Vol. 17 | #14 | Mar. 29, 2016
Still Spilling
Almost exactly a year ago, an FAU student said she was gang raped at a fraternity-tied party. Police are still investigating and the party’s about to happen again.
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UP STAFF EDITOR IN CHIEF Emily Bloch MANAGING EDITOR Gregory Cox CREATIVE DIRECTOR Ivan Benavides WEB EDITOR Richard Finkel MULTIMEDIA EDITOR Ryan Lynch COPY DESK CHIEF Carissa Noelle Giard ASSISTANT COPY DESK CHIEFS Kerri-Marie Covington, Rafael Baez
Vol. 17 | #14 | March 29, 2016
NEWS EDITOR Patrick Martin
4 Tolerance No Mas
SPORTS EDITOR Brendan Feeney
One student filed a federal case against his former linguistics professor, claiming that she discriminated against him because of his disabilities.
FEATURES EDITOR Brittany Ferrendi OPINIONS EDITOR Andrew Fraieli
6 Principles of Pursuit
BUSINESS MANAGER Wesley Wright
A look at how our dating culture places expectations squarely on the man’s shoulders.
CONTRIBUTORS Celeste Andrews, Miller Lepree
8 It Came From UVA 235 Students share their worst on-campus roommate stories.
DISTRIBUTION MANAGER Bill Good
12 Learning From the Best
ADVISERS Neil Santaniello, Ilene Prusher, Michael Koretzky
Kylee Hanson may be the best pitcher in her conference, if not the country. But she is not the best in her own dugout.
COVER BY Ivan Benavides
16 Still Spilling
An annual party with fraternity ties is about to to happen again, despite an open investigation into a gang rape that allegedly took place a year ago at the same event.
WANT TO JOIN THE UP? Email universitypress@gmail.com Staff meetings every Friday at 2 p.m. Student Union, Room 214 WANT TO PLACE AN AD? Contact Jacquelyn Christie 888-897-7711 ext. 124 jchristie@mymediamate.com PUBLISHER FAU Student Government The opinions expressed by the UP are not necessarily those of the student body, Student Government or FAU. ADDRESS 777 Glades Road Student Union, Room 214 Boca Raton, FL 33431 561.297.2960
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Junior pitcher Kylee Hanson pauses between pitches in a Feb. 14 game against Penn State. Photo by Ryan Lynch 3.29.2016 University Press 3
Tolerance
NO MAS The federal government is investigating an FAU professor accused of discriminating against a disabled student. Story by Wesley Wright Illustration by Ivan Benavides
L
inguistics professor Nora Erro-Peralta is under federal investigation for an 11-monthold discrimination case, brought against her by a former student. Florida Atlantic alumnus Thomas Whatley — who has both bipolar disorder and attention deficit disorder — alleges that Erro-Peralta not only made light of his disabilities, but also refused to excuse the absences tied to them. Erro-Peralta, who declined to comment, taught Intro to Spanish Literature in the fall of 2014. Whatley was registered with Student Accessibility Services —
4 3.29.2016 University Press
formerly called the Office for Students with Disabilities — and missed three of her classes. His explanation: Even a slight change in his medicine dosages affects his ability to function. When his doctor altered his prescriptions, he had to miss class to allow his body to adjust. Whatley, who was a double major in Spanish and linguistics in the fall of 2014, says his dosages changed three times during the semester. When he tried to explain one of his absences, Whatley says Erro-Peralta was dismissive. According to Whatley, his professor graded him unfairly after SAS directed her to honor his absences, and that she failed him out of spite. “It was her being told what to do, and she didn’t want to do it,” he said. After failing her class and exhausting what he considered all of his options, he filed a complaint against FAU and Erro-Peralta through the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights. The office enforces civil rights laws like the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which outlaws
discrimination on the basis of disability. It only pursues a complaint once it determines that it is both timely and bolstered with sufficient information. It opened the case in April of 2015 after taking a look at Whatley’s evidence. The office is investigating allegations of discrimination and retaliation. Department spokesman Jim Bradshaw confirmed the case is still open, but would not comment further. SAS accommodated Whatley in his classes for 2 1/2 years. “She was the only professor I ever had an issue with,” he said. Later in September of 2014, Nina Whatley — Thomas’ mother — emailed SAS Director Michelle Shaw to intervene. “Please ask Professor Peralta not to ever mention or discuss a child’s disability in the presence of other students,” the email read. “No, Tom does not have a physical disability, he’s not in a wheelchair, or blind, but he has a severe disability just the same.” The Americans with Disabilities Act, passed in 1990, prohibits discrimination against anyone with a disability. The national law does not specify the legality of asking a student about their disabilities in class and neither does the FAU faculty handbook. Erro-Peralta knew Whatley registered with SAS, but was not told why. “We do not disclose a student’s disability,” said SAS Director Shaw. “If the student wishes to do so, they can.” Whatley’s mother continued, in the same email: “She was asking for medical records, and doctor’s notes, and that she was not going to excuse the absences … She needs to be informed, this is the way the system works. The ADA was started to protect people with disabilities and the information is supposed to be kept private, and the system works the same for all students, it cannot be interpreted by each individual teacher.” FAU has an ADA committee, but its purpose is centered around ensuring that people with disabilities can access campus buildings. None of its members responded to requests for comment. Whether the student discloses their disability or not, the professor must acknowledge the approved accommodations, according to SAS policy. Erro-Peralta signed a document at the beginning of the semester informing her of the accommodations Whatley required. “The Academic Accessibility Agreement (AAA) letter that students provide to their professors verifies that they are registered with Student Accessibility Services (SAS) and their approved accommodations needed for the course,” said Shaw in an email. Whatley’s accommodations for her class included unlimited excused absences, extra test time if needed and a notetaker. Erro-Peralta’s syllabus mandates that students can have no more than two unexcused absences or they risk having their overall grade lowered. Whatley felt compelled to explain private details of his condition to his professor in an attempt to keep her from docking his grade for exceeding the two-absence threshold.
“Your three absences are valid, and no documentation is needed,” Shaw said in a September of 2014 email to Whatley, who says his professor told him flatly that she did not think he had a disability. He claims she also said, “No me importa,” when he tried to explain his situation. In English, the phrase translates to “I don’t care” or “it is not important.” “She told me I needed to start trying harder in class,” he said. After class one day, Whatley says Erro-Peralta asked for medical records and notes from his doctor. According to Whatley, she also called SAS to inquire as to what the exact nature of his disability was and to see if he was attending other classes. “I really don’t see why that’s any of her business,” he said. Attending other classes earlier in the day was no issue, Whatley said. But when his medicine wore off toward the end of the day, he’d miss Erro-Peralta’s session because he didn’t feel like he could function in class, which took place from 4 p.m. to 5:20 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays. FAU alumna Angeline Ramirez was in Erro-Peralta’s class with Whatley. He complained to her several times during the semester. “He always had his documentation,” Ramirez said. “I know he had a condition. He let all his professors know he’d be absent. She was the only one who didn’t accept the absences.” Erro-Peralta’s insensitivity was a recurring theme in the class, according to Whatley. On one occasion, she called on him to answer a question on material covered in a previous class — a class he’d missed because his medicine wore off earlier in the day. Upon explaining this to Erro-Peralta, she responded by making light of the issue and pretending to play the “world’s smallest violin.” “I’m playing the violin for your tears,” she reportedly said. A female student from the class, who asked to remain anonymous, confirmed that Erro-Peralta did in fact play the “world’s smallest violin” several times. “She has done that in class,” she said. “She has a way of doing that, if you miss a class or something.” Whatley said, “I was crying outside in the hallway.” When registered students have an issue with their teacher, a staff member from SAS reaches out to the professor to discuss the issue, according to Shaw. Though he acknowledges that he missed a lot of material in the classes he did not attend, Whatley has no doubt that he would have done well in the class if the professor had given him a fair chance. “I’ve had classes with graduate students before and passed,” he said. In November of 2014, Whatley’s attorney, Gary Isaacs, suggested the idea of gauging the fairness of Erro-Peralta’s grading technique by letting another professor look at Whatley’s exams. The linguistics department declined. “Their response boiled down to their hesitancy to step on their professors’ toes,” Isaacs said, in reference to the department. After failing the class in the fall of 2014, Whatley approached Erro-Peralta and Chairwoman Marcella
“He always had his documentation. I know he had a condition. He let all his professors know he’d be absent. She was the only one who didn’t accept the absences.”
- Angeline Ramirez, classmate of Thomas Whatley
Takes One to Know One Nora Erro-Peralta had her own bout with discrimination at Florida Atlantic University more than two decades ago. Nora Erro-Peralta took issue with the salary of another, Kenneth Goings, who in 1991 was a professor of history at FAU. Though he had fewer credentials than Erro-Peralta, he made over $20,000 more than she did. “When Professor Goings, a professor in the same college and with similar qualifications as mine, was hired with tenure and promotion at a salary of $60,000 it created a disparity between his salary and mine,” Erro-Peralta said in a memo to Leonard Berry, who was provost at the time. “His hiring violates principles of Affirmative Action, causing discrimination of gender and ethnicity,” she continued. “The hiring of AfricanAmerican professors can not discriminate against Hispanic women professors without remedy.” Records did not reveal how Erro-Peralta found out about the salary of her colleague. “To evaluate similar credentials and to make such an offer is inappropriate,” she said. “In order to attract and retain women minority it is necessary to pay the salaries they deserve.” At the time, according to a memo from the professor, Erro-Peralta was the only Hispanic female teacher at FAU. Berry offered her a salary increase of $2,500, which she declined. Instead, she asked him to increase her salary from $35,975 to $50,000.
Linguistics professor Nora Erro-Peralta. Photo courtesy of Facebook
Munson of the linguistics department as part of the grade-appeal process. Neither considered amending his grade, according to Whatley. He climbed the ladder, approaching Assistant Dean Barclay Barrios of the Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters and eventually provost Gary Perry to no avail. This was when he decided to take his complaint to the federal government. Whatley says the delay with the case is largely because the university is not responding to the U.S. Department of Education. “The problem is that it’s been difficult to get a response from FAU,” he said. Media relations representative Lisa Metcalf said in an email to the University Press that the school does not comment on pending litigation.
Today, Erro-Peralta makes $94,415, according to the state salary database Florida Right to Know. Attorney Claudio Campo — who works for the DOE — told Whatley that if the DOE rules in his favor, ErroPeralta could lose her job. Campo did not respond to requests for comment. Whatley dropped his Spanish major and took a course at the University of Central Florida to replace the credits he missed in Erro-Peralta’s class. Once a double major in Spanish and linguistics, he graduated from FAU in fall of 2015 — a semester later than expected — with a major in linguistics and a minor in Spanish. He teaches English in central Europe today. “I can’t be the only one [who was discriminated against],” he said. “There needs to be some repercussions for Erro-Peralta.” 3.29.2016 University Press 5
Principles of Pursuit Opinion
One man’s critique of modern dating culture.
Hey, you wanna see a movie? Hey, you wanna see a movie?
••• Wait, I’m supposed to ask YOU out... |
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Send
M
an up, bro. What do you have to lose? Why haven’t you asked her out yet? She’s waiting for you to make a move. Those four sentences are the backbone of romantic society. For centuries, men have tried to play Romeo, desperate to sweep women off their feet and secure By Miller Lepree their manhood. Photos by Andrew Fraieli While the way we speak, live and dress has changed, the basic principles of pursuit remain the same. It’s no secret: The world wants us to live in a universe where boy meets girl, boy gets girl. But should who asks whom really matter? Romantic movies rarely depict anything other than a handsome man chasing a beautiful woman, followed by some variation of the guy screwing it all up, then promptly winning her back. This theme trickles down from the media into the minds of our youth. Florida Atlantic freshman Ali Elsagheer, a mechanical engineering major, thinks that girls who ask guys out are “out of their minds,” saying that “it’s the way we have been living forever, it’s how we were raised. Maybe it’s something that could become normal, but not for us.” This sentiment is echoed by almost everyone I know, both men and women. Essentially, we’re stuck. Boys don’t like the idea of being asked out by a girl, and girls don’t want to take the risk of coming on too strong. Most people seem content with this system, and few care enough to question its foundation. On the surface, this basic principle doesn’t seem very problematic, but it feels counteractive to where society is moving as a whole. Not to say the system needs a dramatic overhaul, but we shouldn’t dissuade those who feel like going against the grain. Human relationships are complex, and children should not be presented with labeled boxes of what blossoming romance should look like. I have never been asked on a date, and quite frankly I don’t know how I would react if a girl “acted like a man” and came after me. I might feel threatened, almost insufficient or I might feel flattered. Either way, I will likely never find out simply because most women are afraid to act in such a manner. Things are the way they are, and this tradition has been around for quite a while. Freshman elementary education major Alexis Kleinstein said, “Childhood movies like Cinderella really helped build my perception of the whole Prince Charming ideal,” adding that “a girl would have to be really bold to just go after a guy like that, but I wouldn’t
judge her for it.” However, just because things have always been this way doesn’t mean they have to stay the same. If two people feel drawn to each other, why should either of them wait around for something to happen? In a world where time is of the essence, we would be foolish to waste it on dreams of a fairytale romance.
What the hell is going on?
OMG I hope he says yes
3.29.2016 University Press 7
IT
Moving in with complete strangers isn’t always easy. According to these students, it can be a nightmare.
CAME FROM
Story by Brittany Ferrendi
UVA 235
Photo courtesy of Petr Kratochvil 8 3.29.2016 University Press
Jared Johnson, a sophomore majoring in secondary education
Dorm: University Village Apartments As a sophomore, Jared Johnson had already settled into college life. But for the rest of this semester, he had to keep his room locked — ever since one of his roommates urinated on him. “So one night [my roommates] have a small party while I’m out. I come back and see that everyone’s pretty drunk,” Johnson said, adding that he later went to sleep. “I’m in bed and I wake up at around 2 in the morning to a sensation of warm water falling on my legs. I look up to see [my roommate] with his flaccid penis peeing on my legs.” “Apparently he was too blackout drunk to find the bathroom and he planned on peeing out my window, but he didn’t make it,” said Johnson. “He eventually stops to my surprise and waddles over to my dresser,
pulls out the bottom drawer and pees all over my clothes. Then he leaves and locks his door.” Johnson stayed up until 5 a.m. so he could clean up the mess. “He doesn’t remember any of it and to this day he says he didn’t do it,” he said. He didn’t report the incident to the resident assistants, but told the UP he wishes he did. “I just started living with them and I attested it to them just being drunk that night. This was before I knew how bad they really were. This was before, when I was a nice, naive person living with three other guys. Before I started locking my door at night.” Johnson decided not to move out because the semester is almost over. “I sleep over at my girlfriend’s a lot or my friends’. They sleep during the day and I at night so I barely see them. No point in moving.” His roommates have done more than just pee on him — they leave the common room messy, pile up dishes for weeks and even drew penises, vaginas and swastikas on his door while he was away on vacation. “These four are the only ones I’ve had this much trouble with out of the six I’ve lived with,” he said. “This is also the last year I’ll stay in FAU housing. I’m not going to pay all this money to stay with people like this.”
“I’m in bed and I wake up at around 2 in the morning to a sensation of warm water falling on my legs. I look up to see [my roommate] with his flaccid penis peeing on my legs.” - Jared Johnson
Photo by Andrew Fraieli
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hether they are a blessing or a curse, many of us have had to live with roommates at some point in our lives. If that point is yours right now at Florida Atlantic, then you may have one or two bad roommate stories already under your belt. For those of us that don’t have a horror story — or just can’t look away from a bad situation — the University Press has you covered. We asked students about their worst experiences in the FAU dorms, and this is what they had to say.
3.29.2016 University Press 9
Channel Jones, a senior majoring in early care and education Dorm: Innovation Village Apartments North After leaving Florida Gulf Coast University, Channel Jones came to FAU for a new experience. When she moved into her dorm her first week, she didn’t get what she expected — instead, she had to deal with a constant mess, plus a roommate with a possible cocaine addiction and her live-in boyfriend. “I came in and the place was just disgusting,” Jones said. “And I’m thinking, ‘Okay, let’s not freak out too soon — a dirty place can be cleaned, dishes can be washed.’” But it was more than just a messy room. “As time went on, I noticed that she was really heavy into drugs, and her boyfriend was always there — like, he lived there,” Jones told the UP. “Nobody ever bothered to do anything about it or to get them any type of help.” This wasn’t the first time the roommate had issues in her dorm. According to Jones,
the roommate brought a cat into her last dorm, set off the fire alarm and tried to cover it up. Her roommate later had to participate in a meeting with housing because of the pet she kept in her dorm the previous semester. According to Jones, she placed the blame on her boyfriend since he didn’t live there, and it would be easier for housing to kick him out than to make her move out. “She obviously had to be using [her boyfriend] as a cover to stop herself from getting kicked out,” said Jones. After living with her roommate for two weeks, Jones felt fed up. She contacted her RA, Olinese Augustin, and told her that she didn’t feel safe with the roommate and her boyfriend around all the time. But after talking with Augusin, nothing changed. The RA did not respond to requests for comment. Jones also emailed Morgan Minard, the FAU hall director of Innovation Village Apartments North, about the issues involving the roommate’s drug use and the constant presence of her boyfriend. The senior said that nothing came from those emails. The UP reached out to Minard, but was redirected to Media Relations Manager Kelsie Weekes, who did not respond to requests for comment. “Once nothing was done about it, I was like, ‘You know what? I’m going to move out.’ Honestly, I could have stayed home for this,” she said. “I didn’t need to come and pay this money and get grants to go to a place where I don’t feel comfortable or safe.” So, she submitted a room change. But even after transferring out of the dorm, Jones is still worried about her old roommate.
“As time went on, I noticed that she was really heavy into drugs, and her boyfriend was always there — like, he lived there. Nobody ever bothered to do anything about it or to get them any type of help.” - Channel Jones Photo by Andrew Fraieli 10 3.29.2016 University Press
“It’s upsetting ... Drugs [are] a serious issue, and when you’re constantly on drugs like coke and heroin and all that, they take you places that you never thought you would go before. For her to be doing that here — she’s putting herself in danger and she’s putting the rest of us in danger.” Jones was disappointed with how the RAs handled her situation. “For the sake of the entire dorm, all eight floors of IVA North, I feel like somebody should be going around and checking all of us and making sure we’re OK,” she said. “That’s what they’re there for, right?” “I feel like they [FAU] really needs to step up in the RA department,” Jones continued. “If you’re going to be an RA, go around. Make sure you meet your students. And even if they don’t need anything from you, make sure you are available.” FAU Executive Director of Housing and Residential Life Larry Faerman said if students aren’t happy about a living situation, they need to speak to the housing staff. “[The students] should engage their resident assistant, that’s why we have the staff that we do. And they need to mitigate what is truly a ‘horror’ versus a compromise,” Faerman told the UP. If contacting the resident assistant isn’t an option, he recommends reaching out to other housing staff, such as a housing coordinator. “I think that we really try to have our staff address student concerns as they are brought to our attention,” said Faerman. “Not all students bring concerns to our attention, and that’s just a reality.” Students who want to change rooms can submit a transfer request through FAU’s housing website after the first two weeks of classes and before the final month of the semester.
FACEBOOK STORIES We reached out to Facebook asking for you to comment with your own horror stories. Here’s what some students had to say: Emily Rosen, junior sociology major
Andrea Vigil, junior psychology major
Dorm: Glades Park Towers
Dorm: Innovation Village Apartments North
“My freshman year my roommate was drunk every day of the week and never went to class. Her boyfriend would drive down from Orlando every Thursday and stay until Monday. He had awful smelling feet that stunk up the whole room and they would have sex while I was there. Within the first week, the hand towel I had put in the bathroom had been used to sop up her puke. Then I moved, but this wasn’t the last time. I had a double to myself, which was great. However, the two sorority girls I lived with absolutely refused to lock the front door or carry their keys. There was a certain football player they were friendly with that would let himself in and just do whatever he wanted. He came in late one night, and although they refused to lock the front door, locked their bedroom door? So this 6-foot-something football player was hanging in our suite yelling and pounding on their bedroom door. After being screamed at and having passive aggressive notes left for me about how ‘unnecessary’ it is to lock the front door, I moved a final time.”
“Sooooo my sophomore year I lived in IVAN with three other suitemates. One day my roommate and I were making pasta and accidentally used the other people’s sauce, considering it was the same brand, and when we found out we immediately replaced it. Well, they weren’t pleased so a whole argument broke out, which ended up in one of the roommates getting in my face and threatening to hit me. I ran to my RA and they ended [up] moving me to another room. Well, after my room change I was paired with a prostitute, not even exaggerating. She brought older men into the room and smoked weed, got drunk and did crack cocaine. Some of the guys stayed over the night and in the morning when I woke up they were in the kitchen, not fully dressed, helping themselves to my and my other roommate’s food. It was a disgusting environment and RAs refused to do anything until they had proof. Like how much proof is necessary to do something? Well turns out this roommate had been arrested multiple times, stole money from my other suitemates and was under investigation. I ended [up] moving out mid-semester and commuted from Miami to Boca everyday.”
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Kylee Hanson (left) and Joan Joyce (right) look on as the Owls face Penn State on Feb. 14.
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Learning From the Best
Conference USA’s Preseason Pitcher of the Year Kylee Hanson is being coached by arguably the greatest softball player in history. Story by Brendan Feeney Photos by Ryan Lynch
3.29.2016 University Press 13
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unior pitcher Kylee Hanson and softball head coach Joan Joyce are on two opposite ends of a very similar journey. Joyce is in her 21st season as head coach of the Florida Atlantic softball team, following a storied career in which she’s been referred to as the Babe Ruth of softball — she threw 150 no-hitters and 50 perfect games. She lost 42 games in her career and posted a career ERA of .09. Joyce also struck out Major League Baseball Hall of Famers Ted Williams and Hank Aaron. Meanwhile, her star pitcher’s career is just taking off and already gaining national attention. Hanson earned ESPNW’s National Softball Player of the Week after the first weekend of the season. Prior to that, Conference USA coaches voted Hanson as Conference Pitcher of the Year in the preseason. The junior is also just one of two pitchers in the country to have at least eight wins and three saves this season — University of Texas at Arlington freshman Samantha Clakley is the only other. “She’s worked that hard and deserves that recognition,” Joyce said. “She’s pitched extremely well so far [this season]. I think that probably halfway through last year, when we really worked hard on being able to throw the riseball low, helped her out a lot … but she works all the pitches, she’s gotten a little bit stronger, throwing it harder and she’s actually dominating hitters.” The riseball — Hanson’s go-to pitch — is a pitch that can be disguised as two separate pitches. “I have a low rise and a high rise,” Hanson said. “My low one I want to keep between the belt and the chest, and then the high one from the chest to the head. It’s just changing [the batters’] eye level, trying to get them to swing and miss or get a pop up … I like my riseball a lot, I get a few swings and misses on it.” Hanson’s riseball has gotten more than just a few swings and misses. As of March 24, she sits 10th in the nation in strikeouts and third in ERA, at a mark of 0.76. “Catching her is awesome and she always seems to be spot on, so it’s really a pleasure,” sophomore catcher Alex Miller said. “High school, never caught for anyone like that. Travel ball, never. So I was really fortunate when I came in as a freshman and was able to catch her right away and learn the game from her and learn what pitches we should call when.” However, Hanson’s biggest advantage sits in the same dugout — coach Joyce. “It’s a very lucky feeling,” Hanson said. “I don’t take it for granted, that’s for sure. You learn a lot and you trust her 100 percent, everything that comes out of her mouth you don’t doubt.” Joyce and the Hanson family were connected far before Kylee thought about her college career. In fact, they were connected years before she was even born. Hanson’s father grew up in Connecticut and used to watch Joyce pitch for her professional team, the Connecticut Falcons. Joyce believes this helped her reel in her future ace. “We had a little bit of an advantage [in recruiting Hanson] because her dad is from Connecticut, and 14 3.29.2016 University Press
This year, Kylee Hanson has enjoyed one of her best seasons at FAU based on stats, going 9-3 with a 0.98 ERA and three saves.
when he lived in Connecticut and I was playing, he lived right up behind the field that we played in, in the pro league. He would hop the fence and come down and watch me pitch all the time, so he knew of me.” That led to a unique recruiting visit, according to Hanson. “I remember [the first time I met Joyce] because my dad was there and he used to watch her play when he was super young. So he talked a lot, which was really good because it was my college visit and I was a little nervous. He talked a lot and she told a ton of stories and they were really funny and really laughable, it was really comfortable … it was super cool meeting a legend.” Hanson wasn’t the only one impacted by the visit: Joyce saw something special in her future pitcher. “[Hanson] was a good pitcher already in high school, but she was a competitor and she battled with people and that’s what I liked,” Joyce remembers. “In fact, [assistant coach] Heather Gelbard took her on a campus tour and said to me, ’That kid is exactly what you’re looking for every single time in a pitcher.’ ... She’s going to battle, she’s not going to give up.” Hanson’s competitive edge causes her and Joyce to butt heads every now and then. “It’s just her and I going back and forth, we talk a lot of softball and sometimes we have some differences of opinion that we come together on eventually,” Hanson said. “It’s funny to hear both of our sides and I never
“[Kylee Hanson] was a good pitcher already in high school, but she was a competitor and she battled with people and that’s what I liked.” - Joan Joyce, head coach
think about her side. Like her side is nothing I would instantly think of, it’s so much more thought out than mine ever is. She just teaches me so much.” Joyce has taught Hanson so much in fact that now she lets the pitcher fix her own mistakes. “Right now I really don’t even have to put too much focus on her unless something is going wrong,” Joyce said. “I kind of let her just go ahead and do her thing, because I don’t want to put anything in her head. She knows what she has to do, she’s very knowledgeable about pitching.” “If I see something, I have to say ‘Kylee, you’re hanging back too far or you’re getting over to your left side too much,’” Joyce continued. “I just have to say that and she knows how to take care of it … she is very, very, very knowledgeable.” Sophomore pitcher Tatum Buckley — who holds a record of 6-0 — says she sits in a fortunate position where she is able to learn from both Joyce and Hanson by talking to them and watching the two work together. “Just sitting in [on] their bullpens and hearing what they talk about, how they throw to certain batters, how hard they work. It’s very helpful and they’re good people to look up to,” Buckley said. According to Hanson, Joyce still tosses the ball sometimes with her vintage slingshot pitching motion. “She tosses every now and then and it’s still incredible,” Hanson said. “You’re like, ‘When was the last time you threw to a batter? … It’s really good.” “I was ridiculous,” Joyce said. “I was a one-pitch player and I talk about that all the time. You have to take it one pitch at a time. People set goals and stuff, I never set a goal in my life. I never sat and said this is gonna be my goal for the year, I never did that. It was one pitch at a time and whatever that produced at the end of the game is what it was. I spent my whole life doing that, just one pitch at a time, and obviously it turned out pretty good.” Joyce’s athletic abilities are not limited to the softball field, as she holds multiple records in different sports. She once scored 67 points in one Amateur Athletic Union national basketball tournament game. Joyce also completed a Ladies Professional Golf Association 18-hole course with just 17 putts, the best ever for a professional man or woman. Both of those records still stand today. Joyce played on the USA Women’s National Basketball Team and was a three-time Amateur Athletic Union All-American. She simultaneously played and coached volleyball for a team that competed in four national tournaments. She is one of three Americans in the International Women’s Sports Hall of Fame. Though radar guns were not used when Joyce pitched, estimates say she could throw a softball in her prime equivalent to a 120 mph baseball, in terms of reaction time. “I think the best asset I have is being able to analyze a sport and teach it,” Joyce continued. “I just had a good head for playing the games too, understanding what needs to be done.” “She tells a lot of funny stories about her day,” Hanson said. “Like when I’m worried about throwing
Racking up 18 professional softball all-star appearances during a 21-year professional playing career, Joyce has set a standard for her players to reach.
to a catcher, she’ll just tell me ‘Don’t worry about the catcher.’ If I tell her the umpire keeps giving me brand new balls, which I hate brand new balls, she’ll say ‘I used to throw [new balls] over the backstop; if I didn’t want them I threw them over the backstop.’ She helps comfort me a lot.” “My relationship with coach is very good,” Hanson said. “We are very similar so we butt heads a little bit here and there, but I respect her a ton. I’ve learned so much from her, I’ll remember everything she ever taught me for the rest of my life. She’s been really awesome.” No matter how well Hanson pitches this year, Conference USA coaches won’t be able to sigh in relief after the season, as Hanson — and the rest of FAU’s pitching staff — will return for next year’s team. As far as her career after college goes, Joyce believes she has no limits. “It’s hard to say how far she can go, I mean to make the Olympic team you have to be one of the top four pitchers in the country. Can Kylee be that? Certainly,” Joyce said. “She’s on track to be that good.” Although the U.S. has a national team, softball has not been in the Olympics since 2008. But there has been speculation that it may return in 2020. Hanson think there’s one level she may not ever reach: her coach’s. “No one will ever be like her, especially nowadays. No one will ever come close to Joan Joyce.”
“It’s hard to say how far she can go, I mean to make the Olympic team you have to be one of the top four pitchers in the country. Can Kylee be that? Certainly. She’s on track to be that good.” - Joan Joyce, head coach
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Still Spilling Almost exactly a year ago, an FAU student said she was gang raped at a fraternity-tied party. Police are still investigating and the party’s about to happen again. Story by Emily Bloch Illustrations by Ivan Benavides
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round 2,500 men and women, many around college age as well as underage, danced on a wooden gymnasium floor scattered with packaged condoms and crushed Solo cups. It was on a Saturday night, almost exactly a year ago. Many were drinking, some were dancing and one was allegedly gang raped. The party happened at the Wayne Barton Study Center — a 25,000-square-foot facility less than 2 miles from Florida Atlantic’s Boca Raton campus. Now, that event is set to happen again, but one thing has changed — the venue. Instead of the study center, where the event has taken place for the last four years, this year’s party will be held at a Pompano Beach venue that’s infamous for frequent police visits. And even though the event’s planners say the party has nothing to do with an on-campus fraternity, a University Press investigation has revealed multiple documented ties including business records, police reports and social media posts that suggest otherwise. According to the Boca Raton Police, the FAU student, whose name has not been released, told police she was pulled behind the blue curtain on the stage of the center’s gymnasium and raped by a group of men. A year later, the case is still being investigated by the Boca Raton Police Department — the agency the center’s owner and founder, Wayne Barton, used to work for. Barton was an officer for 20 years. On the night of April 11, 2015, following the 20th Annual Sunshine State Classic — a yearly step-dancing competition at FAU — partygoers made the short trip to the study center for an after party called the South Florida Spill. Idalis Streat was one of them. “There were a ton of people there, a DJ of course, there was alcohol,” she told the UP. Streat said she felt as if a lot of freshmen attended the event. “Nobody was carded and the tickets to get into the event were only sold by Greek life members that I am aware of, like black Greek life.” FAU spokeswoman Lisa Metcalf told the UP otherwise. “The Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life at FAU did not sell any tickets to this event or any offcampus event.” 16 3.29.2016 University Press
All photos throughout this story of social media activity regarding the South Florida Spill are from public Twitter accounts as of publication time. Many Tweets were found by searching the hashtag, #SFLSPILL, and combing through details like the date of posting.
Omega Psi Phi fraternity chapters across the country hold Oil Spill parties. They’re frequently all-you-candrink parties where attendees pay a fixed ticket price and drink the liquor, called Omega Oil, until it runs out. Dooley Gabriel, another partygoer, said, “Greek life was present, but I wouldn’t necessarily say it was Omega Psi Phi solely, a lot of fraternities and sororities were present.” Gabriel said he was carded at the door. According to the police report, the victim told officers her rape occurred at “an after party called Oil Spill.” The South Florida Spill is hosted by a company called Sadiddy Entertainment, which denies fraternity affiliation or culpability. But three of the company’s officers became members in the FAU’s Omega Psi Phi chapter within the last five years, according to a roster obtained by the UP. “It’s not misleading,” Pierre Boisrond — one of Sadiddy Entertainment’s listed officers — said about the event’s title in regard to its suggested relation to fraternity oil spill parties. “We can name our party anything we want, and we chose The Spill.” But when the event started taking place at the Wayne Barton Study Center in 2012, a flier revealed the event was originally called the Oil Spill, not the South Florida Spill. State corporation records show Sadiddy Entertainment filed formal paperwork to become a Florida limited liability company that same year. By 2013, the South Florida Spill got its new name. If an event with alcohol is officially sponsored by a sorority or fraternity, FAU’s Alcohol Within Fraternities & Sororities Policy applies. It states that no members can serve or sell alcohol to anyone under the legal drinking age. “If you check the advertising, we also specifically state that this party is not affiliated with [any] colleges or fraternities,” Boisrond said (see Sadiddy Says ‘No Affiliation’ — Backs it Up With One Tweet sidebar). The policy also says that “events with alcohol must not exceed a four hour maximum timeframe,” but this year’s South Florida Spill is scheduled to last six hours, and previous ones, including last year’s, have been slotted for five. The policy also calls for carding at the door. Sadiddy Entertainment told WPTV it hired private security to monitor the inside of the gym at last year’s event, while police officers in uniform were outside the study center handling parking. According to records it filed with the state, Sadiddy Entertainment is comprised of Boisrond, Fritz Limousin and Jamal Hamilton — all members of FAU’s Omega Psi Phi fraternity — as well as Martreace Jones, who according to his Facebook profile, works for the “official Omega Psi Phi Fraternity” organization. The 21st Annual Sunshine State Classic step show is scheduled for Saturday, April 9, and so is the South Florida Spill. This year’s South Florida Spill will take place at Club Cinema — a nightclub that’s been subject to police raids and been called a “nuisance” by the city of Pompano Beach, where it resides. The club is about 12 miles from FAU’s Boca Raton campus. In 2013, the city of Pompano Beach filed a lawsuit
Setting Up an LLC Business professor Michael Sparks declined commenting on this specific situation, but explained to the UP how an LLC works and what it could protect a company from. “Setting up an LLC is a fairly simple process and allows an entrepreneur to establish a company that is a separate legal entity from the owners and provides a liability shield,” explained FAU College of Business professor Michael Sparks. “However, there is not a complete shield.” Sparks continued: “Many times the LLC owners are nearly indistinguishable from the company financially. The owner’s car is in the name of the LLC, the LLC pays for the owners’ cell phone. Money flows back and forth between the owner’s and LLCs accounts ... In this case, a lawyer can make the argument that the LLC and the Owner(s) are really one and the same. If the judge agrees — the owners are now liable for the LLC’s actions and financial obligations. This is called piercing the corporate veil.”
Sadiddy Says No Affiliation — Backs it Up With One Tweet When the UP asked Sadiddy Entertainment’s Pierre Boisrond if the South Florida Spill might get construed as an Oil Spill party, he told us no. “If you check the advertising, we also specifically state that this party is not affiliated with and [any] colleges or fraternities,” he said. When the UP asked to see the advertising, Boisrond backtracked. “No one uses flyers [sic] to promote parties anymore. Only social media.” Later, he provided a screenshot of a tweet from April 1, 2015 that read, “#SFLSpill Not affiliated with Omega Psi Phi #SOUTHFLORIDASPILL” with the Twitter user’s handle covered. When the UP searched for the same text on Twitter, only one tweet contained that statement. The original was tweeted by a user with the handle @Oil_Que, whose alias is Patrick Wap and bio starts out with “ΩΨΦ” — Omega Psi Phi’s Greek symbol. “We cannot control people’s thoughts, inferences or opinions,” Boisrond said. “The only thing we can control is what we advertise.”
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against Club Cinema. The suit was centered around if the venue “which hosts raves and lets in both minors and adults, should be allowed to continue operating despite frequent visits from police and paramedics for drug arrests, overdoses and unconscious patrons,” according to a 2014 article by the Sun Sentinel. Ultimately, the club stayed open. Just this month, rapper Machine Gun Kelly performed at the venue. And as Yelp user Adam M. recalled in his review, “WTF no liquor!!!” As a way to get around the city’s 2 a.m. ordinance for establishments serving alcohol, WSVN reported that Club Cinema gave up its liquor license. “We have not had a liquor license since Jan. 1,” the club’s attorney, Sandy Topkin, said in 2014. “There’s no alcohol on the property, the bars were all operating with water only, no alcohol at all.” Club Cinema personnel could not be reached for comment. According to this year’s event page, the South Florida Spill is slated to go from 10 p.m. to 4 a.m. Last year’s pre-sale tickets were about $30 on its event page. Posts on Twitter said tickets at the door would be around $40. Even though Sadiddy Entertainment is listed as an LLC, a for-profit company, its event page last year said otherwise. The online description claimed, “ALL PROCEEDS GO TO A NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION!!!!” With tickets last year as low as $30 and as much as $40 and Sadiddy Entertainment saying 2,500 people attended, that’s a profit between $75,000 to $100,000, before expenses. This year’s pre-sale tickets are listed at about $20, and the event description says nothing about money going to a nonprofit. “[The] event is to make money,” Boisrond told the UP. “Money goes to our pockets.” Though the case was the first reported rape, last year wasn’t the only time an incident occurred at the South Florida Spill. On April 15, 2012, a fight broke out on the dance floor and Boca Raton police came inside to break it up. They ultimately arrested a partygoer for battery against an officer. The police report said the police presence was to “provide security for a party for a local fraternity.” It also said there were “close to 1,000 partygoers” in attendance. Two years later, on April 13, 2014, at around 3 a.m., Boca Raton police called for reinforcement to help dismiss the large party. This time, the police report said the police had to disperse “a large party that was being held by the Omega fraternity (FAU).” Mentions of last year’s South Florida Spill on Twitter frequently included photos or emojis featuring purple and gold — Omega Psi Phi’s official colors — as well as a dog emoji. This references an unofficial fraternity member nickname — que dogs, also spelled q-dogs, as sites like Philly.com say. Photos from the party showed many of the attendees wearing purple and gold shirts with camouflage bottoms — the same thing many members wear in the 18 3.29.2016 University Press
Wayne Barton Says “NO CRIME” The last four years of the Spill’s seven-year history, the party has taken place at the Wayne Barton Study Center. WPTV reported that Barton rented the center to Sadiddy. Last year, he was sympathetic about the active case — “It hurt me to my heart,” Barton told local NBC affiliate WPTV. Now, he told the UP there wasn’t a problem. “There were no witness or suspects (NO CRIME) in this incident [sic],” Barton said in an email to the UP. “You are really making FAU look bad and wasting good man power hours you could be doing something else, with your time [sic].” But an active police case suggests otherwise. “Wayne Barton retired from the Boca Raton Police Department in January, 2000,” officer Sandra Boonenberg, spokeswoman for the police said. “He is not privy to our investigations. The case is still under investigation and Mr. Barton’s opinions are his own.”
fraternity’s Facebook photos. The UP reached out to FAU’s Omega Psi Phi president for comment, but received no response as of publication time. The assistant director of Fraternity & Sorority Life at FAU, LaVar Jamison, was approached for comment but Jamison referred the UP to media relations. The UP complied, but still was unable to get a comment from Jamison as of publication time. Jamison previously advised the University of Miami’s Omega Psi Phi chapter and is listed as a brother in Omega Psi Phi’s Pi Nu chapter. This year’s South Florida Spill happens to be taking place just after FAU’s It’s On Us: Sexual Assault Awareness Week, in recognition of April being Sexual Assault Awareness Month. “Sexual assault is a difficult and uncomfortable conversation that needs to happen especially on college campuses across the country,” Allison Vo, one of the event coordinators, said. “Personally, I am hoping this campaign will have a lasting effect on the culture on campus.” Vo continued: “I feel a spectrum of emotions when
I hear stories of sexual assault, especially when it happens in our community. We have not specifically addressed that particular incident in our programs but it goes to show that what we are talking is a real concern.” According to its Facebook page, the Student Government event will last from April 4-7 on the Boca Raton campus and is being held “so students are mobilized to take a stand against sexual assault.”
Hashtag Change Last year’s South Florida Spill was accompanied by posts on Twitter, using the hashtag #SFLSPILL. The event’s flier also had it that way. This year, the event’s ticketing page revealed a new hashtag — #SOFLOSPILL. As of publication time, the new tag has been used sparingly — mostly to advertise the ticket sales page. The UP asked one of the event’s organizers, Jamal Hamilton, about the hashtag change. “How many times you changed your hairstyle? How many times you changed a style of clothing?” Hamilton asked in an email. “Answer those questions and then ask yourself why ... After that you’ll get and understand of what’s called common sense [sic].”
About Omega Psi Phi Logo: ΩΨΦ Colors: Royal purple and old gold Symbol: Lamp Founded: 1911 Notable Members: Steve Harvey, Shaquille O’Neal, Bill Cosby, Michael Jordan Source: oppf.org
This photo of FAU’s Omega Psi Phi chapter shows many members in purple and gold tops with camouflage bottoms. The photo comes from an untitled album from 2012. Photo via Omega Psi Phi Fraternity Inc. - Sigma Delta Delta Chapter (FAU)’s Facebook page.
For more on this story, visit upressonline.com 3.29.2016 University Press 19
IT’S ON US TO PREVENT SEXUAL ASSAULT
if you need a reasonable accommodation to fully particate in this event contact Amanda Cacapava at SgPresChief@FAU.EDU by 4/2/2016
YOUR BIKE CAN HELP OTHERS YOUR BIKE MOVE FORWARD. CAN HELP OTHERS YOUR DONATIONS TO GOODWILL HELP YOUR BIKE FUND JOB PLACEMENT AND TRAINING MOVE FORWARD. FOR PEOPLE IN YOUR OTHERS COMMUNITY. CAN HELP YOUR DONATIONS TO GOODWILL HELP 速
FUND JOB PLACEMENT AND TRAINING MOVE FORWARD. FOR PEOPLE IN YOUR COMMUNITY. 速
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DONATE STUFF. CREATE JOBS. DONATE STUFF. CREATE JOBS. DONATE STUFF. TO FIND YOUR NEAREST DONATION CENTER GO TO GOODWILL.ORG CREATE JOBS.
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Make your emergency plan today. Visit Ready.gov/communicate
Creative Juices
My Addiction Story by Lynn Jonason, junior English major, special to the University Press Photo courtesy of George Hodan
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cigarette dangles from my lips as I watch you from the front seat of my car, the cherry falling to the rug littered with fast food containers. I quickly crush it with my foot. I didn’t need another incident because of my carelessness. I look back up and you’re nowhere in sight. Shit. I knew I never should have taken my eyes off you. The smoke lingering from the brown paper bag creeps up like a spider crawling along its web, tickling my nose. I rub it with the back of my hand as I try to find you in the mob of people huddled outside the movie theater. I scan their faces urgently, looking for the freckled horseshoe pattern I fell in love with last summer. I’ll never forget your laugh as we watched the latest Will Ferrell movie, filling the theater with a sound resembling Homer Simpson’s signature giggle. A simple “hee hee hee” as infectious as the crooked smile never repaired by a set of braces. A smile reserved only for me. I make a mental note to give you that DVD as an anniversary gift in a couple months. I release the breath I didn’t realize I’d been holding as I spot your chestnut hair in its signature bun. Relief warms me like a shot of tequila on a frigid
winter day. I rub my chest, calming my heart, which is racing a mile a minute at the thought of losing you. You break away from the crowd and sit on the edge of the sidewalk, running your hands through your bun which has become a mess thanks to the sadistic June heat. I long to run my fingers through it, to feel its silken strands through splayed fingertips. Maybe one day, you’ll finally let me touch it. You reach into your pocket and pull out a fresh pack of cigarettes. I light another as you christen your new pack of fresh Messiahs. Yet another reason for me to love you. As my car fills with the intoxicating smell of you escaping from my nostrils, I become concerned. You absorb your surroundings, head flying back and forth as if watching a tennis match as you glance nervously in either direction. You raise the cigarette to your imparted lips, your hand trembling. You fumble for something in your purse, lips moving in what I assume is a curse as it falls to the ground, contents spilling everywhere. I become concerned at your evident distress. I place my hand on the door handle, debating whether or not to help you. Minutes pass, and you seem to have regained your composure enough
to rejoin the crowd, which is slowly making its way inside the theater. It’s then I realize I haven’t moved an inch. The scorching cherry, which now lays on my lap, breaks me from my reverie. Cursing, I pour my water bottle in my lap, providing instantaneous relief. I roll down my window and flick what remains of the cigarette onto the pavement before driving away, disappointed in myself. I honestly thought today was the day I’d have the courage to go up to you and introduce myself. This week’s Creative Juices is written by an editor at Voices From the 3rd Floor, FAU’s English major blog. Check out its website at voicesfromthe3rdfloor.wordpress.com, or email it at Submittovf3f@gmail.com. “Creative Juices” is the UP’s open-submission creative writing section. Send your screenplays, poems, short stories or any interesting composition to universitypress@gmail.com. If we like it, we’ll print it.
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