February 1, 2019

OUTHERN S The Student Voice of Florida Southern College

FSC to host farmer’s market

Taylor Wilson Staff Writer

Florida Southern will be hosting its first on-campus farmer’s market on Wednesday, Feb. 6 on the patio outside of the Moc Mart from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Based on early responses from FSC students, the event is projected to have a large turnout. The Food Service Department hopes students, faculty and staff will be able to attend and enjoy this addition to oncampus food options.

“I would definitely go to an on-campus farmer’s market,” freshman Phalen DeJarnette said. “I love them, but I always work on Saturday mornings, so I can never go to the one downtown. When I go to farmer’s markets, I usually look for food I can cook-or plants because you’ve gotta have plants.”

The idea for an on-campus farmer’s market emerged during the fall semester at one of the monthly food committee meetings. FSC’s food committee has been actively working to offer healthier dining options for students, and this studentsuggested idea fit the bill.

Healthy campus dining options have been a concern at FSC in the past, and the school has worked to improve what is available to students.

Wynee’s Bistro offers a variety of gluten free, vegetarian, and vegan options, catering to the different dietary needs of students.

They also have breakfast smoothies, a salad bar, and the sandwich-making station, Wrap ‘N Roll.

Tutu’s Cyber Cafe recently added glutenfree bagels, muffins, snack bars and cheese arepas and a packaged meal option. The meal, called the chef’s special, varies dayto-day. Recent options were a steak and mashed potatoes combo and a short rib and penne pasta combo.

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FRIDAY, February 1, 2019 VOL. 133, NO. 9

Polk Museum opens new Degas exhibit Hannah Kiester Staff Writer

Photo by Reems Landreth The farmer’s market will be outside of the Moc Mart on Feb. 6 or inside the hallway if weather does not allow.

“I’m glad FSC has healthy food accommodations, and I think the farmer’s market will be a fresh addition to these,” sophomore Marie Canfield said.

The market will offer various produce options, many of them being from local growers. Cucumbers, yellow squash, corn, green peppers and mushrooms are just a few of the produce items that will be available. A few of the produce providers will be PEXCO Farms in Plant City, Monterey Mushrooms in Zellwood, and J & J Family of Farms in Loxahatchee.

Food Services and SGA have stated that students will be able to pay for their fruits and veggies using meal plan points or Moc Bucks. Instead of having to find alternative transportation to a grocery store or to the

downtown farmer’s market, students will have the ability to purchase their produce in between classes without having to use out-of-pocket funds.

“I am hopeful that the college staff and faculty will also support this venture to make it so successful that it becomes a regular monthly event,” Director of Food Services Tim Raible said.

In the case of rain, the location for the farmer’s market will be in the Moc Mart and College Terrace hallway. There will be signs that direct students to the location.

Note: The Southern has reported on student complaints and initiatives in the past regarding food and health on campus.

For more, visit fscsouthern.com.

Since Winter Break, the Polk Museum of Art at Florida Southern College has been experiencing record-breaking numbers of attendees, according to museum curator and FSC professor Dr. Alexander Rich.

The newest collection, which has been particularly popular so far, features the works of Edgar Degas. While most art fans may know of Degas for his paintings, the collection at the museum offers a selection of his drawings instead.

One of Rich’s favorite sections in the collection is the early drawings by Degas as a young man.

“I love the immediacy,” Rich said. “I love looking at them and knowing that is Degas’s hand.”

While most people might expect to see more paintings in a Degas collection, the goal of the current collection is to expose attendees to a side of the famous impressionist that they may not have known about before.

“That’s one of the biggest things [about the museum],” Rich said. “I want people to have fun, but I don’t want them to come out and just say they’ve seen some art. I want them to say they learned something new.”

The collection, “Degas: The Private Impressionist,” features 21 drawings, 21 prints, seven photos, three mono-types and one letter. The variety of mediums used was one of the appeals of the collection, which is part of a touring exhibition. see POLK MUSEUM, page 9

FSC alumna elected Lakeland city commissioner Alex Zimmer Contributing Writer

A special election was held on Jan. 15 to fill the vacant City Commissioner seat left

by Michael Dunn’s resignation in October of 2018. After a 45 day race, beginning on Dec. 1, 2018, Sara Roberts McCarley was elected to the position of Southwest District commissioner.

McCarley is a Florida Southern College alumna who, during her college career, was involved in Greek Life, Student Government and was a Residential Advisor. When she graduated with a degree in Mass Communications with a focus in Advertising and Public Relations, there were very few employment opportunities in that field.

Her sorority advisor recommended she pursue nonprofit management and fundraising. She began working for Best Buddies International, an organization dedicated to creating social and employment opportunities for individuals with intellectual disabilities. Though

SOCIAL MEDIA

originally a program for college students, McCarley helped establish a high school program within Best Buddies and was later promoted to State Director of Florida.

She also founded the Randy Roberts Foundation in memory of her late husband.

The foundation’s mission is to provide future leaders in Florida with service initiatives, civic engagement on the local, state, and federal levels and scholarships.

Through her nonprofit work, McCarley found herself increasingly involved in politics.

“I would go back and forth to Tallahassee and learned about the governmental process and how it worked,” McCarley said when discussing the travels that came along with her position with Best Buddies International.

“I was always interested in how the integration of pushing policy— writing policy— how it all integrated and benefited the greater good,” McCarley said.

When Michael Dunn’s seat on the City Commission was vacated, McCarley decided to run. She won by a landslide,

“

“I want to have a hand in what the future looks like...

What do we want Lakeland to look like in 2030?”

- City Commissioner Sara Roberts McCarley

receiving 74.20 percent of votes, according to the Polk County Supervisor of Elections.

She was sworn in Jan. 22, 2019 and looks forward to working with her fellow commissioners to achieve long range comprehensive planning through proactive city management.

Her biggest concern is ensuring the commission is making decisions that will be fruitful well into the future.

“I want to have a hand in what the future looks like… What do we want Lakeland to

@fscsouthern

Photo by Alex Zimmer Sara Roberts McCarley graduated from Florida Southern College in 1993. look like in 2030,” McCarley said.

Students and Lakelanders with comments, questions or concerns for the new City Commissioner can reach her at sara.mccarley@lakelandgov.net.

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The Southern FEBRUARY 1, 2019

NEWS

BRIEFS USPS Forever stamp price rising The price of First Class Mail Forever stamps rose by 10 percent as of Jan 27. The increase is the biggest price jump of stamps in United States history. Along with stamp prices, the prices of USPS Priority Mail will be rising as well.

Lakeland’s first food hall to open by May The Joinery, Lakeland’s first food hall, is back on track after weeks of delayed construction.

The food hall will combine nine food vendors in one venue to provide a diverse selection of foods for visitors. The vendor names have not yet been released.

The Joinery will be located near Lake Mirror.

Government to temporarily re-open After the longest government shutdown in United States history, the government is temporarily open again in an effort to get crucial deals passed. President Trump is threatening to shut the government down again in three weeks if Congress can not present a deal that provides funding for the proposed border wall.

Spring musical opens Valentine’s weekend FSC’s Department of Theatre and Dance will be opening their spring production, “Jesus Christ Superstar,” on Feb. 14.

The musical runs from Feb . 1418 and the following weekend, Feb. 21-24. Attendance at the production counts as Fine Arts Passport credit.

Father Sirico to lecture at FSC Reverend Robert A. Sirico will be giving a lecture entitled “The Moral Case for Free Economy” on Feb. 5 at 6:00 p.m. in the Becker Business Building. He will argue that the best way to meet society’s needs is through a free market based on voluntary association. The event will count for Learning Beyond the Classroom Passport credit.

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The Poor Porker hosts women’s meet-up

Victoria Salvatore Staff Writer

Members of the Lakeland Women’s Collective and women from the community gathered together at The Poor Porker on Saturday, Jan. 19, to celebrate the kick-off of the 2019 Women’s March in Washington D.C. The purpose of the meet-up was to give Lakeland women the platform to gather and discuss issues in the community and the nation and to empower each other through personal stories. They discussed issues ranging from female business owners, to the struggle of local artists, to the government shutdown.

“Showing support for the women in Lakeland, showing support for feminism and the growing presence of feminism in Lakeland, that’s really important to me,” attendee and Women’s Collective member Alison Foley-Rothrock said.

“As much as I’d love to be in Washington D.C. right now marching with the thousands that’s just not realistic.”

Lakeland Women’s Collective founder Ileah Green thinks events like the meetup are important because it allows for a physical social network for women.

“A lot of women seem to be searching for meaningful connections with other women (in Lakeland),” Green said. “The Women Collective is bridging that gap.”

The event was very short notice, which allowed for loose planning and a laid back atmosphere. The women sat in a circle and shared meaningful conversation about what was concerning them.

Green said she founded the Women’s Collective because she had been trying to find a way to empower women and push policies. She also pointed to the fact that hate is very active now, and being in a

Director of safety to retire in May

Reems Landreth Online Editor

Florida Southern College announced last month that former Lakeland Police Chief Larry Giddens will take over as the college’s Director of Safety and Security at the end of the current academic year.

Current Director of Safety and Security Bill Carew will retire in May. “With his experience, knowledge, and stellar character, I am confident that Chief Giddens will continue to support our important commitment to campus safety,” Florida Southern College President Dr. Anne Kerr said in a press release. “He is an exemplar of outstanding leadership, and we look forward to welcoming him to our FSC team.”

Giddens has served the Lakeland Police Department for the past 34 years and has served in multiple capacities including SWAT, Street Crimes and Police Chief.

Giddens was named the Interim Police Chief in Feb. 2014 and has served as Police Chief since March 2015.

“I’m excited to join the team at Lakeland’s prestigious Florida Southern College,” Giddens said. “Although it is bittersweet to leave the amazing people at the Lakeland Police Department, I felt it was the right time to transition into the next chapter of my life. This opportunity allows me to use my law enforcement skills and more importantly, spend quality time with my family.”

For more information on the transition, look for the next edition of The Southern.

Photo by Victoria Salvatore The Women’s Meet-Up allowed for Lakeland women to feel a sense of community and discuss their struggles. group of women that wants to see you succeed creates an infectious energy.

The Women’s Collective feels that gathering together as a group, whether it be during a women’s march or a small, community gathering helps to bring a voice to people’s issues or concerns.

Foley-Rothrock remarked that it was “nice to know that you’re not alone and you’re not the only feminist in Lakeland.”

The Women’s Collective and The Poor Porker both align with the thought that feminism is dimensional and that it’s concerned with a multitude of issues.

Green said that feminism often gets a bad rap, but they’re working to rebrand the word.

The mission of the Women’s March is to “harness the political power of diverse women and their communities to create transformative social change,” according

to their website.

The Women’s Collective is trying to spread the same ideals and it’s important to them to support people despite their differences.

“We want to support members despite their ideas, not tell them they’re wrong, not berate them,” Green said. “We can believe different things and still want equality for everyone.”

Groups like the Women’s Collective and businesses like The Poor Porker provide a place for the community to come together and be part of a bigger national movement.

The next event that the Women’s Collective will be hosting is on Feb. 2. It will be the second meeting of the State of Women series where representatives from the community will talk about the needs of black women in the community.

MLK Day sparks student service Mark Haver Contributing Writer Florida Southern College packed nearly 400 meals for the local nonprofit kidsPACK at the annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Impact in Jenkins Field House on Monday.

This event, coordinated by the Multicultural Student Council (MSC), Student Government Association (SGA) and Center for Student Involvement (CSI) featured a speech by alumna Evett Simmons. Simmons, a prominent lawyer, may be recognizable thanks to her donation of the Evett L. Simmons Center for Multicultural Appreciation to the school.

After listening to her speech on how to apply King’s values of justice to the current immigration crisis at the United StatesMexico border, students were invited by SGA Vice President of Communications Madelyn Walsh to assist in packing meals for kidsPACK. kidsPACK started in 2006 with the mission of providing weekend meals for children who may not receive meals outside of what they eat during the school day. Walsh said that the local philanthropy served 1,700 students last year who were homeless or food-impoverished.

“We know that there are 4,520 registered homeless children in Polk County,” executive director of kidsPACK Amy Royal said. “We work with the school administration who identifies the need and

recommends students for the program.”

With more than 100 students who attended the event, students were able to pack 375 meals for Polk County children within 30 minutes of the start of the service activity.

Last year, SGA worked with three nonprofits for the annual service event.

“This is our third year in a row working with kidsPACK and improving the relationship with local nonprofits,” SGA President Natalie Barton said.

At the 2018 MLK Day of Impact, students packed over 200 meals for kidsPACK, created over 100 dog toys for Lakeland SPCA and painted 100 picture frames for Habitat for Humanity.

Students enjoyed participation in the event.

“Best thing SGA has done in years,” sophomore Sebastian Mendoza said.

The event was free and open to students and members of the community. While the meals packed on Monday were of no cost, feeding one child through kidsPACK for an entire year costs $300.

“Everyone has smiles on their faces, and they’re dancing around as they’re waiting,” Royal said. “It’s wonderful that everyone came out on MLK Day to give back to the community.”

More than 430 students are on the waiting list to receive meals from kidsPACK. People who may be interested in continuing this community service activity may make donations to the nonprofit by visiting the organization’s website: kidspack.org.

3 The Southern FEBRUARY 1, 2019

United Methodist Church to address LGBTQ divisions Elisa White Staff Writer

In February, the United Methodist Church (UMC) will hold a Called Session of General Conference to decide what to do regarding church doctrine on homosexuality.

The UMC has debated this issue over the last decade. Right now, the UMC’s governing document, The Book of Discipline, prohibits the ordination of LGBTQ people and prohibits UMC clergy from performing same-sex weddings.

Heading into the conference, the progressive half of the church calls for a change in the Book towards LGBTQinclusive language. The conservative half, believing the Book’s current language falls in line with biblical principles, wants the Book to stay the same. The church is split nearly 50/50 on this issue, yet for many United Methodists, the number one concern is staying united, at any cost.

In 2016, the Council of Bishops, the UMC’s highest leadership, announced a Called Session and proposed The Commission on a Way Forward. Since then, the 32 members of this Commission have worked to propose different plans for the future of the UMC by consulting theologians and other faith communities that have dealt with similar issues regarding human sexuality.

In May of 2018, the Commission released its official report. It recommended the “One Church Plan,” which would keep the church, for all intents and purposes, intact. Its finer points indicate that LGBTQ persons could be ordained (for the most part), individual pastors could choose whether or not they perform same-sex weddings, and the United Methodist Church could stay united.

The UMC’s highest leadership endorsed this plan. Last May, the Council of Bishops released a report and said, “The One Church Plan allows for contextualization of language about human sexuality in support of the mission… while fulfilling the vision

of a global and multicultural church.” Due to strong support from church leadership, The One Church Plan is predicted to pass at the General Conference.

As a United Methodist pastor’s daughter, my family has a lot to gain from the UMC staying together. For one, my family’s livelihood depends on my dad’s job. Both of my younger brothers will enter college soon, making job security for my dad critical. Even more, my dad feels called to preach. We all want him to be able to continue to answer that call for as long as God allows.

My family has everything to gain from unity. However, I think that a total split is needed for the United Methodist Church to continue to fulfill its mission: “to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.”

The idea of “unity for unity’s sake” is unprecedented, compared to other denominations that have faced similar issues. In the early 1970s, the mainline Presbyterian Church faced a divide between conservative and progressive theology and split down those lines. In 2008, the Episcopal Church faced the same situation, with a conservative sect breaking into a new denomination.

Outrage and fear from fellow United Methodists over the possibility of a split seems, to me, baseless. Division has happened before; it can happen again.

Not only would a split follow suit of other Protestant denominations, but it would prove healthier in the end. The UMC doesn’t only stand divided on the issue of human sexuality. LGBTQ issues are only a fraction of the fight between the progressive and conservative sides of the UMC. The theology of the two bases is impossible to reconcile at this point.

Forced unity won’t mend the gaps; it will just hide them for a short time.

If the United Methodist Church wants a future, it needs to consider a split. Without one, it will become a church united in name—but so divided in belief it will be incapable of living out its stated mission.

Local priest weighs in on Catholic ethics and education

Peter Edgar Editor-in-Chief

Catholic youth and their issues have been at the center of national news focus over the past month. Priests and bishops met in early January to discuss a way to overcome and eliminate abuse in the church, and Catholic private schools have been scrutinized following Justice Kavanaugh’s confirmation and an incident at the Lincoln Memorial two weeks ago.

Father Tim LaBo is a serving priest at St. Joseph Catholic Church in downtown Lakeland. LaBo has been a Catholic “from birth all the way up.” He described being Catholic as an identity, but notes that the experience of church is different between people raised in the church and people who join the church after childhood.

“Catholics who have been in the church all of their lives can become complacent,” LaBo said. “Sometimes people who come in later in life are far stronger and their faith… because we can take it for granted sometimes.”

He also makes a distinction between Catholics in the United States and members of the faith internationally. There

is a cultural aspect to the way that the church works in other countries, especially predominantly-Catholic nations that have a strong church-state relationship.

“We’re not connected to the government in the same way,” he said. “Catholicism here tends to be a lot more diverse. You have Catholics from… the very liberal to the very conservative, whereas in Catholic countries everybody is pretty monolithic in the way people look at things.”

Americans, LaBo qualifies, see ordinances and laws “very legalistically.”

American legalism trumps piety for many, a reverse image of cultural Catholics abroad.

Note: This article is the second in a series on the relationship between people involved with the Catholic faith in and around Florida Southern College. The first may be found in an earlier edition of the Southern, under the headline “Catholic student leadership stands with church amid scandal.”

This article continues online. Read the rest at fscsouthern.com.

OPINIONS

Letter to the Editor: Creative Space to really open Creative Space Team Center for Student Involvement Dear Florida Southern students, We know this has been a long-awaited message (and we are extremely sorry for the delay), but we are excited to update you with where we are at with The Creative Space! We have spent countless hours planning, meeting and working to make sure that this space will benefit you in the best way possible.

So many of you have reached out, eager to get into the space, and that has been super encouraging to us. Our hope is that you can use this space to further yourself as a creative, connect with other artists, and, most importantly, grow as a person. We fully believe that all of these things and more are possible, and we’re so excited for this new season of creativity at Florida Southern College.

The Center for Student Involvement is very excited to announce that The Creative Space is now officially open. As of now, The Creative Space will have open hours twice a week: Monday nights from 7:00pm - 11:00pm and Wednesday nights from 4:00pm - 8:00pm.

In the future, we may add to or extend open hours, so stay tuned to our social media accounts for updates. In addition to open hours, The Creative Space will be available for reservation.

Reasons for reservations include but are not limited to creative/planning meetings, writing sessions and rehearsals.

To reserve The Creative Space please email: CreativeSpace@flsouthern.edu.

Before being allowed access to The Creative Space, you must read and agree to all rules and regulations. They are available on Engage, as a form labeled “20182019 Creative Space Rules and Agreement Form.”

We are so excited to finally open The Creative Space and can’t wait to see all of the things that will come from this space. For future updates and information stay tuned to and check out The Creative Space on Engage, and follow The Creative Space on Facebook and Instagram using the handle @FSCCreativeSpace.

If students have any questions or concerns or want some more information, please don’t hesitate to reach out using the email CreativeSpace@flsouthern.edu.

SOUTHERN The Student Voice of Florida Southern College Florida Southern College 111 Lake Hollingsworth Dr. Lakeland, FL 33801 Always on FSCSouthern.com 863-680-4456 fscsouthern@gmail.com Editor-in-Chief

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Features Editor

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News Editor Entertainment Editor

Center & Copy Editor Sports Editor

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The Southern is published every other Friday during fall and spring semesters of the academic year at Florida Southern College. The newspaper is produced by students through the Communication Department. Opinions expressed on the opinions pages are not necessarily those of the department, the administration, the Board of Trustees or The Southern editorial board.

Written and signed responses to views expressed on these pages, or relevant to other Florida Southern College issues, are encouraged and will be considered for publication. All members of the Florida Southern community — students, staff, faculty, administrators, trustees, alumni and other friends of the college — are invited to voice their opinion in or about The Southern. All material submitted is subject to editing for length, style and taste. All material must be submitted to fscsouthern@gmail.com to be considered.

The Southern office is in the Chatlos Building on Johnson Ave. Staff can be reached at fscsouthern@gmail.com.

The Southern FEBRUARY 1, 2019 4

FEATURES

Comic-Con comes to RP Funding Center Abby McHenry Features Editor

Central Florida Comic-Con (CFCC) was hosted for the first time by the RP Funding Center in Lakeland Jan. 19-20.

The event hosted more than 100 exhibitor-vendors and artists attending, selling comic books, toys, T-shirts, original art and games, according to The Ledger.

Ben Penrod, Central Florida Comic Con owner, owns a few other Comic-Cons as well and was excited to bring the event to Lakeland. CFCC is unique in the fact that the event is smaller than most Comic-Cons so that people can have conversations with the celebrities and the artists and not have to worry about long lines.

“Lakeland is the perfect place to host a Comic-Con because it’s a community of people who enjoy comics and pop culture,” Penrod said. “It’s also easily accessible from Tampa and Orlando so even more fans can come and have fun with us.”

Comic-Cons are hosted nationwide to celebrate comic book characters by hosting speakers who wrote and designed comics, and people who sell comic merchandise.

Central Florida Comic Con included a costume contest, question and answer sessions with comic guests, and more.

The event brought in 12 celebrities, including wrestling superstar Matt Sydal, Phil LaMarr-best known for his roles in Pulp Fiction, Futurama, MAD TV, and Samurai Jack, and Austin St. John - the Red Power Ranger. Some of the comic guests included Sara Richard-an artist best known for her illustrations on My Little Pony and Rick & Morty, Daniel Govar-partner of Marvel/DC Comics, and Castillo Studiosillustrators of Batman and Green Arrow.

Comic-Con, to many who attend feels

Niyyah Bilal Hayes Public Defender Intern Abby McHenry Features Editor

Photo by Abby McHenry

Jonathan Ranante dresses as Venom, a villain from the Spider-Man comics. like a place where they can freely express themselves and their love for comic book characters. “[I enjoy] how ‘together’ everyone is and that we can all come here and ‘nerd out’ together and no one is being judged or anything,” Jared Wilson, a man in a dinosaur costume said.

Most vendors and attendees cite the costumes as one of their favorite aspects of Comic-Con-many people go “all out” and wear a full character body suit. Many see it as an opportunity to meet new people as well.

“[There is] a lot of good positivity here [and there are] a lot of nice people,” Jonathan Renante, a man in a “Venom” costume said, “nobody is rude or in a hurry or frustrated, everybody is just here to see art, artists, and see some cool costumes.”

Comic-Cons are comprised of art, celebrity guests, and average people to make up one event to celebrate heroes and villains alike. CFCC brought in all of these aspects, while having a very local touch to a very large, nationwide event.

For any questions about CFCC contact Ben Penrod at ben@benpenrod.com.

Hosts gain new perspective on Scholars Weekend Emma Tallon Staff Writer Each year, Florida Southern holds multiple Scholars Weekends, an event which gives current students the unique opportunity to host prospective students and share all that Florida Southern has to offer. During this two-day event, accepted students have the chance to explore the campus and stay overnight in a dorm with a current student as their host.

Part of what makes Scholars Weekend special is the many current students that volunteer their time to host prospective students. It is a great opportunity for hosts

STUDENT SPOTLIGHT

to show what they enjoy the most about Florida Southern and show a prospective student how to get involved in the many clubs and organizations offered.

A host can bring the scholar to the many events offered on campus during the evening, as well as introduce them to other students with similar interests. Courtney Currier, who hosted a scholar during the January weekend, said her favorite part was sharing how much she loves FSC and answering all the questions prospective students have.

Sophomore Cameron Webb hosted scholars last year and he is now Scholars Weekend Leader.

Photo by Emma Tallon

Sophomores Cameron Webb and Marie Canfield were Scholars Weekend Leaders this January.

“As a Scholar’s Weekend host you can influence a prospective student’s decision to attend (Florida Southern),” Webb said.

“Overall it’s a great experience for the host and the scholar.”

Attending Scholars Weekend has been an important factor in many student’s decision to attend Florida Southern. In fact, above 50 percent of the current student body attended Scholars Weekend according to Webb. Many students credit their Scholars Weekend host as the reason they choose to come to Florida Southern and decided to host a scholar as well.

The unique perspective that current students can offer a college-bound high school senior is incomparable. Being a host for Scholars Weekend helps many current students connect with incoming freshman.

Freshman Lexi Roberts hosted a scholar during the January Scholars Weekend and recommended hosting a scholar to others. “...it gives you a chance to meet new people and if they do decide to pick FSC, you might be the one that helped determine their decision,” Roberts said.

Scholars Weekend is an influential part of many students’ decisions to attend Florida Southern and would not be possible without current students as hosts. Hosting a scholar for Scholars Weekend not only gives prospective students an inside look into Florida Southern, but it gives current students the opportunity to connect with future Mocs.

Scholars Weekend was held on Jan. 25-26 and will be held on Feb. 15-16 and March 23. If you’re interested in hosting a scholar, contact Liz Green in Admissions.

Niyyah Bilal Hayes, a senior at Florida Southern, is interning at the Public Defender’s office at the District 10 Courthouse in Bartow, Florida.

Some of Bilal Hayes’s tasks include organizing evidence files for cases, observing jury trials not open to the public and observing interviews when people come in from arraignments or first appearance. She said the ‘coolest’ part of her internship so far has been going into the field with one of the investigators and visiting Property & Evidence, and seeing photos be taken of evidence for a case. She also went to Babson Park, about half an hour from the courthouse, and sat in on an interview of a witness for a client.

Bilal Hayes has worked at many campus jobs and knows how to be professional, but still feels that her internship has helped her grow in that area.

“I’m already a pretty extroverted person..but [the internship] has helped me hone my professional skills because you can’t really crack the same jokes,” Bilal Hayes said. “I can’t really be ‘school Niyyah’ in my office.”

Bilal Hayes is looking forward to working with We Care, a social service organization in Lakeland and Polk County that gives mental health services to inmates and people in jail.

In the next couple weeks, she will go to local jails to observe interviews.

Bilal Hayes interns Tuesday and Thursdays from nine in the morning until four in the afternoon and it has made her realize what her priorities are.

It has also made her more aware that she will have to work a “nine to five” job after graduation.

“Juggling all of that [the internship] with school is a lot,” Bilal Hayes said. “ [The most difficult part is] going there all day, being there all day, and coming back and working here on campus.”

Bilal Hayes said she found her internship through her senior seminar class when Nancy Cobb, Chief Investigator at the courthouse, spoke to the class. She was inspired by the Chief Investigator and reached out to her about interning.

Cobb initially said no because she reserves the position for a first-year law student. A week later however, she got Bilal Hayes’s internship approved by the elected public defender.

Bilal Hayes said it is going to be difficult getting dedicated to the office and the people she works with and then leaving. She is pursuing a degree in Psychology and Criminology and a minor in Spanish. She will miss seeing her friends but is ready to go to graduate school and move on with her career.

5 The Southern FEBRUARY 1, 2019

FEATURES

Tampa Bay invaded by historic Gasparilla festival

Kate Murphy Staff Writer

Every January, downtown Tampa is flooded with about half a million people celebrating the city’s pirate history and Saturday, Jan. 26 marked the 104th Gasparilla Pirate Festival and parade.

According to an article from Tampa’s WTSP, the pirate festivities began in 1904 with a surprise mock attack on downtown Tampa by people looking to promote the city. These people combined elements of the local pirate history with influences from Mardi Gras in New Orleans to create the festival.

José Gaspar is a legendary pirate, known as the “Last of the Buccaneer’s”, who supposedly buried his treasure somewhere on Florida’s coastline before his death, though that treasure has never been found. Upon the discovery of Gaspar’s story in 1904, a group of people, self titled Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla, organized a citywide celebration in his honor.

Elizabeth Rodriguez has been a resident of Tampa for 35 years and has friends who are part of the groups that organize the Gasparilla celebration. She compared these “krewes” to social groups like a rotary club, and she said that people are invited to join if they’re involved in Tampa’s civic life and community.

“They ride into Tampa on the big pretend pirate ship,” Rodriguez said.

“Then they pretend to kidnap the mayor, and the mayor gives them the key of the

Photo courtesy of Coast Guard News The Jose Gasparilla is lead into the Seddon Channel during the annual Gasparilla Pirate Invasion. city. They basically pretend to ransack the city which is actually just a parade.”

The group sails in to Tampa’s downtown port every year to capture the city on the only full- rigged pirate ship in the world, the José Gasparilla II. The “krewe” commissioned the building of the vessel in 1954, a commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the group’s formation.

During the year, the ship is on display at

the Tarpon Weigh Station’s docks.

In recent years, the festival has expanded beyond the pirate parade and features a Gasparilla season of events from January to April. Some events include a children’s celebration, distance race, music festivals, and car shows.

The festival’s main attraction is the celebration of pirate extravaganza, which, according to a 2016 article from the

Tampa Bay Times, brought in over 20 million dollars in revenue in 2004 alone.

In spite of the development of the parade, the core purpose of the event is to commemorate Tampa’s pirate history and Buccaneer José Gaspar.

“So, although 90 percent of the legend of José Gaspar is made up, it does have that 10 percent kernel of truth!” Rodriguez said.

as sophomores; it was something that they had wanted to do together.

The change yielded uncertainty for the ambassadors who were involved in the program as well as for the students who engaged with YLakeland’s events. The program, which was still young at the time, held Lakeland Study Spots events that were held during both exam seasons last school year.

“We were really sad, because we loved working for YLakeland,” Livingston said.

“We hadn’t seen it coming… there wasn’t anything we could really do about it.”

Livingston decided to apply to work for LAL Today over the summer.

“I like learning about the city I’m in, and I love local businesses,” she said. “I was interested in the company itself… and I needed the communications internship.”

The only other FSC student that worked with LAL Today graduated in December, Trevor Peters. He had been interning with YLakeland when the change began to happen, and he rode it out to graduation.

Livingston sees her experience with YLakeland as part of what made it easy for her to apply to work for LAL Today—she had met with the mayor of Lakeland on a prior occasion, and she had written about other Lakeland development previously.

YLakeland was founded as a way to engage college students and young adults with the community. Beyond study nights and social media posts, YLakeland ambassadors like Livingston and Bowling were in charge of tabling at Florida Southern to promote YLakeland’s platform and taking students to events and businesses they had never been to before.

“I’d bring them to the farmer’s market,” Livingston said. “It was really about promoting local businesses in creative, non-sponsor-y ways.”

Where YLakeland’s market was small, just local college students and young adults that the city wanted to keep in town, LAL Today’s market spans any demographic with access to the internet.

“LAL Today is very much for people who live here, whether that’s young people, moms, whatever, dads, business men— Dr. Hamilton reads it every morning,” Livingston said.

Livingston describes much of her work now, with LAL Today, as investigative.

LAL Today depends on tips from its readers, but even then much of it must be fact-checked by workers and linked to credible sources. “Everything that you see publication-wise, we help with the background for that,” she said. “We come up with news notes, which are short blurbs with local news, development, [and] national news.”

Livingston noted that much of the material that LAL Today produces is obtained through community interaction.

“We’ll put on our story, ‘Hey, does anyone know what’s happening at this new development site?’” she said, “Whether it’s people that are working for the City of Lakeland, we’ll get answers quickly, or someone who lives right near there.”

She enjoys getting tips about the city from people who live in the city.

YLakeland was largely overseen by Christina Graham, who now serves as the Executive Director for Catapult, the startup accelerator and workspace in downtown Lakeland. Three top editors and journalists in LAL Today are Catapult members.

Both YLakeland and Catapult were initiatives of the Lakeland Economic Development Council, which is funded by major local and state businesses. Publix and MidFlorida Credit union are two of the largest funding partners of the LEDC.

6AM City serves as the six-city news broadcasters, all of which are in the South.

Other cities with 6AM City publications are Chattanooga, Tenn.; Asheville, N.C. and Charleston and Columbia, S.C. According to YLakeland’s initial announcement about the transition, 6AM City is similar to TheSkimm or The Hustle, but “hyperlocal.”

6AM City’s strengths lie in its general, universal style guide. It has special typographical guidelines, they use the plus sign instead of the world ‘and,’ for instance. Livingston appreciates the structure that 6AM City provides to LAL Today because it allows her to learn as she conducts interviews and talks to public officials.

“It’s certainly been more of a learning experience,” Livingston said. “With YLakeland, I was just on the team of making things happen, whereas with LAL they’re teaching me a lot, which has been so valuable.”

“I’m interested to see where LAL Today will go, even after my graduation and everything,” Livingston says, “how it continues to get more and more involved in the city, how it continues to write more, how it continues to gain a greater following.”

Student finds renewed place in city media

Peter Edgar Editor-in-Chief

The YLakeland ambassador program was dissolved over the summer after the nonprofit became a subsidiary of 6AM City, a network of local daily news providers.

Before it closed, YLakeland had ambassadors at Florida Polytechnic University, Southeastern University, Florida Southern College, Polk State College and Keiser University. Among the students who were laid off over the summer were seniors Sam Bowling and Cassie Livingston.

“They told me in an email,” BFA musical theatre major Bowling said. Livingston remembers that they were together on the subway in New York, on a trip for the student improv comedy troupe Studio Box, when they got the email. “We were told that it was transitioning to LAL Today but that the ambassador program was no longer a part of it,” Livingston said.

Livingston, a religion and communication major, had become a student ambassador for YLakeland in the fall of 2017, as a junior. She and Bowling had both applied

The Southern FEBRUARY 1, 2019

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Super Blood Mo Eclipse Facts The entire eclipse lasted five hours and 12 minutes.

This was the first and only total lunar eclipse of 2019.

The 21st century will have 85 total lunar eclipses.

The next total solar eclipse will be on July 2.

7 The Southern FEBRUARY 1, 2019

oon Eclipse January 20-21, Photo by: Arjeet Tipirneni

Sarah Oulman Staff Writer The Super Blood Moon Eclipse, which was the first total lunar eclipse Lakeland has since 2015, had sky gazers in awe on Jan. 20.

This rare event was even nicknamed a Super Blood Wolf Moon by many news sources over the weekend.

The moon was considered a “super moon” because of its position in its elliptical orbit. On Jan. 20, the moon was in the position closest to the earth, which granted it the title of a super moon and made it appear about 14 percent larger than normal.

Even more unique, the moon was called a “wolf moon” on that specific night. Traditionally, this name is given to any full moon in the month of January, and it is believed to get its name from the howling wolves during that month.

How does this phenomenon occur? During a total lunar eclipse, the earth blocks the moon from direct sunlight, and the sun, moon and Earth are in alignment. As this happens, the moon falls into the earth’s shadow, which isn’t completely black.

Red wavelengths of light are then refracted by the earth’s atmosphere and reflected onto the moon, giving it this special blood-red appearance.

“This is probably the best [super moon] in a few decades,” Astronomy Club President Arjeet Tipirneni said. “This doesn’t happen all the time because of the elliptical orbit of the moon so this one is especially rare.”

In order for an event like this one to occur, the elliptical orbit of the moon has to be perfectly timed.

Although the moon circles the Earth each month, it only passes through Earth’s shadow approximately twice a year.

“It’s kind of a complex orbital ballet of how

[the pattern] of it works,” John Gould, a Florida Southern graduate and Spaceflight writer, said.

“There is a pattern to the frequency of lunar eclipses, but it’s not as obvious as the pattern that the solar eclipse has.”

The origin of the moon’s reddish color is quite interesting. While the title “blood moon” sounds somewhat disturbing, the color is actually produced by the merging of all light from Earth’s sunrises and sunsets. This light is refracted by the atmosphere and hits the moon, providing watchers with a spectacular lunar show.

Historically, total lunar eclipses have not always been as well received as they are now. These events were, at one point, thought to be bad omens of things to occur in the future. Lunar eclipses also have a history of being used to keep track of time and help date specific events in ancient times.

In 1504, Christopher Columbus used the ominous lunar eclipse to trick natives in Jamaica. Columbus had with him a book written by Abraham Zacuto, a Spanish astronomer, predicting that a lunar eclipse would occur on Feb. 29, 1504. When the Jamaicans refused to continue supplying Columbus and his men with food and goods, the famous explorer threatened to take the moon away from them. As the moon disappeared that night, the natives came to Columbus with food and begged him to bring the moon back.

As spectacular as the Super Blood Moon Eclipse was, astronomy enthusiasts will have to wait until 2021 to see another of its kind from Lakeland. These total lunar eclipses require special circumstances to occur, making it a rare and fun experience to witness one.

The Southern FEBRUARY 1, 2019

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ENTERTAINMENT ‘Bandersnatch’ snatches viewers

Black History Month Spotlight: Selma

Victoria Salvatore Staff Writer Choose your own adventure is a familiar genre when it comes to books and video games but movies have now broken into that genre with Netflix’s new movie, Black Mirror’s Bandersnatch.

The movie is set in 1984 and it’s about a young man (Fionn Whitehead) that’s building a video game. The movie involves an element of inception because the video game, which is based on a book called Bandersnatch, is choose your own adventure.

Bandersnatch has many influences, most obvious being video games. Video Games have been using the choose-your-own adventure approach for almost a decade with games like Infamous, Life is Strange and most recently Red Dead Redemption 2 all using audience choice to further narrative experience.

At different points in the movie a prompt will come up which allows you to choose the next step that the main character takes.

It can be very simple decisions like what music the character should listen to or other, more complex decisions.

“I enjoyed being able to control the character because there was a period of suspense when you have to assess the possible consequences of both choices and choose accordingly,” Emily Hobbs said.

It’s great to see movies branching off into this new area and the movie is thoroughly enjoyable decision making process for the main character, but there are a few things in the movie that fell short for me.

A few times, despite what choice I made, it was obvious that the creators of the movie only wanted to film one outcome, so they basically forced you to choose a certain decision.

There are only so many scenes that they can film, so I understand that they’re limited when it comes to the number of story lines they can go down, but it felt as if they cheated the audience out of being able to dictate the outcome of the film.

The upside of a book is that you can continue to write more chapters and have multiple story lines because it’s cheaper to add pages to a book than it is to add scenes to a movie.

Another difference between choose your own adventure books and Bandersnatch is that once you choose a path in a book you can go back to your original decision and try the other storyline.

Netflix didn’t give you the ability to rewind and choose different choices to see different outcomes, so it didn’t have the feeling of flipping back and forth to see what could’ve been. It felt like more of a continuous stream than books do.

There were some scenes that allowed you to go back and choose different outcomes, especially towards the end, so it wasn’t completely lacking that element.

You could always go back and restart the movie to choose different outcomes, but once I was done watching the movie, I didn’t want to go through it all again.

I really appreciated that they didn’t sacrifice the storyline and just rely on the novelty of the film being choose your own adventure. The plot was thought provoking and caused me to reflect on the choices I had made throughout the adventure.

The endings were very complex and each of them offered a satisfying ending to the film. Bandersnatch offers a viewing experience unlike any other.

Photo courtesy of BagoGames / Flickr

DuVernay’s Selma is a powerful historical drama based upon the Martin Luther King Jr. led marches in 1965.

Zya Crawford Staff Writer The movie Selma depicts the story of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s (David Oyelowo) campaign to secure equal voting rights by marching from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, in 1965. Today, the event is known as one of the most significant victories of the civil rights movement.

Selma is an accurate biopic of MLK that stays true to the man that inspired so many.

During the movie President Lyndon B. Johnson instructed the FBI to spy on King.

However, according to The Washington Post, it was actually U.S. Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy who authorized the wiretapping of King’s home and office.

One of the largest fallacies in the film was also one of the most challenging emotionally, according to director Ava DuVernay. Civil rights activist Jimmie Lee Jackson shot dead in a restaurant by police officers, when in reality Jackson died days after the shooting.

While MLK is revered as a Civil Rights pioneer now, back when he was an activist however, he lived a very dangerous life.

His life as an activist in danger was well portrayed throughout the movie. MLK faced many death threats and harassment during his time within the movement. Even going as far to directly address the possibly he might die young. Director Ava DuVernay was very self-conscious about making sure every character was unabashed human.

“I wanted to try to make everyone as human as possible,” DuVernay said in an interview with Rolling Stone. “That trap that I see so many non-black filmmakers do with black characters, where everything is surface and stereotypical…I didn’t want to be the black filmmaker that does that with the white characters,” While there are some very clear creative freedoms the movie takes, some choices were of a more practical variety. The Martin Luther King Jr. estate has currently licensed MLK’s speeches to a yet unproduced movie for DreamWorks and Warner Bros.

This left the production of Selma to rewrite history and change the words to MLK’s famous speeches including his famous I Have a Dream speech. Both the rewrites to history and the internal conflict of Dr. King were treated with care and very pennant

throughout the film.

Despite a lot of the film’s success, it wasn’t without its production difficulties.

On top of the licensing problems, Selma’s original director, Lee Daniels, left the project to film “The Butler” leaving DuVernay to take over. DuVernay ended up rewriting the script uncredited due the contract logistics of previous writer, Paul Webb. Even despite these hurdles, DuVernay was able to make a very genuine film going as far as to hire extras from Selma, Alabama to give a sense of realism to the film. Selma’s success has led to DuVernay into becoming one the Hollywood’s most sought-after directors as she is set to direct DC comics “New Gods” movie.

According to IMDB, the movie scored over $11 million opening weekends in the United States and grossed over $66 million worldwide. Of the 89 nominations over all award outlets it won 59 including Best Original Song for a Motion Picture at the Academy Awards.

Even though Selma has been out for five years it continues to give glimpses to the sacrifices necessary for progress.

Opera shows FSC students on and off stage

Peter Edgar Editor-in-Chief

Three Florida Southern College students performed at the Imperial Symphony Orchestra’s production of Mozart’s The Magic Flute, not with arias, but with poems.

Jim McKenna, an honors English major, Philosophy major Corinne Cuddeback and Marcos Martins, a Musical Theatre major, all seniors, read poetry about music and the opera written by themselves or other poets during the intermission.

“It’s another notch in the belt,” McKenna said. “Getting to do any experience like that is really exciting… I like the chance to share poems that I know are super dope.”

McKenna read first. As a writing concentration in English, he has already written two bodies of poetry (both of which he has read publicly, at events like Fiat Lux). He chose to read poems by Rita Dove and Tracy K. Smith, the current U.S. poet laureate.

“In the week leading up to it, we all met in her office and had ideas about what we

wanted to read,” McKenna said. “I just went to some of my favorite books… I went to [Tracy K. Smith’s] book that won the Pulitzer, Life on Mars—it’s just a book that I haven’t been able to put down—and in it she has a poem on music.”

Martins, who read second, had written his own selection in the week before the opera. He wrote a sestina that touched on opera and the band Queen and its lead singer, Freddie Mercury. Sestinas are 39-line poems with a strict structure and repeating line-endings.

“I really wanted to do something original,” Martins said. “It ended up being one of my favorite forms… It gives you the opportunity to be really clever, so I really like that.”

Cuddeback read third. She read a selection by from Walt Whitman’s book Leaves of Grass, which McKenna described as “more canonical”; it was published first in 1855. Though each reader had friends attending, Cuddeback’s father and grandmother also attended.

The opportunity was the product of a partnership between music professor

Dr. Kira Omelchenko, Director of the Orchestra and String Studies, and Dr. Erica Bernheim, English professor and director of the Creative Writing Program at FSC. Bernheim has collaborated with the music department before: she worked on a project with Dr. Gibbs that featured a number of poets with pieces about time, “from Dr. Seuss to Emily Dickinson.”

Omelchenko contacted Bernheim midway during the fall 2018 semester with the idea for student interaction with the opera production, and Bernheim reached out to McKenna, Cuddeback, and Martins about the opportunity in November and December. Many music and musical theatre students already participate in the few operas FSC features each year as onstage singers.

“I’m always happy to collaborate with my colleagues in music,” Bernheim said.

“This was the first time with students... and hopefully not the last.”

This article continues online. See the rest at fscsouthern.com

9 The Southern FEBRUARY 1, 2019

ENTERTAINMENT

WHAT’S NEW

‘God Friended Me’ continues to be heavenly TV

Daredevil # 1: Feb. 6 Chip Zdarsky (Invaders, Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man) and artist Marco Checchetto (Star Wars: Captain Phasma) bring a new era to The Man Without Fear. Matt Murdock is left to pick up the pieces after the world is supposed demise at the end of the previous story arc, Death Of Daredevil.

Lego Movie 2: The Second Part: Feb. 8 After saving the world in the first Lego Movie, Emmet (Christ Pratt) must once again build himself up to be the hero Bricksburg needs. This may sound easy, but when Emmet gets blocked from saving his friends Batman (Will Arnett) and Lucy (Elizabeth Banks) he embarks on a journey across the cosmos to save his friends. One brick at a time, Emmet will once again be the Master Builder his galaxy needs.

Polk Museum Continued from page 1

Also featured in the Degas collection are works by or of other contemporary artists in his circle that visitors may be familiar with, such as Degass’ close friend and fellow artist, Mary Cassatt.

With the opening of the Degas exhibit, Rich and the other curators hope to raise the bar of what the museum has to offer in order to attract more visitors, both students and members of the public alike.

Along with adding more well-known artists, Rich is hoping to add a more academic quality to the works featured at the museum.

Given the recent partnership between the museum and FSC, the curators are now putting more of a focus on “learning in an effective, fun, illustrative way,” Rich said.

“Degas: The Private Impressionist” will be at the Polk Museum until March 24.

Later this semester and into the summer, the museum has a full roster of exhibits that will be featured. With the museum’s partnership with the college, the museum is able to schedule events further into the future than they were able to before.

Rich noted a few exhibits that he is particularly looking forward to. Those include “Painted Pages: Illuminated Manuscripts,” which features manuscripts dating back to the medieval period, and “Inside the Masters’ Studios: Dioramas by Richard Haas,” which will feature a New York artist’s dioramas of famous artists’ studios.

For those looking for more content from the museum, Rich leads curator talks at the museum every first Thursday of the month at 6 p.m.. The next talk will be Feb.7, and it is open to both students and the public.

Photo courtesy of CBS God Friended Me continues to be a success as the mid-season finale had over 10 million viewers world wide.

Ariel Molinaro Staff Writer As the red-carpet award season prepares to wrap-up with the upcoming 91st Academy Awards later this month, television audiences have the opportunity to binge episodes they missed since broadcast premiere dates last September.

CBS, alongside network stations ABC, NBC, Fox and The CW premiered new pilot shows as a push to increase primetime ratings.

Among the CBS roster was the firstyear “heartwarming spiritual drama” God Friended Me starring Brandon Micheal Hall as Miles Finer, Violett Beane as Cara Bloom, and Suraj Sharma as Rakesh. The comedic drama follows the trio as they tackle religion and faith in relation to social media. Miles Finer (Hall), the voice of the podcast: The Millennial Prophet, receives a Facebook friend request from an account calling itself ‘God’, the profile headlined with picture of a sole white cloud framed on a blue sky.

The God account communicates with Finer through his social media account, specifically via a series of Facebook friend suggestions. As the friend suggestions become more personal to Finer, connecting to his father’s church and discovering hidden hardships within his own “perfect” family, he gets closer to discovering the user behind the God account activity.

The feel-good drama in its premiere season shows how social media can unite our diverse society despite our differences.

In an article prior to the series mid-season hiatus, CBS highlighted the progress the show has made since premiering last fall.

“God Friended Me, which focuses on a broader humanitarian message of love and acceptance, is equally interested in bringing people of all backgrounds and beliefs together,” CBS said.

After tuning in to watch an all-new episode every week, it’s easy to see why audiences are hooked. Despite the unlimited potential of a new show, predictability often times leads to a decline in demographic ratings. In this particular instance, however, the show’s framework allows audience members the opportunity to develop a relationship with regular cast members in addition to the anticipation of who the God account will send next.

As ratings statistics show, viewers are responding with positive reactions.

Competing against the 76th annual Golden Globes and NBC’s NFC playoff football game, the CBS drama still pulled in 4.8 million viewers for the show’s 12th episode, according to The Wrap. Its next episode, on Jan. 13th, showed another increase with “...over 8.2 million viewers — its second-highest viewer total since October,” CarterMatt said.

So far this season, I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend the series. There are various

aspects of the show that I enjoy each week. Moving into season two, I would be intrigued to see the network move God Friended Me to another time slot, where the show wouldn’t compete with Sunday sports audiences and the occasional Sunday special programming, award shows for example, to have more frequent episodes throughout the month. Altogether, I am looking forward to what show producers have in store for the premiere series.

“God Friended Me” doesn’t come without its flaws, but never fails to leave the audience with that feel-good emotion in their chest and motivation to start off Monday morning with a positive foot forward.

Series regular Joe Morton, known for his roles as Rowan Pope in Scandal and Silas Stone in the DC Comics Justice League, plays reverend Arthur Finer - Miles’s father. In an interview with Forbes in relation to his role on the series, Morton talks about the impact of God Friended Me in the community.

“Shows like ours, these kinds of shows, especially on a Sunday night, before you go to work on Monday—they give you a good feeling, that it is possible to be more friendly and hopeful. It makes you feel good,” Morton said.

Catch-up on the one-hour episodes of God Friended Me on the CBS app, available across most devices, or on CBS. com at any time.

God Friended Me is currently on CBS.

The Cado Show

New Episodes Every Friday

The Southern FEBRUARY 1, 2019

SPORTS

10

Baseball looks to build on 2018 season Mocs picked to finish second in the SSC in pre-season coaches poll Mikaela Queen Staff Writer After finishing third in the nation last season, the Mocs are anticipated to finish second behind University of Tampa in the Sunshine State Conference (SSC) this season. The team finished last season with a 45-11-1 record along with the South Region title.

The Mocs lost Logan Browning, J.T. Hintzen and Hayden Marze, who played vital roles on the team defensively and offensively.

Browning made major contributions on the mound as well as in right field and at the plate. The Lakeland local was picked in the 24th round of the MLB draft by the Red Socks.

Hintzen also made moves on the mound as a relief pitcher and was drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers in the 10th round of the MLB draft.

Marze, a transfer from Mississippi State University, set the Mocs bats on fire as he hit 22 home runs during the season, two of those in the NCAA World Series.

The Mocs bring back 2018 SSC Freshman of the Year Jacob Teter, senior short-stop Pablo Cabrera and starting pitchers J.J. Niekro and Thomas Spinelli.

Teter said that the senior duo of Cabrera and Ryan Frost are carrying out traditions as they now lead the team as captains. The team has spent most of the fall getting to know each other, putting the pieces of the puzzle together.

Teter was awarded the honor of 2018 Freshman of the Year for the Sunshine State Conference. He started in all of the Moccasins 57 games, had 12 home runs and 130 total bases.

IM RANKINGS Men’s

Roman Empire 2232 Theta Chi 2146 Sigma Chi 2087 SAE 1725 PIKE 1577 Lambda Chi 1292 AGR 972 Pi Kapp 400

Women’s

Roman Empire 2596 Zeta Tau Alpha 1416 Kappa Delta 1106 Tri Delta 858 Gamma Phi 793 Alpha Chi 743 LAX 643 Alpha Delta Pi 523 Alpha Omicron Pi 245

SOCIAL MEDIA

“I like to use that award as a stepping stone and a reminder of what it takes to even be in contention for a conference accolade,” Teter said.

Niekro is currently battling an elbow injury and will be out for the first half of the season. He said that he will play as a leader for the young guys “to get used to the college grind.”

Just because he isn’t able to compete on the field doesn’t mean he won’t be contributing to wins by being a vocal leader for the team.

Nearly half of the team is new to FSC this year as the team brought in a large

freshmen class and had a significant number of transfers.

Niekro said the addition of Cooper Bradford and Carson King will help boost the pitching rotation.

“The morale is really upbeat, were all expecting another deep run in the playoffs this year and to bring home the national championship,” Niekro said.

The Mocs open up their season on Feb. 1 at University of West Florida with a three-game series.

The team has their home opener in a non-conference game against Eckerd on Feb. 5 at Henley Field in Lakeland.

SPOTLIGHT

Women’s Basketball:

Mercedez Claybrone

Photo courtesy of Andrew Pawling/ FSC Athletics Mercedez Claybrone (13) attempts to box out Nikki Tucker (32) while going for a rebound in the Mocs game against the Embry-Riddle Eagles earlier this season.

Megan Price Staff Writer

Photo courtesy of Mikaela Queen / FSC Athletics The Mocs celebrate a walk-off 3-1 win following a two-run home run by Cody Burgess against Lee on Feb. 17, 2018.

Track starts strong with three individual wins Reems Landreth Online Editor Josh Wagner and Alayna Goll each claimed first in the 1,000 meter run while Addison Cantor finished first in the 3,000 meter run at the ERAU indoor/outdoor Challenge on Jan. 19.

The 1,000 meter finals saw an 11 person field consisting primarily of Moccasin runners. Wagner entered the record book with a new school record of 2:34.62 in the men’s 1,000 meter run while Mason Jones crossed the line in second place with a time of 2:39.21. Jones’ time was good enough for the sixth best time in school history.

Also in the race was Mitchell Kozik, Brian Martin, Michael Balseca, Thomas Gardner and Brandon Williams, who finished in sixth thru tenth place, respectively. All seven Moccasin runners finished with new personal records.

The 3,000 meter finals saw a similar result as the 1,000 meter as Wagner finished in second place with the fourth fastest time in school history (8:34.56) while Jones finished in fourth place, running it in 9:00.31. Kozik (7th), Balseca (12th), Martin (17th), Gardner (21th) and

@FSCsports

Williams (23rd) also finished the race.

Amber Winton finished ninth in the women’s 800 meter final with a personal best time of 2:42.42.

Alayna Goll finished first in the women’s 1,000 meter final with the second fastest time in school history (3:12.04).

Mackenzie Wills finished in fourth (3:29.85) while Amber Winton finished in fifth (3:43.19).

Addison Cantor finished first in the women’s 3,000 meter final with the second fastest time in school (10:34.18) while Ysabella Guerra finished twenty-two seconds behind Cantor in second place with the fifth fastest time in school history (10:56.42). Hannah Nelson, Sarah Zamot and Stephanie Hanson crossed the line in fourth, fifth and sixth, respectively while Aleksa Guerra (8th) Anna Brook Opalisnki (9th), Jolene Verguawen (11th), Madison Santore (15th) and Kennedy Lewis (18th) also finished the race.

Both Florida Southern team’s will be spending the next few weeks continuing their training before heading back to Daytona Beach, Fla. for their next meet, the ERAU Last Chance Meet on Feb. 23.

The Snakebite Wednesday @ 3 p.m.

As an integral part of Florida Southern’s women’s basketball team, senior Mercedez Claybrone spends most of her time in the gym shooting hoops or working on her vertical.

While she doesn’t start every game, Claybrone has racked up hundreds of minutes on the court helping carry the nationally ranked team to many victories. She averages 25.1 minutes per game. The 5’11 forward plays a mean defensive game. She often gets a rise out of her teammates and Moccasin crowd by laying out and taking the charge to draw offensive fouls for her team.

Claybrone has loved the game for as long as she can remember, first stepping foot on the court at only seven years old. While basketball has allowed her to continue playing a sport that has shaped her into the woman she is today, there is so much more to her than sneakers and basketball shorts.

When she isn’t in the gym, you can find Claybrone spending quality time with her friends and family. One of her favorite things to do is have miniature tea parties with her nieces.

Claybrone is currently a senior studying biology. Her favorite subject is math and her dream job is to one day become a dentist.

Judging by the huge smile always on her face and her infectious laugh, it is no surprise that Claybrone’s teammates would describe her as the team clown.

You can always find Claybrone messing around or cracking jokes on others.

An all-American girl, Claybrone’s favorite past-time is bowling and she says she could eat spaghetti for every meal if she could.

Claybrone is inspired by the quote “Don’t count the days, make the days count,” by the great Muhammad Ali. She models her life by this quote and tries to make an impact in everything that she does on and off the court.

As one of the women’s basketball teams most impactful leaders, there is no doubt that Claybrone will go down as one of Florida Southern’s greats.

11 The Southern FEBRUARY 1, 2019

SPORTS

No. 12 women’s, men’s basketball defeat Saint Leo at home Reems Landreth Online Editor Camille Giardina (20 pts) and Anja Fuchs-Robetin (21 pts) combined for 41 points in a 68-34 win while Jonathon Lawton (29 pts) and Brett Hanson (23 pts) led Florida Southern to a 24 point comeback as they defeated Saint Leo, 8683.

WOMEN SLAY LIONS IN 14TH STRAIGHT WIN No. 12 Florida Southern (17-1, 10-0 SSC) came into the matchup riding a 13 game winning streak and a No. 12 ranking nationally while Saint Leo (7-11, 2-8 SSC) came into the contest after dropping back to back games.

The Mocs got off to a slow start on offense, scoring only 8 points in the opening seven minutes, but the strong Southern defense held the Lions to ony 4 points over the same time. A three by Elsa Landberg put the Mocs into double digits (11-4) and assisted Marta Aranda’s three to end the first quarter with a 10 point lead, 14-4.

Saint Leo opened the second half with a jumper before Southern took control, outscoring the Lions 9-2 over the stretch to extend the lead to 15 (23-8) with 5:19 left in the half. The Lions Madelin Lang put her team into double digits with 4:48 left for the last Saint Leo field goal of the half. The Mocs traded free throws with the Lions for the remainder of the half, finishing off the first half with a 29-13 lead.

The second half looked the same as every other second half in this current win streak as Giardina and Fuchs-Robetin took command of the contest, scoring a combined 17 in the third and 9 in the fourth before being taken out with over seven minutes left in the contest.

Giardina finished the contest with 20 points and 5 rebounds while FuchsRobetin finished off with 21 points, 8 rebounds and 3 assists. The win extends

Florida Southern’s win streak to 14, tying the 1985-86 team for the fourth longest win streak in school history.

MEN BACK ON TRACK AFTER COMEBACK VICTORY Florida Southern (14-4, 7-3 SSC) came off a 14 point loss to Rollins College last Saturday while Saint Leo (8-10, 5-5 SSC) came into the matchup on a four game win streak with wins over major conference opponents.

The Mocs stumbled in the opening minutes as they quickly took a 7 point deficit (2-9) before Jack Rauch and Hanson each put in two to hold a 6 point deficit (612) with 16:23 left in the half.

Southern failed to match Saint Leo through the bulk of the first half, letting the point margin slip through their hands to a 24 point deficit (25-49) with 4:49 left in the half. Ben Marello and Rauch put together a small comeback in the first half to narrow the margin to 15 (53-38) at the half.

The second half brought out a completely different Moccasin team.

Lawton opened the half with 5 points in the first two minutes to start off a 22 point rally

by Lawton and Hanson over the first 10 minutes of the half to put the Mocs within 4 points of the lead (63-67).

The Lions found their groove again, holding their four point lead before Lawton tied the game up with 2:39 left and Rauch retook the lead 40 seconds later.

Lawton and Marello finished it off for the Mocs, scoring the final 7 points.

Hanson had 23 points, 4 rebounds and 5 assists in today’s match up while Lawton recorded 29 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists. Marello also had 12 points while Rauch put in 15 points and 9 rebounds.

Southern had the weekend off before taking on the University of Tampa at the Bob Martinez Athletics Center last Wednesday. A full recap of both games can be found on fscsouthern.com.

The Mocs will return home on Sat., Feb. 2 to take on Nova Southeastern University at 5:30 and 7:30 p.m.

Photo courtesy of Mikaela Queen / FSC Athletics Camille Giardina goes for a lay-up against the Lions during the Mocs 6834 win on Jan. 23.

Photo courtesy of Mikaela Queen / FSC Athletics Jonathan Lawton on a pivotal drive during the first half of the Mocs 24-point comeback victory against Saint Leo on Jan. 23

Softball prepares for second season at Bellotto Field

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Mikaela Queen Staff Writer

Baseball

Florida Southern Softball is predicted to finish eighth behind Nova Southeastern in the Sunshine State Conference Preseason Coaches Poll.

Last season, the team had a 2721 record with a 12-18 record in the conference. Florida Southern has won 24 conference championships in its history all led by Chris Bellotto.

The team lost two starters from last season while all of the pitching staff returns. Aubrey Ehlers, Kristen Beacham, Kelli Gault and Jenna Weldon all won at least five games last season.

Senior Zierra Floodman returns behind the plate this season as a two-time All-SSC cacher. Last season she had a .321 batting average with nine doubles and 24 RBI. This season marks coach Bellotto’s 38th season as the Moccasins’ head coach who has a career coaching record of 1,310554-1. She is ranked second on the all-time NCAA Division II career wins and is 12th among all coaches at all NCAA levels.

2.01 at West Florida 2.02 at West Florida 2.03 at West Florida 2.05 vs Eckerd 2.15 at USC Aiken

M/W Basketball

2.02 vs Nova Southeastern 2.06 vs Florida Tech 2.09 at Embry-Riddle 2.13 vs Palm Beach Atlantic

Softball Photo courtesy of Reems Landreth / FSC Athletics Zierra Floodman makes a tag at the plate in a game against Barry University on March 24, 2018.

2.04 vs Ursuline (DH) 2.06 vs Flagler (DH) 2.15 vs Nova Southeastern 2.16 vs Nova Southeastern (DH)

The Southern FEBRUARY 1, 2019

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