Issue 4, Fall 2016

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CATALYST

NCPD MEMORIAL WALL PREVIEWS

SEPTEMBER 28, 2016 VOLUME XXXIV ISSUE IV

A student newspaper of New College of Florida

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Activist newsletter pg.

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photo courtesy of Stefan Drakulich

wall recall

BY GIULIA HEYWARD

How a fight in Palm Court, one of the lowest paid police departments in the county and state metrics jeopardized a campus tradition

BY GIULIA HEYWARD The funk ended before it could start.

As was the case for third-year student Mei Jing Bernard upon finding out that her Wall, Get FUN-ky, occurred on a weekend night where the New College Police Department (NCPD) was understaffed. With her Wall still weeks away, Bernard finds herself with several options to choose from. However, she is also at the center of an issue that has been brewing since this summer.

On Aug. 30, the NCPD was two police officers short of its standard thirteen, and missing two of the normal five dispatchers present. At an annual leave of 3,036 hours, a yearly salary of $38,500, the NCPD, according to Chief Officer Michael Kessie, is one of the lowest paid, and lowest staffed, police departments in the Sarasota-Manatee county.

“We had [one of our] officers go to the Sarasota Sheriff’s Office,” Kessie said. “He works Monday to Friday, weekends off, holidays off and I can’t

compete with that.”

According to Kessie, the decision to request overtime pay comes out of a need to ensure better working conditions to the NCPD, as well as follow the lead of other college and university police departments in the area that require compensation for covering weekend night events.

“A police officer takes a minimum of 8-12 weeks [of training], but that doesn’t count the background investigation or their testing to vet them,” Kessie said.

“If someone were to tell me today that we had fourteen positions, it would be April or May before the person would be on their own.”

Broken bottles and the Wall Times White Paper Walls are required to have two police officers on duty. This administrative decision occurred after an incident in Sept. 2008, when a New College student was physically assaulted in the middle of Palm Court by a non affiliate of the school, commonly referred to as a townie. “...he noticed a fight of some sort

breaking out in Palm Court during the Wall dance party. He advised that he did not witness any blows, but did notice an erratic movement from at least three non-New College of Florida students.

He advised that one of them had a beer bottle and attempted to break it to create a weapon,” a witness statement in the incident report reads.

The two police officer policy was also followed by a 2 a.m. curfew set for the Walls.

“Despite strong pushes from students over the next few years, the administration refused to lift the curfew,” Alum and former New College Student Alliance (NCSA) President Oliver Peckham (‘08) said in an email interview. “At various points, they insisted that additional security was necessary and offered to ‘compromise’ if students paid to staff private security or additional police officers. Eventually, conversations with the administration (and a bold Sunshine Law request by Jordan Martin) made it clear that the administration knew that it was unlikely that students would be able and/or

willing to bear the cost of the additional security, and that the ‘compromises’ offered were meant to discourage interest in rescinding the curfew.”

The incident was recorded in a document known as the Wall Times White Paper. The 2 a.m. curfew was officially lifted on April 22, 2011 but was later reinstated in Aug. 2015, following two on campus deaths that had occurred the semester beforehand.

“During my time, whenever the school cracked down on Walls in any way, it was a reflection of administrative priorities,” Peckham continued. “The NCPD was typically happy to staff whatever events they were asked to, but the amount of security necessary (or the acceptability of the event in general) was, in most cases, determined at the discretion of the administration and their event policies. I don’t mean to uniformly demonize the New College administration here -- many members of the administration responded positively to firm, respectful negotiations, and in general, the best antidote to administrative overreach has

Pro-Trump sign inspires clash of supporters and protesters

BY PARIESA YOUNG The nationwide fervor over the presidential election has impacted Sarasota in more ways than one, but the debate over democratic nominee Hillary Clinton and republican opponent Donald Trump hit very close to home for many New College students last week.

Local restaurant Barnacle Bill’s – which is less than a half mile from the Pei dormitories – prompted clashing rallies over its marquee sign which earlier this week read: “[National Rifle Association] NRA Member” “Concealed Carry OK” “I am a Deplorable” “Vote Trump.” Restaurant owner William “Bill” Davis later changed the sign to say “Not a Deplorable.”

The marquee has been the topic of

WHAT’S INSIDE

conversation and criticism since Davis decided to vocalize his political views on the restaurant’s roadside sign. He has received thousands of emails in support and opposition of his actions. He’s even received death threats, to which Davis responded, “I’m an NRA member, I’ll protect myself.”

The action came to a peak, however, when supporters of Hillary Clinton planned a demonstration at 5 p.m. last Wednesday, Sept. 21 on U.S. 41. This was soon met with plans for a counter-protest by local Republican leaders. At 5:30 p.m. nearly 100 Trump supporters faced about 15 pro-Hillary chanters across the way.

Thesis student Saif Iqbal showed up to the demonstration on the advice of NCF Democrats President third-year George Thurlow.

3 BUS STOP GONE

“I saw [the road sign] online, and was honestly heart-broken,” Iqbal said in an email interview. “I love Barnacle Bill’s, best shrimp pasta in town. I have no hate or malice for Trump supporters, but it honestly just makes me sad at the current state of our country/state/city/ community.”

While many of the protestors on either side remained civil, others attempted to interface with their opponents. For the duration of the rally, Sarasota Police were stationed on either side of U.S. 41, occasionally announcing on a megaphone for protesters to stay off the medians.

“I came to the rally and grabbed a sign and stood quietly next to another person who had a rainbow colored sign,”

continued on p. 11

6 RINGLING EXPANDS

Pariesa Young/Catalyst

The protest last Wednesday was a five minute walk from campus.

12 VEGAN BRUNCH

CATALYST

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BRIEFS

PAGE 2

briefs by Dylan Pryor

Celebrated Sarasota attraction may glorify lack of consent Since 2009, ”Unconditional Surrender,” the 28-foot statue of a sailor kissing a nurse on the day World War II ended has stood at the Sarasota bay front as a symbol of unity and love.

However, with the recent passing of one of the statue’s subjects, Greta Friedman, discussion have been resurfaced as to whether it could actually represent something less than loving.

In a 2005 interview with the Veteran’s History Project, Friedman shared her own perspective of what is thought of by many as a grand romantic gesture.

“It wasn’t my choice to be kissed,

the guy just came over and grabbed,” Friedman said. “I felt he was very strong. He was just holding me tight.

I’m not sure about the kiss. It was just somebody celebrating. It wasn’t a romantic event.”

Friedman had no idea a photo was taken of the kiss, or even that it appeared in Life magazine until years later. On the few occasions she was reunited with the sailor, George Mendonsa, she consistently refused to reenact the moment.

“I don’t think anyone can dispute that, especially because Greta herself has expressed the discomfort and lack

of control she felt about this “famous” moment that others have romanticized so much, perpetuates what we consider today a symbol of assault,” third-year and member of the Bystander Intervention program InterACT Annie Rosenblum said. “We don’t need this statue on our bay front because of what we know about its history and out of respect for Greta and other victims of assault.”

Information from this article was taken from heraldtribune.com.

Thursdays with Thelma lets students tackle self-care together Although self-care mainly concerns an individual, it’s never been something students here have to do alone. On Thursday, new Health Educator Thelma Santiago held her first workshop on a series focusing on a variety of topics important to student health and wellness. “Thursdays with Thelma” will be held weekly in the GDC and will aim to encourage roundtable discussion and sharing on subjects important to mental and physical health.

“I’m trying to respond to student needs as well as I can, that’s what really attracted me to this position and to New College is getting to know the students here,” Santiago said. “There’s a lot of room to learn from the students, and that’s not something you can find

at every institution.”

As Health Educator, Santiago focuses on areas such as education about sexual health and sexual assault prevention, alcohol and drug programming. Thursdays with Thelma will vary by week and Santiago encourages students to give suggestions about what they need and want to talk about most.

The first session focused on gratitude, since Santiago wanted it to be accessible and relatable to everyone.

“I don’t know about you, but when I receive a compliment, I’m like ‘okay, I’m really uncomfortable right now,’ but when you genuinely express your gratitude for someone for something amazing that they did in your life, you

don’t take time to do that very often,” Santiago said. “So it’s amazing to cultivate that attitude and that habit, to be grateful for things and people in your life, and that was the aim of [this] Thursdays with Thelma, to strike that conversation.”

Santiago described her first session, and future workshops as “an opportunity to come and talk about topics that you could contribute to yourself as we get more into this semester.”

Her next workshop will allow students to build their own sleep sachets as part of Sleep Week, and will happen at 11 a.m. in the GDC.

Donald Trump headquarters moves out of Sarasota After hosting the headquarters for Donald Trump’s presidential campaign in Florida since January, Sarasota will no longer be at the center of Trump’s campaign in the swing state.

As one of her first decisions, Trump’s new director for his Florida campaign Susan Wiles has elected to move Trump headquarters to the more centralized Orlando, now that the general election is less than two months away. Sarasota’s initial role as the nucleus for the campaign appeared to be a sort of reward for Joe Gruters,

the Sarasota GOP chairman. Gruters was one of the first leading Republicans in Florida who became actively involved in Trump’s campaign when few others would.

During the primary, the downtown Sarasota office was one of only two Trump campaign offices. After the primary, the Daytona office closed and Sarasota was Trump’s only location throughout the summer. However, Florida now contains 27 offices, including county GOP and RNC-funded offices.

“White men need to stop telling me how to write an article.” © 2016, the Catalyst. All rights reserved.

The Catalyst is available online at www.ncfcatalyst.com, facebook.com/NCFcatalyst, @ncfcatalyst The Catalyst is an academic tutorial sponsored by Professor Maria Vesperi and taught by visiting instructor Yadira Lopez. It is developed in the New College Publications Lab using Adobe Photoshop and Adobe InDesign and printed at Sun Coast Press with funds provided by the New College Student Alliance.

“There is no part of this state that isn’t important to Donald Trump, no group of people that he won’t meet which is why we have organized all 67 counties – there is also no denying that the I-4 corridor is crucial and we wanted to be there,” Wiles said in a public statement about the move.

Despite its demotion, the Sarasota office will remain open for the remainder of the 2016 race.

Information from this article was taken from heraldtribune.com.

General Editor Managing Editor Copy Editor Online Editor Layout Editor Staff Writers & Photographers

Pariesa Young Giulia Heyward Ryan Paice Caitlyn Ralph Audrey Warne Katelyn Grimmett, Jasmine Respess, Dylan Pryor, Elan Works, Jacob Wentz, Kelly Wilson, Cassandra Manz, Anya María Contreras-García, Magdalene Taylor

U.N. cuts aid to Syria in aftermath of supply convoy attack The United Nations has cut off aid deliveries in Syria, after the U.S. blamed Russia on Sept. 20 for an overnight attack on an aid convoy that killed 20 civilians.

As reported by the New York Times, the convoy was part of a routine interagency dispatch operated by the Syrian Red Crescent, which U.N. officials said was delivering assistance to 78,000 people in Uram al-Kubra, west of Aleppo. It was carrying food, medicine, emergency health kits, IV fluids and other essentials supplied by the U.N. and the World Health Organization.

Although there is not a definite answer as to who attacked the convoy, the White House continues to claim it was either Russia or Syria, since they insist it was Russia’s job under a week-old cease-fire to prevent Syria’s air force from striking in areas where aid was being delivered.

According to officials, within a minute of the airstrike, the U.S. tracked a Russian-made Su-24 directly over the area that was attacked. Since both the Russian and Syrian forces fly that model, Russia has not been completely implicated, although U.S. officials anonymously claimed otherwise.

Mohammed Rasoul, a local paramedic, told the New York Times that the attack “erased the convoy from the face of the earth,” and destroyed over 100 tons of food, medicine and baby formula. 18 of 31 trucks in the convoy were wiped out.

Despite acknowledging that over 6 million Syrians are living in besieged or hard-to-reach areas and require aid, the U.N.’s humanitarian agency, the Office for the Coordination of Human Affairs (OHCA), has suspended aid convoys until further review of security has been completed. OHCA later elaborated that only interagency convoys were suspended.

Information for this article was taken from nytimes.com Direct submissions, letters, announcements and inquiries to: The Catalyst 5800 Bay Shore Road Sarasota, Florida 34243 ncfcatalyst@gmail.com The Catalyst reserves the right to edit all submissions for grammar, space and style.

No anonymous submissions will be accepted.

Submissions must be received by 12:00 p.m.

Friday for consideration in the next issue.

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NEWS PAGE 3

Retired NCFPD Sergeant Ken Vickers remembered as an advocate for students

BY PARIESA YOUNG Retired New College Police Department (NCPD) Sergeant Kenneth “Ken” Vickers passed away in the early morning of Sept. 16. A friendly face on campus for 18 years, Vickers is remembered by students, faculty and staff as a warm, kind individual who made lasting connections with those he worked with. In speaking to the students and staff who knew Vickers for years, it is impossible not to hear the intense respect and admiration they hold for him.

Vickers retired two years ago after nearly 41 years in law enforcement.

His retirement from New College marked his very first day off the job in 53 years. Services were held on Friday, Sept. 23 in Tampa, and was attended by family, friends, colleagues and former students.

“Vickers reminded all of us that even the cops at New College were unique,” alum Matt Mazzuckelli (‘99) said over Facebook. Mazzuckelli recalled that Vickers “always remembered everything about everyone.”

“And in the rare instance he needed to be a real cop, he could handle shit like a pro,” Mazzuckelli added.

Before coming to NCF, Vickers worked for the New York Police Department (NYPD) for 22 years, retiring as a lieutenant.

“I never heard him make a racial comment or joke, never heard him make a sexist, misogynist joke,” NCPD Chief of Police Michael Kessie – who worked with Vickers for 12 years – noted. “Coming from the 70s when he started, he came from that big city and was able to adapt and come here. That showed what a gentleman he was. His

whole life revolved around his family, his daughters, his wife.”

At the time of his retirement, Vickers told the Catalyst that he always enjoyed going to work. He described students as “always interesting, a little crazy, but interesting.”

“He really loved the students,” Kessie said. “He loved knowing what their AOC was, he loved knowing about their parents and their boyfriends.”

Kessie recalls that any time a student went missing on campus, Vickers would be able to track them down “He’d know who to call,” Kessie said. “To me, that was true community policing.”

Vickers would anxiously await the return of students while he was on duty during January ISP when many leave campus. Each day he would update his colleagues on how many cars were back in the parking lot.

“He would chase people down and try to talk to them,” Kessie said. “He was so bored, I think kids would actually try to hide from him because he could talk to you all night.

“I think we all consider ourselves to be sort of surrogate parents, but he really took it seriously. I think sometimes he’d rather be here – He loved working the parties, the Walls, PCP back in the days.”

Alum James Birmingham (‘06) worked with Vickers as a dorm patroller for two years. “He gave us the autonomy to do our duties with the flexibility and grace necessary to bridge the pivotal gap between the safety and security of students events and the ‘rules as written’ responsibilities of a police officer,” Birmingham said in an email interview.

“It was a different time and things

photo courtesy of Blake Davidson

(left to right) Lieutenant John Tully, Chief Michael Kessie and Vickers stand together during Vickers’ retirement party. have changed here but he was a cop’s cop, he had your back, but he really was on the side of the students,” Kessie said. “He would always err on the side of giving the students a break, to the point that sometimes he kind of pushed it.”

“Vickers knew virtually every student’s name, knew how to bend rules for the benefit of the greater community and was more concerned about the welfare of the student body than their career or the wishes of the administration,” Birmingham added.

Kessie also noted Vicker’s important contributions to the NCPD. “I think what he did was really give us a conduit to the student body,” Kessie said. “He had that communication ability. [...] He’d walk up and stand at the party and he’d have a whole bunch of students around him. I think he had a connection with students that maybe we’ve lost a little.”

At a time (though certainly not the first) when New College students are questioning their relationship with the NCPD, Vickers’ passing reminds many students and alums of a time when officers were more like friends than police.

“It was a different type of atmosphere when I first got here,” Vickers told the Catalyst in 2014. “It was mostly hippy and goth kids and now it’s changed. It’s just the progression, you know? It keeps changing. Society is changing and the kids change with them.”

“There are all sorts of structural reasons that the relationship between the campus police and the student body has drastically changed over the last several years – but Vickers retiring was chief among them,” Birmingham said.

Students hope their SCAT stops are not removed

BY JASMINE RESPESS For New College students, transportation is very important, but for many students, having a car is a luxury they have not been afforded.

Even if they do have a car, insurance, car maintenance and gas are added expenses. While many students turn to bikes, skateboards and even razor scooters, a number of students ride Sarasota County Area Transit. Especially since a student ID allows them to ride for free. Recently, however, it has been proposed to eliminate the stops near New College and Ringling.

The bus system runs all across Sarasota. It includes multiple stops on Tamiami and also goes as far as Longboat Key. “I ride because I enjoy living off-campus,” thesis student Flannery French said. “I usually bike to school but sometimes it’s raining or I don’t feel like biking.”

French explained that the bus currently stops near their apartment.

They use the bus to go to appointments,

get groceries and visit the downtown Sarasota Library.

The stops near New College and Ringling are important to students and people who work at the institutions.

“If they got rid of the stops by New College and Ringling Museum it would drastically increase the distance I would need to walk to get to a bus stop since I work at Ringling and go to New College” French said. “I work with some older folks and people with disabilities. [...] A few do not have cars and cannot walk to a bus stop that is a 10-15 minutes [away].”

Thesis student Liz Grahm uses the SCAT bus system to get to NCF from her off-campus residence.

“The most regular trip I make is taking the 99 North from 42nd St and Tamiami to ACE Monday, Wednesday and Friday to get to my 10 a.m. French class,” Grahm said. “Then I take the 99 South back to Myrtle and Tamiami when I’m done on campus.”

“I also sometimes catch the 17 South at the transfer station if I have to get to Sarasota Memorial for a doctor’s

appointment,” Grahm added.

Some students rely on the Scat bus system to get to resources that are not available to them on New College’s Campus.

“I heard they are understaffed,” French added. “Sarasota needs to fund their public transportation.”

Students use the busses to get off campus to buy food and groceries.

“I go places like Publix, Whole Foods, the mall, Target - and last week, [I went] to the Greyhound Station,” first-year Alexandra Barbat said. “I plan on using it almost every time I go off campus this year.”

Barbat explained that she uses the buses, so she does not have to rely on others for rides.

“It would probably effect me if the stops were lessened,” Barabat said. “Having [bus tops] close to the school is essential, and losing some close to what I would consider to be common destinations [such as] grocery stores, banks, or malls would be really annoying, especially since some of the busier streets feel dangerous to cross

and Sarasota isn’t very pedestrianfriendly overall.”

“If they remove the Bayshore side stops from the 99 route, it would definitely inconvenience me since I usually get off the bus right at ACE,” Grahm said. “With those changes, I would have to disembark by the Sudakoff parking lot and walk across the overpass, which I think would take me more time than would be saved by not going down Bayshore past Ringling. [...] I might not be able to catch the bus that arrives near my house five minutes before class anymore.”

Grahm explained that she would have to catch the bus a half an hour earlier if the stop was removed. “[That] would be a pain,” Grahm said.

On Sunday, the busses do not run until 10 a.m. and there are minimal routes. This is a problem for people who work and have places to be earlier in the morning.

“I can see how it would adversely affect students with disabilities,” Barbat added.

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NEWS PAGE 4

Feminist Fridays are a weekly ‘feminist’ powerhouse

BY ANYA MARÍA CONTRERAS-GARCÍA Campus spheres of activist engagement, social mingling and academic dedication fuse together in a weekly powerhouse of activities known as Feminist Fridays.

Feminist Fridays is a casual gathering of students, faculty and staff every Friday from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m. for intellectual exchange and community building. The meetings were started by Professor Emily Fairchild in the fall semester of 2015. Some meetings resemble academic research presentations while others include discussions of current events, local engagement opportunities or activism.

“The idea of it came from the desire to have more opportunities for intellectual engagement and socializing across campus,” Professor Emily Fairchild said, Associate Professor of Sociology and Director of the Gender Studies Program. “The idea is to have this hour a week that is always set aside for people to gather in a feminist spirit for some sort of discussion, engagement with someone’s research presentation, or talking about current events.”

“This is not just about gender, it’s about all sorts of oppressed identities,” Fairchild continued. “We’re talking about inequality across campus, not just gender-related, and that’s part of what I mean when I say ‘feminist spirit’.

The alliteration works but it’s also really meaningful.”

Meeting topics last year included many presentations led by New College’s own professors, including a discussion on Professor David Harvey’s research on women and slavery in Haiti, adjunct Professor Lisa Merit’s talk on women’s health and STDs, a conversation facilitated by Professor Caroline Reed about women in interdisciplinary studies, Professor Amy Clore’s discussion about science

Anya Maria Contreras-Garcia/Catalyst

“We’re talking about inequality across campus, not just gender-related, and that’s part of what I mean when I say ‘feminist spirit’” Emily Fairchild said.

outreach efforts to school girls, and even a presentation on bird songs led

by Professor Maribeth Clark.

Feminist Fridays meetings are generally well-attended by a core group of faculty, students and staff interested in gender studies or topics in sociology.

Attendance varies anywhere from three to twenty-five people, with some topics drawing specific crowds.

“I know a lot of natural science students showed up when Dr. [Lisa] Merritt came and spoke,” thesis student Charlie Rowe said. “She brought in people from the health department to inform us about STDs and drug use in the Sarasota-Manatee areas. Anyone who had specific questions could ask a practicing doctor about it.”

Other speakers at last year’s meetings included Clark West and Elliot Michel, who opened an LGBTQ community center and spoke about their story as gay men living together in the South for 40 years, a representative from ALSO Youth who informed

attendees about the fight for transrights in Sarasota schools, a recent retiree who spoke about being a woman in corporate America in her generation and a female orthopedic surgeon who shared her experiences in a field where less than 5 percent of surgeons are women.

Students have not only attended Feminist Fridays meetings to learn about current issues in gender studies, but also to network with community leaders and find volunteer opportunities, internships, and activism initiatives.

“I feel like the meetings give me an opportunity to interact with professionals who approach their work from a feminist perspective,” Rowe said.

“The history of gender studies as an interdisciplinary discipline embraces activism and political action, whereas most disciplines don’t do that,” Fairchild said. “We can claim it’s within our disciplinary nature to work towards gender equality. We’re able to make

that claim in a way that most other departments aren’t as comfortable.”

Spaces for discussions on gender already exist on campus, but the Feminist Fridays meetings offer a unique setting.

“I think it’s important to have a space to talk about gender that isn’t just the forum or just in classes,” Rowe said.

“The goal is still to reach emancipatory understanding but not in such a competitive way as in a classroom, and the forum just lacks face-to-face community building. Feminist Fridays meetings broadens the discussions that are possible from a feminist perspective than might be possible just in class or among your friends.”

“Feminist Fridays has a structure that the forum does not,” third-year student Annie Rosenblum said. “The clarity you can have with someone in person is much more than what you can have online. The meetings also include faculty and staff, not just students, so it creates a more academic and intellectual space for discussing issues that doesn’t often become heated or tense.”

“I think these conversations are important enough that I have [Feminist Fridays] on my schedule every week,” Professor of Philosophy Aron Edidin said.

Professor Edidin teaches a feminist philosophy course every other spring, and is committed to attending Feminist Fridays meetings to improve New College’s Philosophy Department.

“I’m very interested in gender barriers in academic fields partly because philosophy is very gender-imbalanced and that’s something we’re working on in the philosophy program here.”

Meeting topics for Fall 2016 have so far included a presentation by Center for Engagement and Opportunity’s Assistant Director for Community

continued on p. 10

More projects to be funded by Green Fee this year

BY ELAN WORKS About $20,000 were allocated at the Green Fee Allocation meeting on Thursday, Sept. 22nd, a fraction of the estimated $100,000 in total Green Fee funds. The Council of Green Affairs (CGA) convened last Thursday to allocate funds to students from the Green Fee. Five students submitted allocation requests and all five requests were granted full funding by the voting members of the CGA, which were all in attendance. The five proposals were a continuation of the Four Winds green discretionary funding, adding Turmeric to the Ginger garden, creating a CGA historian/documentarian position, continuation of funding for the food forest, allocation for alternative feminine hygiene products and residential gardening discretionary funds.

“The green fee comes from a fee every student pays,” Orion Morton, fourth-year vice president of the CGA,

said. “[It’s] like the health or athletic fees.”

Allegra Nolan, the zero-waste TA submitted the proposal for an allocation of funds for alternative feminine hygiene products and expressed concern over the amount of waste generated by conventional feminine hygiene products.

“Not only is it wasteful as far as the plastic and paper and stuff that gets thrown away afterwards,” Nolan said. “Tampons are known to have carcinogens and endocrine disrupters just like chemicals that aren’t good for you and that’s what we’re putting inside our bodies.”

The allocation proposal requested funds to purchase 100% cotton tampons and pads, as well as ‘period underwear’ a product that catches menstrual blood, and is washable and reusable. Another product Nolan mentioned was ’Ruby cups’, a cup-shaped piece of silicone that

collects menstrual blood until removed and emptied.

“They’re made out of medical grade silicone and they’re really easy to sterilize,” Nolan said, “there are like, no worries with any of this about hygiene.”

Nolan emphasized the ease of using alternative products as opposed to the obvious waste produced when using pads or tampons.

“Even if you do realize that it can be hard because the natural and reusable products are more expensive,” Nolan said, explaining the reason for the allocation request. “You will end up spending far more on tampons and pads, but it’s still hard for students to like, conjure up that initial cost.”

“We want to distribute them outside of ham at some sort of event where we have a table and information on all of the products so everyone can really make the decision about which is best for them,” Nolan said after her proposal received full funding. “There’s

this big range of options outside of the conventional tampon and pad and not everyone realizes that.”

Several members of the CGA asked questions of Nolan during the meeting concerning the possible continuation of the planned event into future semesters and years, in response, Nolan said there is a possibility that if people are interested the event will become a more frequent fixture of the CGA’s activities.

When speaking to the CGA about passing her proposal, Nolan emphasized the cost of reusable products as keeping many people from using them.

“We want to overcome that barrier by supplying it for people,” Nolan said.

The food forest was one of the most discussed items on the list of proposals, with Jay McWilliams, a thesis student, requesting around five thousand dollars to continue planting and upkeep on the massive project.

“We kind of started with a vision

continued on p. 11

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NEWS PAGE 5

New rep position first step to campus-wide accessibility

BY CASSIE MANZ When asked about the problem of accessibility, including mental and physical disabilities, on campus Director of the Counseling and Wellness Center (CWC) Dr. Anne Fisher said, “Our campus has always been a mess. I’ve been here for a long time and it’s always been really bad for people with physical disabilities.”

Arlee Boyett, a third-year psychology and religion Area of Concentration (AOC), believes there is much work that needs to be done to make the campus more physically accessible, including “trying to figure out how we can work the overpass to make it less exhausting, fixing the damn elevators, putting more accessible buttons on the doors, because in ACE the doors are really heavy.”

Dr. Fisher and Meighen Hopton, director of student disability services, worked on installing the actuator buttons that are currently on the doors in ACE for nine months. Not all of the doors have actuator buttons.

Boyett mentioned that HCL 8, the second floor classrooms of College Hall and certain rooms in ACE are inaccessible to people with physical disabilities. In addition, Bon Seigneur Hall and the Pritzker Marine Biology building are also inaccessible. “There’s a ramp there [at the Marine Biology building] but it’s too steep and the railings are kind of shit,” Boyett stated frankly.

Leen Al-Fatafta, a third-year sociology and gender studies AOC and vice president of the Council of Diversity and Inclusion, also cited the

Protesters CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Iqbal recalled. “A Trump supporter, taking video the whole time, decided that it was the perfect opportunity to instigate.

“He began asking the person holding the rainbow colored sign about Sharia law and Hillary’s plans to allow Sharia law into America.” he continued.

“They asked about gays and lesbians being executed in Islamic countries and went on a for a while before another Hillary supporter came up and got in the Trump supporters face. ‘Why are you suddenly talking about and bringing up Sharia law? Is it because this young man here is Muslim or looks Muslim?’

At which point I just started cracking up laughing, because it was so incredibly obvious, and the Trump supporter just grinned evilly and left.”

The usually empty parking lot of Barnacle Bill’s was packed – but not with folks looking for happy hour and a crab cake. Instead, an RV emblazoned with “Trump Pence 2016,” a firetruck and a large cardboard “basket of deplorables” filled the lot. Inside the so-called basket were Trump supporters waving signs and chanting “Hillary for Prison.”

The sign and cardboard basket were in response to a comment made

by Hillary Clinton in her speech at the

Cassie Manz/Catalyst

The actuator buttons, which are not on all doors, took nine months to appear.

overpass and the elevators on campus as inaccessible features on campus that need work. She believes there should be more American Disabilities Act (ADA) compliant chairs in the classrooms and more educational programs about ableist language on campus and in our everyday lives.

Dr. Fisher noted that New College “has been very good about giving [to the CWC] because of the high demand for [mental health] services.”

The CWC provides individual counseling, group counseling and an online therapist course for students seeking mental health resources.

Because of the limited number of counselors, the CWC sometimes has to refer patients to psychologists or psychiatrists off-campus for patients who need long-term counseling.

Individual counseling includes biLGBT for Hillary Gala on Sept. 9 in New York City. Clinton characterized half of Trump’s supporters as a “basket of deplorables” – racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic and Islamophobic. The other half, she said, was a basket of people “who feel that the government has let them down, the economy has let them down” and they are “desperate for change.”

“There’s some deplorable people who support Trump,” Iqbal said. “White supremacists, racists, Islamophobes, xenophobes, you name it. But at the same time, a lot of Trump supporters are just uneducated people who feel like they’ve been taken advantage of their entire lives and are looking for something different.”

Later, Clinton commented that her remarks were “grossly generalistic” but did not cede that many aspects of Trump’s campaign are deplorable.

Although this local controversy quickly escalated and received public attention, this is not the first time Barnacle Bill’s and its management have exhibited strong political views or discriminatory behaviors.

Thesis student Meghan Cromie worked as a host at the seafood restaurant during her third-year.

Seeing the pro-Trump marquee, Cromie recalled many experiences in her time there that make Barnacle Bill Davis’ famous sign less surprising.

weekly, 45-50 minute sessions for a “limited amount of sessions,” according to the CWC’s website. There is a long waiting list at the CWC but Fisher hopes that the brief individual counseling will help to absolve that, because students will only see a counselor a certain number of times and then the next student will come in.

The waiting list is long because the demand for individual counseling at the CWC is very high.

“Usually, on average [colleges] see between five and 10 or maybe 15 percent of a student body,” Fisher stated. “We tend to see more like 40 percent of the student body. Last year it was close to 50 percent.”

“The disability accommodations for students for things like depression and anxiety would not involve regular counseling,” Fisher stated, because

most college campuses do not have the resources that would allow that. “We’re not mental health agencies.”

Fisher continued that New College actually has better resources per students than the other schools in the State University System (SUS) for mental health. “The normal ratio of counselor to number of students is one counselor for every 1,500 students.

We have four counselors for the 850 New College students, plus the 2,000 or so USF Sarasota-Manatee students.”

As of Sept. 21 the CWC had seen 112 students for individual counseling.

New College students are currently the primary patients at the CWC for individual counseling.

Dr. Fisher recently submitted a budget request for the Board of Governors meeting that took place at New College Sept. 21 and 22. The money, which would be allocated to all the SUS schools for mental health resources, would allow Fisher to hire an additional psychologist and a case manager.

“I’m very hopeful that we’ll get some money from the state legislature to improve mental health,” Fisher said.

Fisher is also working with thesis student Andrew Blackowiak, the CWC representative, to see if the CWC could be allocated funds to hire a part time counselor. Fisher hopes these monetary requests, if awarded, will help to alleviate the long waiting list that currently has 24 students on it and improve accessibility to mental health resources.

The Accessibility Representative is

continued on p. 8

Pariesa Young/Catalyst

Trump supporters chanted “Hillary for Prison” in front of Barnacle Bill’s

Cromie recalled that the owner “is very much pro-Trump and talks about it to anyone willing to listen.” In less than a year of employment, Cromie witnessed Davis attempt to kick out a black client for wearing shorts despite other customers in casual attire, discard resumes from black applicants or those with “black-sounding” names, and refuse to hire a Hispanic hostess (because she did not resemble Cromie or other white-passing hosts).

“It was a big gamble on my part, because usually dealing with the public, I try to sit on the fence and not take sides,” Davis told ABC7 about his decision to put up the sign. “I just couldn’t do it anymore.”

In front of Barnacle Bill’s, armed

with a megaphone, Hillary supporters chanting “love trumps hate” attempted to overcome the volume of the various pro-Trump voices.

“There were way more Trump supporters than Hillary supporters,” Iqbal said. “Doesn’t seem like Hillary is really inspiring much from the people.”

Davis told WTSP that he has no plans to remove the controversial marquee before the election, instead planning to replace it with “Congratulations President Trump” on Nov. 9.

Information for this article was taken from politifact.com, wfla.com, heraldtribune.com, wtsp.com.

Ringling exPands into newtown

BY KATELYN GRIMMETT It is nearly impossible to travel east down Dr. Martin Luther King Way without noticing three construction sites on the south side; the first just before Old Bradenton Road, the next between Old Bradenton and Martin Luther King Park and the third occupying the expanse from Cocoanut to Central Avenues. These sites are manifestations of Ringling College of Art and Design’s expansion plan.

As construction presses forward, local residents have been left with unresolved concerns regarding the college’s swift development east into Newtown, an Historic African American neighborhood.

Today, Ringling’s expansion remains a source of controversy in the community.

“If we listened to them way back, they had started conversation with so called stakeholders of Newtown but those people that called themselves leaders didn’t bother to involve Newtown,” Valerie Buchand, Sarasota Public Housing Authority and the president of the nonprofit organization Newtown Nation, said. “They didn’t come to any community associations.”

Construction on a new Visual Arts Center hit the ground back in January and a 46,000 square foot library is set to open this year. As you pass MLK park, the third construction site comes into view; this will be the Ringling Film Soundstage, a building “sprawling the length of a city block” and “fit for professionals,” as Ringling College’s website describes it.

Buchand is particularly affected by the soundstage, since her home in Janie’s Garden is directly across from the construction site. She does not recall receiving notice of the plans to

build a commercial, post-production soundstage next door. Her involvement with the issue began when she attended a city commissioner meeting with plans for the soundstage on the agenda.

The parcel of land the soundstage is located on is the college’s eastmost property – closest yet to the center of Newtown.

Last May, the city of Sarasota voted 3-2 to approve the sale of a lot on Cocoanut for the trade of another on MLK Way. The property the city traded with Ringling was frequently used as parking overflow for MLK park.

“When you go back to the records, that parking lot was supposed to be exclusively for MLK,” Barbara Langston, President of Amaryllis Park Association, said. “Our redevelopment plan was adopted by the city for Newtown. They violated that. It clearly says in the plan what can and what can not go on that property there that that sound stage sits on.”

The Newtown redevelopment plan lists the lack of parking along MLK Way as an obstacle to development.

A proposed strategy is to create and preserve lots and alleys “to relieve parking stress.”

Upon learning that MLK park’s lot would be shortened, Langston and a few fellow Newtown residents put together a plan to share parking with the soundstage. The plan included a calendar of community events and was presented at a city meeting.

“The reason they told us they couldn’t share parking was because it had to be walled in, gated in or fenced in – that they couldn’t have people just walking onto the campus,” Langston said.

MapQuest describes MLK park as being “located in the heart of Newtown” and as “a meeting place for the

Katelyn Grimmett/Catalyst

neighborhood.” With the acquisition of the property next door, the college created a three-way border around the park.

Most news coverage on the soundstage dates to 2015 but discussion on where to build it began as early as 2010, when President of Ringling College Larry Thompson presented the Sarasota Municipal Auditorium as a potential location at a city commissioner meeting.

In the minutes from the meeting, the city declared the auditorium an inconvenient location because “any major production cannot occur during the season of the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall (VWPAH) as the parking lot is needed to accommodate the patrons.”

Give or take The lot next to MLK park is far from the only land Ringling has purchased in Newtown. In 2014, Ringling spent $925,000 acquiring 3.5 acres of homes and empty lots surrounding the campus.

“The Ringling Art school, they’re buying up people’s property for cheap and they’re not coming in to help our community at all – no jobs as they have mentioned,” Buchand said.

Thompson frequently offered up economic development for the area as an incentive for the college’s extensions.

He is quoted regarding the soundstage in an article by MySunCoast saying “It really involves the city, Newtown, the county, private investors and the college so that is a five way win, win, win, win, win.”

However, several residents of Newtown have not seen the fulfillment of these promises for prosperity.

“They were supposed to hire at least 20 percent out of Newtown but that never happened, they never put forth a valid effort as far as getting

the people in Newtown employed and that should’ve been the number one priority,” Steven Gilbert, a native of Newtown, said.

Gilbert knows of only one person from Newtown who was employed by Ringling. “I’m not even gonna call it an attempt, I’m gonna call it the way I see it which is like a show, to pretend I’m trying to help you,” he added.

Gilbert lives three blocks down Cocoanut from MLK. He reports that, aside from traffic congestion, the construction of the soundstage hasn’t stunted his day to day life. For him, it is a direct clash to the preservation of the historical Newtown community.

“It’s pushing the historical people out,” he said. “The people can no longer afford their property taxes, they’re losing their land. I’m looking for pictures of what Newtown used to look like because pretty soon we’re not gonna be able to recognize this place. Kind of like I don’t recognize the Rosemary District anymore.”

Split Opinions Not all of Newtown sees their neighbor scooting closer as an act of gentrification. At the same meeting Langston and her allies came to protest the soundstage, other residents came in support of it. Sarasota Mayor Willie Shaw, born and raised in Newtown himself, told the Herald Tribune that the development “brings economics because it is within our enterprise zone.”

While the greater city of Sarasota has embraced Ringling’s expansion with a 1.75 million dollar grant, the reaction of the neighborhood into which the college is expanding is both divided and muddled with distrust.

This can be attributed to a lack of

continued on p. 10

Katelyn Grimmett/Catalyst

(left) The soundstage structure rises up just across Cocoanut Avenue from Martin Luther King park. (right) Finishing touches are added onto the Ringling College library.

Katelyn Grimmett/Catalyst Construction on the $18 million library swiftly produced a gleaming white building off MLK Way.

Katelyn Grimmett/Catalyst TheVisual Arts Center is the latest in a series of development initiatives for Ringling College of Art and Design.

Katelyn Grimmett/Catalyst

Katelyn Grimmett/Catalyst

Ringling College’s website explains the inititative as “backing up commitment to our growing film program with a 36,870 square foot professional soundstage and post-production complex.”

With the soundstage moving in, the Historic Central Cocoanut District - a primarily African American community - is now wedged between downtown Sarasota and Ringling College.

Katelyn Grimmett/Catalyst “It doesn’t match anything this city stood for, none of the architecture work,” Steven Gilbert, a native of Newtown, said. “You’d have thought they would have adopted some of the way they used to do those buildings.”

CATALYST

OPINION

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2016 www.ncfcatalyst.com | @ncfcatalyst

PAGE 8

Opinion: After everything NFL players have done, kneeling is what sets the world on fire?

BY RYAN PAICE From Ray Rice beating his wife, to convicted murderer Aaron Hernandez, to Michael Vick being convicted for orchestrating dog fighting, it is astounding that of all cases, a bench quarterback kneeling during the national anthem would generate the loudest outcry amongst NFL fans.

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick sat during the national anthem through his first three preseason games, but was not noticed until Aug. 26 when a picture of him sitting during the anthem first gained media attention. After the NFL world gave him their attention, Kaepernick revealed to be sitting out of the national anthem to bring attention to racial oppression in the U.S. ““I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color,” Kaepernick told NFL Media in an exclusive interview after the 49ers’ preseason game against the Packers.

“To me, this is bigger than football and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way. There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder.”

Now, both support and opposition for Kaepernick’s statement is widespread, with numerous football players across all different teams either kneeling or raising their fists in solidarity with Kaepernick’s stand.

Unlike the usual shock-and-try-toforget process the football fandom goes through with each unspeakable action that comes to light within the NFL world, the continuous action on behalf of the players has only spawned continuous criticism on behalf of many fans – many of whom believe that their actions are directly disrespecting the country and the people who have served for it.

Before I really get into the issue,

Accessibility CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5 a new position this year, created by the Council of Diversity and Inclusion (CDI) with the help of the New College Student Alliance (NCSA), as a means to better deal with the issue of accessibility on campus. The accessibility representative will work closely with Meighen Hopton and the NCSA on accessibility problems on campus. They will also attend CDI meetings, as well as Council of Student Life (CSL) meetings and report on issues relating to the student body, which could include sending out surveys or holding educational panels.

The accessibility representative position was, in fact, created by the co-presidents, fourth-years Shelby Statham and Paige Pellaton, and the vice president of Diversity and Inclusion (VPDI), alum Raina Nelson (‘12), last

Dylan Pryor/Catalyst

After the NFL world gave him their attention, Kaepernick revealed to be sitting out of the national anthem to bring attention to racial oppression in the U.S.

I would like to preface this by saying that I believe without hesitation that Colin Kaepernick – or anybody, for that matter – has the unquestionable right to make a statement in any legal way they find suitable. I also believe that everyone has the right to say whatever they would like to say about that statement.

But this particular situation is surprising in the passionate widespread response against something that seems so incredibly minor in comparison to what other things NFL players have done, and how ironic the very nature of the argument is.

Sitting out of a song shouldn’t invoke the same – or at least similar – level of public outcry as a man caught on tape left-hooking his wife to unconsciousness. Or a man being found guilty of orchestrating a dog fighting ring. Or a man literally being

found guilty of the murder of one of his “friends.” How many more instances have to be mentioned? I didn’t even bring up OJ. Regardless, millions of people are still going to be making an uproar about it all. Hysterically, these people think it will just stop – that either someone will implement a rule to make people stand for the anthem, or that everyone will all of a sudden realize the great disrespect they have done to America. These people might not realize the futility in demanding the end of a political statement that directly affects – in support of – an undeniably large portion of NFL players, as 67.98% of them are black, according to the Unofficial 2014 NFL Player Census. Why should black people be expected to show respect to a country that they feel is oppressive to their entire race? How does that make sense for them?

year. However, the position was not confirmed by the speaker of the Towne Meeting so the position never became official, although Boyett was under the impression that Boyett was the new accessibility representative.

“Up until a few weeks ago I thought I had the position,” Boyett said.

“I thought the position was official. So last semester I helped out quite a bit with Disabilities Awareness Month, helping out Meighen Hopton, going to CDI meetings, and generally being very vocal about everything.”

Al-Fatafta was recently made aware of the issue at the first CDI meeting of the academic year. “I didn’t know this position existed until last meeting when Arlee talked about it,” Al-Fatafta said. The CDI is reconducting the hiring process and will reappoint whoever gets the position for transparency. AlFatafta reported that they are hopeful that in the near future it will be a paid position. Applications for the position

will be sent out to students soon.

The accessibility representative will be an added help to Hopton, who just recently hired an intern to alleviate some of her heavy workload.

Al-Fatafta explained that Hopton “applies for grants and tries to make campus more accommodating for students who are differently abled.” She works with housing accommodations for disabled students and with emotional support animals (ESAs), of which there has been a significant increase in the past year. Also under her supervision are accommodation letters, which are a series of legal documents that secure certain accommodations from professors. “The accommodation letters cover learning disabilities, mental health problems, physical disabilities,” Boyett said. “Anything with the word disability in it.”

“We need someone to focus strictly on accessibility issues on campus, because...people feel like a lot of ableist

Furthermore, this widespread demand for respect for America is silly.

Is no one allowed to see faults in their country that they want to be fixed? Can no one stand (or sit) in protest against something they believe is wrong? Why is blind patriotism the only socially acceptable form of behavior allowed to be demonstrated in the national light?

This protest against one’s ability to protest is, in itself, against the rights that veterans and service members fought or served to protect in America.

What happened to everyone touting the first amendment so that they can say something politically incorrect? Why is fighting for the right for free speech acceptable when one is pushing for it in order to say something they know isn’t considered acceptable, but as soon as someone with the limelight uses their right to free speech to demonstrate something actually meaningful both personally and societally, their actions are considered unacceptable?

All around, what will probably be labelled “Anthem-gate” within weeks is not something that should inspire millions of people to cry out in protest – especially for being “un-American.”

One’s right to protest or say something freely is inherently “American” given the rights we consistently fight to protect. Say whatever you’d like about the statement that is being made, but criticizing one’s ability to make that statement is ridiculous.

Not only that, but we can’t just yell at everyone who wants to make a statement just because it brings our country’s imperfections into light.

We need to know what is wrong so we can fix it, drowning out the issue with screamingly loud patriotism does not lead to any change or improvements.

It’s about time we stop peer pressuring each other into the mindless nationalism that has grown not only rampant, but expected out of all Americans.

things happen on campus and they do not necessarily get a lot of attention,” Alfatafta said. “So I think having someone whose main responsibility is to report on these issues and to help make campus more accessible is really important.”

In the meantime, Boyett vows to continue to be vocal about accessibility issues on campus.

“There’s that saying the squeaky wheel gets the most oil,” Boyett said.

“So when it comes to accessibility stuff I just keep squeaking.”

Yet, Boyett believes that the new co-presidents, third-years Miles Iton and Paul Loriston, are putting in the effort to improve accessibility on campus.

“I have a good feeling we’re going in the right direction. There’s progress being made so we can be hopeful,” Boyett said. “It still is hard though.”

CATALYST

FEAtURES

WEDNESDAY, SEPtEMBER 28, 2016 www.ncfcatalyst.com | @ncfcatalyst

PAGE 9

Apple welcomes iPhone and iOS 10

BY CAItLYN RALPH During the company’s Special Event Keynote held on Sept. 7, Apple made a series of weighty announcements. Apple Music has hit 17 million paid subscribers (Spotify just hit 40 million—but that’s a story for another day). The second Apple Watch series is here. Everyone’s favorite video game character, Mario, is hitting the App Store by the end of this year. Most significantly, though, Apple announced its new iPhone and iOS models.

Apple is not releasing first weekend sale numbers of—as the company calls it—‘the best iPhone ever made’, due to the fact that demand is outweighing supply and the statistics, as a result, are “no longer a representative metric” (via CNBC). Business Insider has reported that iPhone 7 will trigger an eight percent growth in unit sales for Apple even though its long-term sales are still in decline.

Headphone Jack Revolutionary in the context of smartphones, Apple has removed the headphone jack from its iPhone 7.

That’s right—iPhone will no more carry a traditional analog connection for headphones. Instead, connections will be done through its Lightning port at the bottom center of the device.

However, this change may not be as drastic as it initially sounds. To allow customers to still use their favorite pair of analog headphones, all iPhone 7 boxes will include an analog to Lightning adaptor. Also in all the boxes, EarPods, Apple’s earbud line, now possesses a Lightning connect.

Removal of the headphone jack is part of Apple’s push to a wireless future.

AirPods were also introduced at the Keynote, which are essentially wireless EarPods that automatically connect to Apple devices (no pairing or unpairing necessary).

Apple’s headphone company, Beats, will also be integrating these changes as well.

In an online survey sent to students and alums, every respondent who mentioned the lack of headphone

jack, with the exception of one, were disapproving. One respondent said, “I do not like that there is no headphone jack. Plus, the wireless earbuds can be easily lost. I think it is just a way for Apple to make money and there is no point in buying one.”

Physical appearance and casing iPhone 7 is the first water and dust resistant iPhone. Two new finishes were introduced: glossy “black” and “jet black.”

“The most important change of the iPhone 7 to me is the physical appearance of the phone. Apple has been withholding a ‘truly’ black iPhone since the 4S, and particularly with the glossy ‘Jet Black’ finish, those awful antenna lines start to fade away,” thesis student Kohl Malo said about iPhone 7 in a Facebook interview. “Now that the iPhone is officially waterproof, I won’t feel as bad bringing my phone into the pool.”

One of the survey respondents mentioned, “I think the fact that I can check my email while in the shower is both exciting and scary.”

Home button and performance The home button’s force sensitivity can now be used by third party apps, and the phone’s speakers are now stereo. Due to the advanced A10 Fusion chip, iPhone 7’s performance is better than any other iPhone model, allowing for console-level gaming and cinematic game experiences previously not possible. Battery life is also extended.

Camera “This camera is going to change the game,” photographer Jason Nocito said about the new iPhone 7’s camera at Apple’s Keynote. Optical image stabilization handles shaky hands while wider lenses handle 50 percent more light, resulting in better lowlight pictures. iPhone 7 Plus includes a dual camera system (yeah—there’s two cameras on the back of this thing) that works to enhance zooming ability. An update for iPhone 7 Plus is also coming, which will allow for shallow depth-offield. Shallow depth-of-field creates those awesome portraits in which the

Caitlyn Ralph/Catalyst

Almost 48% of those iPhone users had not downloaded iOS 10 by the time they responded to the survey. Almost 36% had downloaded it, and the remaining 16.6% are not planning on downloading it.

person is in focus and the background is out of focus. iMessaging in iOS 10 Apple’s mobile operating system, iOS, has introduced its newest model: iOS 10. One of the most obvious new features, iOS 10 has revolutionized its iMessaging software. Users can choose exciting, moving backgrounds their messages, handwrite messages, add effects to individual messages (such as invisible ink), send stickers and gifs through third party apps, change words with emojis by tapping and react to others’ messages.

Not everyone loves the new iMessage effects, however. Malo says, “I’m horrified by the gimmicky effects in Messages now with iOS 10, but I love Apple’s new approach to the lock screen.”

But according to the survey, half of the respondents asked about their liking of iOS 10 were favorable towards the new iMessaging features.

“The messaging! You can send cute gifs in cute new ways like invisible ink,” one respondent said. iOS lock screen and Siri “‘Slide to Unlock’ is totally gone since. Unlocking the phone doesn’t remove you from the lock screen, instead it lets you fully respond to notifications like messages, emails, events, right from the lock screen,” Malo continues on the new lock screen design. “I do so much from my lock screen now that it’s really my home screen.”

Apple’s voice assistant, Siri, now works third party apps—so, now users can just talk to their phone and request Uber rides. Maps and News have also been updated.

Orders for iPhone 7 and 7 Plus started on Sept. 9, began shipping Sept.

16 and are priced at $649 and $769, respectively. iOS 10 became available on Sept. 13.

The survey was sent out to New College’s student forum. Results are based off of 49 respondents.

Caitlyn Ralph/Catalyst

Almost 86% of the students who responded to the survey said they had an iPhone for their cell phone.

Fridays CONTINUED FROM PAGE 4 Engagement Andrea Knies about the history of professional attire and its index to white male standards.

“Today it’s different if you want to dress professionally but still want to assert your own gender, ethnicity, and sexual orientation,” Xia Shi, professor of history and coordinator for Feminist Fridays, said. “We had a really good turnout at that meeting, especially among students.”

Prospective topics for future Feminist Fridays meetings include a panel discussion on masculinity in the workplace, a discussion on gender biases in fields of natural science, a discussion on Title IX and an intergroup dialogue exploring the intersections of race, ethnicity and gender.

Students, faculty and staff are welcome to suggest discussion topics or speakers for future Feminist Fridays meetings.

“Anyone can suggest either really clear and well-defined topics that they want to facilitate a conversation about, or a topic that they don’t know about but they want to have an opportunity for people to come together chat about it,” Fairchild said. “Or, if there’s something a professor is doing that you wish they would share with the campus community, ask them to bring it to us.”

Suggestions can be e-mailed to Professor Shi. “I would love more broad participation among students,” Fairchild said. “I want students to really know that they’re welcome to participate. And I’d love more faculty to take advantage to present their research, so students can engage with professors’ research outside of the classroom.”

CATALYST

FEATURES

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2016 www.ncfcatalyst.com | @ncfcatalyst

PAGE 10

Songs you should hear Road Trip edition

Wall Re-dos Giulia Heyward/Catalyst

The following are a list of Walls held on dates where the Campus Police are understaffed and unable to work for Walls.

30-Sep Sexy but Subtle Wall Sophia Schultz & Jay McWilliams

1-Oct Glitter Pop/All That Glitters…! Wall

Kaelyn Hartley and Francisco Perez

22-Oct Get FUN-ky Wall

Ashley Brockway, Mei-Jing Bernard

28-Oct Butt Wall Miranda Day

4-Nov Taco Truck Wall Qake Cooley

5-Nov Young Wild & Free Pt. 3: Rave Wall Alexa Baldino

11-Nov Scene Wall

Caitlyn Ralph, Emily Via, Blaise DeFranco

12-Nov Space Whale Wall Blaise DeFranco

3-Dec Trap Wall Hannah Procell

Walls CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 consistently proved to be responsible self-governance -- something at which Novo Collegians excel.”

Patrollers, Pot and a Private Institution Walls have been a staple at New College since its inception. What started off as informal gatherings in the middle of Palm Court became NCSA funded, organized and advertised events that utilize school-funded equipment.

They are seen as being emblematic to New College culture. The relationship between the police and the student body was distinctively more relaxed at this time, even as the institution merged with the University of South Florida (USF) in 1975.

“In 1975, when [New College] merged with USF, there were uniformed USF cops on campus, much to the chagrin of students,” Alum Lila Bricklin (‘74) said in an email interview. “But, I don’t think they had any power, at least

A lot happens in the music world between the Catalyst’s weekly production schedule. While Jasmine and Caitlyn would love to cover it all, they can’t – so, instead, we gave them a category and had them write up bite-sized blurbs on a handful songs from that category. Last week was party songs – this week is road trip songs – take a look at the results below.

BY Caitlyn Ralph and Jasmine Respess “All Signs Point To Lauderdale” - A Day To Remember A Day To Remember’s runaway anthem “All Signs Point To Lauderdale” was the soundtrack to my daydreams in high school. Now the song completes your college road trip soundtrack—let the “I hate this town / It’s so washed up” lyrics speak to your angsty, teenaged past as your angsty, twenty-something present hits the highway, dramatically singing “I hate this town / Cause no one can understand.” (And yes—Lauderdale does mean Fort Lauderdale.) —CR “Twin Size Mattress” - The Front Bottoms True road trip story: a New College student, packed in a car with two to three other students, drove across country and basically only listened to

Ringling

the Front Bottoms the whole time.

How did it work? To be honest, I’m not entirely sure, but it could have something to do with the band’s easy to sing-along, relatable, contagious lyrics, represented in their endearing track, “Twin Size Mattress.”—CR “In Too Deep” - Sum 41 Another true road trip story: Myself and another New College student drove across country this summer and basically listened to “In Too Deep” on repeat. How did it work? To be honest, I’m not entirely sure, but it could have something to do with the song’s catchyas-hell hooks, huge chorus and overall I’m-angr y-and-going-to-runawayfrom-home vibe.—CR “Midnight Train to Georgia” Gladyis Knight As a 22 year old, I have been on about 7 cross country trips from Saint

Louis to Florida and back and forth. On long nights on the road, I listen to this song. Other things I do: buy peach icecream and boiled cajun peanuts.—JR “Going to Georgia” - The Mountain Goats I travel through the south often.

It takes 14 hours. And this is the song I listen to every time I pass the Florida Georgia line. Especially when I drive alone, I scream “50 miles from Atlanta, this is nowhere” and think about all the hours I have to go.—JR “Home” - Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros Basically a hipster classic. This is a fan favorite in my family. As a person with two hometowns, I listen to this when I am both coming and going.

“Home is wherever I’m with you.”—JR

communication between the college and the community.

“We thought we were at the table at the beginning, finding out what the plans was and what we were supposed to be working out and negotiating with them as their contribution coming in and being good neighbors,” Langston said. “But in actuality, when we went and requested all the records on all of this, we found out that all the plans and all the decisions had been made a year before.”

Thompson told the Sarasota Herald-Tribune in 2015 that he

regretted how collaboration with the community disintegrated, but expressed hope that the community will “still embrace this new facility that will be a beautiful gateway going East.”

As the dust settles, several members of the community are still attempting to stay in contact with the school in order to foster a long-term connection with the institution.

“Newtown Nation Vice President Lou Murray has reached out to Ringling because our thought is if they are going to be in our community anyway, they can help us,” Buchand said. “He has not got a return call from them. They are totally ignoring us now.”

When interviewed via email about Ringling’s communications with

Newtown, the college’s public relations team responded stating only that “Ringling College works to engage with all constituencies in every area and arena we operate and educate in.”

In the wake of the Ringling expansion, members of the Newtown community have been left in the dark on major changes happening in their homes.

“My thought is they wanna make whole Newtown their University,” Buchand said. ‘But we live here. And they should not come any further than they already have.”

Information for this article taken from heraldtribune.com, ringling.edu.

To read an expanded version of this article, go to ncfcatalyst.com.

that I can recall. Utilization of all drugs and drinking (you could drink legally at 18) was done openly with no punitive action. It was always known that NC [New College’s] campus was a cop-free zone in terms of the real world on the outside. The only time real cops were on the scene was if music got too loud at PCPs [Palm Court Parties, now known as Center of the Universe Parties] in response to near neighbors’ calls.”

At some point between its merge with USF and break in July 2001, tension increased to a point where there was a semester where Walls were banned on campus.

“I have never seen as much alcohol abuse as the semester without Walls,” alum Richard Butgereit (‘91) said.

“Those that drank, drank as heavy as I have seen anyone drink that semester.

Instead of a few or three drinks before midnight, and then a few more while actively dancing it out and visiting with friends in the wee hours of the morning, campus dwellers were wasted by 11 p.m., and passed out shortly thereafter.”

Something Worth Fighting For At the Sept. 18 Towne Meeting, NCSA co-President, Paul Loriston, and Vice President of Financial Affairs (VPFA), Cheikhou Kane, announced a survey requesting student input on what to do about the current understaffing issue for Walls. According to Kane, it will require an additional $10,000 to be able to compensate two police officers overtime pay for covering the Walls.

During the meeting, Kane listed several options: • Have the NCSA pay for overtime for the NCPD, which would be nearly impossible out of the very limited NCSA budget.

• Have Student Affairs cover the cost of the overtime pay for the NCPD, which would require Wall hosts to work intimately with Student Affairs to ensure that their event is substance free.

• Appeal to the New College alums to help fundraise the money to pay police officers overtime.

Whatever solution is picked

will be done so with the idea of being a permanent solution to this ongoing, and historically recurring, problem.

“After I graduated, I kept looking for events like Walls in other places,” Peckham said. “I failed. It’s hard to overstate the rareness of a regular event where so many types of people feel so welcome. Whether you’re there to dance your heart out or talk your troubles away - and yes, whether or not you’re drinking - Walls welcome you with open arms. To have that kind of a space, where New College’s various weirdos and miscreants can feel safe, free and welcomed under the palm trees -- that’s a special thing. It would be a shame to diminish that experience in any way, and it’s something worth fighting for.”

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 6

The hiring committee for new police officers will occur in October.

Students interested in being a part of the hiring committee should contact NCSA co-President, Paul Loriston, and current Police Liaison, Dominic Theofan.

CATALYST

WEDNESDAY, SEPtEMBER 28, 2016 www.ncfcatalyst.com | @ncfcatalyst

PAGE 11

Green fee CONTINUED FROM PAGE 4

The Activist Newsletter Katelyn Grimmett/Catalyst

This week (9/28 – 10/5), activists have the opportunity to attend cultural festivals, protest marches, political rallies, and grassroots bike rides. Read on if you want to get involved in the community regarding racial inequality, international and domestic politics, human rights, environmental issues, or bicyclist rights.

BY ANYA MARÍA CONtRERAS-GARCÍA Wednesday, Sept. 28 Festival of Resistance @ 6 p.m. – 9 p.m.

USF MSC Amphitheater Tampa, FL 33620 Join USF’s Students for Justice in Palestine in a night of celebration centered around the culture of Palestine. There will be a showcase of Palestine’s food, art and history.

Learn more about the occupation of Palestine and how it has affected the Palestinian people. For more information, check out the event page on Facebook and “like” SJP @ USF. Thursday, Sept. 29 Dr. Jill Stein Visits Sarasota @ 11 a.m. – 2 p.m.

Robert L. Taylor Community Complex 1845 34th Street Sarasota, FL 34234 Dr. Jill Stein, the Green Party’s 2016 Presidential Candidate, will be speaking. Other speakers include local Green Party members, Greg Cruz from Black Lives Matter, Andy Mele from Sierra Club who will speak about phosphate mining in Florida, Roberto Ojeda who will speak about “The Broken Two-Party System”, and Julie Mhsyv who will speak about climate change. This event is free. Donations for the campaign will be accepted.

For more information, check out the event page of Facebook.

Friday, Sept. 30 Black Lives Matter Protest March @ 5 p.m.

Lake Eola Park 512 E Washington St Orlando, FL 32801 This peaceful march is in protest of police brutality and the systemic racism and oppression of the black community. The goal of the protest is to shed light on current issues and to protest a broken, racist system.

For more information, check out the event page on Facebook.

FEAtURES

Friday, Sept. 30 Sarasota Critical Mass @ 6:15 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.

Ringling Museum 5401 Bay Shore Rd Sarasota, FL 34243 Critical Mass is a monthly celebration ride by cyclists reclaiming the streets.

The route for this ride is 4 miles and the pace is 10 mph. Bring front and rear lights and a helmet. Riders will be meeting at the parking lot across from the Ringling Museum and going South on Bay Shore Road, onto Dr. Martin Luther King Way, turning left on Cocoanut Avenue, across Fruitville Road, turning left onto N Pineapple Avenue and stopping at Five Points Park. Contact Kaithleen Conoepan at 786-231-7995 with any questions.

For more information, check out the event page on Facebook.

Saturday, Oct. 1 Racism and the Struggle for Liberation @ 1 p.m. – 2 p.m.

Sarasota, FL (TBD) Eugene Puryear, a leading organizer of ANSWER Coalition and Vice Presidential candidate for the Party for Socialism and Liberation will speak about systemic racist violence and how mass movements can cause substantial, lasting change.

Puryear is the author of “Shackled and Chained: Mass Incarceration in Capitalist America”, which analyzes mass incarceration, its causes and consequences. For more information, check out the event page on Facebook.

Sunday, Oct. 2 Orlando in Solidarity: No DAPL and No Sabal Trail Pipeline @ 11 a.m. – 1 p.m.

Lake Eola Park 512 E Washington St Orlando, FL 32801 This is a peaceful demonstration in solidarity against the DAPL and Sabal Trail pipelines. Please bring information, signs, sign making materials, water, snacks, sunscreen, comfortable shoes and raingear. For more information, check out the event page on Facebook.

of it being a place where students could go and eat fruit and just have access to fresh food,” McWilliams said. “It became this action against global warming.”

The food forest can be found on the cables campus.

“There’s this concept called carbon farming where you make certain agroforestry systems and they have the dual function of providing food for you and sequestering atmospheric carbon,” McWilliams said.

Some members of the CGA expressed concerns that the 25 year plan shows a prospective structure being built on top of where the food forest currently is, but others were not as concerned.

“Since that’s not going to happen for twenty years, why don’t we just have our food forest now?” Nolan said, a sentiment mirrored by several other members of the CGA. The Four Winds proposal sought to continue funding the Four Winds Cafe’s efforts to be environmentally friendly.

The proposal described compostable containers for food, creating a Four Winds Gardening TA position to help the Four Winds become more sustainable.

The Four WInds also requested funds to buy a new Energy Star oven, because their current oven broke. The funds were successfully allocated to the Four

Winds.

At this point, members of the CGA noted at the last CGA meeting, individuals with ideas about how to improve on campus environmentalfriendliness can be provided with the resources if they have the time and effort required to see a project to the end.

“Anyone can apply! Regardless of year or AOC,” Morton said. “The forms and guidelines are on the students list on a post by me, and students can come to my office hours Tuesdays 2-4 [p.m.] in the NCSA office, or just email me or another CGA member to discuss whether a project can be funded.”

The money in the Green Fee is not necessarily in danger of being appropriated if unspent, however the CGA would like to fund more projects. “[The money] rolls over each year and accumulates when we don’t spend it - which isn’t necessarily looked upon all that favorably by the state government,” Morton said.

The CGA expressed their desire to hold allocation meetings more frequently to dispense more funding to environmental projects on campus.

“I think in years past it has been somewhat underutilized, but starting last year and continuing this year it’s being put to good use,” Morton said of the funds, expressing approval for the ongoing Food Forest project and the creation of the Residential Gardening and Zero-Waste TA positions.

Red Tide plagues Florida’s gulf coast beaches

BY KELLY WILSON Red Tide is a gross discoloration of seawater caused by a toxic bloom of a red colored algae Karenia brevis. Red Tide has recently appeared along the Sarasota Manatee area beaches again this year and left them littered with dead fish and a discolored tide that could possibly be harmful not only to the ecosystem, but to birds and some humans as well.

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) many scientists prefer to call the algae blooms harmful algae blooms instead of red tide, because these algae blooms are so harmful. But, not all algae blooms are harmful. Most algae blooms are in fact helpful and are beneficial to tiny plants and animals in the ocean. They are responsible for a large production of energy production in the ocean.

The problem arises when large masses of algae decompose and decay.

This process can deplete oxygen in the water which then causes the water to become so low in oxygen that animals either leave the area or die. It has been a problem on Sarasota and Manatee beaches, with dead fish littering the shore and the smell of dead fish turning visitors away.

According to the Bradenton Herald this red tide is a regular yearly occurrence, and according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation

Commission (FWC) red tide has been occurring along Florida's gulf coast since the 1940's. That doesn't mean that it is nothing to worry about though.

Red Tide can have a harmful effect on marine ecosystems as well as on humans and other animals who may come into contact with the water. While it is rare that humans will be affected, pet owners should be extremely careful with their pets around effected areas.

Because humans and animals process toxins differently, if a pet cleans their paws after coming into contact with red tide this could be cause for concern.

Red Tide can cause lung and skin irritation in humans although it is rare that the red tide itself causes any harm. However, people susceptible to respiratory irritation such as those with asthma or emphysema should be wary of the area because they are more likely to feel the effects of Red Tide.

It is likely, according to the FWC that the water will shift in the next few days giving Sarasota and Manatee beaches a bit of relief from the dead fish littering the shore with Parks, Recreation and Natural Resource staff working hard to remove the dead fish from the shores.

The dead fish smell will also go away eventually as well. However, until then it is recommended that beach goers do not go swimming among dead fish because this could cause other bacterial infections not associated with red tide.

CATALYST

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2016 www.ncfcatalyst.com | @ncfcatalyst

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Vegan brunch at Four Winds all photos Caitlyn Ralph/Catalyst

BY CAITLYN RALPH Four Winds returned with its classic brunch event this past weekend, extending its normally scheduled weekday hours to Saturday and serving up some yummy vegan options.

Customers had two main course options and two side options. The mains included a scrumptious cinnamon raisin french toast casserole and zesty red pepper tofu tacos with arugula, and the sides included coconut banana pudding and jalapeño hashbrowns. It wouldn’t be Four Winds without a drink special: vegan brunch’s was maple-infused cold brew.

“It was a lovely event for a Saturday morning. I never had hashbrowns like that! They were like spaghetti,” thesis student Dylan Ricke, who attended vegan brunch and played some Bananagrams, said. “The Four Winds is an easy place to mingle.”

Co-manager Sophia Schultz told students via email to be on the lookout for more vegan brunches at Four Winds in the future. Yes, please!

“The Four Winds is an easy place to mingle,” thesis student Dylan Ricke said.

Thesis student Dylan Ricke enjoyed Bananagrams alongside his vegan brunch.

Even close to 1:00 p.m., the Four Winds was still packed with hungry students.

Customers could lather their delicious cinnamon raisin french toast casserole muffins with sweet maple syrup.