Avion Blue & Gold Week Spring 2021 by The Avion

Spring 2021 Blue & Gold Week

Photo Courtesy / David Massey

Eagle Fest Chirag Mehrotra Staff Reporter

Embry-Riddle Athletics department hosted Eagle Fest to kick off annual Blue & Gold Week celebrations. Unfortunately, Florida weather played a spoilsport and curtailed a big part of the event. The planned proceedings of the day could not go ahead exactly as planned since the event was moved indoors. Inside, there was a multitude of activities for students to take part in and enjoy. One of the first things was a photo booth where attendees could take pictures with Ernie the Eagle or with trophies that Embry-Riddle athletics has won over the years. Inside the gym, there were a plethora of activities for students. They could take part in a basketball competition or four square volleyball. There were also less intensive activities such as cornhole, frisbee,

KanJam, Spikeball, all-star basketball, and high striker. Hundreds of students came out and enjoyed playing games with their friends while also munching on free food available. WIKD 102.5 also came out to provide a nice ambiance to the whole event with some background music. People could be seen busting some moves to some great bops by the DJs. Touch-N-Go also added some blue and gold lights to add to the feel of the event. The fest was a great start to the festivities planned for Blue & Gold Week. It was a fun night for everyone who showed up, and it was amazing to see so many people coming back together as bigger events get planned in lieu of the ongoing crises.

We kicked off Blue & Gold Fest with a cinnamon sugar-coated pretzel!

Aaryan Pal representing WIKD 102.5 with a ton of swag!

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Gianna Castano/ The Avion

Top Image: The “Feel the Future” T-shirts and stickers were a big hit!

Gianna Castano/ The Avion

Bottom Image: WIKD hosting a student tie-dye event outside the SU. Page 2

Star Wars Cantina Salim Roig Business Manager

Long ago in a tent far far away… an event was held near the Student Union where people from all walks of life here at Riddle gathered to answer fun Star Wars trivia asked by the brave and roguishly handsome Han Solo. Last week as part of Blue and Gold Week we had a special Star Wars themed Skyline Social where students got to compete in a fun trivia game to see who knew the most about George Lucas’ magnum opus. Plenty of people showed up to the event dressed as popular characters from the franchise. Lots of delicious food was served at the trivia night. A live band composed of Embry-Riddle students played some of Star Wars’ most famous songs such as “The Imperial March,” “Duel of Fates,” and yes even the “Cantina Song.” On top of that our own WIKD 102.5 FM sent out the amazing DJ HotFiya who played energetic Star Wars inspired EDM music. With all of this combined, even if you aren’t a diehard fan of the beloved space opera you will surely find cool people to hang with, good food to enjoy, and spectacular music to listen to. Now while the atmosphere was fun, one would naturally wonder what sort of prizes they Page 3

Salim Roig / The Avion

would give away in this event. Well when you enter the Cantina you are handed a ticket and depending on your luck if they called out your number at any point in the night you would get a special Star Wars themed duck with cute names such as Luke Pondwalker. For the competitive however, you had a chance of winning a deluxe lightsaber if you and your team of up to four people got 1st place in the trivia night. Many people enjoyed the night as they believed it was a much needed mental break from the intense course load that’s been this semester. They felt that it was a place that friends could hang with friends and be the goofy space nerds we all are inside. This night and many more were given to us as part of Blue and Gold Week. Here’s to hoping next year will be even better!

Left: Many notable members of WIKD 102.5 FM enjoying a beautiful day at the Star Wars Cantina, featuring famous DJ and Jedi knight DJ HotFiya relaxing with his padawans after a hard night of force training and EDM mixing.

Right: The Embry-Riddle live music band playing famous Star Wars songs such as “The Imperial March,” “Duel of The Fates,” and many more. Bottom: The sign up booth for the Cantina to get a raffle ticket for the Star Wars themed duck giveaway.

Salim Roig / The Avion

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hebocon robotic competition Salim Roig Business Manager Have you ever wanted to build your own DIY robot and see if it could win a contest of strength, endurance, and overall coolness? If you answered yes to this, then the Hebocon Robotic Competition was your go-to place! Hosted by the Robotic Association of Embry-Riddle (RAER) and the Robotic Warriors organization, Hebocon allowed students this past Monday to design their own robots using only commonly found items under a strict time limit. The goal of the contest was to allow students to let their creativity thrive as they have their DIY robots fight against each other. There were some noticeable entries from the competition. “Dat Boi” was a robot designed with the most advanced white paper technology one could find in a common office area powered by wind currents provided by the driver (a piece of paper you blow on). Another robot was remote-controlled dinosaur riding a small wooden boat while it swings its strong and powerful claws at its enemy. Another creation was a lobster-like bot made of cardboard grabs its opponent and pushes it away. Thanks to these, as well as other fun creative machines, the event was full of excitement. At the end of the night, the winner was the dinosaur robot who used its mighty pre-historic arms to crush the competition, all while looking beautiful. This event was a great example of what makes Blue and Gold Week an amazing time to be a Riddle student. Now let’s say you ended up missing Hebocon because you were either too busy that night or didn’t know it existed. Have no fear because thanks to the amazing turnout they had this year, the chances of it being around next year are quite likely. Who knows? Maybe you will be the next winner of Hebocon and prove that you are Riddle’s greatest robotic mind.

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Salim Roig / The Avion

Blue and Gold Week Opinions: Ivory Moore Salim Roig Business Manager

The Avion (TA): Tell us a bit about yourself.

events that I went to, like Hebocon, and being able to see everybody out and about doing Ivory Moore (IM): My name is Ivory. I am a fresh- things. I think it was a lot of fun. It was a good man here at Embry-Riddle going for a degree mental break. in Aerospace Engineering. TA: What do you hope to see for future Blue and TA: As you know, last week was Blue and Gold Gold Week events? Week. What did you think of the events that happened throughout the week? What are your IM: I think maybe trying to have something out in the Quad every day because we only have thoughts on the festival overall? huge things going on now. I think there was IM: Honestly, it was equal parts fun and weird! something on Monday. Then on the last day, Weird is the best way to put it. It just sprung upon there was a bunch of stuff in the Quad happenus because there wasn’t tons of advertising that ing. It would be more interactive and get more I saw, other than posters getting put up a cou- students involved if there was at least someple of days beforehand. Still, I had fun with the thing out there to do every day.

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Salim Roig / The Avion

ImageSalim Courtesy/ SESU Roig / ERAU The Avion

Blue and Gold Week Opinions: Dylan Pereira Salim Roig Business Manager

The Avion (TA): Tell us a bit about yourself.

DP: I think it is a good idea for most freshmen because of how they’re struggling when it comes Dylan Pereira (DP): Hey, my name is Dylan Perei- to having fun at all. I think Blue and Gold Week ra. I am a freshman, and my major is Aerospace provided that. They can finally go to various Engineering. I have no minor. Right now, I am in events throughout the week. And even if they my second semester at Embry-Riddle Aeronau- cannot go to the events, they can go to the tical University. festival where they have food and drinks and people you can still talk with. TA: As you know, last week was Blue and Gold Week. How do you feel about the festival? TA: What do you hope to see for future Blue and Gold Week events? DP: I think it was a good thing, especially since people these days are too scared to go to DP: I’m hoping to see a comeback of the Star these types of events and hang out due to the Wars Cantina. I really love that event. And Hevirus. It helped students take the stress out from bocon too! It is a good way for students to show that. They do a lot of work while keeping every- off their talents, skills, and all that. I hope I could thing balanced. This festival was a good way to see that next year; it made the wait worth it. socialize with others. And it was pretty! TA: How did these events make you feel? DP: They made me feel like I belong there and that the people around me accepted me. It does not matter who you are. They will speak to you. People talk about the event there, and soon you’ll feel like you belong there with them. TA: As a freshman, what do you think of the idea of Blue and Gold Week? Page 7

Salim Roig / The Avion

Blue and Gold Week Opinions: Carina Shanahan Salim Roig Business Manager

The Avion (TA): Tell us a bit about yourself.

whenever they had that.

Carina Shanahan (CS): I’m a sophomore at Embry-Riddle right now, studying Astronomy and Astrophysics. I have a leadership position in the Catholic Student Union, and I have an internship over the summer with one of my professors.

TA: That is great to hear! As you know, we didn’t get a Blue and Gold Week last year. How did that make you feel?

CS: I feel like I missed a lot because of COVID, not just the Blue and Gold Week. So having it this year felt great! It felt like it built TA: As you know, last week was Blue and up hype around campus for things besides Gold Week. What are your thoughts on it? studying. You know what I mean? How was it this year? TA: Yes. So what do you hope to see for fuCS: That was lively here. Unfortunately, I did ture Blue and Gold Week events? not get the chance to go to a lot of the events, but there was always music blasting, CS: I think, if possible, having some more and everyone looks like they were having a interactive type events like cornhole, ingood time. I did get cotton candy from one stead of just standard setup and stuff. I reof the stands up, Wednesday or Thursday, member in the fall semester of our freshman year, they had a band come in and perform. Obviously, they cannot do that with COVID, but as we go forward and COVID becomes less of a thing, it would be awesome!

Salim Roig / The Avion

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STUDENT GOVERNMENT ASSOCIATION

SGA ELECTIONS APRIL 5 - 9

s ups pro u o G r s G u s up m a Capm C n n o o M5!PM! e e l P l 5 b b @ a a @ l l i i 9 l 9 a l rilpri eeaavva l closloesAepA b l b l i l l l w i s c l i ill llotst w alo ddww b n l a n a n o b M a ti A n c 8 tio l 55 @ @8AM i r EleEcle p l i A r g p rting A tastratin s

Questions?Contact Contactsga.elections@yahoo.com sga.elections@yahoo.com Questions?

SGA Executive Debate Andrea Gamble News Editor On Thursday, April 1, we had a chance to see up close and personal what we should look forward to during the 2021-2022 academic year from our running candidates: Exec Ticket #1 (left) Johan Restrepo - President, Bethany Thompson - Vice President, and Savanna Sheahan - Treasurer Exec Ticket #2 (right) Kelsey Ennis - President, Nickolas Bauman - Vice President, and Kenzie Klisz - Treasurer.

Malik Turner/ The Avion

Both tickets started with their introduction and reason for running; it was clear that both have one overall goal in mind: to be the voice of the student body. With their previous experience in clubs, sports, and SGA-related engagement, Johan’s ticket shows they have the background knowledge and want to see detailed changes within our community. Kelsey’s ticket is approaching this much differently; they want to come into the SGA with a fresh eye and perspective for change, being that they have minimal involvement within the campus extracurricular activities. This difference brings in new, fresh air to the school, and they hope to gain the experience from what they want to see within the SGA. They alternated answering questions from both the students and leaders here at Riddle. Kelsey’s ticket expresses their most significant goal of change as the communication between the students, leaders, and faculty: allowing everyone to voice their opinions and, “If they see something, say something.” She wants to make sure that we bring community and comfort to the campus, especially during these unprecedented times. On the other hand, Johan’s ticket expressed one of their biggest goals as the middleman between the students and faculty, making sure that they create that pathway Page 13 for students to gain confidence in voicing

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their opinions and expressing what they want to see change. The most considerable issues from the students this semester involved campus safety and parking. Johan states that he works closely with the SGA parking committee and will continue to work with them throughout the process of building the student parking lot, letting the students know any essential updates or revisions. Kelsey also has made connections; hers being with campus safety. She declares that if her ticket is elected into office, she will work hard to leverage the needs of the students’ concerns. Both tickets ended the debate by expressing what they appreciated most about the other. Kelsey’s ticket says they love how involved Johan’s ticket is within their SGA community and admire them trying to make changes from their perspective. Johan’s ticket shows their respect for the bravery and passion that the other ticket exerts with bringing a fresh mindset to Riddle. If you have not already, be sure to view their personal interviews @theavionnewspaper on Instagram. Also, be sure to look out for the two tickets tabling this upcoming week in the SU. If you have any questions, please contact sga.elections@yahoo.com for more information.

SGA Elections Issue To our valued readers, The Avion acknowledges the transcription mistakes that were made in our SGA Elections Issue, and for that we apologize. Please stop by our ofﬁce or reach out on social media if you have any questions or concerns.

Visit our website, theavion.com to view the FULL interviews! Be sure to check out our social media pages for updates and Executive Ticket interviews.

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Gianna Castano Distribution Manager

My heart is honestly beating through my chest, thinking about the backlash I might get from people on campus, but I feel protected by those who support my opinion. This past year had brought so much political and social instability when we truly needed to come together. Police officers are some of the citizens of this country who received the most hate. Keep in mind that the words I write in this article are not intended to incite anything, and I apologize if you think that is my goal. I have friends of several races on and off campus who do and do not support police, but since we’re adults, we have civil conversations about this topic and remain friends, despite our differences. I want to address a common misconception that people have: that all cops are the b-word. They are

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Unpopular Opinion : not! There are corrupt cops in every state, as we’ve seen with the George Floyd case. I even know of a female cop in New York City that dated a drug dealer and helped him move dope around the city! Those types of cops never deserved to graduate from their respective academies as they would only undermine their hometown. Sadly, sometimes they get a slap on the wrist for their misconduct. According to the Office of Justice Programs, 6,724 sworn law enforcement officers were arrested between Jan. 1, 2005, and Dec. 31, 2011, with more than half of them committed by federal officers, not by nonfederal officers (i.e., state, local, etc.). This statistic includes all documented profit-motivated and sex, alcohol, drug, and violence/race-related offenses. The total population of law en-

forcement employees in 2011 was 1,001,984, as reported by the FBI’s Criminal Justice Information Services Division. That means about 0.6% of all U.S. law enforcement has committed something heinous against those they were supposed to protect. Even if these numbers were to increase drastically, a tiny number of cops are atrocious compared to the majority that put their lives on the line each day with genuine care for society’s stability and well-being. We take for granted the overall weight they carry on their shoulders for the sake of our safety. Police officers are trained to handle numerous situations accordingly, but the unknown lingers within their dispatched incident. One of the most unpredictable and dangerous calls is ones of domestic violence. During dispute mitigation, the assail-

ant(s) may be intoxicated and/or severely emotionally and mentally disturbed. Deescalating the situation requires a keen eye and a head on a swivel because there are occurrences when the caller and/or their partner turns on the officer(s) to engage in an ambush or unprovoked attack. Between 1996 and 2009, the National Center on Domestic and Sexual Violence reported that 771 officers died in the line of duty, with 104 deaths stemming from domestic violence calls. 97% of those deaths were caused by firearms, and 51% were from those unprovoked attacks. A couple of weeks ago, Orlando police officer Kevin Valencia died after being in a coma for about two years due to being shot in the head responding to a domestic violence call in 2018.

Back the Blue I do not know your experiences with cops that may have scarred you or led you to believe that all cops have ill intent. Still, I urge you to reconsider your outlook on them and understand that there are way more good cops than evil ones and that they deserve to be respected as the rest of us deserve to be, too.

To conclude, I ask across multiple cities? you these few questions: When you see videos of cops making Wouldn’t you be at jokes, playing basketleast somewhat scared ball, rescuing animals, getting to your patrol etc., what do you think car each tour without about it? a partner, not knowing what the future holds? When you contact a cop who was nice to Have you forgotten you or helped you out, what happened when do you consider him/ police were defunded her as an exception,

or do you ponder why you have such harsh opinions against all of them instead of the select few that are genuinely evil? To those who are currently servicing, are retired, or those who have family in the police force: keep your head up and always watch your six!

Image Courtesy / Orlando Police Department

Orlando police officer Kevin Valencia who was ultimately killed by perpetrator Gary Wayne Lindsey Jr.

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Reinforcing Pilot Training John Mazur Correspondant

With an airline engine coming apart in flight earlier last month, the public was calling that airline’s Captain the new Sully. Not taking anything away from either of them, I would think with the training all airline pilots undergo, almost all current airline pilots would have the same successful results. I have been a long-time International Airline Captain for American Airlines, and now a Training Captain for iAero Airways, training their pilots in Miami at the original Pan Am Airlines Simulator Center there. I thought if your readers had a better idea of the training all airline pilots undergo, they might feel much more comfortable and safe on their future flights. These new Captains had a pretty tough day flying today. They had to maneuver for resolution of near-miss conflicts with two other planes on initial climb out after takeoff. They were headed to Havana from Miami. During the relatively short flight, they had an engine flameout, but were able to follow procedures to restart it. As they continued their flight, they had engine generators and hydraulic systems fail and had to restore electric power for naviga-

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tion and other aircraft systems. On arriving at their destination, they had their flaps jam due to asymmetry with reduced hydraulic power, causing flight control and excessive landing speed difficulties. In addition, with a nearby thunderstorm, their landing airport had visibility at minimums, and strong gusty crosswinds at the aircraft’s maximum limits. Fortunately, they were able to successfully complete the landing with a greaser. Passengers were probably clapping and happy to have arrived safely, not knowing what other problems their pilots had to deal with during the flight. Of course, this flight was in our full motion and very realistic simulator. This was routine and frequent training all airline pilots undergo which requires their constant dedication and discipline to maintain this level of proficiency throughout their careers! This very expensive and high-quality training is mandated by the FAA and supported by our airline companies to ensure our passengers’ safety. If you’re flying anytime soon, please know you’re in safe hands at all times, especially if your pilots got their initial training at Embry-Riddle, and enjoy your flight!

April 4-10, 2021

HOROSCOPES

ARIES (Mar 21/Apr 20) Now may be a great time to reevaluate your ﬁnances, Aries. Investments could be the right path for now, but you may want to seek some professional advice. TAURUS (Apr 21/May 21) A message from a business partner could bring welcome news, Taurus. This might be the break you are waiting for at this juncture in your life. Career changes could be in store. GEMINI (May 22/Jun 21) Gemini, expect to engage in a very interesting conversation this week. This person has not crossed your path in a while, and the reconnection sparks new goals. CANCER (Jun 22/Jul 22) Cancer, frustrations could arise that make you want to vent some anger. Channel your energy into something productive, such as a kickboxing class. LEO (Jul 23/Aug 23) Obstacles at work or home interfere with your ability to work efﬁciently, Leo. Even

though tasks may take you a little longer, don’t throw in the towel just yet. VIRGO (Aug 24/Sept 22) Virgo, do your best to lighten the atmosphere around the house this week. Encourage others to kick up their heels and keep the focus on fun and fun alone. LIBRA (Sept 23/Oct 23) Avoid any drama or chaos that may surround you this week, Libra. Others may seem on edge, but you can remain calm. Quarantine yourself at home and the storm will blow over. SCORPIO (Oct 24/Nov 22) Scorpio, even though a few setbacks come your way, your ﬁnancial situation still looks very promising this week. Figure out how to capitalize on this favorable position. SAGITTARIUS (Nov 23/Dec 21) You are usually laid back and calm, Sagittarius. However, when something goes against your beliefs this week you are

ready to stand up for morals or concerns. CAPRICORN (Dec 22/Jan 20) This may not be a good week to travel, Capricorn. Look over your itinerary again and try to reconﬁgure them so you can travel later on instead. AQUARIUS (Jan 21/Feb 18) Aquarius, trust your gut instinct about big ﬁnancial moves regardless of any advice you’re getting from others. You’ll likely see that now isn’t the time for spending. PISCES (Feb 19/Mar 20) A bumpy start to the week that has you questioning several choices will smooth out, Pisces. The weekend will be very productive.

Finished all of the puzzles for this week? Be the ﬁrst to email us a picture of your solutions to business@theavion. to get a prize!

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