The Oracle MONDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 2014 I VOL. 52 NO. 44
www.usforacle.com
The Index
News.................................................................1 Lifestyle......................................................4 Opinion.......................................................6
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UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA
SG plays ‘blame game’ over student grievance Student claims lack of minutes, calendar updates impedes student participation. n
By Roberto Roldan M A N A G I N G
E D I T O R
Since transferring to USF in 2012, Katharine Orr has found it increasingly difficult to remain up to date with Student Government (SG) meetings and debates. Orr, a senior majoring in biomedical sciences and political science, said a lack of minutes and calendar updates on the SG website have kept her from voicing opinions and concerns with elected representatives. When the issue of student fee
increases made its way into the information isn’t even available.” licly posted minutes since Nov. public eye, Orr saw a serious issue For over a year now, the SG 12, 2013. with the way SG communicates Senate has been operating in There have been seven meetwith students. Particularly, Orr violation of Florida’s open gov- ings of the Activity & Service fee was concerned with statements ernment law and their own stat- Recommendation Committee this made by SG Senator semester that also have no Cory Ulloa and SG “Don’t accuse me of apathy — publicly available minPresident Jean Cocco, utes. don’t accuse other students who talked about a lack This committee is of student involvement responsible for determinin last month’s debate of apathy — when the meeting ing how SG spends the surrounding the Local information isn’t even available.” roughly $14 million in Fee Committee. A&S fees each year. Orr filed an official The issue, according Katharine Orr grievance with SG on to Senate President ProA senior majoring in biomedical sciences Oct. 31 against the leadTempore Abdool Aziz, is and political science ers of the executive, that SG does not actually legislative and judicial branches, utes, which require public bodies have minutes to post. calling on SG as a whole to be to make transcripts of meetings Aziz said when he assumed more transparent and account- available to the public. his position in May; the person The only minutes made who previously held his position able in the way it communicates publicly available on SG’s website did not inform him that the most with students. “I got really upset,” Orr said. at the time of print are from Sept. experienced transcriber had left “Don’t accuse me of apathy — 9 of this year and were approved the university. don’t accuse other students of Nov. 4. Aziz blamed this miscommuPrior to that, SG had not pub- nication for the lack of publicly apathy — when the meeting
available minutes. He said the process of hiring and training new transcribers for Senate and committee meetings has been ongoing since May. Orr said she believes the lack of minutes mostly affects the commuter portion of the student population and prevents other busy students from participating in SG. “There are a lot of students who can’t physically show up to the meetings, but it’s not their fault for being uninformed. It’s SG’s fault for not being able to do what they are required by statute to do,” Orr said. Though Aziz said the SG Senate have posted live streams to YouTube and UStream, he admits links to the streams were not made available on SG’s website. The videos are also not approved minutes that satisfy
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New student memorial to be unveiled today By Brandon Shaik A S S T .
The ribbon-cutting ceremony for the student memorial will be held at 10 a.m. today on Crescent Hill. ORACLE PHOTO/ADAM MATHIEU
N E W S
E D I T O R
When a community loses some of its own, memorializing those individuals can be an important part of honoring them. USF is honoring the legacy of students who have passed away with a new student memorial located on Crescent Hill behind the Marshall Student Center, which will be officially unveiled at the ribbon cutting ceremony this morning at 10 a.m. The project, which took a year from conception to completion, initially began as the idea for a veteran’s memorial, separate from a student memorial. It evolved into a comprehensive concept to include all students and replace the current brick memorial located next to the bull statues in front of the Marshall Student Center.
“If you are a parent, a friend, or family of a student that has passed away, having a brick that’s on the ground that skateboarders go on, that ants are on and that’s cracked is not the proper way to honor students that have passed away during their time at USF,” said Abdool Aziz, student government senate president protempore. “We, as a university and Student Government, knew we could do better.” Following the ground breaking ceremony in April, construction on the memorial began in August. Inspired by the Vietnam memorial in Washington D.C., the student memorial includes symbolic elements to honor those who have passed away. “The significance of the water is life, which flows from a fountain into a reflection pool to create a serene and calming atmosphere that if students and families want to
contemplate and think they have that space,” Aziz said. While records have not been kept on student deaths prior to 2009, a single inscription will honor those who passed away between 1960 and 2009. Every student who has passed away since 2009 will have an inscription and veterans will be indicated by a star. The Crescent Hill location was chosen after reviewing the university’s master plan because there would be no future plans to build on the area and it provided optimal potential for future expansion. Student Government paid $349,800 for the memorial, which was funded through student Activity and Service fees. In addition to the physical memorial, a student memorial committee was created to ensure the upkeep of the site, which is designed to endure for 50 years, and determine
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statutory requirements. Generally, all SG meetings are recorded and transcribed by paid transcribers. Once the transcriptions are made and approved by Aziz, they are sent to SG senators and committee members to be approved at the next meeting. After the minutes are approved, they are sent to IT to be uploaded to the website. That process, Aziz said, can take anywhere from 24 hours to a week, depending on how busy IT is at the time. Though the backlog of minutes will not be complete until after the winter break, Aziz said SG has approved overtime pay for the transcribers to help them get caught up. The missing minutes for meetings from the spring semester will likely not be made available, because Aziz said he does not have access to information of the prior senate president pro-tempore. When asked about issues related to calendar updates, Aziz directed questions to Maggie Hall, director of communications for the SG executive branch.
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Aziz referred to Hall as SG’s “designated webmaster.” Hall, however, claimed she was never made aware by Senate leadership that updating the legislative calendar fell under her job responsibilities, but said she does take full responsibility for the lack of updates in the executive calendar. “I know when each committee meets during the week, however they do call special committees and many other ad hoc committees and I do not get any notifications for when those meetings are being held,” Hall said. Though Aziz claimed he did not have access to the calendar, Hall said the heads of each branch are supposed to have access to the calendar and are supposed to update their own calendars. “Everyone kind of plays the blame game,” Hall said. “I am more than willing to (update the calendar) and I think we are setting up a meeting between our leadership and with other branches’ leadership, because other branches do it on their own.” Currently, Chief Justice Sammy Hamed keeps the judicial calendar up to date. “I think my department kind of gets relied on a lot because, although I’m in the executive branch, it’s still my responsibility to communicate what is going on in the legislative and judicial branch, but if they don’t provide me information or provide me any details, I can’t do that,” Hall said. Though the uncertainty surrounding who is responsible for the online calendars has prevented SG from updating them, Hall said SG does try to put up notice on its Facebook page to inform students of weekly Senate meetings. Both Aziz and Hall also said SG has asked Marshall Student Center operators to make the meeting times available on the screens in the building.
However, Orr said she believes putting the meeting times on the screen or on social media, rather than using the existing tools on the SG website, is insufficient for informing students. “You’re basically asking 40,000 students to herd to like two or three monitors and wait for (SG) meetings to scroll by,” Orr said. “I have friends who commute from St. Pete to go to classes. What are they supposed to do?” On Thursday, the Judiciary and Ethics Committee (JEC) reviewed the grievance and agreed to move forward with the investigation. The committee will begin its investigation today. In her official statement to the committee, Orr has asked for the employment contracts of the three branch leaders named in the grievance: Cocco, Hamed and Senate President Andy Rodriguez. Orr said she has requested the information to see if the leaders of each branch are violating their oath of office on students’ dime. Cocco said he was disappointed that Orr filed an official grievance rather than sit down to talk with him about the issues, but encouraged the committee to perform a diligent investigation. Orr’s grievance also requests three specific remedies including updating the calendars and posting minutes to keep SG in compliance with state law and SG statutes, that the JEC issue orders of non-compliance against the three branch heads, and for SG to issue a public apology via The Oracle to “remind them that they are accountable to students.” “Nobody gets involved anymore because of things like this. Everyone thinks there’s no point because they can’t really do anything and that’s totally not the case,” Orr said. “The efficacy of government comes from its representatives and we don’t have that, which is why we are where we are right now.”
MEMORIAL
Lovins will be speaking about the collaboration between students and administration, and Genshaft will speak on the influence of the university. A separate ceremony in January will honor those who have passed away in 2014. “This project is very historic and is a model for other student memorials around the country,” Aziz said. “It’s an example of a complete and comprehensive way for universities to build student memorials.”
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the eligibility of students to be inscribed on the memorial. Today’s ribbon-cutting ceremony, which will honor those who passed away between 2009 and 2013, will include the ROTC color guard and a number of speakers, including Sandy Lovins, vice president for administrative services, and USF president Judy Genshaft.
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Men’s Basketball
Collins returns, leads Bulls to victory
By Tiana Aument C O R R E S P O N D E N T
Junior guard Anthony Collins held USF together in a backand-forth exhibition game against Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP) for a 77-72 victory Saturday afternoon. The lead changed eight times and coach Orlando Antigua said he was most impressed with Collins’ leadership. “When the stuff started going up and down, he was talking, he was organizing, he was bringing the guys together,” Antigua said. “That’s what we need from guys with experience.” Collins accounted for 22 points, hitting all 12 of his free throws and going 5-of-10 from the floor. “It felt like I was coming out of high school for my first college game all over again,” Collins said. Collins missed 24 games last season due to swelling in his left knee, but said he felt fully recovered in his first game back. Collins was one of three Bulls to score double digits. Senior guard Corey Allen Jr. accounted for 17 points and junior center Jaleel Cousins
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I think that move really paid off for us.” Moalosi scored the third goal for the Bulls when he received a ground cross from senior defender Wesley Charpie and shot from about 15 yards out. Moalosi’s shot rebounded off a defender and went past Uzcategui for the forward’s fifth goal of the season. “The difference was just the energy,” Charpie said. “In practice, we were ready for it, everyone was buzzing. It showed tonight because everybody, including guys coming off the bench, had a great showing.” Epps scored the Bulls’ fourth and final goal as he received a great pass from Moalosi into open space. Epps was one-on-one with Uzcategui and gently shot it
scored 13. The Bulls started with a 7-0 run, which was ignited by junior guard Nehemias Morillo’s 3-pointer less than a minute into the game. But the Crimson Hawks tied it at eight with fewer than 16 minutes to go in the half. The lead changed five more times before IUP forward Daddy Ugbede tied it at 37 with a layup to head into halftime. “There were some ups and downs,” Antigua said. “For a young team to be able to have a lead, get close to losing it and respond to finish out the game this early, I was impressed with that.” The Bulls shot 35.7 percent from the field in the first half and came back to shoot 51.9 percent in the second. Ugbede led the Crimson Hawks with 20 total points, making all eight of his free throws and going 6-of-11 from the floor. IUP coach Joe Lombardi has led his team to the NCAA tournament in each of his last six seasons, compiling a 154-35 record. The Bulls begin the regular season against Flagler College on Friday at 7 p.m. in the Sun Dome. toward the keeper’s lower right post. Memphis scored two goals off a cross into the middle and a penalty shot late in the game, but both goals proved to be harmless to USF’s lead. “Memphis is a real good team,” Kiefer said. “They beat us last year at their place, and they beat us at home. I felt like if our approach was right and we fully respected them this time, then the score would be like it was tonight.” With USF notching the win and UConn beating Temple 5-0 the same night, the Bulls and the Huskies will meet Friday for the AAC semifinals. “From the moment we started, everyone was on the same page,” Charpie said. “I’m glad we can come out here with the victory. I’m looking forward now to playing UConn in the semifinals.”
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LIFESTYLE
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA
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FALL BLOCKBUSTERS HIT THEATERS “Big Hero 6” This weekend, Disney brought us a new type of hero, one who appears to be more of a marshmallow. The film is set in the fictional mashup metropolis, San Fransokyo, where Hiro Hamada, a 14-yearold robotics genius, lives with his large and lovable balloonish robot, Baymax. Along with
“Interstellar” Christopher Nolan’s “Interstellar” is arguably his most ambitious film, one that will challenge audiences’ bold ideas about the future, space exploration and the extinction the American spirit. At almost three hours, the film seeks to expand on the previously mentioned ideas that once defined us, but now appear
“Nightcrawler”
COMING SOON
PHOTOS SPECIAL TO THE ORACLE
Nothing gets good ratings quite like violence — the bloodier the better. Enter the stringers: apathetic and greedy cameramen who film the victims of car accidents and shootings to sell to the highest bidding news network. Dan Gilroy’s latest film “Nightcrawler” spotlights this shady world through the lens of the perfect stringer: a sociopath. Jake Gyllenhaal is nearly
“FOXCATCHER”
“DUMB AND DUMBER TO”
FRIDAY
FRIDAY
their team of nerdy friends, Hamada and Baymax go on the adventure of a lifetime to save the city. “Big Hero 6” focuses on the idea of working toward your potential and doing what you love. Not only does the film give audiences some memorable characters, but it also shows some of the
amazing animation Disney is known for. “Big Hero 6” is a beautiful movie fit for everyone. There are laughs and good times, as well as a few tear-jerking moments that really bring the lesson home.
to be merely a facet of our history and not our continued evolution toward the unknown that hovers above the clouds. In a moving and subtle performance, Matthew McConaughey plays Cooper, a retired NASA pilot who devotes his time to farming and raising his two children in a dusty western terrain evocative of the Dust Bowl.
Like “Gravity,” “Interstellar” is not about giant meteors heading straight toward Earth or making friends with extraterrestrials, but about the fleeting moments that make up our lives and the fragile connections we have with each other.
unrecognizable as the intelligent and manipulative Louis Bloom, a self-taught stringer who will do whatever he believes will help him make the money to buy a lottery ticket. Gyllenhaal’s performance is shocking and arguably one of the best of his career. “Nightcrawler” is brutally honest and forces audiences to face the gory truth of society’s fascination with violence and the indifference toward suffering
in mass media. The victims are humanized enough that the audience can clearly see the insanity in the behavior of all of the film’s characters, with Bloom at the bloody forefront. It is a gripping and heart-pounding story about the effect of greed and the American dream, with a pretty incredible car chase for good measure.
“ROSEWATER” FRIDAY
— Commentary by Polly Snover
— Commentary by Rene Thomas Rodriguez
— Commentary by Courtney Combs
“MOCKINGJAY — PART 1” NOV 21
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UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA
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Ft. Lauderdale law against feeding homeless is misguided homeless existence. Regardless, according to the mayor of Fort Lauderdale, John Seiler, the new ordinance actually assists the homeless population. Seiler announced his perspective on the issue saying, “providing them with a meal and keeping them in that cycle on the street is not productive.” However, the cycle of homelessness is a complicated socio-economic phenomenon, and to imply that the public sharing of food by local humanitarian organizations or individuals only preserves the cycle of homelessness is a laughably misinformed attempt to make sense of the issue. Another pitfall of the ordinance is that it impedes the interactions and relationships between the homeless and the average citizen. At its core, homelessness is a social puzzle that will require more than government action. If such a puzzle is going to be solved, it is an absolute necessity that the general public assumes the role of active participants. Unfortunately, homeless-
Matthew Brotz COLU M N I ST
Though homelessness continues to assert itself as one of the most prevalent issues of the modern U.S., the homeless living in Fort Lauderdale should no longer anticipate aid from their fellow citizens. Thanks to a city ordinance, people are prohibited from publicly feeding the homeless, culminating in the arrest of two pastors and a 90-yearold advocate for the homeless who dedicated more than 20 years to nourishing the destitute and the indigent. For a spreading issue defined by an extreme lack of monetary resources, the prohibition of such charity only escalates the already brutal and unforgiving nature of a
the Oracle
ness is a poorly understood predicament by much of the public and surrounded by stereotypes. Such misconceptions partially arise from the alienation of the homeless by the settled. For many people who are wealthy enough to afford a residence, the homeless practically inhabit a different sphere of existence. Interactions between these two classes are relatively uncommon, highlighting one of the fundamental aspects that enables the cycle of homelessness. As previously noted, Fort Lauderdale’s new ordinance only encourages separation of the homeless and discourages civic engagement. To say that people feeding the homeless only keeps them stuck in their predicament shows a poor understanding of a complex issue. Though Seiler may very well possess pure intentions, the ordinance that he backs will only aggravate the disease that he is attempting to cure.
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What you said Multimedia editor Adam Mathieu asked students what they think about Fort Lauderdale’s ordinance restricting citizens from giving food to the homeless.
“I think it’s stupid because I can understand not wanting to hand out cash, but food is a necessity to live.” — Jazmine Thompson, a sophomore majoring in German “That made me so mad when I first heard about it. I don’t understand why we have to take good Samaritans and turn them into bad people.” Uriel Larson, a — sophomore majoring in mass communications
“(Homeless people) need help. Not being able to give them food will only hurt them.”
Matthew Brotz is a freshman majoring in philosophy.
— Justin Ashori, a senior majoring in political science
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“This is a horrible idea; they should be passing laws to help the homeless.” — William Ratliff, a freshman majoring in computer engineering
Classifieds UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA
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Crossword ●
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Sports
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UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA
The Rundown The teams that will be in the first College Football Playoff became even more difficult to predict after this week. Eight of the top 25 teams lost, including four teams in the top 10. The highest ranked team to lose was No. 3 Auburn, which fell to Texas A&M, 41-38.
Weekend scores Volleyball
USF UConn
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Men’s Soccer
Memphis 2 USF
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Women’s Soccer
UConn
3(PK)
USF
2(PK)
Conference update
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By Jacob Hoag S P O R T S
E D I T O R
The Bulls held off the UConn in Huskies regulation, but were unable to find the back of the net, dropping the AAC championship game to the Huskies in penalty kicks 3-2 on Sunday. The USF women’s soccer team had ample opportunities to score in the first half, with eight shots on goal. In the 21st minute, sophomore forward Leticia Skeete took the ball in the top left side of the box, but failed to drive the ball off her foot into the net. Just before the half, senior forward Olivia Chance had another shot on goal from the center of the box, but the ball was deflected just right of the post. USF was able to keep the conference’s leading scorer, Rachel Hill, from scoring by shadowing her with senior Demi Stokes for most of the first half. However, in the second half, the tables turned on the Bulls. UConn (13-4-5) outshot USF 11-3 in the second half. With both teams at a stale-
mate after 90 minutes, the game headed into overtime. USF (13-6-2) once again dominated the flow of the game, with six shots in the two overtime periods, but still couldn’t put a point on the board. Coming into the game, UConn had not allowed a goal in regulation in the AAC tournament and that would hold true. After neither team could find the golden goal in extra time, the game would be decided on penalty kicks. After going down three in penalty kicks, the AAC championship came down to Chance. The senior fired a shot, but UConn’s goalkeeper Emily Armstrong made a diving save to give UConn the win and the conference title. “We’ve worked for three weeks on (penalty kicks) and I felt really good going into them,” coach Denise SchilteBrown said. “It’s not easy, but I can’t take anything away from that UConn keeper. She made some great saves that most keepers don’t get to.” For the Bulls, it may not have been the end they envisioned,
Senior Olivia Chance had multiple chances to score for the Bulls, but was denied on each of her shots. ORACLE FILE PHOTO/AMINA SPAHIC but they now look toward the NCAA tournament to make another championship run. “Our mind is now toward the NCAA tournament. I think we’re a tournament team,” SchilteBrown said. “I think we can go far and I’m really proud of them. They just need to keep
their heads up. It was strife that got us to this point in the season and I think it’s that type of trial that gets you through the NCAA tournament.” USF will find out if it earned a spot in the NCAA tournament tonight during the NCAA Selection Show.
Men’s Soccer
Bulls’ win sends team to AAC semifinals By Chris Villar C O R R E S P O N D E N T
Memphis became eligible for a bowl game as the Tigers were able to hit a field goal as time expired to defeat Temple 16-13. FOOTBALL
USF (3-5, 2-2) at SMU (0-8, 0-4) IMG/USF Radio Network
T H E O R AC L E
AAC championship comes down to Chance
Houston’s three-game winning streak was snapped Saturday, as the Cougars lost to Tulane, 31-24.
When: Saturday, 8 p.m. Where: Gerald J. Ford Stadium TV/Radio: CBS Sports Network,
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A S S T .
Outside USF
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Coach George Kiefer said senior Edwin Moalosi’s leadership was an important factor in the Bulls’ 4-2 win. ORACLE PHOTO/GABRIEL HERNANDEZ
Revenge is a dish best served cold and the USF men’s soccer team served it up when it defeated Memphis 4-2 on Saturday in rainy 60-degree weather, just two weeks after losing to the Tigers 2-1. The first half was calm until the 29th minute when USF sophomore midfielder Lindo Mfeka dribbled down the right side of the field to assist the first goal of the game. He switched the play across the box to fellow sophomore midfielder Marcus Epps, who then gave a pass behind the defense to freshman midfielder Eduardo Maceira, who blasted the ball past Memphis goalkeeper Cody Uzcategui for the freshman’s
fourth goal of the season. As the second half was beginning, cold rain began to fall and the Bulls took full advantage of the change of weather. USF’s second goal came just 45 seconds into the half from a cross by senior forward Edwin Moalosi on the right side to Maceira in the middle, who made a controversial play as he initiated contact with the goalkeeper and knocked the ball into the net with no foul called on the play. “The guys did a really good job,” coach George Kiefer said. “I especially think Edwin did a really good job leading the group. I heard him talking all night and keeping guys focused. We said let’s look at Maceira up top and
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