04-24-15-graduation by USF Oracle

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Cover Art Ashley Barzaga Graphic Design Manager Luke Blakenship Advertising Sales Manager Ashley Pollio Advertising Sales Natasha Estevez Mikki Meek Rachel Carpenter Editors Wesley Higgins Ariana Matos Vinnie Portell Alex Rosenthal Brandon Shaik

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Green is the new black: graduation goes eco-friendly By Christopher Collier C O R R E S P O N D E N T

Students ideally go to college so they can one day make the world a better place. But the new graduation gown could help save the world before ever being handed a diploma. Student Government (SG) voted this semester to adopt a slightly more expensive but green alternative to the traditional cap and gown worn by students at graduation. According to student body president Jean Cocco, the new cap and gowns are a necessary change in order to maintain USF’s ongoing com-

mitment to an environmentally friendly campus. Oak Hall Cap and Gown is the company selling the sets to students through the USF Bookstore. Each GreenWeaver cap and gown set is manufactured from 100 percent postconsumer plastic bottles at an average of 23 bottles per set, according to the company website. “It’s able to reduce petroleum usage by over 52 percent by utilizing thermal recycled energy and the beauty about these gowns is that they’re able to be recycled after each use,” Cocco said. The material, related to polyester, is not known to cause allergic reactions. The conflict for some

students, however, is the $45 to $64.98 price raise per set. There is also no alternative to the current option — students will either purchase these new cap and gowns or not walk for graduation. “If you’re forcing us to buy something, lower the price,” said USF student Brittany Stante. Stante said she understands the benefits of buying the new cap and gowns, but resents the fact she will have no other options when she graduates. She also stressed the importance of keeping the options green. “No one is going to choose the recycled material if it’s expensive,” Stante said.

USF student Camryn Middleton feels that the extra cost is worth it to protect the environment. “The cost isn’t that much higher, especially since it’s recycled bottles,” Middleton said. “Like everything is being turned into recycled products nowadays, so I don’t see a problem with it.” College graduation ceremonies often differ from those of high school by the level of uniformity involved. Many high schools will separate boys and girls by color without placing much emphasis on appearing as one student body. “The university is pretty stringent when it comes to uniformity and

graduation,” Cocco said. “Unfortunately, they don’t allow for other students to purchase their own gowns because it could ruin the point of the ceremony.” The projected graduation rate among undergraduate students at USF is 4,344 for the Tampa campus. This means that, assuming every student walks, about $282,360 will be gathered from cap and gown purchases. A portion of this sum will be donated at a later date to environmental projects at the behest of Oakhall. “I think it’s worth the money,” Middleton said. “I think it’s a good option for the environment too. We only got one Earth, why not take care of it?”

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How to match with the new cap and gown By Brandon Shaik A S S T .

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This year’s graduates are faced with a sartorial conundrum as the caps and gowns have gone green, both literally and figuratively. The new gowns, made of recycled plastic bottles, went from a classic black to USF green, leaving graduates wondering how they’re going to avoid looking like the Jolly Green Giant while still coordinating what to wear beneath the gown. As usual, the guys are left with a little more of a challenge as attire is limited. Whereas women have more variety in types of dresses, pants and blouses, or skirts, men are typically restricted to a shirt and tie, accompanied by slacks. While green is not the easiest color to match, guys can go classic with slim black pants, a fitted white dress shirt and a skinny black tie, which is guaranteed to match almost anything and can easily transition into an after-party look. For a man looking for more color and a little

less formality, nix the tie and pair a blue oxford shirt with dark gray or khaki slacks. Colors that coordinate well with this year’s gowns include charcoal, gray-blue, navy, silver, gold or white. Girls have the chance to get a little more creative with their graduation day attire. Consider a dress with a simple pattern like small polka dots or florals for spring. If pattern isn’t the desired look, lace or a laser-cut material add texture while remaining modest and dignified. Even a sequined look could fly with a muted color such as charcoal or ivory. As far as color is concerned, ladies can go for similar colors as suggested for the gents, but there’s more opportunity for contrast with colors like pink, purple or a bright blue when incorporated into a pattern or with accessories. Whatever you decide to go with under the gown, be it classic and simple or modern and edgy, graduation is a day to carry yourself with pride and hopefully not look like walking asparagus in the process.

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5 signs you’re becoming an adult By Brandon Shaik A S S T .

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For many, college is a confusing time where you’re technically an adult but you still have your parents to fall back on when you’re scraping pennies together to buy top ramen. There comes a time, however, when you realize that you’re becoming an independent functioning member of society and you just don’t know how to feel about it. Here are five signs that you’re becoming an adult: 1. You can finally commit You’ve settled on a major, you’re considering possible career choices and you finally bought real dishes instead of using paper ones and making cereal bowls out of tin foil. Your decisions have become more long term and less of day-today subsisting. The idea

of making a plan and actually following through with it doesn’t scare you anymore and you’re OK with having permanence in your life. 2. You’ve stopped lying to yourself Instead of pretending you’re going to go to the gym or to make every recipe on your Pinterest board, you’ve accepted that you don’t have the energy or time. And the time you do have is probably better spent bingewatching “Friends” on Netflix. Being honest with yourself also has some added benefits; your big dreams are still on the horizon, but you’re much more realistic about how to make them happen, and backup plans suddenly have relevance. 3. Your wish list reads like a Williams-Sonoma catalog When your family asks what you want for your birthday, you suddenly don’t care so much about the sweater or ridiculously overpriced headphones. You’ll start asking for things like a Crock-Pot, a toaster oven or silverware. You actually get excited about the idea of having a juicer and start looking up recipes named things like “Asparagus Delight” or “Beat Retreat.” You won’t think about how weird it all is until you realize you are day dreaming about a stainless-steel wok. 4. “I’m going to forgive you, and I’m going to forget you” If Lauren Conrad taught n See ADULT on PAGE 9

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us anything in the six seasons of “The Hills,” it’s that sometimes, all there’s left to do is forgive and forget. LC is no Socrates, but there will be a time when holding on to people in your life for the sake of friendship is less important than your personal wellbeing. Cutting out the people who continually bring drama into your life is a major sign that you’re on your way to being a mature adult. 5. You’re not trying to win Ms. Congeniality anymore In high school you might have tried to hide your true feelings for the sake of being nice to your friends. You’ll start

to notice that you don’t really care about sugarcoating things anymore as an adult. It’s more important to be honest with your friends, even if you have to be a little sharp. You’ll start channeling your inner Regina George, and you’ll be OK with that. Of course, these changes happen with time and you won’t suddenly wake up one day with the urge to listen to Kenny G. You’ll probably be on your way to financial stability and still be concerned about the status of your eyebrow game and the amount of likes on your Instagram selfie. The important thing is to embrace adulthood and recognize that it’s OK to want the non-stick cookie sheet.

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USF GRADUATES SPRING 2015 Total degrees: 6358 USF Tampa: 5,606 Bachelors: 4,107 Masters: 1294 Doctoral: 202 USF St. Petersburg: 479 USF Sarasota-Manatee: 245

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Teaf leading the Bulls to new heights By Vinnie Portell S P O R T S

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Kyle Teaf was given the starting shortstop job at USF only a handful of games into his freshman season in 2012. The 5-foot-9, 170-pound infielder was expecting to primarily sit back and learn in his first season of college baseball, but the coaching staff decided his defensive abilities were too valuable to the them. “It was awesome, the coaches gave me a very unique opportunity to come in here and play,” Teaf said. “I think I was starting my fourth game in or something like that. I was nervous at first, but

I still get nervous today. That’s part of the game. If you’re not nervous, you shouldn’t be playing anymore.” Teaf would wind up starting 53 games that season and he became a mainstay at shortstop. He started all of the Bulls’ games over his next two seasons and has yet to miss a game in 2015. Now, in what Teaf said has been his favorite season, the Bulls are in first place in the American Athletic Conference and the senior shortstop is at the heart of the success. “He leads by example most of the time,” coach Mark Kingston said. “He plays really hard and he never takes a day off. He’s

the best kind of leader, he leads by example, but he’s also willing to speak up when necessary.” He came to USF as a player known for defense, but as he adjusted to the college level of play, his hitting became just as much of a strength. After hitting .251 and then .286 in his first two seasons, Teaf said he wasn’t happy with his numbers. A change in mentality turned Teaf into the Bulls’ best hitter in 2014. “I used to think ‘Don’t strike out, don’t strike out,” Teaf said. “That changed to ‘Let’s start doing some damage.’ Instead of fouling off a pitcher’s good pitch or grounding out, take that

pitch and get to a better pitch and then you can put a better swing on it and put it in play harder.” He hit .354 in his junior season, while leading the conference with a .479 onbase percentage that was aided by a team-high 42 walks. “He’s a very disciplined hitter,” Kingston said. “Part of our team approach is to only swing at good pitches and even before we got here he was known for getting on base and drawing walks. He’s a quality hitter and he’s very disciplined about only swinging at pitches he can hit hard.” Teaf’s sustained success has allowed him to become a leader whom the younger players respect.

“Kyle’s one of those guys when he talks, you listen,” senior Nik Alfonso said. “It’s so hard to perform at that kind of level. To put it in perspective, Kyle goes into slumps, but you don’t notice it because he’s solidified himself into the lineup in a way that I can’t imagine anyone else in that leadoff spot.” Alfonso said even though Teaf typically leads the Bulls by example, he’ll let a teammate know when he has to maintain focus. “During the games, he’s not afraid to kick someone in gear,” Alfonso said. “He’ll let them know ‘Hey man, we need you here.’ Or even as a team, he’ll let us know it’s go time and n See TEAF on PAGE 16

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we have to get it going.” While the senior likes to let his play do the talking, he said winning the game comes before anything he does individually on the field. “If I go 0-for-4 and make all my plays and we win, I’m happy,” Teaf said. “At the same time, if I go 4-for4 and we lose, then what’s the point? What good was that?” Teaf credits the Bulls’ turnaround from a 27-31 team last season to the first-place team they are today to the new coaching staff and the change in attitude. “Culture is a great word for it, it’s a different style,” Teaf said. “The past coaches, coach Prado and coach Heintz, were more old school and these

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guys are more new school. They let us play our game and they’ve transformed our mentality. We’re the same team as we were last year. It’s just a different approach, a different mentality, and it’s something that’s really worked for us this year.” Alfonso agreed that the Bulls’ outlook has been essential to the team’s success. “We have a different mental approach to the game,” he said. “It’s a lot more positive now. I attribute that to the coaches, but also ourselves. Things aren’t always going to go right and you can’t dwell on the negative stuff. Our positive outlook toward the game has really been what’s helped us this year and Kyle exemplifies that.” Alfonso said Teaf’s work ethic off the field is a big factor in getting the team on board with going the

extra mile. “He works harder in the weight room than anyone else,” Alfonso said. “He puts in that time and the cool thing about Kyle is that he makes people better. If I see Kyle doing dumbbells at 100 pounds, well I’ve got to do it at 100 pounds too. It starts with Kyle and the seniors have jumped on board and it’s trickled down to the younger guys.” After starting over 200 games since that first game at shortstop in the spring of 2012, the senior said he is enjoying the fun that comes with the team’s success, but keeping them focused down the home stretch of his final season is critical. “Our record is great right now, we’ve had success so far this year,” Teaf said. “But it means nothing if we can’t finish. We could ruin our whole season if we don’t play up to our capabilities the rest of the year.”

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