VOLUME 14 | ISSUE 1
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Tuesday, March 1, 2016
TurtleFest 2016 Police Vs. The People Concert on Clematis
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The severed relationship between the protectors and protected David Williams & Amber Miller Staff Writers
Writers’ Commentary
Cover photo: PBA student Troy Katterheinrich waits for the perfect wave on Palm Beach Island. Photo by Ryan Arnst.
Fun for a cause By Aaron Broghamer Staff Writer
Spring 2016 DUANE MEEKS Dean of School of Communication and Media MICHAEL RAY SMITH Michaelray_Smith@pba.edu Adviser SIERRA DARVILLE Sierra_Darville@pba.edu Executive/Web Editor CELESTE BROWN News Editor SANDRA RODRIGUEZ Art Director RYAN ARNST Photo Editor KATIE FORSYTHE Broadcast Content Editor AMANDA HIGGINS Advertising Director Staff: Aaron Broghamer Cameron Codner Abby Didier Taylor Fry Kasimir Jackson Danielle Mendocha Amber Miller Josh Myers Keisha Oakley Tracy Peyton Kiana Snyder Jackie Streng Benjamin Wainer David Williams
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2016
fter a successful event in 2015, TurtleFest presented by Loggerhead Marinelife Center is making its return
in 2016. After 10,000 people participated in last year’s event, the LMC hopes to exceed that number on March 19 for this year’s TurtleFest. This year is the 13th annual TurtleFest’s, and it continues to grow. “I went to TurtleFest last year and was so blown away by the event,” says local Brendan Brouwer. “I hardly knew anything about turtles or cared,” says Brouwer. “I found out the terrific benefits of turtles in our ecosystem.” Located in Juno Beach, the LMC was founded by resident Eleanor Fletcher more than 30 years ago. Her goal was to take in sea turtles and educate the residents and tourists about the magnificently large creatures. Soon, Fletcher started receiving sick turtles and with her team and nursed them back to health. Turtle releases soon became a popular event. “Turtles are actually one of the most important part of our oceanic system and everyone should take the chance to go TurtleFest to became engaged about their environment,” says biology minor Peter Amirata. The LMC is the only turtle hospital from
Orlando to the Keys, something the company holds very proudly. Every year, the LMC receives about 200,000 visitors, with the help of TurtleFest. According to former LMC intern Hannah Deadman, the atmosphere of TurtleFest feels more like a festival than anything. “Obviously our goal is to raise money and awareness for sea turtles, but that’s an everyday thing at Loggerhead,” says Deadman. “TurtleFest is supposed to attract the locals who otherwise wouldn’t have been involved with us.” The annual event has been gaining attention and more sponsors with each year. The goal of TurtleFest is to bring in outsiders to enjoy a day of family fun. Visitors can experience turtles that are sick, threatened and endangered and can learn how they can help. Guests will have the opportunity to participate in an interactive learning session the second they walk into the park. Along with learning sessions and turtle viewings, TurtleFest will have live music, food vendors, shops and much more. Admission is free, and all are welcomed to TurtleFest at Loggerhead Marinelife Center in Juno Beach on March 19th. For more information, visit www. marinelife.org/turtlefest
Editor’s note: The views expressed in this commentary are not necessarily the views of the editors or Palm Beach Atlantic.
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o each his own. I chose my path; you chose the way of the hero. They found you amusing for a while, the people of this city. But, the one thing they love more than a hero is to see a hero fail, fall, die trying. In spite of everything you’ve done for them, eventually, they will hate you. Why bother?” – Green Goblin, Spider-Man (2002). Authorities were considered heroes at one point in time. Having the title of “police officer” was placed among the top eight occupations chosen by elementary school children, according to job searching expert Alison Doyle. Today, we live in a society where even kids are against the idea of becoming an officer of the law and show declining signs of respect towards them. Broward County detective Ronald Miller has been on the police force for more than 20 years and is not proud of the negative image that surrounds the duties of an officer. “The state of the citizens is at an all-time low,” Miller says. “The leadership of the United States is training the citizens to question authority and not to trust them. Therefore, it is the worst timve for law enforcement to make even the smallest human error. Thet smallest of mistakes are being exploited.” In many urban areas, police officers are considered the “enemy,” with examples stemming from the riots occurring in Ferguson, Missouri, and BART shooting in California. Even though police brutality has existed for decades, the 2009 case of 22-year-old Oscar Grant was an example of how the public reacts when challenging authority. In Oakland, Calif., officer Johannes Mehserle was convicted by a jury for the involuntary manslaughter of Grant. After a New Year’s “Flash Pass” party, a group of individuals, who were found “hammered and stoned,” confronted Grant on the train resulting in an altercation at the BART station headed for Fruitvale. Mehserle pulled only a few of these people out of the train, including Grant, along with his friends, who struggled with the police resulting in Grant’s death.
More than 100 people were present to record the events that happened. With technology allowing anyone to act as a historian or journalist, the vast majority of witnesses are always ready to record any instance of an uproar in urban communities. Within the past two to three years, social media has been blitzed with a number of police brutality videos that have gone viral. A tangible solution to this problem seems difficult to manage in a nation that has different views on “how to police.” Respect and trust for authorities has been lost among many citizens, especially within the African-American community. Whether justified or not, police brutality has risen higher than it ever has before. The Mapping Police Violence data and research team recorded statistics up until Dec. 2015 that shows why such negative notions keep growing year-by-year within the black community. Their key findings were that: • Police killed at least 102 unarmed black people in 2015, more than any other race. • Nearly 1 in 3 black people killed by police in 2015 were identified as unarmed. (Number may be higher due to unreported details.)
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37% of unarmed people killed by police in 2015 were black despite black people being only 13% of the U.S. population. • Unarmed black people were killed at 5x the rate of unarmed whites, Only 9 of the 102 cases resulted in officer(s) being charged with a crime. (www.mappingpoliceviolence.org) Because of the increase of disrespect towards authorities, officers of the law are continually under pressure to make the best decisions regarding different cases. “The job has changed in the last five years, so dramatically, that I would be very happy to retire without public scrutiny,” Miller says. “Hopefully, we will have new changing of the guard soon and bring back the leadership the United States needs to back law enforcement again.” The overarching solution to this problem lies in the hands of both parties. “I do not believe that it is solely on the police to solve this problem,” says Palm Beach Atlantic University senior Keenan Kauth. “Proper leadership within every respective community must be established in order to encourage the citizens to comply with authorities. It is just as important that police should place more of an emphasis on restraining one’s own self before taking actions that can cost them their career or even worse, cause riots within the community.”
PBA history club visits Woodlawn Cemetery Students connect with West Palm’s historic landmarks
READMYBEACON.COM
Tracy Peyton
Mission Statement
Staff Writer
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The Beacon is an award-winning
student publication of Palm Beach Atlantic University, West Palm Beach, Fla. Its mission is to highlight the campus while providing coverage of the community. The students participate in a journalism laboratory and write articles for class. While news of PBA remains a staple of the publication, coverage includes of the surrounding community, with attention to issues such as politics and law enforcement, business, arts and entertainment, religion and more. To supplement the newspaper, the staff edits an online site called Readmybeacon.com and includes content not often found in the print edition. In 2015 Evangelical Press Association awarded Readmybeacon. com a second-place award in national competition.
Loggerhead turtle Gru was officially released back to the ocean Dec. 29, 2015. Photo by Kat Rumbler
alm Beach Atlantic’s History Club recently took a trip to the Woodlawn Cemetery and saw firsthand remnents of the Civil War, 1861-1865. The club plans to alter its venture this spring, focusing on developing a blog about various historical markers in Palm Beach county. “The cemetery goes back to the earliest days of West Palm Beach and is a great example of landscape architecture,” says Dr. Elizabeth Stice, adviser of PBA’s History Club. The west side of Oceanview Hall overlooks the cemetery, created by Henry Flagler in 1904, on 17 acres of pineapple fields, or pineries. “We were there as a club trying to explore history that is around us,” says Saija Wilson, History Club president. “I was surprised as to how many confederate flags I saw around the cemetery,” says Glynn Horkott, History Club treasurer. “There were graves that dated all the
way from the Civil War to as recent as 2012.” According to Nathan Chau, Workship coordinator at PBA, students have previously been involved in cleaning headstones and assisting tour guides at the cemetery as a part of a workship project. “PBA is in close connection with Rhonda Barona, the recreation manager for the city of West Palm Beach, who has reached out for volunteers in the past,” says Chau. Last year, Horkott worked alongside fellow students from the Historical Methods class for an hour cleaning up the cemetery. “The experience was fulfilling in the fact that I felt we were paying our respects to those who lie within the grounds of the cemetery,” says Horkott. For those interested in visiting the Woodlawn Cemetery, it is open weekdays from 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and weekends/holidays from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Woodlawn Cemetery is located across the street from PBA’s Oceanview dormatory. Photo taken by Tracy Peyton
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Tuesday, March 1, 2016
Legends of Xscape
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Tuesday, March 1, 2016
The magic behind the ears
Put your survival skills to the test
What you didn’t know about Disney Fanatics Club
Kasimir Jackson & Abby Didier
Amber Miller
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Staff Writer
Staff Writers
ooking for something interesting to do with friends and family in the West Palm Beach area? Check out Legends of Xscape, and just a few blocks from campus on 324 Datura Street owned by a married couple Jamie and Jody Achilles. “It’s an escape room, which is a themed room that people go inside and have to solve a bunch of puzzles to escape the room. It’s a puzzle game,” says Jody Achilles. “People enjoy Legends of Xscape so much because they thrive on fear,” says Palm Beach Atlantic sophomore Jessica Bigos. Bigos went on to say that the experience was a valuable one. “Legends of Xscape could help in real life if you’re really stuck in a rough patch and you need to get out and it is enjoyable because you know it is just for fun,” says Bigos. The space has two identical apartment rooms, a butcher shop and a Helter Skelter room. Visitors can form teams and compete against each other to see who can escape first. “You have 60 minutes to escape,” says Jody Achilles. “It’s not scary. The only scary part is some parts of the game are in the dark, but the rooms are not meant to strike fear, but to create a sense of urgency.” PBA sophomore Gabriel Hajjar says Legends of Xscape is a wonderful experience. “My friends and I got locked in the main room,
Legends of Xscape survivors are able to write about their experience on a giant chalkboard located in the lobby. Photo by Kasimir Jackson and Abby Didier
which on average takes people about 45 minutes to an hour to get out,” says Hajjar. “One was handcuffed, and lights were off, and he had to find the key to unlock the light. Once you unlock the light, you could find various helpful clues that would eventually lead you to the code to get out of the room.”
“It was wonderful. Entertaining. Fun. Completely worth the trip,” according to Hajjar, Legends of Xscape is entertaining and fun. Customers can schedule dates and times to visit Legends of Xscape at their website www. legendofxscape.com.
City of West Palm hosts Sunday on the Waterfront concerts
he wonderful world of Palm Beach Atlantic University’s Disney Fanatics club started in fall of 2014, with about 20 people. “The club worked hard to recruit remembers and have succeeded in doing so as of now have 85 members, 114 likes on Facebook (PBA Disney Fanatics club) and 30-50 active in meetings and events,” says President and founder Laura Carrell. Carrell graduated but still plays a role as president, along with her husband, Andrew Carrell, who also founded the club. Vice president Bryanna Wolstenholme, secretary Megan Konynenbelt and treasurer Cari Rivas-Abreu help plan events and marketing, says Carrell. According to Carrell, the club’s activities include trips to Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween and other Disney events. Along with fundraisers, the club sells raffle tickets, awards prizes and participates in all of the Disney Parks events. Disney’s upcoming event Dapper Day March 14 allows participants to dress the best of their dapper ability. Many of the club members are making efforts to participate. The Disney club hold meetings on campus and also watch Disney movies, play Disney board games and plan future Disney trips. “It’s basically just a whole bunch of people who share the love of Disney,” said freshman Christine Gulan. “We usually play games or watch Disney movies. It’s a great way to meet people who share similar interests.”
Disney fantics members make a quick stop outside of Cinderella’s castle. Photo by Laura Carrell
The club works with an organization associated with Make-a-Wish foundation called Give Kids the World. The Orlando-based organization provides housing and tickets to Disney, Universal and Seaworld for handicapped families. They have areas that they made accessible to handicap families called the Village. It is modeled to look like a candy land. During their stay, the families are give full access to dining and activities at the resort, said Carrell. Families are given tickets to the parks, and characters from the parks visit and take photos with the kids. Disney Fanatics club works with this organization as volunteers once a semester. According to Carrell, they
are absolutely blessed to take part in it. The club just concluded a bake sale. Their next event is a movie marathon that will take place in March. “Meetings fluctuate, but information about meetings and other events are all posted on the Facebook page and sent out by email,” said Carrell. Visit the club’s Facebook page PBA Disney Fanatics Club for information on upcoming events.
Free entertainment for area families
New dance club on the up-swing
Danielle Mendocha
PBA students work to make swing dance an official club
Staff Writer
Taylor Fry
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est Palm Beach residents can enjoy waterfront musical entertainment at the “Sunday on the Waterfront” concerts held every month. The concerts are on the third Sunday of every month at the Meyer Amphitheatre, which has hosted several popular acts. Concerts are at the Meyer Amphitheatre and start at 4 p.m. and typically go until 7 p.m. “Our concerts are always free, family-friendly, and filled with different genres of music,” said Laura Reines, the city’s Special Events Producer who selects the bands that play. This month’s concert was hosted on the Palm Stage on Clematis Street. At a recent concert, Motown group N2Nation performed family-friendly music for listeners of all ages to enjoy. “We’ve had performers like The Romantics, The Smithereens, Kris Allen, and The Baja Men,” said Reines. “The concerts are like a playlist format. We have performers from all types of genres and backgrounds, and we often feature tribute and regional acts.” In addition to national acts, the series usually brings in area acts to open for the headliners. “We always like to have local bands opening for our national acts,” said Reines. “It’s a great way to spotlight artists in the community.”
Staff Writer
S 100 Clematis St. hosted this month’s “Sunday on the Waterfront” concert. Photo taken by Danielle Mendocha
The concerts bring in an audience of 3,000 to 5,000 “We find that our national acts will bring in a larger crowd,” said Reines. The Sunday on the Waterfront series has performances scheduled through August. Reines said it is a great opportunity for Palm Beach Atlantic University to get involved in the community. “It’s so important to engage our local community close to the university,” said Reines. “Since it’s always a free concert, it’s a great option for students to experience.” The most recent January concert featured the Willis Family, a family band who gained popularity on
America’s Got Talent. In addition to N2Nation’s performance, future acts include Joshua Davis May 15, Coast to Coast June 19, Alter Eagles July 17, and Station to Station Aug. 21. “We really want to appeal to all ages for this concert series,” said Reines. “It’s a wonderful, free experience for everyone in the community.” For more information about the Sunday on the Waterfront series visit www.wpb.org/sow. Check out the next concert on April 17 at the Meyer Amphitheatre.
wing Dance is a relatively new group here at Palm Beach Atlantic. Swing dance at PBA is working to become a club in the fall of 2016, but for now, members meet on their own on selected Saturdays in various locations. Recently, participants met in the upstairs Weyenburg of the Student Center. The group began meeting during the 2015 fall semester, with an average of 40 people that attend. Swing dance originated in the 1920s. Swing is usually danced to 2/4 ragtime music or traditional jazz. West Coast Swing is usually danced to Pop, R&B, Blues or Funk. PBA swing dance was founded by junior Joe Helton and senior Carly Chapman. Both Helton and Chapman are from the midwest and thought it would be fun to bring over a little piece of their home to the PBA community. They started with hosting a swing party. Neither Helton and Chapman were expecting such a big turnout of people, but several students showed an interest in this activity. Students who attended the swing party began meeting on Saturday nights to learn new dances from Helton and Chapman, which soon gained popularity among the student body.
Swing dance members meet in upstairs Weyenburg to learn new dances and styles of swing. Photo courtesy of the PBA Swing Facebook page
“I really enjoys watching people improve from when they first started,” said swing dance student leader Allie Dunfee. During the course of the 2016 spring semester, members of swing dance worked to create their own club. They are now waiting for approval from student government. Once approved, they will officially become a club. Swing dance hosts themed events for its members that are also open to the public. Recently, members hosted the theme jocks vs. nerds. Members are preparing for the Southside Swing event. Southside will provide food and other activities for people to enjoy.
Helton and Chapman are teaching members new dances for a promotion video that will advertise for the Southside Swing. The first move Helton and Chapman demonstrated was the pretzel, where the male partner twists the female partner under his arms. The group has an open facebook page for anyone looking for upcoming events and information on joining swing dance. For more information on swing dance, contact joe_ helton@pba.edu or carly_chapman@pba.edu or visit the facebook page, PBA Swing.
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Tuesday, March 1, 2016
Sailfish athletes receive honorary award Student Athletes challenged in and outside the classroom Josh Myers Staff Writer
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tudent Athlete of the Month is a goal that all Palm Beach Atlantic University athletes strive for. It is awarded to two students every month. Sports Information Director TJ Budd and his office have the task of selecting the two athletes that will be awarded with the title. “We try to pick a male and female that had the best athletic success during the month,” said Budd. At the beginning of the month, the office gets together to compare what athlete had the best athletic record and the best academic performance. According to Budd, they want to honor those who have worked hard. However, an athlete can only be chosen for this award once a year. The month of January winners are Michael Simpson and Janelle Cannon, both basketball players. Simpson, 14, is a communications major, who wants to play professional basketball and work for ESPN after graduation. Cannon, 1, is a marketing major, who also hopes to play professional basketball after graduation. “This award means a lot to me,” said Simpson. “It means that my hard work is paying off. There are several great athletes and people in the PBA Athletic Department and to be honored out of all them is a tremendous award.” Players from any sport can be chosen for the award. This year it has only been basketball players so far.
Michael Simpson and Janelle Cannon were the Janurary recepients of the student athletes of the month award. Photo cortesy of PBA Athletics
In the month of December, basketball players Ayanna Holmes and Bakari Warthen were voted as Student of the Month. “As an athlete, I am always competing to be the best that I can be,” said Simpson. “Whether that is on the court or off of it. I will continue to do my best in all areas of my life.” The success of the basketball teams is being seen
through these awards. The winners are expected to uphold the values of the school and also be a symbol, as they are representing not only themselves, but all of the players on the team. Visit the athletics website PBAsailfish.com for an extended list of past winners.
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