The Oracle WEDNESDAY, MARCH 25, 2015 I VOL. 52 NO. 99
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The Index
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UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA
Which way to the restroom?
Inside this Issue
State Legislature may close door on trans community with bathroom bill. By Brandon Shaik A S S T .
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The silhouettes of either a man or a woman hung on a restroom door are universal symbols of American sexual identity. But what if the choice of restroom is not as simple as a black-and-white sign may suggest? As marriage equality legislation prevails throughout the nation, Florida’s transgender community is facing a law that, if passed, would allow the state to tell them where to go to the restroom or else face legal repercussions. HB 583, proposed by Fla. Rep. Frank Artiles, “requires that use of single-sex facilities be restricted to persons of sex which facility is designated; prohibits knowingly
LI F E STYLE
Festival brings improv artists to Tampa. Page 4
Montage
S PORTS USF women’s team in prime position for 2016 NCAA tourney run. BACK
and willfully entering singlesex pubic facility designated for or restricted to persons of other biological sex; provides exemptions; provides private cause of action against violators; provides for preemption.” The bill was proposed in response to a Miami-Dade County ordinance prohibiting discrimination against gender identity and expression, on the basis that the ordinance “creates a giant loophole for criminals, sexual deviants and sexual predators to walk into a shower, a woman’s locker room under the cover of law,” Artiles told the Miami Herald. Many in the transsexual community see this as legal discrimination in a place where they already feel shamed enough as it is.
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The zombies are coming! By Wesley Higgins N E W S
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It takes smarts to get through college, but it takes guts to keep those brains on the way to class. Today is the last day to register for the fifth annual Humans vs. Zombies, a game of survival that will turn the entire campus into an undead nightmare. “When you’re walking to class as a human, you’re hiding, going between buildings and shelter trying to stay alive,” Heath Rinkus said. “As a zombie, you’re just looking around for people hiding and staying alive.” Rinkus, a junior majoring in education, will act as moderator to create scenarios that will encourage survivors to enter perilous situations where zombies lurk from every corner. Past missions have asked survivors to defend human prey held up in the gym from
waves of zombies. “We (once asked) humans to build a fort out of cardboard boxes,” he said. “If the zombies made the torches (outside) collapse by tagging them, they fell onto the fort, burned it down and the humans lost … they’re rushing to knock it down.” Humans are marked by a bandana tied to their arms, while zombies have a bandana around their heads. In the first 24 hours, however, the original zombies are allowed to hide among the crowd without a bandana. “All humans are extremely paranoid during the first day,” Rinkus said. The game starts with a large group of humans and a single zombie. By the end of it, however, zombies build up their numbers by infecting the survivors. “It all culminates in the final mission,” Rinkus said. “It is
difficult for the humans to achieve this final task, which — depending on the storyline — might involve nuking the area, escaping on the helicopter, spaceship (or) curing the zombies.” In order to survive to the final night Tuesday, humans are allowed to defend themselves against attacking zombies. “Humans defend themselves with Nerf blasters, PVC blowguns and socks,” he said. “You cannot kill zombies — they’re (stunned) for a 15 minute timeout.” For zombie players, they must get close enough to tag the human player, which transforms the victim into part of the undead horde. Rinkus said it’s fun to play on both sides of life and death. “As a human, you are constantly on your toes between classes, keeping your head on a swivel … you don’t want zom-
bies catching you off guard,” he said. “It’s entirely different for zombies. It’s much more carefree — you coordinate and attack. If you die, you come back and horde up again.” Today is the last day to register at usfhvz.org. Players must also first go over rules and safety with moderators by attending a town hall meeting held throughout today in the Marshall Student Center. Though students are allowed to tweak toy guns to increase firing range, they cannot look like real guns and must be inspected first. The event is sponsored by Armada Games and is free for any USF student to register. “It’s the funnest thing you can do on campus, and more players make it better,” Rinkus said. “There’s no prize other than that warm fuzzy feeling of surviving as a human or eating brains as a zombie — it’s a lot about glory.”
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Honey causes buzz in Florida Senate By Allison Leslie C O R R E S P O N D E N T
Florida has a wide variety of state symbols. Orange juice is the official beverage. Key lime is the official pie. The gopher tortoise is the official tortoise. What it does not have is an official state honey, but that may change as tupelo honey is causing a buzz in the Florida Senate. According to Florida Agricultural Hall of Fame beekeeper, Laurence Cutts, tupelo honey is the sweetest honey and does not spoil or crystalize. “Tupelo honey has the highest level of fructose sugar of any honey,” Cutts said. “Fructose is the sweetest of all sugars.” Cutts said fructose sugar
does not crystalize into grains, so tupelo honey never gets old — it’s more like wine when aging. The push to make tupelo honey Florida’s official state honey came with Senator Bill Montford’s bill, SB 556. The bill is now in Commerce and Tourism after getting a favorable five yeas and zero nays by the Senate Governmental Oversight and Accountability. USF music major Tyler Cutts said he knows a lot about this honey and is very passionate about seeing SB 556 get passed. Cutts has a long family history of beekeeping with his grandfather, Laurence Cutts, and father, Stephen Cutts, who still work in the agricultural business. “Florida would be the first state in America to have an
official honey,” Tyler said. Last year Gov. Rick Scott vetoed this same bill for unknown reasons. The bill is back again with Senate Montford’s efforts and this time it has the support of the Florida State Beekeepers Association, according to President Tom Nolan. “It honors all the hard work of Tupelo producers in the state, it is almost like showing Florida is special in the honey industry,” Tyler said. Commercially, tupelo honey is only produced in Florida. It is best grown in the Panhandle region, along the banks of the Apalachicola, the Choctawhatchee and the Ochlockonee rivers and their tributaries. This honey resembles the orange blossom honey, which
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TRANS
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“Bathrooms are already a really scary thing for trans people. It causes a lot of anxiety in the community,” said Prin Luis, a non-binary gender student and former president of USF’s Trans+ Student Union. “It’s going to be a safety issue for trans women who will be forced to use the men’s restroom,” Luis said. “That’s really scary and that’s not something that’s ever mentioned. The only thing that’s mentioned is men dressing up as women, going into women’s restrooms and that’s why they would want to make this bill.” The manner in which the bill will be enforced at singlesex facilities on campus has not yet been determined, as it is pending legislation. “We don’t speak to what our enforcement actions would be to pending legislation because there’s so many variables involved, (and) we don’t know what the elements of the law would be in it’s final form,” University Police Assistant Chief Chris Daniel said. “To say something now would be premature and could be very different from how the final draft comes out.” As the bill stands, any individual using a single-sex facility who does not match the sex listed on his or her legal identification (driver’s license or passport) will face firstdegree misdemeanor charges, up to a $1,000 fine and up to one year in jail. For an individual in Florida to change the gender on his or her legal form of identification, he or she is required to have completed sex reassign-
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ment surgery. The individual is required to provide a copy of his or her amended birth certificate or an affidavit from an attending physician confirming that he or she is now the reassigned gender. According to Transgender at Work, a network of individuals who aim to improve workplace issues for transgender individuals, the average cost for maleto-female sexual reassignment surgery is about $20,000 over a two-year period. This figure includes the cost of therapy, hormones, doctors and lab visits. “I think it’s just a big safety issue,” Luis said. “A lot of people, especially students, can’t afford surgery or to see a doctor or to do anything to get their license changed. So that’s not going to be possible for a lot of people. It’s a really privileged thing to be able to get that done, so that’s going to cause a lot of problems.” Although there is no official manner of enforcement, Daniel said that police enforce all law with a measure of discretion. “Obviously we’re not going to enforce the most ridiculous laws, but we do have a responsibility to enforce the law,” he said. “General Counsel has a responsibility to determine how we’re going to interpret it and approach it.” Trans individuals are taking to social media to express their concerns regarding this legislature and posting bathroom selfies captioned #WeJustNeedToPee. This campaign, as well as the #OccuPotty and #LetMyPeoplePee campaigns, is gaining presence on social media as “transphobic” legislation is pending in Florida, Minnesota, Texas and Kentucky.
CORRECTION An article in Monday’s issue of The Oracle incorrectly stated USF women’s basketball coach Jose Fernandez’s base salary for the 2014-15 season was $150,000. The coach’s base salary for this season was $175,000. In addition to his base salary of $175,000, Fernandez will also make $150,000 in supplemental compensation for radio, television and public appearances. This brings his total salary to $325,000 before any added incentives.
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Post Dinner Conversation hosts Gasp! Fringe Fest
By Ariana Matos L I F E S T Y L E
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Improvisational comedy has nurtured some of the most successful comedians of all time, with shows like “Saturday Night Live” and “Mad TV” bringing the art to the masses in an easy-to-swallow package. But not many are aware they can get involved and learn improv on a local level. Creative Loafing and the Tampa Museum of Art have answered the prayers of all those who crave improv games, drag shows and performance art pieces with the second Gasp! The Gasparilla Fringe Festival. Among the weird and wonderful attractions to see at Gasp! is one of USF’s own improv troupes, Post Dinner Conversation (PDC). “We aren’t really a theater, we are actually a company,” Nicholas Riggs said. “We call ourselves a comedy company. We produce comedy and we try to connect the community to that.” Riggs, president as well as the director of operations and original founder of PDC, said the nonprofit is extremely excited to be hosting the event for the second time in a row. PDC had a great deal of involvement with the creation of the festival last year, according to Riggs. “My partner, wife and also director, Hannah Prince, was featured on the cover of Creative Loafing a couple years ago for the Top 25 Artists Under 25, and she got to know David Warner, the editor-inchief,” Riggs said. “He reached out to her and mentioned he was doing this festival similar to what Orlando has done in the past and wanted us to be involved in some way. Last year he asked us to be sort of performance-based ushers, but I’m not sure if he knew exactly what improv was.” Despite the miscommunication, PDC decided to make the
most of the situation. “We never turn anything down. We always pride ourselves on being able make anything work performance-wise, but it didn’t really work out how Warner had planned. Instead, we set up outside and started playing some warmup games just for ourselves,” Riggs said. “Before we knew it we had a crowd of about 60 people that were watching us and cheering for us to throw imaginary knives at each other. “ Riggs said PDC wanted to enact some changes to the young festival and that they are sure the changes will make the experience much more inclusive and enjoyable. “We approached Creative Loafing this year and said we want to do something that other cities do; we want to do a marathon, which means team after team, for the entire duration of the festival, performs improv,” Riggs said. “Warner agreed and we negotiated. So this being the first year of marathon, Post Dinner Conversation gave up its spot to perform in it to make sure the rest of the state and the city got involved.” While representation of the group is important, Riggs thinks community means more. “We think it’s more important that the community gets really involved in the festival and the improv scene to help bolster the art form rather than us just getting a spot,” he said. Riggs attributes the success of the first Gasp! Fest to PDC’s establishment of the Tampa Improv Festival a few years ago. After being invited to an improv jam, which resembles a marathon performance, Riggs said the group noticed a good idea they could improve upon. “We had fun, but we saw there were some things about the way that it was run — the production quality, people not knowing how to use microphones, people not knowing how to pass out food, it was a little messy,” he said. “We really liked the idea, but we
Members of Post Dinner Conversation play an improv game that helps them attune their senses to the immediate reactions of their peers. PHOTO PROVIDED BY JAMES GEIGER thought we could do something year we had over 30 teams, Tampa actually has the potena little better since we were so nine different workshops and a tial to not only do improv, but used to running shows in really couple hundred people traveled to recognize the other arts that may not be the most notable awful locations all the time, like to Tampa.” PDC is also closely affiliat- but are actually pretty solid,” he coffee houses and restaurants ed with USF’s Improv group, said. “There is not a lot of stuff with no stages.” Riggs said they put together Improv @ USF, and created like this, and Tampa doesn’t an entire festival in as little as an event attached to Tampa have a lot of events for arts that a month with a very promising Improv Festival that showcased aren’t your typical visual art their talents. displays or theater or music. turnout. “We also added College So the opportunity to get folks “So we threw it together in a month and we got 11 groups Improv night at USF, where from Miami, Orlando, Sarasota from around the country to we got the surrounding state and even other parts of the city come down: New York came colleges to send their teams to to come together and not just down, a very good friend of play together, and that’s never to improv but also to see there ours and mentor, Will Luera the happened in the history of our is some pretty amazing dance, professor of improv at (Improv) state,” Riggs said. “So it kind and some pretty amazing interBoston, came down,” Riggs of started as this idea that we pretations and there’s an excelsaid. “He’s kind of the Russell could do this thing we saw a lent spoken word community Peters of improv. He travels the little bit better and it’s now in Tampa.” For Riggs, this festival is a world and teaches people how turned into one of the largest to do the improv that he cre- festivals in the southeast, soon vehicle for an expansion of culated. He’s pretty world famous to be one of the largest festivals tural consciousness. in the country.” “To me it’s all about that conin the scene.” When it comes to Gasp!, nection and sparking people’s Not only did members of the national community attend, but Riggs said he is most excited to ideas to do new things,” he also Florida’s best and bright- showcase the Tampa area’s cul- said. “We can spread that to the est. From there, the event only ture, which he said can some- whole state and diversify the times be hidden. whole country and I think that’s expanded. “I’m excited as the producer a pretty powerful thing.” “Miami also came up, and Gasp! The Gasparilla Fringe that blew it up. We met a and director to get all the groups lot of people, learned a lot of from around the state to come Festival starts Friday at 6 p.m. things,” he said. “Our second to the festival and see that at the Tampa Museum of Art.
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is produced in larger quantities in Florida and also made in Arizona, California and Texas and overseas in Brazil, Italy and Spain. “Orange blossom is made all over the world,” Tyler said. “Tupelo honey is the only honey made just exclusively in Florida.” Tupelo has a short blossom-
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ing season, but since it never goes bad, that makes it sweeter and in higher demand in Florida. “I think the real purpose of the bill is to draw attention to the industry,” Tyler said. “It’s growing, but slowly.” Today there are only about 100 producers of tupelo honey in Florida. “The bill would promote Tupelo honey as a premium honey,” Tyler said. “It is a premium honey.”
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Criminal history questions don’t belong on college applications
Isabelle Cavazos COLU M N I ST
Many students have likely encountered questions about criminal history on a job application, but these questions on college applications have actively barred people from becoming students. The Common Application, which almost 500 colleges now use, has asked applicants about their criminal convictions since 2006, according to a New York Times column. In addition, consideration of an applicant’s criminal record goes back to 1990, when Congress passed the Clery Act, which requires schools to report campus violence after Lehigh University student Jeanne Clery was murdered in her dorm in 1986. While campus safety is crucial and must be taken seriously, questions about criminal records on college applications have underly-
the Oracle
ing problems that schools can’t continue disguising as safety. As the NY Times column mentioned, a recent study by the nonprofit Center for Community Alternatives addressed the fact that many applicants with convictions do not end up completing their applications. In observing 60 of the State University of New York’s 64 campuses, the study showed that two-thirds of applicants who indicated they had committed a crime did not finish their applications. Asking if someone has committed a misdemeanor or felony is more than just a question of criminal history, it’s a question that continuously keeps people from seeking advancement. Job applicants almost always answer similar questions. As noted by the nonprofit criminal justice news organization The Marshall Project, the “ban the box” movement, which argues for the removal of criminal record questions on job applications, is supported by major retailers such as Wal-Mart and Target, and the effort to destigmatize one’s criminal history needs to reach out to college applicants as well. While having a criminal record doesn’t necessarily mean an applicant will be denied, it can still raise flags for a university and give the applicant a more difficult
time in the process. If someone includes on his application that he has committed crimes in the past, he could be asked for letters from the psychologist and superintendent of the prison, as well as from the applicant’s parole officer, as occurred in one case mentioned by the Marshall Project. The NY Times column noted that schools sometimes hunt for information on alcohol convictions and rap sheets, which include sealed, juvenile offenses that aren’t meant for public use. While USF does not use Common Application, Florida law requires background checks on students practicing “clinical experiences” in school, and some programs, such as those in the College of Education and the College of the Arts, require a disclosure of arrest. Though some students might feel uncomfortable knowing other students have a criminal history regardless of what that history is applicants should not have to jump through hoops to have the opportunity to get a college degree and potentially improve their stance in life, nor should the application process limit one’s access to an education.
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What you said In light of a recent New York Times editorial addressing how college applications that ask about criminal history can hinder those with a criminal record, assistant editor Sebastian Contento asked students whether they think such questions belong in applications.
“I think it should be because it is competitive out there, and they should rule out someone who will make the wrong decision from a perfect student.” — Karen Kirchof, a freshman majoring in marine biology
“Criminal records should be noted and reviewed because it should depend on the offense, so it’s fair to decline someone who can be potentially dangerous.” — Christina Woody, a sophomore majoring in zoology “I believe education should be available to everyone, so I think this is the wrong question. They should ask things such as, ‘How are you going to change the world?’” — Gentry Allen, a sophomore majoring in international studies
Isabelle Cavazos is a junior majoring in Spanish and English.
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“No, everyone deserves an equal chance and a fresh start, so you can’t base someone’s potential by the things they’ve done in the past.” — Cara Marshall, a sophomore majoring in health sciences
Classifieds UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA
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Notebook
Bulls hopeful for return to NCAA tourney in 2016 By Vinnie Portell S P O R T S
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The USF women’s basketball team sang the alma mater one final time this season while looking painfully upon the throngs of remaining fans singing along. The Bulls’ best season in program history came to an abrupt end Monday night when No. 6 USF was defeated by No. 3 Louisville, 60-52. Just over 10,000 combined fans came out to the Sun Dome over the first and second round to support the Bulls, an audience which coach Jose Fernandez and his team are far from accustomed to playing in front of. The unusual support was due to USF hosting two rounds of the NCAA Tournament, something the school has never done before. What fans saw during those two games was the best USF basketball team to play in recent history. The 2014-15 team achieved the highest NCAA seeding in school history, tied the school record for wins at 27 with the 2009 team and earned a first-ever rank in the AP Poll. Fernandez said the key to the team’s recent success is due to the coaching staff he’s assembled throughout the years and how they bring players in. “I think it starts with our staff,”
Buddy Putnam homered twice and scored the winning run against FGCU on Tuesday night.
ORACLE FILE PHOTO/ADAM MATHIEU
he said. “We’ve had some very good continuity through the years. Jeff (Osterman) has been on our staff for 10 years and Michelle (Woods-Baxter) has been with me for seven, and I was able to bring Jessica Dickson, our all-time leading scorer, on staff. You’re only as good as the people you surround yourself with, and I have some great people that do a great job recruiting, do a great job with player development, and it starts there. I think the big piece is recruiting.” While USF exceeded any and all reasonable expectations placed on it before the season, the Bulls’ ultimate goal of reaching the Women’s Final Four in Tampa was cut short Monday night, and Fernandez said the memory of that loss is all the motivation needed for an even better performance in 2016. “I think sometimes with this team being so young, you get to be put in this position so you remember the pain in that locker room so that it doesn’t happen again,” Fernandez said after the loss. “And the beauty of it is we had a lot of young guys — Katelyn Weber is a sophomore, (Laura) Ferreira and (Maria) Jespersen are freshmen. We got both our point guards back, and you got the two all-conference guys with Courtney Williams and Alisia Jenkins, who do a great job.” The Bulls will return all players on roster with the exception of
Tamara Taylor and Ivana Vuletic, who will be graduating. Taylor played in all 35 games and averaged 8.2 points in 16.7 minutes on the floor. The senior shot 37 percent on her 3-pointers and tied for the second best average on the team. Vuletic played in only two games for the Bulls.
Men’s golf secures fourth-place finish
No. 9 USF finished in fourth place with a score of three-over par at the Valspar Collegiate Invitational on Tuesday in Palm City, Florida. No. 2 FSU took home the top spot in the 15-team invitational with a final score of 17-under, and beat No. 14 LSU by five strokes. No. 7 South Carolina took third place with a score of 11-under. The Bulls were led by freshman Claudio Correa, who finished in fifth place after shooting fourunder over the two-day event. Sophomore Rigel Fernandes came into Tuesday two strokes behind the leader with a score of six-under, but he squandered his opportunity at a first-place finish by shooting a three-over 74 in his final round. Fernandes ended the invitational in a tie for sixth place at three-under. The Bulls will play in their final regular season match in the Irish Creek Collegiate on April 11 in
Courtney Williams, the Bulls’ leading scorer at 20.3 points per game, will return to the team for her senior season with her sights set on a final NCAA Tournament run. ORACLE PHOTO/SEBASTIAN CONTENTO Kannapolis, North Carolina. Redshirt freshman Maria Rodriguez tied for eighth with a Women’s golf takes ninth score of two-over through three at Briar’s Creek rounds. After carding a first-round score Rodriguez was a big reason of 309, the Bulls were able to for the Bulls’ late comeback. The bounce back Tuesday at the Golf freshman shot a team-low fourClub at Briar’s Creek and shot 299 under in the final round — four and 292 in the final two rounds to strokes better than any other finish claim ninth place in the 17-team by a Bull during the event. event. USF will play in its final regUF won the event with a final ular season match at the Web. combined score of 866, which was com Intercollegiate in Pontre Vedra 34 strokes better than USF. Beach, Florida starting March 30.
Baseball
Putnam powers Bulls to 8-7 win By Tiana Aument C O R R E S P O N D E N T
The Bulls’ offense is heating up just in time for conference play. Senior Buddy Putnam homered twice, doubled to tie the game in the ninth and then scored to put USF ahead, 8-7, for a good Tuesday night game against Florida Gulf Coast University. Undoubtedly, it was a career night for the first baseman who has homered four times in the
past three games. The senior went 3-for-5 with three runs and three RBIs in Fort Myers. The Bulls (17-8-1) have amplified their power. They’ve homered 15 times this season, compared to the nine they totaled last year. Luke Maglich homered in the fourth to give the Bulls a 3-2 lead, their first advantage of the night. The right fielder also put the Bulls ahead in the ninth and singled to score Putnam. Putnam and Maglich were two of six Bulls with multi-hit
performances. Michael Farley (2-0) earned the win after fanning the final batter to escape a bases-loaded jam. The sophomore tossed 1 2/3 shutout innings in relief of Ryan Valdes and starter Brandon Lawson, who allowed four runs on eight hits through 3 1/3 innings. The Eagles (11-13-1) led off with back-to-back singles in the first. Jake Noll then drove in the two base runners with another single to put FGCU on top. The second baseman went 3-for-4
with two runs and three RBIs. Nick Rivera drove in the other four runs for the Eagles. The first baseman doubled in the Eagles’ three-run fourth, doubled to extend the lead to 6-3 in the sixth and reached on an RBI fielder’s choice to give his team a 7-6 advantage in the eighth. The Bulls begin conference play this weekend when they host Cincinnati for a threegame series, Friday at 6:30 p.m.