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The Oracle T H U R S D AY, F E B R U A R Y 4 , 2 0 1 6 I V O L . 5 3 N O. 6 5

Inside this Issue

C O - N E W S

Barbie gets a makeover.

Page 5

Montage

S P ORTS Courtney Williams reaches 2,000 career points.

BACK

U N I V E R S I T Y O F S O U T H F LO R I DA

SG Senate approves divestment again USF totals

By Miki Shine

L I FE STYLE

w w w. u s fo r a c l e. co m

The Index

Opinion.......................................................4 Classifieds..............................................8 Lifestyle......................................................5 Crossword..........................................8 sports.........................................................12

E D I T O R

The Student Government (SG) Senate approved a new divestment resolution under a different categorization, which does not require the signatures of the executive branch leaders.

The new document, also called “In Support of Student Voices,” only requires signatures

by Senate President Kristen Truong and Senate President Pro Tempore Danish Hasan.

The resolution calls for the USF Foundation Board of Trustees to end investments in companies associated with human rights violations against the people of Palestine.

Though the Senate originally passed an identical resolution on Jan. 19, Student Body President Andy Rodriguez and Vice President Michael Malanga vetoed it, stating that it was not within the best interest of the student body.

During all discussions of the resolution, Hasan presided over the meeting because Truong

stepped down.

In an email to the Oracle, Truong explained the conflict of interest that led to her decision not to preside over any such dis-

“The reason this is getting so much heat is because it’s focusing on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and it’s taking a side whether it means to or not.”

Jesse Davidson SG senator and Vice President of the Student Board at Hillel

cussions.

“I recommended to remove the resolution and did not accept the motion to add a discussion to override the veto of JB [R] 56-008,” she wrote. “As Senate President and leader of the Legislative branch, I do not

believe that Senate is the proper forum to be discussing this topic.”

After failing to override the veto, Sen. Hala Alkattan presented a Senate resolution to the floor also titled “In Support of Student Voices” — written by herself and Sen. Muhammad Imam.

While this second resolution is identical to its predecessor, it’s new classification as a Senate resolution means that it doesn’t need to go through Malanga or Rodriguez in order to take effect.

“If 10,000 student voices doesn’t represent an accurate student voice, then what does?”

Sen. AlaEldean Elmunaier said during the meeting.

“Let it be known that this is the biggest petition of all the universities in Florida … this resolution is only a non-binding resolution to respectfully request the Foundation to create a transparency committee.”

This passed with a Senate vote of 32-15. However, members of the campus community are still speaking out against the resolu-

n See SENATE on PAGE 7

No more Laverne Laverne Cox, best known for her outspoken advocacy of transgender rights and her role on “Orange is the New Black,” had to cancel her University Lecture Series (ULS) appearance due to scheduling conflicts. Cox was cast as Dr. Frank-N-Furter on Fox’s reproduction of “The Rocky Horror Picture Show,” which will be filming during the scheduled lecture time. Cox apologized to the student body in a video posted to the Center for Student Involvement’s Facebook page. A ULS committee is currently in the process of finding a replacement for the spring lecture series.

SPECIAL TO THE ORACLE

18 on National Signing Day

ORACLE PHOTO/ADAM MATHIEU

By Jacob Hoag S P O R T S

E D I T O R

USF coach Willie Taggart and his staff can finally breathe a sigh of relief; the grueling recruiting process has come to an end and USF came out strong.

On Wednesday’s National Signing Day, the Bulls inked 15 players in addition to the three early enrollees, filling voids and adding depth all over the field.

“There’s not as many (signees) from a quantity standpoint, but quality-wise, I feel like this is one of our better recruiting classes overall,” Taggart said of his class, which ranked second in the AAC behind Houston.

n See SIGNING on PAGE 11

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USF takes stance against biased speech

By Grace Hoyte E D I T O R

I N

C H I E F

After a recent increase in the number and severity of complaints against on-campus regulars like the preachers outside Cooper Hall and the occasional anti-abortion displays, USF is taking a stand.

Rather than enacting a speech code on campus, the university has decided to establish a Bias Response Team that will enable students to report incidents that make them uncomfortable on campus and allow the university to respond appropriately.

“We’re public property. We’re a public institution. We are, in effect, government.” Vice President for Student Affairs Tom Miller said.

“The first amendment limits what government can do in terms of suppressing speech.”

Miller said a university should be a place where ideas are freely expressed, without shouting people down or other such tactics.

In an email to the entire student body, Miller said that while the university values freedom of speech

on every level, “it is certainly possible to express strong views without disparaging others.”

His email stated that the university will never suppress speech

USF has established a workgroup that is setting the norms for the Bias Response Team that will represent the university’s views on various topics. The University

“As much as we want students to learn material we teach in the classroom, we also want them to learn the ways to disagree and debate without drawing your gun.”

Tom Miller Vice President for Student Affairs

that is legally protected.

“I thought it was time for us to express ‘this is where the university stands on things,’” Miller said.

“There are values that the institution holds close. We value civility; we value respect.”

In response to complaints from students who are offended by the preachers and other incidences on campus, Miller has taken a page from several other university’s books.

of Florida (UF) has a similar program, and Miller’s counterpart in Gainesville, Anthony Desantis, said he’s glad USF isn’t starting from the bottom.

“I think it’s great; I’ve been very open in sharing information with the team down there,” Desantis said. “At any institution, when you start something new, it’s important to benchmark other schools — not re-invent the wheel.”

Like UF’s Bias Education and

Response Team, USF’s group will receive bias reports that would otherwise need to be filed with the police.

“We knew that (incidents) were occurring, but there wasn’t a place to report it,” Desantis said. “And there wasn’t means — ­ as a campus community — to address it, appropriately.”

He and his team created various committees tasked with establishing how any incident would be addressed, marketing the team and training staff.

Similarly, USF has created a workgroup to set a standard for responding to these complaints once the team is in effect.

Miller said the intention is to better prepare students to engage with one another peacefully.

“As much as we want students to learn material we teach in the classroom, we also want them to learn the ways to disagree and debate without drawing your gun,” Miller said. “I think there are ways in which the university is becoming kinder.

“It’s a good time to be at USF.”

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USF research team witnesses historic eruption

By Abby Rinaldi C O - N E W S

E D I T O R

For the first time since 1905, the Momotombo volcano in Nicaragua erupted in December 2015.

The eruption began on Dec. 1.

A team of USF researchers made it to the volcano on Dec. 6, and on Dec. 7, it exploded in front of them. These researchers are currently monitoring the recently active volcano using radar equipment and lava flow models.

“It got everybody’s attention,” Chuck Connor, a USF professor of geology, said.

The Dec. 1 explosion caused ash to rise one kilometer above the crater. From Dec. 1 to Dec 2 there was slow-moving lava flow and ejections of tephra, airborne accumulations of eruptive fragments, according to data from the Instituto Nicaraguense de Estudios Territoriales (INETER) and weekly reports by the Smithsonian Institution Global Volcanism Program.

INETER, whose volcano investigations are headed by USF alumnus Armando Saballos, is an agency of the Nicaraguan government that monitors the natural hazards that plague Nicaragua, such as volcanoes.

“This volcano has been inactive for a long time but it’s a big volcano,” Connor said. “Although 110 years sounds like a long time for us, it’s not that long a period of dormancy for a volcano.”

Momotombo has a violent past, having erupted shortly after the Spaniards arrived in Nicaragua in the 16th century and remaining active throughout the 19th century. It erupted in 1905 after another period of dormancy and then went quiet until 2015.

“It’s had signs of activity, intermittently,” Connor said. “The vents at the top of the volcano have always been pretty hot. We measure temperature of about 800 degrees (Celsius).”

However, it is hard to predict the eruption of a volcano,

n See VOLCANO on PAGE 7

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Opinion

UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA

the Oracle the University of South Florida’s student newspaper since 1966

Editor in Chief Grace Hoyte oracleeditor@gmail.com Managing Editor Adam Mathieu oraclemeditor@gmail.com News Editors Miki Shine Abby Rinaldi oraclenewsteam@gmail.com Sports Editor Jacob Hoag oraclesportseditor@gmail.com Opinion Editor Breanne Williams oracleopinion@gmail.com Lifestyle Editor Jasmin Faisal oraclelifestyleeditor@gmail.com Copy Editors Zach Lowie Isabelle Cavazos Graphic Artists Luke Blankenship Destiny Moore Advertising Sales Lauren Alford Alyssa Alexander Adriana Covate Destiny Moore Dylan Ritchey

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Essential new energy bill reliant on Senate collaboration Breanne Williams COLU M N I ST

Last week, the U.S. Senate began reviewing the first comprehensive energy bill since 2007.

This crucial bipartisan measure will address changes in the way the U.S. produces power and tackle necessary updates to oil and gas transportation systems.

Republicans and Democrats are actually working together to form a long overdue plan to increase environmental awareness. Since 2007, the U.S. has become the world’s leading manufacturer in oil and gas.

The use of wind and solar power is also on the rise, making major changes in the way we utilize energy. Even USF has taken up the call for environmental consciousness.

Just walk by the chemistry building and you’ll see umbrellas proudly displaying multiple solar panels.

There are recycling bins every few feet and USF even switched its graduation gowns to a line that is made from recycled bottles.

President Barack Obama has made it his mission in office to ensure the U.S. joins other firstworld countries in aiming for clean energy. He has implemented clean air regulations to replace coalbased power plants with alterative sources.

Energy conservation and an overall environmentally conscious lifestyle have become mainstream for a majority of Americans.

Recycling bins, reusable shopping bags and environmentally friendly methods of transportation are used regularly across the country.

However, a Gallup poll showed 48 percent of Americans believe the government is doing too little in terms of protecting the environment, and 51 percent believe the quality of the environment in the U.S. is getting worse.

It is obvious the environment and the U.S.’ role in its protection

are important to citizens. However, Obama has faced many challenges passing worthwhile policies on climate change due to partisan differences that shut down the majority of legislation he has sought to pass.

Politicians are more concerned with getting approval from their radical party members than creating effective change.

Now it seems change is finally going to happen. Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, the Republican chairwoman of the Energy Committee, and Sen. Maria Cantwell of Washington, the ranking Democrat of the same committee, co-sponsored the current bill.

That’s right. An influential Republican and a prominent Democrat are working together to push this meaningful legislation through. After months of hearings, the energy panel passed it to the floor with an 18-to-4 vote.

Now, it’s up to the Senate to ensure the bill is passed. Both Republicans and Democrats have the chance to add amendments to the bill, which will almost certainly lead to its demise.

Unfortunately, the men and women running the government usually don’t act like responsible adults while in session. Many will try to tack on irrational amendments to either get what they want or have the bill struck down.

Either way, they win, even if it’s detrimental to our country’s clean energy. While the Senate votes this week on the passing of the bill, it needs to remember its constituents desperately want positive change to happen.

Instead of dividing into two radical, opposing views, work together and find a compromise that will benefit the country without tacking on unnecessary amendments.

Finding senators who are willing to work together is a rarity in this polarized age of politics. Do your jobs and collaborate to pass this meaningful energy law.

Breanne Williams is a junior majoring in mass communications.

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What you said After learning some of the Iowa caucuses were decided with a coin flip, people began tweeting #BetterWaysToElectPOTUS to mock our election process. Opinion Editor Breanne Williams asked students what bizarre ways they would elect the president.

“An arm wrestling match would be really cool.”

- Nirma Kumarasiri, a sophomore majoring in psychology

“A joust. That would be super entertaining.”

- Nina Banhan, a senior majoring in international business

“A dance off.”

- Salman Ayub, a sophomore majoring in industrial engineering

“A taco-eating contest.”

- Caitlin Bowcock, a senior majoring in management

Lifestyle

UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA

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#TheDollEvolves: Changes coming to Barbie franchise

By Jasmin Faisal L I F E S T Y L E

E D I T O R

Throughout her 57 years of production, the Barbie’s iconic look has never changed: tall, thin, blonde and highly improbable. For years, the makers of Barbie have received criticism for their toy’s unrealistic representation of women.

But now, Barbie is getting a makeover with Mattel’s #TheDollEvolves campaign.

On Thursday, Mattel announced a new campaign that will change the face of Barbie. According to the company, the new Barbie Fashionistas line will offer a variety of different components for the dolls in order to embody diversity.

Currently, 22 eye colors, 24 hairstyles, seven skin colors and four varying body types — original, tall, curvy and petite — will be offered.

These dolls are currently sold exclusively at the Mattel Shop website with more on the way.

“This is radical because we are saying that there isn’t this narrow standard of what a beautiful body looks like,” Robert Best, a senior director of product design at Mattel, said in a video posted to the site.

Now girls can have a doll that resembles real-life women.

“They’re (the girls) seeing the differences amongst their friends and family being

celebrated,” Nicole Guice, a senior designer at Mattel said.

And the company said this is just the beginning.

Along with the makeover, Mattel plans to release new job types for the Barbie, including game developer, president and vice president, which will be available for purchase in the summer.

“I love the new Barbies,” Brittany Rossow, a junior majoring in mass communications said. “I’m glad they finally decided to make dolls that represent wo m e n in society.

“As a

little girl seeing what Barbies used to look like — skinny and blonde — it made me think I was supposed to look that way and made me conscious of the way I looked at a young age.”

Now, though, Rossow said the dolls promote the notion that girls of all body types are pretty.

And although Mattel’s campaign is definitely a step in the right direction, some continue to wonder if it’s enough.

Shortly after the release of these realistic bodies, people took to social media sites to demand a “dad bod Ken,” in

response to the new Barbie dolls. Others added to the clamor with suggestions of “skinny hipster Ken” and “video game Ken.” One website took this trend to the extreme and released its own line of diverse male dolls, including the muchtalked-about “dad bod Ken.” The online clothing retailer, Lyst, released a photo of their “Fashionisto” dolls, which includes businessman Ken, balding Ken, black Ken, hipster Ken, and dad bod Ken. Although the dolls are not available for sale yet, Lyst’s editorial director, Katherine Ormerod, said in an interview with Mashable, “we’ve been inundated with requests for us to produce and sell the dolls, which gives a real insight into the appeal of the more diverse Kens.”

Mattel announced a new line of Barbies designed to represent more realistic women. Along with the new body types, there are a varitey of skin, hair and eye colors to make Barbie a more diverse character.

SPECIAL TO THE ORACLE

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Continued from PAGE 1

tion.

“None of this should apply to us on campus – we’re in Tampa,” Sylvie Feinsmith, program director at USF Hillel said. “The only way this should apply to us or be in our lives on campus is in a lecture hall where students are learning both sides, all sides.

“There’s more than two sides.

What’s going on in our senate is the exact opposite of that.”

Feinsmith works with Hillel and has talked with many Jewish students on campus, which has allowed her to get an understanding of how they feel. She and her students heard of the resolution and found it meets the definition of Anti-Semitism as defined by the federal government: delegitimizing, creating double standards and demonizing the Jewish population.

“I saw — our students saw — all three of those things happening in our senate,” Feinsmith said. “So what does a student do? They go, they listen, they bear witness, they share their opinions. Our campus is not a campus that promotes hate. Our campus is not a campus whose

VOLCANO

Continued from PAGE 3

especially those that have been dormant for a long time. When they fall into dormancy, people stop monitoring.

The eruption forecast is based on monitoring, but according to Connor, INETER was short on funding and unable to keep watch over Momotombo.

“We didn’t get such good warning about this one until the first explosion,” Connor said.

Lis Gallant, a graduate student in geology, noted that in places like Hawaii, volcanic activity is heavily monitored, which allows them to locate the exact site of an eruption within several meters.

This isn’t the case, however, in Central America.

Some USF faculty are working to improve monitoring in Nicaragua, including Stephen McNutt, Rocco Malservisi and Glenn Thompson, using instruments owned and managed by USF. “The academic mission is to understand … the physics of the

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values include bigotry.”

SG senator and Vice President of the Student Board at Hillel Jesse Davidson has stood up against the resolution since it was first introduced in the senate meeting on Jan. 19 and has vocally defended his position.

“The reason that this is so polarized and has gotten so much attention, obviously isn’t the part of the resolution that calls for a socially just investment policy, because anybody in their right mind would stand for that,” Davidson said.

“The reason this is getting so much heat is because it’s focusing on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and it’s taking a side whether it means to or not.

The resolution is part of a Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel, regarding which the Florida House passed a resolution against this year.

That resolution stated the increase in BDS campaigns on college campuses has caused an increase in confrontation, intimidation and discrimination against Jewish students.

“But in reality, this has degenerated into a conflict between two student organizations and their representation on camvolcano and how it works, and it can play a real vital role for society, as well by helping them better forecast the eruptive activity when it does happen,” Connor said.

Gallant worked with Timothy Dixon, a professor in the USF geology department, and Laura Connor, a research assistant in the department, using a Terrestrial Radar Interferometer to make 3-D scans of the volcano to track changes, almost like watching the volcano breathe.

Gallant was also trying to track the velocity of lava flow to see if there were any changes. Her work focused more on research than monitoring.

Jacob Richardson conducts lava flow modeling to forecast lava flow. His models, Gallant said, have been very accurate.

The research team is also working with NASA to see if the channels melt when lava flows down them and how that may change lava flow in the volcanoes.

“The reason that’s interesting is that happened on Earth a billion years ago but we haven’t observed it on most volcanoes since then and when we look at

During the Student Government Senate meeting Tuesday night, senators voted 32-15 in favor of passing a new divestment resolution. ORACLE PHOTO/JACKIE BENITEZ pus,” Davidson said. “It’s unfortunate because our Student Government is great and shouldn’t be embroiled in something like this, but it is.”

According to the veto, Malanga and Rodriguez believe SG exists to enhance the student experience by providing an opportu-

nity for all students to be heard and represented.

They said the resolution serves only to divide students and it is not SG’s role to interject into international politics or investment policies.

“I stand by President Rodriguiz’s veto,” Davidson

said. “I’m not against a socially just investment policy, I’m not against the voice of the 10,000 students but this is a lot more complicated than that. That’s why I will do everything that I can, every opportunity that comes up, I’m going to advocate against this.”

other planetary surfaces, like Mars we’re really interested in understanding the processes happening on Mars or Venus,” Connor said.

Gallant was setting up radar equipment on the volcano when one of the explosions occurred.

As she watched the volcano erupt, she waited for the shockwave from the explosion to hit.

“Even as people who work on volcanoes, … for me it never gets old,” Gallant said. “I’m never going to get sick of looking at volcanoes erupt.”

She saw Connor and how excited he was about this explosion, which she thought was pretty cool.

“I think, from a student perspective, I mean, you see most your professors who (are) just kind of roaming the halls, and what they’re teaching you is stuff they’ve known for years and maybe it’s less exciting,” Gallant said. “But to be out in the field and see people that you work that have kind of seen it all still excited about stuff is also very, very interesting as a student.”

Connor said the sky grew dark with volcanic ash, forest fires started and huge chunks of rock

the size of rooms flew through the air.

“Of course, we were making measurements so that made it pretty exciting scientifically to be there while that was happening,” Connor said.

The activity continued through Dec. 10, according to the Smithsonian and INETER, with new developments occurring as more and more research and monitoring was done.

Momotombo had a lapse in explosions until Jan. 12, at which time ash climbed nearly four kilometers above the crater.

“We’re particularly nervous now because over the past few weeks the volcano has become more and more explosive, and we’re wondering exactly how far that will go,” Connor said.

The volcanic activity may also become a threat to a nearby geothermal plant. The plant relies on the heat created by the volcano to make electricity, and is therefore built not far from the volcano. It is located just two kilometers from the top of the volcano. The facility makes electricity for the city of Managua, Nicaragua.

“So far, all the flows are going

to the other side of the volcano, away from the plant, but it is a concern that if the activity becomes more intense again, then the power plant will have to be evacuated,” Connor said.

The USF researchers went to talk to workers at the facility, while they were there, and Gallant thought it was interesting to hear the way the workers described the volcanic activity.

“It’s always interesting to hear how non-scientists describe phenomena that we have all this jargon for and a lot of it is, I think, almost better than getting … scientists to look at it because these are the people that are staring at the volcano every day,” Gallant said. “They’re going to notice changes before maybe some people that only show up a couple of times a year.”

So far, there have been no reported deaths involving Momotombo. As of Jan. 22, INETER is advising people to stay at least 6 kilometers from the volcano. The USF team plans on returning to Nicaragua and Momotombo within the next few weeks to see if there have been any changes.

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WILLIAMS

Continued from PAGE 12

left by injuries to forwards Laura Ferreira (plantar fasciitis) and Alisia Jenkins (ankle) with one of its best defensive performances of the season, holding the Bearcats to 25.7 percent shooting on the night.

The Bulls, who donned special all-grey uniforms in support of the Moffitt Cancer Center and brain cancer research, came out as the aggressor. Senior guard Courtney Williams led the way, knocking down the game’s first three field.

After sprinting off to a 16-5 lead to start the game and a 20-9 advantage to end the first quarter, the Bulls looked poised to put the game out of reach early.

“I think we got off to a good start, we haven’t been getting off to good starts lately,” Bulls coach Jose Fernandez said after the game.

But with USF only tallying 11 points in the second quarter, the Bearcats were able to hang around with the one of the best offenses in the country in USF, which averages 75.6 points per game.

A nine-point halftime lead for the Bulls only continued to shrink as play resumed, with Cincinnati scoring the first trio of field goals in the third quarter to cut the lead

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to 31-27.

But that would be the closest the ‘Cats would get.

From there, it was Williams who began to assert her dominance, as she has for the majority of her career.

“I wanted to be the person to take the game-winning shot, that the team looks to to get a bucket.

I mean, that’s the person I wanted to be. So there’s no pressure.”

Courtney Williams USF senior guard

With 28 on the evening, Williams now sits at exactly 2,000 points for her career, making her only the second player in program history to achieve the mark.

She still trails USF’s all-time leading scorer Jessica Dickson by 402 points.

Regardless of how the season ends, reaching yet another mile-

Senior guard Shalethia Stringfield added 15 points in the Bulls’ win over Cincinnati. She now has four straight games with double digit scoring. ORACLE PHOTO/JACKIE BENITEZ stone while leading the Bulls to victory is exactly what Williams envisioned when she joined the team in 2012.

“That’s what I signed up for.

That’s what I always wanted to be for this team,” an ecstatic Williams reflected after the win. “I wanted to be the person to take the gamewinning shot, that the team looks to get a bucket. I mean, that’s the person I wanted to be. So there’s no pressure.”

Williams was not the only Bull on parade in the win. Senior guard

Shalethia Stringfield added 15 points of her own in the win, giving her four straight games with double-digit points.

USF also set a new program record with 48 defensive team rebounds, and Williams led the Bulls with 15 total rebounds.

The Bulls head to Philadelphia this weekend to take on a Temple (14-7, 8-2) squad that trails USF by only half of a game in the AAC standings.

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UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA

FUTURE

Continued from PAGE 12

In an offense that likes to run up-tempo and keep a defense on their heels, Mack (the freshman) will be a change of pace ready to punch opponents in the mouth.

A pair of concerns on offense — and there aren’t many — are two monster holes on the offensive line with seniors Thor Jozwiak and Brynjar Gudmundsson departing.

Luckily for Taggart, he’s replaced them with two behemoths.

Both towering 6-foot-6 and 300-plus pounds, junior college transfer Glen Bethel and incoming freshman Christion Gainer will look to plug up the gaps — or in this case, open some.

Flipping to the other side of the ball, newly appointed defensive coordinator Raymond Woodie had the daunting task of replacing one of the more versatile players

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on USF’s “Bull Shark” defense in husky Jamie Byrd.

Now called the “striker” position, Josh Dunn and Watts will come in and compete immediately for that spot. Both with good size and speed, they can provide run support without compromising coverage skills.

Taggart said today that USF will remain in the 4-2-5 scheme, and with the success they had with it last season — ranking 35th in total defense and 21st in points per game — there doesn’t seem to be any reason why they would make a change.

“We’re not changing much,” Taggart said. “We’re going to keep the terminology the same over there. (Changing) wouldn’t do us any justice right now.”

With Deadrin Senat returning as the plug in the middle and the quarterback of the defense in Auggie Sanchez leading the pack, USF’s defense has nowhere to go but up.

Helping in run support and

Willie Taggart’s recruiting class ranks second behind Houston in the AAC. USF sits 61st overall.

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rushing the passer, Tramal Ivy comes in as the No. 4 junior college defensive end and has one of the fastest first steps of anyone, according to Woodie.

It’s a class Taggart can hang his hat on, despite losing his AAC recruiting crown to Houston’s Tom Herman.

For once, USF will enter spring and summer workouts with expectations rather than doubts, something that comes with added pressure. Although, Taggart seems to be setting expectations of his own.

“I have big dreams for USF football,” Taggart said. “When I saw that the national championship game was going to be here in Tampa, I said ‘this is going to be something really special here.’

“I believe it can happen. We have the players here to do it, we have the schedule to do it.”

Although it’s not time to crown USF college football champions just yet, a bright future is definitely in the cards for the Bulls.

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Signees for USF on Wednesday, joining three early enrollees.

Defensive back Josh Dunn (top) and wide receiver Darnell Salomon (bottom) both signed their letters of intent to USF as part of Wednesday’s National Signing Day. SPECIAL TO THE ORACLE

T H U R S DAY, F E B R U A RY 4 , 2 0 1 6

SIGNING

Continued from PAGE 1

It was a class headlined by two four-star prospects — wide receiver Darnell Salomon and safety Craig Watts — that look to make an immediate impact come fall.

Salomon, a 6-foot-3, 210pound receiver, passed up offers from schools across the country, including three of the four teams who reached the College Football Playoff last season.

No. 204 in the ESPN top300, Salomon can play either inside or outside receiver to complement senior Rodney Adams.

“He can stretch the field and go up and get it,” co-offensive coordinator David Reaves said. “In the state championship against Armwood, he took a five-yard hitch and took it 70 yards.

“This guy is a big-time playmaker.”

Watts, on the other hand, passed up two Big Ten schools to join USF and will add depth to a loaded secondary class that also features three-stars Michael Hampton, Armunz

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Mathews and Josh Dunn.

Both Watts and Dunn will compete for what was formerly called the “husky” role played by Jamie Byrd. It now dons the name “striker,” but Taggart ensures that nothing about the position has been altered.

Taggart was also able to fill a pressing void on the offensive line. With seniors Thor Jozwiak and Brynjar Gudmundsson leaving, two big holes were left in their place.

That is, until two 6-foot-6, 300-plus-pound linemen faxed in their letters of intent this morning.

Glen Bethel — who enrolled at USF early and will attend spring practice — as well as Christion Gainer come in looking to replace two of USF’s cornerstone lineman from a season ago.

“It’s unbelievable the size of this young man,” Reaves said of Gainer. “I believe he wears a size 18 shoe.”

The two, already of college size, will join fellow signees Logan MacDonald and Michael Wiggs and look to open holes for the conference’s twotime leading rusher in junior

Marlon Mack.

Signing Day is nothing without a bit of surprise — or so fans thought. An unexpected signing of Wharton High School wide out DeVontres

“He can stretch the field and go up and get it. In the state championship against Armwood, he took a five-yard hitch and took it 70 yards. This guy is a big-time playmaker.”

David Reaves USF co-offensive coordinator on receiver Darnell Salomon

Dukes provided a spark to the morning.

But according to Taggart, it was no shock to him.

Growing up in North Carolina, the USF staff was worried when the Wolfpack

of N.C. State made Dukes an offer, but last week he made it clear he wanted to stay in Tampa.

“I felt good because (he) told me,” Taggart said. “He wanted to see if I could keep a secret and I think I did a good job.”

Most of the remaining signees came without much drama.

Linebackers Andre Polk, the cousin of Buffalo Bills’ receiver Sammy Watkins, and Mi’Cario Stanley join 6-foot4, 240-pound defensive end Tramal Ivy as other key defensive gets for USF. USF also added a fourth scholarship quarterback in Tampa native Chris Oladokun, who will likely sit behind juniors Quinton Flowers and Asiantii Woulard.

Oladokun — a strongarmed, dual threat— is the only quarterback in this year’s class and stayed committed even before USF completed its turnaround.

“I wouldn’t say I secondguessed my decision,” Oladokun told the Oracle.

“When I committed, I knew that was a good spot for me.

When there were rumors about Taggart leaving, I was a little uneasy about that.

“But once I knew he was staying, I knew I had made the right decision.”

In the end, it’s all about adding depth and playmakers, a task Taggart feels he accomplished with the 2016 class.

“Depth-wise we’re where we want to be as a football team,” Taggart said. “As a coach, you’re not as nervous about getting a guy injured because you feel better about the guy’s backup.”

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UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA

The Rundown

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T H U R S D AY, F E B R U A RY 4 , 2 0 1 6

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National Signing Day

Williams eclipses 2,000 points

Outside USF

Harbaugh puts on spectacle Second-year Michigan football coach Jim Harbaugh put on a show for his signing day celebration. The two-hour long festivities included appearances by former Harbaugh Yankee Derek Jeter, former member of the WWE Rick Flair and Patriots quarterback and Michigan Alum Tom Brady. “He’s brought excitement back to the university and the program, as you can see today,” Jeter told ESPN. Harbaugh’s antics were rewarded, landing ESPN’s No. 1 overall recruit in defensive tackle Rashan Gary.

Quote of the day “I’m the LeBron of the NBA.” — Cleveland Cavaliers small forward LeBron James said of himself when asked by a reporter if he was the Cam Newton of the NBA. Despite being an All-State receiver in high school and dabbling at quarterback before that, James seems comfortable with his own identity.

NATIONAL RECRUITING CLASS RANKINGS

1. FLORIDA STATE 2. ALABAMA 3. LSU 4. OLE MISS 5. OHIO STATE 6. MICHIGAN 7. GEORGIA 8. CLEMSON 9. AUBURN 10. TEXAS *According to ESPN.com

Women’s Basketball

USF coach Willie Taggart smiles to the crowd at his post-Signing Day press conference Wednesday.

Taggart’s class ranked second in the AAC. ORACLE PHOTO/ADAM MATHIEU

Strong class, better future USF’s loaded recruiting class sheds light on 2016

T

he days of secondguessing an upper-tier USF recruiting class are over. For the first time in nearly six years, USF football means business and has brought in the players to take another leap forward.

USF coach Willie Taggart described the 2016 recruiting class as the “best since he’s been here,” and he has every right to be excited heading into spring practice.

For years, USF has been that team everyone expects to flip the switch and turn things around. Until week five of the 2015 season, that was true.

After rattling off seven wins in eight attempts, USF fell just one game shy of an appearance in the inaugural AAC

Jacob Hoag C O M M E N T A R Y

Championship Game. Instead, it lost to Western Kentucky in the Miami Beach Bowl, but that’s neither here nor there.

USF’s push down the stretch did nothing but aid Taggart’s recruiting.

“I think what it did was solidify the guys that we had committed,” Taggart said. “If you look at the guys that signed today, they’ve been committed

to us for a long time.”

It also helped bring in two four-star studs in safety Craig Watts and receiver Darnell Salomon.

Salomon, a 6-foot-3, 210pound playmaker, can take the top off a defense or slip into a more slot, over-the-middle role. Pair him with fellow signee DeVontres Dukes and the stacked receiving core already in place, whoever the quarterback is — either Quinton Flowers or UCLA transfer Asiantii Woulard — will have an arsenal of weapons at his disposal.

USF’s lone running back signee, Elijah Mack, is a 6-foot, 215-pound truck looking to roll through opposing defenses.

n See FUTURE on PAGE 10

Senior guard Courtney Williams earned her 2,000th career point on Wednesday in USF’s win over Cincinnati. ORACLE PHOTO/ADAM MATHIEU

By Chuck Muller C O R R E S P O N D E N T

As the Bulls are beginning to realize, it isn’t always easy to maintain success.

Despite senior guard Courtney Williams going over the 2,000 point mark, USF still had to fight off Cincinnati in an 82-49 win Wednesday.

However, it looks like Coach Jose Fernandez has his team where it needs to be.

With two would-be starters in the Bulls’ backcourt wearing walking boots, the 19th-ranked team in the country was once again forced to be creative in finding ways to fill the void left.

USF (16-5, 9-2) was able to respond to the holes in their lineup

n See WILLIAMS on PAGE 9