01-08-17 by USF Oracle

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news

UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA

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Campus Publix gets approval to break ground

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Genshaft receives $227,175 stipend

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The announcement of an on-campus Publix came in 2015 and a section of parking Lot 16 has been closed off for work to get started. SPECIAL TO THE ORACLE

By Maria Ranoni NEWS EDITOR

System President Judy Genshaft has been at USF for 18 years and is currently on one-year extension contracts. ORACLE FILE PHOTO/JACKIE BENITEZ By Miki Shine E D I T O R

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The USF Board of Trustees (BOT) voted in early December on System President Judy Genshaft’s end of year stipend, awarding her $227,175 total. Genshaft’s contract states that in addition to her base salary, which is $505,873 under her current contract that ends at the completion of the spring semester, she can be awarded a performancebased stipend. This year, some of her goals included the continued growth of university research, generate funding, progress toward the Florida Performance Based

Funding metrics that include freshman retention rate and 6-year graduation rate and completion of a new USF System Strategic Plan. The BOT Governance committee, chaired by Trustee Jordan Zimmerman, is responsible for allocating 70 percent of the stipend. At the December meeting, the BOT voted to award her 95 percent, or $184,800, of that allotment. The other 30 percent of the stipend is controlled by BOT chair Brian Lamb, of which he awarded her 95 percent, or around $78,375. Between the two, Genshaft received around $227,175 of the $275,000 the

BOT could have awarded her. “We’ve got to continue to get this right,” Lamb said. “I’m very pleased and excited about where we are. I’m very pleased with your (Genshaft’s) willingness to listen to feedback and respond to challenges and lead this university through difficult time.” Last year, she received a stipend of $168,875 out of a possible $175,000. Then, the Governance committee awarded her 95 percent of its portion of the stipend, and Lamb awarded her the full $52,500 of the stipend which he oversaw.

Construction of the on-campus Publix has begun making progress. The area on which the 28,000-square feet Publix will sit has been blocked off, and announcements have been made to the student body that traffic may be impacted. According to the USF’s facilities management website, the west portion of Lot 16 has been closed since Dec. 11 and temporary lane closures may occur. The university made an agreement with Publix in late 2015 for a 20 year stay on campus with six potential fiveyear renewals which could possibly increase the total stay to 50 years. Publix will pay USF $130,000 every year to rent the land on the corner of Fletcher Avenue and North Palm Drive, resulting in USF having no financial obligation. This location was originally expected to be completed in late 2017, but there were delays in the construction for undisclosed reasons.

This would be among the first Publix’s to be built on a university campus and seems to be favored among students since the initial announcement. It will sit on about three acres of land on USF’s campus. Other locations of similar size usually employ about 130 full- or part-time employees who are able to receive stock options, quarterly bonuses and tuition reimbursement of up to $3,200 a year for select courses. Publix said they would hold at least two job fairs every year on campus in an effort to employ students. In a voicemail, Brian West, the media and community relations manager for Publix, said construction should be starting soon. “My latest report shows the permit have been obtained for that location,” West said. “Construction should be about to begin on that location.” However, an official construction start date has not been determined.

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lifestyle

Students look to use new year as a positive UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA

By Andrea Martin S T A F F

The last ten seconds of the year can be one of the most stressful moments of the whole year. Sitting in the living room, surrounded by family and friends, anxiously watching the perfectly snuggled reporters counting down the ball drop in New York City can set in some panic. In a Cuban household, one can take these ten seconds to mentally prepare as when for the clock strikes midnight it is the time to scarf down twelve grapes — while making a wish on each one — and making rounds in the house to kiss every family member on the cheek. For others, the simple notion of “New Year, New Me,” holds a daunting feeling and the realization of having 10 seconds to come up with new habits and new traits. Mikael Garcia-Dominguez, a senior majoring in broadcast journalism, has decided to take a different approach to his New Year’s Resolutions. “Well, contrary to previous years, my New Year’s resolution actually has to do with other people more than it does with myself,” GarciaDominguez said. “As soon as the clock hit 12, I promised myself that I would love and help others as much as I can in any way possible.” In a country that faced an intense year of strife between two political parties, Garcia-

Dominguez is looking to appreciate others more. “This doesn’t necessarily mean feeding the homeless or helping an old lady cross the street, but rather something as simple as complementing a stranger or paying for someone’s food if I can,” Garcia-Dominguez said. “I figured that with all of the chaos going on in the world, I could make someone’s day or even life much better. I genuinely think that the smallest gesture can have the biggest impact on someone’s life. That’s the kind of person I’m striving to be in 2018.” Sometimes, in those last ten seconds of year, some lucky ones out there feel a sense of peace. Jasmine Sanchez, a freshman majoring in public health, normally doesn’t put pressure on herself to reinvent in the new year. “Honestly, I don’t believe in New Year’s resolutions because a person shouldn’t convince themselves that the beginning of a new year should instantly change their mindset or initiate a change in their lifestyle,” Sanchez said. “A change should be something that you think of constantly and that you’re putting into action day-by-day.” To Sanchez December 31 closes out 365 days of experiences and welcomes 365 more. “If I were to have any New Year’s resolutions, it would

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be to grow as an individual,” Sanchez said. “I want to become more open-minded and give more love to others around me. I grew up in a town that gave me a constricted way of viewing many things. Once I came to USF, I learned that not everything has to be one way. This has been a new resolution that I have learned to do over the past couple of months, but I will put more effort into doing so since the new year has started.” Then there are the times when as one watching the sparkling disco ball descends, it resonates that now is the time to do better and to not repeat last year’s mistakes. Kevin Castro, a freshman majoring in information security, made a pledge to be a safer driving in 2018. “My New Year’s resolution is to stop texting while I’m driving,” Castro said. “I saw a commercial about a man who was driving, started texting and ended up killing a kid. I don’t want to hurt anyone or myself because of a dumb mistake like picking up my phone.” With any resolution, if a plan is not made to change the behavior then the goals continues to be just a goal. “So instead of leaving my phone on my lap, I have been putting it in my glove compartment, Castro said. “Out of my reach, I don’t have the urge to grab my phone.”

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opinion

UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA

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Offshore oil drilling is a major threat to US waterways By Samantha Moffett C O L U M N I S T

As 2017 came to a close, the new year was welcomed with great concern for coastal waterways across the U.S. Beach residents and environmental activists are fighting to keep offshore drilling away from beaches. The Donald Trump administration released a draft plan to open up nearly all waterways across the U.S. for oil and gas drilling, putting beach natives, tourismdependent economies and the environment at risk. While the fossil fuel industry met the plan with optimism and excitement, environmental organizations and beach residents are in opposition. The newly proposed oil drilling plan appears to be ignoring the voices of thousands of beach residents, environmental activists, coastal businesses and the many people involved in beach tourism economies. Protecting the nation’s resources and acknowledging the voices of Americans should be a main priority for policymakers. While the administration is implementing the plan in hopes to use our own country’s oil resources, policymakers must consider the preservation of our own natural areas and keeping tourism economies thriving. The New York Times reports the plan will make Pacific waters off of California, Atlantic

waters neighboring Maine and the Gulf of Mexico available for fuel extraction and oil drilling. The plan includes a total of 47 auctions. The U.S. Secretary of the Interior, Ryan Zinke, said this is the largest number of auctions ever proposed for oil drilling and this plan will make the U.S. an energy dominant nation. The administration’s plan is undoubtedly one of the most threatening for waterways to date. There has been nearly 9 million gallons of crude oil that has spilled into U.S. waterways since 2010, and 1,300 oil spills, as reported by Business Insider. If all 47 of the auctions takes place, more detrimental oil spills are inevitable. The plan was also met with proposed rollbacks of safety rules that were implemented in 2010 after the Deepwater Horizon oil rig disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, which killed 11 people and caused irreversible damage to ocean environments. The proposed rollbacks of these safety rules paired with the drilling plan would open up a door for inevitable catastrophes. When former president Barack Obama proposed the opening of coastal waterways for drilling, hundreds of thousands of Americans protested the idea and petitioned local, state and federal officials to say no to coastal drilling. The Atlantic and Arctic waters were therefore removed from a list

of potential oil drilling sites, and the Obama administration cited “significant potential conflicts with other ocean uses.” One of the areas that would take a major hit from this potential plan is the U.S. tourism industry. The tourism industry is one of the U.S.’ greatest contributors to the economy, bringing in over $1.2 trillion to GDP annually, as reported by Statista research company. Statista also predicts that number to double to $2.6 trillion by 2027. With the implementation of oil rigs and offshore drilling plans to many U.S. waterways, the popularity of many coastal attractions will undoubtedly decrease. “Oil and gas exploration is opposed by governors from New Jersey to Florida, nearly a dozen attorney generals, more than 100 U.S. lawmakers and the Defense Department,” as stated by the Washington Post. While the controversial plan is not yet finalized, it must be protested heavily if the beautiful coasts of the U.S. are to be maintained. Blatant disregard of public uproar is unacceptable, and protecting our country’s environment and natural resources should be of the utmost priority to policy makers. Samantha Moffett is a sophomore majoring in mass communications.

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What you said Sports Editor Josh Fiallo and Opinion Editor Samantha Moffett asked students how they prepared for the upcoming semester.

“I’m preparing myself mentally because this is my last semester here, so I’m just excited.” — Miraj Patel, a senior majoring in mechanical engineering.

“I’ve been drinking a lot of coffee.“ — Carley Moran, a freshman majoring in biomedical science.

“I’ve been applying for internships and researching the syllabi for my classes.” — Jorge Leon, a senior majoring in political economics.

“I’ve been studying all of the syllabi.” — Samantha Schwarz, a freshman majoring in integrative animal biology.

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Crossword

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Sports Bulls overmatched, routed by No. 1 Connecticut UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA

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Women’s Basketball

Men’s Basketball

Bulls fall to Wichita State in first ever clash By Josh Fiallo S P O R T S

Maria Jespersen and Kitija Laksa (above) entered Saturday’s tilt against UConn averaging the most points per game on the team. Against UConn, however, the two combined for a total of 9 points between them. THE ORACLE/MIKI SHINE By Josh Fiallo S P O R T S

E D I T O R

Perfection. If USF (12-4) wanted any chance to take down perennial women’s basketball giant No. 1 UConn (13-0) on Saturday night at the Sun Dome, it would have needed to be perfect, or at the least produce its best performance of the season. The Bulls leading scorers — winger Laura Ferreira, forward Maria Jespersen and guard Kitija Laksa — would have needed to have career games. Point guard Laia Flores, who is the AAC leader in assists by more than 30, would have needed to be clinical in getting the ball into the hands of those scorers. Lastly, the Bulls

would have needed to stop the Huskies’ high-powered offense that averages a nation-best 91.3 points per game. Instead of perfection for USF, however, UConn handled the Bulls with ease, just as they’ve have nearly every opponent in their 165-2 run that dates back to the beginning of the 2013-14 season. Laksa, Ferreira and Jespersen shot a combined 4-40 from the field, while Flores recorded just two assists. After trailing from wire-to-wire, USF fell to the Huskies 100-49 in front of a record home crowd of 6,659 — split between Huskies and Bulls fans. “Bottom line, we got our a** kicked today,” USF coach Jose

Fernandez said post-game. The domination started early for UConn, with the Huskies shooting 5-6 from the field to take an 11-2 lead less than three minutes into the game. The Huskies then continued their high level of scoring and effort throughout the game, scoring in triple digits for the first time ever at the Sun Dome after UConn knocked down a three-pointer with eight seconds to play in the game. “You even saw Kia (Nurse) diving on a loose ball, I think we were up thirty at the time,” UConn coach Geno Auriemma said of his team’s effort. “It’s kind of what we do. We don’t really play to the scoreboard.” While the Huskies

maintained their intensity despite the lopsided score, the Bulls did not, according to Fernandez. “Multiple efforts, charges, loose balls,” Fernandez said. “It’s a 35-40-point game and they came up with all of the extra effort plays. It didn’t matter what the scoreboard was for them.” Fernandez recalled effort being an issue toward the end of a loss to Oklahoma on Dec. 9, 2017 after Saturday’s loss as well. “Oklahoma played a lot harder than we did,” he said. “They (Oklahoma) took four-five charges and they competed.”

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E D I T O R

After winning three straight games entering conference play, USF men’s basketball has struggled to hang with conference opponents since, dropping its last four games by an average of 25 points. Their latest conference loss came at the hands of No. 9 Wichita State (13-2) on Sunday afternoon in Wichita, Kansas, falling to the Shockers and their season-best 62.7 percent shooting percentage from the field, 95-57. As he has for a majority of the season, projected NBA first round draft pick guard Landry Shamet led the way for the Shockers. Opposed to the rest of the season, however, Shamet did his damage with his seven assists opposed to scoring. “Two shots the whole game,” USF coach Brian Gregory told the Associated Press. “He (Shamet) don’t care. I mean, All-American, NBA first-round pick, and he doesn’t care about any of that. That’s because of the type of high-level program they’ve built.” As a team, the Shockers dished a season-high 28 assists against the Bulls (7-10) and nearly set a record for shooting percentage in a game, but finished the contest shooting 1-9 from the field, dropping their percentage from above 70 percent, to 62.7 percent. “We had 28 assists on 37 baskets,” Witchita State coach

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WOMEN’S

Continued from PAGE 21

USF post-player Alyssa Rader, who came off the bench to score a team-high 11 points against UConn, echoed her coach’s observation. “No matter who you’re playing, whether it be No. 1 or 300-something, I think you need to go out and play with as much effort as possible,” Rader said. “I think our team could’ve done a little better on the effort end (tonight). Every 50-50 ball, you have to get up the courage to go after the ball, dive for it, take a charge, stuff like that.” The loss was the Bulls’ worst since they fell to UConn 10044 in the AAC title game last season and brought their alltime record against the Huskies to 0-24. Playing a big part in their latest defeat was Nurse’s ability to hold Laksa, who entered the game averaging 21.5 points a game, to zero points on 11 shots, while guarding her in

man-to-man coverage. “That’s kind of a battle those two (Nurse and Laksa) have every time we play them,” Auriemma said. “It’s been like that now for three years and Kia is relentless when it comes to the defensive pressure she puts on people. I think Kit got a little bit frustrated, a little bit hurried, the shots weren’t the way she normally gets them.” Laksa and the Bulls will likely face the UConn two more times this season, once in the regular season finale on Feb. 26 and again in the conference championship game, if both teams reach the game as they have for the last three seasons. “They are the No. 1 team in the country, but actually it’s good for us to have them in our conference, so we have the opportunity to play them two, or hopefully three times,” Flores said. “That way we can learn from the best.”

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MEN’S

Continued from PAGE 21

Gregg Marshall said. “Look around college basketball, and you won’t see many teams getting 28 assists. I liked our ball movement.” With USF missing leading scorer Payton Banks, who missed the game with an illness, the Bulls struggled to produce points in the first half and entered halftime down 51-20. In the second half, the Bulls offense came back to life with 37 points in the period, but it was still far too little to mount a comeback against the Shockers, who scored 44 second-half points themselves. “I really like the way our guys competed in the second half,” Gregory said. “I thought we played much better. I thought we played much more composed. They were pressing with three and a half minutes left in the game, so it wasn’t like they weren’t playing hard until the last two minutes. I thought we played much better and made

USF has lost four straight games to open conference play, including a 95-57 defeat to Witchita State on Sunday. THE ORACLE/MIKI SHINE some shots.” In the absence of Banks, forward Malik Martin led the Bulls with a team-high 13 points and tied for a team-high with 5 rebounds in the defeat. “I thought Malik Martin gave us a big lift, great energy out there,”

Gregory said. “I challenged him. We need him to rebound a little better, but I like the way he played. I like his energy level.” The Bulls will return to action on Saturday, when No. 19 Cincinnati travels to the Sun Dome for a 7 p.m. tip-off.

Important things to note going into the semester

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By Miki Shine and Maria Ranoni available in the SG offices on E D I T O R S

SG applications for Senate and president open With the start of the new semester, Student Government (SG) is already looking at next school year. The application for Senate as well as student body president tickets open today. All Senate seats will be open and are split between the different colleges. Additionally the student body president and vice president positions will be available. Finally, students may be asked to vote on any SG constitutional amendments or referenda. The applications close on Feb. 2. Candidates will be able to start campaigning on Feb. 12, and voting is the week of Feb. 26. Applications to run are

the top floor of the Marshall Student Center. SG Court postpones trial of NPHC funding The SG court was scheduled to review the Senate’s decision to provide $113,500 in Activity and Services (A&S) fee money to the National PanHellenic Council (NPHC) to build representational plot on campus. The full project is expected to cost $397,500 with additional funding coming from the university and the NPHC. Student Body President Moneer Kheireddine has been supporting the NPHC representational plots with the argument that it will provide a spot for all student organizations to gather. Meanwhile, Logan Holland,

who ran for vice president against Kheireddine, filed for the court review with the claims referring to A&S funded items being available to all students, restrictions allocation to organizations that have mandatory dues and differential or discriminatory practices based on race or color. The trial was expected to happen at the end of the fall semester, but has been pushed back. Kheireddine said it should be rescheduled within the next couple weeks. Health official resigns due to accusations of misconduct In December, a notable USF Health official resigned after concerns he was giving unfair treatment to his assistant. According to the Tampa Bay Times (TBT), Dr. Edmund Funai was the subject of an internal

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investigation by the university as to whether he gave his assistant special treatment. He denied these allegations, and USF officials determined that he did not violate USF policy. USF System President Judy Genshaft said, aside from this controversy, Funai’s behavior had been “otherwise exemplary.” However, Genshaft said, “he lacked the judgement for senior leadership,” due to his resistance to the guidance the university offered. USF was first made aware of Funai and his assistant’s close relationship through an anonymous complaint describing the two’s travel and meals together. Ultimately, Funai decided to resign from his position where he made $613,498 a year to take a position at another university.

Former director receives settlement from school Samuel Bradley, who was terminated from his position as the director of communications in 2016, landed a settlement including $70,000 and turning his firing into a voluntary resignation, according to the TBT. Bradley was placed on leave after the Tampa Tribune released an article going over allegations of misconduct with students — including sexual relationships — when he was employed at Texas Tech University. USF reviewed the process that lead to Bradley’s initial hiring. The investigation concluded he should not have been hired in the first place, which lead to his final termination. Bradley has been fighting the decision since, but the settlement is expected to put the matter to rest.

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