Stephanie Garcia 2013 portfolio

Stephanie Garcia

2013 Portfolio

Professional Resume

Stephanie O. Garcia

Winter Park, FL • sgarcia@rollins.edu • linkedin.com/in/stephanieogarcia

PROFESSIONAL SUMMARY Motivated Bachelor of Arts candidate with diverse experience in publication production and design. Driven by passion for journalism and continuously developing skills in professional writing, communications, and media studies.

RELATED EXPERIENCE

ROLLINS COLLEGE THOMAS P. JOHNSON CENTER Writing Consultant

• Aid student writers, within diverse academic disciplines, at various stages of the writing process • Use questioning techniques of writing conventions to modify student drafts • Monitor how student writers understand writing assignments, develop ideas, and provide appropriate evidence

ORLANDO BUISNESS JOURNAL News Intern

• Research, interview, and write stories for the newspaper, special publications, and company website • Follow AP Style while utilizing proper grammar and spelling • Cover live events, work closely with editors, and assist staff reporters

THE SANDSPUR, ROLLINS COLLEGE Assistant Section Editor & Staff Writer

• Meet deadlines, edit submitted articles, interview sources, and write stories each week • Work independently and as a team to produce a weekly newspaper • Demonstrate communication skills by interviewing faculty, administration, students and community personnel

POLITICAL SCIENCE DEPARTMENT, ROLLINS COLLEGE Research Assistant, concentration in Middle Eastern Studies

• Assist professors in conducting research and revising scholarly articles • Edited print edition of Surrendering To God: Understanding Islam in the Modern Age by Eren Tatari

OTHER EXPERIENCE JASON’S DELI Order Taker

• Operated a cash register and communicated on a professional level within a vibrant restaurant setting

PAYLESS SHOESOURCE Sales Associate

• Provided customer service, explained promotions to guests, set-up sales displays, and stocked merchandise

Winter Park, FL

Fall 2013

Orlando, FL

Summer 2013

Winter Park, FL

Fall 2012-Present

Winter Park, FL

Fall 2012-May 2013

Orlando, FL

Summer 2013

Winter Park, FL

Fall 2012

HONORS AND AWARDS

THE NATIONAL SOCIETY OF COLLEGIATE SCHOLARS

An honorary society that recognizes high-achieving first-year and second-year undergraduates

PHI ETA SIGMA

An honorary society that recognizes freshman undergraduates who achieve a 3.5 GPA or above

PRESIDENT’S LIST

NATIONAL SCHOLASTIC PRESS ASSOCIATION: JOURNALISM HONOR ROLL QUILL & SCROLL: INTERNATIONAL JOURNALISM HONORS SOCIETY Award of honor in recognition of outstanding and distinctive service on a school publication

FLORIDA SCHOLATIC PRESS ASSOCIATION: ALL FLORIDA AWARD State recognition of outstanding achievements in journalism

INDUSTRY RELATED SKILLS • Proficient in Microsoft Word and PowerPoint; Apple Keynote; Adobe Photoshop and InDesign • Copy editing; fact checking; editorial planning; social media

EDUCATION

ROLLINS COLLEGE

Candidate for Bachelor of Arts, 3.87 GPA Major in Communications, Minors in Art History and Professional Writing

Winter Park, FL

Expected May 2016

Stephanie O. Garcia

1000 Holt Avenue, Winter Park FL •The Sandspur at Rollins College • Assistant Section Editor

I am currently a rising sophomore at Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida. As a communication major with minors in art history and professional writing, I will utilize my degree to pursue a career in either print or broadcast journalism.

During my freshman year at Rollins, I was both staff writer and assistant section editor for The Sandspur — a student-produced weekly newspaper. Founded in 1894, The Sandspur is Florida’s oldest college newspaper and strives to maintain standards of informativeness and quality.

Through The Sandspur, I develop year-round publication skills by developing content, meeting deadlines, and managing a newspaper staff on a weekly basis. I also demonstrate strong communication skills by interviewing faculty, administration, students, and community personnel.

As a staff writer, I submit two articles per issue and cover various beats: opinion, entertainment, campus news, and features. I also workshop story ideas and pitch article assignments at weekly staff meetings.

As an assistant section editor, I work approximately six hours a week in office. My responsibilities include fact-checking submissions, designating articles fit for print, and discovering campus sources to develop article ideas for writers. Additional tasks include editing stories for content, writing headlines, subheadlines, and captions.

Both positions entailed special skills in critiquing, cooperation, and writing capability. With a new issue published every Thursday; I worked under strict deadlines within a rapidly changing, news-driven environment. These leadership roles strengthened both my written and verbal communication abilities.

Aside from The Sandspur, my additional extracurricular activities are vital for growth within my desired career. As a research assistant for the political science department, I strengthen my editorial skills, gain exposure to various writing styles, and become proficient in AP, Chicago, and MLA Style citations. Also, as a writing consultant, I aid student writers, within diverse academic disciplines, at various stages of the writing process.

Also, during the course of my first year in college, I maintained a strong academic record while working part time — making President’s List in both the fall and spring semesters. Additionally, I became an honorary member of Phi Eta Sigma and the National Society of Collegiate Scholars; both organizations recognize high-achieving first year students.

In the future, my education will provide access to other invaluable academic ventures, specifically journalism programs in Morocco and Washington D.C. Rollins offers a Field Studies in Journalism and New Media program in Morocco, where I can learn foreign reporting under the supervision of veteran journalists. The Washington Semester Internship Program provides career-building opportunities with such leading news organizations as NBC, CBS, Al Jazeera, and The Huffington Post.

As a well rounded student committed to excellence, I am always looking for portals to challenge myself, whether it be academic courses, internships, or leadership positions. As a hard working and motivated individual with clear goals, I will always strive to succeed both academically and professionally. I hope that by sharing my activities and goals that I have given you a glimpse into the person I am and of what I strive to achieve.

Deadline 1

September 13, 2012

POLITICS WITHOUT THE HASSLE

FEATURES

The Republic at Rollins Scott Novak

Staff Writer

situations. Specific guidelines for Residence Assistants are provided as well.

Next year, the manual will be distributed across campus, primarily in residence halls, in more accessible forms.

“We’re in the process of working out a document that will break down procedures more specifically, which will be in more of a flip chart format.

Also we are developing coding for an app that will send students updates and cater more to Rollins,“ Fisher said.

For those fearing the bur-

den of email overload and emergency update galore, don’t filter your mailbox or block anyone in particular just yet. Rest assured, Safety and Emergency Planning realizes notifications of that nature are most effective in moderation.

“Some schools use the system quite a bit, and students tend to disregard in times of emergencies. We try to keep communication at a reasonable level. We are cautious with the system and do our best to ensure the messages are pertinent,” Fisher said.

To be properly prepared for nearly every type of disaster, shy of a zombie apocalypse, Safety and Emergency planning has covered all its bases with these precautions in the event that things go especially bad.

SINK HOLE Florida has more sinkholes than any other state in the nation. Because sinkholes may form without warning, the college can only recommend for the campus community to be on the lookout for any specific signs that could signal their development, such as slumping or falling fence posts/ trees, sudden formation of small ponds, and structural cracks on walls and floors.

TORNDADO In the occurrence of a tornado in the City of Winter Park, the OUTREACH siren located at the South-East corner of the Cahall-Sandspur Field will be activated and produce an “air raid” type of wail for three full minutes. If you are outside when the siren is activated, immediately seek shelter in the lowest level of a building and in an interior hallway away from windows/glass.

BUILDING COLLAPSE In the event that you are in a building collapse and trapped by debris, the Emergency Operations Plan recommends to tap on a pipe or wall so rescuers can hear where you are.

Also, shout only as a last resort as shouting can cause you to inhale dangerous amounts of dust. It is also recommended to use a whistle if one is available.

INFECTIOUS DISEASE/PANDEMIC The college has prepared a plan that is written for a “worst-case” scenario of an avian pandemic, although it may also be applied to any other infectious diseases. In the case that a pandemic should break out, the college would ask those who are ill to quarantine themselves or be excused from any school-related activities for up to 12 weeks.

TERRORISM The Emergency Operations Plan recommends that in the occurrence of a biological or chemical terrorist attack, students and staff should remain in or seek shelter in the nearest building. Air conditioning systems should be turned off as soon as possible to prevent the dispersion of the agent.

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FEATURES

In case of emergency

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is up and running, the center will have a larger generator, provide wifi during emergencies, and be self sufficient,” Fisher said.

In case of emergencies, the department suggests contacting their office anytime, talking to Residence Assistants, or referring to the Emergency Operations Manual.

From explosions to epidemics, the Emergency Operations Manual, which is available on the Rollin’s website, contains play by play protocols for a wide spectrum of emergency

OPINION

Imagine thunder and hail striking down on the Campus Center, a tornado consuming Mills Lawn, and a hurricane washing away the Science Village all at once. Categorizing the combination of these events as catastrophic is an understatement. In the midst of such dire situations, what is a Tar to do?

Fortunately, Safety & Emergency Planning is the place one can turn to for answers; the branch department of Campus Safety deals with matters of environmental protection, campus health, and disaster management.

Gregory Fisher, the Safety and Emergency Planning Coordinator, oversees the department, handling the Rollins’ emergency website which is linked with the Rollins Alert System.

If an immediate threat should arise, the alert system activates campus communication through email alerts, social networking sites, and text messages.

In the second week of the semester, students experienced the alert system first hand, when morning classes were canceled on Aug. 27 due to a tornado

warning caused by a hurricane.

“Each incident requires a different judgement call. The hurricane warnings were made days in advance. With the tornado warning, our instant command system was set off: we sent tweets, made phone calls, updated social network sites; it was a matter of timeliness,“ Fisher said.

Alerting the community of safety concerns is one element of Fisher’s job; the coordinator also manages what protocols are taken for each emergency, whether the situation is a manmade incident or natural disaster.

For matters of severe weather, Fisher suggests seeking shelter in the basement of residence halls, staying clear of windows, and gathering to the middle of the room. For those unable to reach their dorms, another designated building on campus doubles as a shelter Previously, in the event of severe weather, the Bush Science Center served as the primary shelter to house the campus community. While the center is under construction, students can seek refuge in the Olin Library. “[Olin Library] is our middle ground until the Bush Science Center is built. Once Bush

Preparing for the worst

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signed up for more information on RAA at R Big Event last Friday.

Holt students Kevin Pinard and Daniell Udell, ‘15, are Smith’s current partners in organizing RAA. The official meeting time of RAA is not scheduled yet, but according to Smith, it will be released sometime within the next week.

When asked about the challenges RAA might face, Smith said, “My dream for this is that it will be on every college campus. There will always be the people who don’t care, but I think that this will give people a real hold on the reins of government. You may not change the world with one phone call, but you will register your interest.

You will let your senators know.

Doing it with your friends will make it much more powerful, and you’ll walk away accomplished.”

NEWS

Stephanie Garcia

group of young, active, educated college students that want to participate in government, then they can call their senators and representatives once a week about issues they care about.”

RAA will record how many calls are made, what politicians are called, and on what issues students are calling the politicians about.

RAA also “encourages community outreach to existing campus clubs and organizations to partner and further the mission of educating and empowering students,” according to the club’s mission statement.

Smith hopes to give other clubs a membership in RAA, so “that clubs like Eco-Rollins can come on a day when an environmental issue is discussed.”

Smith thinks that getting clubs involved in this manner will help give the group a good start, along with the 90 students who

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You’ve probably heard the old joke about the word “politics.” “Poli,” meaning “many,” and “tics,” meaning ‘bloodsucking creatures.”

This joke seems to reflect the attitude of a number of Americans regarding politics.

According to the United States Elections Project, only 56.8 percent of eligible Americans voted in the last presidential election in 2008. Such a percentage may reflect people’s frustration and apathy towards the political process. But at Rollins, there now exists a group dedicated to changing this lack of political involvement.

will come and talk about a particular political issue. “We’re not creating any consensus on these issues,” Smith said.

“We’re crafting arguments. So if you’re a Democrat, you’re going to craft your own Democratic argument.”

Besides providing a forum for political discussion, RAA will also set up methods for concrete political action, mainly in the form of contacting political representatives about the topics the group discusses.

“We always talk about free speech, the power of the First Amendment, and we act like voting is the only way that we can interact with the government,” Smith said. “But the truth is that [political representatives] cannot ignore our phone calls. Every single senator in every single state has phone numbers, email addresses, and post office boxes. After we create this

thesandspur.org

A new student group at Rollins encourages student political involvement without divisive partisanship.

The Republic: Awareness and Activism (RAA) is a new club that wants to help students become active participants in politics, no matter what their political affiliations are.

“The idea came from Plato’s Republic: the simple idea of people coming together and not killing each other to figure out how to govern the state,” says RAA’s founder, Jonathan Smith ‘14. “I got really upset at the end of last year about how politically polarized this election was getting and how absolutely hopeless it felt,” Smith said. “The people can’t talk to each other, they’re always arguing, and even when they have valid points, they can’t admit it to each other. So me and a few friends were talking about what a good club would be like. We figured it would be nonpartisan, so we’d invite all perspectives.”

At RAA meetings, students

Deadline 2

September 20, 2012

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

OPINIONS

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ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

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thesandspur.org

MIXTAPE REVIEW & WPRK’S NEW PLAY

Lil’ Wayne wheezes weak rhymes Miles McCreery Writer It finally happened. Lil Wayne dropped his new, heavily anticipated mixtape Dedication 4 on Sept. 3. If you had not been aware, the mixtape had been surrounded by controversy long before its release due to fellow rapper Nicki Minaj’s (featured on the album) outright support of Mitt Romney.

I was expecting an album that would reinstate Weezy’s musical supremacy after he said he’d be leaving

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point with delivering dirty lines, clever rhymes and with laying a handful of stellar tracks; but it wasn’t the same Weezy of past albums and mixtapes like Carter IV, No Ceilings or Tha Carter III. I wouldn’t go so far as to say that this is Lil Wayne’s worst released album; but I will say that this album did release some of his worst singles. Lil Wayne was reported as saying that rap has become “boring” to him, and at some points in the album it seems like his ferocity and passion for music really has left him. In the album, it seems like he wasn’t enjoy-

ing the music he was making; this isn’t the same Lil Wayne of a few years ago.

With the release date of Dedication 4 being pushed back, and Nicki Minaj’s controversial lines, the hype and expectation for this album wasn’t and probably couldn’t be met by the lackluster effort from Lil Wayne and his featured artists. I’m going to count this album as Weezy’s “mulligan” album and hope that he comes back with more enthusiasm and passion in his next release –but until then I guess I’ll just listen to Big Sean’s new mixtape, Detroit.

WPRK resurrects dead medium with original play Stephanie Garcia Section Editor

September 20, 2012

music and focusing on skateboarding.

But, with great expectations comes great disappointment.

Lil Wayne laid a solid album of 15 tracks that featured many big names such as Nicki Minaj, J. Cole and Young Jeezy; but it lacked the same allure and flow that his previous mixtapes brought to the music world. Dedication 4 was structured similarly to the last three Dedication mixtapes; with Lil Wayne and his associates revamping and reusing borrowed beats from the likes of Kanye West, Rick Ross and 2 Chainz. Lil Wayne didn’t disap-

Courtesy of Lil Wayne Press Site

A new production on WPRK is placing a mark on college stations and sparking life into a dead medium of entertainment—radio theatre.

Beginning Sept. 13, the Rollins Radio Players premiered their new film noir series, Double View to a Murder on a Train (Train Not Included), to be follwed biweekly on Thursdays at 3 p.m.

When approached with the idea, station manager Kathleen Korge ‘13 was immediately interested, feeling the experience would increase student involvement and widen the WPRK au-

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dience.

“Radio was the main form of entertainment back in the day, before film and television; it was people sitting around listening to stories. It is not something a lot of stations do anymore, and this is what college radio is for; it’s meant to be experimental,” Korge said.

The mastermind behind the project is Erik Keevan ‘13, who plays a dual role as writer and producer.

As a seasoned sound designer, Keevan wishes to heighten the impact of storytelling through the power of sound.

For the on-air experience, Keevan’s piece centers around

a murder mystery placed in a post-WWII setting; a serial play with a film noir edge. “[Radio theatre] is a very subtle style—more what isn’t there than what is. I chose the style of film noir because if you watch the genre, sound is a huge component. What you hear and what you don’t hear really lends the genre to radio theatre,” Keevan said.

While live radio allows a given program to be more spontaneous, the Radio Players project requires all material be prerecorded.

Another challenge is that a given actor has limitations on conveying a scene. As theater

students are taken out of The Annie Russell and placed in the WPRK studio, the cast faces the difficulty of expressing their emotions, relying solely on their voice.

For the semester, the Radio Players will produce the series as a trial run.

Commenting on the program’s opening week, Korge feels that the project will propel students into more inventive paths and showcase a new way to experience writing. “[Radio theatre] is a different kind of stage. This is also an outlet that not many people have access to. We’re going to see how it goes this semester;

it’s a good opportunity for students, urging them to think of more creative things to do on a radio station,” Korge said.

In the coming weeks, Keevan is eager to delve deeper into the genre and is thrilled by the unpredictability of how his narrative will unfold.

“Honestly, I have no real idea where the plot is going; I’m doing it mostly in stream of consciousness. I will be just as surprised by the twists and turns as everyone else,” Keevan said.

To find out more information, receive updates on the series and listen to archives of past episodes, follow the Rollins Radio Players on Facebook.

Deadline 3

October 18, 2012

FEATURES

DECISION MAKERS

Demystifying the board

A look into what the Board of Trustees actually does and its relationship with Arts & Sciences faculty.

thesandspur.org |

FREE SPEECH

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Freedom of speech is an important right and is deeply integrated into our everyday lives. Imagine if censors could stifle discussion by filtering out undesirable speech, as has been done in this article, which has all sexually explicit phrases and all phrases expressing moral or religious beliefs blacked out. In some parts of the world, government censors do have this sort of power. Even in the United States, there are ongoing debates related to issues of free speech, especially as technology changes the landscape of communication.

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT |

Considering my first time going to second base took place in the costume closet of a local church, I am not exactly an authority on balancing sexuality and religion. However, personal vendettas aside, I am aware of the moral struggle plaguing college students: keeping faith while not becoming a prude.

And yet, as everyone can surely attest to, there continues to be a flood of young adults who manage to maintain the ethics of their Bible and the urges of their hormones. Here I present three models, based on friends and students, who have sufficiently found (or attempted to find) a middle ground in the war between sex and religion.

SPORTS | October 18, 2012

The full, unfiltered text of this article can be accessed online at thesandspur.org/the-sexperts-come-all-ye-faithful/.

Learn more about contemporary freedom of speech issues with the Rollins chapter of Amnesty International on Oct. 18, from 11:30 to 2 p.m. in front of the Cornell Campus Center, as part of their Free Speech Month.

FEATURES

dent Duncan to support the resolution and hopes an official structure of consultation will come to pass.

“I always work on the assumption that we all want what is best for Rollins; my own opinion, shared unanimously by the A&S faculty represented at our last meeting, is that it would be best for Rollins if the academic and financial stakeholders had some formalized communication,” Jones said.

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“The A&S faculty would be represented by the President of the A&S faculty or somebody he/she designates. The idea is to have the person representing the faculty chosen by the faculty,” Jones said.

The resolution outlines that faculty representatives would not possess voting power, only the power to provide a broader perspective on Rollins and raise awareness to drive decisionmaking. Jones has asked Presi-

OPINION

cation rather than job training.

I would imagine that the Board of Trustees, as well as our esteemed colleagues in the school of Professional Studies, agree with this view of education,” Jill Jones, President of the Faculty of Arts and Science, said.

Serving as faculty president since 2011, Jones has a similar view of extending the faculty’s voice to the Board of Trustees.

Jones feels the lack of direct communication with the board is a missed opportunity. Presently, the system of contact has a middleman: President Duncan.

Grievances are submitted to him and passed on to the Board.

Along with the A&S faculty, Jones believes overlapping concerns could be better resolved through a formal line of correspondence. On Sept. 12, these issues were addressed in two instances: a letter to the Chairman of the Board, David H. Lord, and a resolution passed by the faculty asking for representation on the Board of Trustees.

The document addressed to the Board states, “. . .discussion between the academic and financial stakeholders of the college seems the best possible practice to encourage a better understanding of each as well as the best possible practice of decision-making.”

While one council deals with financial matters and the other speaks to the intellectual mission of the college, both groups can reach a consensus on representation. A&S is proposing that a faculty member be included in the committees regarding curriculum, academic standards, tenure and promotion and the creation of new programs.

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Staff Writer

A college is a combination of various elements: departments, on-campus organizations, a student body and a faculty. However, one governing body oversees all the happenings of Rollins: the Board of Trustees.

Among the current 35 board members, there are a series of alumni and donors. However, the similarities go further: universally, the trustees are skilled business professionals—former CEO’s, managing partners and executive vice presidents. Private Investor Diane Rice and Chairman and CEO of Eastgate Corporation Philip Tiedtke are among the list of experienced executives.

“Board members are elected by the executive committee and chosen because they have been successful in business. The board ensures the financial soundness of Rollins.

Board members are expected to either make a donation or raise funds,” Professor of English Maurice O’Sullivan said.

The Board of Trustees consists of sub committees, ranging from education to compensation and finance to development.

They make tactical decisions, are responsible for hiring senior administration and matters of tenure and promotion require their stamp of approval.

Yet, this board does not consist of any faculty members. The closest representation of faculty present at meetings is President Duncan, who also serves as a trustee.

“During my career at Rollins, the faculty has made sug-

gestions to participate. Last [month], 75 percent of the faculty voted unanimously to be present at board meetings. The College of Arts and Sciences made this request, because Hamilton Holt and Crummer tend to be clearly business oriented, which is the mindset of the trustees,” O’Sullivan said.

While faculty are prevented from attending board meetings, a representative for Rollins’ parents is allowed to serve as a trustee for a one year term.

The board meets three times a year: in the fall, in Feb. and May. Under the bylaws of Rollins College, the Board of Trustees delegates distinct powers and authority to the faculty, including the power to govern itself.

“In curriculum matters, the board usually sides with the faculty. However, the board delegates that authority and when you delegate, you have the power to take it away,” O’Sullivan said.

While the faculty and Board of Trustees usually agree in regards to academics, there are conflicting views regarding the new College of Professional Studies. The disagreement lies with the arrangement of the established school. Last semester, when the board made their decision, they met with only a small portion of the A&S faculty. O’Sullivan, along with his colleagues, felt the decision was not an appropriate reflection of the faculty and voted for a different arrangement.

“The faculty objected to the way the new school of professional studies was created.

The A&S faculty believe very strongly in the liberal arts mission of the college and in edu-

NEWS

Illustration by Grace Korley

Stephanie Garcia

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Deadline 4

October 25, 2012

FEATURES

GOOD EATS & DRINKS

BurgerFi: A fresh take on an old standby Sarah Walker & Taylor Thomas

BurgerFi is not your typical burger joint. It’s a great option for Rollins students when the Campus Center is closed at night, or for anytime students want to eat off campus.

The quick delivery of food and availability of space inside are definitely two of the bonuses of BurgerFi. From the menu to the atmosphere, this restaurant promises a fun time.

BurgerFi is most famous, obviously, for its burgers. Most burgers are made from all-natural Angus Beef, but there are a few alternative burgers that are made from quinoa. For the vegetarians out there, they do not

October 25, 2012

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thesandspur.org

Writers

have many options. But BurgerFi does have what they call a VegeFi burger, which is a quinoa burger served on a wholewheat bun or on lettuce in place of a bun. Each burger comes out with a signature BurgerFi “stamp” on it, and this heightens the uniqueness of BurgerFi. Usually all the burgers are cooked well-done, but sometimes you can have them served a little overcooked, and therefore they are a tad crunchy.

In addition to burgers, they also have “Hipster Dogs,” or simply, hot dogs with multiple variations. One of the fan favorites is the Texas Chili Cheese Dog, which is your typical chili cheese dog, but with Rex hot sauce on top. For sides you can

get Fresh-Cut Fries, Crispy Onion Fries, or Onion Rings. From experience, the Onion Rings are very good. The Fries can be a bit unreliable: sometimes they are good, and sometimes they are less than average.

For dessert, there are many different things you can get.

They have Frozen Custard, Cupcakes, Shakes, Sundaes, Ice Cream Cones, Pie and Floats.

They have a lot of comfort food, so from dinner to dessert, you might want to limit yourself to a few of their many options. Some classic desserts are also available at BurgerFi, such as Key Lime Pie and Root Beer Floats.

For drinks at BurgerFi they have a Coke Freestyle Machine, which is a machine that has over

100 options of drink to choose from. Just from selecting Coke as your drink of choice, the machine pulls up Coke, Cherry Coke, Cherry Vanilla Coke, Vanilla Coke, Raspberry Coke, Lime Coke and Orange Coke.

BurgerFi’s overall atmosphere is modern, but with a slight retro twist. When you order at BurgerFi you are given a buzzer, similar to some other restaurants. BurgerFi adds a unique twist, however. The center of every table has a square where you put the buzzer down, and this tells the waiter or waitress where you are sitting.

The music at BurgerFi is always a topic of conversation, and tends to be somewhat retro.

People of all ages are likely to

recognize what is playing over the speakers, and it is always entertaining. BurgerFi is really open and welcoming, with seating available both indoors and out. It is also a green restaurant, using earth-friendly practices such as recycling.

This BurgerFi is one of nine open restaurants, and 14 more are coming soon. Out of these 23 franchises, a total of nine of them are to be located in Florida.

We like BurgerFi, even though it is sometimes unreliable. Overall, the food is usually good and we would recommend going. It is inexpensive, quick, easy to go to and has a fun atmosphere.

Alum combines beer and entrepreneurship Stephanie Garcia

Staff Writer

Whether one is experimenting in brewery or finding a new beverage obsession, Goodbre. ws is a free online source for beer exploration. Gaining press buzz from Lifetracker and Huffington Post, the network of brewery was made possible by Rollins Alum, David Celis.

Currently living in Portland, Celis is an aspiring neuroscientist and web designer for New Relic. During his time at Rollins, Celis majored in Computer Science, was a part of the Honors Degree Program and graduated summa cum laude in the top 5 of his class.

In 2010, he founded Goodbrews to help beer enthusiasts like himself uncover new beverage adventures. Initially, the creative venture was a result of his honors thesis while in the Rollins Computer Science Program.

“My thesis was to create a recommender system using likes and dislikes instead of more traditional numeric rating systems [seen] on sites like Yelp, IMDB, Netflix, or Amazon. I came up with Goodbrews as a real-world application for my recommender system precisely for the reasons listed above: the alternatives were too complex,” Celis said.

Spanning flavors and brands, the site provides a wide

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spectrum of brew possibilities.

Goodbrews enables users to keep track, rate and review an array of beverages.

The site gives users an inside look into the world of brewery by focusing on preferences. When signing up, users complete a profile on what beverages they have tried, liked or disliked. Based on individual information, the site recommends brews specific to their tastes and connects users according to their similar ratings.

“Rating and reviewing beers can be daunting; many beer sites go beyond the standard five-star rating scale and users are expected to rate beers on look, smell, taste and mouthfeel. Goodbrews is much simpler: you tell us what you like and what you don’t,” Celis said.

Another feature allows users to add beers to the “fridge.”

One can move favorites to this folder and revisit the list later. Other components on the dashboard include a list of the Top 100 Beers--complete with style, APV and brewery location. Goodbrews is a convenient service for those both dabbling in the brewery landscape and searching for beverage variety.

Elaborating on the most difficult aspect of developing site, Celis describes challenges of marketing his product when his expertise lies in programming.

To acquire users, Celis submit-

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ted comments about goodbre.ws on beer forums and asked publications to give commentary on the site.

Though facing these obstacles, Goodbrews eventually received its wave of public- David Celis ity and site reviews allowed membership and applying to skyrocket.

While the site jumped from 200 it specifically to 7,000 users, the software took to location.

“I want a hit, and the success of Goodbrews was both exhilarating to turn Goodbrews into a and stressful.

“With thousands of people social website suddenly visiting goodbre.ws, and introduce there were periods where the an aspect of site would be very slow. There keeping track became a gigantic, unmanage- of what your are able backlog of people waiting friends days for recommendations that drinking. I’ve never came. It was very stress- had a few usful, but also very exciting,” ers who live Celis said. After passing this in Australia complain that they milestone, Celis looks forward can’t find any of the beers they to the evolution of Goodbrews were recommended. It would and introducing new features be great to have goodbre.ws to the site. Among his plans are draw more of a focus for local creating an IOS application to beer,” Celis said.

Celis attributes the sucincrease accessibility and providing a more social environ- cess of Goodbrews to his perment for users. Both ideas cor- sonal ties to a site. He created relate to connecting members, a product that he would use filtering their beverage choices, and enjoy constructing. Above

Find something you’re passionate about and create something around it.

all, Celis advises students with aspirations in site development to tackle a project according to their individual passions.

“Find something you’re passionate about, and create something around it. Create something that you’ll have fun creating. Create something that you’ll have fun using. Create something for yourself.”

Deadline 5

November 1, 2012

FEATURES

WHY YOUR VOTE COUNTS & KICKING THE MID-SEMESTER SLUMP

November 1, 2012

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OPINION

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thesandspur.org

Please vote, and here’s why Despite the vexation of incessant donation emails and campaign ads, Kate Barnekow asserts the significance of college voters.

Kate Barnekow

Writer

I’m sick of this election season. The attack ads, the donation emails, the incessant Facebook posts from high school friends I don’t even talk to and distant relatives I’ve never met—I’m ready for it all to end. And in less than a week, it will all be over. But in the meantime—and hear me out—we absolutely have to get involved.

For the past three months, I’ve been working on a project for the Fair Election Legal Network (FELN), a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization headquartered in Washington, D.C..

FELN’s mission is to remove barriers to registration and voting. Its Campus Vote Project (CVP) is a “campaign to help college students work with administrators and local election officials to make the process of voting easier and overcome barriers students often face to voting.”

As the CVP’s Statewide Coordinator for Florida, I’ve emailed, met with, talked to and traveled to meet people across the state and country, and I’ve gained a lot of extremely valuable information about college students and voting that I’d like to share with you.

First, let’s agree that this is a crucial election. Tuition costs, healthcare, marriage equality, our strategy in the Middle East and a host of other issues all depend on the outcome of Nov. 6. And yet many of us will not vote. Disappointingly, our demographic has a history of not turning out at the polls. In the 2008 election, 67 percent of people 30 and over voted, while only 49 percent of us between the ages of 18 and 24 did. Why is this? A major reason is that many students are away from home. In a new location, we may not know how to register, when to vote, where to vote, or what types of identification to bring to the polls. Even know-

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ing whether or not we can vote in our college community (instead of having to vote back home) can be confusing.

Moreover, and nefariously, many states have enacted laws that are designed to make it harder for students to vote. Florida is one of these states. The most prevalent of these laws require voters to show forms of identification that students typically don’t have.

We can’t let a lack of information, cynical politicians or anything else stop us from participating in this historic election. Voting is our right—and responsibility—as citizens of the world’s leading democracy.

I hear people say that they’re not going to vote, for whatever reason, and I always tell them the same thing: not voting isn’t rebellion, it’s surrender. A low voter turnout doesn’t make us look cool and intellectual (or whatever else it is you’re going for), it makes us look uninformed and apathetic.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt put it this way: “Nobody will ever deprive the American people of the right to vote except the American people themselves, and the only way they could do this is by not voting.” Replace “American people” with “college students” and you’ll get my point.

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We can’t let a lack of information, cynical politicians or anything else stop us from participating in this historic election.

New smoking policy hashed out

The new smoking policy fails to provide adequate information as to how it will be implemented next semester on campus.

Hana Saker

Editor-in-Chief

Starting Jan. 1, 2013, students, staff, faculty and visitors will be allowed to smoke in only five places on campus. The general area of each of the five locations is labeled on a small, nondescript map included within the policy, but it fails to specify what the names of the locations actually are.

When contacted about the new policy and, more specifically, how it will be implemented and enforced, Director of Campus Safety Ken Miller declined to comment. Operations Coordinator Bayrex Rodriguez did mention, however, that Campus Safety is not “the smoking police,” and that the policy is expected to be carried out through a “community effort.”

The policy outlines a similar strategy, one where everyone is not only expected to simply follow the policy just because it’s the policy, but to “encourage others to comply” as well, and even “courteously inform the individual offender of the policy and request their compliance.”

In this case, the “offender” is – somewhat unrealistically – expected to ever so kindly put out their cigarette. The ramifications for noncompliance? The possibility of “disciplinary action” or “removal from campus,” both of which are vague at best.

This also brings into question how the policy will be enforced upon someone like a professor or a visitor. Will they, too, be disciplined? Escorted off campus?

In terms of who will be most affected, the school has

considered the “needs and concerns of smokers and nonsmokers alike” in the creation of the new rule. The new policy does not directly impact nonsmokers, other than the school’s call to enforce the rule and, of course, how it will be positively influencing their health.

For smokers, the campuswide e-mail that was sent out moves quickly from informing about the new policy to detailing the ways Rollins can (and will) help you quit smoking. Although informational, the message’s judgmental tone is not particularly subtle about Rollins’ disdain for your personal decision to smoke.

Check back next week for student perspectives on the issue, when two writers give their opinions on why they are or aren’t in favor of the new policy.

Remedying post-midterm apathy Stephanie Garcia

Staff Writer

The wrath of midterms has passed and the first semester is slowly, but surely, coming to a close. While students were once eager to tackle the semester, they are presently drained of academic energy. Building up to fall break, an epidemic of Post-Midterm Apathy unravelled and a lack of motivation proved to be a difficult illness to fight off.

The combination of demanding classes, extracurricular activities and part-time jobs can unhinge even the most talented multi-tasker. Study time turns into a status update extravaganza. Instead of reading a chapter, a staring contest between students and textbooks emerges.

Overwhelmed Tars feel time is slipping away and a discouraging workload only encourages distraction. One may

vow to write that English paper, but watching an entire season of Modern Family is clearly a better alternative. And one may promise to start that lab work, but shopping online for the latest fall attire takes precedence.

Once one acknowledges this declining enthusiasm, it is only reasonable to set goals.

This uninspired phase necessitates a remedy to recharge and reclaim one’s productive drive.

To defeat Post-Midterm Procrastination, here is some helpful advice: Get Organized: Make a to-do list based on priorities and deadlines. Having one due date for an assignment is an invitation to procrastinate. Timelining assignments will provide space for delays and create an urgency to act.

Set Limits: Determine how long it takes to accomplish a given task. Quick tasks can be completed on a current day. For longer tasks, divide the assign-

ment into separate parts and focus on one part at a time.

Change Surroundings: Environment impacts productivity. If the library does not inspire action or if a dorm causes drowsiness, it is time for a new venue. To revamp one’s motivation, find a place that is secluded or effective.

Pick a buddy: Safety in numbers is a reliable alternative. Being surrounded by individuals who share similar goals encourages accountability when steering off-track from goals.

Give Rewards: Begin working with a reward in mind; it can be as big as achieving a long-term aspiration or as small as going out with friends.

No matter what the method, overcoming Post-Midterm Apathy is a matter of doing.

Complaining about assignments or refusing to complete them does not produce a result; the key is a commitment to take action.

Deadline 6

November 8, 2012

FEATURES

ON CAMPUS ACTIVITIES

TJ’s recognized for its high marks in excellence

LASA highlights culture Stephanie Garcia Staff Writer

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The event was a beautiful exchange of fun and culture.

OPINION November 8, 2012

it is that students don’t read the directions on the front page,“ Robertshaw says. But she is also not totally happy with the online system. “This is just the second year we are using Accudemia and we are still trying to understand this computer system.”

The Rollins Resource Center is not only a service to students but also professional development for tutors. “In general, I look at it as a way that I’m helping my peers,” said Lalitha Kasal ’15, a Spanish Tutor. “As I’m tutoring, it’s still a review for me, but I just have a little bit more thought into it. So I can tell them a little bit more about what they don’t know and I can explain it in a way a student can understand it.”

Good relationships with professors and a better looking CV when applying for scholarships can result from working as a tutor or writing consultant.

Students offer six hours a week and get paid for every hour spent with clients. Additionally, they earn class credit for meeting weekly with other tutors and Robertshaw.

In December, the week after exams, the Resource Center will move into the Olin Library to occupy the old 24-hour lab, now called the Lakeview Lab. “They have a huge computer lab back there and that will be helpful,” Robertshaw says. According to Robertshaw, there is a movement at many colleges to create a learning community that changes libraries into more than just research centers. Robertshaw comments “I think that once we are in the library, we will have even more visibility.”

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The Rollins Resource Center, also known as TJ’s (The Thomas P. Johnson Student Resource Center), was rated 5.4 out of 6 on a Service Excellence survey by students, parents and faculty. On Wednesday, Oct. 17, representatives of the Service Excellent Committee congratulated Suzanne Robertshaw, Tutoring and Writing Coordinator, for the great rating given to the peer tutors, writing consultants and receptionists for the year 2011-2012.

“With a hundred people working here and many possibilities to ‘screw-up’ it is good to still get rated so highly,” Robertshaw laughs. Among the nine other awarded departments, which have only around five employees, the Post Office and the Office of Multicultural Affairs were best rated. According to Robertshaw, the great rating for the Resource Center is partly due to the training courses tutors and writing consultants are required to complete. The courses are aligned with the goals of the college Service Excellence’s four dimensions for all employees: responsibility, respect, collaboration and competency.

This is the 28th year of the Writing Center and the 15th year of Tutoring at Rollins. Currently, 92 students work as tutors and writing consultants and 13 students are front desk receptionists. “It’s the biggest number of tutors that we’ve ever had,” said Robertshaw, who has been employed at Rollins for 21 years.

In the last year, 1,181 unique visitors used the free service offered by the Rollins Resource Center. They scheduled appointments for 2,250 hours in tutoring and 1,850 hours in writing consulting. About 15 percent of students are required by their professors to make an appointment, but most students come voluntarily. According to Robertshaw, International Business majors use tutoring and writing consulting the most, especially in foreign languages.

Tutors assist with study skills, test preparation or overall learning for a variety of classes in all departments, while writing consultants work with students in any stage of the writing process. “[TJ’s] was very helpful and my professor was impressed that I went on my own behalf to see a tutor,” said Carli Davis ’15, Environmental Studies major.

Joakim Karlsson’15, an International Business major, went to TJ’s in search of help with his essays. “[My consultant] didn’t correct my essay,” Karlsson says. “The writing consultant told me how to structure every essay and basically how I start an essay. Now it’s much easier for me to write an essay when I have the structure already.”

Students can schedule appointments online for any day of the week between Sunday and Friday, at least 24 hours ahead of time. They sign in online at Accudemia with their RCard number and their name. If they need assistance with making an appointment, they can call 407-646-2308 to speak to the front desk receptionists. However, some students report that Accudemia is a barrier. “Part of

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Carina Schubert

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Carina Schubert A+ On Wednesday, Oct. 17, Tutors and Writing Consultants of TJ’s received the Service Excellence Award for being responsible, respectful, collaborative and competent. The department has served the campus community for almost three decades.

On Nov. 1, the Latin American Student Association (LASA) combined two social affairs into a single event: a Latin Dance Night and a multicultural marketplace. The diversity extravaganza served as a bridge to connect students, emphasizing heritage appreciation and showcasing a variety of cultures.

“The idea of combining a Latin dance with a multicultural fair was created last year as a way to bring a charitable element to a bi-annual event. We had received many suggestions to hold a Latin dance on campus, and as an activist club we decided that using a fun, social event to bring awareness to various causes would be the best plan of action,“ LASA Event Coordinator Renee Fonseca ‘15 said.

LASA, along with assistance from OMA, hosted an event to serve as an eye-opening and thrilling swap of culture- an affair of acquiring knowledge while having fun in the process.

“Latin Night is an event meant to bring together students and give them a chance to experience a culture different than their own, or to reconnect with their heritage by mingling and dancing with friends, “ Fonseca said.

Sponsors included the Youth and Young Adult Network of the National Farm Worker Ministry (YAYA), Ten Thousand Villages and Bajalia.

YAYA is a youth network aimed at acquiring justice for farm workers. Ten Thousand Villages creates opportunities for artisans in developing countries to earn income by bringing their products and stories to the market place. Bajalia captures cultural heritage by selling authentic handmade products, which support living wages and nonexploitive working conditions in the developing world.

These organizations participated in the multicultural marketplace, selling merchandise ranging from t-shirts to handmade jewelry and woven bags.

While the overall event focused on Latin America, items from other parts of the globe like In-

dia and Thailand were also featured within the market.

Within this mini-marketplace, each sponsor hosted a booth in the Galloway room for students to not only shop for products, but to also converse with vendors and learn the goals of individual charities.

Describing the event as a cultural melting pot, LASA Treasurer Armando Santin ‘16 feels the affair was both enjoyable and didactic. Through discussing the cohesive blend of the marketplace with the event’s diverse attendees, Santin feels the element of Latin dancing was the highlight of the evening.

“What I enjoyed most about the event was the dancing. We played so many genres of Latin music. Those who were apprehensive about dancing were open to learn. The event was a beautiful exchange of fun and culture, “ Santin said.

With Santin, the combination of ranging dance genres and a diverse marketplace created a fondue of culture and an unforgettable event that enriched the campus. Since his first experience with Latin Dance Night exceeded his expectations, Santin urges the student body to attend future LASA sponsored affairs and other cultural events.

“Never be afraid of anything out there. Just go out and learn about it. Whether it is Latin night or another cultural activity, there is nothing wrong with learning about another corner of the world,” Santin said.

Currently, LASA is partnering with Sodexo for an upcoming event occurring later this semester. For those interested in taking part next term, the club will be participating in Martin Luther King Jr. week and organizing another Latin Dance Night in the coming year.

- Armando Santin ‘16

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Deadline 7

November 29, 2012

MOVIE REVIEWS

Courtesy of MK2 Productions ROAD TRIP. Kristen Stewart, Garrett Hedlund and Sam Riley star in this production of On the Road. Unfortunately, the film failed to capture the heart that made On The Road the voice of a generation.

Hyped film disappoints

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thesandspur.org

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Writer There are some books that simply were not made to be films. Jack Kerouac’s On the Road is unfortunately one of them. The novel has a notorious history of attempted screen adaptations; Francis Ford Coppola has been trying to create an adaptation since he bought the rights in 1979. After several previous failed attempts, Coppola snagged The Motorcycle Diaries’ director Walter Salles in 2007, and a completed version was screened at the Cannes Film Festival and released this year.

Salles and screenwriter Jose Rivera definitely faced a challenge in translating On the Road to the big screen. Kerouac’s 1957

| NEWS | November 29, 2012

acclaimed semi-autobiographical novel chronicles the time he spent travelling across the United States with his friends that included Neal Cassady (character Dean Moriarty in the book), William S. Burroughs and Allen Ginsburg. On the Road is considered to be the definitive novel of the “Beat” generation, the godfathers of hipster. Surrounded by a conformist culture, the Beats thrived on jazz, drugs, poetry and individuality. Kerouac exhibits such jazz-influenced energy in his writing that it becomes a struggle to capture that energy in script.

The film starts off promising, with Garrett Hedlund and Sam Riley displaying great chemistry as Dean Moriarty and Sal Paradise (alter-ego of Ker-

ouac) respectively, an element vital to the story. While Hedlund has been receiving rave reviews for his performance of the unstable and eccentric Moriarty, and while I believe he achieved a believable performance, I would have liked to see more wild spontaneity from him.

Hedlund’s subdued version of this wild and eccentric character hardly seemed to do justice to a character whose essence and appeal is in his almost fanatical attitude towards life.

Kristen Stewart’s performance as Mary Lou, the young wife of Moriarty, was a disappointment. The film received some publicity buzz over the star’s participation, but Mary Lou’s role in the book is a minor one, and it should have stayed

that way. Stewart’s portrayal of a young, confused, sexy Mary Lou left much to be desired.

The over-two-hour film drags into its middle section, due mainly to the fact that in order to really understand Kerouac’s message, you have to read his words. The film remains visually appealing throughout and features exciting moments of the Beat culture (such as the moments in the jazz clubs), although there needed to be a bigger emphasis on the socio-cultural context. The Beats lived in a time of the Red Scare, McCarthyism and extreme conformity, which fuelled their desire to just go “on the road.”

I also disagreed with the extended time dedicated to some of the characters’ homoerotic

behaviour. While this is one theme in the book, a larger one is about the homosocial bonding that occurred between the characters. More scenes of upall-night philosophical discussions would have given the audiences a better insight into the relationship between Moriarty and Paradise.

Overall, while I believe the novel On the Road is ultimately unfilmable, I also believe that this film adaptation could have achieved more. The film does end poignantly, however, and in a last ditch effort tries to send On the Road’s main message home: that even people you briefly befriend can impact you for a lifetime.

Daniel Day-Lewis brings Lincoln to life

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ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Lauren Silvestri

Stephanie Garcia

Staff Writer A contemplative and moving drama, Lincoln is a film that encompasses oratory and extortion, a tale of persuasion and conspiracy. The movie centers on the dual dilemmas facing the president in the months before his assassination, the ending of the civil war and the eradication of slavery. Set against the backdrop of raging battle, this film of politics recreates a manipulative democracy—torn over the ratification of the 13th amendment.

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The film breaks the stereotypes of a typical period drama.

It is contemplative and intricate, but has moments of humor that are unexpected. The cinematography is breathtaking, and a magnetizing storyline brings the world of Lincoln to life.

Lincoln shows the heroic and humble side of a monumental leader. Audiences will be intrigued by Daniel DayLewis’ phenomenal performance, which is both vibrant and reserved. Day-Lewis captures Lincoln’s melancholy and wit, his simplicity and his

eloquence. The American icon is introduced to audiences through humor and poise. Furthermore, powerful portrayals of Mary Todd Lincoln, played

by Sally Fields, and Thaddeus Stevens, played by Tommy Lee Jones also propel the film.

Commemorating the 150th anniversary of the 13th amendment, the film’s accuracy and attention to detail enhances the film’s dignified portrait of beloved president. Lincoln is not simply a historical reenactment, but a graceful retelling that is both mythic and gritty.

Courtesy of Dreamworks Pictures The audience is transported into a film of politics, and explores a divided democracy as the Lincoln administration undergoes a tedious ratification process. The film has an intimate and personal feel; a majority of scenes take place within Capitol Hill and the White House.

The director, Steven Spielberg,

captures the 1860’s and the environment of Washington D.C. in a film that is both entertaining and informative. As a poignant moment in history is brought to life, this unforgettable movie experience is similar to eavesdropping on history.

Deadline 8

January 31, 2013

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

ALUMNA AUTHOR SHINES

Stephanie Garcia

Book deal puts Maddow on map

| January 31, 2013

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SPORTS

Welcome to the post-New Year’s cinematic dearth, when many people are looking for a convenient way to relieve stress, no doubt after having been subjected to way too much ‘family time.’ It is in this social climate that the therapeutic powers of Ruben Fleischer’s Gangster Squad may be welcomed with open arms. Featuring the talents of Josh Brolin, Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone, and Sean Penn, Gangster Squad was already sure of its success before filming ever began. I’m almost certain that more attention was deliberately given to action sequences than to character development. And indeed, there is something undeniably cathartic about watching Josh Brolin

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ization of Cohen. I heard another critic refer to his character as more of a Batman villain rather than an actual person, and I wholeheartedly agree. Penn no doubt did the best he could with the material he was given, but I was nevertheless disappointed because he was forced to play a caricature rather than a character, and his talent was squandered Overall, it works, considering what it’s actually trying to accomplish and I certainly enjoyed watching beautiful people fight to save what they loved amid a beautiful backdrop.

Characterization leaves something to be desired, but the action compensates, as it should.

In the end, Gangster Squad is a fast paced, visceral celebration of boyish fantasy gangster-violence.

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

ists’ to help combat some otherwise unstoppable evil. This time around, that evil comes in the form of Mickey Cohen (Penn) and his rapidly expanding criminal empire. The problem often times with the use of fellowship-of-the-ring syndrome is that the introduction of so many central characters naturally means less thorough characterization for each. I got out a kick out of the inclusion of the blatantly token Latino character who quite literally is included into the ‘gangster squad’ because no one knows what else to do with him, as well as the only slightly less token black character, both of whom were presumably included merely to represent a nice spectrum of diversity.

My real problem, strangely enough, was with the character-

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remain. For example, why is it established early on that Jack O’Mara is supposed to be an expert in guerrilla warfare while he consistently attempts foolhardy, frontal assaults on formidably armed enemy hideouts?

Thematically unchallenging, the essential conflict revolves around the fight between good versus evil, with only vague stabs in the direction of more complex subjects, such as the ethics behind it all. An interesting rift between O’Mara and his wife is ripe for development, involving his professional duty versus his familial duty, but in the end nothing really comes of it. Gangster Squad uses the plot device that I will henceforth refer to as “fellowship-of-the-ring syndrome,” the employment of which involves the assemblage of a team of various ‘special-

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Albert Cantu

OPINION

(as Sgt. John O’Mara) beat the ever-loving stupid out of various flavors of thug with his bear hands. Likewise, the sight of Ryan Gosling in a three piece suit holding a shotgun might make many people, including myself, weak at the knees, but I simultaneously can’t help but feel that there’s a kind of underlying hollowness to it all.

Set in a beautifully stylized depiction of 1940’s Los Angeles, Gangster Squad incorporates outstanding density and attention to detail to create an immersive experience. Expertly paced, action sequences are nicely varied with character building, and the soundtrack was filled with all the 1940‘s splendor that you could ask for.

Inconsistencies in plot can generally be overlooked, although some niggling doubts

Gangster Squad fulfills boyish fantasies

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will be a learning process for me. I will be working with one of the best editors for my genre in the country, Natashya Wilson, and she will help me make Secret Diamond Sisters the best it can be. “I cannot wait to learn from her”, Madow said.

Madow decided to pursue writing professionally during her junior year at Rollins. Little did she know that a homework assignment for an Intro to Creative Writing class would become her first novel, Remembrance. When submitting the

NEWS

sponsibility rested on her for every business decision—from cover design, to price points, and marketing plans.

Compared to her glamourous and cotemporary series, Secret Diamond Sisters, Madow’s first trilogy was a fantasy and period piece about reincarnation and forbidden love. While promoting a new series and transitioning to a new form of publishing, Madow is eager to gain new readers with the assistance of a professional team.

“Traditional publishing

Courtesy of Michelle Madow TOURING THE NATION. Maddow visits a high school in Texas while on her book tour, “Speaking to students made me feel a lot more connected with readers. It’s great communicating with readers via Twitter and Facebook, but talking in person is the best way to feel truly connected.” said Madow.

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The culmination of drafts, edits, and manuscripts has led to this defining moment; the hard work and patience has paid off. The dream has now become a reality, and the young author cannot contain her excitement. She has being waiting for this day for five years, her first publishing deal.

After much anticipation, Rollins alum, Michelle Madow has signed a book deal with Harlequin Teen for her young adult fiction series—Secret Diamond Sisters.

This publishing deal will make Madow’s books accessible to a worldwide audience and visible at major retailers like Barnes & Noble. Working with a major publisher will also provide Madow with cover designers, a marketing team, and a publicist.

“When my agent [Molly Ker Hawn] called me to tell me that Harlequin Teen wanted to buy the book, I couldn’t believe it. This was a goal I’ve been working for since 2008, and when I learned the trilogy would be published, I felt like I was living in a parallel universe, a dream world,” Madow said.

Madow gained inspiration for Secret Diamond Sisters after a trip to Las Vegas. Set in Sin City, the trilogy centers around

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three sisters who become secret heirs to a wealthy casino owner. While this partnership with Harlequin Teen is a milestone in Madow’s literary career, the accomplished writer is already a published author.

Beginning in July 2011, Madow independently published her first novel Remembrance and eventually two other books to complete a trilogy— The Transcend Time Saga. For Madow, independent publishing was an exciting yet time consuming experience as re-

first chapter in class, Madow was taken aback by the positive feedback she received from her professor and colleagues.

“I’ve always loved writing, but never considered it as a real possibility, because I figured it was like trying to be a movie star or a rock star. Because of that, I never shared my writing with people I knew, “ Madow said.

Inspired by the response to her work, Madow vowed to write, 1000 words every weekday; by the end of her junior year, she finished the draft of her first novel, and during her senior year, she signed with her first literary agent. Furthermore, before graduating, Madow was accepted for an independent study with writing professors Doctors Papay and Deaver, and under their guidance, developed another novel senior year.

Madow credits Rollin’s for steering her towards the right career path and advises students interested in the profession to talk with their writing professors. She also urges aspiring writers to remain patient during the publishing process and to begin developing their stories as early as possible.

“It is never too early to take writing seriously. Don’t tell yourself that you’ll wait until after graduating to write a book.

If you know you want to write a book, start now.” Madow said.

Staff Writer

Deadline 9

February 7, 2013

NEWS

CAMPUS HAPPENINGS

Legendary scholar

Love Letters for Literacy Lauren Silvestri

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Hongjin Du CONNECTED TO THE PAST. On Jan. 30, Winter Park Institute visiting scholar Dr. Donald Johanson, discusses his discovery of the famous Lucy skeleton and its importance in the human past. Johanson visited Rollins and shared with students, faculty, and the community photos and stories of his archeological career.

There’s nothing like receiving a romantic poem for Valentine’s Day. Executed correctly, a poem impresses your significant other much more than a simple card on the long-awaited lover’s holiday; it even counts as a gift. Poetry, however, is not an effortless art: generally, it takes years to perfect the skill and, even then, some poets are only able to produce a mediocre portfolio.

Luckily, Sigma Tau Delta, the English honor society, is hosting their “Love Letters for Literacy” fundraiser where they will sell pre-written Valentine poems available for personalization. Sigma Tau Delta will be selling these poems in the campus center on Tuesday, Feb. 12th from 12:30 to 2:00 pm. Poems can be printed on the spot!

Small poems cost $1 and longer poems cost $2. New for this year, Sigma Tau Delta will be

offering sorority-specific Valentine poems available for chapter orders.

All proceeds benefit the Adult Literacy League, whose vision is to “serve as the premier literacy resource providing education, training and information in Central Florida.” Arts and Sciences President of Sigma Tau Delta, Chelsea Cutchens ’13, says that she was “incredibly excited” about the success of last year’s “Love Letters for Literacy,” which printed forty five poems for students in just an hour and a half. Cutchens hopes that this year will “be even more successful.”

Let this be the year you send your significant other, friend, or chapter that priceless Valentine’s Day gift that they treasure forever, while also helping a great cause. If you cannot make it to the campus center on Feb. 12th but are interested in sending a Valentine, please contact Chelsea Cutchens at ccutchens@ rollins.edu.

Present news on past assaults

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Writer

In light of recent timely notifications from campus security regarding sexual assault cases, Garcia breaks down campus protocol for such instances.

Stephanie Garcia

February 7, 2013

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OPINION

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Sfaff Writer What is a sexual assault?

What is a sexual offense?

When defining sexual assault, rape – the most serious sexual offense – may come to mind. However, sexual offenses are divided into forcible and non-forcible categories. Forcible offenses include rape, fondling, sodomy, and sexual assault with an object. Non-forcible offenses include statutory rape and incest.

Statistics provided by Campus Safety indicate that over the course of a college career, 25% of college women are victims of completed or attempted rape.

Furthermore, 9 out of 10 women raped in college knew their offenders prior to the assault.

A Campus Safety Report is

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compiled annually that outlines the differences between sexual offenses and contains three years of accumulated crime statistics. This useful document provides information on Sex Offense Educational Programs, preventing and responding to sexual assault, and how to file an internal complaint within the college.

Given the personal and delicate situation that sexual assault puts the victim in, reporting a sexual assault does not result in a criminal prosecution without the consent of the victim.

Regardless of confidentiality, campus safety strongly advocates seeking medical treatment promptly and attending counseling after the incident occurs.

If in need of transportation to a medical center, the Campus Safety Department offers 24-

hour assistance and full disclosure among on-campus medical and counseling personnel.

According to Title 9, when reporting an incident to Campus Safety, the office is mandated to conduct a thorough investigation. However, a confidential safe haven on campus—the Counseling and Psychological Services office (CAPS)—offers another alternative. Within this office, consultations will not result in an investigation without expressed consent.

“We are strictly here as a confidential source. We will not urge them to report. That is completely up to the victim,” said Samantha Carver, Substance Abuse Counselor at CAPS. If uncomfortable contacting CAPS directly, a survivor or witness may ask a Residential

Assistant to contact a confidential victim advocate. Victim advocates are licensed counselors of the institution and trained to deal with sexual assault issues.

They can also assist in rearranging living and/or academic situations. When speaking with a victim advocate, one is not committed to take further action or make an official complaint.

“Victim advocates are provided through CAPS. We have three counselors trained within that field. They are more knowledgeable [about] providing victims with options, both from a health standpoint and legal perspective—such as helping with the reporting process,” Caver said.

In regards to judicial proceedings, the hearing process is broken down in the Code of Community Standards. Both

the accuser and the accused are entitled to have others present in preparation of the disciplinary process.

Permitted to assist prior to or during the hearing, advisors must be either a member of the Rollins College community (faculty, staff, or student body) or a parent of the student. CAPS also plays a key role during this process. Counselors can serve as advisors and can represent either the victim or the respondent.

“Sexual assault is such a tricky situation because the victim’s self-control is taken during that process. It is good for everyone to know that confidential sources are available on campus. Whether they wait to visit our office or report the incident, it is never too late to get help,” Carver said.

Deadline 10

February 14, 2013

NEWS

SPOTLIGHT ON AWARDS & SERVICE

Sandspur

February 14, 2013

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Established in 1894 with the following editorial: “Unassuming yet almighty sharp, and pointed, well rounded yet many sided, assiduously tenacious, victorious in single combat, and therefore without a peer, wonderfully attractive and extensive in circulation; all these will be found upon investigation to be among the extraordinary qualities of The Sandspur.”

EDITORIAL BOARD Hana Saker Editor-in-Chief Melanie Weitzner Production Manager

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This issue’s cover design by: Breiland Springer The Sandspur is published weekly on Thursdays and maintains a circulation of 1,200 print copies. The views expressed in The Sandspur in no way reflect those of Rollins College or its Board of Trustees.

The Sandspur is always looking for new paid employees. To inquire about open positions, please email chief@thesandspur.org.

The Sandspur Editorial Staff extends an invitation to all readers to attend weekly article assignment meetings every Monday at 6 p.m. and sign up to submit letters and articles. In order to be considered for publication, the name of the author must be included.

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PLANTING AN IMPACT JUMP sponsored a beach clean-up through a non-profit, the Surfrider Foundation. The environmental organization campaigns the purification of oceans and prevention of off-shore drilling. Volunteers aided the cause early Saturday morning, planting sea oat plants to prevent erosion and preserve dunes.

Photos by Dustin Englehardt

Beauty & brains Stephanie Garcia Assistant Section Editor The Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) honors three recipients annually with the Excellence in Academic Libraries Award. Along with the ACRL, Yankee Book Peddler (YBP) sponsors the prize—recognizing the accomplishments of libraries at the college, university, and community college level.

The winners of 2013 were the Walla Walla Community College in Washington, the Villanova University Falvey Memorial Library in Pennsylvania, and our very own—Olin Library.

Honoring institutions since 2000, past recipients of the award include Cornell University and Wellesley College. This prestigious award is bestowed upon academic libraries with a commitment to student learning, innovation, and integration within their community.

“The real significance is that our peer librarians have

recognized the changes and improvements in library services at Rollins over the years. I am so proud of all that the staff of the Olin Library, and our partners in IT and now TJ’s, have been able to achieve. This is a really big deal in academic libraries.

Someone called it the Oscars for librarians,” said Library Director Jonathan Miller.

Olin Library was recognized for its renovations and centrality to campus. The selection committee was impressed by its extensive integration into academic programs—its organizational relationship with the Tutoring & Writing Center, the establishment of the Center for Creativity multimedia lab, and introduction of a digital preservation program. Furthermore, the renovated space was commended for its design, comfort, and sense of community.

This is the second year Olin Library has applied for this award. The submission process consisted of an essay where applicants demonstrate how their staff “furthered the educational

mission of its parent institution.” Dorothy Mays, the Head of Public Services, who works closely with INB and Crummer business students and faculty, wrote the essay with input from people throughout the library.

Receiving an Excellence in Academic Libraries Award shines a national spotlight on a library for extending the educational mission of their institution and its staff for providing exemplary services. Furthermore, YBP provides each of the winning libraries with $3000 and a plaque—to be presented during an on-campus award ceremony.

The ceremony will take place on Thursday, April 25 at 11 a.m. on Olin Library Lawn.

In regards to the cash prize, the Olin staff is currently voting on alternatives and wishing to make a meaningful statement with the award “Some past recipients have donated it to a local organization; others have bought something really great for the library.

We want to do something that

has some impact. If students have cool ideas about how to use that money, please let me know. We will certainly let everyone know what we decide to spend it on,” Miller said.

Miller feels the greatest aspect of Olin Library is its interaction with the Rollins Community and commitment towards accommodating the academic environment. Through renovations, improving programs and establishing services, Olin has truly created a comfortable, beneficial, and indispensable haven for its institution. The 24/7 access to the main floor, the huge growth in access to online journals and digital content, the improvements in interlibrary loan, and the expanded coffee shop are all great examples of this.

“We spend a lot of time listening to students and faculty about what they want; most recently with the LibQual Survey last fall. So the space, collections, and services are designed to serve your needs, not ours, “ Miller said.

Deadline 11 April 11, 2013

FEATURES

ACADEMIC ALL-STAR

4.0 or bust

Stephanie Garcia

On May 12, The Alfond ™˜›Â?Čą Ž—Â?Ž›ȹ ’••ȹ‹ŽȹꕕŽÂ?ȹ ’Â?‘ȹ caps and gowns— a sea of seniors anticipating their diplomas. Graduations mark both an end and a beginning, where one says hello to new opportunities and goodbye to longtime friends. Throughout the ceremony, graduates can remember the moments leading up to this Â?Žę—’—Â?Čą –’•ŽœÂ?Â˜Â—ÂŽÇąČą –’Â?—’Â?‘Â?Čą cramming sessions, internships, study abroad experiences, and Fox Days. While the Class of 2013 will be honored as a whole for their accomplishments, four individuals will be signaled out among the rest—the valedictorians.

The Dean of Student Affairs, Karen Hater oversees the announcement of valedictoriÂŠÂ—ÂœČą Š—Â?Čą Â Â˜Â›Â”ÂœČą  ’Â?‘ȹ Â?‘Žȹ ÄœÂŒÂŽČą of Student Records in evaluating the academic performance of graduation seniors. Although Â?‘Žȹ Â˜ÄœÂŒÂ’ÂŠÂ•Čą Š——˜ž—ŒŽ–Ž—Â?Čą Â‘ÂŠÂœČą not been released, Hater conÄ™Â›Â–ÂœČą Â?‘ŠÂ?Čą –ž•Â?’™•Žȹ Â&#x;Š•ŽÂ?Â’ÂŒÂ?˜›’ans will represent the Class of Ĺ˜Ĺ–Ĺ—Ĺ™ÇŻČą Â‘Â’ÂœČąÂ’ÂœČąÂ—Â˜Â?ČąÂ?Â‘ÂŽČąÄ™Â›ÂœÂ?ČąÂ’Â—ÂœÂ?ÂŠÂ—ÂŒÂŽČą that qualifying candidates have tied for valedictorian. Last year, Christian Bromley and Michael van den Berg tied as leaders of their graduating class with the same 3.98 GPA. “Students are selected as valedictorian based on their

April 11, 2013

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Section Editor

8

GPA only. The last semester does not count; we based it on their GPA for all semesters except their last one. The valedictorians for this year have been —˜Â?’ęŽÂ?Čą ‹žÂ?Čą Š—ȹ Š——˜ž—ŒŽ–Ž—Â?Čą won’t come out for another week or so,â€? Hater said. ‘Žȹ Â™Â›Â˜ÂŒÂŽÂœÂœČą ˜Â?Čą Œ˜—ę›–’—Â?Čą valedictorians starts with Dean Hater, receiving a database of graduating seniors from the ÄœÂŒÂŽČą ˜Â?Čą Â?žÂ?Ž—Â?Čą ŽŒ˜›Â?ÂœÇŻČą ‘Žȹ database allows Hater to inform qualifying students of their valedictorian status. Transfer students are only eligible if they have spent three years at Rollins. “The top person with the highest GPA is the valedictorian. If there is more than one person with a perfect 4.0 GPA then there are multiple valedictorians. There is no selection really involved,â€? Hater said.

Since there are four leaders of the graduating class, Student Ä›ÂŠÂ’Â›ÂœČą Â’ÂœČą Œž››Ž—Â?•¢ȹ œŽ•ŽŒÂ?’—Â?Čą one student to deliver the commencement address. Each student has been asked to write a short essay, sharing what he or she plans to say during graduation. During this process, Hater states that speaking ability and campus involvement are not criteria. A subgroup of the Student Â’Â?ÂŽČą Â˜Â–Â–Â’Ä´ÂŽÂŽČąÂ–ÂŠÂ”ÂŽÂœČąÂ?‘Žȹꗊ•ȹ decision, selecting who will be the commencement speaker and represent all four valedictorians for the Class of 2013.

Quite the accomplishment

Competing with 700 applicants, Anne Fertig ‘13 was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to research Scottish history and literature in the United Kingdom.

Courtesy of Anne Fertig DOLLARS FOR SCHOLARS Anne Fertig ‘13 will be graduating this May and studying aboard in Scotland through a Fulbright Scholarship. With this research grant, Fertig plans to obtain two masters degrees in Scottish literature and history.

Emily Kelly News Editor Folk music was her gateway Â?›žÂ?ǹȹ Â?‘Žȹ ŠĴ›ŠŒÂ?Â’Â˜Â—Čą ÂšÂžÂ’ÂŒÂ”Â•Â˘Čą ‹Žcame an addiction. While many seniors will be entering their ꛜÂ?ČąÂ™Â›Â˜Â?ÂŽÂœÂœÂ’Â˜Â—ÂŠÂ•ČąÂŒÂŠÂ›ÂŽÂŽÂ›ČąÂ?˜••˜ ing graduation, Anne Fertig ‘13, a 2013 Fulbright Scholar, will begin her life-after-Rollins in Glasgow, Scotland. After a rigorous application process and months of anticipation, Fertig was awarded a Fulbright scholarship research grant to pursue her studies of ÂŒÂ˜Ä´Â’ÂœÂ‘Čą ‘’œÂ?Â˜Â›Â˘Čą Š—Â?Čą •’Â?Ž›ŠÂ?ž›Žȹ in the United Kingdom. “Research grants for the UK are very competitive,â€? Fertig comments, “over 700 people applied for 43 scholarships.â€?

Faced with such slim odds, Fertig trounced over 600 contenders. “You have to sell yourself as a cultural ambassador; you have to represent America while learning about the community,�

Fertig explains.

Fertig credits her initial inÂ?Ž›ŽœÂ?Čą ’—ȹ ÂŒÂ˜Ä´Â’ÂœÂ‘Čą ÂœÂ?žÂ?Â’ÂŽÂœČą Â?Â˜Čą ž•’Žȹ Â˜Â Â•Â’ÂœÇ°Čą Šȹ ÂŒÂ˜Ä´Â’ÂœÂ‘Čą Â?Â˜Â•Â”Čą Š›Â?Â’ÂœÂ?Čą Â Â‘Â˜Čą œ’—Â?ÂœČą ™›’–Š›’•¢ȹ ’—ȹ ÂŒÂ˜Ä´Â’ÂœÂ‘Čą ÂŠÂŽÂ•Â’ÂŒÇŻČą Â?ČąÂ ÂŠÂœČąÂ?Â‘ÂŽČąÂ–ÂžÂœÂ’ÂŒČąÂ?‘ŠÂ?ČąÄ™Â›ÂœÂ?Čą

aroused her curiosity, but curiosity quickly evolved into a ca›ŽŽ›ȹ ™ŠÂ?‘ǹȹ Ž—Â?’ŒŽÂ?Čą ‹¢ȹ Â?‘Žȹ Â–ÂžÂœÂ’ÂŒČą of Fowlis, Fertig explored her ’—Â?Ž›ŽœÂ?Čą ’—ȹ ÂŒÂ˜Ä´Â’ÂœÂ‘Čą ÂœÂ?žÂ?Â’ÂŽÂœČą ‹¢ȹ learning the language of Scottish Gaelic, a tongue spoken by

“

You have to sell yourself as a cultural ambassador; you have to represent America while learning about the community.

“žœÂ?Čą Šȹ ‘Š—Â?Â?ž•ȹ ˜Â?Čą ÂŒÂ˜Ä´ÂœÇŻČą Čƒ Ȃ–ȹ primarily interested in language preservation and the sense of community that arises among the speakers of a dying tongue,â€? notes Fertig.

Her admirable GPA and ™›’œÂ?’—Žȹ Œ˜Â&#x;Ž›ȹ •ŽĴŽ›ȹ Šœ’Â?ÂŽÇ°Čą Ž›tig’s ample knowledge of the native language positioned her as a preferred candidate, but it was her status as a published

author that secured the scholÂŠÂ›ÂœÂ‘Â’Â™ÇąČą Š•˜—Â?œ’Â?ÂŽČą ›˜Â?ÂŽÂœÂœÂ˜Â›Čą ˜Â?Čą English Dr. Edward Cohen, Fertig investigated the works ˜Â?Čą ÂŠÂ›Â’Â˜Â—Čą Ž›—œÂ?Ž’—ǰȹ Šȹ ÂŒÂ˜Ä´Â’ÂœÂ‘Čą ™˜ŽÂ?ČąÂŒÂ˜Â—Ä™Â—ÂŽÂ?ČąÂ?Â˜ČąÂ‘ÂŽÂ›ČąÂ‘Â˜Â–ÂŽČąÂ Â‘Â˜Čą used newspapers as her only connection to the outside world. “We collected poems from various sources, arranged them, and created annotations for each poem, as well as writing an introduction and biography of Bernstein,â€? comments Fertig on her book A Song of Glasgow Town: The Collected Works of Marion Bernstein, currently at the printers and set to appear on shelves in the coming month.

Fertig plans to spend the following two years abroad to Œ˜–™•ŽÂ?ÂŽČą Â?Â Â˜Čą –ŠœÂ?ÂŽÂ›ÂœČą Â?ÂŽÂ?Â›ÂŽÂŽÂœÇąČą Â˜Â—ÂŽČą ’—ȹ ÂŒÂ˜Ä´Â’ÂœÂ‘Čą ‘’œÂ?Â˜Â›Â˘Čą Š—Â?Čą Â?‘Žȹ ˜Â?‘Ž›ȹ ’—ȹ ÂŒÂ˜Ä´Â’ÂœÂ‘Čą •’Â?Ž›ŠÂ?ž›Žǯȹ Ž›tig explains, “I am excited to move on to a new chapter of my life, but Rollins has become my home; it is a safe place that Â‘ÂŽÂ•Â™ÂœČąÂœÂ?žÂ?Ž—Â?ÂœČąÂ‹ÂžÂ’Â•Â?ČąÂŒÂ˜Â—Ä™Â?ÂŽÂ—ÂŒÂŽČą and prepare for the professional world. You don’t have dull classes that you just sleepwalk through. But, more importantly, Rollins has blessed me with lifelong friends.â€?

Deadline 12 April 18, 2013

PRE-PROFESSIONAL OPPORTUNITIES

FEATURES

Two degrees, one remarkable education Stephanie Garcia Section Editor

possibilities in alternative universities abroad.

“After this German program is implemented,” says Fetscherin, “We are looking for other possibilities of establishing dual degree programs in China, France, and Spain, and France. Our DDP has a positive spillover effect to other departments on campus such as Modern Languages. It is the perfect way following our mission statement of “global citizenship” by internationalizing our campus and student body.”

NEWS

study abroad opportunities in Germany, courses are primarily taught in English. With this program, three two semesters of courses are taught in German, and students partake in a fulltime, semester long internship within a German corporation.

Our DDP is a much bigger and deeper exposure to a culture over a field study or semester abroad,” Fetscherin said.

With the successful implementation of the bridged degree program with Reutlingen University, DDP hopes to explore

| | OPINION

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dents to come up to speed with the German language. First, students can undertake a fiveweek summer program in Munich during the summer as a freshman. Secondly, the same option is offered sophomore year. Lastly, in the first semester at Reutlingen University, all courses are taught in English and German. Fetscherin stresses the benefit of cross-cultural exposure provided through DDP over spending three a semesters abroad in Germany.

“The difference with other

thesandspur.org

Imagine studying abroad in Germany for a year and in a half, partaking in an international internship and becoming fluent in a second language - German.

Picture a program that allows students to earn two bachelor degrees in four years. Starting in Fall 2013, the Rollins Dual Degree Program (DDP) offers the opportunity to graduate with a Bachelor of Arts in international business from Rollins College and a Bachelor of Science in international management from Reutlingen University in Germany.

Over the course of four years, a select few of incoming freshman will participate in this a cross-cultural education to gain global experience and acquire two diverse alumni networks.

“There is no other school in the state of Florida offering an undergraduate, international dual degree program dual international bachelor degree program. Less than five schools in the U.S. offer such a dual degree programs in with Germany. This is a unique opportunity to differentiate Rollins as a leading school in global citizenship,” Associate Professor of International Business, Marc Fetscherin said.

Serving as the faculty coordinator of DDP, Fetscherin pioneered this international opportunity, because it fosters a liberal arts education (i.e. language and culture) and will internationalize the student body. Differing from other preprofessional programs offered through Rollins, DDP molds students into professionals that are marketable on two continents and prepared for challenges in today’s economy.

The program is a relevant fit for Rollins as Florida’s bilateral trade with Germany is around $ 2.6 billion, and Germany invests around $ 4.1 billion in Florida annually. With German compa-

nies employing around 22,000 people in Florida, the nation is the largest economy in Europe and 4th largest in the world (after the U.S, China, and Japan).

“Reutlingen University is one of Germany’s top business schools. It has been at the forefront of internationalizing education, starting with dual degree programs in Europe. Now, the university is going global— partnering with other a few schools in the United States,” Fetscherin said.

The selection process is parallel to the 3/2 Accelerated Management Program (AMP); there are two phases in which interested students can apply—while in high school or at the completion of their first semester at Rollins. Incoming freshman must have a minimum 1200 SAT score, 3.2 GPA and be in good standing.

“The program is similar to the 3/2 Accelerated Management Program, in the sense that it is limited in numbers and targets our best students. There are three main differences between the AMP and the Dual Degree Program: it is exclusively for INB majors, students must be become proficient in German, and it includes a full-time semester long internship in Germany,” Fetscherin said.

The program is currently selecting about 10 to 15 first-year cohorts. Vice versa, Reutlingen University will select a few students recruit five to seven students to participate in DDP. Rollins students will spend their freshman and sophomore year in Winter Park before studying in Germany during their junior year and fall semester of their senior year. Of the three semesters in Germany, one includes a rigorous 18-week full time internship that links with 49 internationally renowned companies such as Mercedes-Benz, Hugo Boss, Siemens, or General Electric.

Additionally, there are three fallback options for stu-

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A select few of incoming freshmen will participate in a cross cultural education.

FEATURES | ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT | SPORTS | April 18, 2013

9

Stephanie O. Garcia

255 S Orange Ave, Orlando FL • Orlando Business Journal • News Intern

This summer, I interned at Orlando Business Journal. As a news intern, my role included covering media events, writing articles for both the online and print publication, and shadowing editors to gain professional journalism experience.

Orlando Business Journal is one of 40 publications, which fall under the media organization — American City Business Journals. The company has more professionals, publications, and websites covering national business than any other business media organization. Media products provide comprehensive coverage of business news from a local, regional, and national perspective. Such markets for publications include Houston, Washington D.C, South Florida, and Nashville. The American City Business Journals is the premier media solutions platform for companies strategically targeting business decision makers.

My primary duties as a news intern included compiling information on Orlando's businessmen and women for award lists, reporting on business-related events in the community, and breaking down financial statistics. I also wrote features on local CEOs and successful business trends. For many of my reports for the Journal, I used social media, video and pictures to attract a virtual audience.

With this internship opportunity, I grew as a writer through exposure to various beats and styles of writing.

Furthermore, I learned the editorial process of newspaper publishing by attending monthly staff meetings and weekly news department meetings. Above all, I gained publication experience by meeting deadlines within a fast-paced newsroom and receiving professional feedback from knowledgeable journalists.

During the course of my internship, I published seven print and six online articles. I was also credited for my photography coverage on two separate occasions; both were featured with online articles written by a senior staff reporter. With my print articles, I wrote on such subjects as social media, real estate, economic development, and law. My online articles covered such beats as retail, technology, and healthcare. Online articles were assigned daily and followed a more stringent deadline; when volunteering to cover an event, I had to attend the function, conduct on-site interviews, and write an article in the same day.

I interned at Orlando Business Journal for three months; during that time, I saw myself grow as a person, student, and journalist. I developed journalism skills in research, online coverage, print reporting, and photography; I strengthened my interpersonal communication skills by collaborating with editors, covering media events, and interviewing sources. Above all, I learned invaluable life skills that can be transferred to my college studies; networking, editing essentials, and time management are just a few. This internship has cemented my professional goals and aspirations. Along with gaining editorial experience, I want to pursue internships in alternative fields of media (television, design, and photography) to gain a more broad perspective on my desired career.

Deadline 1 June 21, 2013

Deadline 2 June 28, 2013

Deadline 3 July 12, 2013

Deadline 4

August 2, 2013

Deadline 5

August 9, 2013

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August 9, 2013

Deadline 7

August 16. 2013

Online Article: May 21, 2013

http://www.bizjournals.com/orlando/news/2013/05/17/ us-chamber-chief-says-energy.html

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Online Article: May 23, 2013

http://www.bizjournals.com/orlando/news/2013/05/23/ how-to-blog-for-business-success.html

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UPDATED: May 28, 2013, 9:01am EDT

How to blog for business success (Video) Michelle Bergstein-Fontanez, president of event industry marketing by BeatCreative, talks about the benefits of blogging for your business.

Stephanie Garcia, News Intern

Videos

Blogs aren¶t just for teenagers or housewives.

Michelle Bergstein-Fontanez, president of event industry marketing by BeatCreative, broke down the basics of how successful blogging can better your business or brand in one of the seminars during the 2013 Business Growth Expo on May 22 at the Orlando Science Center.

Known as ³the event-planning maven,´ Bergstein-Fontanez has developed creative campaigns for such clients as Hitachi, Panasonic and Hilton Grand Vacations. She views blogging as a component to fuel social media efforts.

Dick Jacobs, CEO of Aspire Health Partners

Enlarge Michelle Bergstein-Fontanez, president of event industry marketing by BeatCreative

³Blogging is an excellent way to show off your company's expertise and brand voice, and create your own little piece of paradise on the Web,´ said Bergstein-Fontanez. ³You can showcase your company's personality, the experience of your staff, and the process of how you do business, all helping you develop an approachable, transparent persona.´ To blog effectively, Bergstein-Fontanez stresses having a focus in terms of developing content topics and maintaining a consistent schedule for posts. If blogging becomes too big of a commitment, Bergstein-Fontanez suggests hiring a freelance writer to ghost blog. ³Ghost blogging should not be a last resort. When operating a business that is very busy, delegating is a smart approach. A writer can write about anything. The more knowledgeable they are about your business, the wiser the tactic is to employ,´ Bergstein-Fontanez said.

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The Biggest Security Leak of the 21st Century?

Most Popular Meet OBJ's 2013 Best Places to Work See inside: Springfield's Fast Food Boulevard Behind the scenes: OBJ¶s commercial real estate industry outlook MSN: UCF a university for the yuppie rich kids Tropical Storm Andrea brings rain, tornado watches to Central Florida Hancock Bank pulling out of region Aug. 30 Disney raises one-day Magic Kingdom ticket prices to $95 Orlando loses bid to host 2018 Gay Games Exclusive: BlueChip solar farm to be auctioned as well New city of Orlando rules change the game for food trucks: report

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Online Article: June 5, 2013

http://www.bizjournals.com/orlando/news/2013/06/05/ twin-peaks-makes-its-debut-in-central.html

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Online Article: June 20, 2013

http://www.bizjournals.com/orlando/news/2013/06/20/alook-at-dr-nayana-vyas-trek-toward.html

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http://www.bizjournals.com/orlando/news/2013/07/12/ calvet-couture-brings-international.html

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