The Official Student Newspaper of Eckerd College
Vol. 4, Issue 3—Oct. 12, 2012 Viewpoints
Chicago violence hits close to home for EC students “Flash mob” violence in Chicago and multi-tiered segregation cause fear in residents. page 9 Entertainment
Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros plays local show Eckerd students attend Indie band Edward Sharpe’s set on Oct. 1 at Jannus Landing.
page 16
The Quickie
Club spotlight: Free-Thinking Young Independents Club New club attempts to break into the bipartisan scene on campus. page 17
Gov. Mitt Romney and wife, Ann, wave to a crowd near the pier in downtown St. Petersburg at a Republican rally Oct. 5. For more about the rally, see page 8
Health & Fitness
Relaxing during midterms Four sensory relaxation tips for the upcoming stress of midterm exams. page 20
Sports
Women’s soccer surging Tritons have won four straight conferences and are in sole possession of second place. page 21
photo by Jenna Caderas
Eckerd announces speaker for 50th commencement ceremony By Cait Duffy News Editor Journalist and activist Bill McKibben will be addressing the students, staff, friends and family of Eckerd College during the 50th commencement ceremony on South Beach field May 19. McKibben will be returning to Eckerd after making a large impact on the student body during his visit to the campus in 2011. His
lectures included addressing the class of 2012 in their Quest for Meaning course, as well as a CPS event in which he discussed his book “Eaarth” and the possible impacts of the proposed Keystone XL pipeline. Eckerd students, compelled to assist McKibben, organized a trip to Washington, D.C., in early November of last year and joined his protest outside of the White House. In an email interview, McKibben said, “Eckerd sent the largest delegation of any college up to join
EC student travels home to Venezuela; votes in election By Malena Carollo Asst. News Editor This past weekend, democracy took the form of a purple-stained pinky finger. Grinning for a picture outside the voting center in her hometown of Valencia, Venezuela, Junior Maria Andreina Bello Mora displayed the inky digit she had traveled nearly 1,700 miles to get—proof she had cast her vote in the first presidential election for Venezuela in 14 years. “It has been one of the best experiences in my life,” Mora said in an email from Venezuela. “[Thank] God that I was able to be in the whole electoral process.” Beginning their shift at 3 a.m. on Oct. 7, Mora and her sister Maria Carolina Mora worked to organize the voting center for the day ahead; the two traded off distributing water, coffee and food with monitoring activity to ensure electoral transparency. Outside, hundreds of voters formed lines waiting for their turn to dip a finger in the telling purple ink and cast their vote. The election featured two candidates— president for the past 14 years, Hugo Chavez, and opposition leader Henrique Capriles. A recent article by Reuters pegged the election as the closest Chavez has faced. Just six days prior, being at this voting center seemed like a pipe dream for Mora. Ticketless and bound by where she was registered to vote, Mora couldn’t join the thousands of Please Recycle
INDEX: News 2 - 8
in the climate protests in Washington D.C. last year, and that’s why I’m coming--I owe you guys.” The issue of the Keystone pipeline has recently resurfaced with presidential candidate Mitt Romney touting his support at debates and rallies. In late April speech to Republican party leaders, Romney stated, “I will build that pipeline if I have to do it myself.” President Obama famously rejected the
On patrol with campus safety, Part II Continuing an in-depth look at the day-to-night operations of our Campus Safety patrol By Elizabeth Tomaselli Editor-in-Chief
A
courtesy of Maria Mora’s Facebook Mora poses with the Venezuelan flag.
other Venezuelans in the United States in voting at the consulate in New Orleans. The only way she could participate in the crucial election was to find a way home—and back. A ticket wasn’t even the hardest part, just the latest obstacle. The challenge to participate in Venezuela’s democratic process began last March when Mora missed the voter registration period in Miami while home on spring break. “As soon as I heard that [it was closed],” Mora said, “my mom goes, ‘You know what, it’s better that you come right now while you’re here, let’s go so you can register. I See VENEZUELA, page 6
See McKibben, page 5
long the way, as we stop for him to introduce me to maintenance workers and other safety officers, Phil consistently introduces me by my Italian last name—and with uniquely impeccable pronunciation. Later during our daytime patrol, I learned he lived in Naples, Italy for nine years of his life while his dad was stationed there. We bond over our love for Italy, my Italian heritage and our knowledge, albeit intermediate on my part, of the language. “I got the best office in town,” Phil says as our golf cart makes its way to south beach. The cloudless blue sky allows the sun to sparkle on the water and a brisk breeze moderates the temperature as we roll down the beach. “If I get tired of one beautiful spot,” he muses, “I go to another beautiful spot.” Another one of Phil’s favorite spots? Beneath the palms on the far side of chapel pond, the opposite side from the library. “I just love it over here,” he admits. Sometimes, on his breaks, he’ll go down to the huts by the water and take his lunch and a book. He claims to even occasionally see the infamous chapel pond gator in that back corner. When we arrive back at the office, Phil jumps on a computer to work on the investigation report for a broken window at Kappa, and Kathleen is working on fire extinguisher and emergency phone checks. Fire extinguishers are checked twice a month and recorded in a log book, Kathleen
Viewpoints 9 - 12 Entertainment 13 - 16 The Quickie 17 - 18 Health & Fitness 19 - 20 Sports 21- 24
says. It costs $30 to refill an extinguisher and $70 to replace one if it’s been damaged or stolen. The red emergency phones— there are 23 on campus—are also checked and logged frequently. The checks involve personal visits to all of the phones and extinguishers on campus, a time consuming job that Kathleen boasts she has already almost completed by 9 a.m. Kathleen Winterberg, in her first year, is one of two female Campus Safety officers on staff. She admits that even though students sometimes underestimate her because she’s a woman, she’s glad she could bring a female presence to the team. “Sometimes ladies feel more comfortable that I’m here, especially when they’re locked out of their rooms in a towel,” she says. Other times, she says she thinks kids might see her as a motherly figure, especially when she’s consoling hysterical or sick students. But don’t underestimate her—she’s as tough as any of them. When Campus Safety and a St. Petersburg police car broke up the gathering of hundreds of students at midnight on Kappa Field on April 20, Kathleen was the first one to charge into the middle of them on her golf cart as students scattered all over campus. As we sit in the break room over lunch, Kathleen tells me about her first year so far at Eckerd; learning the dorm personalities, learning the party “hotspots” and even some uniquely Eckerd traditions. She claims no one warned her about Kappa Ball—the unofficial student party after Spring Ball See On Patrol, page 7 The Current is a free, biweekly student newspaper produced at Eckerd College. Opinions expressed in this publication are those of the writers.