BLOOD IN THE WATER
INSIDE DELEON SPRINGS' HISTORY OF A PLANTATION TURNED PANCAKE HOUSE BY ASHTON CRAIG
THANK U, NEXT ALBUM REVIEW
BREAK UP WITH THE ALBUM, I'M BORED: OPINIONS ON ARIANA GRANDE'S NEWEST ALBUM BY SAM HADELMAN
THE PROBLEM WITH MONEY PT. 2
CONTINUING EXPLORATION OF STETSON UNIVERSITY'S FINANCIAL SECRETS BY COLETTE CACCIOLA
The Reporter - Stetson University
STAFF Shaylen Vitale Editor-in-Chief
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Colette Cacciola Executive Editor
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Kaitlyn Kocsis Section Editor
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Hannah Zeller Section Editor Lana Kaczmarek Section Editor
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Hali Pollard Creative Director
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Anika Hand Copy Editor
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Cat Keve Photo Editor
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Izzy Solorzano Designer
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Ruby Rosenthal Writer, Designer
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Ihsaan Fanusie Writer
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Sam Hadelman Writer
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Contributing Writers Ashton Craig, Catie Brumit, Joseph Dallas, Lauren Ludlam, Nicole Rosen, Rene Campbell Contributing Photographers Kevin Vega, Natalie Bergeron 1 | THE REPORTER
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Contributing Designers Rob Walsh
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letters from the
editors From the Editor-in-Chief of Hatter Network
Congrats! We made it through half of the school year already. Perhaps that message is bittersweet to graduating seniors and relief for underclassmen. Regardless, school is back in full swing and so is Hatter Network. The Touchstone literary arts journal has just closed its submissions and received an abundance of great student work! WHAT Radio continues to add more exciting shows and The Reporter is putting out more magazines (duh because you’re holding one). The IV issue of the 2018-2019 Reporter series takes a look at the hard questions. From opioid addiction to Stetson finances, the Reporter staff have delivered compelling work about subjects that may otherwise go unnoticed or unaware. If we’re not writing the news, delivering the content, that students want to hear and read, then we are not doing our job, and so we need your help as well. Visit our office. Email us. Let us know what we should start conversation about. We’re not that scary I promise. With that, please enjoy this issue!
From the Executive Editor of The Reporter
Hi again, Something is different about this issue of The Reporter. Maybe not in a tangible, quantifiable way, but even so, in looking through the content for this issue I felt that as a magazine, we have turned yet another corner to become something new. Several months ago, I wrote about my excitement concerning Hatter Network as a whole. That is is here to prosper, to grow, and to bloom. And it is. Our presence has continued to expand, constantly and beautifully, through the past semester. Uncouth Hour has had attendance in excess of one hundred students and staff, our WHAT Radio Station is seeing constantly increasing listener-ship (is that a word?), The Reporter has doubled the size of its staff. It is so lovely. It is so exciting, and I believe I can speak for all of the Editorial Board when I say we are so proud. The pieces you will find in this issue are thought-provoking, wonderfully written, and in many cases a little heavier than our previous content. We cover DeLand’s struggles with racism, Stetson finances, Athletics Department initiatives, Florida serial killers, and the opioid crisis. It’s a lot. Everyone has done such beautiful work, and I know from here we can only continue to improve. If you snagged this issue before driving as fast as possible to a far-away beach, congrats, but otherwise, welcome back from spring break, dear reader, and please enjoy the fourth issue of The Reporter.
Layout by Ruby Rosenthal Cover Photo by Cat Keve Cover Layout by Hali Pollard ISSUE IV | 2
The Reporter - Stetson University
CONTENTS ISSUE IV 2019
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DINING IN DELAND Kaitlyn Kocsis, Cat Keve
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IN REVIEW: THANK U, NEXT Sam Hadelman
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MARCH HOROSCOPES Catie Brumit
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HARRY YOUNG Ruby Rosenthal
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AMPERSAND Jacob Mauser
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Layout by Ruby Rosenthal
3 | THE REPORTER
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SERIAL KILLERS Hannah Zeller
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BLOOD IN THE WATER Ashton Craig
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EMPTY RAFTERS Ihsaan Fanusie
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THE PROBLEM WITH MONEY, PART II Colette Cacciola
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SGA HIGHLIGHTS Colette Cacciola
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BIG RED Colette Cacciola
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PSAFE REPORTS Hannah Zeller ISSUE IV | 4
DINING IN DELAND:
THE PIZZA EDITION
WRITTEN BY KAITLYN KOCSIS PHOTOGRAPED BY CAT KEVE LAYOUT BY HALI POLLARD
R
anked in 2015 as the number three pizza capital in the nation by FindTheHome.com, DeLand is a mecca for cheesy saucy goodness. Cat and Kaitlyn explored the best of DeLand pizza, specifically the spots closest to campus. Each pizza joint is ranked out of a maximum five slices for satisfaction. To see our thoughts on farther away favorites, like Angelina’s and Mario’s, check out our posting on hatternetwork.com.
5 | THE REPORTER
URBAN BRICK
658 W. NEW YORK AVE. $$$ I found myself saying “for fifteen dollars, it better be good!” So, it’s pricey. But, man is it good. By far the best for service and atmosphere on our list, Urban Brick takes pizza from the cardboard box to the spotlight. At first, the menu is a bit pretentious. Candied fig, goat cheese, and lemon zest as pizza toppings honestly sounded revolting, but how very wrong I was. Needless to say, I opted for the wilder pizza varieties, but Urban Brick caters to the purist as well with a bubbling gooey pepperoni option. Regardless of the choice in topping, the true star is their crust. Buttery and cheesy, the pillowy soft bread is encrusted with delectable crispy edges. Urban Brick manages to combine the joys of thin crust and deep dish, the crust doing its magic and the cheese melted to perfection. I wanted to be harsh on a fifteen dollar pizza, I really did. But, at least in my mind, it was worth every penny.
5/5
DOBRO’S CHICAGO STYLE PIZZA 658 W. NEW YORK AVE. $$
Located just outside of downtown, DoBro’s is a departure from the wood-fired crusts of artisanal shops. Their Chicago style pizzas are deep dish with a slightly sweet, classic tomato sauce heavily layered on top, yes you read that right: the sauce is on top, of gooey cheese and hearty toppings. For the purist, the Classic Chicago and Four Cheese are equally delicious. But the true winner is the Caprese. The soft, buttery crust envelops rich mozzarella and creamy ricotta topped with juicy vine-ripened tomatoes and the perfect sprinkling of herbs. Each bite is heavenly, from the first pull of gooey cheese to the final satisfying crunch of crust. The 8-inch size is $8.29 and divides for a hearty two servings. DoBro’s serves far more than Chicago deep dish. We recommend the garlic parmesan wings and the stuffed mushrooms. Gluten-free options are also available. Regardless of your choice, Stetson students get 15% off. Our one slice deduction is for the lackluster ambiance and the waitresses in fedoras because honestly, just no.
4/5
TONY’S NEW YORK PIZZA 658 W. NEW YORK AVE. $
A Stetson student favorite, Tony’s serves a myriad of Italian dishes, including pizza. They feature New York style: thin crust, greasy, and extra large for that signature fold. While not our usual pick off their scrumptious menu of pastas, the Bianca pizza is perfect for a simple lunch. Ricotta, mozzarella, and garlic are layered in heaps on a crunchy garlic crust. One slice is $1.75. Paired with a side salad and their amazing garlic rolls, it’s a meal on the cheap. For a heartier dinner, try the stuffed pizza. Ham, salami, provolone, pepperoni, mozzarella, onions, and green peppers are all wrapped in a fluffy ovenbaked crust. A 16 inch stuffed pizza is a bit steep at $23.99, but one slice, which is plenty to satisfy, costs just $2.99. Choosing Tony’s for pizza over their other delicious options, like the Eggplant Parmesan and the Chicken Capri, is a mistake in my opinion. But, if you’re looking for a good by the slice, Tony’s is a solid three out of five.
3/5
FORNO BELLO WOOD FIRED PIZZA & ITALIAN CUISINE 658 W. NEW YORK AVE. $$$
So it’s a wood oven. Big fire, slow cook time, thin crust. I get it. But frankly, $12 for a half burnt pizza is not artisan, it’s unacceptable. I am honestly a bit shocked to say just how disappointing this pizza was. Forno Bello is home to my all-time favorite fettuccine alfredo, which is no small title. Their drunken mussels and gnocchi caprese are freaking delicious. The pizza falls incredibly flat in comparison. While the tomato sauce is flavorful and the mozzarella is sufficiently cheesy, the crust ruins the experience. The menu and website both warn of the “well done” nature of a wood fire oven, but I just cannot understand how burnt crust equates to traditional Italian. I feel like an Italian grandma would be enraged. This is not a dig at the usual joy of Forno Bello’s otherwise fantastic options. The pasta is unbeatable. The pizza not so much.
2/5
ISSUE IV | 6
BREAK UP WITH THIS ALBUM,
A
riana Grande unloads a bitter follow-up to her Grammywinning LP Sweetener in a dramatic fashion. Ariana Grande has had a run like no other. Starting with her humble beginnings as a co-star on Nickelodeon’s ‘Victorious’, Grande has slowly but surely developed a career like no
other. Her vocals blossomed over the Babyface-produced record Yours
Truly, which truly showed off her dynamic range and diverse musical pallet. She had tracks on that album with two of her public love interests, Big Sean and the late Mac Miller. This album truly showed the potential that lied within Grande, while still keeping true to her pop roots.
I'M BORED
WRITTEN BY: SAM HADELMAN LAYOUT BY: HALI POLLARD
7 | THE REPORTER
Grande’s musical exploration only grew stronger over the years, with collaborators from unique corners of the music world. These artists included, Childish Gambino, the Weeknd, Cashmere Cat, and A$AP Ferg. Through showing her eclectic sound and taste, Grande separated herself from the rest of the pop sphere with sheer talent and star power.
One of the best aspects of thank u, next was the lead up to the album. Through aesthetically pleasurable and culturally relevant music videos and Twitter insight from Grande herself, the anticipation for this album was at an all-time high for Grande. Regardless of how the general public felt, I personally thought this process was a little rushed. In this day and age, the skill of letting bodies of art breathe is rare and in-between.
Though her artistry was well noted in the pop world, it was not until her breakthrough LP, Sweetener, that she broke through the musical stratosphere. With pop-legend Pharrell Williams behind the boards, Grande floated over his lighthearted and layered production with ease. The album was when I started to take more note of her music on a personal level. Tracks like R.E.M., successful, and breathin, I found myself now a part of her fanbase at some capacity. I am a long-time fan of Pharrell’s collaborations with pop stars, including his musical relationships with Mariah Carey and Justin Timberlake, so the fact that Ariana Grande was following in these footsteps drew me to her music heavily.
In the past, artists have had ample time expectations to release music, with 2 years being the standard time between records. In today’s time, with streaming being the main form of music consumption, it is tempting to take the route of releasing a new project every 6 months. This avenue is constructed for a constant stream of relevancy and monetary gains, while sometimes at the expense of artistry. Though I do not believe Grande needed either of these, I found her timing of this release to be interesting. In my opinion, Sweetener, had yet to breathe and be solidified in her discography, and adding thank u, next, deafened the success and content of the former. Even I have always had a with this preconceived notion, I complicated relationship with understand her choice to drop pop music in the sense of my the album now. She has publicly level of exposure and willingness gone through more trying times to sit and listen to it. My than any celebrity in recent musical origins are rooted in memory. With the accidental angst and anti- establishment overdose of her ex-boyfriend sentiments, so for me to develop Mac Miller, to the public a taste for music like Grande’s relationship and falling out has been a challenge that has PHOTO: INSTAGRAM @ARIANA GRANDE with fellow ex-boyfriend Pete taken me a while to overcome. Music fanbases are about inclusion Davidson, Grande has a library of issues to discuss on wax and and exclusionary groups, like any other community, and for most releasing this record gave us some insight into the inner workings of my life I found that pop music was exclusionary. In my mind, of someone going through unthinkable tragedies. I couldn’t ride around town on my ten speed bike bumping the Slim Shady LP while simultaneously listening to Taylor Swift. I This albums lead singles are some of the strongest from rejected these pop anthems and just turned the volume up on the offerings of thank u, next. The title-track was one of the artists like the Sex Pistols and Blink-182 until it drowned out the strongest pop performances of the entire year. Though it has been sounds of the radio hits. It was not until fairly recently that I have misrepresented by every bitter millennial Instagram caption removed all preconceived norms for liking music, I think my going through a mild breakup, the content of the track is actually consumption process is much more simplistic now. If I enjoy the quite refreshing. Most anthems for single populations are music I will listen to it, it’s quite simple. I have no issue spreading hauntingly unforgiving, stemming from themes such as lack of that I know every word to “You Belong With Me” and “Stan” and gratitude and hostility, yet Grande channels a completely that is something that has taken my psyche a while to accept. different energy on the track thank u, next. I appreciate how she
ISSUE IV | 8
is able to communicate her self-worth and attitudes towards her past relationships in an aspirational sense, rather in one rooted in hate. For someone who has had such a hectic and public history with relationships, Grande handled her past with grace and poise. Coupled with mainstream qualities of the track, the music video was one of the best of the entire year, with every reference from the last 10 years present in her agenda. Again, for someone who doesn’t frequently listen to modern pop music alone, I find myself walking around listening to the title track of Grande’s album quite frequently. The second single, “imagine”, was also a strong opener for the album rollout. With lighthearted production and a graceful hook, it is hard to imagine how the track has such dark and layered themes. I loved the melancholy aura of track as well as the differentiation from the first single, “thank u next.” This track gave us a glimpse into the involvement of the late Mac Miller’s legacy into her new work. For those that did not know, Imagine is a phrase that Miller had tattooed on his forearm, and with this information one could conclude the content of this song was about him. There are general references that allude to her attitudes toward her past relationship with Miller littered throughout the record, yet this one of the clearer moments about him on the record. Grande has been put in this compromising position about how she can reference Miller’s death by the fans, which is one of the downside of how interconnected fanbases are. If she were to clearly speak on Miller and her feelings about their relationship after his passing, the public would claim that she was profiting off his death. I found this criticism to be completely out of line and ill-conceived. We have arrived at a space in social media where people believe they have a right to someones legacy as much as a person who actually had a realworld relationship with the artist. The job of musicians is to give us a look into their lives and thoughts, so I do not understand how fans wanted Grande to leave Mac Miller’s legacy out her recent work. In my mind, that would be more disrespectful than anything. Grande reserves to write about the most intimate themes she please in her music because at the end of the day it’s her creation. The death of someone so prominent in her life is something that is rightful the focal point of her recent work and the publics’ lack of understanding of this concept is mindnumpingly shallow. The third single, “7 rings” are where my initial criticisms of the record arose. Throughout the entire album Grande attempts to keep up with the trap-atmosphere of the current music scene, yet most of the time she just sounds out of creativity and breath. The ironic aspect of this track in particular is how it obviously borrows from a culture Grande is blatantly attempting to swim in, and the lack of attribution she delivers shows that she is in fact drowning. The cadence she steals from Soulja Boy’s hit-record “Pretty Boy Swag” on the hook of this song is so strikingly apparent that her lack of accreditation leaves me curious. What was the point of not giving credit where credit is
9 | THE REPORTER
due, especially when maneuvering in a culture where you are tourist? If Grande is really attempting to add more hip-hop influence to her music, the least she can do is rightfully acknowledge those who created the lineage to which she is fruitfully taking advantage of. Coupled with the aforementioned reference above, as well as borrowing influence from The Notorious B.I.G., Beyoncé, Young Thug, and the Sound of Music, this resulted in one of Grande’s most unoriginal and uninspired songs to date. As for the rest of the album, it did not live up to the expectations set by the released singles. One of the biggest highlights for the whole record is “needy”. Through the simplistic composition and the reveling, yet catch lyrics, Grande delivered one of my favorite songs from her recent catalog. Though there are a handful of memorable moments on this record, there are an equal amount of lackluster attempts from Grande on thank u, next. Some of the more forgettable moments arrive in the thick of the album. The songs that truly solidified the mediocre center of the record are “bloodline”, “bad idea”, and “make up.” In a recent interview, Grande stated that she wrote the album in 2 weeks and songs like those listed display the downside of a rushed creative process. The project picks up again with two of it’s strongest components, “in my head”, and the daunting track “ghostin’.” The latter song is my favorite moment on the record. It is where the introspective view point that Grande was attempting to formulate for most of the record comes to true fruition. “ghostin” is where the pop-chops of Grande’s usual work combine with this new, raw version of herself to create something with depth and charisma. This inner-fight between the old aspects of Grande’s work and her recent content is where my biggest gripes with the record derive from. Pop music, to me, has this goal of being relatable and
of the track reading like a ver 21, Grande’s fans were ng a messy anthem." easily digestible, yet Grande is in of the least accessible points in any superstars careers. She has been poised with the impossible task of making her completely unique personal turmoils easily consumable in her art, to a public that could never truly relate. Finally, we come to the closing track of the album, “break up with your girlfriend, i’m bored.” This song lived in infamy even before the song actually came out, with it’s provocative title and position on the records track list. With the title of the track reading like a t-shirt at Forever 21, Grande’s fans were anticipating a messy anthem. What was delivered was a ill- conceived flip of *NYSNC’s It Makes Me Ill and a basket of insecurities. In the age of social media, Grande was able to let down fans expectations solely based off the title of the track. I do not doubt this song will get popular in the upcoming months, and I hope the check Grande payed *NYSNC was worth it. Overall, Grande was faced with the inconceivable task of letting us into her slowly burning world, and with this in mind she delivered a completely normative project. I do not think the album was necessary for Grande’s career, with it being released so close to sweetener, yet I appreciated her opening the door of her insecurities and demons to her fans in a semi-revealing fashion. I am glad I was able to appreciate this album before it is shoved down my throat by the radio, the single populations snapchats, and college bars in the upcoming months. I hope that Grande figures out how to conceive music that is at the level of content I know she can deliver, as well as keeping her pop qualities that brought her the warranted success she has garnered.
5/10
ISSUE IV | 10
HOROS
aries gemini
You may be feeling overwhelmed during this time. Do your best to not become irritable. Big things are coming for you by June. People are looking up to you right now, be a leader through example.
Your ability to communicate will come in handy this month. Look to your career and networking for your future. If finances are an issue, they should improve by the end of the month. Through all of this, don’t forget to slow down and spend time with the people who matter.
leo libra sagittarius
Assess your personal relationships this month. Be honest with yourself about how you’re feeling. Confide in others during this time. Take your new perspective and use it to organize some parts of your life.
You have a tendency to get caught up in everyone else’s feelings but your own. Don’t miss out on what life has to offer you this month. Take advantage of opportunities that come up in work and your social life. The happiness you experience from these things will improve your relations at home.
Any troubles you’ve been having lately will start to clear up. Break out of your normal routine. You have the ability to inspire others with your unwavering character. Inspire yourself first and see how your life transforms.
aquarius 11 | THE REPORTER
You have a calming energy about you, and you bring comfort to all of those you interact with. Trust your instincts this month, a lot of great things are coming for you. You may see your finances improve as well as your mental state.
SCOPES A lot of things will be changing for you this month. This isn’t a bad thing; these changes can bring about great success in your career. Don’t fight these changes. You are the glue of your friend groups right now, but don’t forget to put your happiness first.
taurus cancer
Find comfort in thinking and planning. Take the things in your life that no longer serve you and get rid of them. Spend this time finding your passions, life is about to get lighter for you.
virgo scorpio
This month will provide a lot of learning opportunities for you. You may feel as though you’re being pulled in many different directions, but you are able to divide your attention when you need to. Help others when they come to you, but don’t over extend yourself. It will be a busy month for you, but also a transformative one.
Let go of the grudges you carry around. This weight won’t help you grow. If you let go of that weight, you will find productivity in all areas of your life. Trust your instincts and take a leap of faith when asked.
capricorn pisces
You may feel the pull to be negative at the start of this month, but fight that urge. Be gentle with yourself during this time. Keep an open mind during this time and you will see all that life is going to offer you. Be in tune with yourself and your desires this month. Important things are coming for you soon, but only if you allow yourself to go after them. Don’t let what happened in the past get you down. Look ahead and create a new path for yourself.
Written by Catie Brumit Layout by Isabel Solorzano ISSUE IV | 12
HARRY YOUNG
Q&A Harry Young, a first-year exchange student at Stetson, is from a rural village in Australia. Here, Young and I discuss differences between the United States and Australia, socially, academically, culturally -- and yes, they do occasionally eat kangaroos. By Ruby Rosenthal
Where are you from in Australia? How is that different from here? [I’m from] Adelaide. We’ll start with the school; [there are] two main schools and they’re both in the city. There are 30,000 students each approximately, but it’s a very different [vibe]. So, here mobility is a big thing, a lot of people travel a lot for the university. In Australia, you tend to go to school in the city you grew up in or the city you went to high school, and then from that people don’t tend to live on campus. It’s just a different social environment, the city’s a lot bigger. So the cities, there’s about 1.6 million people in the city, which is very different.
What about academically? For me, [with larger class sizes in Australia], I would prefer to go unnoticed and get my things done, but I know it’s not the best way [to learn]. [Here, I am being] forced to come out of my shell, you get asked questions and you have to know your thing. So, I think it’s actually better academically to be in the smaller class sizes, although it wouldn’t suit every student, but I think in my opinion the majority would be better suited to smaller class. [At Stetson], they require more per week [than] in Australia; you can get away with not doing a lot of work for three weeks and then catch it up later on. It’s not a big deal. We have a higher weighting on our exams at the end of the year, so they can be a bit stressful for some people. [Our classes are also] recorded in Australia, like on film, so if you miss the class for some reason you can just press play on the movie and watch the class at home. That’s very interesting and it’s really cool if you are using it as a catch up. But then it’s like, because every single class is recorded, if you don’t mark on attendance, people don’t go there. They just watched the movie from their bed.
How’d you pick Stetson? We have a sister school agreement, so that was probably 10 choices in America. I couldn’t speak another language, so I was leaning towards an English speaking country and I’d already been to England, and apparently Canada as a lot of similarities to Australia. It’s really unique to be honest, how everybody lives on campus, it’s more unique to America than people actually realize.
What is your exchange program? How does that work? Well, it’s one year. It’s very simple. It’s just one year studying here and then you have to match your subjects as best as possible to what you do at home and then you get those courses approved by the program director.
high schools who don’t know what they want to study and I tend to think maybe that’s why you have this more broad and generalized first year of studying in America so that the people that are still making decisions have a little bit of time to figure that out.
What about social interactions? What is it like interacting with somebody for the first time in America versus in Australia? Australians are better at small talk. Australians are better at that. That two minute conversation that it’s more or less pointless, but you both have a smile on your face the whole time. Nothing really like useful gets communicated, but you both just enjoy the hello and pat on the back sort of a thing and then go away where Americans are being more like they tend to like. I don’t know, they’re not as friendly until they open up to you a little bit more. I don’t know. I think that might be.
What are some other outliers in terms of socializing? Your fraternity system here. It’s just whack. No, that’s not a thing [in Australia]. That shouldn’t be a thing. You pay money to have a group of friends, it’s insane. If I went back to Australia and like proposed this sort of idea to my university, they would just laugh at me. I wouldn’t even know how to describe it. It’s like a group of people who pay to be in like a brotherhood for a fraternity for instance. They pay for friends and then their “philanthropy”, shall we say, quotations.
What’s the cost difference between Australian schools and American schools? Your system here is broken. How did it get so out of hand? How do you get to this point? I mean it goes against the logic of, of markets really. There’s a larger market of students. The process should really be going down in an open market technically. I mean there’s a lot of countries that have free education right now, and Australia we have a system [where] basically you get a government funded loan interest free so everybody has access and the like the process of actually attending. If you want to go to university, there are opportunities there for everybody. And there’s great programs, like if you weren’t so good at high school, but you still want to get a tertiary education, they have great systems in place to for the first year get you up to speed, more of like an intensive first year program where you go in every day and getting up to up to the standard you need to be at to then be reintegrated into the normal system. The education system there is just much more equal, so everyone can have an opportunity. That’s better than it is here. I think that’s the key at the end of the day.
Do you also start college when you’re 18? It’s pretty common for Australians to take a gap year. A lot of people will just find some work, get some work experience in different areas. Travel is really popular for people that have the financial means. I think Americans miss out on that a little bit because there’s more pressure here in my opinion, to go from high school straight to college. I think you’d be seen as very much an outlier if you had a year or two years off.
Did that benefit you? I don’t think that’s a bad thing because especially for me, I knew I would have benefited a lot to have taken a year out straight away because I didn’t know what I wanted to study. I’m sure there’s a lot of people in America in
Adelaide
ISSUE IV | 14
Written by Jacob Mauser Layout by Isabel Solorzano
Can you talk about who or what inspires you when you write? Well, the only person who inspires me is probably my own damn brain. I read different types of poetry all the time, and sometimes I don’t remember the authors at all, but I usually just copy what they do, different things that I find interesting, different techniques…
How did you get started? Well, I was in high school when I started, because I wrote fiction first before I wrote poetry. I was still kinda rusty on the fiction part, but I’m still pretty good, apparently. But I was worrying about not having a talent, because I couldn’t sing, I could barely dance, so then I started writing, and people liked it, so I kept writing.
Can you think back to a pivotal moment in your artistic career? Any moment where you thought: “this is what I need to be doing,” or, “I should work this way.” It was when I took Ms. Randall’s class- her Introduction to Writing poetry. She basically gave me all these resources to continue writing poetry and she motivated me to write more instead of writing less. Then I met Terri- Terri Witek- and then she motivated me even more to write more, because she loved me so much. It’s mainly the professors, Terri and Ms. Randall, who write the most creatively, who motivated me to push, to keep writing, and who motivated me to keep enjoying what I do.
Do you have any advice for someone who wants to get started writing fiction or poetry? My only advice is to use it as a therapeutic method first. If you have something that’s on your mind, that’s really building up and stressing you out, write it down how you feel it should be written down. If you feel like there’s artistic value to it, read it to somebody that you know writes poetry. They’ll tell you how to “scaffold.” Use it as a therapeutic method first and write down all the things that worry you.
If you had to describe yourself and your work in one or two short sentences, do you know what you would say? I’m a very strong and independent person, but inside I am more crumpled up than any piece of paper that you would throw in the garbage. So many people claim that I’m so strong and independent, and they’re like, “oh I wanna be like you, I wanna have your confidence.” I even got comments on how I walk, because it looks like I don’t care. I don’t care what anybody else thinks, which is true. At the same time, inside, when I’m alone in my room, I do care. It hurts my feelings, or I cry, but I try not to let people see that part of me because I know I’m supposed to be some strong-ass trunk, or some shit, and be there for my friends and my family. But I can’t hold it all, all the time.
Are you working on anything right now that you’re excited about? Well, I’m finishing my fiction for my class, and it’s horrendous. Not like the writing’s bad, but the story itselfyou’d think I have a phobia of old people. I’m finishing that right now, and it’s taking a toll on me, it’s tiring, but I’m very very excited to finish it, and maybe even publish it.
“Use it as a therapeutic method first and write down all the things that worry you.” 15 | THE REPORTER
Tya
with
ISSUE IV | 16
ADVERTISE ON
THE REPORTER! email jallen1@stetson.edu for inquiries
17 | THE REPORTER
SAM & BRENDEN’S
TOP 5 OF DELAND
ISSUE IV | 18
DARK
e s id
the
of the Sunshine State
Though lovingly dubbed the Sunshine State, Florida certainly doesn’t lack a dark side. Behind the shining smiles of kids frequenting Orlando’s many theme parks and the eclectic menagerie of inebriated spring breakers up and down the coasts, there exists a shadowy underbelly where murder and mayhem run rampant.
The Buzz About Bundy
The Long Island Serial Killer
If the sheer amount of serial killings isn’t terrifying enough, Florida is also home to some of the most notorious serial murder convictions. Making headlines once again for the 30th anniversary of his execution, arguably the state’s most famous serial murderer is a prime example of the darkness lurking just below Florida’s sunny surface.
Some of the earliest explanations for the Daytona Beach murders connected the killings to similar ones in Long Island and Atlantic City, typically attributed to an unidentified serial killer known as the Long Island serial killer. It was suggested that because each set of murders featured four victims and the same modus operandi, the murders may have been committed by the same person as they made their way down the east coast.
Spawning a hit Netflix docuseries and a Sundance feature starring Zac Efron, it’s clear that the public, especially Floridians, are transfixed by Bundy’s eerily intriguing exploits. Bundy’s story, while horrifying, is particularly enthralling because it has the benefit of being complete. We’ve identified the killer, the mystery is solved, and now we’re left speculating not about what happened, but about how a person could commit such heinous crimes. However, not all serial murders are solved, and not all killers are caught. In fact, there is a very real chance that one such killer is lurking much closer to home.
The Daytona Beach Killer In the winter of 2006, three Daytona Beach women were murdered in the span of about three months, with a fourth victim appearing almost two years later. The victims, Laquetta Gunther, Julie Green, Iwana Patton, and Stacey Gage all engaged in what investigators have called “risky” activity, including but not limited to prostitution and drug abuse. They all received homelessness assistance in some way. Each victim was killed via a shot to the head, except Patton, who appeared to have struggled with her killer. Though not initially considered to be serial murders, Daytona police later suspected that these deaths could be attributed to the same killer, a killer who has never been apprehended. There are several theories that attempt to explain the Daytona Beach murders, some that are arguably far-fetched, and others that lead back to a junkyard located right here in DeLand.
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Critics of this theory cite that both the murders in Long Island and in Atlantic City featured no significant lapse of time in between murders, unlike the murders in Daytona. Though this seems to suggest that the Daytona Beach killer and the Long Island Serial killer are probably different individuals, there are cases of killers taking breaks from criminal activity to focus on other tasks - particularly building a family – and therefore can’t be ruled out completely.
The Mansfield Brothers and the DeLand Junkyard Research investigators and documentarians, Joshua Zeman and Rachel Mills, investigated the Daytona Beach killer for their television program “The Killing Season.” Through their research, they found that the murders may be connected to Gary Mansfield, brother to convicted serial killer William “Billy” Mansfield, who was charged in 1981 with the first degree murder after police found the remains of six young girls on the property the Mansfield family owns in Hernando County, near Weeki Wachee. Gary Mansfield was charged with accessory to murder, but later had the charges dropped by agreeing to testify against his brother. Flash forward to January 2006, when the body of Julie Green, was found. Unlike the other two victims, Laquetta Gunther and Iwana Patton, whose bodies were found with traces of foreign DNA, no DNA was recovered from Green. However, investigators did find unique tire tracks that led them to a junkyard in DeLand. According to a coworker who was present for the police search, the tires were found on the van of the owner of the junkyard,
Gary Mansfield. Though initially, this seemed to connect the second Mansfield brother with his own set of serial killings, it was quickly ruled implausible. When asked about the tires, Mansfield stated that he had gotten them from another junkyard after the time of the murder. He was later cleared of DNA and the tires were never corroborated.
The I4 Corridor Murders Yet another theory attempts to tackle the Daytona Beach murder. In 2010, Walter Pacheco of the Orlando Sentinel published an article suggesting that the four Daytona murders were actually part of a larger serial killing network extended along I-4 from Tampa to Daytona. Based on evidence from previous police and FBI investigations, Pacheco posited the Daytona murders are just four out of 19 similar murders committed by the same killer, potentially a long-haul truck driver selecting victims from truck stops, a practice at least 10 other convicted serial killers have used. Aside from the Daytona Beach Police Department, no other county or city will declare that they are investigating a potential serial case. Though this doesn’t necessarily detract from the potential of this theory, it does suggest that more information needs to be found before it can be made more plausible.
Bikes and Bloodshed The final theory claims that the Daytona Beach murders were a far more local affair. Friends of the victims claim that the first three women knew each other fairly well, as they all lived within a few blocks of one another. Laquetta Gunther, the first victim, appears to have had some kind of relationship with a member of the Outlaws Motorcycle Club’s Daytona Beach chapter. Rumors suggest that Gunther may have cheated on this member, and an associate of the club killed her in order to prove his loyalty to the club. This same associate is reported to have overheard Patton and Green discussing the details surrounding Gunther’s death, and killed them as well. While this theory doesn’t account for Stacey Gage’s murder two years later, subscribers to this theory claim that her death is unrelated to the other three, and may, in fact, be the only one of the four Daytona murders that is part of the potential serial killings on the I-4 corridor.
For now...
For now, these various theories are just that - theories. Investigators are still working to piece together the limited evidence they have from these cases to determine what happened to the victims of the Daytona Beach killer and to apprehend to individual responsible. Though we may never have all the answers about these mysterious murders, one thing is for certain. Whether it’s the notoriety of Bundy’s crimes or the startling proximity of the Daytona Beach killer murders, the stories of these killers and their frightening deviance invite us to engage in our own dark curiosities.
Writing by Hannah Zeller Layout by Isabel Solorzano Photos by Cat Keve & Isabel Solorzano ISSUE IV | 20
BLOOD IN THE WATER THE DARK HISTORY OF DELEON SPRINGS WRITTEN BY ASHTON CRAIG PHOTOGRAPHED BY CAT KEVE LAYOUT BY HALI POLLARD
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U
pon entering DeLeon Springs, people flocked around the Sugar Mill Restaurant. People come to enjoy making their own pancakes inside a replica of the old Sugar Mill that once stood there as well as the natural amenities. But little do people know, it was once the Spring Garden Plantation, having one of the highest numbers of slaves in the state of Florida. It is only located fifteen minutes away from campus. I found myself there as a part of Dr. Andy Eisen’s tour discussing its dark past. When visiting, I noticed very little of that history acknowledged on the grounds of the state park. The Visitor Center focuses mostly on the white tourism since the opening of the park. There are also displays on the natural ecosystem and brief histories of the plantation itself, as well as the riot by the Seminoles on the plantation during the Second Seminole War. These displays leave out a lot of the narratives of what truly took place on this former plantation. It does not accurately portray the lives of those who were enslaved and had died there, with or without eventually gaining their freedom. It is difficult to portray 6,000 years worth of park history, especially the history of Florida’s occupation by different nations, all within a small, one-room center. Dr. Eisen suggested to the class that much of the history is compiled together by amateurs who are interested in the history. Unlike in federal parks, little funding is given to state parks to accurately portray and research the history of the park. Dr. Eisen as an academic felt an interest in researching the Spring Garden Plantation.
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ARE WE WALKING ON TOP OF PEOPLE'S TOMBSTONES? - DR. ANDY EISEN
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COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH WITH THE COMMUNITY EDUCATION PROJECT After sharing his research with his students in the Community Education Program (CEP), which helps incarcerated students from the Tomoka Correctional Institutional earn Stetson credits, the students felt inspired to extend upon his research in order to provide a “fuller representation” of the history of DeLeon Springs. Giving this connotation to their lives not only brings us closer to reconciling with the past, but also brings us closer to understanding the truth. The CEP students do all of their research in the prison, which is tricky without access to the internet. The students transcribed photocopies of documents that were found on online databases. Notably, one document uncovered the names of 200 enslaved people, describing the movement of enslaved people from plantations in South Carolina to Savannah and then to the Spring Garden Plantation. This showed the narrative of families that had been broken up through this horrible institution of slavery. The CEP students recently submitted their first paper for publication online at the Journal for American History and created a blog post on their research. Dr. Eisen and the CEP students are also creating a public exhibit that will be available locally and nationally to present the truth behind the Spring Garden Plantation.
WHAT IS SHOWN, WHAT IS NOT SHOWN Dr. Eisen brought his students in the course “Immigration, Race, and Ethnicity in American History: 1600 to Present” to DeLeon Springs for an assignment and powerful lecture. The goal for students was to see “what is shown, what is not shown” inside the park and to learn how to best commemorate the lives of those who were once enslaved there. They looked specifically at the language in the exhibits throughout the park. Focus was placed on looking at the language to see “who is writing it and how well they are writing it.” Many narratives of slaves were lost throughout time. Little is known about those who were enslaved on plantations. During his lecture, Dr. Eisen explained that “we know more about shipmasters than sailors, more on ship crew than slaves.” This was reflected in the exhibit. A student noted that there was more information on Andrew Jackson than there was on slavery. Parts of history are forgotten in the exhibit, Dr. Eisen noted. “There is nothing shown on the Jim Crow past... it is ironic that this plantation turned into a white tourist trap.” In speaking of slaves, there is more of a focus on the products that the enslaved people created, such as sugarcane and cotton, rather than details about their personal lives outside of the labor they
produced. There is also little shown of the truth from the Seminole Revolt on the Spring Garden Plantation, that happened during the Second Seminole War. Some of those involved in the revolt were Black Seminoles or slaves. Freed slaves destroyed the plantation and threw the machinery into the water. Dr. Eisen described this as a narrative that shows the “histories of black freedom.” He stated that is arguably “one of the largest slave revolts” in American history. There is still a lot that is unknown. It is unknown where the slave’s quarters were or where they were buried. Visitors to the springs are very possibly walking on top of the graves of those who suffered long ago.
STUDENTS' VOICES The field trip concluded with student reflections with Dr. Eisen along a trail, away from the main area of the park. The trail was “more like how the plantation was.” Dr. Eisen began speaking about the research that he and the CEP students had collected, resulting in so many slave names revealed that had been lost. He asked for the thoughts of the students on the portrayal of those who were enslaved. Many of the students felt that it was inadequate. Some suggested shifting the image of the park, while others suggested expanding the Visitor Center into a museum. Many felt that there was too much on the “white history” and the natural environment of the springs, which focused “more on the positive than the negative.” These students suggested that the information portrayed should be more engaging to grab the attention of those who are coming to the springs for entertainment or the make-yourown pancakes. But most importantly, these students believe that more effort should be put into discovering the lives of those who were enslaved, educating the public about them, and starting the effort to reconcile with the past. Izzy Albert, a Stetson student, stated, “A lot of black people want to connect and get together and understand our history. Places like this should be a place for that.” She continued to argue that the evils of slavery should be revealed to those at the park. “Something that dark should not be hidden.” After the students were able to voice their beliefs of the positive change needed, the reflection ended with a solemn moment. The work that the CEP students and Dr. Eisen had collaborated on was able to live on once again in DeLeon Springs as students had the opportunity to read the names aloud of those who had once been enslaved at Spring Garden Plantation. Other members of the group listened on in quiet, the names seemed to drift with the breeze in the old oak trees along the pathway. These names could live on once again, now remembered, in hopes that we can reconcile them with the pain they suffered in the past.
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Empty Rafters: How Stetson is Working to Fill the Stands Written by Ihsaan Fanusie Photos by Ihsaan Fanusie Layout by Ruby Rosenthal
This year, Stetson has seemingly invested more into getting greater student involvement in school athletics than ever before. Fueled by a need to increase attendance and student engagement, the Athletics Department has undergone several significant changes in how they distribute resources and funds into promotional activities. That is not to paint a bleak picture of student engagement at Stetson, however. Jeff Altier, Director of Athletics, noted that Stetson falls within the mid-range for athletic event attendance as compared to other schools in its conferences. Regardless, the focus on incentives for student involvement is clear. “To reach out to community, [Athletics Marketing] will invite community groups,” like fraternities and sororities, to the games, said Altier. “I definitely think student engagement is an opportunity that hasn’t really been tapped into just yet,” said Maddie Massa, Assistant Director of Athletics Marketing and Promotions. Massa says there have been new efforts to “engage the students more and see what they want more.” “We’ve incorporated some surveys where some of my student workers actually go out and table at the CUB,” she said. Collecting surveys on what students want to see is just one of the methods used by the athletic marketing team to capture feedback on improving student involvement. They also collect data on how many students attend sporting events and whether or not certain promotions or marketing strategies were effective. One of the most notable promotional events for Stetson this year was Tyler’s Amazing Balancing Act, a halftime performance that occured at the Stetson Men’s Basketball game against the New Jersey Institute of Technology. The halftime show consisted of Tyler Scheuer balancing various objects on his face, from wheelbarrows to giant ladders. Scheuer regularly performs at college basketball games 25 | THE REPORTER
and has been the most booked halftime act at college basketball games across the country for the past two years. His appearance, coupled with a promotion from Student Employment giving free entry into a raffle for an Apple Watch for student workers, packed the stands for the game. Acts like Tyler’s are expected to fill up the sports schedule into the spring. Beyond performances and organized entertainment, Stetson will have certain game day promotions be centered around themes, like a peanut butter and jelly theme for national PB&J day. “We’re planning on having a country night in baseball, and pairing that with student employment again because that was such a great combination” said Massa. Recognition of student achievement is another aspect of Stetson’s promotional strategy. “I know a lot of times, what I like for us to do is recognize the achievements of our students at sporting events,” said Altier. For example, Donald Parham, the senior tight end, is slated to receive a plaque for his outstanding work on Stetson’s football team during one of this season’s baseball games. In addition to serving as recognition of outstanding individual work, “it elevates the stature of our programs,” Altier said. There have also been several budgeting changes to accommodate the different promotional strategies Stetson has attempted this year. For the sports marketing team, there aren’t necessarily more funds then in previous years, but the method of allocation is different. Massa has two budgets. One is principally the marketing budget and the other is a pool of funds that have typically been designated for Hatter Village, the tailgating area for fans before football games. In past years, the funds in the latter category were used for the football tailgates with inflatables and face painting. This year, the transformation of Hatter Village into a more low-key event has opened up funds to be used elsewhere. “There isn’t necessarily more money allocated through the department,” she said. “It’s just how it was allocated.” Some sports are given higher priority in terms of marketing attention. “We promote harder our ticketed events, which are soccer, basketball, baseball, softball, football” Altier said. “And then we do less marketing of the non-ticketed events just simply because there’s less room.” New promotions are always a risky endeavor. But Stetson’s sports marketing department is committed to increasing student involvement in the most creative ways. “It’s being outside the box,” said Massa. “And it’s gonna be wacky and some of them are not going to be the greatest thing in the world. But we’re going to try and do things that haven’t been done before and make it fun for everybody. If the stands are full, then everybody wins.”
READ MORE STORIES AT
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PHOTO BY NATALIE BERGERON
PHOTO BY KEVIN VEGA
THE
PROBLEM WITH MONEY WRITTEN BY COLETTE CACCIOLA LAYOUT BY HALI POLLARD & ISABEL SOLORZANO
FIVE YEARS AGO, SOMETHING INTERESTING HAPPENED
here at Stetson University. There was a student protest over a $30,000 pile of rocks. Matthew Rafferty, a senior at the time, organized the “Occupy the Rock” protests in response to what he saw as a great injustice committed by the administration, which had made the decision to put tens of thousands into the installation of what we now know as the Rock, rather than putting the money into academics or into rehiring adjuncts, where he felt it belonged. For reference, these funds were restricted in nature, and thus could not have ever gone toward these things, but misinformation and a lack of clarity regarding these issues led students to believe that the funding could have been otherwise allocated.
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At the time, over a hundred students rallied together with the shared perception that administrative priorities and the whims of the trustees and president were constantly taking precedence over the needs of the students and of the faculty, often over rational spending policies and over things that actually matter. The Rock was unique in that it was a physical manifestation of administrative inefficiency—students had something to rally around that was concrete, rock solid, if you will—but it’s important to recognize that although current university issues don’t always have tangible signifiers, we are still experiencing them every day. In our billing statements, in our overfilled residence halls, in our sparsely-attended athletic events, and in future university policies that are on the table for debate. So—where are the protests? Where is the student activism? What are our tuition dollars buying us? As tuition and fees together break $60,000, are student, staff, and faculty needs actually being met? Based on the leaked 2014 Faculty Satisfaction Survey and the published results of the 2016 Campus Climate Survey, no. In response to the statement “The faculty has significant voice in regard to important institutional matters,” 65 percent of respondents, all faculty, disagreed or strongly disagreed; 61 percent disagreed or strongly disagreed with the
who currently attend the university, committed faculty, and staff, whose voices about these issues must be heard. A marked increase in faculty senate meetings and increasing discussion of shared governance both indicate that this unrest continues. Where, though, does this “trust deficit” stem from? Taking a look at the compiled comparative results from the last several years of Student Satisfaction Surveys may give us answers. Given the chance to rank issues of importance, students consistently place athletics near dead last. “The intercollegiate athletic programs contribute to a strong sense of school spirit,” “[a] variety of intramural activities are offered,” and “[o]pportunity to play sports as a factor in the decision to enroll” are the three options given on the survey that relate explicitly to athletics. Students in 2017 ranked them, out of 98, in 88th, 89th, and 91st place, respectively. This placement is down from 2014. In other words, athletics have become less and less important to students, and yet, each year, Stetson puts $18 million into athletics, which is public information provided by Stetson to the Equity in Athletics Data Analysis (EADA) through the U.S. Department of Education. As of 2015, the NCAA reported that only 24 schools out of 347 with Division I athletic programs generated more revenue than they had in
...THIS MEANS THAT ACCORDING TO THE MOST CURRENT REPORT, STETSON SPENDS $12,281,263 ON ITS ATHLETICS PROGRAM. statement “I think that faculty morale is good.” Staff feel that they do not have the time to complete the work they are given. Faculty feel overworked and undervalued, and overall as if there is no real weight given to their communication to both President Libby and the administration as a whole. Most disagreed with the statement that “the overall relationship between the faculty and administration is trusting” and over 80 percent believe that were they to speak up, there would be administrative retaliation. This “trust deficit” between faculty and administration does not only impede communication, but it also has a direct detrimental effect on the student experience. Especially as the student body continues to grow, important financial decisions are being made that, if not discussed with faculty, may result in their relationship becoming increasingly combative and bitter. Students, though overall satisfied, remark that they have experienced sexual harassment, discrimination, and feeling as though they are disregarded by faculty and administration. Despite the fact that the outside corporation in charge of interpreting these results, Rankin & Associates, notes that they are on par with similar universities, the results point to overall institutional inefficiency in dealing with the most essential issues, and further, the most essential people—invested students
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expenses, and Stetson is one of the 93.1 percent of universities that takes a loss each year with its athletics investment. It is difficult, though, to fully understand just how great the loss actually is. NCAA guidelines concerning agreed upon reporting procedures of athletics revenue and expenses dictate that all sources of revenue are included in a budget report—including two categories called “Direct Institutional Support” and “Indirect Institutional Support,” which entail unrestricted funds allocated to the athletics department by the university, as well as “costs covered and services provided by the institution to athletics but not charged to athletics.” Essentially, because a majority of colleges and universities take an annual net loss on their athletics programs, they rely on these categories of revenue, which include “direct and indirect support from general funds, student fees, and government appropriations” in order to provide funding to subsidize their athletics programs. This is why, if you look many universities up in the EADA Database, they seem to net zero. Their expenses and revenue are equal, down to the dollar. Through the Office of Development’s Online Giving page, Stetson states “Our athletic programs generate national attention, increased enrollment, and alumni engagement while contributing to greater student spirit, satisfaction and retention.” The archived Athletic Expansion
PHOTO BY ISABEL SOLORZANO
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Initiative page from when Stetson began its involvement in the Pioneer Football League in 2013 stated that adding football and lacrosse to the athletics program would “[i]ncrease enrollment (For each football player recruited, additional students will be attracted to campus, which is a major step toward our goal of growing enrollment to 3,000 students by 2016.)” In a conversation with Rebecca Thomas, Assistant Director of Sustainable Giving, and Mark Ernest, Director of Sustainable Giving, I found that the content on this page, though often finalized by Mark, is generally supplemented entirely by verbage provided through higher offices, such as that of Amy Gipson, Assistant Vice President for Development Strategy and Communications, and Jordan Foley, Stetson’s Web Editor. Administrators at Stetson have called athletics one of the pillars of the student experience, and further, of increasing retention. Drawing from First Time in College (FTIC) Stetson Retention Data, this doesn’t appear to be true. The most recent public calculation of Stetson retention,
Group have all been created or redirected to focus more efforts on policies and special attention that will increase retention rates. We are still seeing no results. If we want to increase our retention and continue to invest in new programs to do so, at what point do we question whether these worked when retention doesn’t go up? When do we decide that something does not work? When do we give up? Do we give up? What do students actually want? If we are to reference, once again, the results from the student satisfaction surveys, it is incredibly clear that students value academics. They want the content of courses within their majors to be of value, they want strong instruction in their courses from faculty. Students want intellectual growth. These ideas all place in the top ten, consistently, from 2014 to 2017.
So students consistently value academics far over athletics, yet
“WHEN DO WE DECIDE
THAT SOMETHING DOES NOT WORK? WHEN DO WE GIVE UP? DO WE GIVE UP? WHAT DO STUDENTS ACTUALLY WANT?
”
in the fall of 2017, sits at 76.4 percent, hitting its lowest point since 1996. The last time retention hit 80 percent was in 2006, long before the football team was reinstated in 2013, and between 2013 and 2016, retention stagnated around 77 percent. With the economy on the upswing, and with the promise that athletics are a great contributing factor to increased retention, shouldn’t we be seeing more results? When asked about this, Jeff Altier said that, concerning athletics, we “cannot say whether there has been a positive or negative impact [on retention]” but that “the more you engage students...the higher their retention will be.”
the institution continues to lose money investing in our athletics program and in other initiatives that have returned no significant results. Despite claims that athletics and these initiatives increase retention, retention has instead dropped by three percent since 2012, right before football was introduced. Why, then, does it seem that this discrepancy has not been addressed? Someone needs to begin the process of mending the relationship between faculty, staff, and administration, in order to steer conversations toward how to better equip faculty with the funding, supplies, and support to handle these student needs. Failed initiatives need to be let go.
Throughout the campaign of growth, more and more new programs have been arisen to increase retention rates. Vibrancy, Campus Life and Student Success (CLaSS), Academic Affairs, the Student Success Collaborative (SSC), and the Retention and Persistence Task Force Strategic
There is, of course, a lot more to it, but in the consideration of intangible, more difficult to grasp issues that students should certainly be paying more attention to and talking more about if they value their overall experience here at Stetson, this is a great place to start.
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A
Written by Colette Cacciola Layout by Hali Pollard
lthough we are only a little over a month into this academic semester, already the Student Government Association (SGA) has been busy dealing with new legislation and other issues on and around campus. Here is a small glimpse into what they have been up to over the past several weeks, and what to look forward to as the semester continues.
SGA PRESIDENT OUT FOR TWO MEETINGS
Danny, the SGA president, was out for two meetings as he played one of the starring roles in [title of show], which played for two weeks in the Second Stage Theatre. Check our website for a thorough review of the production by The Reporter’s section editor, Lana Kaczmarek!
CCE MORE ACCESSIBLE FOR COMMUTERS
On February 6th, the Environmental Fellows presented to SGA about making the Center for Community Engagement (CCE) on campus more accessible as a commuter-focused space. The consensus of the Senate was that this idea is a good first step, but that more research and feedback must be gathered. If you have any input, feel free to get in touch with the CCE or the Environmental Fellows.
TRAFFIC COURT DATES ARE SET
Also at the meeting on February 6th, the tentative dates of February 22nd and April 12th were set for Traffic Court. One has already passed, but keep the other in mind if you have any parking tickets you are mad about. Additionally, Parking Ticket Forgiveness Day is coming soon. More on this as soon as we are made aware of a date.
NELSON MANDELA'S GRANDSON SPEAKING AT STETSON
During the SGA meeting on February 13th, it was brought to our attention that the Multicultural Student Council is bringing Ndaba Mandela, Nelson Mandela’s grandson, to speak at Stetson. In the context of the SGA meeting, they requested $6,975 for this event. However, it seems that they have already paid for the event and are asking for additional funding because they do not want to cancel programs they had previously planned to hold. Take this as you will. Ndaba will be speaking on his experience, his grandfather’s life and legacy, and will be offering a workshop which students will be able to apply for. This event will be held from 4:00 to 9:00pm on March 26th in the CUB Garage.
SGA meets each Wednesday evening at 7:30, and the student body is always more than welcome to sit in and contribute to those handling the official business underlying university matters. If you have further questions or curiosities and cannot make it to SGA’s meetings, you can reach SGA President, Daniel Mejia, at dmejia@stetson.edu and the Vice President, Lauren Spratt, at lspratt@stetson.edu.
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WHEN MY FATHER CHOSE OPIATES OVER ME Writing & Illustrations by Colette Cacciola Layout by Hali Pollard, Izzy Solorzano & Colette Cacciola 33 | THE REPORTER
GOD STOPPED TALKING TO ME. I STOPPED TALKING TO ANYONE. ISSUE IV | 34
W
hen Hurricane Charley destroyed my home in 2004, I lived in a rental house with a leaky roof for almost a year. My brother, mother, and I had nine cats, and two bedrooms to squeeze them all into. My father, Poppy, made the decision to stay in the skeleton of the home we had left behind, thirty minutes away, sleeping in sodden, molding fiberglass each night. I was seven, my brother four, and all we knew to ask our mother was why. Sometimes I wish she had told us, but to keep us safe she insisted she did not know. Poppy was addicted to OxyContin. He was an alcoholic and a heavy smoker, and his new addiction began in 2003 when his dentist prescribed the opioid to him after a surgical extraction. Already taken by other addictions, he succumbed easily to the opioid crisis of the early 2000s. Crisis might not be the right word. Maybe the media coverage of the past two decades of healthcare and prescription pain medication is a little sensational. However, beginning in 2001, there was a marked increase in opioid overdoses, linked by many scholars and medical professionals to the practice of overprescribing in conjunction with social and economic upheaval. The effectiveness of opioids far overshadowed the dangerous side effects and potentially addictive properties, and by the early 2000s, chronic pain became a multi-billion dollar industry. In 2003, the United States General Accounting Office reported that from 1997 to 2002, OxyContin prescriptions for pain unrelated to cancer grew from 670,000 to over six million. Drug-related mortality rates overall doubled between 1999 and 2013. Chronic pain linked with mental fatigue and increased overall tension to double opioid-related overdoses. This only continued to worsen in the following years. In 2006, I believe Poppy was at his worst. My Nana, his mother, flew down from New York to visit us. We packed into my mother’s 2000 Toyota RAV4 to visit a favorite of hers, Olive Garden. Right after we ordered, he stood, saying he needed some air, and stumbled out of the restaurant. We waited. Thirty minutes later, my mother solemnly had our food packed into boxes and we left. He was nowhere to be found. We wandered the parking lot as the sun set, calling for him until it was dark.
On our way home, six miles down the road, we found
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him wandering alongside the highway in a daze. He was barely coherent and didn’t seem to know how he had gotten there. His mother said nothing. My mother cried. He smelled like cheap beer, garlic, and cinnamon gum. He sat between my brother and me and we went home. Over time, these incidents became more numerous and more frequent, and more often than not Poppy was not home. Instead, he was crashing on other people’s couches, buying OxyContin from them when his prescription was no longer enough, and selling marijuana out of his truck to support his habit. He began spreading rumors about my mother and accusing her of cheating on him and he became increasingly delusional and aggressive as time went on. OxyContin was initially marketed as combating the addictive properties of opioids as a delayed-release product, the first on the market of its kind. Unfortunately, though, this was untrue. Instead, the new drug wore off earlier than research had initially seemed to conclude, leaving people experiencing symptoms of withdrawal and scrambling to take more. It came out later that this was known by Purdue, the corporation behind OxyContin, and was ignored. Instead, higher doses were prescribed. According to an investigation conducted by the LA Times in 2016, over “half of long-term OxyContin users are on doses that public health officials consider dangerously high.” I remember hiding under tables to watch my parents fight. I learned who not to be from listening to them scream. I watched prescription painkillers and Bud Light take Poppy away. I watched him stick his rotting teeth back in with cinnamon gum. I watched him fading in and out of consciousness over tubs of vanilla ice cream while coming down from a high. I watched him package pills in travel containers to sell, and then partake of his own supply. As a child, I found this unsettling and often annoying, but not entirely unexpected from a father who was already incredibly distanced from his children’s lives. It was also far beyond my scope of understanding. I was eight, nine, ten years old and had so little concept of what addiction even meant. I think my mother had the best of intentions in keeping it from me, but often I wish she had just told me the truth. My understanding of addiction came later, first from my mother, who believes even now that it is spiritual weakness,
that addicts choose and are complicit in their own failure. Studies on drug addiction point us in a different direction. OxyContin is ruthless and incredibly fast, creating dependence in as little as one dose. Journalist Beth Macy, in her bestseller Dopesick, goes into this a little further, fleshing out the misconceptions that surround drug abuse into a more universal issue, one that everyone is vulnerable to despite their income level, age, race, or background.
living room. He was a disaster. Shocked that she had carried her life on without him, he rekindled their relationship while dating other women behind her back. She gained weight after she quit smoking during a bout of pneumonia, and I listened to him tell our neighbor about what a “fat slob” she had become. God stopped talking to me. I stopped talking to anyone. His dentist fled the country, charged with multiple counts of drug trafficking and over-prescription.
The chemical makeup of OxyContin is similar to that of heroin, and for many, a prescription of OxyContin leads directly to a later addiction to more serious drugs. Because of the effects of withdrawal, those taking prescription doses of OxyContin often move on to taking doses early, to snorting pills to quicken the effects, to requesting ever larger doses, and then to finding similar ways to attain the feeling of the narcotic high.
The last time I spoke to my father, he had recently tried for custody. I visited his home and found myself surrounded. It smelled like Bud Light and an Italian kitchen. It smelled like Big Red. There were empty pill bottles under the couch. It was 2015, and I was almost 18, but for a moment I felt nine years old all over again, and I couldn’t help but wonder how things might have been had he listened to my mother, to his own mother, and to the needs of his kids. Addiction is a disease, and many are unable to tear themselves away from opiate addiction, but even still, many do.
My parents’ divorce was finalized in early 2009 when I was 12 years old. This is the classic American story nowadays, but unlike most, my parents maintained a relationship long after the ink dried on their divorce papers. We were at the height of the housing crisis in my small town, and my father was homeless, so even after moving into a much smaller home, my mother let him take up new residence in our
I am not angry at my father. More than anything, I want to ask him exactly what I asked my mother in 2004—why? One hundred thirty people die each day as a result of opiate overdoses. I wonder if he thinks as often as I do about when he, too, will die.
ISSUE IV | 36
PSAFE REPORTS Information Gathered by Hannah Zeller Layout by Hali Pollard
january 5 15 17 18 22 22 31
Burglar Alarm sounding at the Chiller Plant Fire Alarm Sounding/Policy Violation: Smoking at Emily Hall Fight at the Edmunds Center Arrest at Nemec Hall Traffic Accident: Hit and Run at the Lynn Business Center Report of Criminal Mischief at the Edmunds Center Report of Verbal Harassment at Nemec Hall
febuary 2 6 6 8 9 37 | THE REPORTER
Traffic Accident with Injuries/Arrest: Alcohol Violations/Policy Violation: Disrespecting University Official at the Alpha Tau Omega house Conduct investigation and report of trespassing at Emily Hall Report of a bicycle theft at Davis Hall Report of tampering with fire safety equipment at the Pi Kappa Alpha house Damage to Property at Pi Kappa Alpha house
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