Volume 5, Issue 12

THE QUICKIE

VIEWPOINTS

ENTERTAINMENT

HEALTH & FITNESS

SPORTS

Club Spotlight: Cheese Club

Senior Editor Farewells

Summer Festival Survival

Summer is coming

The Current sports awards

Learn everything you need to know to survive the festival. season. page 15

Learn how to get that hot summer body with a special workout.

Read about Eckerd’s top athletes of 2013 - 2014.

If you are a cheese connoisseur, read about joining Cheese Club.

Read goodbyes from each of the senior editors.

pages 12 to 13

page 9

page 16

page 21

Vol. 5, Issue 12 May 2, 2014

Facilities unveils renovation plans for summer, next academic year

By Sydney Cavero Asst. News Editor Many renovations are on Eckerd’s construction agenda for this summer and next year, the most expensive of which include installing new air-conditioning units in Zeta and replacing the soccer field’s 10-yearold turf, according to Director of Facilities Management Doug Ault.

Zeta’s new units will be selfcontrolled and will solve the moisture and leaking problems many residents have faced in past years. Ault said this change will also involve replacing the existing closets with the armoires present in dorms such as Iota.

Ault added that, unlike previous summers, a dorm lounge will not be renovated this summer due to the expenses of more urgent needs around campus. He currently estimates that new units and turf will cost $180,000 and $350,000, though he is still waiting for contractors to submit their final bids.

“During the year we just get to do routine maintenance stuff,” Ault said, “so it’s nice during the summer to get to do projects and solve problems and get some of those things corrected.”

Other construction Ault hopes to accomplish by this summer includes replacing Delta Ibsen’s carpet with tile flooring, building a new roof for Gamma Freeman, repaving the Omega parking lot to remove potholes, installing new bathtubs for many Nu rooms, modifying one Sigma bathroom to make it more accessible for disabled students and replacing the Armacost Library’s air-conditioning units. Ault said he would eventually like to have tile flooring in every dorm because it is healthier and easier to maintain, but that Facilities decided to begin in the pet dorms. Projects that are unable be completed by the end of this summer are often completed over winter break, according to Ault.

Funding for these projects comes from the project budget, which is primarily composed of students’ tuition, and covers routine maintenance projects. Ault meets regularly with Director of Planning, Development and New Construction Bill McKenna, so they can update each other on the progress of current projects and discuss future plans.

Every spring, Ault, Dean of Faculty and Vice President for Academic Affairs Suzan Harrison and Director of Housing Justin Long collaboratively devise a plan for See FACILITIES, page 6

Please Recycle

INDEX:

NEWS

photo by Colin Casey Eckerd College has risen out of a sea of rivals thanks to its Hollings Scholars. Above, the seawall off Galbraith Marine Science Laboratory during Tropical Storm Andrea in 2013.

Hollings Scholars add to Eckerd’s legacy

By Colin Casey Copy Editor With the announcement of the 2014 Hollings Scholars, Eckerd’s nation-leading number of winners rose to 55. The number is staggering given that such a small school has competed with major research one (R1) universities and has come out on top. The closest school is the University of Miami with 46.

The Hollings Scholarship was started by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in 2005 as a way to honor longtime U.S. Senator, and friend to NOAA, Ernest Hollings. The program allows students to work in NOAA labs side by side with researchers on an array of major projects. The horns of victory play the loudest in the Natural Science Collegium, where most winners hail from.

“The Hollings Scholarship has highlighted the science programs at Eckerd College and put us on the

map on a national scale,” Natural Sciences Collegium Chair and Associate Professor of Marine Science Nancy Smith said. She said that the school has been greatly impacted by the winners of the scholarship both in recruiting and in profile.

She also pointed out that Eckerd’s Freshman Research Program, which instills students with experience in a research environment, also contributes to the many victories. “Having research experience with a faculty member provides a stepping stone for our students to obtain the Hollings,” she said.

Smith’s enthusiasm is matched by Associate Professor of Marine Science William Szelistowski. He noted the benefits to the students as a wonderful opportunity for both a monetary scholarship as well as the research experience toward their future studies. He also noted that Eckerd has won so many Hollings Scholars because the applicants themselves are the best of the best.

“Compared to a bigger univer-

sity in particular we sometimes have opportunities that freshmen take advantage of that make them more competitive,” Szelistowski said. “We have some freshmen who are TA-ing [being a teachers assistant] and we have some freshmen and sophomores working with faculty on research programs. So students already have experience before they apply.”

But Eckerd College students experience far more than what is only in the classroom. Certainly, added research experience is important but what about other factors?

As I pondered this thought, my eyes grew wide with inspiration. What do the Hollings winners themselves think about the scholarship and its impact on both them and Eckerd? * * * There are few places more dynamic than the Eckerd Waterfront before a storm. The rush to close combined with the howling wind

generates a unique atmosphere of bodies flowing to every corner trying to tie the equipment down. The workers spread from the boathouse to the outer docks like the sloshing fluid of the creek as students return to terra firma to escape the weather.

I move East along the docks wondering where I am to meet the first subject of my search. We had arranged to meet outside the Eckerd College Search and Rescue (EC-SAR) offices to discuss his future work. But with this wind, my microphone checks on my recorder couldn’t even catch my voice. Almost on cue, Junior Jeff Good appeared from ECSAR’s door with a calming look in spite of his chaotic surroundings.

Good is one of the most recognizable people in Eckerd’s scientific community. He has worked within the Marine Science Department since his days in the Freshman Research Program. He also routinely finds himself on See HOLLINGS, page 2

Freshmen admissions data accidentally posted on Moodle

By Malena Carollo Editor-In-Chief Admissions data for the 2013 freshmen class was accidentally posted on Moodle the week before spring break. Associate Dean of Faculty for Institutional Research and Assessment David Eubanks mistakenly posted the information on his Calculus I class’ Moodle page instead of data for a class assignment, removing it shortly after.

Freshman Meredith Alden, who is in Eubanks’ class, was the first to notify him of the situation.

1-8 THE QUICKIE 9-10 VIEWPOINTS

“Right away I opened it, thinking obviously that it was what I needed,” Alden said. “And I opened it, and all of a sudden there was this list of like the entire freshman class’ [information].”

The data contained a significant amount of personally-identifying information. Dean of Admissions John Sullivan would not confirm whether or not Social Security numbers were in the data set in the interest of maintaining the security of Eckerd’s internal information systems.

Eubanks works with survey and

database data, including student demographics and national center for education statistics. Alden was one of three students to download the data. After she emailed Eubanks about the incident, he notified ITS to have the information removed.

“We helped the professor use the tools behind the scenes in Moodle to determine who had downloaded the file,” Director of Information Technology Services John Duff said.

Duff had each student come into his office and wiped the data off their computers.

“They were very cooperative,”

Duff said. “They allowed me to inspect their laptops and make sure all vestiges of the file [were gone].”

He then asked them a series of questions to determine if they had copied or distributed the file. According to Sullivan, the information wasn’t encrypted because it was intended for internal use only.

“We were satisfied with their answers to each of those questions,” Duff said. “They all promised they hadn’t made a copy of the file.”

He admitted that beyond their word, it would be very difficult to

11-14 ENTERTAINMENT 15-18 HEALTH & FITNESS 19-20 SPORTS 21-24

See DATA, page 7

The Current is a free, biweekly student newspaper produced at Eckerd College. Opinions expressed in this publication are those of the writers.

2 News

Editor-in-Chief Malena Carollo thecurrent@eckerd.edu Copy and Design Editor Mike Geibel News Editor Aaron Levy currentnews@eckerd.edu Asst. News Editors Sydney Cavero Teresa Young Viewpoints Editors Ely Grinfeld Shannon Vize currentviews@eckerd.edu Asst. Viewpoints Editor Gary Furrow Jr. Entertainment Editor Ian Lindsay currententertainment@eckerd.edu Asst. Entertainment Editor Hayden Johnson Quickie Editors Chelsea Duca Leah Bilski currentquickie@eckerd.edu Health & Fitness Editor Sabrina Lolo currenthealth@eckerd.edu Asst. Health & Fitness Editor Emma Cotton Sports Editor Mike Geibel currentsports@eckerd.edu Asst. Sports Editors Colin Casey Will Creager Dominick Cuppetilli Photo and Graphic Design Editor Alex Zielinski currentphoto@eckerd.edu Copy Editors Colin Casey Ely Grinfeld Web Editor Hailey Escobar Webmaster Vincent Lynch Social Media Coordinator Marissa Meleedy Faculty Adviser K.C. Wolfe Director of Finances Hannah Zaremsky Director of PR/Advertising Sarah Richardson currentads@eckerd.edu Editorial Consultants Greg Reilly Rose Kraemer

The Current is a free biweekly student newspaper at Eckerd College.

Offices are located upstairs in Cobb at 4200 54th Ave S, St. Petersburg, FL, 33711. Opinions expressed in this publication are those of the writers and do K e v i not n necessarily reflect those of EC students, staff, faculty and administration. h i e l e n The Current welcomes letters to C o m p a r ethe d editor. Submissions should be typed and not exceed 400 words. ith the Marine Writers must include their full name, cience, Biolgraduation year and contact numgy and Chember. Faculty and staff should include try Departtheir title, department and contact number. All submissions are subject ments Physics to editing for the purposes of clarity, as the fewest style or length. The Current holds inners of the the right to reject any letters deemed inappropriate. Letters can be sent Hollings in the via email to thecurrent@eckerd.edu Natural Science with subject “Letter to the editor.” ollegium. Yet_______________________________ he next subjectThe Current will run full-length articles covering any arrests that presf my search ent a clear danger to the community. omes from this Charges that would be investigated ery discipline. under this policy include robberies, assaults, weapons charges or illicit drug manufacturing, such as methWinning the amphetamine. The Current will conHollings is one tinue publishing a small police blotter of the most for felony arrests, and misdemeanor izarre feelcharges against student government leaders, Residential Advisors and staff ngs. The award members of The Current. We learn of inners are anarrests through searching the police ounced every arrest database by entering Eckerd’s address, as well as from tips. Quespril 1, though tions and comments can be emailed to he winners thecurrent@eckerd.edu.

an’t believe it s a joke. Wining produces

the current

May 2, 2014

LET’S BE BRIEF Last First Friday of the year

Kappa Karnival May 3

The last First Friday of the year will take place May 2. Shuttles will run from the mailboxes to downtown St. Pete from 7 p.m. to 2 a.m.

All Eckerd community members are invited to the Karnival May 3 from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. for rides, food, games, a bounce house, music and more. The cafeteria will be closed down and dinner will be served at the Karnival. Be on the look out for a new ticket system to attend.

The Flush

Eckerd Review reading and art party The Flush

The Flush

Pet Life Fun and Games Field Day May 8

Everyone is encouraged to attend the 2014 Eckerd Review party May 5 in Cobb Gallery. The reception will begin at 5:30 p.m. followed by introductions and readings starting around 6 p.m. Stop by to pick up a free journal and enjoy snacks, readings and cool art. Visual art published in the 2014 Eckerd Review will be on display in Cobb Gallery May 5 through 9 from 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

The Flush

Pet Life will be hosting a fun and games field day May 8 from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. A temporary fence will be set up on the field between Gamma and Omega for an off-leash area. Students are invited to come out for an Easter Egg Hunt, toys, T-shirt giveaways and treats for animals and humans.

Hollings Scholarship recipients tell their stories, cont.

From HOLLINGS, page 1

the water with EC-SAR assisting those in need on the high seas.

The Hollings Scholarship is a two-year program. The first year consists of an orientation that works to match candidates with faculty to work with. Good is entering his second year, when he will conduct research with NOAA’s own scientists. Such an opportunity is rare for anyone in the field of marine science and for a junior at a liberal arts school it is practically unheard of.

Good enthusiastically informed me that he would be performing research on marine invertebrates, particularly the effect of oil dispersants on their physiology.

“The findings will be presented to big oil cleanup crews, such as NOAA or Coast Guard,” he said.

“They will say which chemicals to use based on the animals’ reaction.”

Given the recent press coverage of oil spills and other cleanup related issues, the topic is important for fishery stocks as well.

While Good’s ideal research would have been on a larger scale, he is happy to have the opportunity to work with NOAA at all.

He was just as candid when I asked about his reaction. I pointed out that I could only imagine what the feeling must be and I wanted to convey that to the readers.

“I threw my laptop off my lap and my roommate and I did like a five minute dance to rap music,” he said.

Having worked with Good in a lab

before I could not imagine the sight. toward his own dreams. The misconThen the wind picked up and I ception of the scientist as cold and remembered where we were sitting. logical has no place in Jeff ’s story.

As a student organization, hardly any club demands the challenges * * * of EC-SAR. Between the organizaAs someone who has looked for tion’s own course work, boat main- ways to balance academics and sotenance, the sporadic boat assist, cial life, I have always been envimedical cases and nights operating ous of Junior Laura Mowczan. A the radio, Good manages a marine student in the Marine Science Biscience major. He states that fit- ology track, she endures arguably ting it all in the most difsimply comes “I threw my laptop off ficult stretch down to time classes of my lap and my roommate of management. any student at “It’s very and I did like a five min- Eckerd.

She difficult and has managed ute dance to rap music” with grace unit takes practice to man- - Junior Jeff Good der pressure, age your time balancing her and make it work,” he said. academic work with being a fixThe standard questions ture of the campus social scene. aside, I wanted to know more The sunset is growing closer about him. For Good, being a as I look away from my tablet’s scientist is not a professional screen and out past the live oak question but a personal one. and to the birds on the shore of “I have an aunt who is diag- the library pond. Of all the places nosed with Multiple Sclerosis, to excel in natural science, I can and what I want to eventually see why this one would work well. do, presents a possible solution We hug and exchange pleasto Multiple Sclerosis,” he said. antries then sit down for the For a moment, I’m at a loss. interview. She is eager to beAs a scientist myself, I lose track gin, though a bit nervous. of the people at times, but for For her Hollings research, Good, his work is driving him to- she would be focusing on pacific wards the aid of someone he loves. rockfish. Her work will include a With that, we say goodbye, and two week research cruise out of I leave him with EC-SAR as I re- Santa Cruz, California to collect turn out to the wind strewn docks. data regarding their daily growth For Good, the Hollings isn’t just an patterns. As she informs me of award; it’s a possible stepping-stone her plans, I wonder what direc-

photo by Alex Zielinski Sophomore Kevin Thielen tutors a student at the James Center.

tion she will take her research as time goes on. And given the opportunities the Hollings has provided to her, what does she feel the scholarship means to Eckerd?

“This proves that Eckerd is producing graduates that can compete with the more well known schools,” she said.

Mowczan also pointed out that Eckerd students often receive internships. This would be her first and she is excited about the potential to learn everything she can in order to be competitive as she looks to take on the Goliaths of the academic world when she departs from Eckerd next year.

As we say goodbye and talk about plans for the weekend ahead I cannot figure out why the impacts of this scholarship are not as well known. Mowzcan has been offered a great opportunity for her future and yet the only featurette given is her name on a list on the school’s website. There is definitely much more to the story of a Hollings Scholar than just a name and year. * * * As we sit in the Center for Molecular and Life Sciences lobby after a failed experiment, Christine Michael and I began talking about her work from the previous summer. She had informed me of bits and pieces over the year, but I wanted to know everything.

What I found was a bit surprising; I had always known her as an ecologist, yet her work in the summer also had a chemical element.

“I worked with winter flounder larvae to see the effects of elevated carbon dioxide on their feeding capability,” she said.

What is notable about her research was the part concerning the NOAA’s Fisheries Division. Fisheries oversees the nation’s fish stocks of commercially important fish in order to better manage their populations.

What surprised me more was that NOAA’s coastal management side had apparently influenced Michael when looking for a graduate school.

“It’s made me very interested in fisheries, especially those that are near collapsing,” said Michael.

“It’s important to remember that things like ocean acidification, overfishing or increased temperatures from climate change can affect them and cause their populations to decline suddenly,” she said.

I then nervously asked her a legacy question in regards to the scholarship. Her response was calm See HOLLINGS, page 7

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the current

May 2, 2014

News 3

News INSIDE NEWS Triton Athletics

page 3

Spring Ball

page 4

Housekeeper wage protest

page 8

Eckerd welcomes gender-neutral housing in Kappa

By Malena Carollo Editor-in-Chief

Eckerd welcomed its first gender neutral house in Kappa Oberg as room draw came to a close April 23.

After letter-writing campaign and a petition by EC-Pride (now ECQSA), the dorm was launched as a pilot program to provide housing for those who do not identify with traditional gender binaries.

“Basically the point of it all is to allow non-binary students to have a place to live where they wont be identified as a particular gender based on the floor they live on or the bathroom they use,” Junior Adrien Krajnik said. “And where they can live with whichever gender they want to live with.”

According to an all-student email from Director of Housing Justin Long, the bathrooms will be accessible to everyone regardless of gender identity, and students will be able to live on either floor with whichever gender roommate they choose.

“This is the first time you’re having an experience as an adult in the real world,” Junior Katie Klens, a member of EC-Pride, said. “And for it to be segregated by gender is kind of old world and might not necessarily work for everyone who comes to Eckerd College.”

In the past, exceptions have been made for students who said they were more comfortable living with a member of a different gender. For Krajnik and Klens, that wasn’t enough.

“We don’t want to make special cases for people who are already dealing with a bunch of special cases in their lives,” he said.

Junior Nora Kilcup, president of EC-Pride, brought up gender neutral housing at the beginning of the year, inspiring Krajnik and Klens, also club members, to push the issue. Krajnik helped organize students to sign a petition and write letters to the Eckerd administration. Though they only circulated the petition for just over 24 hours, it received nearly 121 signatures.

“The thing that got me so excited about it apart from myself being trans is realizing that there were other trans people on campus that I had not met but did know they existed,” Krajnik said. “And when that happened I was like okay, this isn’t just a special case issue, there is a community that sort of wants to be undercover because that’s how being trans is. But no one wants to be made a special case out of.”

They plan to continue their efforts to raise awareness about queer and transgender issues through a mini-documentary Kilcup is producing to highlight their process of acquiring gender neutral housing.

Unfortunately, Krajnik wasn’t able to draw a number for an Oberg suite because of points and will be living in traditional housing. However, he’s optimistic for next year.

“I know some people were really happy, and they got what they wanted so I’m happy about that,” he said.

The group is working with Long to potentially expand the program next year to other traditional dorms.

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Triton Athletics: Succeeding in the classroom, searching for success on the field

By Greg Reilly Editorial Consultant Athletic programs are arguably the most visible part of any college or university.

While this is especially true for Division I programs like the University of Alabama and Duke University, whose basketball and football teams play on national television every week, the same can be said for small, Division II programs like Eckerd College.

But how much money should be spent on athletics versus how much should be spent on academics has become a topic of national debate recently. The new Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics compiled data about how much these schools are spending on athletics compared to academics and found that academic spending is decreasing at many top universities while athletic spending increases. The University of Alabama spent twice as much per athlete as they did per student in 2011.

The amount of money spent varies from division to division, and institution to institution.

According to NCAA.org, the median athletic expenses for Division II schools without football for 2011-2012 was $4 million (not including athletically related aid).

Eckerd will spend just $2 million this year, according to the Business Office. The median percentage of a non-football schools annual institutional budget is 5.5 percent. Eckerd’s is 2.8 percent.

Division I spending is in a whole different category. The median for Division I programs spending without football was $12,983,000,

The new athletics van for the golf and tennis teams.

and $56,265,000 for Football Bowl Subdivision programs. The largest reported athletics budget for all of the NCAA was $138,270,000, which is almost twice Eckerd’s annual institutional budget.

For President Donald Eastman, it’s obvious why Division I institutions are spending so much on their athletic programs.

“There is so much money involved that getting athletes to a particular school to play a particular sport is a lot more important to a lot of schools and coaches and others than whether this is the right school academically and socially for a particular person,” Eastman said. “It takes a back seat.”

Division II schools are not allowed to offer as many scholarships as Division I, and they also don’t have to offer as many sports. Baseball scholarships are capped at 11.7 at Division I and 9 at Division II.

photo by Dominick Cuppertilli Junior Malcolm “Theo” Brunner scores an easy dunk against the University of Tampa.

Visit us online at www.theonlinecurrent.com

Men’s basketball scholarships are capped at 13 for Division I and 10 for Division II, while women’s basketball scholarships are capped at 15 for Division I and 10 for Division II. While Eastman says he has been hoping for a change in philosophy in athletics for decades, he knows it’s a hard business to get out of.

“Schools have mortgaged themselves to the hilt to built stadia, so financially it’s difficult to get out of it,” he said. “It is such big entertainment that it doesn’t have to do with the alumni, but a whole bunch of other people at a particular school. It’s a hard force to stop, or to change. What students are doing and what students are learning takes a back seat to all those issues.

I think it’s terrible for higher education and a tragedy for a lot of the students. Bad values for the institutions, and those values get replicated in high school after high school.

What the athletes do and what the coaches do and what the cheerleaders do, the kinds of cheers they have and how long or short their skirts are at state universities in this country just adambrates down the line to the high schools and junior high schools within days. People grow up in an entire atmosphere dominated by collegiate athletics which is based on a pretty rotten value system. We do everything we can here to insulate ourselves from that.”

Academics first At Eckerd, the emphasis is placed on academics first, and athletics second.

“President Eastman and I talked about this when he hired me 10 years ago,” Director of Athletics Bob Fortosis said. “It was centered on the notion that doing athletics and doing academics is not an either or proposition. You can do athletics and do academics if it’s approached the right way.”

Fortosis has been director of athletics since 2003. He previously served as director of athletics at Cornerstone University in Michigan.

“I love being at a place like Eckerd where we can care about academics,” he said. “I love being at a place like Eckerd where our student-athletes graduate at a higher rate than the non-student athletes. I like being at a place like Eckerd where our student-athletes have a higher cumulative GPA than the non-athletes on campus. It’s fun to do athletics right.”

Eckerd athletes boast an average grade-point average of 3.2,

photo by Alex Zielinski

compared to 3.08 for non-athletes.

Eckerd’s Academic Success Rating for cohort year 2006 is 91 percent, which ranks third in the nine-team Sunshine State Conference to Nova Southeastern University (92 percent) and Rollins College (94 percent). The Academic Success Rating (ASR) was developed to more accurately depict the success of studentathletes than the federal graduation rate. It tracks athletes who do not receive athletically related student aid, while the federal graduation rate only includes those who do. It also does not count a student who transfers out as a graduation failure, which the federal graduation rate does. Eckerd’s federal graduation rate is 71 percent, which is second in the league only to Rollins, whose is 74 percent. The average for Division II is 71 percent ASR and 54 percent for the federal graduation rate.

University of Tampa, one of Eckerd’s main SSC rivals, has an ASR of 83 percent and a graduation rate of 64 percent. Tampa’s Athletic Director Larry Marfise said academics come first, but sees added value in athletics.

“Academics come first, we view athletics as another learning lab for students,” Marfise said. “We feel athletics offer the University a recruiting tool for students, an opportunity for positive exposure and visibility, a social environment for students to come to games and socialize. We are a source of pride for the institution.

It helps build a positive environment and school spirit and finally it is important to have a challenging physical athletic program that gives students a reason to get and stay physically and mentally fit.”

Senior Alex Bodney, a shooting guard for the men’s basketball team for four years, believes Division II is more focused on academics than Division I. “As a Division II athlete, the student-athlete is heavily promoted and there is still a high emphasis put on academics, especially at this school, which I don’t hear about from my friends who play at big-time Division I universities,” Bodney, who scored his 1,000th career point in February, said. “So for my future, which is not playing the game of basketball, I think being a Division II athlete at a school such as this that does put an emphasis on the academic part of it has been really good for me.”

See ATHLETICS, page 5

4 News

the current

May 2, 2014

Campus Activities host Spring Ball at Jannus Live

photo by Lia Nydes He She Me Wumbo performs at Spring Ball.

Upcoming Springtopia events May 2 7 p.m. Sexy Poetry Night (Fox Hall) May 3 5 p.m. Kappa Karnival May 5 and 6 11 a.m. Make Your Mother A Card (Mailboxes) photo by Lia Nydes Eckerd students dance at Spring Ball. photo by Lia Nydes DJ Newk performs at Spring Ball.

May 6 7:30 p.m. Ale Tasting (Cafeteria Patio) May 7 10 a.m. Weston’s Arts Fest (Hough Quad) May 8 7 p.m. EC Dance Team Showcase (Bininger Theater) 9 p.m. Rock Band and Just Dance (Triton’s Pub) May 9 8 p.m. Another Man’s Trash (Miller Auditorium) 9 p.m. Radical Something and Sam Lachow Concert (GO Pavilion)

photo by Lia Nydes Students perform onstage at Spring Ball.

photo by Lia Nydes

May 10 9 p.m. Late Night Breakfast (Cafeteria)

Senior Rachel Feinberg sits in with He She Me Wumbo.

Jam band plays Spring Ball, prepares for upcoming shows

By Teresa Young Asst. News Editor Eckerd’s 2014 Spring Ball took place April 26 at Jannus Live in downtown St. Petersburg. In addition to music by DJ Newk, this year’s Spring Ball featured a performance by He She Me Wumbo, a band of Eckerd students.

He She Me Wumbo consists of Seniors Matt Flynn, Philippe Novikov, Hayden Johnson and Sophomore Corey Bracken.

The band was created out of a need for music one night at a party about three months ago.

“The band itself began from a night at Kappa where we randomly all decided to jam together live,” Bracken said. “None of us had ever played with each other before so the jam was completely just for fun out of not having [any disc jockeys] playing that night.”

To the band’s surprise, their impromptu performance was a success.

“We didn’t expect people to like us as much as they did,” Bracken said.

After their first performance together, the band was asked to play the following weekend at the Funk Punk Party. Needing a band name for the event’s flyer, the group chose to call themselves He She Me Wumbo until they could decide on a permanent band name. The name stuck.

Since then, the band has played at South Beach Sessions, Kappa Kitchens and several school events as well as off-campus at a fundraiser for the Suncoast Primate Sanctuary and at the Mangia Gourmet restaurant in Gulfport.

Following their Spring Ball performance, the band has another show scheduled for May 20 at The Chattaway restaurant. They plan to continue playing together through next year, according to Bracken.

He She Me Wumbo practiced daily in preparation for their performance at Spring Ball.

“We have been practicing a lot on our own as well as jamming together as a band for around two hours a day,” Flynn said. “We have a set list picked out already, and most of the songs we have already

played live multiple times as a band, so now we are working on coordinating hits, changes and endings.”

Additionally, they made multiple trips to a guitar store to double-check that their instruments were primed and ready to play, according to Bracken.

As for their performance itself, the band was excited to play at such a large venue.

“We are all very exceedingly stoked about the sound system, because of course Jannus has one of the best in town. And we think our set is high energy and will get the crowd excited and encourage people to dance,” Flynn said.

“We are also hoping to see what the backstage area of Jannus Live looks like. This is the biggest venue any of us have played at, so it’s going to be a very fun night.”

“I’m honestly amped up for this show on Saturday, just being able to play somewhere where I have gone myself to see shows is a little personal victory. Also being a drummer, to have your kit hooked up to speakers like the ones at Jan-

nus is amazing and is going to be the loudest I’ve ever heard myself play!” Bracken said. “I expect us to do great! We always have an awesome time whenever we play together and [on Saturday night] I don’t think it’s going to be any different, just in a way cooler spot!”

He She Me Wumbo played for about an hour at Spring Ball, according to Flynn. After closing their set with “Zach’s Song” from the movie “School of Rock,” the crowd chanted for an encore, so the band played one last song: an original called “Big Blue Ball.”

Overall, the band felt very good about their performance.

“We communicated with each other well on stage to coordinate the changes in our songs. There were a few hiccups, but thankfully we recovered quickly from them,” Flynn said. “Since we’re mostly a jam band, our strategy for performances is to improvise.”

As Flynn explained, the band likes to think of new ideas for rhythms and melodies when they play live.

“The goal is to be able to trans-

late those sounds in your head to your instrument without losing time with the other band members.

But sometimes the sounds you hear in your head don’t come out quite the way you want them to,” he said.

“This is when music really gets fun, because suddenly you have an accidental variation of what you normally play, and you have to work it into the song you are used to playing.”

When the band performs, all the band members try to listen to each other so they can respond when someone takes a musical risk, Flynn said. That way, when an accident happens, they can work it into the song to make sure it remains an accident, not a mistake.

Playing at Jannus Live for Spring Ball was a great experience for the band, according to Flynn.

“Playing on the same stage where I had seen George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic perform the night before was an incredible experience,” he said. “Jannus certainly had the best sound system I’ve ever had the privilege to abuse.”

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News 5

Triton Athletics search for success on the field, cont.

From ATHLETICS, page 3

Bodney plans on pursuing a career in the business side of sports after graduation, and has accepted a position working for the PGA Tour. He was also recently named to the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Capital One Academic All-District First Team.

Despite the positives of being an academic-oriented program, both athletes and coaches have experience challenges in this academic environment.

Student-athletes are expected to practice and compete up to 20 hours per week in season, per NCAA rules. According to the Eckerd’s Faculty Handbook, studentathletes are not allowed to miss class for practice sessions. Because Eckerd does not offer priority scheduling for athletes, something that is common in Division I and some Division II schools, some teams are forced to practice at odd hours, and others are forced to practice without every team member present. Assistant Director of Athletics and Baseball Head Coach Bill Mathews has found a way to work around the scheduling issue.

“What I do is I have the hitters come out first, and then I have the pitchers come out, and then we do team stuff later on,” Mathews, who is stepping down after 24 seasons as head coach in May, said.

“So I kind of stagger the practice a little so we get guys the chance to work out a little bit and then go to class, or work out and then go to class. There are a couple guys who have class straight through until 6:15, so there are some days where we miss two or three guys from the whole thing. We work around that, I know how the system operates. I don’t get frustrated by that.”

Volleyball coach and Senior Woman Administrator Michelle Piantadosi does find the scheduling, along with limited gym space to be frustrating.

“It’s pretty challenging at any small school just because we don’t have 500 kids in one class, we don’t have those big auditoriums all over campus,” Piantadosi said. “So it’s tough. What we find is when we are out of season we have to do everything early in the morning. Which is good and bad. There’s always positive to it, but nobody likes waking

up at 5:45 a.m. at all, but sometimes we have to do it. In season we find ourselves practicing pretty late at night. Start at 7 and us coaches are out of the gym at 10 o’clock at night.”

The volleyball season runs into the preseason for men’s and women’s basketball, which makes it harder to find a time and space to practice.

The Intercollegiate Athletics Committee recently discussed this issue, but has not recommended a priority scheduling system for those involved in extracurriculars, according to Fortosis, who serves on the committee.

“Our desire would be to see a policy where not just athletes, but everyone involved in extracurricular activities, whether it’s the choir, a singing group, a band, that they would be allowed to register for classes ahead of the other students,” he said, speaking on behalf of the committee. “Not as way to grant special privileges for athletes, but so we can do a better job of keeping them in the classroom.”

Student-athletes are only allowed to miss a certain amount of classes for competitions, according to the Faculty Handbook.

They are allowed to miss four 5060 minute class periods, three 120 minute class periods, two 150 minute class periods and two lab periods.

Some sports will inevitably miss more than four days of class for competition, especially if they reach the postseason. In theory, a professor could penalize an athlete for having more than the allotted number of absences.

Junior Morgan Crescent, the AllSSC goalkeeper for the women’s soccer team who was also voted to the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Capital One Academic All-District First Team, said her professors have been nothing but accommodating, but also said she worked her academic schedule around her practices and games.

“I pretty much arranged my schedule so I wouldn’t have to miss class but I think the couple times I did have to miss they were fine with it as long as I stayed on top of my work,” Crescent said.

Sophomore Jake Solomon, who plays on the men’s golf team, was told by one of his professors he could not take an introductory

photo by Aaron Levy Senior Jeff Evanier played in his last collegiate golf tournament in April at Lake Jovita Country Club.

course because he would miss six days of class for golf tournaments.

Solomon was able to find another class in which he would not be penalized for missing more than the permitted number of classes for competition, although he wasn’t able to add it until mid-way through the second week of the semester.

“Through this situation, I felt quite penalized simply for being an athlete, representing Eckerd,” Solomon said. “This would be a non-issue, and the rule regarding missed class time for athletes would be much more justifiable if there was a priority scheduling system in place for athletes so that I, and athletes alike could build a schedule that would avoid this inevitable rule breaking.”

Fortosis understands the concern over athletes missing classes, but noted that they still have a higher GPA and graduation rate in comparison with non-athletes, and should not be penalized for missing classes.

“My personal feeling is that if the college is asking a student to be in two places at one time in for, let’s call it college business, then

photo by Spencer Yaffe Freshman Monique Elliot hurtles towards the goalie after making a shot.

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the failure to meet one of those should not be handled punitively,” he said. “I think the right way to do it is that if it’s a regularly scheduled contest, then a student should not be penalized. With that being said, it’s the student’s obligation that they meet every expectation and every obligation that is asked of them. Student-athletes don’t get breaks, usually studentathletes have to work harder because they are student-athletes.”

University of Tampa does not offer priority scheduling for its athletes, but also does not have a policy regarding missed classes.

Faculty-Athletic Representative and Professor of Political Science Anthony Brunello said he has not seen a student be penalized due to missing too many classes.

Funding While the academic success is visible in the ASR, graduation rate and average GPA statistics, success on the field has been harder to come by.

Of the 11 NCAA sports, the men’s basketball team is the only program to win an SSC title since 2000.

Six teams have made at least one national tournament appearance.

The men’s basketball team has been the most successful with 11 appearances.

While scholarship dollars are limited in Division II compared to Division I, the Division is still driven by athletic scholarships.

Division III is the only division that does not allow athletic scholarships, only academic aid.

Ten of the top 11 liberal arts colleges, ranked by U.S. News, are affiliated with Division III. They all have an enrollment between 1,200 and 2,500, similar to Eckerd’s roughly 1800 students. Swarthmore College and Haverford College, both located in Pennsylvania, are the only programs without football like Eckerd.

According to the U.S. Department of Education, they spent $2.2 million and $2.8 million in 2011-2012, respectively.

According to Fortosis, switching to Division III would not make sense financially as there are no Division III schools in Florida.

“There is a not a league that

makes sense for us to reclassify,” Fortosis said. “We look at it, we have the finances and the travel, the burden on our students. We’ve looked at scenarios where students would be playing league games in Texas. At the end of the day, it does not make sense for our Eckerd students every weekend to jump on an airplane to play somewhere.”

“When I came to Eckerd 10 years ago, we had maybe two or three scholarships spread department wide,” Fortosis said. “The median scholarships in the league when I got here was in the high 60s, low 70s.”

Competing in a league with programs that offer athletically related aid is next to impossible for a program that doesn’t. So in the early 2000s, Eckerd began a plan to install athletic scholarships in order to compete in the SSC. “The College had always been, as I am still, ambivalent about competing in this league,” Eastman said. “But my thought was we need to start moving towards an athletic scholarship budget until we can figure something different out. I’ve spent a lot of time to try to figure something different out but I haven’t come up with anything that worked. The reason the College is ambivalent and the reason I am ambivalent is that we ought to play schools like us.

If we were anywhere other than Florida we would be a D3 school.”

In order to be a Division II program, institutions must offer ten sports total, with at least four sports for each gender.

If Eckerd were to switch to Division III, 12 sports would have to be offered, with six per gender.

But there would be no more athletic scholarships, only academic. That would save the College some money on the aid side, but would not make up for traveling expense, according to Eastman.

“If you took away athletic scholarships and gave those same students the kind of scholarships that they would get if they weren’t athletes -- I used to have that number exactly-- but at least half of it would come out of it as normal aid that any student would get,” See ATHLETICS, page 8

6 News

the current

May 2, 2014

Renovations, cont.

From FACILITIES, page 1

renovations based on the needs of the campus and the available funds. Ault presents their tentative plan to Vice President of Business and Finance Chris Brennan and Long presents housing-related projects to Dean of Students James Annarelli.

Annarelli and Brennan then discuss the overall plan, often consulting with President Donald Eastman depending on the extent and cost of the project.

Larger projects, such as the recent construction of the James Center for Molecular and Life Sciences, are funded through the capital budget, which is comprised primarily of donor funds and grants. McKenna said that these funds will be used in the future to create another eating spot in the James Center, which he said was built into the building’s design. He would like it to be a place for students to relax and snack between classes — most likely using flex dollars or cash — without leaving the academic side of campus.

“It would be kind of a spruced up café, with coffee, maybe sandwiches, maybe breakfast rolls,” McKenna said.

“We just have to find the right way to finance the operation.”

McKenna said that the school has already raised 40 to 50 percent of the funds required for the project. The biggest obstacle now, he said, is negotiating with Café Bon Appétit to supply and staff the location.

The caf would require little construction, according to McKenna, with only minor equipment modifications. If the school is able to collect the necessary funds and reach an agreement with Bon Appetit, McKenna estimated that the café could be operational in a matter of 45 days and could realistically happen some time next year.

McKenna said that there have always been machines in the James Center that Café Bon Appétit has consistently stocked with fresh sandwiches, salads and drinks, but that they have been infrequently used.

McKenna said that other substantial projects in the works include a Sailing Cove project and a new art building to replace the Ransom Arts Center that will include a gallery. The Sailing cove project will involve moving the sailing team from the waterfront to the sailing cove and will probably be started this summer with hopes of finishing construction by the fall.

photo by Emily Gottlieb Members of the Coalition for Community Justice walk a homemade banner around campus.

Students protest for higher housekeeper wages Members of Coalition for Community Justice (CCJ) rally, gather s t u d e n t s i g n a t u re s t o p ro t e s t l o w p a y o f e m p l o y e e s

By Teresa Young Asst. News Editor Students participated in a protest on April 14 led by the Coalition for Community Justice to raise awareness about housekeeper wages at Eckerd.

“We met in the early afternoon at Hough Quad in order to paint a banner for the protest, get everyone organized and energized and come up with chants,” Junior Nora Kilcup said. Students marched towards the mailboxes, around the academic quad and through the residential side of campus.

Kilcup estimated that the protest lasted about an hour with around 20 students in attendance, although some had to leave early to go to class.

“We didn’t really advertise for [the protest] that much and I’m impressed at how many people caught on and picked up the banner and started marching and

shouting,” Senior and Vice President for the CCJ Hank Broege said. “It was pretty thrilling, and I was really happy with that.”

According to Broege, the goal of the protest was to raise awareness that housekeepers are underpaid at Eckerd.

“I hoped that people would be more aware of the issue of housekeeper’s wages, and ideally that more people would want to get involved with CCJ and the work it has done to promote justice,” Kilcup said.

While she had hoped more people would show up for the protest, Kilcup believes they succeeded in raising awareness.

“I think we certainly raised awareness because we were catching a lot of people as they were going to classes, but I am not sure how many of those people were actually inspired to get involved,” she said.

“I think holding a protest on campus was a great idea, but it could

have been much bigger than it was.”

The CCJ was founded to help housekeepers and other facilities maintenance workers who are still at a financial disadvantage, according to Broege.

“Housekeeper wages should be raised because they deserve to be paid fairly for the work that they do,” Kilcup said.

“In the past we’ve done, and we still are, trying to negotiate through Dean Annarelli and [Associate Vice President for Business and Finance] Luz Arcila for higher wages for housekeepers,” Broege said.

According to Senior Eden Shlomi, the CCJ has proposed a plan to give a 10 cent wage increase for every year a housekeeper has been employed at Eckerd College. This means that housekeepers who have worked at Eckerd for six years would receive a 60 cent increase, she said.

“The cost to give each individual house keeper 10 cents for every

year they committed themselves to the college would cost roughly around $40,000,” Shlomi said.

“That is the tuition of two students who are on 50 percent scholarship.”

The CCJ has been collecting student signatures for a petition to raise housekeeper wages. The group has also held monthly housekeeper luncheons to gather facilities workers and students together and protested for groups like the Coalition of Immokalee Workers. According to Broege, the group plans to organize more protests in the future.

Kilcup believes Eckerd students should strive to make an impact through their actions.

“We may be young and optimistic undergraduate students, but we have an obligation as members of the Eckerd community to fight for the fair treatment of every individual in our community, and that certainly includes the housekeepers,” she said.

Freshmen admissions information posted mistakenly online continued From moodle, page 1

know for sure if one of the students had distributed the file, but he didn’t suspect they had.

“My conclusion was that these students were responsible, they were honest, believable, they were candid, they were conscientious. And so I felt that this was a very limited incident and it was all wrapped up within a 24-hour period,” Duff said.

The next class, Eubanks mentioned that he sent out the wrong data.

“Posting this file on our limited access course management system (Moodle) was a regrettable and unintentional mistake,” Eubanks said in an email. “[It was] a human error and not a system failure.

There were no system breaches, either for Moodle or for the college’s larger electronic information.

Security for the file was promptly reestablished without further distribution or harm”Despite the mis-

taken posting, Sullivan said the students whose information the file contained will not be notified.

“Because no harm came from this access and none is likely, notice to the students whose information was contained therein is not required,” Sullivan said in an email.

Duff said there will be a faculty and staff meeting to discuss safe practices for information and encryption. Eubanks also noted that within his office there will be a thorough audit of data-handling practices.

“We take the protection of this data very seriously,” Sullivan said.

“This incident reminds us that even with protocols in place, human error does happen. Again, the security systems were not compromised. Access to this confidential information is already limited to those with a demonstrated need for such information.”

photo courtesy Emily Gotlieb Students paint a sign reading “Fair Wages for Housekeepers”

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News 7

Hollings scholars, cont.

From HOLLINGS, page 2

and collected.

“Students have the ability to jump right in and get to know the science as a field,” she said. “It sparks a lot of interested students and they want to do things like the Hollings because their school has already made them so involved.” * * * Compared with the Marine Science, Biology and Chemistry Departments Physics has the fewest winners of the Hollings in the Natural Science Collegium. Yet the next subject of my search comes from this very discipline.

Winning the Hollings is one of the most bizarre feelings. The award winners are announced every April 1, though the winners can’t take it as a joke. Winning produces varied reactions from dancing, like Good, to utter disbelief, like Mowczan. Yet sometimes, winning the Hollings is a capstone achievement for an academic.

Sophomore Kevin Thielen is the first Eckerd physicist to win the Hollings Scholarship in four years. His studies are vastly different from the usual marine science and biology students. Instead of looking to the water, he instead focuses on the first “A” in NOAA, the atmospheric.

“I’m probably going to try and get a NASA facility, to focus on space weather.”

His interest comes from previous work with Eckerd College’s own Associate Professor of Physics Stephen Weppner on astrophysics.

Yet Thielen is not yet sold on a final field of study. “I’m not going to try to do any of the same research I’ve done before just because, at this point, there’s so much stuff out there that I can’t try to do.”

Thielen also understood the other side of NOAA’s work. “You know you think NOAA you think oceanic and atmospheric but a lot of what they do is construct these [computer] models,” Thielen said. As a temporary Floridian, I understood that every time a storm heads toward Florida, CNN gets their models from NOAA. To know that someone wanted to work with something so essential to life on the coasts felt

reassuring. The atmospheric science and computer modeling that NOAA does is often forgotten.

As the conversation wound down I posed the same question that I had asked each winner before, about why they loved science. Thielen paused and made an unusual admission. “I didn’t really get into science formally until my senior year of high school,” said Thielen, “and even then I had some great teachers that would get us involved.”

At Eckerd he credits the close personal relationships with the faculty as a driver of his love of science.

“I don’t know if I would have taken the same route at a big state school.” * * * I sat at a table by the door reviewing some old chemistry notes on my phone. Of all the people I have talked to, a chemist has not been one of them. Yet my next subject was a member of a small club of chemists within Eckerd’s Marine Science Department. Compared to the Biology and Geology

try] is just so different and I kind of like that.” She is hoping to continue working with research relating to the 2010 Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, as it is an extension of her current work with Associate Professor of Marine Science David Hastings.

When it came to what has made Eckerd so successful, she replied that, at least for her, it was the personal approach by the professors that she worked with. “I was involved in research from the very beginning of my freshman year, so I already felt worlds apart from others. I never expected that [experience in research] coming into college, I never expected to be involved in research until maybe my senior year. This Hollings is like the cherry on top.” * * * Regardless of how time remembers Eckerd College, it has developed a lasting legacy in its Hollings Scholarship winners. They have carried the banner of the college onto the national stage and en masse in front of titans like the University of Miami and the University of Oklahoma.

It is worth remembering that it happens to be the Natural Science Collegium flying the flag, yet the synthesis of other ideas from every discipline mold each of the winners into what they are today.

Such a display seems so unreal it belongs in the writings of the late Gabriel Garcia Marquez. This whole journey through the sciences at Eckerd College reminds me of a passage in Marquez’ “La Luz es como El Agua” translated as “the people who went through the Castellana [a famous street in Madrid] saw a cascade of light falling from an old building hidden among the trees.”

From a locale as small and hidden, as Eckerd, the 55 winners of the Hollings Scholarship are the light overflowing into the streets.

It is that very light that helps show the school for what it really is: an environment that nurtures great minds to their fullest potential. Regardless of academic discipline practiced, the Hollings Scholarship is the summation of Eckerd College’s fullest potential.

photo by Colin Casey Research can offer unique views, such as from the bow of the R/V Bellows above.

“Everyone wants to be a marine scientist to swim with the dolphins, well I play with dirt.”

-Sophomore Thea Bartlett Tracks, Marine Chemistry is not all that popular amongst students.

As I chuckled over a text on my phone, Sophomore Thea Bartlett walked into the pub. The introduction is the same as all the others as we settle into the table and open our conversation.

How did she react to the victory, what does she want to do?

“I started jumping up and down with my roommate going ‘I got it! I got it! I got it!’ I was really excited,” Bartlett said.

She reflected on her journey to the Hollings with a bit of hesitation. Bartlett revealed that she changed her mind about what she wanted to do within marine science. “Everyone wants to be a marine scientist to swim with the dolphins, well I play with dirt,” Bartlett said. “ It [marine chemis-

photo courtesy of David Hastings Students operate a Niskin bottle array on a recent Chemical/Physical Oceanography field trip

Eckerd’s Active Hollings Scholars Class of 2012 Kyle Cosentino ‘14 Marine Science Natasha Flores ‘14 Marine Science Sasha Giametti ‘14 Marine Science Chloe Holzingger ‘14 Marine Science Zach Means ‘14 Biology Claire Miller ‘14 Marine Science

Class of 2013 Alison Clift ’15 Marine Science Christopher Flight ’15 Marine Science Jeffrey Good ’15 Marine Science Laura Mowczan ’15 Marine Science Colleen O’Brien ’15 Marine Science & Biochemistry Melissa Pappas ’15 Marine Science Jordan Trimble ’15 Marine Science & Biology

Class of 2014 Thea Bartlett ‘17 Marine Science Kevin Thielen ‘17 Physics & Mathematics graphic by Alex Zielinski

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8 News

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May 2, 2014

Triton Athletics search for success, cont.

From ATHLETICS, page 5

he said. “So if we spend $1.3 million on athletic scholarships -- that number may be a year or two old -- we’d spend at least $700,000 even if we didn’t have athletic scholarships.”

According to the U.S. Department of Education, Eckerd spent $1,633,916 in athletically related student aid for the 2012-2013 academic year, the least amount in the conference.

While Bodney said his basketball team has plenty of funding, he feels sorry for the teams without scholarship money that have to compete against teams who do offer scholarships.

“It’s hard to go to practice every day when it’s not a fair playing field,” Bodney said.

Eastman said this is a byproduct of the College’s age, financial position and academic values.

“So for example, we are 50 years old,” he said. Eckerd was founded in 1958. “We’re competing against Rollins, maybe one of our most avid rivalries. Rollins is 150 years old and the oldest college in the state of Florida. What you’d expect is that Rollins has a much larger endowment than we do. For private schools like this, that’s a huge deal. So they’ve got a lot more resources and we’ve still got to play against them. So I try to keep the balance of what we invest in athletics to what we do in academics to not reflect my values but what the values of the college are. And do the best you can with what you have.”

Eckerd’s endowment was listed at $45 million in 2012 by the New America Foundation. Rollins’ endowment was listed at $334 million.

Overall, Eckerd spent $4,051,481 (including athletic aid) last year on athletics for its 13 sports, 11 of which compete in the SSC (the two sailing teams are not NCAA affiliated), also the least amount in the conference, while Rollins spent $9,465,283.

The overall institutional annual budget is roughly $80 million, according to Eastman. While some schools offer up to 17 sports, Barry only offers 12 (rowing is the only sport they offer that Eckerd does not) and still spent over $2.5 million more than Eckerd last year.

Barry has 52 SSC championships and 11 national championships, including victories from the men’s golf team and men’s tennis team in 2013. Nova Southeastern led the league in athletic expenses last year, spending $10.7 million.

They have 47 SSC championships and six national championships.

Fortosis said that 50 percent of money spent on athletics is raised money.

The plan to introduce scholarships is a gradual plan that is set to end in 2020. Eckerd would not release the specific plan, but said that by 2020 they will be at the midpoint in the league in terms of scholarship money.

One of the first of four programs to receive new scholarship money was the men’s basketball team, because they already had two or three, according to Fortosis.

“Eckerd basketball is probably one of our premier if not our premier sport,” Fortosis said. “They already had some and we said we could get them finished earlier, so we did them and women’s basketball also.”

Men’s soccer and volleyball were also given scholarship money at

the same time, because those programs had head coaching vacancies.

“When it came to decide who gets them, how and in what increments, we had head coach openings in volleyball and men’s soccer,” Fortosis said. “Because we are never going to attract the coaches we need if they know that there are no scholarships, we said we’ll start with volleyball for the women and men’s soccer, to keep it equitable.

Men’s soccer had a head start.”

Fortosis added that choosing which sports received money first wasn’t random or arbitrary, but based on need and gender equity.

“It was two men’s sports and two women’s sports,” he said.

“Fast forward, they are done now.

We have met our goals in scholarships. Now we’re starting to add scholarships to women’s soccer, men’s baseball, and women’s softball. When they are done, we move to the last set of sports and we should be in good shape in terms of competing in our league.”

Fortosis also said the department is trying to work within the college’s budget to fast-track the process and give scholarships to women’s golf and women’s tennis sooner.

“Because of gender equity across the country, there are amazing amounts of scholarships for women’s golf and women’s tennis to offset the amount of scholarships for football,” he said.

“They are looking to add as many scholarships as they can for women’s golf and tennis. I was on a plane and I was talking to a mom and her daughter. The daughter told me she was offered a full scholarship to play golf at a Div. I school in South Carolina and she had never played golf in her life.”

Female golfers can receive scholarships with scoring averages in the high 80s, which is not competitive at the collegiate level. Most of the women’s golfers at Eckerd shoot in the 90s and 100s. The men’s golf program and the men’s tennis program will be the last to sports two receive money additional funds.

Facilities While increasing funding for athletics is going to help Eckerd be more competitive, Bodney feels that the facilities also need to be improved in order to recruit the best athletes.

“If I was coming out and I had a scholarship offer to one of those places and I had a similar scholarship offer here,” Bodney said, “it’s such an out of balance equation in terms of facilities that it’s hard to blame a kid for going to one of those places.”

“The gymnasium itself is extremely out-dated,” he added, talking about the McArthur Physical Education Center that is the home of volleyball and basketball teams.

“The most obvious thing is that we still have red bleachers and I think the colors changed in ‘05.”

Bodney said that good facilities can get a player more excited and ready to play.

“When it looks good, you feel good, it makes you excited,” he said. “When it’s old and you get ants crawling around, you’re like ‘this sucks.’ It changes your mood.”

Piantadosi said she sees how students would be turned off by the facilities, but also says she doesn’t want a player who complains about them.

“I think sometimes in recruiting certain types of athletes will look

at our facilities and say ‘what’s up with that?’” she said. “And that’s probably an indicator that that’s not the kid that you need at your school. We want to bring the right people here that like Eckerd because we have high academics and quality programs here. We don’t want the kids that are here because the facilities are nice. When I have a recruit here I always say ‘We kick the people’s butts that have nice facilities so, what do you care?’”

But since Eastman’s arrival in 2001, there have been many improvements to athletic facilities, such as new lighted tennis courts, a new synthetic soccer field at the Turley Athletic Complex and renovated locker rooms.

Last summer, the college consulted S3 Design, an architectural firm focused on athletic facilities, to assess the renovation needs of the current facilities. The firm was critical of the McArthur Center for having poor lighting that might not meet safety requirements, bathrooms without air conditioning that require people to leave the gym to use, locker rooms without all working showers, and a sports medicine room that is deficient in size (only one room with no room for private conversation between athletes and training staff). The report was also critical of the gym for forcing attendees to enter onto the gym floor and basic amenities such as concessions being non-existent.

The report also said the soccer field at Turley is in need of replacement.

Fortosis said that the department is currently in the process of raising funds for three renovation projects.

“What we’re working on is a three-fold process with regard to athletic facilities,” he said. These three projects are part of the intermezzo athletic mini campaign. It starts with a sailing center in the lagoon area. That’s one piece of it. The second piece is to do some renovations on McArthur, the gym area. And the third piece, which is well down the road, is an athletic center out on the Turley Area that would house locker rooms and offices for all of the outdoor sports.”

The renovations to the McArthur Center include cosmetic improvements to the outer walls, renovating the locker rooms and training room, as well as increasing bleacher space.

The lagoon area is between Galbraith and ASPEC. Fortosis said the goal is to have 50 percent of the funds raised by May, but could not speculate on when the projects would be completed by.

While Crescent has seen an increase in spending from the department, she is still frustrated that athletics aren’t as a big a deal here compared to other schools.

“From what I’ve heard, they don’t want to spend money on renovating locker rooms, although they are now,” she said. “But they don’t want to spend money on equipment that we need, or even scholarships. I know the school is lacking money in general, but I don’t think they would hesitate to build another science building before they built something for the athletes.”

The future Crescent and Bodney are just two athletes who feel some sort of frustration with the department. When asked how he responds to those who say Eckerd

photo by Dominick Cuppetilli Freshman Victoria Vine shoots a basket.

doesn’t care about its athletics, Fortosis said that is a question he has to answer nearly every day.

“It’s an absolute misunderstanding of the current situation,” he said. “If you look at the amount of support the athletic department has received since President Eastman arrived and since I arrived shortly after him, I think the support that the athletic department has received has been immense. If you look at the growth and development of the athletic department through the context of the 50 year growth of the College, what’s happened here is nothing short of remarkable.

“If you look at the growth and development of our department based on a nationwide Division II profile of what money is involved in athletics, we are going to fall short of that. But at Eckerd we have the balance about right. Our progress is not rocket fast, but it is steady. And at Eckerd, steady progress is the name of the game.”

Now that funding is increasing and some of the facilities are going to be improved in the coming years, Piantadosi said the culture surrounding athletics also needs to change for the program to be successful.

“When he (Fortosis) first got here, the norm was that nobody had scholarships,” she said. “So everyone would practice, practice, practice, and then go to a tournament or a game, and get their butts kicked. Over time, over years of doing that, you start questioning what’s the point of practicing if you’re going to go get embarrassed.

So it’s hard to stay positive in that situation. So the mindset starts to be ‘whatever, we don’t care, let’s just have fun.’ And you guys find ways to have fun. I think that’s been, but that’s no longer where we’re going.

Dr. Fortosis is working so hard so everyone can have opportunities now and I think in the near future, all sports will have scholarship op-

portunities, so the level of play is going to step up and now we have something to work for. But we can’t change it when we have it, we have to start making the change now.”

While Fortosis is excited about the future of athletics at Eckerd, he says the department will always have the same philosophy.

“What I dread is getting to the end of your life as an athletic department person and all you’ve done is coach the game,” he said.

“What a sad way to live your life.”

Eastman spoke highly of Fortosis, saying he wouldn’t be here if he weren’t a good athletic director.

“He cares that they are students first and athletes second,” Eastman said. “He knows how passionate they are about what they do, and cares very deeply about the coaches. He chooses good coaches. He does a good job of marshalling as much support as he can for the athletic department, in all of the right ways. If all you do is win all your contests you will be thought of as a great athletic program, but you might not be. You might be a place that doesn’t really care about students, doesn’t care about their academic careers, opportunities and how people are treated. We don’t win all of our games but we do care about all those important things.”

Contrary to Fortosis, though, Eastman doesn’t think men’s basketball is the premier sport at Eckerd College.

“They are all premier as far as I’m concerned,” Eastman said.

“I unfailingly enjoy going to the them (the games). To me, seeing students that play sports that you also see in the cafeteria and see doing their class projects or get to know in some other way, is infinitely more interesting than seeing 22 football players on the field where that’s all you ever see them.”

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the current

The Quickie 9

May 2, 2014

The quickie

There’s always enough time for a quickie

On the Clock Across 1 Pacific Time 4 Werewolf from “Twilight” 9 New Deal President 12 Speak unclearly 14 Run away to get married 15 Drop heavily 16 Dorm near Roberts 17 Saint Nick 18 Bed_____ 19 Tulips grow from these 21 Person who cries often 23 An urgent or emotional request 25 Send away 26 Hawaiian hello 29 Central daylight time 31 What guys wear to Kappa Ball 35 Mutilate 36 For this reason 39 ___-eared rabbit 40 Environmental Protection Agency 41 Celtics point guard Rajon _____ 42 Opposite of near 43 Leslie Knope’s husband 44 Move downward 46 Wrath 47 Grows in fish tanks 49 Total number of fingers most people have 50 Lather, _____, repeat 52 Used to silence someone (plural) 54 Similar to a frog 56 JoJo’s Smokin’ Red Bean _____ 58 House made of ice 61 What time?

62 East Indian pepper plant 66 A brink or verge 68 Small town 69 A group of the highest class 70 Turn round and round 71 National Basketball Association 72 Smudge 73 Referee abbreviated

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Down 1 Pressure unit 2 Pig 3 Ballerinas wear this 4 Walter White’s partner 5 American Library Association 6 Cheat 7 To make a choice 8 Shore 9 Ice sheet 10 Entrance 11 Revolutions per minute 13 ______ Lauren polos 15 Before 20 Tell a secret 22 Past tense of ride 24 Approaches aggressively 25 Pupil 26 Single-celled aquatic or parasitic organism 27 Folded flap of cloth on the front of a jacket 28 A large primate 30 Move to music 32 Relating to elves 33 Flies 34 Shopping trip 37 Archaic term for before 38 Male child 44 “Let’s Make a _____” 45 Pull 48 Growing older 51 A lazy person 53 Insults 55 Cargo ship that carries fuel 56 Freshwater fish similar to carp 57 Wife and sister of Zeus 59 Smell 60 Stare at 61 West by north abbreviaton 63 Tree 64 ___-dye 65 Estimated time of arrival 67 One of Santa’s helpers

crossword by Chelsea Duca

The Cheese Club

By Chelsea Duca Quickie Editor

Eckerd has a new club on campus, and at the risk of sounding cheesy, it is rumored to be legen-dairy.

At the beginning of last semester, Sophomore Jimmy Hurchalla came up with a plan to bring Eckerd students together through a mutual love of cheese. Early this semester, the Cheese Club became officially chartered.

“I want to reach out for everyone and have something that everyone can enjoy,” Hurchalla said. “I mean, sans people who are allergic to milk.

I guess lactose intolerant people shouldn’t really join Cheese Club.”

Hurchalla felt that students were missing out on an opportunity to enjoy cheese with each other, and has plans to put together sampling events next year. The club currently has no funding because it was formed so late in the year, but they just went through budget allocation for next year and Hurchalla is hoping to get enough money to fund such events.

When Hurchalla first conceived

the idea of Cheese Club, he didn’t realize the amount of work that actually goes into forming a club.

“It took a lot longer than I expected it would, but the more I put into it, the faster it went,” Hurchalla said. “There was just a lot of hustle and bustle to begin with, but now that we’re here, we’re here.”

In addition to forming the club, Hurchalla also put together a board of cheese-lovers based on their “charismatic value and their love of cheese.” The board consists of Hurchalla as “the Chairman Cheese,” Sophomores Craig Felson, Riley McKelvie and Talene Yeghissian. According to Hurchalla, Yeghissian is the club’s bookkeeper and will handle any funding they get in the future.

Hurchalla’s roommate, Junior Jeff Good, is also on the board. “From the start, he was someone wholeheartedly agreed with me and helped out, you know,” Hurchalla said. “He really had my back.”

Good is supportive of Cheese Club. “I believe it is a wonderful opportunity that has yet to be started on campus,” he said. “[It] introduces

different culinary cultures through a medium everyone enjoys: cheese!”

Hurchalla also believes that cheese can be a cultural experience. He explained that he loves cheese because there are hundreds of different varieties that come from all over the world.

“I like a good brie,” Hurchalla said. “Did you know they call brie the queen of cheeses in France?”

The Cheese Club has its own group on Facebook, E.C. Cheese Club, that currently has 15 members. Hurchalla is looking into reforming the group, however, so that it is part of the collection of Eckerd pages. He hopes that the club will gain more interest that way.

“I expect this club to blow up,” Hurchalla said. “Once people find out there is a club for this kind of thing, they are going to be so into it and sign up ASAP.” Hurchalla claims that the club has a fairly strong following, and while they are hoping to grow, they still have very little funding.

He doesn’t believe that the allocations Cheese Club receives will be enough to sustain a large club, so

Hurchalla is trying to come up with solutions for events, such as first come first serve, or rationing out cheese as people come. However, he is still eager to find new members.

“If you want to join Cheese Club, please do,” Hurchalla said.

“We would love to have you.

We would love for you to be part of this cultural experience.”

For more information about Cheese Club, email Hurchalla at jehurcha@eckerd.edu or join the E.C. Cheese Club group on Facebook.

photo by Chelsea Duca Sophomore Jimmy Hurchalla poses with his club’s poster.

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the current

May 2, 2014

The Quickie 10

Wilder brings progress and positivity to Eckerd

By Leah Bilski Quickie Editor Sophomore Kayla Wilder waved to just about every person that walked by during our interview session at Palmetto Cafe. When I pointed out how many people she was saying hi to, Wilder very frankly said, “I get to say hi to a lot of people during the day.”

Wilder has had more experiences in her lifetime than most other people in their mid-20s. As an Army veteran and now the copresident of the Eckerd Community Queer Straight Alliance (ECQSA), Wilder has never been afraid to take on challenges. Starting out on her own at the age of 17, Wilder left home after her sexual orientation drove a split in her home life.

She attended boarding school for the last six months of high school, and soon after she turned 18, Wilder decided to join the Army.

During her time on active duty, Wilder was stationed in Heidelberg, Germany.

“It was kind of a different path,” Wilder said “The Army is what it is but it helped me at least for who I am, and you can’t beat that GI Bill. I wouldn’t be at Eckerd if it weren’t for the Army.”

Wilder started her time as an Eckerd student two years ago with help from the GI Bill and Eckerd’s Yellow Ribbon Program. The Yellow Ribbon Program supplements the GI Bill when tuition and other fees at a university exceed what it is

willing to pay. Wilder not only has a lot on her plate as a double major in Environmental Studies and Visual Arts, but she has put great effort into building ECQSA into a reputable on-campus resource for students.

“I’ve gotten a lot more involved with Eckerd this semester,” Wilder said. “I’m working with the Eckerd Community Queer Straight Alliance (ECQSA) and I’m really excited to be a part of this organization. We’ve done a lot this semester but we’re really, really trying to amp it up next year. The idea is to make this alliance more like a resource center instead of just a club.”

The ECQSA, formerly known as the Pride Club, has made some big advances this past semester. Along with their triumph in the genderneutral housing campaign, they have executed another successful pride week and established an office in the Kappa common room that is to open next semester. These victories won’t be stopping any time soon.

“Things are going amazingly well,” Wilder said. “Lova [Patterson] is our new administration advisor and we’re in the works of budgeting and planning for next semester. We have a ton of stuff planned for next year and the office will be all set up for people to come in and talk or find resources if they need them.”

ECQSA is working hard to insure a safe place for people to come to when they need questions answered, or even just a friendly place to come and talk. One thing that Wilder is

especially proud to bring to Eckerd through ECQSA is a support center that hasn’t been present until now.

“It’s crazy to me that Eckerd is so accepting and doesn’t have a Gay-Straight Alliance or any sort of LGBT resource center for students,” Wilder said. “Eckerd has had it written into their constitution since the early 1990s that they would not discriminate faculty based on sexual orientation or identity and that they offer same-sex partner benefits, so what’s taken so long?”

Wilder hopes to free people from silence by opening up the new ECQSA office, breaking the dangerous cycle of being scared to express who you really are.

With all of her life experiences, Wilder couldn’t express enough how much she loves Eckerd. For her, the best part of her time here is getting to know the people she sees every day. It’s the friendly faces that she appreciates the most.

“I really haven’t met too many people that I don’t get along with or that I can’t identify in some way with,” Wilder said. “It’s amazing that there’s a place like this that can be so supportive. This life is about connecting with people. It doesn’t matter who you are. Race, color, sexual orientation, gender, none of it matters. Everyone is just a person.”

Wilder hopes that through her actions she will see a happier and more accepting Eckerd and cannot wait for all of us to come together as people.

Kayla Wilder poses outside of Kappa complex with her dog.

photo by Lia Nydes

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the current

Viewpoints 11

May 2, 2014

Viewpoints INSIDE VIEWPOINTS

photo by Rachel Feinberg Senior Rachel Feinberg captures the trasnistion of the lunar eclipse as it transforms into the “blood moon” stage.

Blood moon breaks through night sky

By Katie Fox Staff Writer

Everyone seemed to be awake past their bedtimes on Mon. April 15. On the clear night, at 1:58 AM exactly, a stellar phenomenon called a lunar eclipse was seen by many Eckerd students.

This lunar eclipse was different than most because it creates a “blood moon.” This moon is easily identifiable because it is full, and varies in color from blood red to bright orange. An eclipse of the Moon can only take place at full moon, and only if the Moon passes through some portion of Earth’s shadow.

The shadow is actually composed of two cone-shaped parts, one nested inside the other. There

are two “zones” that create the effect of an eclipse. The outer zone or penumbra is a zone where Earth blocks some, but not all, of the Sun’s rays. In contrast, the inner shadow or umbra is a region where Earth blocks all direct sunlight from reaching the Moon.

The cycle of the moon had people setting up camp on Kappa Field in gaggles, rabble rousing and yelling encouragement to the passing moon. There were people on South Beach with bonfires and hammocks all over campus filled with rapt spectators. Some brave souls even went to watch the eclipse out on the bay.

Over 20 Eckerd students found themselves in kayaks out on the water to watch the eclipse in an event organized

by the EC Waterfront Program.

“It was amazing!” Senior Emily Gottlieb, who attended the trip, said. “Just being out on the water at night was a super cool experience by itself. The eclipse was beautiful. The waterfront staff was very organized and helpful as well.”

The eclipse on April 15th was a total lunar eclipse, but it is not the only eclipse on the calendar this year. If you missed this nighttime phenomenon, fear not. There will be four more lunar eclipses this year.

The next eclipse is on April 29 and this will be a rare annular eclipse. This eclipse is different because the trajectory of the shadow of the eclipse has only happened 68 times in a 5000 year

period. The 5000 year period is a collection of dates from all of the cyclical eclipses on the lunar calendar from the years. 2000 BCE to 3000 CE. During this time there have been 3,956 annular eclipses.

The next one isn’t until October 8th which will be a total lunar eclipse and NASA has predicted that it will appear 5.3% larger than the moon during the eclipse on April 15. The future eclipse is predicted to last exactly 59 minutes.

The final eclipse this year occurs on October 23, and will be a partial solar eclipse. This means it will happen during the day and it is the only daytime eclipse this year. This will be best visible in Canada but will be widely visible in the US as well.

Tech companies sponsor anti-LGBT legislation

By Katie Fox Staff Writer Your computer could be a homophobe. There are unseen political affiliations with the purchase of certain products from technology companies, including laptops and other hardware and software products, that as a target demographic we should be aware of. Recently there were reports of Brendan Eich, the CEO of Mozilla, stepping down from his position due to his support for anti-LGBT legislature.

Eich was only the CEO for a matter of weeks before public outrage forced him to step down. What most don’t know about Eich Is that he invented the coding language “javascript” and was one of two cofounders of the Mozilla Company.

The problem started in 2008 when he made a $1,000 donation to the website Protectmarriage.com, which is an amalgamation of right wing religious groups that fought to pass California’s Proposition 8. Proposition 8 was California’s law against same sex marriages that was deemed unconstitutional by federal courts.

Of the top 11 technology companies in the silicon valley 83 percent of the employee donations were to organizations opposing Prop 8, which means that only 17 percent supported the bill. However sixtyone donations totalling $80,635 dollars came from Intel in support of Proposition 8. Hewlett-Packard had 54 donations made by their employees in support of Proposition 8 totalling $40,990 dollars.

Intel makes processors and other electronic chips for many models of

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dell computers. Hewlett Packard, better knows as HP, makes laptops as well as computer monitors, cell phones, tablets and televisions.

As consumers, we have a responsibility to buy based on our beliefs. If a company uses slave labor, has poor environmental regulations, or doesn’t pay employees properly, then consumers have to make a decision on whether or not to buy something from that company knowing full well that their money is going into those things.

Eckerd students and consumers, knowing about homophobic donations made by technology companies may change their buying habits.

“First of all you have to look at the economic status of the people who are putting these laws in place. What benefits are they getting by not supporting gay marriage?” Senior Eden Shlomi said.

“So you’re thinking rich people and taxes and then you think of Africa and you think ‘let’s distract them with homosexuality instead of facing real problems like famine and exploitation of miners.’ That’s why they’re getting all of their minerals, all of the sources, to build technology are from African mines. And so, by promoting [traditional marriage] then you’re going to have preachers go to Africa and promote a whole cycle of oppression,” Shlomi said.

Students need laptops to do classwork in a college setting, and a large number of students have one of their own. Including Sophomore Riley Huff.

“Honestly, the way I see it, I’m sure a lot of it is motivated by mon-

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courtesy of Firefox’s facebook Companies like Mozilla have been scrutinized for supporting anti-LGBT legislation.

ey, but I’m also a strong believer in freedom of speech. These companies can have their opinion and they can choose what they want to fund and it is not really my place to do anything. Their personal opinions shouldn’t affect me buying the products. It should be based on the quality of product,” Huff said.

There are a large number of college students who purchase com-

puters and use different types of internet based academic resources. Their consumption of these products supports any political affiliations through donation of the companies from which they bought the product. When buying technology, make sure to research the ethics and beliefs of the companies and their executives if you plan on making a large purchase like a laptop.

Seniors say Farewell

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MBFGC

page 10

PerspECtives

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The meaning of feminism today

By Hailey Escobar Web Editor

After about a year of writing this column, discussing subjects from women in film to sexual confidence, I’ve recently realized that there is one very important question that I have yet to address.

What is feminism? After working on this column this past year, I think I’ve just about figured what this term actually means.

I’m sure there was a secure, positive definition for this word since its inception back in 1895. However, years of political and social backlash from the women’s liberation movement has muddled its meaning. To certain politicians, this word could represent a hate group who want nothing more than to burn down the patriarchy. To others, it means “equality between everybody, no matter gender, sexual orientation, race, color, anything. Of just equality,” Senior Ellie Nypaver said.

Feminism began when women realized just how unequal their representation is. They couldn’t vote or have their voice heard in the public forum. After overcoming this obstacle, they continued to discover inequalities and fought to correct injustices. Feminists have not only fought for women’s rights, but civil rights of all kinds.

This is what I’ve learned through writing this column over the past year. There are a lot more facets to feminism than I ever realized.

“One important thing about feminism for me is listening, listening to marginalized voices,” Senior and member of the Women’s Empowerment Society Lily Ellis said. “So my definition of feminism is actually inspired by Marge Hooks who is a very famous African American feminist woman and she defines feminism as advocacy against sexist oppression.”

Despite the wide variety in these definitions, I believe that they are all correct in a way. For me, a feminist is someone who lends a voice to those who are not normally heard. In all of the political fights for human rights, those being oppressed were seen as nothing more than objects or nuisances for who they are. This is something that I feel must be remedied.

Feminism is trying to change things in order to give everyone a fair opportunity to achieve their dreams. It’s no wonder that there are those who think that by breaking the status-quo, feminists are trying to take down the patriarchal government. In a See FEMINISTA, page 10

5 12 Viewpoints

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May 2, 2014

years of

The Current

Seniors say fare

Ely Grinfeld, Viewpoints Ed

Creative Writing, Communication major; Journalism

A Transition with New Adviser; Looking Forward

Malena Carollo, Editor-in-Chief

International Relations major, Concentration in Journalism One of my first articles for The Current was an unlikely book review my freshman year: Justin Bieber’s autobiography. My roommate at the time had given it to me for Christmas as a joke, but when the Entertainment editor was short an article for the upcoming issue, it became my springboard into one of the most significant parts of my college career.

I came to the newspaper for the chance to write and be published, but I stayed for the incredible camaraderie that is inevitably fostered in the newsroom. During those late-night layout sessions when we stayed until 6 a.m. pounding out the final details of breaking news, unshowered and hopped up on Red Bull and coffee, the jumbled assortment of students from nearly every corner of campus became my team and my family.

Our charismatic former adviser, Tracy Crow, inspired me to pursue the fiercest role a journalist can have -- a watchdog in the community. She pushed me to chase down leads about potentially unfair allocation processes, develop sources who would give me the inside scoop that there might be a barge dorm on campus and ask the tough questions about why a campus sexual misconduct policy during my semes-

Seeing myself progress to where I am now is almo fumbling freshman, tucked into the back of a sweaty I’m the editor of my own section in The Current, people who are all stirred by current events, culture The busy streets that life makes us traverse can b into an alley that grows darker and more alien. But ing, too. Being 18 and in a college more than 1,000 m I think I’m ready for another. This time, hold the su

ter abroad was so pitiful at supporting victims.

Her training prepared me to take over this year as Editor-in-Chief as The Current transitioned to our new adviser, Asst. Professor of Creative Writing K.C. Wolfe. We began the year with a bang as we brought home the prestigious Pacemaker Award from the Associated College Press for our website. Fresh off the win, the question we constantly asked ourselves at The Current was, “How can we do this better?” It’s not enough for us to fill our pages with photo spreads or spend precious space on fluffy articles. We wanted to chase down the toughest articles and tell the most compelling stories.

Our work began early. Even before the semester formally started, we had to cover one of the most challenging stories of the year -the death of a fellow student in Autumn term.

I was downtown when I got the call from our news editor that there was a potential student drowning on campus. Within 15 minutes, the few of us on campus and our new adviser had hustled into the newsroom to strategize, piecing out the ethics of breaking the news of a student’s death. In the end, we decided to let the school announce Freshman Jessica Gartenberg’s death in the interest of notifying her family.

It didn’t stop there. Our editors hit the ground running with in-depth coverage of Eckerd’s poor shower accommodations for a wheelchair-using student, scooped the Tampa Bay Times’ eventual front-cover story of a prominent Eckerd soccer player’s struggle to overcome physical and emotional struggles to return to the field and broke down why the Affordable Care Act sent student health insurance rates skyrocketing.

During the year, we faced some staffing challenges. We had to shuffle people around to accommodate for not having a managing editor, and those who were asked rose to the challenge without question and without fail. I found myself immensely proud as, even into the latest hours of layout, our team rallied to preserve morale and finish the pages.

The Current’s mission has always been to inform and protect the Eckerd community. After seeing them rise to the occasion so significantly this year, I’m confident that next year’s staff of talented student journalists will have as much fire in their reporting as we did this year.

Shannon Vize, Viewpoints

Creative Writing major; Journalism, Italian & Litera

People say that by the time you’re a senior, you’ll b disagree. In the past three and a half years, Eckerd has a chapter in my life. Eckerd is where I experienced tru I fell in love. It’s where I found The Current and its infuriated me just as much as I did them. Working for me more than I could begin to express, plus I’m alread To sum it up, through the never-ending hours spent came to care and respect my fellow editors. I found a random assortment of the greatest, most entertaining So although I may not be happy to leave my home with I feel ready to begin whatever adventure is waiting for ible as the time I had here.

Ian Lindsay, Entertainment

Creative Writing major; Journalism & Literature mi

Maybe I wasn’t the journalist Gotham wanted, and Gotham is a complex metaphor for my time at The again in the layout room,” with my one of my best f amounts of pizza became a ritual every other weeken pages.The friendships I’ve made here have flourishe have seen staff writers go from turning in a few scribb something we as an organization can be proud of. G The Current. Goodbye and good luck.

Hayden Johnson, Asst. Ent

Creative Writing. Literature major; Journalism min

I never chose The Current Life, The Current Life article to Assistant Entertainment Editor, so look at monkey suit, make me say the same lines over and ov never grow up. It’s a staggering road that lies ahead, drinking Hemlock to ice cold beer from the gold cha blood and will be a Kreature no matter the place. I’v Bruce Campbell with “Sure I could have stayed in th own way, I am king. Hail to the King baby.”

A History of Eckerd College Student Publications 1960

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1982-85

Eckspress

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The Phoenix 1985

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May 2, 2014

ewell...

Viewpoints 13

Aaron Levy, News Editor Communications major; Journalism minor

When I joined The Current during my sophomore year, all I wanted to do was write about music and other media in popular culture. I never imagined then that I’d end up writing and editing The Current’s news section, covering the rising costs of student loans, profiling Director of Campus Safety Adam Colby and, unfortunately, reporting on a number of student deaths. The camaraderie of this team has helped to build something good into something great, and it has been perhaps the most valuable facet of my education here at Eckerd. I encourage all those interested in bettering themselves and their community to pick up a pen and pad and start writing. You may be surprised with what you come up with.

ditor/Copy Editor

m minor

ost dizzying. Not too long ago, I found myself a y September news meeting in Brown 103. Now, and have the support of a wonderful group of and engendering discourse for the community. be confounding, each corner seeming to take us maybe living with that abandon can be liberatmiles away was its own reckless adventure. Now un. My porcelain skin can only take so much.

Mike Geibel, Sports Editor/Copy and Design Editor International Relations major; Chinese, Journalism minor

Editor

How about that ride in? I guess that’s why they call it Sin City. You guys might not know this, but I consider myself a bit of a loner. I tend to think of myself as a one-man wolf pack. But when I joined The Current in my first year, my wolf pack grew by, I don’t know, something like 20 or 30. It’s hard to believe this is the last issue. I guess my threats to quit, no matter how many times I joked about it, never really sank in. Truthfully, I never could have left.

The Current has taught me so much about journalism and working with people and given me opportunities I never would have had on my own. I’m grateful for everything The Current has brought to me and I’ll miss putting in ridiculously long hours to create the best section in the paper every single issue.

ature minor

be happy and ready to graduate and leave, but I become my home. It’s more than just a college or ue loss after losing my best friend, but also where s incredible staff who have taught, nurtured and r The Current and studying at Eckerd have given dy way past the word count as it is. t in that small office laying out page after page, I a second family at The Current, a dysfunctional, and strange individuals, but a family nonetheless. h its perpetual sunshine, sand and Kappa parties, me next. Fingers crossed it will be half as incred-

Will Creager, Asst. Sports Editor Math major; Computer Science, Journalism minor

t Editor

Having already transferred out of Eckerd in the past, this isn’t my first time saying goodbye to this wonderful place. One thing I quickly learned at the other university I attended was that the people at Eckerd are truly amazing and one-of-a-kind. You would think saying goodbye would be easier the second time around, but it has only gotten harder. I have made some of the best friends anyone could ask for in the past five years, and I have truly enjoyed working with everybody on the Current staff. I have made a second family here, one that will always hold a special place in my heart. I want to thank everybody who helped make my time here the best years of my life.

inor

d I can name others that Gotham deserves, but e Current. Loopy nights singing “wasting away friends Hayden “Stagger” Johnson, and endless nd. Every layout we poured ourselves into those ed and grown the same as the prose in the ink. I bles of barely publishable material to handing in Goodbyes are transient and never fun. Goodbye

Colin Casey, Copy Editor/Asst. Sports Editor Marine Science, Political Science major

Six years ago, on a dark and stormy afternoon, I walked into Galbraith for the first time. I was an eager high school junior who in his mind had his college decision down to two: Miami and some school called Eckerd. I had no idea that a botany class would change the course of my life.

The professor was Jeannine Lessmann; the lecture, her mid-semester photosynthesis overview. I had no interest in plants yet I was drawn in. After class, Dr. Lessmann showed me around Galbraith, it was a personal touch that I never got on the quick fly by on the Admissions tour. Ultimately, it was that extra effort that pushed me to decline attendance at Miami.

Six years, two classes, countless mentoring sessions, plenty of tears, several sleepless nights in Galbraith and one fiddler crab later, I am who I am today. Looking back,she was the one who kept me here. When transfer paperwork was in the works, she made me reconsider. When I got a C+ in her Biological Oceanography class she saw value in my effort and invited me to work in her lab. When I was down and out personally, she made an effort to help me. In the end, she was the only one to take a chance on me professionally. So here’s to you, Dr. Lessmann. Thank you for everything.

tertainment Editor

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chose me. I started out here too shy to write an t me now haters. They can tax me, put me in a ver again until I get a raise, but I sure as hell will , but at Eckerd, I’ve had my fair share between alice of victory. I was a Kappa Kreature through ve got nothing else to say but to quote the great he past. I could have even been king. But in my

2009-Present 2000

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- 1st place - Online Pacemaker (2013) Association of Collegiate Press

- 1st place - Best (small) College Newspaper (2012) Society of Professional Journalists (Southeast Region)

- 1st place - Best (small) College Affiliated Website (2012) Society of Professional Journalists (Southeast Region)

- 2nd place - Best College Newspaper (2012)

Florida College Press Association - National Finalist for Best College Website (<5000 enrollment) (2012)

Association of Collegiate Press - 1st place - Best College Newspaper (2011)

Florida College Press Association - National Finalist for Best College Website (<5000 enrollment) (2010)

Association of Collegiate Press see www.eckerd.edu/academics/journalism for complete list of awards

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May 2, 2014

MBFGC:

Light my way

By Colin Casey Copy Editor

I have always laughed at the people who focus on the gay marriage fight as the sole battleground in the struggle for equal rights. Marriage is important, but there are more pressing concerns. It is the case with any so-called “other” group seeks rights. Each has a goal to achieve.

Martin Luther King called it the mountaintop, the end of a generations—long struggle for equality in the U.S. Nelson Mandela called it the New South Africa. Both are the idealized versions of a perfect society. And both are nowhere close to being achieved.

As long as the incarceration rate, education rate and earnings gaps between black and white are disproportionate that mountaintop that King helped summit is nothing but a foothill.

Mandela’s new South Africa is not much better. Debt taken on by hosting the 2010 World Cup has exacerbated interior problems. Now crumbling infrastructure, poor education and limited worker opportunities appear to be the norm in modern South Africa. While great strides have been made since Apartheid, there is still a long way to go.

So where do these cautionary tales leave the LGBT rights movement? Well nowhere fast to start.

Part of the advantage of marriage equality is that it is a voter friendly issue; it is a common cause and a part of everyday life for most Americans. By arguing for marriage rights, they argue to be treated the same as everyone else.

Except there are underlying cracks in the gay version of the American Dream. Should a married couple live in one of 18 states where there is no protection against LGBT discrimination in the workplace and hiring procedure, both parties could lose their job with little to no protection.

It is an extreme example, but it is still worth noting in a country where gay marriage is becoming more common the protections outside of marriage rights are limited.

More alarming are the stories of the youth. A 2012 study by the Williams Law Center at the Uni-

versity of California Los Angeles found that 40 percent of homeless youth identify as LGBT. Now for the question not many seem to be asking, why is that number so high? If, in a worst case scenario, a youth were to be thrown out of the home due to their sexuality why is there no protection for them yet?

What exactly is the point of marriage equality if real protection is still a pipe dream at best?

It is not that it is a bad thing.

Marriage equality showcases progress in a country that as recent as 2004 overwhelmingly opposed LGBT rights. It is just not enough for a population of people tired of being kicked to the curb.

Maybe gay marriage is just that first foothill on the road to the mountaintop. If that is the case, it will be quite a climb to go towards real equality. Then again, at least the suffering will no longer be merely in silence.

No one wants to be the politician who denied a family their rights.

On that note, I want to take a moment to thank you for reading this column. I understand that it can be a tad dry in comparison to previous iterations, but there was always a method to the madness.

This is not a biographical column. It was meant to inform about issues that are not always common knowledge. In spite of the perfection often preached by supporters, I simply wanted to ask a few of my own questions and hopefully start a conversation.

It has been my pleasure to write for you this year, though admittedly the process was not always an easy one to deal with. I want to step aside and thank a few people first and foremost: both The Current and former faculty advisers K.C. Wolfe and Tracy Crow. Viewpoints Editors Shannon Vize, Gary Furrow Jr. and Ely Grinfeld each saw me at my best and worst through this process and have the patience of saints.

Most of all, I want to thank three alumni: Jeralyn Darling, Carver Lee, and Ethan Packey After I decided to take up this column, Darling provided nothing but support.

Lee gave me a chance at writing an editorial helping prove that even a sportswriter can have an opinion. Packey was a great influence on my writing style throughout.

If there is a next chapter, I eagerly look forward to reading the thoughts and opinions of the next writer. Until then, it’s closing time. Here’s to hoping that the saga of LGBT rights ends like all the great stories with everyone living happily ever after.

Feminista continued From FEMINISTA, page 7 way, they are, at least in the way it’s always been viewed.

To me, it’s more important to fight for equal right now more than ever. We have made a lot of advances in making sure people have fair treatment. Court cases are being won to support samesex marriage. Women are being elected into seats of power. Things seem to be progressing, but we can’t allow that to slow us down.

I have discovered and written about things that still need to be addressed. Women still don’t hold equal positions of power in most occupations. Only one woman has won an Oscar for best director in over 80 years of the awards’ history.

We’ve never had a U.S. female president despite being a country for over 200 years. Women are still harassed on a daily basis, being seen more as male possessions or entertainment than actual, intelligent people.

I was lucky enough to grow up with many strong women in my family to look up to. My mom has owned several of her own businesses. My godmother doesn’t take grief from anyone. Even my younger sisters inspire me every day with their talents, creativity and faith. To think that there could ever be something like gender inequality in the way of their achievements or even my own is something that is unacceptable for me. That is why I am a feminist.

PerspECtives

#Amusing Musings

What is your favorite memory or experience from this school year?

Here is where we immortalize the funniest quotes from EC students and faculty. No names, no shame.

Follow us on twitter: @TheECCurrent

“Organic Chemistry.”

- Holly Buresh, junior

Communication Professor I used to skip school. I used to go to the woods. I did things that would terrify any mother. #Adolescence

History Professor Wait, so you are telling me there is a war. I never knew. #Sarcasm...What Anthropology Professor Never give a presentation while your nose is running in front of people you are trying to impress. #CommonColdProblems

“Springtopia, totally. Especially at the luau with the jazz band and the night before when they played at Kappa.”

- Alexine Buchanan, sophomore

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the current

Entertainment 15

May 2, 2014

Entertainment New Wes Anderson film delivers visually striking murder mystery

By Jennifer Lincoln Staff Writer Wes Anderson’s latest addition to his quirky mix of masterpieces is titled “The Grand Budapest Hotel.” The movie contains many of the quintessential components of all of his successful films.

While the cinematography of the movie itself is congruent with his usual style of filmmaking, following along with the overhead views and side-sweeping of the camera across intricate sets, Anderson enters new territory with “The Grand Budapest Hotel.”

This is the director’s first murder-mystery film, Anderson’s eighth production so far, and that in itself projected an entirely new light on the style and overall feel of the smash hit. The movie was filmed in the style of the, 1930s, the time period the movie is set in.

The plot follows Zero Moustafa, a lobby boy working under an exceptional concierge named Mr. Gustave H. in the “Grand Budapest Hotel.”

H. is an incredibly resilient womanizer and a tremendous flirt, often going after rather wealthy women over 80 all the while running the hotel with impeccable precision.

After one of his lady-friends is suddenly murdered and her fortune is on the line, H. flees with a priceless painting, Moustafa in tow. The rest of the film follows their adventures escaping the henchman of the late woman’s family, a short stint in prison, true love, some Olympicworthy skiing and sledding and

a satisfying look into the expansive secret network of concierges.

The movie was a hit at the box offices, earning $45 million, and a bigger hit with Eckerd students.

“Finally! A hipster action movie,” Sophomore Annabelle Sweetall said.

“I enjoyed it because I like Wes Anderson’s style,” Senior Adam Rusinand said. “It was entertaining to see his take on a murder mystery.”

Anderson’s style was evident in the film, from the crowd-

ed scenes to the recycled actors from his previous films.

The new twist in the storyline and style delighted Anderson fans as well as impressed those who were previously bored with his consistent visual style.

Many actors beloved by Anderson and Anderson fans alike are in this movie, parts large or small.

These included, Tilda Swinton, Jason Schwartzman, Bill Murray, Owen Wilson, Ed-

ward Norton and Adrien Brody.

Newcomers to Anderson films such as Saoirse Ronan and Tony Revolori held their own against much more seasoned actors.

Overall, this was an exciting movie combining all of the best elements of what makes a Wes Anderson film a Wes Anderson film.

Anderson also exemplifies what a great director is by introducing new facets to his filmmaking and taking a new direction with his work.

promotional photo The set of “Grand Budapest Hotel,” the fictional setting for Anderson’s film.

Summer festival survival guide: Be healthy

By Ian Lindsay Entertainment Editor The circuit has begun. Soon the festival floodgate of line-ups and crowds will be a destination for many college kids vacationing around the country this summer.

From small town fests like upstate New York’s Catskill Chill, to Tennessee’s heavy-weight Bonnaroo which has more than 90,000 in attendance, surviving a camping festival can be taxing on the mind and body. As a person who lived through the storm and mudslides of Wakarusa—held in Mulberry Mountains, Ark.—there is no denying that first time attendees and even seasoned veterans need a little guiding force to enjoy the full breadth of a music festival. Here are five tips that will help festheads stay healthy and rage hard.

1. Be good to each other This one should go without saying, but it’s important enough to be number 1. All melodrama aside, we should always be respectful and aware of our surroundings. This respect is important at festivals, especially when you’re surrounded by thousands of strangers all grid-

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INSIDE ENTERTAINMENT As Told By a Ginger

page 17

Fashion Under the Sun

page 17

Cat Stevens

page 18

Five movies to look out for this summer

By Hailey Escobar Web Editor We all know that sometimes the sun and sand of summer days can get a bit tiring over the months between spring and fall semester or at least leave a really bad sunburn. So, on those scorching days when all you is a blast of air conditioning, there are many blockbuster films coming into theaters that could be just the solution. Here is a quick look at some of this summer’s biggest films.

promotional photo

May Exams are over and the break can finally begin and while the summer box office is always filled with the newest installments of superhero franchises, May is going to be introducing not one, but two of Marvel’s newest films: “The Amazing SpiderMan 2” and “X-Men: Days of Future Past.” Disney will also be adding a third villain to the mix with Angelina Jolie in “Maleficent,” a prequel about the famed villain from “Sleeping Beauty.” If you’re looking for more of a laugh, Seth Meyer’s new film “A Million Ways to Die in the West” might be a better bet.

Of all of these films, the one that seems the most questioning would have to be the new version

courtesy of Wakarusa’s facebook The crowd at Wakarusa from the perspective of the main stage.

locked camped right next to you.

You can’t expect people to turn their music down or lower their voices even deep into the a.m. You also can’t expect to be able to push your way all to the front of the crowd if you’re late to a set. There is no prescribed way to interact with strangers at a festival. Just be open-minded and friendly. Most people out there are there for the same reasons you are–music and camaraderie.

2. Make your campsite cozy One of the hardests tasks at a festival is finding your way to your campsite in the dark. The best way

Visit us online at www.theonlinecurrent.com

to not get lost in the endless rows of tents is to put some kind of visual landmark over your campsite.

Flags, Balloons or anything that can be seen from afar works. Imagine how good an Eckerd flag would look flying over your tent. Next, vendor food is expensive. The best way to cook for your campsite is to bring a foldable table to support a propane stove. A good skillet will save your life. Finally, remember you are exposed to elements. Gazebos and hanging tapestries will help to shade you from the sun. Space blankets also help to insulate the heat for cold nights. When it rains

keep your clothes somewhere dry because walking around the next three days in wet socks is not fun.

3. Stay hydrated The music is bumpin’ and you’ve been dancing for seven hours straight. When’s the last time you’ve had some water? I recommend a Camelbak. Camelbaks are great because they’re easy to transport and you don’t have to carry a water bottle around from stage to stage. Most festivals make you dump them out before you enter the venue, but also do a good job of See FESTIVAL, page 15

promotional photo See MOVIES, page 15

16 Entertainment

the current

May 2, 2014

ECKERD EVENTS

To have your event added to the calendar, email currententertainment@eckerd.edu.

FRIDAY

SATURDAY

3

2

8 p.m.

Triton Trot

First Friday 7 p.m.

Sexy Poetry

7 p.m.

Kappa Karnival 10 p.m.

Saturday Cinema

9

Last Day of Classes 4 p.m.

Garden Harvest Festival 4:30 p.m.

Pitchers with Professors 9 p.m.

Another Man’s Trash

10

10 p.m.

Saturday Morning Market

SUNDAY

4

10 p.m.

Work Place at the Garden

MONDAY

5

Palmetto Mother’s Card Event

1 p.m.

Wal Mart Shopping Shuttle

11

Mother’s Day

12

7 p.m.

Sex Toys for Girls and Boys

TUESDAY

6

Palmetto Mother’s Card Event

WEDNESDAY

7

10 a.m.

Weston’s Art Fest

THURSDAY

8 7 p.m.

EC Dance Showcase

7:30 p.m.

Ale Tasting

7 p.m.

Sunset Yoga

10 p.m.

Rockband in the Pub

13

14

15

2:30 p.m.

Destress with Dog Cuddles

7:00 p.m.

Hideaway Cafe: Blues Jam

8 p.m.

Open Mic

9 p.m.

Late Night Breakfast 10 p.m.

Saturday Cinema

The St. Pete Sampler Local fun and fine dining Congratulations Eckerd College class of 2014. Check out these steak houses to celebrate leaving the bubble.

Willie Nelson in the Austin City Limits Hall of Fame.

Marvel plans on killing Wolverine in September.

B.

Carrie Fischer, Mark Hamill and Harrison Ford in London as Star Wars sequels begin shooting.

“Girl Meets World” previews looked like a campy Disney tween show.

A.

“The Big Bang Theory” is banned by the Chinese government.

Justin Beiber releases another song on Twitter.

“Dark Tower Drawing of the Three” is being adapted into a comic.

Seth McFarlane to release another horrible movie.

THE TIPSY TRITON Cocktails & Mixed Drinks Kentucky Screwdriver

Solid Snake

• 1 part Kentucky Gentleman Whiskey

• Half King Cobra Malt Liquor

C.

D.

• Ice cubes

A. Terra Mar Brazilian Steakhouse 6715 49th St 18 mins for campus Tuesday, Wednesday and Sunday 11 a.m . to 9 p.m.

Thusday through Saturday 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.

3 ½ stars

B. Koi Sushi and SteakHouse 7900 4th St N 20 mins from campus Monday through Friday 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday 5 p.m. to 11 p.m.

2 1/2 stars $$

Fill a plastic cup with ice cubes, add a shot of whiskey and fill the rest of the cup with orange juice.

C. Marchand’s Bar and Grill 501 5th Ave NE 13 mins from campus Monday to Thursday Sunday 6:30 a.m. to Midnight Friday to Saturday 6:30 p.m. to 2 a.m.

4 stars Full Bar

D. Parkshore Grill 300 Beach Dr NE 12 mins from campus Monday through Saturday 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Sunday 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.

3 ½ stars $$ Full Bar

• 3 parts orange juice

• Half Monster Energy Drink

Fill half a cup up with King Cobra Malt Liqour, add Monster and enjoy responsibly.

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the current

May 2, 2014

Entertainment 17

2014 Summer movie guide From MOVIES, page 9

of “Godzilla.” While the film stars major Hollywood names such as Bryan Cranston, Elizabeth Olsen and Aaron Tyler-Johnson, the idea of another remake of an already iconic film might leave audiences wondering what the point was in making another “Godzilla” film.

June While “The Fault in Our Stars” might seem like a sappy love story to some, this film has much to say on the power of love and expresses just how short life can be. It also doesn’t hurt that the film is based on the book by John Green, brother of Eckerd alumnus Hank Green.

If a that’s not quite your style, there are a few more action based films also coming to theaters in June. One is the sure-to-be-hilarious sequel “22 Jump Street,” bringing together Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill on a new hilarious adventure. This time, the duo will be setting their sights on a higher institution, college. Also, the end of the month will premiere the newest addition to the “Transformers” saga. With a new cast, new story and a new villain on the horizon, this film should be just as action packed as its predecessors.

Great graduation gifts that fit a college budget

By Gary Furrow Jr. Asst. Viewpoints Editor

“As we go on, we remember, all the times we had together,” are the lyrics to the graduation staple “Graduation (Friends Forever)”

by Vitamin C. This song can be heard on repeat at any graduation event, and as graduation nears closer, so does this song and a problem. No. The problem is not the song getting stuck into one’s head but what is an appropriate graduation gift. One wants to give a gift that is as meaningful as it is cheap. This “As Told By a Ginger” will demonstrate three different but meaningful graduation gifts for under $10.

The first gift idea is a journal. A journal is great way to organize one’s thoughts or organize one’s life, perfect for seniors who are starting a new chapter in their lives. Journals come in all shapes, sizes and designs and one can pick one up for as low as a dollar.

The best places to buy unique journals would be Michaels craft stores or Barnes and Noble book stores.

Now what makes this truly special is if the person giving the journal personalizes it. One could write a letter, poem or draw a picture inside the journal. Another good idea is to decorate the journal with things that the graduate likes.

The next gift idea is a memory board or a bulletin board decorated in mementos and photos of the giver and the graduate. A memory board is perfect for a graduate to remember their times with you during their college years. Decorate the board with colorful paper and scrapbook-type things, which

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you can purchase at the dollar store. Include photos and small items from their time at college. Small items like concert tickets, beads from Gasparilla, a map of Saturday Morning Market and the list goes on from there. After one presents the graduate with the board, they will proudly hang it in their new apartment or cardboard box depending on how much debt they are in with student loans. Put money on their memory boards if you are feeling really generous.

The last gift idea is similar to the memory board but is for someone with not a lot of wall space; it is a message in a bottle. Take a bottle of the graduates’ favorite drink, alcoholic or not, empty it out and fill with similar mementos like a small rolled up letter or photo, sand from the beach, confetti from New Year’s Eve or simply decorate the bottle to match their style.

Any gift with thought and heart put into is sure to melt even the coldest of graduate’s heart. It does not matter if one spends a lot of money on a gift or uses one of my ideas – as long as you showed them you care. A trip down memory lane does not hurt either.

I hope you found this column useful for your gifting endeavors and I also hope you found the column helpful promotional photo period. This will be the last “As Told by a Ginger” for the school year, a column that is dedicated to making your college life a little bit better while saving a few pennies. “As Told By a Ginger” would like to congratulate the graduating class of 2014. May your days be always sassy and inexpensive.

Visit us online at www.theonlinecurrent.com

promotional photo

July Of all of the films posed to be released this July, two seem to stand out amongst the rest.

In “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes,” is a similar situation as in May’s “Godzilla.”

Do we really need another one? However, a strong cast leaded by Gary Oldman and promising CGI for characters such as the ape leader Caesar might be the reci-

promotional photo

pe to a success at the box office this year.

The other film that stands out would have to be “Fast and Furious 7.” The latest in the franchise follows the death of lead actor Paul Walker who died late last year in a car accident. This was his final film as he was midway through filming at the time of his death.

Filming resumed in March after a four month hiatus, with the cast and crew hoping to make the best installment yet. This film will surely attract fans of both the franchise and the actor to experience this action packed film.

August Fall semester is sure to be just around the corner, which means students only have a few weeks to jam in their summer movies before classes resume. August doesn’t seem to disappoint. This month will be action packed with Marvel’s third summer film “Guardians of the Galaxy” leading the pack fresh off of the San Diego ComicCon. It will also be competing with the steamy film adaption of “50 Shades of Grey.”

For those who are more fans of childhood cartoons, then the new live-action version of “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” will be the must see of the summer. This film will also be Megan Fox’s first release in two years.

The month will also include the highly-anticipated adaptation of “The Giver” starring Hollywood legends such as Meryl Streep and Jeff Bridges as the Giver himself. The filmmakers have also released a recent trailer to show fans of the book that parts of the film will be in black-andwhite to stay true to the original text.

Surviving the crowds & elements of festivals From FESTIVAL, page 9

providing water spigots where attendees can fill up. On your first day out, try and find all the spigots in the festival because sometimes water runs out. Keep dancing and stay hydrated. Heat exhaustion and dehydration can ruin your weekend.

Test Your Baggies There is nothing dumber than taking a substance from a stranger, then ingesting it on their word. I do not recommend doing any drugs at festivals and always encourage people to enjoy the music and art with a sharp mind. But, there is no denying that since WoodStock and Burning Man the grandaddies of festivals people have taken mindaltering drugs. If you choose to partake in these activities please test your substances.

There are a lot of dangerous research chemicals marketed as “safe” drugs. Testers kits are available for reasonable prices at bunkpolice.org, but the best way to to be healthy at a festival is to refrain from drug use.

What stage is this?

Most festivals have at least three stages, and the bigger festivals like TomorrowLand have 15 stages. There are two schools of thought when it comes to scheduling out your day so you can see as many artists as possible. The first, is to plan out your day

by the set schedule and follow it to the tee.

The second is to mindlessly drift from stage to stage being drawn to what sounds nice. I would recommend something in between these two schools. Planning your day out to a strict schedule takes out the spontaneity of the day, but drifting around can make you miss one of your favorite artists. Make sure to get good spots in the crowd at your favorite headliners, but during the day it’s always fun to catch a an artist you’ve never heard of. Coming home with 10 new favorite bands to listen to is one of the greatest things about the after-glow of live music.

promotional photos

18 Entertainment

the current

May 2, 2014

Style under the Sun:

Kappa Karnival glitter bombs

By Shannon Vize Viewpoints Editor & Fashion Columnist The school year and my time at Eckerd are coming to an end, so my final fashion column will be dedicated to finding the perfect, wild outfit for the most colorful and glittery fashion event on campus: Kappa Karnival.

For any of you who have never taken part in Kappa Karnival, prepare yourselves for massive amounts of sequins, tie-dye and glitter.

This is the one time when no one holds back style-wise and I love it.

I’ve seen everything from tutus to neon orange jumpsuits to elaborate body paint and more glitter than I thought existed at past Karnivals. This year will be

no exception. Scour your closet for the brightest, wildest and most colorful ensemble you can put together because the last thing anyone will be doing is judging whether your outfit is “in” or not.

Although the main reason that I love Kappa Karnival is because there are no style rules, I’ll try to give some tips to those of you who don’t regularly wear tie dye, glass pendants or glitter on the weekends, so you can have fun experimenting with wild styles too.

First off, the more color the better.

Think psychedelic patterns, like the tapestries hanging from Kappa windows, if you need some inspiration. Tie-dye is perfect and easy to do, so if you have some boring white shirts, head over to Wal-Mart and buy a pack of dye.

courtesy of Kirstin Ruginskis’ Facebook Senior Kirsten Ruginski rocking a perfect, psychedelic outfit at last year’s Karnival.

All the packs come with easy to follow instructions and designing your own clothes is a lot more fun than buying it from a store.

Second, experiment with some funky combinations. Try overalls and a bikini top. Or a tutu and a bandeau. Mix and match patterns for fun, interesting looks. Throw on a fringe or furry vest with a maxi skirt and channel your inner Penny Lane.

Third, accessorize. Try out a flower crown or a ridiculously elaborate headdress. Put a ring on every finger and paint every nail a different color. No one can tell you it’s too much. And don’t forget, accessories include glitter and body paint, two things you can’t get ready for the Karnival without.

Paint swirls, flowers, tribal symbols or whatever you want on your body make great accessories. Have some fun and add glitter as you paint for some extra sparkle. Or forgo the paint altogether and head straight for the glitter. Make sure the skin is a bit damp so the glitter will stick. I recommend grabbing a small spray bottle and misting some water on first before applying.

If you plan on going to the Karnival with friends, one way of sticking together is by planning matching outfits. I don’t mean dress up like twins. The Karnival gets pretty busy and it’s easy to lose track of friends, so plan ahead and wear something that stands out and can be spotted easily. This will help you out immensely when you’re trying to spot your friends. Think of coordinating bandanas or flags around your neck or bringing a decorated, tall stick to easily make a meeting spot.

Kappa Karnival is the final, most anticipated event of the school year. Why not create an outfit to match the celebration? Remember, whether you like it or not, by the end of the night you will most likely have remnants of glitter and paint on you, so join in on the fun instead of fighting it.

Don’t take yourself or your outfit too seriously, it is Kappa Karnival after all, so things are going to get weird.

“Reefer Madness!!! The Play!!!” comes to campus

By Julia Collins Staff Writer If you’re looking for comic relief in your busy spring semester, check out the Eckerd College Senior Theatre Company’s rendition of the hilarious American Stage original “Reefer Madness!!! The Play!!!” by T. Scott Wooten. The five-person cast, which includes Sophomore Cameron Davis, Senior Marielle Michel, Senior Shelby Smotherman, Junior Dylan Henry and Senior Kidd Campbell, have been working on the play since mid February. This hilarious one–act masterpiece which is sure to keep you laughing through to the very end.

“Reefer Madness,” as originally written and Performed for American Stage, a satirical comedy about the dangers of marijuana, or as it is often referred to throughout the performance, the “green menace.”

“We are going for a very hodgepodgy, community theatre feel,” Evans said, describing the casual

air of the one-set stage and simple, no nonsense fluidity that is felt continuously throughout the show.

“The play has been very fun to bring to life. As with any production we have had to work very hard, but for the most part it has been smooth sailing all the way through.”

The small cast keeps an upbeat feel to the play, and as each actor performs the parts of multiple characters. The acting is superb, and the story is easy to follow. The play is the story of the corruption of two “innocent” college students by the town drug dealers looking for an easy market to sell their product to.

The story is told from the perspective of a Dr. Carol, who is tirelessly working to show to the community the terrible effects that marijuana can have on the community.

The show had me nearly falling out of my chair laughing, and when the run through was finished I honestly didn’t want it to be over. The script keeps a lighthearted and upbeat feel guaranteed to keep the audience amused and

hooked on the story, not to mention a slew of raunchy scenes and tons of pot-related satirical wit.

“This type of satire plays really well to our community since we are so informed and open-minded.

I think we are the perfect audience for it, it’s almost like it was written for us,” Junior Shelby Smotherman, an actress in the production, said.

The show will be held in the Black Box Theater and the final showing is Sunday May 4.

courtesy of Krazedangel’s instagram A DVD of the original Reefer Madness movie.

courtesy of Cat Steven’s Facebook Cat Stevens performing in the UK.

Legend Cat Stevens is inducted to 2014 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame

By Jennifer Lincoln Staff Writer The 2014 inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame included some big names in the music industry. The likes of Nirvana, Peter Gabriel, KISS, the E Street Band, Hall & Oats and Linda Ronstadt were honored a little over a week ago on April 10.

Inductees were equally deserving of this huge accolade, but for me the biggest personal victory and the most worthy honoree was Cat Stevens, an icon at the age of 65. Now known as Yusuf Islam, Stevens was a key component of everything that made the 1970s era of American music what it was.

His iconic “The First Cut is the Deepest” inspired numerous covers, including Rod Stewart and Sheryl Crow, and his music speaks to audiences on an intricately personal level that many musicians today are unable to reach. In his ballad, “Father and Son,” which was performed at the induction ceremony, he offers the most humble understanding of a father and son relationship where the son is not exactly sure what he wants out of life but is sure he is ready to break away and find it, while his father does not fully understand his son’s reasoning. Stevens sings, “How can I try to explain, when I do he turns away again. It’s always been the same, same old story.

From the moment I could talk I was ordered to listen. Now there’s a way and I know that I have to go away.” From classics such as “Peace Train,” “Wild World,” (which were both additional songs he performed at the induction ceremony) and “If You Want to Sing Out, Sing Out,” Cat Stevens has secured himself a place in music history alongside the most memorable artists to ever live. The 1970s dark humor movie “Harold and Maude” specifically used Cat Stevens songs for their entire soundtrack, and his songs have been featured in more recent films such as Wes Anderson’s “Rushmore” in 1997 and “Remember the Titans” in 2000.

After years of multi-platinum success in the United States, Stevens converted to Islam formally in 1977, which marked the beginning of a long hiatus from making music due to the negative feedback he received on his choice to convert as well as his view that the music industry was wrought with sin as well as temptation.

In an interview with Rolling Stone, Stevens said, “When I accepted Islam, a lot of people couldn’t understand. To my fans it seemed that my entering Islam was the direct cause of me leaving the music business, so many people were upset.

However, I had found the spiritual home I’d been seeking for most of my life. And if you listen to my music and lyrics, like ‘Peace Train’ and ‘On The Road To Find Out,’ it clearly shows my yearning for direction and the spiritual path I was travelling.”

In other interviews as well, he noted that his conversion had stemmed from a long search for the meaning to life, which can be heard in many of his songs. After taking a break from music for thirty long years, Cat Stevens finally released a new album titled “An Other Cup,” and began performing again.

Now a musician in a more accepting world, he did not feel backlash for his decision to convert anymore, and also did not associate the music industry with sin or temptation.

Since then, Stevens has been slowly entering the music world again, recently he has announced a few shows in South America, and a few weeks ago he performed on The Tonight Show, starring Jimmy Fallon.

There, he performed a mash-up of “Wild World” and “The First Cut is the Deepest,” along with my personal favorite song of his, “The Wind.”

Stevens is an iconic musician with a rich history many can stand to learn from, and his music will continue to inspire future generations for the foreseeable future. He has personally shaped my life, the values I choose to uphold, and my world outlook.

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the current

Health & Fitness 19

May 2, 2014

Health & fitness How “happy hormones” boost focus on finals

By Savannah Sprague-Jackson Staff Writer During fnals week, students often turn to things like Red Bull and Adderal to enhance their performance. However, endorphins are the real go-to drug when it comes to getting through finals, but not in the way one might think.

Otherwise known as the “happy hormones,” endorphins are naturally released chemicals that are closely linked to addictions but are actually very helpful. The way to release them into your brain is quite simple: exercise.

Endorphins are hormones dispersed into one’s brain by the pituitary gland and they do many great things. They act as a painkiller by actually blocking pain, which helps you focus on what you need to do. Most importantly, they allow you to have feelings of euphoria. When one feels euphoria, their tension and anxiety naturally ebb away. Endorphins also balance out your appetite, allowing you to eat healthy amounts and at ideal times.

Another thing the the emission of endorphins does is enhance one’s immune response. Let’s face it, getting sick is a common occurence during finals week and just adds to the overwhelming feeling that comes with the end of the school year.

All of these things that the release of endorphins does is help to relieve stress. Once the stress of finals is eliminated, all you have left to do is focus and prepare for the good-byes.

There are multiple ways to get all the ben-

efits from endorphins, but exercising is the most beneficial to a person. Exercising helps reduce tension in the muscles by stretching them and making one focus on a task rather than the day’s problems.

Cardiovascular exercises are the most effective exercises not only when it comes to releasing endorphins but also when it comes to losing weight and building endurance. Once you’ve built up enough endurance, you can use competition as motivation to get out of bed and do better.

When beginning cardiovascular exercises, one should start off slow.

Start off by walking a certain amount of minutes, then increase your time or distance as you build up strength.

Other types of cardiovascular exercises include swimming, running, biking or doing any of their gym versions.

Ten minutes of strenuous exercise is enough to boost your mood, but according to Natural Therapy Pages, the suggested time is 30 minutes for a healthy lifestyle.

Last but certainly not least, photo by Alex Zielinski one should do what they love, Running is a great way to release endorphins. whether it releases endorphins Getting stressed for no reason or plenty or not. It is more encouraging to do acof important reasons in no good. Rememtivities you enjoy because it causes the you be happy. Plus, being happy means ber to eat well and get lots of sleep before less stress, which is the ultimate goal here. finals and focus on the coming summer.

Alternative off-campus running trails available for students

By Rebecca Kass Staff Writer

Although Eckerd is a beautiful campus, it is also a small campus. Other than the 2.5 mile loop around campus, there isn’t exactly a multitude of running trails for students to choose from and there’s only so many times you can run that same circuit before it starts to get really monotonous.

Well have no fear, runners, because more running trails are here. The best part is these trails start right from campus, so you can lace up at your dorm and hit the road right from there. Below you will find four routes, two turning left out of Eckerd and two turning right. Distances given are for there and back. You can cut these distances in half if you have a kind friend picking you up at the turnaround.

There is no need to cross that dangerous intersection out front and no need to yawn through your run ever again. As always, though, don’t let that runner’s high get the most of you—be mindful of your surroundings at all times, especially as some of these routes go over crosswalks.

Three miles: Once you reach the front entrance of campus, take a left. Jump onto the sidewalk that will take you past Marina Bay, the toll booth and the Allegro retirement homes.

It’s a straight shot from campus all the way to the Country Store & Butcher Shoppe at the first stoplight you come across, which is called Leeland Street. You can either turn around at the store or run in to get some freshly squeezed orange juice. After you’re

done, turn around and return home.

Five miles: Follow the three-miler outlined above, but instead of turning around at the Butcher Shoppe, continue straight along the side of the road, all the way over the little bridge until you reach the next stoplight. Keep in mind that the sidewalk to the bridge eventually ends. The turnaround is at the corner across from Tokyo Bay and Isla Del Sol tennis courts.

Six miles: From the front entrance of campus, take a right onto the sidewalk. While being mindful of the crosswalks, continue straight down 54th Avenue South all the way until you reach Lakewood High School on 16th Street South.

At the high school, take another right and proceed straight down 16th Street South until you reach Lake Vista Park, which is located on the left side of the street. You can play a little on their workout machines, maybe take a slide and a swing at the playground or re-hydrate at the water fountain. Then turn around the same way you came.

Seven and a half miles: Follow the same six-mile route above.

Once you get to Lake Vista Park, take a loop around the whole thing, going down 16th Street, turning left on 62nd Avenue South, making another left at Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Street South and a final left again to get back onto 54th Avenue South.

This loop around the park adds on another one and a half miles. Once you are back on 54th Avenue South, proceed back towards Eckerd.

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From the iPod of Sabrina Lolo

Sex on the Beach Sexual activity reduces stress

By Alana Brillo Staff Writer During finals week, we get stressed out.

As a result, we look to participate in pleasurable activities. These activities are seen as an escape or as a coping mechanism. Unfortunately, many of these activities can be unhealthy for you, such as taking Adderall or drinking copious amounts of Red Bull.

But lucky for you, there is a healthier alternative called sex and there are a variety of reasons as to why this is an excellent idea during the worst two weeks of the academic year.

According to an article written by Samantha Smithstein in “Psychology Today,” a study done by the University of Cincinnati proved that pleasurable sex reduces stress in the brain pathways by inhibiting anxiety responses in the brain.

Sexual intimacy is directly linked to healing faster, not getting sick as often and a longer lifespan. The anxiety caused by finals can result in spiked blood pressure, which cripples the immune system. But during sex, your body releases feel-good hormones such as oxytocin and endorphins, which are known to decrease the sensation of pain. Sexual activity also increases the production of immunoglobulin A, which is located in the saliva and fights off sickness.

Pleasurable sex also increases the ability to focus. During sex, your mind is solely focused on pleasure, which in turn trains your brain to concentrate more on other activities such as studying.

Sex does wonders for sleep deprivation as well, especially for men. According to scienceline.org, research has shown that during ejaculation, men release many different brain chemicals that include norepinephrine, serotonin, vasopressin, nitric oxide and the hormone prolactin.

Prolactin is directly linked to sleepiness, which causes both men and women, particularly men, to become sleepy after sex.

Finally, sex increases cognition for men and memory in women. For men, the more sexual activity they participate in, the more testosterone they produce. Besides the fact that it obviously allowing them to have more sex, it sharpens the mind as an added bonus.

For the ladies, orgasms produces the steroid hormone Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), which is known to increases memory and brain functions. It really is a win-win situation.

Now these study breaks can be performed in one of two ways: self-induced or with a partner. A partner is much more effective in that intercourse provides better post-orgasmic hormonal release. According to an article written by Valerie Frankel for NBC.com called “More sex, less stress,” intercouse with a partner is much more satisfying and better for your mental health.

It can be a boyfriend, girlfriend, booty call or someone you recently met on Tinder.

Honestly, the second you offer your partner an escape from studying, especially if it’s sex, they will be more than willing to oblige.

But while taking these “study breaks,” it is still important to practice safe sex. Always use a condom, even if you ladies are on birth control, as it is protection from sexually transmitted diseases and unwanted pregnancy.

However, if you’re lacking someone that you could contact for any sexual endeavors, then you’re going to have to “de-stress” on your own. The results may not be as effective as it would be with a partner, but it will physically relax you enough that it will get the job done.

At this time of the year, getting the job done is all that matters when your grades are on the line.

20 Health & Fitness

the current

May 2, 2014

Food combinations help with stress

By Nicole Zavala Staff Writer Students tend to turn to food that provides sustenance and comfort during times of stress.

These comfort foods help students deal with finals, presentations and everything else on their busy schedules. It may be hard to resist the allure of the pizza truck on those weekend nights, but students should remember to put their health before late night cravings.

Consuming nutritious foods is vital for a healthy lifestyle, but making sure your body is at an optimal level to absorb the nutrients present in the food is even more critical. Things like alcohol, stress and caffeine can affect how your body absorbs nutrients.

If you find these taking over your life, there is still hope.

There are certain food combinations that different cultures have integrated into their diets that you can incorporate into your diet as well. These foods work together with your body to provide a variety of health benefits.

“Your guide to the Mediterranean diet” by oldwayspt.org characterizes a Mediterranean diet with fresh vegetables, healthy fats and lean protein. Among the whole grains, beans, and spices are two fruits that, combined, can give you a heathy edge. Avocados are often eaten with tomatoes. Avocados have monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs) that, when consumed, help the body absorb a carotenoid antioxidant.

This helps reduce the risk of

cancer and cardiovascular disease. The George Mateljan Foundation, founder of a website devoted to the world’s healthiest foods, states that avocados also increase the absorption of nutrients, which is why it is helpful to add it to your salads. You can absorb as much as 400 percent more nutrients in a salad with avocados than one without.

This synergy of foods includes more than avocadoes. Olive oil, canola oil, nuts

photo by Emma Cotton and other kinds Cantaloupe and scrambled eggs present a healthy balance of carbohydrates and protein. foods that contain sushi, it is best to eat soy sauce generally hard to absorb but MUFAs are very the vitamin C found in fruits beneficial when combined with in moderation.

There are other food com- like lemons, strawberries and vegetables or other foods that are loaded with vitamins and binations that demonstrate tomatoes assist with converting minerals, such as broccoli, fish health benefits such as eggs and plant-based irons into someand yogurt. These help with cantaloupe. This is a healthy thing the body can easily digest. increasing the bioavailability of breakfast food combination Plants such as kale, spinach, food, which is needed in a so- because it combines a protein Swiss chard and mustard greens ciety filled with processed and with healthy carbohydrates. are not only rich in iron but can The protein in the eggs helps make great edible combinapackaged products.

In addition, Japan had some- with slowing down the absorp- tions with vitamin C rich foods.

It’s important to make sure thing in mind when they be- tion of glucose from the cargan making sushi. Seafood and bohydrates found in the can- to eat foods that are nutrient soy are a great combination taloupe, which prevents blood rich. They will boost energy for achieving optimal bioavail- sugar spikes and crashing later levels, which will greatly aid ability in the body. Soy such as in the morning. It also helps your health in the long run, esedamame and tofu help with your body feel full for a longer pecially during this last stretch the absorption of vitamin D period of time than with carbs of the semester. Use these tips for your next hungry night of found in many fish. This can or protein eaten separately. help decrease cancer risk as An additional specific nutri- studying and you may be able well as cardiovascular disease as ent combination includes citrus to maximize your energy levels long as the soy is unprocessed. fruits and plant-based iron. Nu- to crack down on that biology Remember that, when eating trients in leafy vegetables are final.

Sculpt a summer body with this full-body workout

By Sabrina Lolo Health & Fitness Editor

Summer is upon us, which means it’s time to start sporting those bikinis and boardshorts. If you’re looking to trim up for the summer within these next few weeks, I highly recommend this full-body workout. It is a combination of heavy weights with low repetitions, which is perfect for building a faster metabolism and lean muscle mass.

Many women often make the mistake in thinking that lifting heavy is going to make them A student demonstrates a power pushup. left leg and lower into a lunge. bulky. As a result, they end up only doing cardio. When The knees should be bent at they do use weights, they exer- a 90-degree angle just barely cise with light weights and high touching the ground and your repetitions. Lifting weights can torso should be steady.

Stand up, returning your actually help burn more calories, and it will help create a left foot to the starting position. Repeat the exercise with lean, toned look.

These exercises are to be the right foot to complete one done back to back, resting for rep and do 10 reps. Your arms 30 to 60 seconds between each should be held overhead for the exercise. Complete this circuit entire set.

Chest Press: Lie down on three times with a rest period of about 90 seconds between your back on a bench with your knees bent and feet flat on the each circuit.

Overhead Press Lunge: ground while holding a pair of Stand with your feet slightly dumbbells. Keeping your arms wider than your hips, holding bent, open the elbows out to dumbbells overhead with your the side of your shoulders at a palms facing forward. While 90 degree angle.

Then, extend your arms keeping the arms fully extended, take a step back with the up until they are completely

standing with your feet wider than your hip with a dumbbell in your right hand. Lower yourself into a squat by bending your knees and pushing the hips back. Place the right elbow in of your right thigh and while resting the left hand on the left leg.

Perform a bicep curl by bending your right arm while keeping your elbow pressed against your thigh. Slowly lower the dumbbell to the floor by extending

photo by Alex Zielinski your arm. Repeat this exercise 10 times with each arm. straight, pressing the dumbPower Pushup: Position bells above the chest. The weights should be aligned with yourself as if you’re getting the midline of the chest. Re- ready to do a plank. Once in turn the elbows to the starting plank position, lift up your hips and press your chest towards position and repeat 15 times.

Split-Stance Deadlift: your thighs so that your body Start off standing with your resembles a pyramid. Try to right leg ahead and the left leg press your heels as close to the further behind. The heel of the ground as possible and bend left leg should be raised off the the knees if necessary.

Quickly go back to plank ground with both knees slightly bent. Hold the dumbbells with position, making sure to target your abs. Immediately lower your palms facing your thighs.

Keeping your back straight, yourself into a triceps pushup bend over from the hips, bring- by keeping your arms parallel ing your chest almost parallel to to your sides and your elbows the floor with your arms reach- pointed straight back. Lower ing toward the top of your right yourself as close to the ground foot. Return to the starting po- as possible then push back up to starting position. Repeat sition and repeat 10 times.

Static Squat Curl: Begin this exercise 10 times.

Meals with Midge: Tabbouleh

By MJ Harford Staff Writer One of my favorites parts of cooking is all the potential for creativity. To make a meal that meets all my necessary criteria that is fun and delicious at the same time can be a challenge. But once I started taking little tips and ideas from my go-to restaurants and stores, my cooking began to flourish.

Take this tabbouleh for example. I love Mediterranean cuisine (and it loves me back), but I can’t tolerate many of the grains that are often involved. So I took a page from the Whole Food’s salad bar and made an alternate version.

This can be done with almost any meal element you notice. Give it a try this week and see how it can spice up your usual routine. Maybe change your normal dressing for a replica of your favorite restaurant’s and you may find yourself eating a lot more salad.

Serving this on a bed of hearty curly kale with a pureed lemon and olive oil dressed avocado makes a complete meal that can last until lunch and carry you until dinner. No wilted greens, no mushy grains and no brown avocado (because you secretly spritz a little lime on it and press a small piece of plastic wrap down onto the avocado). This paste would also be good on just about anything from a salad dressing alternative or as a base for a pasta dish with spring vegetables.

Ingredients: • 1/2 cup uncooked quinoa or lentils or hemp • 1/2 chopped cucumber • 10 or so halved cherry tomatoes • Your homemade harissa paste, below Directions: 1. Cook your quinoa, lentils or hemp according to directions, which should result in about a cup 2. Put all your ingredients but the paste into a medium bowl.

3. Add 1/2 to 3/4 of the paste and mix well.

Do a taste test and add more if desired.

Ingredients for the harissa paste 1. 1/2 cup chopped parsley 2. 1/4 cup chopped mint 3. 1/4 cup chopped cilantro 4. Juice from half a lemon 5. 1/2 minced garlic cloves 6. 1/4 teaspoon cumin 7. 1/4 teaspoon fennel 8. 1/4 teaspoon salt 9. 1/3 cup olive oil

photo by MJ Harford Gluten-free tabbouleh.

Directions: 1. Chop and compile all your ingredients minus the olive oil in a food processor.

2. Process and then slowly add the oil in a steady stream until fully combined.

Note: You could also combine this all at once in a blender if that is all you have.

Each issue I’ll be sharing an allergen friendly recipe that is easy, nutritious, and delicious.

If you make any of them tag me in your instagram photos (@midgesmoments) with the hashtag #mealswithmidge. If you have any requests, like converting a classic recipe to its healthier version or particular allergy, send me an email (mjharfor@eckerd.edu).

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May 2, 2014

Sports 21

Sports INSIDE SPORTS

The 2013-14 Current Sports Awards

Pocket Aces

page 23

Good Vibes

page 23

The Ultimate Triton

page 24

Female Athlete of the Year

Male Athlete of the Year

Katarina Milojevic: Volleyball

Alex Bodney: Men’s basketball

In her third year as a Triton volleyball player, Katarina Milojevic became a standout on the defensive side of play. She led the team in blocks with 143 on the season, coming out to an average of 1.34 blocks per set.

This ranked her at No. 6 in the nation for division two schools. Her highest number of blocks in one match was 11, which she accomplished twice against Florida Tech and Rollins. Melojevic was named the Sunshine State Conference Volleyball Defensive Player of the week for back to back weeks Oct. 21 and 28, and a third time on Nov. 12. She also received the Triton’s Athlete of the week three times, Aug. 18 and Oct. 21 and 28.

Female Breakout Athlete of the Year

Senior Guard Alex Bodney has spent the last four years impacting the Triton’s basketball team. Even in his freshman year, he led the team in 3-point field goal percentage. By his senior year, he turned into a leader both on and off the court. And while his leadership skills paid off well for the team, his leading statistics contributed as well. Keeping pace from his freshman year, Bodney led in 3-point FG percentage as well as assists, and ranked among the top in several other categories including steals and scoring. Bodney was named Athlete of the Week Dec. 23. Arguably his biggest achievement of the year, though, was his reaching 1,000 career points.

He is only the 17th Triton to accomplish this at Eckerd.

Male Breakout Athlete of the Year

Amy Buccilla: Women’s basketball

Josh Snodgrass: Men’s basketball

Coach of the Year

Moment of the Year

After mostly coming off the bench in her first three years at Eckerd, Buccilla broke through in a big way in her senior year. She finished the season second on the team in both minutes and points per game, averaging 34.5 and 11.4 respectively. She was also the best shooter on the team, sinking a team-high 62 threes on 164 attempts. Her best game of the season came Nov. 15 against St. Augustine’s, when she scored a career-high 23 points, including 12 off of three-pointers, and grabbed six rebounds.

Bill Mathews: Baseball

Bill Mathews earned the Coach of the Year award by leading the baseball team to a winning record in his 24th and final season as head coach. After graduating from Eckerd in 1979, Mathews first became head coach in 1990, and has since won a school-record 502 wins. With three games left on the schedule, he could potentially reach 505 wins before the season ends. Although he is stepping down as head coach, Mathews will stay at Eckerd next year as he transitions into a more administrative role with the Athletic Department.

After showing flashes of his talent in the previous two seasons but with injuries hampering his overall consistency, Snodgrass finally matured into the team’s most reliable scorer in his senior season despite mostly coming off the bench. Averaging just 25 minutes per game, which was the sixth highest total on the team, he still managed to lead the team with 14.6 points per game.

A large reason for this was his ability to get to the free-throw line and convert, making a team-high 133 free throws on the season. He also helped out on the boards, grabbing five rebounds per game. He came through in the first round of the Sunshine State Tournament March 5, scoring a season-high 27 points off the bench to help Eckerd upset Barry University.

Kara Oberer game-winning homer

After being forced to leave early in the first game of the double-header against Florida Southern College April 26 with a knee injury, Sophomore Shortstop Kara Oberer returned to pinch hit in the top of the seventh inning with two runners on and two outs and the Tritons down 2-1. She came through in the clutch, delivering a game-winning three-run homer to deep left field.

However, due to her injury she was unable to run the bases. In a great display of sportsmanship, several Florida Southern players helped her around the bases. It was her eighth home run on the season, tying her with Junior Erin Dixson for the team lead. The 4-2 victory clinched their first winning season in school history.

Team of the Year Softball

A 27-25 overall record, including a 10-13 mark in Sunshine State Conference play, might not seem that impressive. However, when you consider that the team had never won more than 21 games or had a winning record in a season in school history, it becomes clear that this was a special team. Junior transfers Erin Dixson and Amber Hay had big seasons both on the mound and at the plate, getting help in the lineup from Senior Outfielder Chelsea Jeffares, Sophomore Shortstop Kara Oberer and Sophomore Outfielder Kaycie Duncan. With only three seniors on the roster, the team looks poised to come back even stronger in the 2015 season, and will look to eclipse the 30-win mark for the first time. all photos courtesy of eckerdtritons.com

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22 Sports

the current

May 2, 2014

UPCOMING

SPORTS May 2

BASEBALL

Noon v. Florida Southern College (DH)

Sports Briefly

World

Eckerd Baseball splits with Barry The Eckerd Baseball team split its final road series with Barry University in a doubleheader April 26. The extra inning thriller second game was finally won by a bunt single by Senior Outfielder Lincoln Durham in the top of the eigth inning. The team has now added a 502nd win to retiring Head Coach Bill Mathews’ resume.

Baseball April 26 @ Barry University (DH) L 8-0, W 2-1 (8 innings) April 25 @ Barry University L 15-3 April 23 v. Webber International University L 4-1

The oldest international soccer tournament in the world will be held in the U.S. for the first time ever. CONCACAF and CONEMBOL are expected to announce that the U.S. will host the 2016 Copa America per beIn Sports. Global superstars such as Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Radamel Falcao will be coming to the U.S. for competition. The tournament will mark the one hundreth anniversery of the Copa America.

Controversy clouds Clippers

Tennis bows out of SSC Tournament

SCORE BOARD

Copa America to U.S.

The men’s tennis team recently competed in the Sunshine State Conference (SSC) Tournament. The team lost to the tournament’s No. 2 seed Lynn University in straight sets. The team completed its season on a positive swing. Eckerd hopes to build upon the recent success with its new Head Coach Ben Maxwell.

Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling is in hot water after an audio recording surfaced. The recording, released by TMZ,has Sterling alledgedly making racist comments towards his ex-lover.

The comments were spurned from an Instagram photo of the former lover and Los Angeles Lakers legend Magic Johnson. The Clippers team protested by wearing team gear inside-out before their recent playoff gameagainst the Golden State Warriors.

Women’s sailing qualifies for Nationals

Atlanta awarded MLS club

The No. 13 women’s sailing team qualified for the National Championship for the third consecutive year. The team finished second at a recent SAISA Conference Championship Meet April 21 in North Carolina to qualify. This is in contrast with the coed sailing team which previously finished one place shy of qualification for the National Championships last month.

Major League Soccer is set to announce the newest club. Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank announced with MLS Commisioner Don Garber that Atlanta will host an MLS club. A sticking point nationally has beenthe stadium, the team will be housed in the New Falcons Stadium set to open in 2017. The club has already attracted a major supporters group named the Terminus Legion which will be part-owners of the organization.

MLS is expected to announce another team in the coming year.

Winning Shots

Send your fan photos to currentsports@eckerd.edu for a chance to be featured in upcoming issues of The Current.

April 22 @ Warner University L 8-6 April 19 v. Palm Beach Atlantic University (DH) W 6-5, W 2-1 April 17 v. Clearwater Christian College W 7-1

Softball April 26 @ Florida Southern College (DH) W 4-2, L 2-1 April 25 @ Florida Southern College L 5-4 (15 innings) April 22 v. Webber International University (DH) W 7-3, W 6-2 April 21 v. Southeastern University (DH) L 6-1, L 3-0 April 18 v. Barry University (Senior Day) W 4-1 April 17 v. Barry University L 6-5 (10 innings)

courtesy of Leah Pemberton/Rick Schappacher Sophomore Kara Oberer is carried around the bases by Florida Southern’s Leah Pemberton and Chelsea Oglevie.

To read about Kara Oberer’s aided trip around the bases, see The Current’s Sports Awards on page 21 for the full story.

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May 2, 2014

Sports 23

photo by Dominick Cuppetilli Dean Smith in his winning final run at the Wake Games at Orlando Watersports Complex.

Good Vibes: Your action sports source Dean Smith and Meagan Ethell win 2014 Nautique Wake Games

By Dominick Cuppetilli Asst. Sports Editor The King of Wake Tour has officially gotten underway with Dean Smith and Meagan Ethell getting wins at the Nautique Wake Games held in Orlando. The annual Rockstar Energy sponsored event held at Orlando Watersports Complex is the first stop of the King of Wake Tour, and holds categories ranging from junior to pro in men and women’s categories of wakeboarding, as well as a pro men’s wakeskate division.

Reed Hansen, who took second in the event last year, won the pro men’s wakes-

kate competition. Windy conditions in the finals gave the wakeskaters some difficulty, but Hansen’s consistency allowed him to take the lead. Brian Grubb took second place, just barely edging out over Danny Hampson by six-tenths of a point.

Following the men’s wakeskate final was the pro women’s final, led by Ethell. Coming off an injury from last season, the young rider was able to start this season strong with a win here. The women’s contest was a close one, with veteran rider Amber Wing coming out in second place and Raimi Merritt in third.

After riders had been weeded out in qualifying and semifinal rounds, the pro men’s final was stacked with six riders who all had their

eyes on the gold. The pro men’s division had a “one and done” rule in effect, so each rider only got one fall per run. The best score of the riders’ two runs would be the one that counted.

It was Smith’s huge airs that would allow him to take the top podium position. Co-founder of the Eckerd College Wakeboard Club, Junior Trent Adamson said, “With a stacked pro men’s finals event I wasn’t sure who would come out on top… but it was the power and the amplitude of Dean Smith’s all or nothing style of riding that landed him the victory.”

Harley Clifford, the event’s reigning champ from last year, dropped down into second place. Not far behind was Rusty Malinoski. Malinoski was the only rider to per-

form two fall-less runs, but his consistency just wasn’t enough to get him the top spot.

After the pro men’s final was all said and done, four riders competed in the Contour Big Air contest. Riders are given the chance to throw out a trick off of a kicker that will dazzle the audience. The contest was taken by Stephen Pierce with a huge frontside 180 that he rode away clean from.

All in all it was another great weekend for families to come and watch some of the best wakeboarders from around the world. The next stop of the King of Wake Tour is the first leg of the Mastercraft Pro Wakeboard Tour held in Acworth, Georgia May 16-17.

photo by Dominick Cuppetilli Meagan Ethell in mid-rotation during her final run to win the 2014 Wake Games.

Pocket Aces: Transfer pitchers propel team to record-breaking season

By Mike Geibel Sports Editor In Texas Hold’em poker, the chance of being dealt two aces is less than one half of one percent. That’s once every 221 hands. “Pocket aces,” as the hand is called in gambling circles, gives a player a nearly 80 percent chance of winning the hand.

While Eckerd softball’s win percentage is not quite that high, the teams two ace pitchers have helped earn the program it’s highest number of wins in school history. Transfer Juniors Amber Hay and Erin Dixson have excelled not only on the mound, but also at the plate this year for the Tritons.

Hay ended the year with 11 wins, just two shy of the previous highest single season total. Thanks in

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part to her filthy change-up that kept hitters off balance all year, Hay tallied 107 strikeouts on her way to a 2.21 earned run average (ERA). The statistics place her fifth in Eckerd history on the single season strikeout list and second in ERA. “It is the best change-up in the conference when she throws it for strikes,” Beauregard said.

Dixson, whose powerful arm forced hitters into ground balls for many of her outs, took over as the winningest pitcher in single season Eckerd history. Her 15 wins stand alone on the top of the single-season record list. Along with strong performances pitching, Dixson ended the year tied with Sophomore Kara Oberer for most home runs this season with eight and went longer than 40 games without a fielding error.

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Having two pitchers is not uncommon for college softball teams. The two-pitcher setup gives each player ample rest during three-game weekends and doubleheaders. Hay and Dixson said that unlike some two-pitcher teams, there is no animosity or competition between them.

While they do get along well, the two acknowledge that they are very different in personality, both on and off the field. When not on the mound, Dixson plays first base.

Hay plays third. Hay said, “[Dixson] is the kind of pitcher who likes to be in control so she can have things go the way that she wants, while I just kinda go with the flow, so we don’t really clash at all. If anything, we mesh.” Dixson agreed

with Hay’s assessment and offered her own take. “I think most of all we both really want to win. And we hate losing. So we’ll do whatever we have to for the W,” she said.

The drive to succeed has certainly benefitted the women this year.

The two pitchers have contributed to the team’s success this season, including the first winning record in the program’s history, Head Coach Josh Beauregard’s 100th coaching victory and the team’s first ever conference series sweep. Dixson believes these records truly show what the team is capable of next year. “I think it shows that our team is really coming together, and that we can win collectively. It’s not just a great performance by me or Amber or the offense, it’s every-

thing working together,” she said.

The two pitchers know that while this season was one for the record books, their team has the potential to be even better next year. “We’re going to win even more games next year,” Dixson said.

She hopes to keep working on her pitches to be even more dominant next year. Hay hopes to add a good riseball and locate her change-up to expand on her strikeout total in her senior year. If the team is to build on this year’s success and continue to win more games each season, it is clear that the pitchers will have to be a strong position for the Tritons.

“Pitching is the most important position on the field in softball. If you have great pitching you are going to win a lot of games,” said Beauregard.

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the current

May 2, 2014

Sports The Ultimate Triton 2013-2014 Eckerd student-athletes lend their talents to create the perfect competitor Brain: Walker Banks (Senior, Sailing)

The captain of the sailing team is widely regarded as a great strategist on the water. While competing on the team all four years of his college career, Banks also serves as a tactician for the No. 23 and 25-ranked helmsmen on the world sailing circuit. His talents have helped earn his team wins in four of the five SAISA South Points regattas this year, with their only nonvictory being a second place finish at South Points #4.

Torso: Chris Higgins (Senior, Men’s Rugby)

Higgins is a four-year rugby player who embraced his role as captain during the 2013-2014 school year. Higgins has the ability to play nearly everywhere in the forward pack.

His knowledge and experience with the game of rugby is ranked among the greatest in club history. Higgins’ accomplishments in his career include numerous big victories and a trip to the USA Rugby South Championship in 2012.

Right Hand: Toni Virtanen (Senior, Men’s Soccer)

Virtanen started 45 games at goalkeeper in his four-year Eckerd career, despite missing most of his junior season to injury. He allowed 99 goals and made 188 saves, culminating in a 15-27-3 record. He shut out his opponents five times throughout his career, with his most recent one coming this past season against Warner University Sept. 10.

Left Hand - Erin Dixson (Junior, Softball)

In addition to leading the team with 15 wins and tying for the team lead with eight home runs, Dixson also played great defense at first base when she wasn’t pitching. The transfer from Northeast Mississippi Community College led the Tritons with 330 total chances, 234 putouts and 10 double plays while committing just four errors and posting a .988 fielding percentage.

Right Arm: Jimmy Gutkowski (Junior, Baseball)

After transferring to Eckerd from Monroe Community College, where he went 5-2 in 12 appearances as a sophomore last year, Gutkowski made an immediate impact on the mound for the Tritons. As of April 28, Gutkowski had a 10-2 record in 12 appearances, posting a 2.77 while leading the team with six complete games and 74.2 innings pitched.

Left Arm: Emily Schadow (Sophomore, Volleyball) The talented lefty was named to the All-SSC Newcomer Team last year, and continued to improve in the 2013 season. Schadow’s left arm was the focal point of a .965 serve percentage. She has also tallied 859 assists in her first two years, including the highest three-set assist total on the team in 2013 with 34 against Rio Piedras Sept. 14.

Right Leg: Arie Anahory (Junior, Women’s Soccer)

Anahory has used her strong legs to score 16 goals and pick up 14 assists through her first three years at Eckerd, for a total of 46 points in 49 games played. Although she missed four games this past season, she still managed to lead the team with 16 points, six goals and four assists.

Left Leg: Kat Milojevic (Junior, Volleyball) Photo illustration by Alex Zielinski, Lia Nydes and Spencer Yaffe Captions by Mike Geibel and Will Creager

Milojevic was named SSC Defensive Player of the Week three times during her junior season, including back-toback awards in the last two weeks of October. Milojevic received the awards in large part to her knack for blocks.

Her positioning and footwork combined with her jumping ability gave her the opportunity to stuff her opponents’ attacks. Milojevic tallied 143 total blocks on the year, landing her in sixth place nationally in blocks per set.

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