus for ISP and I did it last year and it was fine,” Talton said. “I want it to be clear that it’s not all on housing staff and it’s not all on residential life staff; it’s a problem that goes up all the way because the allocation of money is not where it needs to be.” Next year’s 18-RA staff will be made up of five returners and 13 first-time RAs. “I think that’s problematic because the new RAs will come in with no institutional memory,” Talton said. Murphy expressed a similar sentiment: “It’s really detrimental to the new RAs coming in next year because they won’t have that kind of support or guidance.” Murphy added, “It’s not enough [RAs] considering that the whole first-year population lives on campus, and that’s who we get the most serious calls from because they’re going through new experiences and experimenting with different things.” Additionally, training for the 2016/2017 staff has been reduced to one week, which some RAs say is not enough considering that preparing the dorms for move-in takes up a considerable amount of time. For the first time in recent memory, waitlisted RAs will also participate in training. While this does protect against unanticipated staff shortages, as seen this year, it also potentially makes RAs who express concerns more easily replaceable. While RAs receive contracts and are given time to read over it, the RA Manual, which expands upon duties and expectations, is not released prior to signing. The contract states that additional duties and expectations can be assigned at any time. In the past three years, the Student Affairs office has been a revolving door of new faces, making it difficult to manage communication and regularly changing expectations. “High
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Ham points: Use them or lose them by charlote redman On top of tuition, New College students also have to pay additional rates for their meal plans at the beginning of the year, whether they live on campus or off. For a number of students, these meal plans are easily spent in Hamilton “Ham” Center, but not all students have exhausted their supply of Ham points by the end of the year. “It kind of sucks I have to buy a meal plan because I always end up with way too many points,” first-year Dimitri Angelov said. “On one hand it’s due to lack of [food] choices, but also because of the bad hours on the weekend. If I miss them I have to leave campus to eat instead.” While points roll over from fall to spring semester, they cannot be rolled over to the following academic year. “If they’re not used, they go back to Metz,” Metz Dining Services Food Service Director Bill Moore said. This means that students are required to either use them or lose them. Moore hopes for the former and wants students to know that Metz is not trying to rob them of their money. “I don’t want your money unless I earn it and so that’s why we’ve been trying to send out emails to get students to use up their points,” Moore said. “Even the company itself doesn’t want the money, we want you to spend and utilize it. Residential Life feel the same as we do. We want all this money used.” To achieve this goal, Metz is offering a
number of solutions to students who find themselves in this boat. “This semester there’s a community card, donations to the Bradenton Animal Rescue League, donations to the Resurrection House, and then ordering in bulk,” Moore said. In the past, students have attempted to share their Ham card with others, but this is not allowed due to security reasons. “It’s the school and Metz’s policy. I am liable for every dollar that’s on your card,” Moore said. “We know that some students want to buy meals for their friends, so we ask that they come with them. We’re trying to protect students, while also protecting the college and Metz.” To provide a win-win situation for everyone involved, Metz has put a community card in place to serve the purpose of feeding students who have run out of Ham points. “The students who are utilizing it are very grateful and those who are donating are so kind,” Moore said. “It’s such a great community thing that we’re doing and it just goes to show what a small, little, close-knit community we are.” The many points being donated to the community card seem to be added just in the nick of time, before quickly disappearing. “Students combined probably spend about $200 from it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner each day,” Moore said. “Last year, I ran out [of points] so early because I didn’t have an income and I struggled just to eat for two months,” second-year Rachael Murphy said. “I’ve been able to eat on days where my
food situation is uncertain, or where I’m really pressed for time like a lab class,” thesis student Vinushka Schalk said. “When I was a monied first-year I wanted to do stuff like buy all the ice cream in the fridge and hand it out, but the logistics of that are too impractical. It’s way better to donate [to the community card] and know that some mysterious thesis student can eat because of you.” For students who would rather donate their money to an established organization, Metz is connecting with the same local nonprofits as last year to provide this option. One of these is the Sarasota Resurrection House, a resource center for at-risk individuals, whose main goal is to help their clients become self-sufficient. Any money donated here goes towards the services that they provide, including counseling, meals, clothes, washroom facilities, hair-cuts and more. The other nonprofit organization is the Humane Society of Manatee County (HSMC). “What was really nice is that last year the Animal Rescue League [HSMC] did a complete addon, where they put a medical facility,” Moore said. “They were so grateful for the donation. A few students and I went down there to tour the facility and take some pictures with the animals.” Another option that was available to students up until May 3 was to order products in bulk, which may come in handy when planning for the upcoming semester. “The reason there’s an earlier deadline for bulk orders is because we go through Unify, Coremark, U.S. Food and
Boar’s Head,” Moore said. “I have a stack of orders and have to make sure I order everything from the different providers.” According to Moore, the community card can be ongoing until the last day of school and any remaining funds will be donated to the HSMC. In regard to donating points to either or both of the nonprofits, this option is available until Friday, May 20 because it “simply requires taking money off the student’s card,” Moore said. So far, “[Metz] probably has close to $10,000 spent on bulk orders, close to $4,000 on the community card, close to $1,000 on the Animal Rescue League [HSMC], and a couple hundred on Resurrection House.” Thinking ahead to next year, Metz is playing with the idea of switching from the Humane Society of Manatee County to the Cat Depot. “Anything I try to do, I try to do local,” Moore said. Right now, however, he simply wants to get the word out to students about what their options are in terms of spending their points rather than having them go to waste. “We sent out three emails and students still come in saying they didn’t see one,” Moore said. “I even had a student put one on the Forum for me!” To contribute money to the community card, HSMC, or Resurrection House, students should either speak with Bill Moore in person or send him an email. Emails should include a student’s N number and the amount that they would like to donate. Information for this article was gathered from resurrectionhousesarasota.org and humanemanatee.org
New College gears up for 2016 commencement by kaylie stokes Next Friday on May 20, the graduating students of New College’s 2012 cohort will walk across the stage at the bayfront campus in front of their family, friends, peers and faculty marking the transition from student to alum. While some of the logistics of the ceremony have changed throughout the years, its significance – and noticeable lack of traditional cap and gowns – has remained the same. As the culminating event of their time at New College many graduating students anticipate the commencement ceremony with a bitter-sweet concoction of excitement, loss and nostalgia. “I’m sad to be leaving the incredible people I have met here, and I can’t stop thinking
about all the memories that I’ve shared with others during my time here,” thesis student Clifford Lundin said, adding, “It’s been an adventure, and I’m getting more excited about everything that the future holds.” “I’m so excited to get the hell out of here, but I also am going to miss everyone,” thesis student Loureen Sayej said. “It’s going to feel weird not to study.” The ceremony, which costs around $40,000 in total, will be celebrating the graduation of close to 190 students who will have completed at least the equivalent of 7 contracts, 3 Independent Study Projects and successfully written and defended their theses. Yet, the commencement ceremony celebrates so much more than just the completion of these academic requirements. As last year’s student
graduation speaker Cassandra Corrado (‘11) pointed out in her speech, New College tends to live up to its reputation as a college that changes lives. Just as NCF changes its students, students change NCF and its community, and the class of 2016 has left its mark on New College. This year’s student speaker has yet to be chosen, but there were 17 nominees. “I’m asking the nominated student speakers to email me a paragraph about what they want to talk about and then a survey will be sent for the final decision,” thesis student Anna Rodriguez, a member of the Student Commencement Committee, said. While a survey is usually sent out at the beginning of a cohort’s third year seeking student and faculty nominations for the
keynote commencement speaker, no such survey was sent out for the class of 2016. “Donal just picked someone,” Rodriguez said. “Within a year it’s hard to get a speaker unless you have at least two years to contact and organize. So I understand that by the time anyone thought about it it was too late basically.” Charlayne Hunter-Gault was chosen to be this year’s Commencement speaker. HunterGault was the author of this year’s first-year book and was a pioneer in the American Civil Rights movement as one of the first two black students to enroll at the University of Georgia. She went on to become an award-winning
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Dealing with alcohol addiction on a college campus BY audrey warne The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) defines binge drinking as: “A pattern of drinking that brings blood alcohol concentration (BAC) levels to 0.08 g/dL. This typically occurs after 4 drinks for women and 5 drinks for men – in about 2 hours.” For most shandies players – and many college students – four drinks in two hours is a slow night. Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) returned to New College this semester in response to increased student interest in programs that cater to individuals with addictive patterns or behaviors. According to the NIAAA, 80 percent of college students have abused alcohol in college. Alcohol abuse includes binge drinking, daily drinking (the primary cause of physical alcohol dependence), alcohol poisoning and selfadmitted misuse of alcohol. The last attempt to bring AA to campus was four years ago. After students stopped going to the meetings they were co-opted by Sarasota community members who felt that holding their meetings on campus was counterproductive for a group that consisted of only non-students. “AA is something that we [the administration] have been talking about since the Task Force met over the summer,” Health Educator Mandy Parente said. “We were a little hesitant to bring it back, but when we had so many students asking for it we decided that we would go ahead and try it again. Just because it didn’t work with the students four years ago doesn’t mean that it won’t work this time.” AA is a 12-step program that was created in the 1930’s by two individuals suffering from alcoholism. Centered on the importance of anonymous peer support and the designation of alcoholism as a disease, AA is structured around peer-run meetings that promote the program’s 12 steps and support individuals in their attempts to remain sober. According to AA’s published materials: “The only requirement for membership is a desire to stop drinking. AA is not allied with any sect, denomination, politics, organization or institution; does not wish to engage in any controversy; neither endorses nor opposes any causes. Our primary purpose is to stay sober and help other alcoholics to achieve sobriety.” Parente said that while AA is not for everybody, and it’s not the end-all be-all solution to alcoholism, having the option on campus is important. “People who might not get something out of it will hopefully recognize that just because it didn’t work for them doesn’t
NCF AA meetings meet in HCL2 every Tuesday from 6:15 to 7:45. mean it won’t work for someone else. I would encourage anyone who thinks AA may be beneficial for them, or who is having issues with alcohol abuse, misuse or alcoholism to definitely try it and see if it works for them before being like ‘No, I’m not doing this thing.’” The program’s emphasis on complete abstinence from substance use of all kinds and the importance of relying on a higher power (the definition of which is open to relatively broad interpretation) have posed some difficulties when appealing to certain demographics – including college students. “AA’s emphasis on spirituality could be problematic, it could not,” Parente said. “I think that if students want to get help and they are hesitant to go to AA because of the program’s emphasis on spirituality they should definitely try it and see how it feels, see if it’s comfortable for them, and if it’s not, then reach out to other resources. Definitely give AA a try before deciding ‘It’s a God thing, and we’re not a God-y campus.’” AA meetings are run completely by members of the community, allowing the meetings to be shaped by the needs of the individuals involved in the group – although the 12 Steps and members’ desire for complete
sobriety are the program’s keystones. Meetings can be open or closed. Open meetings are accessible to any interested individual, regardless of their sobriety or affiliation with the group, while closed meetings are private, allowing only individuals who are currently involved in (or have already completed) the 12step program. “I don’t think that with a student-led group the emphasis on spirituality will come through as much,” Parente said. “Lets say it’s a group of eight students and one or two community members, the students can have the conversation in the way that feels comfortable to them and spirituality might not necessarily be a large part of that conversation.” In addition to AA there are a number of other programs available to students who feel that substance abuse or addiction has, or could have, a negative impact on their well being. For those dealing with non-alcohol related addiction, there is the AA-affiliated Narcotics Anonymous (NA), which will be coming to campus this summer. Some offcampus alternatives to AA include Women for Sobriety (WFS), an organization that attempts to deal with addiction from a female
perspective, emphasizing female empowerment as opposed to AA’s message of humility. The Secular Organization for Sobriety (SOS) is another alternative that was developed by an AA member who felt uncomfortable with the program’s emphasis on turning your life and your addiction over to a higher power. “There’s a huge movement right now in the collegiate health education field to create a program called ‘Collegiate Recovery’ as an alternative to AA,” Parente said. “It’s meant to be very specific to the campus culture and to college students in general. Health professionals know that college students who are in recovery or who are trying to get onto the recovery path are going through something completely different than say, a 40-year-old who has been drinking a six-pack a day for his entire life.” Collegiate Recovery Programs (CRPs) were designed by the Association of Recovery in Higher Education (ARHE) to cater specifically to college students who are living on campus or are involved with campus life. Some of the projects promoted by CRPs include on-site sober housing, the promotion of self-help meetings on campus (such as AA) and increased availability of individual counseling. The aim of the CRP programs is to create a campusbased, recovery-friendly space through the development of a supportive social community that will enhance students’ recovery process while promoting personal growth. “Collegiate recovery is moving away from AA, it’s focusing on college specific problems and the specific culture of a college campus, that way students feel like they have more ownership over the program and feel more comfortable coming to meetings,” Parente said. “The collegiate recovery group is where we’d like to go long-term, it’s the plan, but it just wasn’t something that was feasible for this semester. We didn’t have the resources to do it right now, but it is something that we’re pushing to have brought to our campus.” Along with alternative abstinence-focused support groups there has been an increase in moderation-centered recovery programs over the past decade. Previously considered detrimental to individuals’ with addictive tendencies, many rehabilitation and treatment centers have been advocating for safer substance use as opposed to complete sobriety. Moderation Management (MM) is one of the largest national support groups for individuals
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TANGENT May is mental health awareness month WEDNESDAY, MAY 11, 2016 www.ncftangent.org | @ncfcatalyst
Fighting stigma on and off campus
By charlotte redman
These days, it is not breaking news that mental health is a prevalent issue among society. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), roughly one out of five adults in the United States experiences some form of mental illness in a given year. On top of that, one in four young adults have a diagnosable mental illness between the ages of 18 and 24, meaning mental illnesses are especially present on college campuses. “Stigma has existed for too long in popular culture around mental health conditions,” Bob Carolla, senior writer for NAMI media relations, said in an email interview. “It involves disparaging language, slang and stereotypes. It attacks people’s self-esteem and discourages people from getting help if and when they need it.” In an attempt to create awareness about the importance of mental health, to educate the public and to reduce the stigma behind mental illness, Mental Health America (MHA) and their affiliates have designated May as Mental Health Month for the past 65 years. “It is an important issue,” Carolla said. “It is a period of life transition. Three quarters of lifetime cases of mental illness appear before age 24. Suicide is also the second leading cause of death in that age range.” According to Danielle Fritze, MHA public education and visual communications director, this tradition was set in motion in 1949 after one of their members met with the United States Junior Chamber (Jaycees) to put plans in place for a week-long event. Since its inception, the cause has expanded to cover the entire month of May. Over the course of the month, each group’s primary goal is to reach out to as many people as possible through the media, lectures, awareness screenings and other public events. “The most effective way to fight it is by speaking out, challenging stereotypes and sharing personal stories about experiences – by people standing up and giving support to others in their community,” Carolla said. The theme for 2016’s Mental Health Month is “Life with a Mental Illness.” After discussion, MHA staff determined that this year’s campaign should focus on individuals’ day-to-day experiences of these illnesses rather
than using clinical terms. “Clinical terms are the words used by doctors and other professionals to describe the symptoms of a disorder,” Fritze said. “Oftentimes those words don’t do justice to what life with a mental illness feels like.” Open dialogue can help those suffering from a mental illness by discussing their experiences and connecting them with others. According to Fritze, two people can experience the same condition, yet perceive and describe it very differently. “Let’s take fear for example: one person might describe fear as being scared to the point of feeling paralyzed, while another might describe fear as an overwhelming urge to run away.” To gain individuals’ perspectives, MHA is calling on people to share their experiences with mental illness through social media with the hashtag #mentalillnessfeelslike, or by sending in an anonymous submission to them. “People don’t need to feel ashamed or secretive about struggling with their mental health,” Fritze said. “The more we talk about it, the more normalized and accepted it becomes.” Meighen Hopton, coordinator of student disability services and student support team case manager, has seen the New College community support those with mental health diagnoses in various ways. “Whether it be taking the time to speak with students in crisis, empathizing with how they are feeling, or providing referrals to Disability Services, Student Support, or the Counseling and Wellness Center (CWC),” Hopton said. As the end of the year approaches, it is important that students take steps to care for both their mental and physical wellbeing, particularly during final exams week. “Many components of college life, for example high academic pressure, financial stress, lack of structure, decreased sleep, and increased substance use, can worsen mental health,” Kelly Davis, MHA policy and programs associate, said in an email interview. Over the course of the fall 2015 semester alone, 44 percent of students sought help from the CWC over mental health concerns. “This is a large percentage, even for small colleges,” Doctor Eric Rosmith, CWC associate program director, said. “I think – at least, I hope – it speaks to less of a stigma for seeking help on this campus.” According to Hopton, many students
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experience a significant increase in various symptoms during times of increased stress, such as midterms and finals. “My ultimate goal is to help students in any way I can. To make a positive impact on them and provide them with the tools they need to succeed,” Hopton said. “Our sense of community and caring for one another is strong at New College. Fortunately, because of that, many of the students with mental health issues are referred to the appropriate resources and get the help they need.” Members of the CWC will be available in Hamilton “Ham” Center on Thursday, May 12, 2016 from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m., to provide general information to students regarding anxiety, depression and other mental health conditions. They will be having a photo-shoot and sharing resources from the toolkit that MHA provides for Mental Health Month, which can also be found online. On the same day, Students Targeting Oppressive Powers (STOP) will be holding a selfcare event at from 7- 8 p.m. in the Gender and Diversity Center (GDC). Students who attend will be given the opportunity to participate in a conversation about self-care techniques, create art, and enjoy the food that is provided. “While it can feel challenging to take care of yourself during midterms and finals, finding time to sleep, eat well, exercise, and take breaks are all important for your mental health and can improve performance and decrease burnout,” Davis said. “Think about the things that you find most enjoyable or rewarding and add them into your schedule wherever you can, whether it’s a quick walk around campus, a phone call with a friend, or listening to some of your favorite music. Schoolwork is important, but taking care of yourself is important, too.” When thinking of helping others and facing personal challenges, Rosmith recommends that students keep this saying in mind: “You can’t pour from an empty cup. Take care of yourself first.” For professional help finding coping mechanisms, students should take advantage of the many services that the CWC provides, which include counseling, student health, fitness, disability and health education.
who are concerned about using substances safely through a moderation-based approach to recovery. One of the largest issues with moderation-based recovery treatments is that substance use for individuals who are prone to addictive behavior patterns – even if the substance is not the individual’s drug of choice or is a substance that they have used safely in the past – can result in the development of new addictions or cause the individual to return to their previous patterns of addictive behavior. “I think that on campuses that aren’t New College it’s easier to have conversations about substance abuse because students aren’t as willing to be open about what they’re using or misusing, and also they’re not as educated on what their rights are, or what’s going on in the world of drug policy, and what they think their rights should be,” said Parente said. “Here the conversation tends to be: ‘we should all experiment and we should be able to do what we want with our bodies and we’re adults.’ While at other schools I can be like ‘It’s illegal’ and they’re like ‘Okay.’ And like here if I’m like ‘it’s illegal,’ that’s not the conversation that happens.” The inherent contradictions in the simultaneous promotion of harm reduction and sobriety-based recovery can be confusing for individuals attempting to seek help in an environment that promotes, and some say even glorifies, the use and abuse of substances – both legal and illegal. “I want to emphasize that if you think it’s important and if you think it’s something you want to try, try it and at least go once or twice and get a feel for the meetings and see if they can be helpful because I think that they can be for a lot of people – regardless of the spirituality piece,” Parente said. “If you are experiencing any issues with alcoholism or substance abuse or misuse I want to encourage people to reach out to a counselor at the CWC, or me, or just somebody so that way they can get the help that they need if they think that they’re going to start spiraling down any sort of substance abuse issues. It’s super important that people get help before it becomes super problematic.”
Information for this article was gathered from www.mentalhealthamerica.net, www.nami.org, www.nimh.nih.gov.
Information from this article came from collegiaterecovery.org, moderation.org, addictioncenter.com, niaaa.nih.gov and aa.org.
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NATIONAL NEWS
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What should you watch in politics this summer? BY ryan paice This year has seen one of the most tumultuous, controversial primaries in the history of the United States. Donald Trump has become exceedingly more likely to win the GOP nomination as his competition quits one after the other, despite the heart of the Republican Party opposing the nomination of the man who once said that he identified more as a Democrat. On the Democratic side of things, Hillary Clinton has seemingly staved off Bernie Sander’s astronomical rise from little-known senator, to what can now be considered the political figurehead of the Millennial generation. There is no doubt that this year’s primaries have been one of the most unpredictable of all time, and the most meaningful impact it might have made is yet to be seen. Neither the Democrats nor the Republicans are likely to come out of this primary process unscathed. With the rise of Donald Trump for the Republicans, and the rise of Bernie Sanders for the Democrats, establishment politics has never been under more fire than it is now, and the voters have taken notice. As both major parties realize their exposed faults and appropriately reform to better suit the voters’ wishes, 2016 might shape up to be the most pivotal year in the history of modern U.S. politics. The thing is, no one is entirely sure how both parties will
react and then settle. Jeb Bush – once considered an early favorite for the Republican nomination – dropped out Feb. 20 in the face of Trump’s imposing success, followed by Carson, Rubio, Cruz and finally Kasich on May 4. While the party once boasted the presence of 17 nominees, Trump, the outsider and political rookie, is the only Republican left standing. Trump entered the process in one of the most unique positions a nominee has ever been in: a multi-billionaire celebrity, who had no true affiliation to either party or politicians. Many might believe his success is just the product of his well-established popularity, but the fact that his words resonate with so many Republican voters might force the party to accommodate some lasting Trump influence in the future. “Trump has already made a mockery of the ideological pillars of the Republican platform,” Professor of Political Science Frank Alcock said. “This will change the party although I don’t know what it will look like a year from now.” Likewise for the Democrats, an outsider – Bernie Sanders – has made a strong push for the party’s nomination. Unlike the Republican Party, however, the establishment has stood firm regardless of the tremors Sanders has inspired. Trailing Clinton by 290 pledged delegates as of May 7, Sander’s hopes for the nomination are bleak – yet, the Democratic
Party might be significantly impacted because of his run. With his outsider acknowledgement of the foundational flaws in U.S. politics, desire to establish truly universal healthcare and free higher education, and even his Democratic Socialist values resonating strongly with Millennials, the Democratic Party might move more leftward to cater to those voters in the future. “The Democrats will look to accommodate some of Sanders calls for reform,” Alcock said. “But it remains to be seen how much reform we’ll see if Clinton wins the presidency.” While the states of the major parties are being thrown up in the air by the primary process, Americans are now faced with the increasing likelihood of a Clinton versus Trump general election. Clinton entered the primary process as the easy favorite to win both the nomination and presidency, but even though Sanders and she have run largely issuebased campaigns, the foundation of her political position has shown itself to be shakier than once thought. Her insider politics have been scrutinized, as well as the Clinton Foundation and her very own voting record. She has been contacted to be interviewed by the FBI over her email scandal, and has yet to release the transcripts from several of her speeches – both of which Trump will surely target when or if they go head-to-head. If one were to be asked
who, between Clinton and Trump, would win the presidency a year ago, there would be no doubt as to who would be the favorite. Now, not so much. “Clinton’s odds of winning are high, but I sense we’re in the midst of an odyssey,” Alcock said regarding the general election if it were Clinton versus Trump. “Bizarre stuff has happened, and the cycle may continue to surprise us.” Sanders supporters certainly are not enthusiastic about Clinton, with one out of every four supporters declaring that they would not vote for Hillary if she were the Democratic nominee, according to the results of a McClatchy-Marist poll released back in Feb. 30. Luckily for her and her supporters – or anyone opposed to Trump – Clinton still seemingly has the edge in the general election if it were her against Trump: leading 47.3 percent to 40.8 percent on average as of May 1, according to realclearpolitics.com. Despite the average poll pointing to a lead for Clinton, the number varies between poll sources, going from having her in a 13-point lead according to a CNN/ORC poll, to trailing Trump by 2 points according to Rasmussen Reports. The unpredictability of the primaries so far can only support further
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Record number of countries sign Paris Climate Agreement
BY sydney kruljac
Exactly 175 nation leaders gathered at the United Nations (U.N.), using Earth Day as a platform for the ceremonial signing of the agreement to slow the rise of harmful greenhouse gases around the world. At the signing, 198 children, were present to represent the future generations who would benefit from the agreement. “These young people are our future. Our covenant is with them,” U.N. SecretaryGeneral Ban Ki-moon told those gathered at the U.N. “Today is a day for our children, and grandchildren, and all generations to come.” Last December, 196 countries came together in Paris to discuss climate change and ways to mitigate it, creating a non-binding treaty that would remain as so until 55 countries who generate more than 55 percent of the world’s greenhouse gasses ratified the agreement. The non-binding treaty set a goal to slow the rise of greenhouse gases, namely carbon dioxide, which is said to be the cause of
dangerous patterns of warmth on Earth. The deal creates a target of limiting global warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) by the year 2100. In the deal, each nation is given the leeway to create its own target for minimizing its emissions, and is to give updates each year addressing their progress. Countries that chose not to sign the agreement have a year to do so if they change their minds. It is now up to the countries that have signed the agreement to take it upon themselves to ratify the treaty through their own domestic procedures. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, last year was the hottest year on record, and this year is said to be even hotter. Last winter, the Arctic Sea’s peak was at its lowest point. Scientists say the results could be catastrophic if temperatures continue to rise, potentially destroying crops, flooding coastal areas and melting ice from the Arctic Sea. The countries signing the agreement hope to mitigate these problems in order to prevent further climate change disasters from
occurring. The sudden ratification of the treaty has surprised many who originally expected the agreement to be a long, drawn out process. However, the United States and China demonstrated in their joint statement on climate change on March 31 that it is necessary to take the steps toward a more sustainable world by sustaining the momentum from December’s climate conference. The Obama administration might have been approaching it with a different angle, however. By ratifying the treaty before the new president is inaugurated into office, it will be substantially harder for the new administration to rescind the deal. Daniel Bodansky, a scholar of international environmental law at Arizona State University, told The Washington Post that if the agreement is ratified before the Obama administration leaves office, the next president would not be able to withdraw until 2019, and furthermore would not be effective until 2020. Of course, the fear of rescinding the deal
does not pose as big as a threat if one of the Democratic candidates, Hillary Clinton or Bernie Sanders, is elected into office since both have publicly stated their support for combating climate change. On the other side of the spectrum however, presumed Republican nominee Donald Trump has not only publicly rejected the harsh realities of climate change, but also promised to cut the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) condemning it as “the laughing stock of the world.” With the agreement signed, it will make it much more difficult for a potential President Trump to back out of it, taking at least three years from the day the United States enters into the agreement, plus an additional year, for it to be able to back out. Withdrawing from the agreement would be an unwise move for the United States in terms of public relations because it could create a strong negative global reaction.
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A Day of Action Trans rights activists take to the streets for inclusive education policies BY Katelyn Grimmett Sunday morning saw more than 100 people gather in front of the Selby Public Library at 11 to march for Trans Rights. Water, beads and sunscreens were passed around, as well as signs that said “Hate has no place in our education system” and “Safe and Equal School.” The wider Sarasota community joined students from middle school up to the college level in the fight for inclusive school board policies for trans and gender nonconforming students. The march was the culminating event of the API! Conference, a student organized academic conference in its ninth annual year. Organizers from API! joined with the Suncoast Chapter of the Answer Coalition – a national coalition of anti-war and civil rights organizations – to put the protest together. With anti-LGBTQ laws on the rise, most recently the bill passed in North Carolina that deliberately took away the right for transgender students to use the bathroom of their preferred gender, local action such as this march is a vital tool for amplifying the voices of the trans community. “Seeing so many people here makes me so thankful for people who actually understand that there is an issue here,” one of the speakers expressed at the start of the event. “I don’t want anyone else to go through what I went in school.” After a series of speeches, the march kicked off with an activating shout: “WOOT! GO TRANS RIGHTS!” And the mass of people holding colorful flags and signs marched towards the unexpecting downtown of Sarasota. The protest is lobbying for a set of policy demands called #Nate’sList, named so after Nate Quinn, a transgender student from Pine View High who won the right to use the bathroom of his choice. While this was a fundamental victory over the Pine View administration, unfortunately this rule only applies to Quinn and is just the start of the fight for trans inclusivity. “This has been a great opportunity for Pine
View to lead the way for other schools because even though our school district doesn’t have a non-discrimination policy that enumerates gender identity and gender expression to protect trans students, the schools can individually come up with policies and guidelines,” New College alum Molly Swift (‘08), now a program coordinator at ALSO Youth, explained. A non-profit organization, ALSO Youth has been watching out for the safety and wellbeing of LGBTQIA youth in Sarasota schools since 1992. “I think [the march] is very significant for the wider community, just seeing such a large group of articulate, powerful people – young and old,” Swift said Despite it being a Sunday morning in sleepy Sarasota, there was certainly an audience for the march. One woman waved frantically from behind a shop window holding a small sticker with an equal sign on it. Another woman was apparently late for a date. Caught behind the throng of people marching, she edged her car forward anxiously until a member of the march blocked her from getting too close, allowing the protesters to pass safely. At the march, students from Pine View and other Sarasota high schools banded together to support students in the very same position as Quinn. A determined group, these students have engaged with the Sarasota County school board in a variety of ways, from organizing marches and protests to sitting in on and speaking out at school board meetings. The fight has stretched on for months now and the Sarasota School Board has remained in a motionless state of apathy. “Currently there is a lot of fear around the issue because it is election year,” Swift said. “There are two spots that are going to be opening up on a school board of five members and even the ones who say they are supportive of trans inclusion are too scared to bring it to a vote because they’re scared that it will be seen as extreme.”
all photos Katelyn Grimmett/Tangent
CIW and allies keep up the heat in Wendy’s boycott BY Katelyn Grimmett
To wrap up a month of action in April, the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) took to the sidewalks in front of a Sarasota Wendy’s to drive the message home: join the Fair Food Program or feel the burn of a national boycott. “Farmworkers and their families from Immokalee joined allies from Sarasota – students, people of faith and folks from various organizations around the city – to boycott Wendy’s,” Patricia Cipollitti from the Alliance for Fair Food said. April’s “month of outrage” actions and the Sarasota protest, which occurred on May 1, have the common goal of amplifying the pressure on Wendy’s to sign onto the CIW’s Fair Food Program, a program designed for and by farm workers. “Our goal is to have Wendy’s listen to our message that they need to respect farmworkers’ human rights not just through empty codes of conduct but through real action and real commitment to being part of the solution and thereby joining the Fair Food Program,” Cipollitti said. The Fair Food Program has ensured human rights in the fields and protection against forced labor, among other progressive changes, simply by bringing major corporations such as Wal-Mart into a regulated relationship with the growers and workers who supply for them. Wendy’s is the last major fast food company to refuse to sign and support workers’ rights. To pour salt on the wound, a few years ago Wendy’s decided to leave Florida fields to outsource their tomatoes from a farm in Mexico. Bioparques de Occidente (which sells under the brand name Kaliroy) was the subject of a major slavery prosecution in 2013. These directly disrespectful decisions have made Wendy’s a target for the Coalition and its corresponding branches, the Alliance for Fair Food and the Student Farmworker Alliance. A national boycott of Wendy’s began back in
March when the CIW and allies organized the Worker’s Voice Tour, a 10-day protest which marched right up the East Coast. “I think the protest went really well, they’ve been doing these protests for a while and they’re always really well organized,” second-year Annie Rosenblum said. “After the big action that happened with their whole tour, I think this was a good, local action to happen. It was smaller but it was effective.” The CIW is keeping up the pressure on Wendy’s throughout the month of May. A series of call-ins will be organized leading up to a national call-in day on May 25, a day before Wendy’s next shareholder meeting is scheduled. Members of the CIW plan to sit in at the meeting and talk to shareholders about how important this movement is for them and urge them to join the program. At the May 1 protest, a small delegation group went into the Wendy’s off 41 to present the Fair Food Program and its goals and accomplishments. The team was comprised of two CIW members, a member of the Alliance for Fair Food, Rosenblum, and a member of a local church. “Our goal is to go into the establishment and ask to speak to the manager and present them a letter on behalf of the CIW, kind of explaining why we’re there and why this movement is important to us,” Rosenblum said. The Sarasota protest occurred on a significant day. The first of May hosts many holidays: one of them is International Workers’ Day – also known as May Day. With a rich history of fighting for workers’ rights (particularly in the face of capitalist exploitation), May Day is a day in celebration and solidarity with workers across the globe. “There were so many people, nearly 100, and it’s always beautiful when there is presence from Immokalee and the farmworker leadership is really felt in the action,” Cipollitti said.
all photos Katelyn Grimmett/Tangent
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Dance Collective opens to full house by giulia heyward Dance Collective wowed a fully packed auditorium two nights in a row with a compilation of performances ranging from ballet to hip hop to tap dance. The dancers are students who manage to juggle classes, jobs and spending an entire semester attending rehearsals, choreographing and working on putting together a showcase in Sainer Pavilion. The Spring 2016 Dance Collective, which took place on May 6 and 7, was administered by second-years Eugenia Quintanilla, Rachel Ceciro, Maria Simmerling and first-years Ximena Pedroza, Matthew Bocanumenth and Sara Friend. “My first year, on opening night for the fall show, I peeked out to see how many people were in the audience and Sainer was maybe half full and I nearly started crying, thinking it
was so empty out there,” Simmerling said. “And since then we’ve gotten it so that the house is completely packed both nights, just by telling people, ‘Come to the show. Come to the show.’ I’ve talked to some people who were like, “Well I did ballet when I was 10,” and I’m like, ‘Well, you should join! That’s enough!’” Dance Collective holds a student run performance that occurs at the end of every semester. The showcase is sponsored by professor of Philosophy April Flakne. Dancers have the option to receive academic credit by writing journals, participating in at least two pieces and choreographing one piece. The associate professor of dance at New College, Leymis Wilmott, also comes in to give critiques of the performances. Anyone interested in becoming a part of the Fall 2017 Dance Collective next semester should contact the Facebook page, any of the administrators or sign up for the email list
during the next Club Fair. “I was nervous the first time,” third year and choreographer Olivia Short said. “It was definitely fun when I wasn’t nervous anymore and it’s really fun when the crowd gets really into it and starts cheering with us. Dance is a good way to bring people from different backgrounds together to do something that’s fun and healthy and challenging and cool.” (clockwise from right) Thesis student Qi Zhao performs a dance she choreographed. First-years Matthew Bocanumenth and Iyanu Cornel lead a Shakira-inspired performance. A group of dancers perform Burlesque. Administrator and secondyear Eugenia Quintinilla leads a performance to Florence and the Machine. A group of students perform a tap dance choreographed by first-year Sara Friend. Administrators Maria Simmerling and Quintinilla perform a duet. Alum Beck Furlow and third-years Amy Bernard and Victoria McCullough perform.
FEATURES PAGE 10
all photos Kaylie Stokes/Tangent
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How to make your own AOC Did you come to New College under the impression that you would be able to carve out your own Creative Writing AOC? Were you disappointed to discover that not only would it be impossible given our faculty, but that even if we had the resources you would still probably have no clue as to how to get the process of establishing an AOC into motion? New College boasts that creating your own AOC is an option, but very few people actually pursue it. This is probably because it is a bit of a daunting task, especially when there is very little published information on how to do it. While it probably still isn’t possible to make your own Creative Writing AOC, I’m here to tell you that it’s probably possible to create something else if you can find the right professor. I know this because I’m doing it myself: I am currently in the process of developing a Media Studies AOC with the help of Professor of Sociology Queen “Mecca” Zabriskie. If you are interested in creating your own AOC, the first thing to do is to know what you want. You have to have clear goals in mind and be able to connect these goals to things already being studied here at New College in enough courses. While a journalism AOC would obviously be awesome, having one tutorial here on newspaper production renders the school unable to adequately provide you with a full
by MAgdalene Taylor
journalism education. The second thing to do is to find the right professors to work with. If you got through the first step with a few relevant New College courses in mind, then you are probably in luck. I had taken Sociology of Arts and Performance with Professor Zabriskie, so I knew she had some expertise in the area of artistic production from a critical sociological standpoint. Since she was already my advisor, having her sponsor my AOC proposal was an easy move. You will need at least two other professors to sign off on the AOC for you. I plan to ask members of the Humanities faculty as well as other members of Social Sciences if they would be interested. The fun thing about creating your own AOC is that you get to design your prospective course of study yourself, based on exactly what you are interested in. However, it will need to be based on programs from other top schools. Take a look at their requirements, and compare them to the courses you have already taken here and the courses you know you can take in the future. I am using Media Studies programs from UC Berkeley, MIT and other schools to establish the requirements of my Media Studies AOC here. With the new local consortium of colleges, it will be easier to fill whatever gaps in the requirements New College may leave. You may also want to consider studying abroad or using NSE. Your professors might even require
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journalist for The New York Times, NPR and CNN. President O’Shea will be presenting Hunter-Gault with the honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters. In the past, New College has requested and been turned down by dozens of potential speakers. In 1981 a call was sent out for nominations. The letter warned students that with a $1,500 budget, “Bruce Springsteen, Michel Foucault and Walter Cronkite [were] thus not realistic possibilities.” That year both President Ronald Reagan and Noam Chomsky were sent request letters. They both kindly sent back rejection letters. During the 1960s and ‘70s the Commencement ceremony was held inside Hamilton Center. In the early ‘80s, alternative locations were scouted and the school was quoted $750 to use the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall. Referred to as the “purple cow” by students, the Van Wezel was never used. Today the Commencement ceremony takes
place under a large white tent set up behind College Hall as the sun sets over the bay. While the location has changed, students still have traded in the traditional caps and gowns for their own look. Some dress in costume, while others wear a nice suit or dress, a couple choose to wear almost nothing at all. In an email interview, Shelley Wilbur, the senior administrative assistant in the President’s Office said, “Although encouraging expression, we typically advise students to be considerate of their guests (and family) who are attending, of their professors and the staff, and of themselves 10 years hence.” Whatever students choose to wear, they will certainly look good as they begin this next chapter of their lives. Thesis student Raina Senae, who will be wearing a matching set of tropical-print wide leg pants and a crop top, said, “I’m really excited for this year. Not just for myself but people that have stuck it out all four years beside me.”
it of you. The final big thing to do is to write up all the information you have gathered in a neat proposal. This will contain an overview of the field you intend to work with in your AOC as well as how it connects to and benefits from New College’s current curriculum. You have to state the criteria for the AOC, drawing from the curricula at comparable institutions and stating which courses at New College fulfill those requirements. You will furthermore need to have an idea for your senior thesis in mind. Sometimes the process can be a little less concrete. Thesis student Heath Hawkins created an AOC in Creative Technologies, a program which very few schools nationwide offer. There is definitely some flexibility to the process depending on which professors you are working with. Above all, establishing your own AOC here is about meeting New College’s high standards. This means studying a field with the same seriousness as you would a traditional AOC while going above and beyond in terms of independence. If you can make it work, designing your own AOC is the perfect way to take advantage of New College’s freedom to do what you truly love. But hey – if it doesn’t work out, divisional AOCs and general studies are totally viable ways to achieve this, too.
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unpredictability in the general election. Regardless of the race for presidency, we might catch a sneak-peek of the effects of the primary process on the country in the upcoming states’ primary races. With 45 states and territories hosting elections in the upcoming summer months, there might be some significant changes to both Congress and state governments. The Democratic Party might be poised to regain control of the Senate, with only 5 seats needed to accomplish that. The majority of vulnerable seats in the Senate are held by Republicans, as there are 24 Republican incumbents up for re-election, and only 10 for the Democrats. With the Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia’s seat open for appointment – which needs 60 Senate votes for confirmation – the race for Congressional seats has even broader implications than usual. “Pay attention to the states’ primary races – for everything other than the presidency,” Alcock said. “And be sure to vote on Aug. 30.”
FEATURES PAGE 11
API discusses anarchy, trans rights BY Bianca benedi Since 2008, All Power to the Imagination (API) conference has been held over a weekend in the spring semester on New College’s campus. The conference is aimed at discussing leftist radical theories, with a purpose of “connecting theory to practice” according to the group’s official page. This year’s conference, held between the 29th of April and the 1st of May, included among its programming an open-mic night held at the Four Winds, and a trans rights march in downtown Sarasota. Alum and API founder James Birmingham (‘06) began the program alongside alums Jacqueline Wang (‘06) and Kotu Bajaj (‘06), “all anarchist people of color,” Birmingham said. The three students had participated in a panel as part of the National Conference on Organized Resistance (NCOR) in 2007, and “were inspired to bring something like that to the south-east.” “We asked Sarah Hernandez to sponsor a tutorial on conference organizing, and that tutorial became API,” Birmingham said. Since then, the conference has persevered, supported by a steady stream of New College students as well as local anarchists within the community. Second-year Ava Howard joined the organizational team for the conference this year, along with Birmingham. “I was much more involved in facilitation [this year] than I was last year,” Howard said. “The weekend played out well despite having less student organizers and volunteers than I've seen before.” Less volunteers did not mean less attendees. “If we count the students who come eat just the free food, quite a lot [attended],” Birmingham said. “There are generally around 100 participants, most of which are folks from around the region rather than New College affiliates. Several New College alums presented this year as well.” Such alums included Hannah Brown, who presented a panel called ‘Labor, Education Politics, and Digital Campaigns’, as well as Birmingham himself, who presented a panel on Anarchist Archaeology. Current thesis students Anna Rodriguez (‘12) and Wilmarie Rios Jaime (‘12) also
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FACULTY
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PAGE 12
After 25 years, Professor of Psychology Gordon Bauer readies for retirement by charlotte redman and Caitlyn Ralph Known as the professor whose dog, Sam, accompanies him everywhere, Gordon Bauer is one of the beloved professors of psychology at New College. Bauer has worked at New College for 25 years, serving as professor, social sciences division chair and proficient researcher. This upcoming fall, Bauer will be spending his time on research leave before retiring from the college entirely. In the corner of Bauer’s office, Sam comfortably sprawled himself under one of the skylights in the Bon Seigneur House, his second home. Easy companions, Bauer took a seat next to the dozing dog and spoke about his life – everything from his childhood until now, including what brought him to New College. “Someone gave me a phone call and asked me to come,” Bauer chuckled, in his throaty laugh. Since The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) had just offered New College a grant for dolphin research and the school was looking for a dolphin expert. To find one, the college contacted the director of research for the Navy, who then called Hawaii’s director of research for the Navy, who then called Bauer. “When I was called and asked how I’d like the job, I still had to come down for an interview,” Bauer said. The acting senior professor of psychology at the time, whose house was adjacent to Bay Shore Road, offered him a place to stay. Bauer arrived late one night and on his first morning in Sarasota he decided to go on a walk by the bayfront. “All of a sudden I heard ‘puff’ and thought, ‘Oh! That sounds like a dolphin,’ and then I heard it again,’” Bauer said. “I looked out into the water and my very first contact, on my very first walk to get out and see what’s around here, was a dolphin. I just thought to myself, ‘You know, this sounds like the place for me.’” Since 1991, Bauer has taught an assortment of courses at New College, including Biological Psychology, Animal Learning and Cognition, Animal Welfare and the Question of Animal Consciousness. However, no matter the variety, the majority has honed in on one subject in particular: animal behavior. Bauer’s attraction to animals seems to have stemmed from his childhood, when he experienced early exposure during his motherson outings to the Prospect Park Zoo. “I still remember the zoo, particularly the sea lions,” Bauer said. “New York was just wonderful, I mean it had the Bronx Zoo and the American Museum of Natural History, which was fantastic.” Even when he moved to New Jersey he still visited the zoos and museums, but with age came mischief. “My mom was not real happy,”
Photo courtesy of the Herlad-Tribune
Bauer with his dog Sam. Bauer said, reflecting on the time that he spent with his friend, venturing out into the woods to collect turtles, snakes, frogs and other wildlife. “I’d come home with a nice snake and she’d say, ‘Get that slimy thing away from me!’ and I’d think rationally about this and say, ‘Well mom, just touch it! It’s not slimy, they’re dry!’ But that didn’t help.” Based on his passion for animals, it is easy to guess how Bauer will spend his research leave before retiring. “I have a bunch of different projects at different stages,” Bauer said. One of his long-term projects has involved studying manatees at Sarasota’s Mote Marine Laboratory. Some more recent endeavors include working with a New College student on manatees’ abilities to detect and discriminate the salinity of water, in addition to studying sea turtle hearing at the Clearwater Aquarium. After the fall semester, when Bauer officially goes into retirement, the avid researcher will polish off old articles and delve into his backlog of previous research – especially that which he conducted on humpback whales in Hawaii. He hopes to do this in a much more leisurely and less pressured manner, similar to his teaching style and philosophy. “My ideal teaching format is sitting in a diner or a bar with a pencil or a napkin and saying here’s how an eye works, let me draw this out for you,” Bauer said. These days, however, he believes that approach may no longer be practical, that teaching has to radically change and that the methodology behind it will be very different in the future. “Conveying content of some kind used to be a major part of teaching, but now all that information is at your fingertips electronically.” Prior to becoming a professor, Bauer
worked in special education as a children’s counselor with an undergraduate degree from George Washington University (GWU) in 1967. Originally attending as an English major, Bauer switched to pre-med and then graduated with a degree in psychology, since that was the subject in which he had accumulated the most credits. “When I finished college after those three years I promised myself I’d never go back again, with all that pressure and tension from exams and writing papers,” Bauer said. “I didn’t want any part of that.” Breaking his promise, he proceeded to receive his Masters of Art in behavior and learning problems only six years later – with a focus in education. Bauer did not have a traditional postgraduate experience after receiving his Bachelor of Arts, to say the least. In fact, everything he did after graduation from college in 1967 contradicts what the State’s metrics wants today in regard to entering the work field immediately after college. “When I went home I thought I’d be a musician, so I studied music for hours and hours a day – I went back to school for music and discovered there were too many good musicians to be a mediocre musician,” Bauer said. “Then for what, the next 8 years, I worked in various aspects of special education.” After leaving a counseling position, Bauer joined the Peace Corps in 1973. He volunteered in San Salvador, El Salvador, where he worked with special education at La Escuela de Educación Especial. It was during his time in the Peace Corps that Bauer first became intrigued by the ability to professionally study animals and be paid for it. “I was looking for change after I’d been in special education for eight or nine years and when
I was in the Peace Corp I had two experiences that encouraged me to change,” Bauer said. One of these experiences was at the beach, where he observed a man writing in a notepad and decided to approach him. It turned out the man was an oceanographer who was contracted to study wave patterns to help El Salvador develop their tourism industry. “I asked him, ‘people pay you to come down, sit on the beach, and look at the waves?’ And he said yes,” Bauer said. The other experience occurred when Bauer was in the Guatemalan jungle, at the archaeological site of Tikal. “There was a guy, again with a notepad, who was taking notes, and I asked him what he was doing,” Bauer said. “He pointed to these monkeys and said, ‘I’m studying their social structures.’” This response enlightened Bauer to the idea that people could be paid to study animals. “So, I decided that’s what I wanted to do. Now, my interest was more marine – I already knew how to scuba dive – although I do love jungles. But, that’s why I went back to school. I wanted to study dolphins.” In 1977, Bauer joined the staff at Pennsylvania’s Bucknell University as a teaching assistant. This is where he would receive his Masters of Science in animal behavior. Fast forward nine years and Bauer relocated to Hawaii to complete research and earn his doctorate in comparative/physiological psychology at the University of Hawaii. Relocating to Florida, Bauer started teaching at New College in 1991 and simultaneously until 1995, he also worked as a visiting research scientist at EPCOT’s Living Seas, traveling there weekly to study dolphin imitation. Second-year Connie Miranda has worked with Bauer since her first year at New College. “He’s a wonderful, caring person, who always makes time to meet with you,” Miranda said. “He has always supported any projects I’ve set my mind on. I’m sad he’ll no longer be my advisor and if it was up to me he would have been for all four years at NCF. He not only always gave me the best advice, but also encouraged me to consider neurobiology as my AOC.” Bauer is regarded as a highly esteemed member of the New College community, but little do students know about his own college experience. “If I had come to New College, I would have flunked out,” Bauer said. “I think one of the things that’s characterized in many New College students is that they’re very good at selfstructuring their lives, they’re able to do their academic work without someone else having had to structure it for them.” Bauer believes that students should be serious, but that they should not allow themselves to become too solemn. “I’d recommend for New College students to enjoy themselves, but don’t go on probation. There’s a line,” Bauer said.
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New Songs you should HEAR BY caitlyn ralph
A lot happens in the music world between the Tangent’s bi-weekly production schedule. While Caitlyn would love to cover it all, she can’t. Instead, we had her choose her favorite songs released since our last issue and write up bite-sized blurbs on why they should be added to your Spotify playlists. Check out the results below. Halsey – “Colors - Stripped” It took me a while to start listening to Halsey, and I have no clue why. Revolutionizing the idea of a pop star, Halsey is indie and original and cool. She’s so cool. Her palpable attitude infiltrates her melodies, her lyrics and her live performance – concocting this beautifully unique image that I’m constantly in awe over. Halsey just released an EP called Complementary Colors, which takes the single “Colors” from her debut album Badlands and reimagines it in five different ways. The standout, “Colors - Stripped,” does exactly what the title says: it strips down the original version to showcase Halsey’s vocals, emphasizing emotional lyricism amid a washed out backdrop. Yeah, I had chills after the first play. Pierce The Veil – “Circles” Scene-core standouts Pierce The Veil are gearing up to release their fourth studio album, Misadventures, via Fearless Records on May 13. Probably the most pop punk of all the band’s songs, “Circles” sounds like it could be culled from an All Time Low album – which is not necessarily a bad thing. It’s actually a pretty good thing from a logistics standpoint: the track is accessible to a wider audience, further cementing Pierce The Veil’s strong, withstanding place in the scene. Plus, “Circles” is most certainly a great jam – a nice addition to any start of summer playlist. Tiny Moving Parts – “Common Cold” Want to know what modern day emo punk is? Of course you do! Well, your first step would be to give Tiny Moving Parts a listen. Why? The music is stringent and emotional and everything your high school self would have shouted at the bedroom ceiling and something your college self still shouts at the dorm wall. Tiny Moving Parts’ newest single, “Common Cold,” is representative of all this: the track, almost dizzily, alternates between slow, melodic moments and heavy, pounding instrumentation anchored by trying and passionate vocals, culminating in the line “I don’t believe in anything.” “Common Cold” is a coming-of-age track that can be related to at any point in life. Radiohead – “Burn The Witch” All right, I’ll say it now — I’ve never really listened to Radiohead aside from the occasionally “Creep” play. But the band got my attention the other week with a media stunt that left all their
social networks whited out and all their past account activity deleted. (Sound familiar? It should. The 1975 did the same thing awhile back in preparation for the unveiling of their new, rosy pink aesthetic.) After giving fans the proper scare, Radiohead returned with a new single, “Burn The Witch.” Having no prior conception of Radiohead’s style, I’ll describe “Burn The Witch” from a new set of ears’ point of view: the track is mellow and edgy — almost like a storm held back by a calm exterior, exemplified in contrast between serene, pristine vocals and quickening, unsettling instrumentation. Blink-182 – “Bored To Death” Always too preoccupied with Green Day, I was never the biggest Blink-182 fan. However, like any interested member of the scene, I’ve been following the Blink-182 drama since last year. The drama centered around Blink-182 dropping former frontman Tom DeLonge and replacing him with Alkaline Trio’s Matt Skiba. Finally feeding into to fan’s desires, the new Blink-182 — version 2.0 — is getting ready to drop their comeback album California on July 1. The first single from that comeback album, “Bored To Death,” is good. If California is as good as “Bored To Death,” Blink-182 are slated to usher in a new generation of fans while keeping their late 1990s/ early 2000s diehards satisfied — and getting a decent amount of radio play in between. Modern Baseball – “Wedding Singer” Modern Baseball are so cute. And I don’t say that lightly. The band are literally everything high school rejects like myself wish they had four years ago, singing about sitting home alone on Friday night (“Broken Cash Machine”) to worrying about the future (“Fine, Great”) to awkwardly long limbs and bones (“Tears Over Beers”), all summed up in “whatever, forever” (“Rock Bottom”). Continuing their I-just-want-to-give-them-allhugs aesthetic, Modern Baseball have released “Wedding Singer.” The track, accompanied by a fantastic video, is a perfect addition to their already strong back catalogue. However, just because Modern Baseball are consistent doesn’t mean they’re boring — “Wedding Singer” is a polished, clean, progressive step up from their previous releases, foreshadowing fruitful success with their forthcoming album Holy Ghost, which is due out May 13 via Run For Cover Records.
REVIEWS PAGE 13
A former comic geek Marvels at ‘Captain America: Civil War,’ a stark but welcome contrast from your average superhero film SUBMITTED by dylan pryor Marvel’s latest film plays to the franchise’s strengths with a character-driven ensemble story that both satisfyingly completes a near flawless trilogy for one of its flagship characters, and begins a new chapter for almost every hero introduced in the films so far. Captain America’s (Chris Evans) latest film is based on the original “Civil War” comic event in 2006, which focused on the underlying theme of the conflict between freedom and security. It drew inspiration from real life events such as the Patriot Act and from the debate over the government’s increased surveillance of its citizens. As with its parent comic, the film is unique in that it focused more on the question of who was right, rather than who would win. However, “Captain America: Civil War” further raises both personal and political stakes for its titular character by elevating the Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan) to a lead role. When the Sokovia Accords demand for government oversight of heroes impede Cap’s ability to help his old friend, he rebels against Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) and his own group of prooversight heroes to recruit his own faction to help him protect his friend, the Winter Soldier. Although the film essentially functioned as a third Avengers movie, it was very much Captain America’s story. In the previous movie, we saw Cap (Steve Rogers) face the infiltration of the governmental organization SHIELD by the terrorist group of HYDRA, motivated by the revelation that his best friend Bucky was alive and had been brainwashed as an assassin. Once again, Cap’s personal journey is defined by his relationships with his supporting cast, and the film does an excellent job of making that clear. Bucky’s role in the film shows how far Steve will go to do the right thing. Tony himself is almost a mirror reflection of the beliefs Steve had in the first film, and how far he has come. Even his friendship with Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow demonstrates the strong sense of loyalty and trust Steve has with all these characters regardless of their side, particularly in the film’s final scene. The supporting cast had two obvious standouts in Chadwick Boseman’s Black Panther, and Tom Holland’s new Spider-Man. Black Panther had a very personal motive in the film
image courtsey of wikia.com that was established early, and which culminated in a satisfying emotional arc that both served as an origin story and delivered some of the most engaging action sequences yet. Spidey was true to form as an awkward but endearing kid trying to impress his fellow heroes, while managing to provide some of the most lighthearted moments in one of the tensest scenes. However, every character received satisfyingly strong development, aside from an admittedly weak villain operating almost exclusively in the shadows. Other than one moment between Steve and another character that didn’t feel earned, every scene and character in the movie seemed to move the story along in some way, with a conclusion that was honestly pretty sad yet nonetheless appealing. Although Steve and Tony have always had some conflict, their relationship has always been one built on both respect and trust. The film did an excellent job of making this crystal clear, while also bringing it crashing down. As a fan of both the “Civil War” comic and the film, I’m looking forward to seeing what the fallout will be in the future. I give this film a strong sat and a rainbow unicorn.
TANGENT
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Flash[BAAC] to bacc week By caitlyn ralph and MAgdalene taylor A Forum flooded with puns and announcements, classes that are cancelled for three days and a tingle of stress in the air can only mean one thing: it’s Bacc season at New College. Want a quick taste of this year’s thesis defenses? Check out these short Bacc spotlights below. Stephen Fleming Title: “And he asked if I knew anything about the universe. And I told him no”: Alien Abductions in American Literature Pun: Alien Att[BACC]K AOC/Committee: English; Professor of English Andrea Dimino (sponsor), Professor of English Miriam Wallace and Professor of English Margaret Konkol Snacks: Leftover cupcakes from Shelby Felder’s Bacc, grapes, mint and birthday cake Oreos, carrots and hummus. “Tonight, aliens will abduct you.” Stephen opened his Bacc with a hypothetical story where the listener is abducted by aliens. He explains that as an abductee, you are probably a white woman. Various grey aliens will conduct medical experiments on you and ask you questions about human culture. When you are returned home, you will not have a clear memory of what happened to you. However, you will notice marks on your body and begin to remember certain details. More details will emerge through the help of a hypnotherapist. You might end up pregnant. For his thesis, Stephen examined the role of aliens in American fiction, non-fiction and film. Alien literature presents aliens as a racialized other while furthermore dealing with topics of gender, human sexuality and pregnancy. With roots in genres such as Gothic literature and captivity narratives, alien literature often functions as an allegory of white supremacy. Stephen’s committee asked him questions including “What is literature?” and “How does alien literature reflect what it means to be human?” Notably, Professor Wallace asked Stephen to define what an egg was. Shelby Felder Title: Rave, Symbol, Ritual and Cyborgs: The Nature of Post-Technological Spiritual Experience
Pun: Get your [BACC] lights out, it’s a rave thesis AOC/Committee: Religion; Professor of Judaic Studies Susan Marks (Sponsor), Professor of Humanities Gordon Michalson and Professor of Music Maribeth Clark Snacks: Amazing cupcakes made by Shelby, decorated with little bracelets with the acronym “PLUR” on them and mini glow sticks, tortilla chips, cookies, chocolate pops and notably nice shimmery plates. For her thesis, Shelby examined the religiosity of raves. Abiding by the rules of PLUR (Peace, Love, Unity, Respect), raves provide an empathetic experience through their emphasis on sharing and trade of “kandy” bracelets and other objects. This is bolstered by the spiritual experience of the music and often with the use of drugs. As Shelby explained, raves function as liminal spaces of symbol and ritual, where people often leave feeling transformed with an increased sense of love and compassion as well as an eagerness to enter the space again. Shelby’s committee did not seem otherwise familiar with raves, and asked questions about the definition of liminal spaces, the significance of religious experiences, and whether or not Mardi Gras could be considered a religious space as well. Lisa Crawford Title: Effects of Altered Laboratory Lighting Regimens on the Circadian Rhythms of Captive Nurse Sharks (Ginglymostoma cirratum) Pun: Shark week is [BACC] AOC/Committee: Marine Biology; Professor of Biology Jayne Gardiner (Sponsor), Professor of Biology and Environmental Studies Emily Saarinen and Professor of Biology Alfred Beulig Snacks: A shark-themed assortment of goldfish, “shark attack” cupcakes with raspberry filling, giant shark gummies and “fin” bugles dipped in white chocolate. For her thesis, Lisa Crawford conducted an experiment at Mote Marine Laboratory that analyzed the daily activity of three nurse sharks (nocturnal, bottom-dwelling) that were in captivity for three years. She looked at their circadian rhythms, their endogenous rhythms and their photoreception location by altering lighting regimes (which included humanely placing the cutest little eye patches on each shark’s eyes). Crawford found that bright light and human interaction altered the sharks’
natural nocturnal rhythms. To avoid, and I quote, “thesis crisis galore!,” one of Crawford’s points of advice for forthcoming thesis students conducting experiments with animals was to make sure that you’re not working during late-night parties at Mote, which apparently didn’t happen to her on just one – but two – occasions. Reed Meyerson Title: The Heat Content of Triangles Pun: Working [BACC]wards from Heat Content AOC/Committee: Math; Professor of Mathematics Patrick McDonald (Sponsor), Professor of Mathematics David Mullins and Professor of Physics Don Colladay Snacks: Even though it was 2:00 p.m. in the afternoon, McDonald required coffee, so there were coffee and bagels available. The primary theorem to result from Reed Meyerson’s thesis was that heat content determines a triangle; therefore, his thesis deconstructed what it meant to determine a triangle, what is heat content, and how they can be connected. Math BACCs are traditionally open, which meant that the audience could stay during the exam portion during which his committee asked him questions that covered topics inside and outside of his thesis. When addressing the relevance of his thesis topic, Meyerson expressed that “it makes me happy just because I like math.” Shane Caldwell Title: Human Airway Epithelial Cells Homozygote for P53 Arg Variant Cause Increased Mucuous Production and Breakdown of Tight Junctions Pun: So when I’m on vacay I need to kick [BACC] AOC/Committee: Computer Science; Professor of Bioinformatics Tyrone Ryba (Sponsor), Professor of Computer Science David Gillman and Professor of Computer Science Gary Kalmanovich Snacks: There were like 36 Bradenton Donuts in these massive boxes on a table in front of the room. Shane Caldwell spent two summers in Albuquerque, New Mexico through the Lovelace Respiratory Research Institute internship program. The work he conducted studying chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, better known as COPD, through a bioinformatics lense
led to his thesis, which asked if gene expression explains the mucous secretory phenotype. The gene he focused on was P53, which is nicknamed the guardian of the genome. He also created a statistics interface for biologists to apply visualization, analysis and reproducibility to their data. Armed with an attractive, Hot Topicthemed presentation and palpable coolness, Caldwell passed his BACC with flying colors. Nick Abboud Title: Lorentz Violation in the Collective Excitations of Bose-Einstein Condensates Pun: BEC stands for Bose-Einstein Condensate. BEC looks like [BACC]. That’s what I’ve got.* AOC/Committee: Physics and Mathematics; Professor of Physics Don Colladay (Sponsor), Professor of Mathematics Patrick McDonald, Professor of Mathematics David Mullins and Professor of Physics Mariana Sendova Snacks: Again, even though it was 3:00 p.m. in the afternoon, hot coffee and bagels were provided. However, a subtle feature that I think many missed out on was the fact that his bagels were from Einstein’s, and his title does in fact include the word Einstein. At the start of Nick Abboud’s BACC, all I could wonder was whether the Math Reading Room had a capacity limit because the situation was definitely breaking fire code. Lots of people traversed the depths of Heiser’s math wing and snuck their way into the room, nabbing any feasible seating arrangement they could find. The attendee’s were subsequently treated to Abboud’s thesis presentation, which defined the three major terms in his title individually and then combined them together, which led to the result of his work. During the open BACC exam, his sponsor, Professor of Physics Don Colladay, had to turn his coffee mug around as per Professor of Mathematics Patrick McDonald’s suggestion. The mug displayed Maxwell’s equations, a very askable question in any physics student’s BACC exam. *This is most certainly not a pun. He literally laid “the joke” out for us.
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I had a great time during the Semester in Tallahassee. Would you? submitted by dylan pryor This past semester, I joined six other New College students in Florida’s capital for the new Semester in Tallahassee program, thanks to the brilliant efforts of Professors Fitzgerald and Alcock, and Andrea Knies of the Center for Engagement and Opportunity. With the program poised to make a likely return next year, here are three of my most important takeaways from my experience to help you decide if Tally is right for you too. 1. The internship Professors of Political Science Keith Fitzgerald and Frank Alcock set up every participant with an internship unique to the field they wanted to explore. I worked with Lloyd Dunkelberger in the Tallahassee Bureau of the Sarasota Herald-Tribune and wrote about various political and policy oriented issues throughout the spring session of the Florida Legislature. My goal was to position myself as an ideal candidate for future endeavors such as writing or a law review, in the event that I go to law school. Ultimately, my internship also sparked more interest in policy analysis, and as a result I have decided to adjust my curriculum next year to include more economics courses. The internships in general have the potential to give participants a great idea as to what they want to do after graduation. 2. Taking both NCF and FSU classes As part of the program, every students was required to participate in a new version of Professor Fitzgerald’s Florida Politics Class. The course was a welcome change from the usual routine of courses on campus, in
New College Semester in Tallahassee students join alums for a monthly meeting
that it often featured guest speakers with a wealth of experience in the political process. Guest speakers included Scott Arceneaux, the executive director of the Florida Democratic Party; Steve Schale, the former State Director for the Barack Obama campaign in Florida; and many others. We were also allowed to take two courses of our choosing at Florida State University (FSU). This was a great opportunity to enroll in classes New College has yet to offer, such as a web development course I took that taught me the basics of building websites. The combined contract of both NCF and FSU classes is a unique aspect of the Tallahassee program that allows you even more flexibility in designing your unique curriculum for the semester. 3. Networking with alums Tallahassee is a hotspot for New College graduates, and through our participation in the Semester in Tally program, we got to meet many of them. Monthly gatherings of the North Florida alum group were a welcome break from the usual business of the semester, and it was incredibly interesting to hear each of the alum’s stories about what they did after New College. I remember reading a recent article about how New College has one of the most helpful networks of alums, and I’m happy to say it’s absolutely accurate. If you’re considering a certain field, chances are one of the alums has already taken that path and would be more than happy to offer you advice. Learning about different alums’ experiences within their chosen field was easily a high point of the program.
Paris Agreement
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API
continued from pg. 7
continued from pg. 11
Even without the agreement, many countries are making moves in order to cut their emissions. In April, the United States and Canada announced their decision to cut their methane emissions, and India has been working on their solar power intake, making them the world’s fourth-largest solar market. Other countries around the world are quickly making efforts to lower their emissions as well as setting limits for the amount of dirty fossil fuels they emit. Recently, Scotland shut down its last coal-fired power plant, and in the United States, Oregon created a law that requires the state to phase out coal-fired power plants by 2030. Investments toward renewable energy sources are also at an all-time high. According to a report by the U.N., the world invested $286 billion in green energy in 2015. Because of these changes in the world’s perception of green energy, negotiators from the conference in Paris believe that this is what will hold the agreement together. It demonstrates that the Paris agreement is important not because of its country-binding climate plan, but because it is sending the message across that green energy is the next smart investment. Many environmentalists praised the signing and looked to it as a sign of progress toward cleaner and smarter ways to power the future. Others were not so impressed, however, calling the signing nothing more than a symbolic ceremony. “The Paris climate agreement is more symbolic than anything else,” second-year Lena Nowak-Laird said. “The goals are not too lofty, but I don’t see them being accomplished. I think the world under capitalism will never make the necessary changes in order to counteract climate change. The pros were the emphasis on sustainable development. The cons continue to be seen in the way countries are acting, still very little regulation. India’s new forest proposal will be interesting, but I don’t see us coming out of our climate change hole.” The agreement will in the end require a lot more than just a signature. Leaders around the world will need to commit for many years considering its reliance on political determination as well as being strong enough to survive through administration changes.
presented at a panel, alongside alum Catherine Wolfe (‘10), on reproductive justice. “This year we set up the schedule into tracks so that people could, if they chose, focus on a specific range of topics,” Howard explained. “We had a number of presenters speaking on anarchism, and set up a track that started with an Introduction to Anarchy. and ended with contemporary issues and theories in the subject. We also had a track on modern practice and activism, and many workshops focused on creation and art.” “I hope next year that we are able to bring even more of a diverse group of presenters and topics of presentations,” Howard said, “but I think we did well with the proposals we got, and I am so glad that we were able to be more present in the community.” Howard referred to the Trans Solidarity March, held on the final day of the conference. API also protested at Wendy’s alongside the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW), who have been boycotting Wendy’s over unfair labor practices and payment.
Information taken from: usatoday.com, bbc.com, thinkprogress.org, nbcnews.com
RAs
continued from pg. 3 turnover is a thing in Student Affairs, people generally don’t stay put past four or five years,” Weldon said. “But that’s still twice as long as anybody stays here.” Right now there is a hiring search for a new Dean of Student Affairs to replace Interim Dean Mark Johnson, as well as a search for new and additional RHDs. “It’s hard because new people come in and they move in over the summer, they start doing work in the office, they set up training – but it’s like, we are already students here, we already know the school and they’re trying to tell us how to do this job at this campus,” Talton said. Some RAs think that hiring alums who worked as RAs could help mitigate some of the disconnect between student and professional staff. Thesis student Destinee Aponte is applying for an RHD position. Aponte has been an RA for three years and she was one of the two working during ISP this year. If she’s hired, this would be the first time since 2012 that an alum would be working as a professional staff member in Student Affairs. “Every RA does this job because they love it. There are parts of the job that are rewarding and we do this job to help people,” Talton said. “But when it comes to a point that you’re doing so much stuff […] for no more money, then you can’t do it anymore.”
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Yoga instructor
TEN QUESTIONS with Helen C. Kesler by Giulia heyward
Yoga instructor Helen C. Kesler (‘79) took her first professional yoga class during her first week at New College in what is now called the Black Box Theatre (BBT) but was then known as the Fishbowl. “At the end of the class, the teacher came up to me and asked if I was a teacher,” Kesler said. “And I said that this was my very first yoga class that I had taken in my entire life. And he just freaked out and he invited me to be in a yoga study group that he had at his house. It was three other yoga teachers and me and I was the youngest one by twenty years. We met before sunrise every day for six months. I would leave in the dark and go to yoga and, by the time it was over, the sun would be up and I would come back to New College and people would be having breakfast.” 1. How were you introduced to yoga? When I was ten years old, I was competing with boys and climbing trees and I was higher than they were in the tree and I fell and I really hurt my back. But my parents didn’t want me competing with boys and climbing trees so I had to lie to them and hide my injury so, when they were around, I didn’t limp but, as soon as they were gone, I would limp. I limped to the library, to the card catalog and I looked up back, because my back was hurting, and I looked up all the call numbers and there were so many choices that there seemed to be a lot of books with the same similar number. I went to that stack and I stood in front of a stack and looked through the whole stack and I found my first yoga book ever. Of all the yoga books on the stack, I chose Richard Hittleman’s “An Introduction to Yoga” because it was paperback and it was tiny and it was thin and it had a table of contents divided into back, stomach, arms, legs and neck. I went to the back chapter and there were four asanas and I did those four asanas in the morning and in the evening. And within a week, my back pain was gone. I had an epiphany that all you had to do was go to the library, and you could get a book and do anything you want. You can change your life, you can change your body and you can change anything. Then I did all the other chapters in the book, all the other books in the shelf and I made a deal with my dad to drive me to every library within an hour and a half of my house in all directions and I devoured every little yoga book I could find. That happened until I was 18 years old when I met my first live other person who did yoga. 2. What is your favorite memory of being a student at New College? My favorite memory was Peggy Bates. She was my thesis sponsor and first court is named after her. She was the Provost and interim president at one time, she was also head of Social Sciences. 3. What did you study while you were a student?
I studied international affairs and political philosophy with Peggy Bates. I wrote a multidisciplinary thesis on transnationalism and nonviolent resistance. I also practice massage and, to me, the practice of massage is the reification of nonviolence and, to me, yoga is also a practice of nonviolence. I feel particularly lucky because my work and my play and my identity and my life are all integrated. They’re all the same thing so I don’t have to put on a different hat at any point in my life, I can just be me wherever I go. I feel very lucky because I feel as if there are very few people who have an existence that is totally integrated. [Writer’s note: Kesler’s thesis, “Transnationalism, Nonviolent Resistance, and the Individual” is listed on the school website’s list of Senior Thesis Projects in International and Library Studies. It can be found in the archives at the Jane Bancroft Cook Library.] 4. What is one thing about you that you think would surprise people? That I used to be extremely social and kind of introverted and now I’m kind of a reclusive hermit so I’ve done a 180 in my life 5. Was there a specific age when you did that 180? It was pretty much that that reevaluation occurred when I lost both my parents. I kind of flipped a weave and went into a different direction. I also kind of had perfected the persona that I had developed, I felt as if I really worked really well and I was satisfied so I was moving onto greener pastures. 6. How long have you been teaching yoga at New College? Since I was 18. I started teaching aerobics here, yoga was still my secret favorite thing to do. I really came back to teaching yoga at New College when yoga became really popular and I realized how so many of the classes fell short. The new yoga is an abridged version of yoga and I felt like there was a need for me to come back and share my knowledge with people because it was an old-school approach to yoga. 7. What is a New College myth that you know for a fact is true? The naked swimming pool – we used to have naked swimming pool nights and then it became topless or optional topless and then we had to keep our tops on. When I was in school, there was no fitness center and there was no fence around the pool. None of these dorms existed and there was a big green yard when you would walk out to the pool so we would have pool parties at one in the morning, we would have 25 people in the pool at night and we had two diving boards at one time. 8. What is your favorite thing to do in Sarasota? Play with plants. There is a place in Sarasota called Crowley Nursery, it’s at the east end of Fruitville Road and it’s kind of on the border of Myakka. It’s owned by a family and is a family-owned plant retail place and they have five greenhouses. Two greenhouses have all varieties of palms, they have a whole group of edible plants and bushes, it’s just a really nice fun place to make a picnic lunch and go out and spend the day. 9. How do you think practicing yoga has contributed to your growth as a person? I think I was fortunate to be introduced to yoga so young. I had the opportunity to allow the principles of yoga to inform my development whereas most people are introduced to yoga as an adult or as a late teenager where a lot of the developing has already been done. I was lucky to learn it early and it, in some way, reflected on my development and helped form my development and I think, more than that, I think yoga taught me that it all comes down to the breath. And that breath is really important, not only to yoga work, but to any kind of human work. In yoga we say that if there is no breath then there is no life. That’s irrefutable. 10. What do you think students here gain from learning yoga? Everything. I think yoga is the most beautiful gift in the world and, not only will it help you with your body in terms of flexibility and strength and stamina, but it helps you emotionally, teaches you patience, it helps with the developmental process. In my head, I have a book to write in the future: yoga as a metaphor for life. Almost everything in life you can find an example in yoga that will resonate for you. I’ve devoted my life to yoga because I think it’s the very best gift I can give to the planet. Other people might be suited for other gifts but I am very well suited to give this gift.
Giulia Heyward/Tangent Kesler demonstrates one of her favorite yoga positions during the weekly Saturday potlucks.
Kesler answers a bonus question--whether she ever thinks she’ll stop practicing yoga--which can be found in the online version of this article at ncftangent.com.