The Oracle TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2014 I VOL. 52 NO. 21
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UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA
Former congressmen discuss future burden of today’s debt
ORACLE PHOTO/ADAM MATHIEU
By Wesley Higgins N E W S
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Regardless of political affiliation, no politician has said he or she wants to leave a worse future for tomorrow’s generation. On Monday evening, two former members of Congress were brought to the Marshall Student Center Oval Theater in
collaboration with USF Student Government and the Concord Coalition to put aside their differences and have an open conversation about the dangers of a rising national debt. George LeMieux, a former U.S. senate Republican, said the $17 trillion national debt would compound until today’s youth are crushed under its weight in the near future. “We say a trillion like we
know what it means, but it’s hard to get your brain around it,” he said. “If you spent a million dollars each day from the year 0 to today, you wouldn’t be able to spend a trillion dollars.” Debt has grown in “geometric proportions,” LeMieux said. The U.S. has never seen debt levels this high, adjusted for inflation, since WWII. The national debt reached $1 trillion in 1981 and is projected to
reach $20 trillion by 2020. Jim Davis, a former Democratic U.S. house representative, said the national debt would snowball until the majority of taxes inevitably went to paying interest. “The money that Congress could be spending on other programs is being spent on the interest,” he said. “Every day that we’re having to make interest payments, we’re making
choices that will affect the quality of your life years from now.” To reduce the debt, they said Congress must either raise taxes or slash spending. “The system now isn’t working,” LeMieux said. “There are solutions Democrats and Republicans differ on, but we don’t differ on the problem.” The largest source of debt is spending on Medicare and
n See DEBT on PAGE 2
USF alumna keeps on drumming
n Melissa
Salguero attempts to revive music program in her Bronx school after burglary. By Roberto Roldan M A N A G I N G
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As a video of her students playing a song they wrote themselves played on the back screen of “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” stage, Melissa Salguero couldn’t hold back her tears. Salguero, a USF alumna who teaches music education at Public School 48 in the South Bronx, went to the set that day not realizing exactly what the show was going to be about. She was just happy to be in the presence of one of her favorite TV stars. “Melissa, come on down,” DeGeneres said after the video played. Salguero attempted to compose herself as she made her way to the stage.
In April, Salguero, who graduated from USF in 2009, arrived at PS 48 to find the school a shambles. She was the first one in the building that morning and the first to discover the school had been burglarized over the weeklong spring break. Sagluero entered her classroom in shock. Flutes, keyboards, saxophones and even her personal trumpet had been stolen. The USF Bulls posters on the walls from when Salguero led the Herd of Thunder (HOT) marching band were some of the only things that remained intact. Though she hadn’t had any serious conflicts since she began working at the school in 2011, her first thought was, “Who did I upset?” While the police took inventory of everything that was damaged, and Salguero tried to put her classroom back together, she held her daily music classes in the auditorium. “That was important to me, that students didn’t miss their music
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To donate to the Public School 48 Recovery Project, visit gofundme.com/PS48music. SPECIAL TO THE ORACLE
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Medicaid, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, though neither congressman commented on whether to cut it. Both, however, suggested rethinking Defense and International Security spending, which is the second largest source of spending, consuming 19 percent of the federal budget. Davis said the U.S. spends so much on its military because it took the responsibility of being the world’s police. “When there’s a problem in Africa or the Middle East, their leaders turn to us,” he said. “Until we figure out how more parts of the world can share that burden, we’re going to bear the cost.” Even with reduced defense spending, LeMieux said the U.S. military would continue to be the strongest in the world. “We’re going to have to cut our defense spending,” he said. “I’m a Republican who is saying that.” Social security, the third largest source of federal spending, at 12 percent of the budget, was an issue both congressmen agreed would be unsustainable once the baby boomers retire. “The government told people that they’re paying into an insurance program,” LeMieux said. “That’s a lie; there’s no money. It’s a big IOU.” Davis said Democrats should consider increasing the retirement age from 62, as Republicans often propose, and accept citizens are living longer and more productive lives. Both congressmen said solutions can only be worked out by reaching across the aisle. “Everyone is going to have to give up something,” Davis said. “There’s a common goal, there’s going to be a middle ground.” If the federal government doesn’t compromise to balance the budget, LeMieux said U.S. citizens and other countries might lose faith in the U.S. economy. “It would destroy the economy,” he said. “It would destroy the economy around the world.” If the U.S. can balance its budget and reduce unnecessary spending, both congressmen said the U.S. could put money
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to better use. Currently, 3 percent of the budget is spent of transportation, 2 percent on scientific research and 1 percent on education. “There could be a renaissance in this country, a renaissance in energy, a renaissance in technology,” LeMieux said. “Our best days could be ahead of us.” As key to a functioning democracy, both congressmen said the ordinary voter must get involved and reach out to their public officials. Davis said the largest obstacle to this is gerrymandering, a process where electoral district boundaries are drawn to favor one political party. “The Democratic Party is becoming more liberal, the Republican Party is becoming more conservative,” he said. “This is not good when you’re trying to compromise.” Nonetheless, LeMieux said congressmen will listen if enough constituents present a clear voice. “Our government is only as good as we allow it to be,” he said. “It’s ultimately on us.”
CORRECTIONS & CLARIFICATIONS An article in Tuesday’s issue of The Oracle incorrectly attributed the name of an organization on campus that offers support and information about autism spectrum disorder. The article was about the Center for Autism and Related Disabilities (CARD) at USF, a statewide organization. The article also misstated Christine Rover’s title. She is on staff with CARD but is adviser for CARD Autism Champions. Additionally, AMC is not on the list of businesses CARD at USF works with. Due to incorrect information supplied to The Oracle, an inaccurate date was given for the group’s festival that will feature face painting and games. The actual date for the event is Oct. 13.
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class,” Salguero said. Half of the students had taken their instruments home, but the other half of her class was left without instruments. Salguero pooled her own collection of instruments and those of friends to make sure all of the students had instruments in time for their upcoming concert. She also rummaged through pawnshops, spending her own money to replace what had been stolen. “They weren’t the best instruments to buy, but for 50 bucks it was going to work,” she said. The burglars had access to the master key, which opened every door in the building. They spent the weeklong break coming in and out of the school, taking $30,000 worth of electronics and equipment from every room in the school, Salguero said. The day after the incident, Salguero set up a GoFundMe Web page to raise money to replace the electronics and music equipment that were lost. That day, her afterschool chorus group approached her with a song they wrote to express their feelings after the burglary, titled “We Will Rise.” “Nothing’s gonna stop us/ We are gonna soar/ We will rise from the ashes/ Stronger than before,” the children’s song read. Before appearing on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show,” Salguero had raised only $2,000 in donations over four months through the website. After a short interview on her show, DeGeneres brought out her checkbook and wrote a $50,000 check to the PS 48 music program. Again, Salguero, hands to her face, began to cry. *** Salguero found her passion for music education around the same age as many of her current students. Salguero said she first knew she wanted to be a music educator when she began taking music classes at her elementary school. “My favorite experience from that time was just going to music classes and playing instruments,” she said. “Even if it was just a triangle, it was just so much fun. I really connected with it.” She was recruited out of Spanish River High School where she was selected to play in the Tampa Bay Thunder Drum and Bugle Corps, a professional marching band headed by Michael Robinson, the band director of USF HOT at the time. When she came to USF in 2004,
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Salguero spent two years with HOT before becoming the drum major for the band, a position she would hold for the next three years. Robinson, who affectionately refers to Salguero as “Mellie,” said she was a born teacher and leader. “She’s someone that other people want to follow and listen to and just respond well to,” he said. “She can get people to work hard, she’s a great musician, all the things that allowed her to be a great drum major and now have success as a music teacher.” Salguero said she said she still remembers the feeling of performing in front of a crowd of 82,000 in Auburn. The Bulls, who were No. 2 in the nation at the time, eked out a narrow victory over one of the best teams in the nation. “Being in that stadium - oh my gosh - it was such an incredible feeling,” she said. “The stadium was just going crazy.” *** After teaching music education for a year at Martinez Middle School in Lutz, Salguero had what she calls a “crazy dream” to live and teach in New York City. However, when she arrived in New York City in 2010, Salguero discovered that her dream wasn’t going to come easy. She spent her first six months making smoothies in the Jamba Juice at Columbus Circle while hunting for a teaching job, which she found in 2011. In January, she received a callback from a nonprofit program called Education Through Music. The program started in 1991 with the goal of bringing music education to schools that don’t have a full-time music educator. Education Through Music provides instruction to music educators around the country on how to structure music programs in schools and how to make school a place where kids want to be. Assistant Program Director Nicholas LaFleur said the program also works to get parents and communities in New York City more involved in student success. “When we get a good music program running in a school, there are concerts,” he said. “When concerts are good quality and students are performing well and doing well and they are happy, parents get really happy and start showing up to concerts. That’s a very strong connection for parents and community engagement.” After going through a number of professional development pro-
grams, Salguero was placed at PS 48 in the Hunts Point area of the Bronx, an area where almost half of all residents are living below the poverty level and only 22 percent of residents hold a high school diploma, according to figures from the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. Though Salguero said Education Through Music helped immensely in training and providing basic instruments, her class was nearly empty when she arrived. “They didn’t even have a board to write on,” Salguero said. “It was drastically different than my experience at Martinez (Middle School). There I could make as many copies as I wanted or order whatever I needed for my classes.” When she first arrived at PS 48, the selection of instruments consisted of her own guitar, some hand drums provided by Education Through Music and a few tuned percussion tubes called Boomwhackers. So she improvised. Salguero taped rhythm patters onto Solo cups, got paper cuts from cutting out music notes that students could move around and spent her days rummaging through dollar stores to find small, makeshift instruments. “I never thought I’d be able
to get through a lesson with no resources,” Salguero said. “Basically all I had was my guitar, but I got through it and I learned and grew.” Eventually Salguero found her footing. She said her favorite lesson to teach to her third through fifth grade students is one on innovation in music, where she traces the history of how the technology used to play and record music has changed over time. She played a vinyl record, something most of her students had never seen before, using a rolled up piece of paper and sewing needle. Salguero said the look on student’s faces when they begin to hear the hum of the record is the best part of the lecture. “I have kids who I had three or four years ago who are still like, ‘Oh my gosh, I remember when you did this and it was so cool! Can you do it again?’” Salguero said. “They still remember that.” The next school year, Salguero got a VH1 Save the Music grant that provided her classroom with 33 instruments to start a band at PS 48. *** With the check from DeGeneres and additional support from Education Through Music, Salguero said all of her students now have
instruments, and new sparkling, secure lockers to leave them in. Salguero said she will use the money to benefit PS 48’s music education program and continue to use music to reach out to the children and their parents in the Hunts Point area of the Bronx. “I don’t want to just make my students musicians, I want to make them music lovers,” Salguero said. “Because five, 10 years down the road, they are going to be the people deciding how to fund education, and if they had an experience in my music program that changed their life in a positive way, they’re going to advocate for music and yell it from the rooftops.” As much as Salguero hopes her students have left her classroom knowing about music and selfexpression, she said the incident has allowed her to realize what she has learned from PS 48 and the students she has taught. “They’ve taught me how to look at the brighter side of things,” Salguero said “My students don’t complain about anything, you know. If we need a new carpet, we don’t complain about it, we figure out how to do it. It might take us years, but that’s the thing: It can always get better and we won’t stop till we get there.”
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‘Rhinoceros’ stampedes onto stage Thursday By Courtney Combs L I F E S T Y L E
SPECIAL TO THE ORACLE
E D I T O R
If a few students suddenly transformed into rhinoceroses, the campus would be a far more dangerous place. That is the premise of “Rhinoceros,” the USF School of Theatre and Dance’s first production of the year. Carlos Garcia, a senior majoring in theater performance, plays both the housewife and Mr. Pappion in the show. “It’s not something that get’s reproduced in mass media a lot,” Garcia said. “In the arts, you can choose to do mainstream plays and such; you can do ‘Wicked,’ maybe ‘Rent.’ You can choose to do those things and you’ll probably bring in a large audience, but if you choose to do ‘Rhinoceros’ you’re making a societal statement. That’s
“Rhinoceros” will open Thursday in Theatre 2 at 8 p.m. SPECIAL TO THE ORACLE
what we as art students are doing and I think that we want to show all students of any major that you can make your statement and see where it takes you, good or bad.” “Rhinoceros” premieres Thursday in Theatre 2 at 8 p.m. and will run until Oct. 12. “There’s a line in the play that says ‘They’re a minority, but they’re a big minority and growing bigger every day,’” Garcia said. “A rhino is a very literally big object so even if there’s only three rhinos, imagine three rhinos standing in the bookstore. Whatever it is they want to do is going to happen, so sometimes the minority is just big enough in its own right.” The play was written by Eugène Ionesco in 1959, a time when communism, fascism and Nazism were on the rise throughout Europe. “It’s really interesting how you watch the play now in 2014 and see how those same issues of conformity apply to us, just in different manners,” Garcia said. “The idea is that the rhinos are representative of conforming to society … the characters change into rhinos; whether they willingly choose to or are forced to is a question for the viewer to decide.” Shelby McDonell, a junior majoring in theater performance, plays Jean, the foil of the play’s main character Berenger, who is played by PJ Gentry. “Berenger is sort of your lackadaisical drunkard type of character and he has his friend, Jean, who’s very upright and haughty taught,” McDonell said. David Frankel, assistant
director for the theater program at USF, is directing the show. Aside from his work at USF, Frankel is the artistic director and president of the Tampa Repertory Theatre. “He’s always been a great professor and I’ve been dying to work with him as a director,” Garcia said. “He tells you the context of things — what’s going on — but he leaves acting choices up to you.” “Rhinoceros” is an absurdist play and contains both dramatic and comedic elements. Garcia said that while the play may seem like a comedy, during the show, one of the main characters transforms into a rhino onstage. He said it covers serious subject matter and forces its audience to think. “It’s interesting, I’d like to say it’s straight comedy because I think that would bring people in, but it’s not,” Garcia said. “It has hysterical moments but I think it’s more of a statement. If anything, I think you could classify it as dark comedy. Once the flatter scenes start hitting you, I think it’s not funny at all, it’s just poignant.” Tickets can be purchased in advance online or over the phone for $8-$12 or at the door for $10-$15. “I don’t think it hammers home any specific point; it’s a very open ended question for the audience to go home and not sleep over,” Garcia said. “At some point in your life, society’s going to make a shift towards something — whether it’s a new idea, a law, or just a passing fad — and you have to decide if it’s worth following. And sometimes you might just be standing alone.”
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BYU shouldn’t split hairs over policy on beards and shave … again. That hurt,” the protesters wrote in a letter to the university, according to Deseret News. And these hirsute heretics have a right to fight for their facial hair freedoms. From the goatee to the hipster beard, the decision to beard or not to beard is a highly personal one that is something of a modern-day expression of machismo. The spokeswoman for the university owned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints said the university has nothing against beards or people with beards — after all, Brigham Young himself and many other early Latter Day saints donned quite impressive ones. However, the university, she said, would like to respect BYU’s Honor Code, created by students in the 1940s. Also banned by the honor code: tattoos, pre-
Divya Kumar COLU M N I ST
Beards are revolting. At Brigham Young University, a small but vociferous group of students are furiously fighting for their fundamental facial fuzz freedoms, literally donning paper beards at their university. The school has mandated its mustachioed matriculators to appear clean-shaven on campus. “When some of our mutual friends tried to sneak my little brother, five o’clock shadow, in with them to take a test, you made them go home
the Oracle
marital sex and alcohol consumption. Simply a hair or two on one’s chinny chin chin couldn’t be too much to ask for? But perhaps as this hairy issue finally comes out of the (five o’clock) shadows at Brigham Young, it is a more serious reminder for all in academia to look in their shaving cream-frosted mirrors a little longer. Perhaps this call to action is a friendly reminder for all higher education institutions to re-evaluate some of the archaic and mundane customs and traditions that no longer hold much relevance or meaning in order to adapt to changing times. Or perhaps, at the end of the day, change will find its way into Brigham Young University and it won’t be worth splitting hairs over.
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What you said Correspondents Katelyn Montagna and Sebastian Contento asked students if they are concerned about receiving the largest national debt in history.
“Student loans will take more time to pay off because of increased tuition and inflation.” — Ji Kim, a freshman majoring in computer science
“We’re not the powerhouse anymore. We are going to be dependent on other countries.“ — Heather Piotiowski, a sophomore majoring in animal sciences
“It will cause an increase in job competition as well as a rise in taxes, all in an effort to decrease the debt.”
Divya Kumar is a senior majoring in mass communications and economics.
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“I’m from Trinidad, so depending on the economic decline, it may be one of the major factors for my descision to stay in America.” — Lemuel Scott, a freshman majoring in integrated biology
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Volleyball
Fairs’ upbringing leads to success at USF By Vinnie Portell S P O R T S
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Eric Fairs retired from the NFL in 1992 when he found out that his wife, Charlet, was pregnant with their daughter, Erin. After her father played in the NFL for seven seasons, six with Houston, Eric Fairs said he wanted to be there for his family more. Both of Erin’s parents played sports at the collegiate level, her mother, college basketball, and her father, both basketball and football for Memphis. They didn’t hesitate to introduce Erin and her younger brother, Evan, to sports at a young age. “When we were younger, we ran track,” Erin said. “That wasn’t our favorite thing to do, but it always kept us in shape and it was hard work. They always had us mentally engaged and in shape.” Erin began track and basketball at 5 years old and stuck with both sports throughout school. In the seventh grade, Erin began playing volleyball in an attempt to try something new. “I had done track and basketball all of my life,” Erin said. “I liked the sport, I liked that it was inside. I just fell in love with (volleyball) when I started playing competitively.” Her parents weren’t familiar with volleyball, but they supported Erin’s decision to commit to the sport. They went to all of her club and high school games. In his time off from building houses, Erin’s father would help her improve her game, even though he knew little about the sport. “He always tried to teach me different techniques for ways to jump higher and be stronger,” Erin said. The basketball- and footballcentric Fairs even put up a volleyball net in the backyard so the whole family could play. “In my backyard, we put up a volleyball net and my mom and dad would always try to help me jump higher and help me get better,” Erin said. Even though Erin was passion-
ate about volleyball, her parents expected her to pursue either track or basketball in college. “They didn’t care what I did, but they were thinking (volleyball) was the last thing I would go to college for,” Erin said. When it came time to choose a college to play for, Erin was desperate to go to a school that had warmer weather than her hometown, Houston. “I didn’t want to stay in Texas,” Erin said. “I wanted to go somewhere else for four years. I don’t like the cold at all, with a passion. When it came down to where I wanted to go, it was to stay in Texas, or go to Florida or California. I visited some schools and I ended up falling in love with USF.” Erin flourished in her first year at USF. As a result, Erin won the Big East Freshman of the Year award. Erin continued to push herself to new heights. After spending a season getting accustomed to her new coach and teammates, Erin earned the inaugural AAC Player of the Year award as a sophomore. Despite how much time she spends in the gym trying to better her game, Erin never expected to be the conference player of the year at such a young age. “I was a sophomore, so it was really shocking to me,” Erin said. “There were girls older than me that I thought would get it. It ended up being me and that was a shock and I feel that I can do even better, so I’m excited.” Coach Courtney Draper attributed much of Erin’s success to her work ethic, a result of which is her ability to consistently lead the team in kills, which Draper said is a product of changing her shot variety. “She’s been having less hard-hit kills; she’s been working on her off-speed shot to have more of a variety,” Draper said. Erin has averaged a team-leading 3.33 kills per set over her three years with the Bulls. None of her teammates average even two kills per set.
Junior Erin Fairs recorded her 1,000th dig against SMU in front of her family Sunday. The Bulls face UConn this Friday in the USF Corral at 7 p.m. ORACLE FILE PHOTO/CASPER YEN Draper said Erin put her dedication to volleyball on display this summer. Instead of enjoying her time off, the junior outside hitter stayed on campus throughout the summer and worked with the strength coach regularly to get a head start on the competition. “This summer, a lot of our kids were just here for Summer B, but she was here all summer to make sure she held herself accountable and worked with our strength coach,” Draper said. “A lot of kids go home and take a little time off.” Putting in extra work is only one of the ways that Erin sets an example for her younger teammates. But Draper said that Erin is becoming a leader who demands more out of her teammates because of her drive to win. “I think she’s really trying to hold everyone accountable,” Draper said. “She sees her career going quickly. She blinks her eyes and she’s a junior. She’s really hungry for the team to do well, so she gets on her teammates.” Even though she is far away from the family’s home in Houston, Erin’s parents still make
sure that she maintains a good work ethic, when they can. “They’re on top of me and my brother, even now,” Erin said. “If I’m home for breaks, we have a weight room in the garage and of course I go to work out by myself, but they’re always telling me to, as well.” Erin only sees her parents when she has matches against AAC opponents Houston, SMU and Tulsa or when her mother comes to visit. But no matter how busy her father is with building homes or molding her brother’s athletic career, he still sends her a text before every game. “I still get those texts before games: ‘Leave it all on the court. Good luck,’” Erin said. Erin said her work ethic comes natural to her because of the way she was raised and it’s something she couldn’t imagine living without. “I feel like it’s kind of natural now,” Erin said. “I can tell I’ve gotten it from my parents, but it’s kind of how I am now. It’s something I want to pass on to my kids.”
Football
USF adds BYU series By Jacob Hoag A S S T .
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USF announced a homeand-home series with BYU. The Cougars are a winless 0-5 against Florida teams. They will travel to Raymond James Stadium first in 2021 and then host the second meeting in 2022. A three-game series with Texas was also reported by ESPN’s Brett McMurphy, but has not been confirmed by USF. According to the ESPN article, USF will visit Texas in 2019 and 2024, with the Longhorns playing at Raymond James in 2022. Last week, USF announced another series with Northern Illinois, who will visit USF in 2016. The Bulls will travel to Illinois in 2017.