Vol. 17 | #11 | Feb. 9, 2016
Eight hours, two pizza pies and lots of coffee later, a meeting earlier this month left several students clubs with ...
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Disappearing Dollars
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Vol. 17 | #11 | Feb. 9, 2016
NEWS EDITOR Patrick Martin
4 Are You Paying Too Much?
SPORTS EDITOR Brendan Feeney
On-campus dining makes life a little easier, but the prices may hurt your wallet.
FEATURES EDITOR Brittany Ferrendi
6 2016: The Year of the Superhero
OPINIONS EDITOR Andrew Fraieli
Batman, Superman, Captain America — there are too many superheroes to count, especially when you factor in all of their movies and shows. Luckily, we made a guide.
BUSINESS MANAGER Wesley Wright CONTRIBUTORS Celeste Andrews, Stephanie Fonseca, Amanda Hicks
10 Less Money, More Problems
DISTRIBUTION MANAGER Bill Good
Student employees might be losing their jobs after a recent slew of budget cuts.
ADVISERS Neil Santaniello, Ilene Prusher, Michael Koretzky
12 Opinion: Escape
Get out of your mid-college-degree crisis by traveling the world.
COVER PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY Patrick Martin WANT TO JOIN THE UP? Email universitypress@gmail.com Staff meetings every Friday, 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
14 Softball Preview
Expectations are high for the team in 2016 after they finished last season as conference championship runner-ups. Preview the upcoming season here.
18 Pictured: Junior shortstop C.J. Chatham, who was named First-Team All-Conference USA after last season. Photo by Max Jackson
18 Baseball Preview
Baseball lost five players to the MLB draft after falling to the Florida Gators in the NCAA regionals. What does this season hold for the program?
22 Safety School
Roughly a third of the students Florida Atlantic accepts actually end up enrolling. Find out what’s keeping them away.
2.9.2016 University Press 3
Are You Paying Too Much?
I
t’s easy to find somewhere to get food at FAU. Dispersed across campus are convenience stores called Outtakes and vending machines that go as far as letting you use Apple Pay to get yourself a snack. According to some students, the prices seem a bit out of range. “Outtakes has a good selection, but it’s too pricey,” says Lizmary Real, senior neuroscience and behavior major, as she walks out of the store with a sandwich and a drink. It’s a common cliche that places off campus offer food at a more reasonable price. Publix, CVS and 7-Eleven, all located fewer than two miles from campus, are three options. So what’s the verdict? The University Press compared Outtakes’ prices against larger, off-campus corporations. Here’s the breakdown:
Monster Energy Drinks
Dillema: At Outtakes, students can buy a can of Monster for $3.59. But head across the street to CVS, and the same drink is $2.77 at regular price, or two for $4. Verdict: For the same Outtakes price, a student can get almost two of the same drink. “There are always going to be things that are more expensive, however most of the items we offer are 10 to 35 cents cheaper than our competitors,” says Ridwan Himawan, director of retail operations at Chartwells, FAU’s food management company. However, water is 22 percent more expensive at Outtakes than at CVS down the street. 4 2.9.2016 University Press
On-campus dining makes life a little easier, but the prices mght hurt your wallet. Story by Stephanie Fonseca Illustrations by Ivan Benavides
Nature Valley Bar At Outtakes, a Nature Valley bar (the one that leaves crumbs everywhere) is priced at 79 cents. Walk a little farther down the Breezeway and that same granola bar is in the vending machine for $1.25. To some, that may seem like a small amount. But in reality, the vending machine is making students pay 37 percent more than Outtakes and 45 percent more than Publix, which sells the bar for 69 cents. Verdict: Publix and Outtakes only differ by a dime, but those vending machines can get you.
For Cliff Bars, sushi and even a bag of potato chips, students are actually paying less money to get them at Outtakes than any of their competitors on and off campus. The prices around campus are on two extremes — they’re either more expensive or cheaper, but rarely dead even. For a full store-by-store, price-by-price comparison, check out our infographic.
Outtakes, both in the Breezeway and the Student Union, closes at 7 p.m. So for students who have class at FAU after that time, they have to go off campus to get food, dish out money to the vending machines or a sit-down spot like Subway and Chick-fil-A, or starve. “It presents a bit of an inconvenience to both commuters and students who live on campus,” says senior multimedia studies major Carlene Myrie.
Going off campus to get cheaper food seems like a good idea, but figuring out the cost and benefit of the trip is the trick. After the time spent getting to the car and the gas used to go to the store and back to campus, all to save an average of 20 cents to a dollar, students end up saving themselves time and gas money by settling for Outtakes or the Breezeway vending machines.
Coke 20 oz bottle Outtakes
$1.69
7-Eleven
$1.79
Publix
$1.79
CVS
$1.79
Vending Machine
$1.50
What’s the Deal?
We compared the prices of products at the Outtakes convenience store on campus against other stores within two miles.
Nature Valley Bar Arizona/Peace Tea
Outtakes
79 cents
Outtakes
$1.89
7-Eleven
99 cents
7-Eleven
$1.39 or 2/$2
Publix
69 cents
Publix
.99 cents
CVS
N/A
CVS
$1
Vending Machine
$1.25
Vending Machine
N/A Skittles 4 oz
Honest Tea Outtakes
$2.19
7-Eleven
N/A
Publix
N/A
CVS
99 cents
Vending Machine
N/A
Outtakes
$1.29
7-Eleven
$1.39
Publix
99 cents
CVS
$1.19 or 2/$2
Vending Machine
$1.25
Chips Outtakes
$1.49
7-Eleven
$1.49
Publix
$1.49
CVS
$1.49
Vending Machine
$1.25 (smaller bag)
Cliff Bars Monster 480 mL
Outtakes
$1.89
Orbit Gum
Outtakes
$3.59
7-Eleven
$1.99
Outtakes
$1.50
7-Eleven
$3.49 or 2/$4
Publix
$1
7-Eleven
$1.39 $1.29
N/A
N/A
Publix
Publix
CVS
$2
$1.49 or 2/$2.50
$2.77
Vending Machine
CVS
CVS Vending Machine
N/A
$2.50
Vending Machine
2.9.2016 University Press 5
2016: The Year of the Superhero In a year chock-full of superhero and supervillain-themed films and shows, don’t be overwhelmed — we’ve got you covered. Story by Brittany Ferrendi Illustrations by Ivan Benavides
B
y rebuilding the superhero universe one movie at a time leading up to “The Avengers” and beyond, Marvel has undoubtedly kicked the super-powered trend back into gear. Now, a wealth of television shows and movies have swarmed the media to become the best thing since zombie outbreaks and vampires last took over the nation’s entertainment. This year, there are six anticipated movies and shows announced — with more to come. If you’re confused by all the hoopla, here’s what you need to know about the people in capes swarming screens big and small: For more of our superhero picks, visit upressonline.com.
Feb. 12: “Deadpool” As the eighth installment of the X-Men series, “Deadpool” is an action superhero film about Wade Wilson, a former special forces operative who undergoes unorthodox experimentation in an attempt to cure his cancer. And the experiment succeeds — in a way. Although his cancer is “cured,” Wilson becomes a superhuman with a drawback. He heals at an abnormally fast rate, which is good, but also leaves him with disfigured skin and severe mental instability, which can be very, very bad. After the experiment goes awry, he goes on a mission to hunt the person responsible.
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March 18: “Daredevil” Season Two “Daredevil” follows Matt Murdock, a blind lawyer who has superhuman senses and uses them to secretly fight crime under the cover of night. After dealing with Kingpin in the last season, Murdock has a much more physical opponent to deal with this time around — The Punisher. “Well, ever since the [previous Daredevil] movie, I’ve been waiting for a good revamp of his series and they finally delivered it,” said Ryan Millet, a junior studying communication. As a Netflix original, the first season of “Daredevil” was successful enough to lead to a series of television shows that will eventually lead up to “The Defenders,” if everything goes according to plan. Similar to the Avengers, the Defenders are a group of street-level crime fighters who will come together in a mini-series in upcoming years. The television lineup began with “Daredevil” season one, which premiered early last year. It followed up with “Jessica Jones” in November and will continue with “Iron Fist” and “Luke Cage” before they unite in “The Defenders.” “The choreographing of the fight scenes, how in-depth they went into each character’s psyche, showing their internal struggles and how it affected them on the day-to-day was brilliant,” Millet said. “It showed that a superhero isn’t always super. It made it so much easier for people to connect with the characters and pull out all the sympathy and empathy we could manage to give.”
March 23: “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” This film features a faceoff between — you guessed it — the caped crusader and the man of steel. Batman leaves Gotham for Metropolis where me makes it very clear that he doesn’t trust Superman’s power and attempts to preemptively take him down. As they face off, the sinister Lex Luthor attempts to wipe out the city with Doomsday. Ever since the film was announced in 2013, anticipation for “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” has grown, putting it at No. 1 of IMDB’s “Most Popular Feature Films Released in 2016.” Despite this Internet hype, not every student is familiar with the movie. “I didn’t hear about it,” said Alex Karavasilis, a junior studying public management. “I don’t really watch television, so I wouldn’t know.” Henry Cavill, known for his previous role in the film “Man of Steel,” will be returning to play Superman. Joining him for the role of Batman will be Ben Affleck, a decision that caused a lot of controversy and led to a petition with 97,641 signatures requesting that Warner Bros. Studio remove Affleck from the role. Before it closed, the petition was 35 percentage points away from its 150,000 goal. 2.9.2016 University Press 7
April: “Luke Cage” If you happen to plan your Netflix bingewatching sessions, you may want to pencil in Marvel’s “Luke Cage” for later this year. Joining “Daredevil” in “The Defenders” series, this show is about an ex-convict by the same name with unbreachable skin and superhuman strength to boot. In Marvel’s “Jessica Jones,” Luke Cage played a relatively minor role as Jessica’s ex-boyfriend. This series takes place before all that, when Cage undergoes an experiment that gives him his powers and he must break out of prison after being wrongfully accused.
May 6: “Captain America: Civil War” Speaking of two do-good superheroes fighting each other, Iron Man and Captain America have beef in “Captain America: Civil War.” One year after the events of “The Avengers: Age of Ultron,” the U.S. government wants to step in and govern the superhero team. The Avengers split off between those who want government regulation — led by Iron Man — and those who want to be free of control — spearheaded by Captain America. Meanwhile, a new enemy steps in to wreak havoc on the world. “I don’t know much about it, but I’m looking forward to it,” said Amber Slack, a freshman studying criminal justice. “I’m into superhero films and it looks fun.” The entire main cast from previous Avengers films will return, including Captain America-star Chris Evans, who was rumored to soon leave his acting career behind. However, in September 2015, he told an interviewer that he was eager to extend his contract and continue as Captain America in future Marvel films.
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Aug. 5: “Suicide Squad” Who thought it was a great idea to release supervillains from prison based on just a promise? A secret government agency lets loose Gotham’s most dangerous supervillains to act as an anti-hero strike team — the Joker, Harley Quinn, Deadshot and more — to take on black ops missions in order to receive reduced sentences. “I’m more excited for “Suicide Squad” because it has more original characters,” said Sebastian Cardone, a senior English major. “We’ve already seen Batman and Superman fight a billion times.” The film gained wide recognition because of the controversy surrounding Jared Leto being cast as the Joker. With caps on his teeth and a forehead tattoo that reads “Damaged,” the Internet was widely unhappy with the Joker’s new look. But not all students are displeased with the portrayal. “I actually like Jared Leto as the Joker,” said Cardone. “He fits a modern evolution of the classic Joker very well.”
The show follows Cage as he works as a superhero-for-hire while residing in Harlem. As with every Netflix original, all episodes of “Luke Cage” will be released on the same day. Although no official premiere date has been announced as of yet, the show is set to come out this year.
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Less Money, More Problems This year’s budget cuts weren’t across the board, and might leave some people out of work. Story by Gregory Cox Photo illustration by Patrick Martin
I
t’s cutting season around Florida Atlantic University. For the second year in a row, student organizations’ budgets are on the chopping block, facing more cutbacks than the year before. But unlike last year, where the cuts were split relatively equally over 40 student organizations, some programs are feeling more pain than others. The entire budget — made up of the revenue of the activity and service fees students pay as part of their tuition — is expected to be less next year because the university is anticipating a decrease in enrollment. As fewer students enroll, less money is made from the fee used to pay for student employment, advisers’ salaries, professional staff and expenses. This gives the University Budget Appropriations Committee the challenge of tightening student organizations’ budgets. The total requested budget made by university-wide programs was about $9.1 million. The problem: The UBAC only has $8.6 million to give, meaning they had to cut $500,000 of the current requests. “We are going to need to be more efficient as a whole in order to get more done with less,” Husam T-Ahmed said, the Boca Raton treasurer and voting member of the UBAC. More than a quarter of the $500,000 proposed cuts came from four student organizations’ paid positions. “I was blindsided,” Owl TV station manager Pierce Sargeant said of the proposed cut to his budget. “We’ll probably have to merge a lot of jobs and overwork probably five people.” Seven of the 13 jobs that Owl TV currently has will be cut with the proposed change in funding. The station took a 51 percent cut from $125,000 to $62,000, which cut about $31,238 in student jobs. The committee justified the cuts by saying the station only has 370 subscribers on YouTube and doesn’t reach the vast majority of the student body. However, Sargeant explained that most of their traffic comes from social media, where they have 2,100 likes on Facebook, and 2,700 followers on Twitter. 10 2.9.2016 University Press
The Graduate & Professional Student Association lost six of their paid positions, from $71,880 down to $16,000. The program also provides partial tuition reimbursements to their graduate student employees. Felix Hartmann, the vice chair of the UBAC and chief financial officer of Student Governement, said “They’d still get free college, stipends and they can put it on their resume,” during the deliberation meeting on Jan. 28. The UBAC justified the cuts, saying the organization spent too much on food. The association hosts graduation dinners, award ceremonies, workshops for FAU graduate students including offering grants for travel and research. The director of GPSA, Daria Prause, pursuing her Master of Business Administration, struggled to see the cut’s justification.
“We have families, we have children, we have mortgages to pay and we are pursuing advanced degrees,” explained Prause. “That is why we are expecting the pay rate that is marketable.” Stefon Napier, the administrative coordinator for GPSA, felt the same. “Most people aren’t going to agree to work for $8.50 when they’re working for an advanced degree or they’ve already had prior experience,” Napier said. Owl Radio which streams online and in the Breezeway lost three positions when it was handed a 17 percent cut, which surprised Sargeant. “I was shocked to see [Owl Radio get cut], because radio is already a skeletal crew as it is.” The University Press also lost 11 of its 15 paid positions with the 54 percent proposed cut.
Largest Budget Cuts Organization
Percentage Cut
Money Lost
Student Government Senate Contingency*
99.4%
$106,912
Student Government Senate
85.6%
$5,949
Student Government Vice President’s Projects
59.2%
$7,455
University Press
54.1%
$52,548
Owl TV
50.7%
$63,553
Student Involvement- Broward
43.4%
$42,081
Student Government President Executive Projects
40.5%
$41,274
Diversity Award Training
29.2%
$16,792
Student Government Banquet
25%
$2,000
Graduate & Professional Student Association
24.9%
$66,697
Owl Radio
17.3%
$13,569
Traditions Projects
16.1%
$19,017
*The Senate contingency account will be funded by money that is not spent this year.
Casey Martin is Vice President and chair of the UBAC, which was tasked with cutting $500,000 from the requested budgets made by student organizations. Photo by Jessica Wilkerson
Despite the cuts to paid positions, the UBAC members initially seemed supportive of preserving student employment. “We expand $400,000 to programs in Student Media, but we also spent about the same on salaries,” Hartmann said, criticizing the amount going to nonstudent adults. “I’d rather see the money going to student positions.” He also questioned the number of full-time positions in the Office of Fraternity & Sorority Life and the number of people advising Student Government. None of the accounts questioned for having too many advisers took a cut to the salaries and benefits expense line. The only cut to salaries and benefits made by the UBAC was $42,000 to the Student Involvement program on the Davie campus. This has Napier, also a former member of the UBAC, question recent changes to the system. “I think we had a good 15 [members] if I’m not mistaken?” Napier recalled. “I think they made it smaller to try and save on time, because it’s a long process.” This year’s deliberation meeting to allocate the entire budget took eight hours, running until 1:30 a.m., but only had four voting members present. In the past, the same meeting ran 14 hours. Last years group was more dillegent, according to Napier. “One of the things we did was we went to every office, including this one, and we asked questions,” he said. “It was interesting to see how this UBAC was a lot smaller [and] didn’t have those same conversations as the last UBAC.” Unlike last year — when each organization had to present, only a select few were called in to be asked additional questions about their programs, but the time allowed wasn’t enough to paint the whole picture explained Prause with GPSA. “When we have the presentation at the UBAC, it’s only five minutes, we cannot show everything we do. We can’t explain what is going on, we can not show the massiveness of travel we are processing.” Last year’s UBAC was faced with an even bigger challenge when it had to mandate a 15 percent cut across all organizations. The change to the structure in the UBAC came over the summer. The student senate removed some of its legislators and took the House of Representatives out of the UBAC. They were replaced with the chief financial officer, three campus treasurers and three campus budget chairs. The proposed budget still needs to be approved by Student Body President Kathryn Edmunds, Vice President of Student Affairs Corey King and University President John Kelly.
2.9.2016 University Press 11
Opinion
Rome, Italy. Photo by Andrew Fraieli
C
ulture shock is addictive, as is traveling. But not addictive as in “I just discovered Adderall during finals week and I’m never taking a test without it now,” more like “I just traveled to a different country and realized that there are other ways of living and it’s amazing.” Last summer I lived in Rome for two weeks with a friend. Taking about 30 hours in total, I took a fourhour bus ride from Rhode Island to New York City, an eight-hour flight to Moscow, with a six-hour delay until my two-hour connecting flight to Rome, closing with an hour-long ride from the airport to the city center where my friend lived. For two weeks I lived the daily life of an Italian in Rome (minus the speaking Italian part) and finally felt free. Half of college in the U.S. consists of taking classes in small rooms with fluorescent lighting day in and day out — having the same routine of waking up too early 12 2.9.2016 University Press
for classes, eating the same cheap food, taking tests to see how well you memorized something and seeing the same buildings over and over. If you couldn’t tell by now it makes me feel trapped and kills my motivation in general — call it my “midcollege-degree crisis.” If you’re feeling the same, how should you fix this? You run. Far, far, away. I’ve always had an itch that could only be scratched by traveling far from home, home being Rhode Island and far being Maine. Then, from Rhode Island to New York, Rome, Nice and Moscow in one fell swoop. Almost everything I’ve done since visiting Europe has been part of an effort to find a way to make enough money to keep traveling and living like I did those two weeks. Traveling will help you learn things you can’t at college; you can only learn so much from being on a college campus.
You meet new people and discover new things about yourself, but two, three or four years in the same 1,500 square feet can take a toll on anyone’s mentality. Go to Rome and see how different day-today life is. Or just go somewhere you’ve never been — Texas, Chicago, anywhere. Many people don’t explore past their comfort zone, be it their hometown, state or country. But doing so can give you tremendously d i f f e r e n t experiences and change what you want to do in life. From being an accountant to a scientist, to traveling the world. You may take a trip from Florida to, say, Boston and fall in love with the city. Every moment after, you’ll just be itching to go back, looking for an excuse. Or you may visit and befriend a homeless person outside the subway station and find a new path in life: To help those in need. It sounds like a draft for a Hallmark movie screenplay, but you really do get a substantially different perspective of the world from travel. It can help spur motivation to finish your degree and make you realize why you wanted it in the first place. The friend I stayed with in Rome? She’s currently teaching English at a college near the city center. I bet your first thought is she got a degree in teaching, knows Italian and lucked out, right? Wrong. She visited Rome for one week, loved it and decided to go there for a summer. She spoke very little Italian and had just enough money to stay for three months. One day she met someone who recognized that she spoke English and was from the U.S. Just so happens, the person worked for a nearby college and was looking for an English speaker. Soon after, she dropped out of college in New England, moved to Rome and hasn’t left since. She can afford her own food and studio apartment in the equivalent of the middle of New York City while teaching English in the most traversed city in Europe. Anything can happen when you travel far and wide.
Earth. Photo courtesy of NASA
Travel Cheap and Have Fun Tips and tricks to travel far on a budget For travelers who need to make sleeping arrangements, Couchsurfing — a social media website — has your back. You send a message to someone who’s “hosting” and if they agree, then you’ve got a couch to sleep on for the night and a new friend. Finding cheap flights is a bit difficult. Google Flights is good at finding the cheapest flights around the time frame you give it, however, cheap is a subjective term. Five hundred dollars is obnoxiously cheap for a flight to Rome, but ridiculous for a flight to Los Angeles. Wait until about a month before you’d want to leave to get the cheapest flight if you’re going overseas. Don’t be afraid to have the trip take a while either — mine took around 30 hours but I saw New York for the first time and met tons of people on the way.
Nice, France. Photo by Andrew Fraieli
2.9.2016 University Press 13
Protecting The Nest After making the NCAA regional tournament for the first time since 2006, softball will try to keep its spot as one of the top teams in the NCAA.
Story by Brendan Feeney
Kylee Hanson stares down the plate before delivering a pitch last season. Photo courtesy of FAU Athletics 14 2.9.2016 University Press
E
xpectations have never been higher for Florida Atlantic softball than they are heading into the 2016 season. The Owls will begin this season as the favorites to win the Conference USA championship, as voted by the conference’s coaches. They received 141 of the poll’s 144 possible points. “It makes me feel good, like we’re ready for the season to start,” said sophomore shortstop Emily Lochten. “We ended hard last year. It was tough losing to Western [Kentucky] and University of Florida, but I feel like we’re more prepared this year for those teams than we were last year.” Lochten was one of three Owls to gain preseason recognition as she and senior outfielder Christina Martinez were named to Conference USA’s 2016 Softball Preseason Team. “It’s just a crazy feeling,” said Martinez. “It’s a great accomplishment to know my hard work has paid off and our team’s hard work has paid off, that we’re getting acknowledged for all the great things we’ve done last season and how much we’ve improved.” The third player to receive that honor was also named Conference USA’s Preseason Pitcher of the Year, junior Kylee Hanson. However, Hanson has an opposite view of the recognition compared to her teammate. “Doesn’t matter ‘til the postseason,” said Hanson, who is looking for her team to improve on last year’s successful season, which ended after a 1-0 loss at the hands of the Florida Gators, the eventual national champions, in an NCAA Regional. It was the first time the team reached the regional tournament since 2006. “It ended great,” said head coach Joan Joyce, reflecting on last year’s season. “We would like to have won the game, but I mean we gave them a really good battle for sure. Word on the street had it that they were shaking in their boots.” The team made it to the tournament thanks to an at-large bid, a tournament invitation for 32 teams who are unable to win their respective conference championship, after losing to Western Kentucky in the Conference USA championship. Preseason predictions pegged them as the third-best team in the conference entering last season. “They’re stronger, faster, they are not going to let anybody beat them,” Joyce said regarding the team’s loss. “That is their mentality right now.” Coach Joyce feels that her pitchers are a major reason why FAU is the conference’s team to beat. “All the teams in our conference are no slouches and we’ve been picked No. 1, and I think it’s basically because of our pitching staff,” said Joyce. “Our pitching staff is better than all of the pitching staffs [in the conference].” Hanson and junior Amanda Wilson return with the team’s two lowest ERAs from last year’s pitching staff that blew away the rest of Conference USA in ERAs a season ago, at 1.84. The next two closest teams registered team ERAs of 2.16 and 2.69, respectively. Prior to last season, Owls’ recent graduate Samantha Messer was dubbed Preseason Pitcher of the Year, helping Hanson sit below the radar entering the season. Messer finished the season with the Owls’
third-lowest ERA, behind Hanson and Wilson. “Kylee and Amanda were under 2.00 [ERA] so it made Sam look like she didn’t know what she was doing last year, but that wasn’t the case. Sam did an excellent job for us,” Joyce said. Hanson said she feels no pressure now that the expectations are on her shoulders coming into 2016. Her coach holds the same beliefs. “I think Kylee will handle it just fine,” said Joyce. “Probably the best pitcher we’ve had here was Nikki Myers,” continued the coach. Myers was a finalist for the 2002 Softball National Player of the Year, and a two-time Second Team All-American. “I think Kylee is almost to Nikki’s level. She’s looked really good the whole year. When we had the break at Christmas, Kylee was ready …. [She] spotted the ball so well in the fall. I think that the addition of her learning how to throw the low riseball last year was what made her so much better, because [hitters] stay off of her high one. And then she’ll go to the dropball to the curveball and screwball all in the same place and now [hitters] don’t know what to expect.” Joyce is also confident that the rest of her pitchers will be able to handle any situation thrown at them on days Hanson and Wilson can’t control the rubber. She believes this pitching staff has the potential to be one of the greatest FAU has ever witnessed. “In having three or four pitchers, I think this could be one of our best,” said the coach. Joyce continued praising her star pitchers’. “I couldn’t believe it, I told them, throw a screwball on the outside corner. On the outside corner. Throw a rise ball high and in, high and in. I wish they were this ready on the 12th of Feb.” The barrier that the Owls will have to break through for a championship season will be on offense. Last season they had the eighth highest team batting average out of 12 teams in Conference USA. However, they were able to manufacture runs utilizing a small-ball offense, and score the third-most runs in the conference behind the second-most steals and most sacrifice hits. “We’re going to play the same game we’ve always played,” said Joyce. “We are going to be aggressive, we’re going to make the other teams play …. If we can score three runs we’ll win a lot of ball games.”
“Mia Olsen will be and should be one of our strongest hitters on our team, When we’re doing batting practice, she’s hit them over the palm trees here.”
Head coach Joan Joyce
Junior pitcher Kylee Hanson was named Conference USA’s Preseason Pitcher of the Year. Photo by Brendan Feeney 2.9.2016 University Press 15
Leading the offensive attack will be Lochten — who led the team with a .354 batting average as a freshman — and Martinez, who recorded a team-high 71 hits. Coach Joyce believes that another year of training will absolutely make Lochten a better player coming into this season. “Emily worked really hard last year, she came in obviously with a lot of talent,” said Joyce. “Had she been taught a whole lot? Probably not. I just think the things that she learned last year has made her better than what she already was. And believe me, she was pretty good coming in. You just watch her play and you’re just ‘wow, wow!’ with the plays she makes.” “She’s going to be a whole lot more confident and each year she should get better,” continued the coach. “I think Emily could be one of the best players in the country.” Joyce continued to rave about her players, highlighting Martinez’s versatility as a player. “She’s been one of our leaders every single year with her hitting,” Joyce said. “She’s not only just a good hitter, but her on-base percentage is so good, and she’s fast and she’s a good baserunner. She really does it all.” “You look at her and think ‘this kid, we don’t have to worry about her.’ But you know if you’re not careful with her she’s going to knock it to the fence on you, then the next time up she’s going to put down a bunt, next time up she’s going to put a little slap down, and next thing you know, she has three hits and you haven’t blinked your eyes yet.” Martinez — and her twin sister Melissa who led the team with six home runs a season ago — will be two of the team’s senior leaders in 2016. “I feel like I lead more by example,” said Christina Martinez. “Our team is very balanced, we have a lot of vocal leaders and we have a lot that lead by example and we work really well together.” The seniors on this year’s roster have seen the team improve every year they’ve played, beginning in 2013 when the team won 28 games, 13 more than the previous season. The Owls have backed that improvement with 33 wins in 2014, and 39 a season ago. Christina Martinez believes that the team’s chemistry has a direct correlation with the team’s success. “We all love each other so much more every year that comes,” said the senior. “These freshmen, we love them so much, we’ve taken them in and made them feel so comfortable. It’s really helped our team chemistry and the way we work together on the field.” Coach Joyce has also taken notice of this year’s crop of freshmen, saying there are three or four of them that can “easily come in and take the place” of recent graduates Laura Mann and Lindsey Shell. The freshmen include Madisyn Palmer and Katie Flanagan, infielders Ashtin Strickland, Lauren Whitt, Carolyn Rosa and Samantha Lageyre, and utility players Summer Damiano and Mia Olson. Olson and Strickland are also expected to pitch this season. Whitt may become the starting first baseman for the Owls. Palmer, according to Joyce, is the fastest player 16 2.9.2016 University Press
Pitcher Amanda Wilson (right) follows through on a pitch during a game last year. Photo courtesy of FAU Athletics
to ever set foot on FAU’s softball field. But the major freshman focus will be on Olson. Olson, the team’s No. 4 pitcher, “will be and should be one of our strongest hitters on our team,” Joyce said. “She’s a legit home run hitter. When we’re doing batting practice, she has hit them over the palm trees here. She could be a major hitter for us.” The Owls will open up their season with a doubleheader when they host Southern Illinois University Edwardsville and Hofstra University in the 2016 FAU Kick-Off Classic. This season will have plenty of tough matchups as well. In March they will take on Oregon, the No. 6 team in the nation. One week after that game, the Owls will face the No. 14 team in the nation, University of Minnesota, three days before taking on No. 17 Univeristy of Central Florida. They will not get their rematch with the reigning conference champions Western Kentucky until April
30, but the Owls are not looking that far ahead, yet. “One game at a time,” said Hanson. But she did add, “I hope we’re not going to wait for an at-large bid this year, hopefully we’re going to make it on our own [by winning the conference championship].” Expectations are high, but after losing last year’s conference championship and returning most of their players, the Owls are ready for the new season. “We don’t expect too much from each other,” said Lochten. “We just have fun, do our jobs on the field, off the field.”
Next Owl Up: Previewing FAU Baseball’s 2016 Season The Owls look to replace the five players they lost in last year’s MLB Draft. Story by Brendan Feeney Photos by Max Jackson
Redshirt senior Devon Carr was voted captain by his teammates. 18 2.9.2016 University Press
F
lorida Atlantic baseball coach John McCormack sat back and smiled last June, watching as five of his players received the call that would be the start of their professional baseball careers. Now, eight months later, those same phone calls have created uncertainty heading into the 2016 season. McCormack must replace outfielders Brendon Sanger — the reigning Conference USA Player of the Year — and Roman Collins, as well as three of his best pitchers from a season ago: Kyle Miller, Drew Jackson and Seth McGarry. Like the quintet of draftees, last year’s captains Ricky Santiago and Bo Logan are no longer on the team after graduating in 2015. Sanger, Collins and Santiago led a lineup that topped Conference USA in the most offensive categories a season ago, including batting average, slugging percentage, on-base percentage, runs scored, RBIs, hits, doubles, triples and walks. “Last year was an exceptional year,” said McCormack. “You don’t find Sangers and Collins and Santiagos in many lineups nowadays with the draft, with guys signing out of high school.” Without many of the players that helped make last year’s playoff run possible, the Owls now have to replace multiple spots coming in to 2016. “Offensively there’s going to be a little bit of a challenge,” explained McCormack. “We are going to need some guys to step up. That’s the one thing going into the year that the offense, we’re concerned on how it’ll present itself once we start playing. Senior pitcher Brandon Rhodes is not as fearful of an offensive drop off as his coach is. “[The offense] was great last year,” Rhodes said. “The guys that we lost definitely contributed a lot, like Sanger, Ricky and Roman. But the guys we have replacing them have shown just as much potential as all of them.” Shortstop C.J. Chatham has definitely garnered the most attention on the team, as he was named to Louisville Slugger’s Preseason All-American Third Team as well as Conference USA’s Preseason Player of the Year. According to McCormack, Chatham will have to move up from fifth to third in the batting order. “I think he can handle it. He’s a very good player. He understands the game, he understands himself.” “In these situations, you worry that the player is going to do too much. You worry that C.J.’s going to look in the mirror and say ‘okay, I’m the Preseason Player of the Year, I’m a Preseason All-American, I have to be great,’ opposed to him just being himself.” McCormack thinks Chatham will be able to handle everything just fine. “Just be you, do C.J. Don’t try to do anything else,” the coach told his shortstop. The highly touted junior seems to have taken McCormack’s message to heart. “It’s nice, that other coaches have that respect for me,” said Chatham. “But you can’t really look into any of the preseason stuff, it’s all about what you do in the season. I have to do it during the spring.” Chatham will no doubt be comfortable on the field
Senior outfielder Christian Dicks led the Owls with eight home runs a season ago.
“Playing with him [Stephen Kerr] has been unbelievable,” “To have someone like that, whether he goes in the hole and backhands a ball, flips it, the possibilities are endless.” C. J. Chatham, junior, shortstop
knowing his double-play partner will be at his side for yet another season. Junior second baseman Stephen Kerr has been playing with Chatham since the two played on the same summer team after their sophomore year in high school. That team, the South Florida Elites, won the 2011 16U Perfect Game Summer National Championship. The two share more than just the middle of the infield: Both were born on Dec. 22, 1994. “Playing with him has been unbelievable,” said Chatham. “To have someone like that, whether he goes in the hole and backhands a ball, flips it, the possibilities are endless.” Kerr made a play last season that appeared on Sports Center’s Top 10 Plays after occurring in the fourth inning of an April 12 game last season when the team hosted Florida International University. In the play, a high chopper bounced toward Kerr who jumped, caught the ball at his highest reach, transferred it to his throwing hand and threw it to first base, recording the out. All before landing back on his feet. “The best is in practice, I think … I see it all the time, in practice. It’s unbelievable the stuff he does,” Chatham said. On top of his stellar defensive ability, Kerr possesses a versatile offensive skill set which has allowed him to hit leadoff for the Owls since the beginning of his collegiate career. “He’s a good player, he sets the table for us,” McCormack said. “He’s been in that leadoff spot since his first game as a freshman, he kind of gets in the [batter’s] box and makes it go for us.” However, compared to Chatham, Kerr’s offseason was relatively quiet. “Kerr does kind of get overshadowed because of C.J., and Kerr’s really had a really good two-year career so far,” explained McCormack. Chatham was not the only Owl to receive preseason recognition though, as senior first baseman Brett Lashley was named to Conference USA’s Preseason Team. Lashley, who hit .275 a season ago, is another player who will have to step up for this year’s team to be successful. Chatham feels he’s ready. “He does everything well,” said the shortstop. “He’s a team guy. He does whatever the coaches ask him, whatever position, he’s down for it. And he’s a leader too. He’s going to have a great year.” Chatham shared that same confidence when he spoke about his team’s pitching staff, and more specifically pitching coach Jason Jackson, who holds the task of replacing the team’s top three starters from last season. “Coach Jackson is a head coach at any other school, and you never worry about pitching here, he’s going to get it done,” said Chatham. “He’s really strict on [the pitchers], making sure they’re doing the right thing, and yeah, we’ll be fine with pitching.” Rhodes faces the task of being the team’s ace, but said that he feels good about it entering the season. “I think we’ll be alright,” said Rhodes, agreeing with Chatham. “I think we have a lot of talented guys that 2.9.2016 University Press 19
will carry us and [the losses of Miller, Jackson and McGarry] won’t affect us as much as people think it will.” When asked about his pitching staff, McCormack made quick note of Rhodes, junior Sean Lasban, sophomore David McKay and sophomore newcomer Marc Stewart, who transferred from Hillsborough Community College. The coach then immediately turned the page back to his lineup. “The pitching I’m not as concerned about as the offense,” said McCormack. “We might struggle early until we find the right combination, but we’ll find it.” Chatham held opposite views of the offense he will be leading. “A lot of our guys from last year, it was their first year,” said Chatham. “After you have that one year under your belt, the next year is a world’s difference and I think we have a lot of experience coming back, and a lot of proven guys that are going to have huge years. I think maybe better [than last season], but we’ll be fine hitting wise.” When asked where he felt his team will be at the end of the season, Chatham didn’t hesitate. “In Omaha, for sure.” Omaha, Nebraska, hosts the College World Series at the end of every season.
“I think we have a lot of talented guys that will carry us and [the losses of Miller, Jackson and McGarry] won’t affect us as much as people think it will.”
Key Games
FEB. 19 - Opening Day - Owls play a
doubleheader to start their season in Mississippi, taking on South Dakota State and Mississippi State.
Brandon Rhodes, senior, pitcher
FEB. 26 - Home opener - Owls host Long
Island University Brooklyn in their first home game of the season.
MARCH 2 - St. Louis Cardinals - Owls take
on Major League Baseball’s St. Louis Cardinals in Jupiter, Florida. “That’s going to be a great experience for our guys,” said McCormack. “The Cardinals do such a great job at treating our guys like big leaguers for the day.”
MARCH 22 - Florida Gators - The Owls travel
to Gainesville to challenge the No. 1 team in the nation, according to Baseball America’s online news. Gators’ pitcher A.J. Puk is in the race for the top overall pick in this year’s MLB Draft.
MARCH 30 - Miami Hurricanes - The No. 6
ranked Miami Hurricanes visit Boca Raton for the first of two matchups of the season.
MAY 13 - Rice Owls - A weekend series begins
on May 13 between Rice University and FAU, who were picked to finish the season as the conference’s top-two teams, respectively. When asked what game he was most looking forward to, Rhodes said, “Probably the Rice series. It’s been pretty rough the past couple years, but I think we can handle them this year.” According to Chatham, “We got it now.”
Junior shortstop C.J. Chatham is greeted at the plate by thensenior outfielder Brendon Sanger (23) during the Owls’ 5-3 win over the Miami Hurricanes on Feb. 18, 2015. 20 2.9.2016 University Press
Safety School Of the students accepted into Florida Atlantic, two-thirds decide to enroll elsewhere — leaving classrooms a little more empty. Story by Amanda Hicks Photo by Patrick Martin
M
aking friends during your college tour at Florida Atlantic might not be the best idea since fewer than 1 in 3 students accepted into the university actually choose to enroll. According to a U.S. News & World Report list, only 25 out of 265 public universities examined could claim that more than half the students they accepted chose to attend. FAU only had 31 percent of their admitted students enroll, ending up with one of the lower percentages on the list. The data was collected from the fall 2014 semester and included only first-time, first-year, degree-seeking students. Taking the No. 25 spot was Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University, where 50.4 percent of the students accepted enrolled, followed by the University of Florida in the 26th spot with 49.9 percent. Lynn University, Nova Southeastern University and the University of Miami had even lower percentages on the list. Barry University in Miami was No. 257 with only 13.2 percent of its accepted students enrolling. Why are students who get accepted into these south Florida schools choosing not to attend? With 30,000 students attending FAU — which came 22 2.9.2016 University Press
in at No. 152 — the student-to-teacher ratio is 25:1. All of the schools at the top of the list had a smaller student-to-teacher ratio than FAU. FAU President John Kelly has a new 10-year plan underway to improve enrollment. Under the “Boldness” category — one of the six categories of his plan — Kelly states his goals to “develop and implement a comprehensive enrollment and management strategy.” This strategy for the plan includes expanding the traditional student recruitment region beyond south Florida, increasing the number of National Merit Scholar Finalists and Semifinalists and improving admission standards through “high quality selectivity.” In the first year of the new plan, the average incoming freshman GPA was higher than the year prior. The midrange GPA for admitted students in fall 2014 ranged from 3.44 to 4.19 and in fall 2015 was between 3.52 and 4.24. However, midranges for both the SAT and ACT were lower for incoming freshmen in fall 2015 than fall 2014. “If President Kelly wants to make admission standards higher, an overall improvement of faculty
must be met,” said senior neuroscience and behavior major Ruben Zapata. Zapata says most of his classes consist of professors reading off vague powerpoints, only for students to be tested on more complex topics. “I’m being charged to attend a read-along,” he said. Zapata said the school also needs an overall improvement to their athletics. Victoria Kramer, a junior exercise science major, also mentioned that focusing on the football team would help FAU “tremendously.” She brings up former wide receiver, Lucky Whitehead, who now plays for the Dallas Cowboys. “If we saw more of that, it would draw more interest from future applicants,” Kramer said. “My grandpa used to say, ‘let other people do the bragging for you,’” she said. “So let our programs speak for themselves. Don’t waste money on advertisements, use it for upping our athletics and educational programs.” Another idea in Kelly’s plan to attract students is to market the school’s diversity. He states that he would like for the school to “become the national model for diversity of the student body.”
By the Numbers
College enrollment ranked nationally
Top Five School (state) 1. Harvard University (MA) 2. Brigham Young University (UT)
Students accepted 2,045 5,207
Enrollment fall 2014 1,654 4,072
5. University of Alaska Fairbanks
1,164
822
3. Stanford University (CA)
4. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Bottom Five
261. Fordham University (NY)
262. University of the Pacific (CA) 263. Hofstra University (NY)
264. St. John’s University (NY) 265. Drexel University (PA)
Florida Schools
25. Florida A&M University 26. University of Florida
2,145 1,447
2,258
27,883
2,795
8,335
16,258
36,088
4,229
152. Florida Atlantic University
153. University of South Florida
252. Florida Institute of Technology
In 2014, 47 percent of students attending Florida Atlantic belonged to an ethnic minority group. In recent years, the school has welcomed students from more than 180 countries, according to the FAU campus visitors guide. Harvard University was No. 1 on the list with 80.9 percent of its accepted students attending — along with a higher diversity rate than FAU. In fact, Harvard has more ethnic-minority classified students than it has white students. Then again, the No. 2 school in the study, with 78.2 percent of its applicants deciding to enroll, was Brigham Young University in Utah — which is 83.4 percent white and one of the least diverse schools in
9,867
13,285 5,278
70.6%
11.5%
8.1%
3,013
137. University of West Florida
72.1%
2,928
1,714
8,380
16,763
78.2%
11.1%
1,237
13,111
Yield 80.9% 78.2%
924
2,456
16,483
107. Florida State University
1,043
19,685
80. University of Central Florida
106. Florida International University
1,678
Source: U.S. News & World Report list
10.5% 10%
50.4%
6,537
49.9%
6,021
35.9%
6,467 1,371 3,060 4,116 771
the country. “While diversity is huge here at FAU, I doubt it is even a top five reason why a student chooses a university,” said senior psychology/sociology double major Mario Sobrino. “ I have found that the best thing FAU has to offer is its professor-to-student communication.” Even in classes containing hundreds of students, Sobrino feels that his voice is always heard: Teaching assistants are open to questions and professors are willing to meet during office hours. “This should be the focus moving forward,” he said. “The opportunity to share time with professors and succeed without sacrificing quality or loads of money for a private university that offer these benefits.”
39.2% 36%
32.4% 31% 31%
14.6%
“We’re slowly trying to move away from the commuter school scene and that simply takes time,” he said. “I can’t wait to look back at FAU in 10 years and see how much has changed.”
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