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The Oracle WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2015 I VOL. 53 NO. 10

Inside this Issue

The Index

News.................................................................1 Lifestyle......................................................4 Opinion.......................................................6

www.usforacle.com

UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA

Harlan: Ybor ban went ‘a little too far’ Police: Ybor AD overrules coach on keeping players out of Ybor following murder of former player.

stabbing not the norm

By Jeff Odom

D I G I T A L

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LI F E STYLE

On-campus dining, for better or for worse.

Page 4

Montage

S PORTS Women’s soccer standout plays in FIFA World Cup. BACK

classifieds..............................................7 Crossword.........................................7 sports............................................................8

S P O R T S

By Roberto Roldan E D I T O R

E D I T O R

A day after publicly making a controversial about-face on USF football coach Willie Taggart’s policy banning players from Ybor City, athletic director Mark Harlan said he stands by his decision.

In the wake of Sunday morning’s murder of former USF defensive lineman Elkino Watson outside The Orpheum nightclub, Taggart said Monday in his weekly teleconference with reporters he had issued a team-wide ban from the region for safety reasons.

“Our guys have to find other places to go have fun,” Taggart said. “Ybor will not be one of them.”

But just five hours later, Harlan issued a public statement, backpedaling on Taggart’s ban, saying he holds Ybor City in “high regard” and no student athletes will be forbidden “from visiting any areas of our beautiful city.”

Watson, 23, and Desmond Horne, 22, were both stabbed in a parking lot near The Orpheum at 1915 East 7th Ave. around 3 a.m.

Sunday in an event that reportedly stemmed from an altercation inside.

Both men were transported to Tampa General Hospital, where Watson later succumbed to his injuries. Horne, who previously

Athletic Director Mark Harlan lifted football coach Willie Taggart’s ban on players visiting Ybor City following the death of former defensive lineman Elkino Watson. ORACLE PHOTO/ADAM MATHIEU tried out for USF’s football team statement and emailed Harlan to in the spring but did not make the voice his displeasure.

“They know it to be a safe cut, is listed in stable condition.

At the time of the incident, The place,” Gonzmart told the Times.

Orpheum was hosting an event “I’m just insulted that the coach that was billed as an “official” after- said that.”

Addressing a room full of reportparty for USF’s 51-3 victory over Florida A&M on Saturday. Harlan ers Tuesday inside the Lee Roy reiterated it was not university- Selmon Athletics Center, Harlan sanctioned and that the school will admitted Gonzmart was the first be looking into why the venue to alert him about Taggart’s comments. But he insisted that was used the school name.

The decision to overrule Taggart not the reason he overturned the sparked rampant speculation that initial ban.

The Oracle filed a public records Harlan was caving in to the pressure of prominent USF boosters request Tuesday afternoon seekand business owners instead of ing all emails between Harlan and Gonzmart since the incident. student safety.

“Let me make it very clear: in In an interview Monday with the Tampa Bay Times, Richard this business, there’s opinions all Gonzmart, president of the the time,” Harlan said. “That’s part Columbia Restaurant Group and a of the gig, so to speak. But it was prominent athletics donor, said he no influence at all. “took offense” to Taggart’s initial n See HARLAN on PAGE 5

Moving forward with President Genshaft: A preview of her fall address and review of her 15-year tenure.

See more on

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Despite the high profile stabbing of former USF football player Elkino Watson, the Tampa Police Department (TPD) says crime rates in Ybor remain lower than they were just a decade ago.

Between August 2001 and August 2002, TPD recorded nearly 480 violent crimes and one homicide. But from 2014 to 2015 that number has dropped to only 120 recorded violent crimes, according to crime statistics compiled by TPD. Sunday’s fatal stabbing was the first recorded homicide in Ybor City in the last three years.

Andrea Davis, a spokeswoman for TPD, said the department credits their “Focus on Four” plan that began in 2002 for the reduction in crime rates in Ybor and throughout Tampa. The plan aims to target the biggest four crimes that occur in waves and can be tracked by TPD: burglary, robbery, auto theft and auto burglary.

“The bottom line is, in 2002 we changed the way we do business and it worked.

When TPD began reinventing the approach, the city had one of the highest crime rates for a city our size. Clearly that has changed,” Davis said in an email to The Oracle.

Early Sunday morning, Watson, a former defensive lineman for the Bulls, was stabbed to death in a parking lot near The Orpheum nightclub. It is believed that an altercation occurred between Watson and another partygo-

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T H E O R AC L E

USF navigators receive Moving largest grant in Florida

forward

USF President Judy Genshaft has led the university for 15 years, and it has seen increases in four- and six-year graduation rates, as well as average GPA and SAT scores of incoming freshmen. ORACLE PHOTO/SEBASTIAN CONTENTO

USF President Genshaft reviews 15-year tenure prior to today’s fall address.

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By Alex Rosenthal M A N A G I N G

E D I T O R

A lot has changed over the past 15 years.

Before USF President Judy Genshaft, the campus was covered with sandy lots and lacked much of the vibrant landscaping that, today, lies between buildings that look upon a completely different campus.

In Genshaft’s 15-year tenure, longer than any previous USF president, the campus has expanded in more ways than one.

With regard to multimillion-dollar projects, Genshaft has overseen the completion of Juniper-Poplar Hall, the Interdisciplinary Sciences building, the rebuilt Marshall Student Center (MSC), the Patel Center on USF Alumni Drive that now houses her office and the expanded complex for USF Athletics.

However, Genshaft will not focus on older accomplishments in today’s annual address in the MSC Oval Theater. Rather, her speech will focus on the projects started in the last few years and their near conclusions.

In the next several years, the campus will see the completion of the USF Health Heart Institute and Morsani College of Medicine constructed downtown and the public-private partnership that will produce the new Andros Village, complete with shopping and recre-

ation areas.

To fund such goals, the university may also soon see the final stages of the $1 billion Unstoppable campaign, an ambitious record-setting goal that has currently raised more than $880 million.

For Genshaft, the campus can always grow, and more projects can always be completed.

“It never stops. There’s always more,” Genshaft said in an interview with The Oracle.

But how much longer will Genshaft be in the leadership position? If the Board of Trustees (BOT) does not re-appoint her, her contract will expire in June of 2016, and another president may be the one witnessing the fruits of her labor.

In the 15 years of her tenure, USF’s main campus has increased by more than 10,000 students, with almost 42,000 on the Tampa campus this year.

The average freshman on campus this year scored 132 more points on the SAT than their 2001 counterparts, and the average high school GPA rose from 3.49 to 4.08, according to data from the provost’s office.

Provost Ralph Wilcox said these strides — in addition to the 24 percent increase in fouryear graduation rates and the 21 percent increase in six-year rates — would not have been possible if not for the university’s stable leadership.

“As our rankings increase as a top-tier research university, it means the value of your degree, of those students who have graduated before you, continues to rise,” Wilcox said. “…

This is a president that doesn’t allow any of us to stray from that course we are on. (She)

maintains course and discipline through a strategic plan that hasn’t wavered.

“The difficulty with new presidents coming in is that oftentimes new presidents want to take the university on a different course. We, USF, across the USF system across the Tampa Bay community, are so fortunate to have a president who has kept on course and focused and disciplined on all that we do.”

Even though USF faced the economic hardships of 2008, — when school budgets were being cut across the state and the following years resulted in a split with the Lakeland campus that became Florida Polytechnic — Genshaft said she had to remain focused and positive despite the times.

“Steer the ship in the right direction to make sure that you are not just ducking down and not achieving anything,” Genshaft said. “You wanted to still achieve and move forward.”

In addition to the medical school downtown, a piece of Lightning owner Jeff Vinik’s new billion-dollar revitalization of downtown Tampa, the president also will soon oversee the construction of a $133 million housing project expected in June 2019 over two phases.

The new village, which would replace the existing Andros dorms built in the ’60s, would feature semi-suite and traditional style beds, a health and wellness facility, a pool and dining facilities.

“It’s all the president’s vision of students being engaged more than just Monday through Thursday,” USF Chief Operating

n See GENSHAFT on PAGE 3

By Russell Nay A S S T .

N E W S

E D I T O R

With open enrollment for the health insurance marketplace beginning Nov. 1, it is important for eligible consumers to know how to use the marketplace and which insurance plans are best for them.

On Wednesday, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced $67 million in threeyear grants to 100 organizations across 34 states to fund public outreach services. These initiatives, called navigator programs, were created to help health insurance consumers evaluate their options with one-on-one education.

USF’s Florida Covering Kids & Families’ (FL-CKF) Navigator program received $5.9 million in grant awards, an increase of more than $500,000 from last year.

Jodi Ray, an instructor and the program director of FL-CKF, said USF receiving almost 9 percent of the nation’s grant awards is likely due to the university’s existing experience with helping the public obtain health coverage.

“FL-CKF has been doing this for about 17 years,” Ray said. “We have a long history being able to provide this kind of assistance to communities all over the state.”

She said the grant will directly fund the services of navigators, people who educate health insurance consumers about their options, in all 67 counties in Florida.

Ray said FL-CKF will also host a series of mass insurance enrollment events called “Nav-Labs” across all USF campuses and will have a team of USF navigators.

The program held Nav-Labs at USF during the previous two years since the launch of the health insurance marketplace, and Ray said USF navigators have been able to assist many eligible USF students with finding insurance.

“Anyone who works, has a job, files taxes and makes over 100 percent of the federal poverty level has to have some insurance. If they don’t have health insurance, they could get a penalty on their taxes,” she said. “We know a lot of students work and a lot of students would probably like to have access to health insurance. We know that having access to health insurance

does impact academic success.”

Ray said FL-CKF will work with other organizations throughout Florida to pair health insurance consumers with navigators who are knowledgeable about all aspects of health insurance, background checked and fingerprinted, and familiar with the communities they help to educate.

“We need folks who are trained … and can be trusted to handle personal information,” she said.

“They are well-trained to provide assistance on the different health plans — help with enrolling, filling out the application and (answering) a wide range of questions from, ‘What is health insurance?’ … all the way to, ‘How do you use health insurance now that you have it?’”

Ray said enrolling for insurance can be very complex, especially for consumers who have had very little access to the health insurance marketplace. She said this is why navigators physically sit down with consumers to go over insurance plans objectively based on consumers’ needs and priorities.

“When you’re talking about things like deductibles and coinsurance, out-of-pocket costs and co-pay, it starts to get very confusing,” she said. “It’s very important that the navigator (provides education) in a way that is easy for the consumer to understand because … for someone to keep their coverage, they have to see the value in it, and that means knowing how to use it.”

Ray said the grant will also pay for a communications campaign to inform those who have not heard of navigators about their services, including Nav-Labs across the state, a series of phone banks and social media advertisements.

“Every year, it’s going to get a little tougher to get this information out to people who maybe can’t be reached by traditional … methods,” she said. “We have to communicate in a targeted way to folks that need this information that we aren’t reaching with our standard outreach efforts.”

The current $5.9 million award is for the first year of the three-year grant. Ray said to renew its grant for the second and third years, USF would have to demonstrate posi-

n See NAVIGATORS on PAGE 3

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YBOR

Continued from PAGE 1

er that spilled out into the lot.

According to TPD, the stabbing is not indicative of a larger problem.

TPD has been focused on reducing crime rates through community partnerships and data-based policing, and violent crime in Tampa has been reduced by two-thirds since 2002. Crime rates in Ybor, according to TPD, have also been cut in half since then.

By comparison, the university area has had nearly 950 reported violent crimes this year alone, according to the Hillsborough County Sherriff’s Office crime mapping system.

Still, however, Ybor has a reputation among many USF students as a crime-ridden city where they need to remain on guard. A number of students say rumors of fights and robbery in Ybor City spread through word of mouth on the USF campus.

Raul Balido, a senior majoring in finance, said he has

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heard stories from other students, including his girlfriend, about how bad crime is in Ybor City.

“I’ve heard it’s sketchy at night, so I try to stay in the highest-trafficked main areas when I’m there,” Balido said.

Nina Dodge, a senior majoring in biomedical sciences, said she also has a negative perception of the safety of Ybor because of stories she has heard from other students. Because of the rumors, she said she always stays in groups when she is there.

“It’s honestly not too bad, though. I have seen worse,” Dodge said. “I’ve been a couple times and it doesn’t really seem as bad as people say.”

No matter where a student may go out, Davis said, they should always exercise caution and remain aware of their surroundings so as to not be an easy target for criminals.

In the most recent case involving Watson, Davis said the best way to avoid a fight is to simply walk away.

GENSHAFT

Continued from PAGE 2

Officer John Long said. “It’s how do we keep the population involved Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and part of that is this village concept that we provide all kinds of outlets for students …

“The buildings are old — they’ve served their purpose. I graduated in 1982. People learn differently in 2015 than they did in 1982, so we need to build a space that focuses on modern learning concepts and not concepts from the ’60s.”

Its her collaborative style of leadership that Genshaft said gives her her never-give-up attitude.

“There are always obstacles,” she said. “I often say that a life of a president and, actually, many of our senior vice presidents, is a roller coaster.

When it is high, it is great and fabulous, and when it is down, it gets really low at times.”

In the recovering economy, some critics considered Genshaft ambitious when she

announced the $500 million Unstoppable campaign was going to expand to a $1 billion goal. Nevertheless, the donations in the past year hit record numbers.

In October, Pam and Les Muma donated $25 million to rename the College of Business.

In February, Lynn Pippenger gave $10 million for the School of Accountancy. Before those donations, Kate Tiedemann’s $10 million gift renamed USF St. Petersburg’s College of Business in September.

More recent Unstoppable announcements include a $10 million donation from USF trustee Jordan Zimmerman and last month’s $10.85 million donation from USF alumnus Barron Collier and wife Dana.

“Do we always choose the right opportunity? We hope so, but if it doesn’t pan out, we regroup and go to something that will make sense for the university,” Genshaft said. “It’s one where you just have to work the system whether its legislative, internally, the system in the city or the state you just have to work all the different levels that

you’re at.”

Though it will be up to a vote among the BOT, Genshaft has a long track record at USF and said she “absolutely” plans to continue on and renew her contract.

“This is a great university and it’s a great university to be at,” she said. “… We have a lot more to do and we’re all signed on to continue to do it … I can tell you we’re moving forward.”

The president’s fall address begins today at 2 p.m., which can also be viewed live at usf.edu. To see clips of Genshaft’s interview with The Oracle, visit USFOracle.com.

NAVIGATORS

Continued from PAGE 2

tive first-year results and submit a budget plan for the next year for approval by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Open enrollment for health insurance coverage begins Nov. 1, but some may be eligible for special enrollment dates, and Ray said navigators can help consumers determine their eligibility.

Lifestyle

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UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA

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Dining halls more “meh” than “ew”

By McKenna Kelley L I F E S T Y L E

E D I T O R

Ask any incoming college freshman about their time at orientation, and they are bound to tell you one of two things.

“The food was good,” or, alternatively, “the food was bad.”

Eating in the dining halls is part of the quintessential college experience. New students approach the dining halls with either enthusiasm or wariness, depending on what they’ve heard from the media or friendly upperclassmen, or perhaps what they’ve tasted for themselves.

Some students said their siblings warned them about less-than-spectacular food

quality.

“My sister was in college, and she told me ‘oh, the dining hall sucks. You’re gonna get really annoyed with it really quick,” said Victoria Escandell, a freshman majoring in marine biology.

Overwhelmingly, freshmen seem to be entering college with the idea that dining hall food is boring at best and inedible at worst. Mario ReyesMunoz, a first-time-in-college student majoring in mechanical engineering, said he was not expecting gourmet meals on campus. Similarly, firsttime-in-college business and finance major Gisselle Cardel said she anticipated cafeteria food.

After experiencing it for themselves, however, most freshmen agreed that dining

hall food is generally decent.

Some even had their expectations exceeded.

“I think it’s a lot better than what I’m used to in high school,” explained Cardel.

Some even prefer it to the food they grew up eating.

“It’s better than Mexican food everyday,” said Abraham Vasquez, an undecided freshman. “That’s what I get at my house.”

Avoiding the freshman fifteen tends to be portrayed in the media as a big issue for new students, but Cardel says that is not necessarily true for everyone.

“Just because you come to college and have access to the dining hall doesn’t mean you’re going to go out of what you’re used to eating,” she explained.

“Besides the extra cookies here and there, I don’t think it’s a big problem,” Cardel added.

Angela Mossgrove, a firsttime-in-college student majoring in international studies, said her experience in the dining halls has not lived up to the high expectations the food at orientation set.

“Some of the stations are really good, like the vegan station. More of the pre-prepared meals, as the weeks have gone on, my expectations have gotten lower,” she explained.

Dining halls are a frequent topic of conversation amongst her fellow residents on-campus. The general consensus is that there are good and bad days for finding good food, Mossgrove said.

The key to eating in the din-

ing halls is choosing a variety of foods and dining locations, various freshmen explained.

“Some of this is really disgusting,” said Escandell, “but you just have to know what to get and change it up a bit, because it can get really boring.”

“We usually come to Juniper [Dining] because it has more variety, while Fresh Food [Company] and Champion’s [Choice] usually have less stuff.

We think [Juniper Dining] is better,” said Reyes-Munoz.

Sometimes it is just the little things that help make the experience a little better.

“I didn’t know [the dining halls] had chocolate milk, and I’m happy about that,” Vasquez said. “I like the chocolate milk.”

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WORLD CUP

HARLAN

When we come back, now I’m like ‘OK now you’re on defense, so get back.’”

Saenz played in 17 games for USF last season and finished with 11 shots on goal and one assist.

Off the field, Saenz is a jokester, but once her cleats hit the pitch, her voice quiets and her intensity increases.

“On the field, I’m quiet,” she said.

“In the way I perform, with my runs or with my movements , I speak that way rather than be vocal.”

Being back at USF, Saenz said she has learned a lot from “experiencing the best soccer one could experience.” But to Schilte-Brown, nothing has change — and for good reason.

“I don’t know if Diana’s changed that much,” Schilte-Brown said. “Of course she’s grown a little bit in each year, and of course the World Cup experience was phenomenal, but she’s really always been this good.

“She’s been this good for a really long time. She’s been on her national team for a long time and she’s been an impact player since the day she got here.”

“This is a belief that I’ve had and I think I’ve talked to some of you about this before.

We work at a public institution. And banning things is not the way you teach anybody anything.”

After being advised by Gonzmart, Harlan said he called Taggart to discuss the coach’s comments.

“This wasn’t about being mad at coach, this was just about disagreement on that particular matter,” Harlan said. “It was a conversation like we always have. It wasn’t about being mad, and it was completely forgivable in all ways possible.”

Taggart apologized for what he said was an “in the moment” reaction and quelled any conjecture that there might be some infighting between him and Harlan, who was hired to replace former athletic director Doug Woolard last March.

“I could’ve been more specific because it’s not Ybor, there’s a lot of great places,”

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said Taggart, who was hired in December 2012 by Woolard.

“Again, I was kind of in the moment of thinking one thing and I got hit with that question and that’s how I responded. Again, if I could’ve done it over I probably would’ve responded differently, but that’s where we’re at.”

A closed memorial service was held at the Sun Dome on Tuesday night for current and former players and other student athletes who knew Watson. Harlan said he hoped the program could move forward from his ruling and focus on Saturday’s game at No. 11 Florida State.

“At the end of the day, (overturning Taggart’s decision) was something that I was driving … and the way I believe is that I needed to correct the record, and I needed to do it quickly, because it was very staunch in my beliefs on this particular matter,” Harlan said. “My relationship with this football coach is very, very strong. So I know where I stood with him.

“And that’s what matters at the end of the day.”

Opinion

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UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA

the Oracle the University of South Florida’s student newspaper since 1966

Editor in Chief Grace Hoyte oracleeditor@gmail.com Managing Editor Alex Rosenthal oraclemeditor@gmail.com Sports Editor Jeff Odom oraclesportseditor@gmail.com Opinion Editor Breanne Williams oracleopinion@gmail.com Lifestyle Editor McKenna Kelley oraclelifestyleeditor@gmail.com Multimedia Editor Adam Mathieu Digital Editor Roberto Roldan Copy Editor Safeena Kassoo Assistant Editors Jacob Hoag Russell Nay Graphic Artists Ashley Barzaga Luke Blankenship Advertising Sales Lauren Alford Rachel Carpenter Abby Pereira Destiny Moore The Oracle is published Monday through Thursday during the fall and spring semesters, and twice weekly, Monday and Thursday, during the summer.

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Culture of acceptance not extended to religion

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What you said

Following the death of Elkino Watson, Coach Taggart sought to ban his team from Ybor, but the ban was overruled by USF Athletic Director Mark Harlan. Editor Breanne Williams asked students what they thought of the ban.

Abby Rinaldi

“They shouldn’t be banned.

Ybor has nothing to do with the stabbing. That could happen anywhere.

On the field, Coach (Taggart) can control them; off, he can’t.”

COLU M N I ST

Hollywood has a new swear word, one that “Big Bang Theory” star Mayim Bialik knows all too well, and that word is “Jewish.”

According to CNN, the neuroscientist and actress recently went on a trip to Israel to visit family and friends. Upon her return, she found a storm of antiSemitic comments and hate mail from the public and critics.

“I’ve gotten a lot of negative attention for visiting Israel.

That’s what’s amazing ... simply by going to Israel this summer and saying nothing more than, ‘I’ve gone to Israel,’ I got the same amount of hatred and threats and anti-Semitism for actually making a statement,” Bialik told Fox News.

What’s worse is that what sparked the most hatred toward Bialik was not that she visited Israel, but that she is Jewish.

Bialik is by no means secretive about her Jewish identity.

In an interview with CNN, Bialik discussed how in touch she is with her religious roots. With this openness comes vulnerability. Bialik said she is no stranger to these anti-Semitic comments, but this recent trip to Israel definitely reignited the flame.

But Bialik is not the only victim of anti-Semitism. In the U.S. alone, the Anti-Defamation League’s (ADL) Audit of AntiSemitic Incidents “counted a total of 912 anti-Semitic incidents across the U.S. during the 2014 calendar year. This represents a 21 percent increase from the 751 incidents reported during the same period in 2013.”

According to the ADL, in 2014 anti-Semitic incidences occured in 38 states and the District of Columbia. There were 36 cases of assult, 363 incidents of vandalism, and 513 harassment, threats and events reported.

These included the fatal shootings at a Jewish community center building and senior residence which claimed three lives on April 13, 2014.

It’s shocking that this is taking place in the U.S., a country that prides itself on recent radical liberal changes.

Since the Supreme Court’s decision in United States v.

Windsor in 2013, which overturned Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act and redefined marriage to allow same-sex couples the right to marry, society has taken huge strides toward acceptance.

The transgender community has gained visibility with the emergence of individuals like Caitlyn Jenner and Laverne Cox. Additionally, female empowerment has gained momentum.

American Eagle’s “(hashtag) AerieREAL” campaign fought against body shaming and beauty standards. The “Who Needs Feminism?” movement, started by students at Duke University, sought to rid negativity surrounding feminism.

What is puzzling is that tolerance does not extend to religion.

It is hypocritical to stress acceptance of particular components of identity and not include religion as one of these acceptable lifestyle choices.

People are multidimensional; Bialik is Jewish, but she’s also a neuroscientist, an actress and a mother. Her religion is an integral part of who she is, but it is not her sole identifying factor. The same criticism held for homophobia and misogyny should extend to religious intolerance.

Abby Rinaldi freshman majoring communications.

is a in mass

- Natasha Ocasio, a junior majoring in communication.

“I don’t think there should be a ban. Maybe a curfew or some kind of precaution for when they go out would be the answer.”

- Julia Humphrey, a freshman majoring in biology

“The players should be able to go wherever they want, but they definitely need to be cautious.”

- Luc-Andre Williams, a sophomore majoring in chemical engineering

“You can’t ban people from going to an entire city.

Maybe a rule or restriction keeping them away at night which will help prevent them from getting into dangerous situations.”

- Andrew Sobrino, a freshman majoring in marine biology

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Women’s Soccer

‘An amazing experience’ USF defender Diana Saenz gets chance to shine at World Cup

By Jacob Hoag A S S T .

S P O R T S

E D I T O R

When Diana Saenz stepped through the tunnel of the 33,000seat Olympic Stadium in Montreal for her first glance at the FIFA Women’s World Cup as a member of the Costa Rica national team, her dream became reality.

Without a single minute of play gone by, a lifetime of work had been validated in this split second just by standing on soccer’s greatest stage.

“It was an amazing experience,” Saenz said. “Being around the best players in the world is always your dream and that’s your mentality when you start to play soccer, to get to the highest level.” ***

Senior Diana Saenz has been a member of the Costa Rica Women’s National team since 2008, but appeared in her first World Cup in June. ORACLE FILE PHOTO/ADAM MATHIEU

Saenz, a senior defender on the USF women’s soccer team, grew up in Costa Rica’s capital city, San Jose. She lived there until 2012, at which point she left her home and family to pursue a career in the sport she loved.

“It’s different because when I was playing soccer (in Costa Rica), I also had to go to work and study, so I had to split my time between the three things,” Saenz said. “It was hard because when you wanted to play soccer, you may have to go to work or study for your test.”

Once at USF, Saenz devoted more focus to her craft. But as her career progressed, time became a rarity. She spent most of last season splitting her time between USF and the national team, sometimes playing multiple games for each in the same weekend.

“We’ve played three 90-minute games in a row where she’s played for (USF), flown to Rhode

Island to play for Costa Rica, and then played one of her best games in the third 90-minute game when she came back,” USF coach Denise Schilte-Brown said. “She just has an engine that’s incredible. She can run forever.”

Endurance has never been a problem for Saenz, but when she got to the U.S., her size was.

At 5-foot-1, Saenz was on the smaller end of the spectrum, but her sharp instincts and prowess on the back line allowed her to carve out a role as a lockdown defender.

“It took five to 10 minutes (to settle down). When you get into a game, you need time to just realize that you’re there, and then after two shots, you’re good to go.”

Diana Saenz USF women’s soccer

“In the game of soccer, if you were to chart interceptions, she would probably be one of the top in the nation,” Schilte-Brown said. “Her ability to read service and know her abilities in terms of where to position herself on the field is second to none. You don’t get to be that size unless you’re incredible at that.”

Those skills put Saenz on the national team and gave her the opportunity to play in the World Cup in June. Then, when she got the starting nod in Costa Rica’s first match against Spain, the nerves quickly set in.

“Of course (I was nervous),” Saenz said. “It’s the highest level, you just want to do your best and give the best you can give and give everything for your team.

“It took five to 10 minutes (to settle down). When you get into a game, you need time to just realize that you’re there, and then after two shots, you’re good to go.”

Saenz started in each of Costa Rica’s three group-stage matches and played in two exhibitions against the U.S. in which she had an assist on one of the team’s two goals.

Although she didn’t get as far as she had anticipated, with Costa Rica going 0-1-2 in the group stage, she’s already eyeing her next prize.

“It’s the World Cup,” Saenz said. “I mean, you have to be the best and I think we didn’t get what we wanted, but we got a good first performance and now we want to work hard and make it into the Olympic games.” *** Set for 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, the Olympics would be yet another accomplishment in her career, but first Saenz wants to take care of unfinished business back in Tampa.

The Bulls found themselves spectating most of the NCAA Tournament after their first-round exit last season at the hands of Illinois State. Though they had been defeated, the one positive to come from that loss was Saenz first career goal.

Most of her work is done on the Bulls’ side of the midfield line, but Saenz prides herself on her ability to flip the field and contribute on offense.

“I just want to support the team,” Saenz said. “When we’re going forward my mentality is just, ‘get forward and be an option.’

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