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SG awaits decision on budget from administration Student The annual budget bill, which includes the $1.375 million endowment, has yet to be fully approved. develops health care app By Jesse Stokes M A N A G I N G
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An annual budget bill proposed by the Activity & Service Fee Recommendation Committee (ASRC) has been signed and approved by Student Body President, Moneer Kheireddine and is awaiting approval or disapproval from university administration. However, one controversial line item of the bill still remains: the $1.375 million endowment. According to Sen. Yousef Afifi, the endowment ad hoc committee chairman, the endowment is an investment account with the purpose of managing funds to ensure fiscal The annual budget bill includes an endowment that may be line-item vetoed meaning $1.375 million sustainability and as such, would go into Student Government’s unallocated cash account. ORACLE PHOTO/CHAVELI GUZMAN would serve to accommodate things such as rising costs and vested authority to work around route, we aren’t going to have Bank, SunTrust Bank, BB&T inflation. the endowment’s percentage any money,” Afifi said. Bank and Northwestern Mutual. If Afifi’s proposed endowment allocations and what have you,” In a message to The Oracle, Afifi points to a lack of were to be passed as is, he said Afifi said. 58th term Senate President communication between Senate he would be ready to get right If members of administration Amani Taha said if the and university administration to work, including the creation decide to line-item veto the endowment were to be line- as one of the main challenges of “Student Investment Steering endowment, however, Afifi said item vetoed at this point, the throughout the process of Committee” that would manage it would be back to the drawing proposed $1.375 million could creating the endowment. not be reallocated, as the time “One thing that we feel like for that has passed and as has been a huge issue for us The environment as it sits right now is not such the funds would sit in the is a lack of communication a very proactive one; it is a reactive one. unallocated cash account for that we have gotten and a lack Yousef Afifi, Senator the next fiscal year. of feedback,” Afifi said. “The As a part of preparing for environment as it sits right now the endowment account. board. the endowment, Afifi also said is not a very proactive one; it is a “There actually was a Senate “My thinking would be to try he and other senators met reactive one. So, with something bill passed a couple of weeks and coordinate with individuals with a number of banks and like the endowment, we do not ago … that creates a functional who disagreed with the idea financial institutions to weigh get administration’s support or group, similar to ASRC that of it so that we can work out the benefits that each would guidance on it until … they tell would manage the inner a framework to create some provide should they be chosen us that we can’t do it.” workings of this endowment, type of method for financial to host the account that holds However, Dean of Students that would manage progress sustainability so that we can the proposed $1.375 million. Danielle McDonald has in reports as to how the account offset our diminishing account, According to Afifi, such the past proposed a flat fee, is doing, it would be given the because if we keep going at this institutions include Chase n See ENDOWMENT on PAGE 3
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By Matthew Cutillo S T A F F
W R I T E R
A current USF student has developed CareValet, a free service that helps connect consumers with health care providers in logical and simple ways. Joseph Hodges, founder of CareValet and soon to be graduate of the USF Muma College of Business, began his company after realizing his passion for consumer transparency. “There’s a lack of transparency in the marketplace and because of that I thought I’d be able help get some legislature put in place that will require transparency in the industry,” Hodges said. “However, it was futile because there’s too many other political agendas at play and there’s a strong lobbying component that prevents any transparency in health care from coming forward.” After taking notice of how other industries reached further levels of transparency, Hodges said he decided to take elements from different sources to create his own new business. “I was looking at other industries and how they’ve been disrupted and I saw that
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The Oracle THE UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA’S STUDENT NEWSPAPER SINCE 1966
Editor in Chief
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Asst. Sports Editor Sam Newlon
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Multimedia Editor Chaveli Guzman @ChaveliGuzman
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Miki Shine oracleeditor@gmail.com @MichaelAZShine
Asst. Multimedia Editor Thomas Prettyman @ThomasPrettyman
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Managing Editor
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Jesse Stokes oraclemeditor@gmail.com @JesseStokes813
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Maria Ranoni oraclenewsteam@gmail.com @ByMariaRanoni
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Andrea Martin @andreamrtn64
Staff Writers
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NEWS
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA
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Created in 2016, CareValet is used by about 2,000 members. SPECIAL TO THE ORACLE.
APP
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the transportation industry had been disrupted by ride sharing apps which allowed more consumers to reach the results they needed,” Hodges said. “What I decided to do was take the platform that companies like Uber and Amazon had of connecting people who have goods and services with people who want to buy them and look for healthcare services like shopkeepers and consumers who want these goods and services.” Taking different pieces from multiple industries, Hodges was able to successfully create the first iteration of CareValet. “Over the last decade, this idea formulated of connecting consumers and providers,” Hodges said. “That’s how the idea of CareValet came about.” Inspired by platforms such
as Amazon and Uber, over 2,000 members currently use its services. CareValet allows for its users to use mobile tools to find health care providers in their area that best suits their price range. The app allows for the connection of ride sharing programs to take you to any doctor’s appointments you may have. The service helps to alleviate the guesswork of finding a doctor who matches your preferences while providing transportation service if the user is too unwell to drive themselves. With CareValet underway, a key goal of the business was consumer transparency and a means of reflecting honesty between the user and the health care provider. “At this level, (consumers) have the greatest level of transparency to their health care than they’ve ever had
before,” Hodges said. “Any time they need a care service, not only can they talk to a doctor directly, they can get an appointment directly. They can get a ride right from their phone, schedule on their calendar right on their app. We took all these tools that you’d normally need to access individually and put them together right at the user’s fingertips so all they have to do is press and they have whatever their need is.” With Hodges’ business running smoothly, he sees a bright future in the expansion of CareValet. The business’ original intention was to reach as large of an audience as possible, a goal he hopes to keep. “If I’m going to do anything, it’s because I want to positively affect the lives of a million people,” Hodges said. “I wanted to build a product that exponentially serves and
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meets the purpose of that population. I’d love to call my app innovative and the Uber of healthcare, but I don’t get the luxury of doing that. It’s only if I get that consumer adoption. I built it on a platform to insure we can meet consumer needs as we identify that we’re doing that or not.” As the world changes and people’s needs do as well, Hodges is doing his best to keep up. Sharing different ideas from multiple industries allows for a game plan of how to react to growing markets. “People are synergizing all of these beautiful and incredible things that have been built electronically over the past few decades … and we’re integrating the needs of the consumer into a very simple platform,” said Hodges. “I’d like people to understand that our primary concern is meeting consumer needs.” As CareValet begins its exponential growth, a more consumer friendly app is about to hit the marketplace to help navigate the functions of the business. “We have a health insurance platform app,” Hodges said. “In the next 30-60 days we have a consumer app that we’re releasing. You can download the app and use it on your own right from there.” CareValet continues to be one of the fastest growing industry leaders in the health marketplace. “Over the last decade we’ve been talking about consumer transparency in health care and I believe we’ve finally made an excellent service that can meet those needs,” Hodges said.
ENDOWMENT Continued from PAGE 1
which would require a student body vote, approval by the Board of Governors and legislative approval, in lieu of the endowment as a way to generate more revenue to curve the impending deficit that members of ASRC warn of. “I think that the idea (the new fee as proposed by McDonald) itself has merit,” Afifi said. “The problem with it was that … creating a new fee, number one, means exactly that: students pay more fees. And the second issue ... is creating a new fee is not that simple. It is something that requires approval from all the way up top in the Florida legislature. It would have been forever before we had the actual approval, if we were going to get it in the first place.” McDonald could not be reached for comment by the time of publication at 8 p.m. Wednesday night. Despite opposition to this proposal from university administration, Afifi said the main objective of sustainability, is a general objective of the university system as well. “The university likes to talk a lot about sustainability and that is warranted, but sustainability literally has a futuristic connotation towards it,” Afifi said. “If you want to be sustainable, you are talking about sustainability right now and going into the future. So, if the university is so big on sustainability, which I believe that it is, then this is something that runs parallel to that concept, not counter towards it.”
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to-head for the first time in the season, thus providing USF an opportunity to move into first place in the AAC should neither team sweep the other. USF has played 41 games this season and is entering its final 11-game stretch. Players without experience often fall to fatigue this late in the season, but Mohl says he keeps the team motivated by reminding them how capable they are of a special season. Last year, the Bulls were eliminated from the NCAA tournament after losing to Bethune-Cookman and Florida in the Gainesville Regional. Mohl sees the potential in his team this year to break through the first round of the tournament. “You’ve got that carrot at the end of the rope you’ve got to just keep dangling out in front of them,” Mohl said. “We’ve got a chance to do some special things with this club and they know. They were there last year so they know what they want to accomplish and they’re hungry for it.”
Softball
USF must survive third-place UCF to maintain lead in AAC
By Brian Hattab S T A F F
W R I T E R
The Bulls are heading into a crucial two weekends as the season nears its end and the conference tournament approaches. USF finds itself atop the AAC standings at 10-5, one game ahead of Wichita State and two games in front its opponent this weekend, UCF. The Bulls hold the secondhighest team batting average during conference play in the AAC, with a .286 batting average. USF is tied with UCF with the second-highest number of homers hit during AAC play at 12. The Bulls pitching staff has been impressive during conference play, posting a conference-best 1.77 team ERA. Tulsa’s 2.80 ERA is the next lowest team ERA during conference play. The Bulls’ only shortcoming during AAC play has been defense. USF is tied with UConn for the third-most errors in the conference, each having committed 19 during conference play. Only UCF and Wichita State have committed more
errors during AAC play, having committed 20 and 21 respectively. If USF can hold on to its position atop the conference, it would finish with the top seed in the AAC Tournament – which will be held at the USF Softball Stadium from May 10-12. To do so will likely require series victories against both the Knights this weekend and Wichita State next weekend. Both series will take place at the USF Softball Stadium. UCF holds the sixth-best batting average during conference play in the eight-team AAC at .238, ahead of only ECU and UConn. Knights batters have struck out 105 times during conference play this season – the highest total in the AAC, and well higher than the next closest team – UConn, with 81 strikeouts. The Knights’ pitching has been largely average during AAC play. UCF’s team ERA during conference play is fifth-best in the AAC at 3.46. UCF is also fifth in the conference in runs allowed during conference play, having surrendered 65. Despite the Knights’ relative
mediocrity during conference play, UCF (8-7) finds itself in a three-way tie with Houston and Memphis for the three-seed in the upcoming AAC Tournament. Things don’t get any easier next weekend for the Bulls against AAC newcomer Wichita State. The Shockers (9-6) travel to Greenville, North Carolina, this weekend to face ECU. Wichita State leads the AAC in team batting average during conference play with a .316 average. Wichita State senior Mackenzie Wright leads the AAC in individual batting average during conference play, hitting .532 in 47 at-bats. The next highest individual batting average with a similar number of at-bats is USF’s Astin Donovan at .396 in 48 at-bats during conference play. Wichita State’s team ERA during conference play is also middle of the pack. The Shockers’ 3.32 team ERA during conference play is fourth-best in the AAC, one place ahead of UCF. No matter which team claims the top seed in the AAC, whether it winds up the Bulls, Shockers,
Knights, Tigers or Cougars – or even if Tulsa or ECU (each 7-8) can mount comebacks – it’s likely opponent is almost assuredly 3-12 UConn. The Huskies are last in almost every team statistic during conference play. UConn’s team batting average at .216, its team ERA at 5.12 and its .949 fielding percentage are all last in the AAC during conference play. Two of UConn’s three conference victories came against UCF when the teams met in Storrs, Connecticut, April 7-8. The Huskies other AAC victory came in the second game of a doubleheader Sunday at Memphis. Both USF and Wichita State swept UConn during the first and second weekend of conference play respectively. The AAC Tournament begins May 10 at 10 a.m. with the No. 8 seed playing the No. 1 seed. All games – except for the tournament’s final game, which will air on ESPN2 – will be broadcast on the American Digital Network.
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EDITORIAL
We stand with #SaveStudentNewsrooms
The editors of The Oracle stand in solidarity with the #SaveStudentNewsrooms movement. ORACLE PHOTO Alongside other student-led proven to be a major financial be subject to censorship on behalf collegiate publications across the struggle and these issues have of SMU. nation, The Oracle stands with trickled down to student media This act inspired The University the right to independently publish departments and newsrooms. of Florida’s newspaper The and supports the movement to Earlier this year, Southern Independent Florida Alligator to #SaveStudentNewsrooms. Methodist University (SMU) voted create the #SaveStudentNewsrooms The past decade has brought to cease independent operations at movement in an effort to bring trying times for newspapers both the newspaper The Daily Campus, awareness to the issues student large and small. Finding a way to forcing university affiliation. This publications face. sustain the practice of print has means that the Daily Campus will The Independent Florida
Alligator has recently cut down its print publications to three times a week. New York University’s Washington Square News has also been forced to cut four pages per publication. These are just two examples of the significant blows student publications have taken. While The Oracle is independently run and does not currently face issues of censorship on behalf of our university, we are aware of the fact that this is a privilege many student publications do not have. It is vital for student publications to continue having a voice to represent the student body in the most transparent way possible. Student publications act as any professional news source would when it comes to breaking the news. In 1996, The Oracle broke news of a purported terrorist who threatened to blow up a USF administration building and kill a white female professor. The threats were sent to The Oracle in a typed letter from a student claiming to be “The One, The Leader of The War Purgers,”
an alleged terrorist group. The staff broke the news and prompted FBI presence on campus, leading up to the arrest of the student. Important stories like these, broken by many student publications, prove the integrity of student journalists across the nation. While print journalism becomes a lesser circulated medium with decreasing advertising revenue in the professional world of journalism, support for student-led publications is needed now more than ever. Keeping student publications well funded and independently run can combat the issues of censorship and budget cuts, and help keep print alive on college campuses. Student publications are an outlet on college campuses for student voices. We must continue to value these student voices and support student publications. A failure to do so is a failure to justice and transparency everywhere. Visit savestudentnewsrooms.com to find ways to support student newsrooms.
explicitly discriminatory behaviors going forward. The cultural attitudes and social issues these problems arise from are much more complex than what could be addressed by a one-day training session. Starbucks should commit to these types of policies and procedures. Its commitment seems promising, given that it is choosing to close during business hours. This posits the seriousness of the training as more important than any potential loss of revenue. If Starbucks is truly committed to its stance, comprehensive training should be a job requirement upon hiring and something to revisit throughout employment. The company did release a statement on April 17, stating “the training will
be provided to 175,000 partners (employees) across the country, and will become part of the onboarding process for new partners.” In the Starbucks’ press release, executive chairman Howard Shultz also states, “the company’s founding values are based on humanity and inclusion. We will learn from our mistakes and reaffirm our commitment to creating a safe and welcoming environment for every customer.” Humanity and inclusion must be the cornerstone of corporate diversity training. Otherwise, the results may be ineffective.
Starbucks needs more than implicit bias training By Paige Wisniewski S T A F F
W R I T E R
Those who frequent Starbucks regularly may want to choose an alternative coffee source on May 29. Starbucks will be closing its stores for the afternoon to implement “implicit bias” training for its employees. The nationwide training is in response to a video of two black men being arrested for simply sitting at a table without making a purchase at a Starbucks in Philadelphia on April 12. The video went viral and sparked public outrage. Training may be a good start, but more comprehensive and effective methods should be considered over time as well. Slate reports that “implicit bias” is otherwise known as unconscious
stereotyping based on race, gender or other characteristics. Harvard developed the “Implicit Association Test” (IAT) that measures biases built on associations a participant makes under a time constraint. Utilizing this test can lay a foundation for its employees to understand their cultural biases, but it should not be the only tool used to ensure discrimination is deterred. Implementing mandatory diversity or bias training upon hire would be a proactive effort that could prevent future episodes in similar public places, but this implementation is just one step. Training must include a method of conceiving personal biases so that actions can be made out of empathy rather than discrimination.
Critics have argued that training employees to recognize their implicit biases may not be an effective measure to address racial profiling. Since the two men in the Starbucks incident had not been causing any kind of disturbance while waiting at a table before they were arrested, it does seem like the manager who called the authorities had acted out of explicit bigotry. Implicit or not, a test is not likely to be a sufficient method to confronting deeper social issues within our society. Attending a mandatory class at a place of employment may not eliminate any ingrained prejudices an employee harbors, but comprehensive practices on sensitive or empathetic decision-making could reduce the
Paige Wisniewski is a junior majoring in interdisciplinary social science.
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CROSSWORD
Sports
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NFL
Baseball
Red-hot Bulls could take over Draft viewing guide first place in AAC over weekend for a USF fan By Sam Newlon A S S T .
Shane McClanahan will be USF’s starting pitcher in the Bulls’ first game of their series against Memphis on Friday night. ORACLE PHOTO/THOMAS PRETTYMAN By Sam Newlon A S S T .
S P O R T S
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No. 24 USF broke into national polls for the first time this season earlier this week, but coach Billy Mohl refuses to let his team slip into complacency. Last season, the Bulls lost five of their last eight regular-season games and lost four of six games in the American conference and NCAA tournaments. After being ranked for a majority of the season, the Bulls entered postseason play unranked and as the AAC’s No. 4 seed. “It’s just a ranking,” Mohl said. “We were ranked last year and we saw what happened the last eight games last year. So the
rankings don’t mean anything. We’ve got to keep moving forward and keep winning ballgames.” After their 5-3 victory over Bethune-Cookman on Tuesday, the Bulls (27-14, 9-6) have won six of their last eight games, including conference series wins over No. 8 East Carolina and in-state rival UCF (27-14, 7-8). Mohl says the recent success of the team comes from a group of veterans playing to their potential. Twenty-one of 30 players on USF’s roster are in their third year of eligibility. Last season, those same players were brand new.
“They’ve been playing good,” Mohl said. “They’ve been playing like a group of veterans with a lot of confidence. They’re feeling good about themselves now, so we’ve got to make sure we don’t get too high or too low.” In the midst of a three-game win streak, the Bulls will have face their easy AAC competition of 2018, hosting as Memphis (14-28, 1-11) in their last home series at USF Baseball Stadium, starting Friday at 7 p.m. The two teams ahead of USF in the conference are Houston (25-16, 10-5) and No. 8 ECU (30-9, 8-4). This weekend, the Cougars and the Pirates will go head-
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S P O R T S
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USF fans may have to wait until the third day of the 2018 NFL to see a Bull selected, if they see one at all. Only one of six NFL.com analysts project a USF player going in the top-4 rounds of the draft – with Chad Reuter, who predicted earlier this week that Deadrin Senat will be picked late in the fourth round by the Bucs. Senat, a 6-foot, 314-pound defensive tackle from Immokalee was a staple on the Bulls defense. He received a 5.60 prospect grade out of 10 at the NFL Combine. That ranking marks Senat as a player with “potential to be a starter in the NFL,” according to NFL.com. CBS Sports, however, projects Senat to go to the New Orleans Saints as the No. 127 overall pick out of 256 total picks, which is in the fourth round. In the same mock draft, wide receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling and defensive end Mike Love are set to be drafted by the New York Jets at No. 235 and Indianapolis Colts as No. 238, respectively. The waning picks of the seventh round are especially tough to predict and these players often end up either getting cut or being assigned to practice squads. Scantling and Love received rankings of 5.20 and 5.15 on the same scale Senat was compared to. Absent from almost all draft boards is USF prodigy Quinton Flowers. The highly-touted ex-quarterback lands in a draft class with stellar, professional-
style quarterbacks who will likely have starting roles and millions of dollars in their pockets tomorrow. Flowers received a 4.92 when top quarterback prospects Sam Darnold and Josh Rosen scored 7.00 and 6.19. At the USF Spring Game, Flowers was seen wearing blue athletic shorts and a white Powerade towel draped over his head. He was clearly avoiding fans who were shuffling around outside Corbett Stadium. He declined to comment when asked about the approaching draft. Flowers excelled at USF, but his comparative small size and concerns about accuracy led analysts to question his ability as a professional quarterback. There has been talk about Flowers changing position to running back or even a punt returner. Even with the position changes, it is unlikely that Flowers will receive a phone call this weekend announcing him as a draft pick. For Flowers, Scantling and Love, the possibility of signing as a free-agent immediately following the draft is much more likely. The same goes for the rest of the Bulls entering the draft: Deatrick Nichols, Bruce Hector, D’ernest Johnson and Auggie Sanchez. Nothing is set in stone for the NFL Draft and each of the Bulls could be selected in the first three rounds, but there is also the possibility that none are drafted at all. As the Draft wears on, the projections are more and more speculation from all the experts and analysts.