Spring 2019 - Issue 2

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CATALYST

BRIEFS BOB WOODSON pg.

february 20, 2019 VOLUME XXXVIII ISSUE 2

New College of Florida's student-run newspaper

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Record number of New College students present at Florida Conference of Historians

BY NOAH BASLAW From Feb. 22-23, the Florida Conference of Historians (FCH) will be hosted on New College’s campus. Presentations of diverse and compelling historical topics will be available for both the New College and greater Sarasota communities, which means students will be given the opportunity to practice talking about their research in public. This year also marks the largest group of New College students to present at the annual conference.

Additionally, this year’s conference is eager to showcase their keynote speaker, history professor at the University of Chicago, Dr. Kenneth Pomeranz. The title of his talk will be: How Did China Get So Big? Redefining the Realm and Its Subjects, 1750-1900. Pomeranz is a prolific writer and a well-known scholar, specifically for his book The Great Divergence: China, Europe and the Making of the Modern World Economy. Moreover, in

parallel with New College’s Black His- Co-President of FCH David Harvey tory Month (BHM) programming, FCH told the Catalyst. Harvey is leading the will host two plenary sessions presented charge in organizing FCH on the New by the Equal Justice Initiative (EJI)—the College campus, alongside New College first being “Overcoming Our History of Professor of History Brendan Goff.

Harvey has Hate,” and the secknown about FCH ond “Public History, “Presenting at a he began reSocial Justice: The historical conference as since ceiving periodical Making of the Nanotices from the tional Memorial for an undergraduate conference organPeace and Justice.” student is not very izers in 2000, the The Florida common.” same year he arrived Conference of Hisat New College. torians has been “I got involved with FCH for the around for more than 50 years. It began as a professional society for history teach- first time in 2006,” Harvey said. “One of ers in the community college system and the things I liked about it was that it had other less selective private college sys- an undergraduate research section, which tems in Florida. It grew to include faculty is really unusual among history conferat the research universities, graduate and ences. I immediately saw the potential for undergraduate students and some histo- taking New College students and having this be a venue that could show off our rians from outside of the state.

“We always get a few people from program in a good way.”

Over the next few years, he tried to beyond Florida or even from abroad,” New College Professor of History and get some students involved and took a

few of them to the conference to present their papers.

“Initially I was marketing it towards thesis students,” Harvey said. But he thinks that branding scared too many people away, since many thesis students are not ready to present in the beginning of spring term.

“It was when we opened it up to a broader student population that we started to see a lot more participation,” Harvey explained. “I hosted the conference for the first time in 2013 and then we got even more New College students participating, and that’s when it really gelled.” Since then, New College has taken a sizable number of cohorts to FCH each year.

Over the last few years, the conference has expanded in scope, according to Harvey. He thinks the coordinated efforts of fellow history colleagues in the

for me.”

Winfrey was among the students who first piloted the e-contract system with her contract sponsor, Professor of Classics Carl Shaw.

“Initially I was a little skeptical about them,” Winfrey said. “I’m pretty satisfied with them [but] I feel like we lost a personal touch.”

There was some concern that e-contracts would detract from or hinder in-person meetings when the system was first announced. Baram does not find this to be an issue.

“I’m very comfortable interacting on email and other forms, and I don’t think that is an artificial conversation,” Baram said. “The piece of paper was never the basis of my face to face interactions with my advisees.”

Faculty members cannot edit the contents of the e-contracts. They can only choose to electronically sign it or not.

“We decided that because the contract was an agreement between the student and the faculty member, and because it would be very difficult to modify the system as it currently exists, that the preference would be to completely have the student fill out their e-contract,” Regis-

“I filled out my contract completely and just forgot to scroll down and electronically sign it before the deadline, I then got kicked off of Canvas for all my classes without warning and received a letter in the mail saying I was no longer registered at New College,” Ernst said in an email interview. “So I had to call the Registrar’s office and they sent me a form to petition the Provost. They also said I would have to pay a $50 late fee. I was told that the fee would most likely be waived due to this being a technical issue though.”

Scholten said that the e-signature was redundant because one has to verify themselves to access the Student Evaluation System (SES) with their myNCF login. Ernst agrees that a “submit” button would be more intuitive.

“If they would have found a way to have a “submit” button, that would have cleared things up very quickly,” Ernst said. “That way, students have to scroll all the way to the bottom and make sure they filled everything out before leaving it for approval. As it is now, you just fill

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E-contracts go campus wide for Spring semester

BY MICHALA HEAD

https://doc-0k-18-docs. googleusercontent.com/ docs/securesc/s7jurnmk912se8sp3mgg3hd8llrh0uos/obdpo7fpcdn719co01n4qb7

First piloted in the fall semester of 2018 by seven professors and their advisees, e-contracts fully replaced New College’s previous paper contract system the following spring. The campus seemingly did just fine with the change.

“I thought it actually went really smoothly, everyone got things to me in a timely manner,” Professor of Anthropology Uzi Baram said. “Information popped up as it needed to in email and on the page. It all fits what we have talked about in previous semesters.”

Baram said the e-contract was a good solution to the time management issues that would come up with paper contracts.

“What’s nice about the e-contracts is that students don’t need to rush to find me to get a physical signature and don’t have to rush to hand it in by 5 o’clock on that second Wednesday,” Baram said.

“I definitely put it off to the last minute,” second-year Anna Lynn Winfrey said. “There wasn’t any way I could have gotten my advisor to sign it at 2 a.m. on Tuesday morning when I actually sent it in, so I guess that was more convenient

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juried art show

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band of angels

trar Brian Scholten said. “And then that would be a static document that the faculty sponsor would review. If they wanted to have the student make changes before they approve it, then they would have to communicate that to the student.”

Scholten also discussed the potential futures for this online system.

“Eventually we would like the whole registration process, and things that are associated with it, to be part of the e-contract system, even if we change the name of it,” Scholten said, referring to registration documents. “The plan is, sometime in the future, to make the [Prospective Area of Concentration] PAOC and the Thesis Prospectus forms electronic documents.”

More short term goals include e-contracts for study abroad students, who mailed in paper contracts rather than having the e-contract system available to them this semester, improving the functionality for professors by allowing them to create and propose tutorials in the system and adding a “submit” button in place of the e-signature.

Thesis student Eva Ernst would have preferred a submit button to the e-signature.

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Activist Newsletter

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8 Bhm open mic

CATALYST

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BRIEFS

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briefs by jacob wentz

$1.2 million from Isermann projected to provide more out-of-state scholarships The New College Foundation recently received a $1.2 million bequest from the estate of Howard and Betty Isermann. A large portion of the money is planned to be used to fund new scholarship opportunities for out-of-state students.

“A bequest means that they’ve left New College in their will, and so when they pass away the gift comes to the college,” Vice President of Advancement and Executive Director of the Foundation MaryAnne Young said.

Howard Isermann passed away in August 2017 and his wife, Betty Isermann, died in June 2018.

Howard Isermann developed the ultraviolet absorber that has been used in the most effective sunscreen in the world. In 1980, he founded Novarome Inc., a manufacturer of fragrance compounds used in a wide variety of consumer products from soaps to perfumes.

“He invented sunscreen, which is so cool,” Young said with a laugh. “I thanked him profusely.”

The couple was also very devoted to New College and its students.

Howard was a former chair of the Foundation Board.

“He loved Mike Michalson, the former president, and Don [O’Shea],” Young said. “He and Don were great friends because they’re both scientists, mathematicians; they could have very deep conversations about all sorts of things.”

Betty Isermann was an artist and studied with renowned watercolorists Nicholas Reale, Ed Whitney and Charles Reid. The Isermann art gallery on the Caples campus is named after her.

The $1.2 million endowment is one of the largest gifts that New College has received from an individual.

There are two main types of scholarship funds: endowed and outright scholarships. With endowed scholarships, the college receives a gift amount and invests it. The principal is not used, but the income raised from the perpetuity is. Endowment funds are important because the amount of money grows over time and is able to continuously be used.

There are also community members who give money toward outright

scholarships. This money gets spent every year and comes from events like the Foundation’s Annual Scholarship Clambake and the Scholarship Luncheon.

“Scholarships are our number one fundraising priority, and people really love to give to scholarships because they know that they’re helping students,” Young said. “Overall scholarship support from the college and from the Foundation is about $8 or $9 million total.”

Approximately 98 percent of donations comes from people in the Sarasota community. The remaining 2 percent comes from alumni.

“Our alums are generous, but there are just not that many of them,” Young said. “That will change over time.”

The money from the Isermann endowment will be used to help offset the difference between in-state and out-of-state tuition.

“My best guess is that [Isermann] had a lot of scholarship help when he went to college and he valued being able to meet people from different parts of the country and

photo courtesy of New College News

Community Leaders Howard and Betty Isermann pose for a photo.

the world and that really expanded his horizons,” Young said. “He was so grateful for his education and just wanted to make sure that other students had that opportunity.”

Dr. Erin Dean receives grant to continue research in Tanzania Professor of Anthropology Erin Dean recently received a grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to expand her research in energy development in Tanzania. The grant will allow Dean to spend three summers researching the implications of alternative forms of energy in the country.

“I have been working in Tanzania and Zanzibar for 15 years, and this research will build on and expand that work,” Dean said in an email interview.

Dean situates her anthropological work within the interdisciplinary subfield of political ecology and is particularly interested in how gender, age, ethnicity, class, political affiliation and institutional status affect how control of land and resources is negotiated.

With this grant, Dean and her research collaborator, Emory University Senior Lecturer Kristin Phillips, plan to look at renewable energy and its effect on social, economic and political relationships in Tanzania.

“We are particularly interested in conducting ethnographic research at the household level because there is not much ethnographic work on renewable energy at that scale in Africa yet,” Dean said. “So, for example, we are asking questions like: do people understand and use energy differently when it does not come from the grid, does not connect them to a utility or to the state? And how do renewable forms of energy like wind or solar fit within local cosmologies, such as those which give special significance to the wind or the sun?”

The grant itself is particularly

photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

The Ministry of Energy and Minerals building in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

prestigious. NSF receives approximately 40,000 proposals each year for research, education and training projects, of which approximately 11,000 are funded.

“Our final application with all the included material was over 50 pages long,” Dean said. “We applied for a senior research award, which

© 2019 the Catalyst. All rights reserved.

“Dogs can’t operate MRI scanners, but cats can.”

The Catalyst is available online at www.ncfcatalyst.com, facebook.com/NCFcatalyst instagram.com/NCFcatalyst twitter.com/ncfcatalyst The Catalyst is an academic tutorial sponsored by Professor Maria D. Vesperi. 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.

General Editor Audrey Warne Managing Editor Jacob Wentz Copy Editor Cassie Manz Assistant Copy Editor Eileen Calub Online Editor Bailey Tietsworth Advertising Manager Michala Head Social Media Editor Katrina Carlin Staff Writers Noah Baslaw, Haley Bryan, Emiliano Espinosa Polanco & Izaya Garrett Miles Harrison Angsten & Layout + Design Team Cait Matthews

means it is for mid-career researchers as opposed to graduate students or post-doctoral students (recent Ph.D.s).”

The experience that Dean gains from this opportunity could potentially lead to the development of an Anthropology of Energy course for students in the future.

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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Position of Dean of Outreach, Engagement and Inclusion and Chief Diversity Officer filled

BY BAILEY TIETSWORTH In a year rife with new hires, New College continues to expand its administrative repertoire by creating the twoin-one position of Dean of Outreach, Engagement and Inclusion and Chief Diversity Officer. Students can anticipate the arrival of Dean Bill Woodson on Monday, Feb. 25. Woodson will take up an advisory role for the institution, providing guidance for multiple divisions concerning all aspects of diversity and inclusion, and will work to connect with the Sarasota community in which New College resides.

This new position has no direct relation to the growth plan, but initially stemmed from President Donal O’Shea’s concerns about the school’s diversity. O’Shea reflected on how the school could look into improving its approach to diversity and inclusion after the 2018 Commencement ceremony, where recent alumni—Miles Iton (‘14), Giulia Heyward (‘14) and Leen Alfatafta (‘14)— talked about a lack of institutional support for students of color.

“It’s been a long time goal for myself, for many others, for students to diversify: to have students, faculty and staff be more representative of the diversity we’ve got in Florida,” O’Shea said.

“We’re not quite there in some ways.”

That’s where Woodson comes in.

In an email sent to faculty, staff and students in late January, O’Shea outlined that “[Woodson] will spearhead community relations with the greater Sarasota community and serve as the college’s chief diversity officer.” O’Shea explained that the positions were intentionally open-ended, so that they could attract a wide range of applicants.

“We thought [that] we’ll try to get the best possible pool [of applicants], we’ll get the people and we’ll make up our minds later, and we got a great pool,” O’Shea said.

Woodson stood out from the other candidates due to his combined experience working with businesses and higher education institutions, his willingness to connect with students and his proactive attempts to survey the community.

“When he came down, he had already checked out a number of things,” O’Shea said. “He had already been in contact with Booker [High School and had asked], ‘Why aren’t they sending more students here?’”

Woodson considers connections between colleges and communities as an integral bond that supports all parties involved.

“New College attracts students from across the country and around the world, yet we draw our strength from

the community of which we are a part,” Woodson said in an email interview.

“Being a public institution as well as a non-profit only deepens our commitment to be a positive force in our community. Good colleges nurture talented faculty and develop informed, engaged students who appreciate the fact that the knowledge and research skills they obtain will have their greatest impact when they are connected to real world concerns and challenges.”

As an administrative figure, Woodson’s interactions will frequently involve communicating with faculty and staff, but he stressed that he will still stay involved in student matters. The engagement half of his responsibilities will involve including students in the connections that he makes with external groups or individuals. As the Chief Diversity Officer, Woodson will approach addressing diversity and inclusion concerning faculty and staff, as well as students.

“I will be reaching out to students in particular to understand what an inclusive learning environment means from the perspective of New College students,” Woodson said.

Information for this article was gathered from 4forwardmotion.com.

photo courtesy of Bill Woodson

Woodson will bring his expertise down to Sarasota on Feb. 25.

Multimodal Biological Control makes waves in Sarasota ponds Katrina Carlin/Catalyst

BY KATRINA CARLIN Rep. Margaret Good filed a bill on Feb. 11 that will alter the Florida landscape: House Bill (HB) 737. Ten months earlier, at the Science and Environment Council Environmental Summit held at New College in April 2018, Sean Patton (’15) presented an idea he calls multimodal biological control, or MBC. MBC is the use of complementary species to eliminate or reduce a target nuisance species. A nuisance species is a plant or animal that’s population has grown unchecked. HB 737 defines MBC as an important tool in the fight against water pollution in the state of Florida.

HB 737 addresses the use of herbicides—often used to control nuisance species—and how they relate to water pollution. Currently, one is required to obtain a “water pollution operation permit” to dump any waste into state water, and otherwise must comply with the terms set out in state statutes. The water pollution operation permits include the use of herbicides in bodies of water to control native plants, algae or invasive exotic plants. HB 737 amends several state statutes to require that herbicide discharge into state water is only allowed if MBC is attempted on the ecosystem first. The bill also defines MBC, calling it “the use of complementary native species to control aquatic plants, algae or invasive exotic plants at the surface, middle and bottom of an aquatic environment.”

This definition for MBC comes from collaboration with Patton, who credits himself with the idea for using

The current regulation leads to many problems in the retention ponds.

MBC in Florida lakes and retention ponds.

“They took the abstract from the project I was working on and put it in the law,” Patton said.

As Patton explained, retention pond legislation does the bare minimum to restore the environment and native plants lost to development. Retention ponds are dug alongside new developments so that there is somewhere for water to go when it rains. They also filter the water.

“Under Florida law, you are only required one littoral area [in retention ponds], which is the area where most plants grow,” Patton said. “It’s important for birds too. They currently only require that you put three plant species in the pond, and only in that one area. They also are only required to put mosquito fish in the pond, which takes care of the mosquitoes. They don’t require any herbivores, filter feeders or detritivores.”

MBC use in these retention ponds will be novel, according to Patton, as most studies only focus on one species for environmental remediation.

“All multi-species studies showed vastly better results for nutrient control,” Patton said.

The current regulation leads to many problems in the retention ponds.

Freshwater algae, which are spread by spores, can travel by air and settle in these ponds. There they don’t have to compete for resources and can feed on nutrients.

Chemical treatment typically causes the algae to return chemically resistant and require further treatment. The algae can also drain with storm water into the bay, where they die.

“The cycle of chemicals leads to nutrients in the pond going to the bay,” Patton said. “Red tide takes dying freshwater algae in the bay and uses the nutrients to spread.”

There are other issues created by the lack of biodiversity in the retention ponds. Patton explained that during his work as a wetland/lake manager, he often had to kill uncontrolled native plants, caused by an ecosystem where plants and species are not working coherently to keep the others in check. Employing MBC in these areas can be a vital tool to manage uncontrolled species.

Patton is passionate about using native plants in MBC. “Florida has the highest rate of endemic species, which are species that are only found in Florida,” Patton said.

Patton currently owns his own business as an environmental consultant, and he has employed MBC in some of his work already, including at The Landings, a private gated community in Sarasota. Patton also recently received his first grant for the project from the Charlotte Harbor National Estuary Program. His MBC technique employs these endemic species.

“The flagfish, or Jordanella floridae, is the ‘flagfish’ of the project,” Patton said.

“It can be used to treat native plants, because it eats duckweed and algae. And it’s red and blue with a star!”

Patton also explained his approach to the project.

“I’m trying to make storm water fun,” Patton emphasized. “What happens here [in Sarasota] affects the bay.”

John Ryan, environmental supervisor at Sarasota County Government, is

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student works showcased at annual juried art exhibition Asante communicated her personal narratives, implementing the dichotomous Along the walls of the well-lit construction and destruction of natural Isermann Gallery on the Caples cam- materials,” Kreis said. “Georgia O’Keefpus hang myriad colorful and intriguing fe’s compositional techniques displace student works, ranging from provocative the viewer through exaggerations of paintings and photography to charcoal scale, unconventional landscapes and the compositions and glowing stained glass. use of subject matter that disallows viewTwisting sculptures and designs line er-identification. The formal and concepthe hall, greeting passing visitors. From tual qualities of Asante and O’Keeffe’s Jan. 28 until Mar. 15, the public has the works led me to my own concept for my chance to view works of various themes piece: interconnectedness.” Kreis won and mediums by New College student a Purchase Award for their piece titled artists at the annual Juried Art Exhibi- “Connectedness,” a wood burning on tion. pine panel.

Making the Exhibition a Reality Thesis student Autumn Schwers Inspired by similar programs initi- brings together objects, animals, flowers ated at other colleges, Professor of Art and foliage in her painting, “Trope L’oeil.”

Kim Anderson organized the first Jur“The goal of the project was to creied Art Exhibition in 2007. “Years ago, ate a trompe l’oeil utilizing objects we alit really felt like something was missing ready had,” Schwers said. “I thought that from the [Art] program,” Anderson said. the colors of the animals were interesting “I started to think about ways to generate as they were themselves bright and hapmore energy around all the amazing work py, yet the situation they were placed in that was being produced in our classes.” was not. I wanted to continue this idea The exhibition was formalized circa throughout.” For her painting, Schwers 2010, “with a stronger commitment from also received a Purchase Award. campus offices including the Provost’s Through their artwork, the students and President’s Offices.” A grant from focus on different messages and themes, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation also like the environment, mortality and selfprovided support for the exhibition. hood.

Each year, Anderson works with art “With this piece in particular, I faculty and students to prepare the vari- hope to convey the symbiotic relationous elements required for a large group ship that all earthly beings are bound to,” show. “This is a huge time commitment,” Kreis said. “The subjects in the compoAnderson said. “Funding has to be iden- sition are arranged in a manner that iltified, a call for art goes out, marketing, lustrates a connected transition through catering and physically installing the each individual form, with wood-burned work. This is at least a three-month pro- lines. This lack of start and beginning was cess.” intended to reflect the fragility of life’s Regardless of the arduous tasks in- natural balances that we often overlook.” volved in arranging the exhibition, AnKreis’s chosen medium further sigderson feels it is important for students to nifies the meaning of their piece. “I chose have the opportunity for their work to be scrap pieces of wood and a wood burning publicly showcased. “Making your work technique, because I felt like these media in a studio class or alone in your dorm would embody the destruction and creais one thing, but finding an audience for tion cycle in accordance to that of the life that work and seeing it for the first time cycle,” Kreis said. in a public venue raises the stakes,” AnSchwers’s juxtaposed imagery in derson said.

“Trope L’oeil” provokes viewers to conMoreover, the Juried Art Exhibi- sider its meaning. “I wanted to convey tion brings invaluable outside perspec- the contrasting ideas of life and death tives from art experts to weigh in on by including vibrant colors and bright the work produced at New College. “In flowers intermixed with representations some instances, this might be as simple of death via the small skulls throughout, as identifying patterns or themes within along with the predator and prey,” Schwthe work, but with awards available it also ers explained. means highlighting the absolute standout Third-year and Catalyst Layout + works from each year,” Anderson stated. Design Team Member Cait Matthews, “Not only does it bring our students to- artist of “Tonight We Dive,” a wearable gether, but it’s an opportunity for us to performative woodworking project for open our doors to the public.” which they won third place, explained Over the years, with the success of that their work is open to interpretation. the exhibition, art students have come “The implications of a scuba helto anticipate their chance to enter up to met allow for exploration,” Matthews three works for consideration. On Jan. said. “In this case, the piece represents 31, an opening reception and award cer- exploration of self. Due to the gaps in its emony was held with an accompanying cage-like structure, room is also created juror’s talk. This year, Rhiannon Paget for connecting with the other—whether and Ola Wlusek, curators at the Ringling it be with friends, family members, the Museum of Art, provided their expertise community or the environment—during as the exhibition jurors. the process of selfhood.”

Bringing Ideas to Life - Student ArtReflecting on the Experience ists and the Creative Process After all their hard work, the stuIn preparing their projects for the dent artists enjoyed seeing their work exhibition, students sought inspiration displayed in the Isermann Gallery. from various sources, such as other art“I feel incredibly lucky to have been ists and commonplace objects. Third-year part of the Juried Art Exhibition, and I Lila Kreis was inspired by contemporary am so grateful to have been included in artist Maya Freelon Asante and Ameri- the show,” Kreis said. can modernist painter Georgia O’Keeffe.

“I loved being a part of this event,” “I was inspired by the ways that Schwers said. “I enjoyed seeing the diver-

BY EILEEN CALUB

sity of projects and people alike.”

The artists also wished to express their gratitude for the support of mentors in undertaking the art projects. Kreis thanked Instructor of Art Christine Comple for supporting them through their project. Schwers thanked Anderson, her professor for painting classes.

“She played a huge part in not only teaching me how to use the medium, but also in helping me create my composition to be successful,” Schwers said.

Regarding their future artistic projects and endeavors, the students plan to continue engaging with and producing art.

“There are many types of media that I would like to experiment with, but I have been planning a series of acEileen Calub/Catalyst

Finger Study by Jamie Moriarty. Plastic, silicone, electronics, MDF.

tivism-related works,” Kreis said. “With these, I am hoping to comment on current global inequities.”

As an Art Area of Concentration (AOC), Schwers has her thesis in mind as well as her future beyond New College. “I am pursuing a career involved in illustration in relation to film and narrative,” Schwers said.

Anderson noted that many alumni of the Art department continue to be involved in the arts and exhibitions. “The juried show can provide a first encounter with what becomes a longer engagement in the field,” Anderson said. “It can be a resume builder and offers connections with experts outside of New College.

There are just so many benefits, I cannot imagine not hosting the exhibit.” photo courtesy of Lila Kreis

Connectedness by Lila Kreis. Wood burning on pine panel. Markers.

Eileen Calub/Catalyst

Owl by Cindy Kim. Welded assemblage.

band of angels restoration completed after alumni complaints

BY HALEY BRYAN The Band of Angels sculpture standing in the center of New College’s Palmer complex has finally received its well-needed refurbishment. The sculpture, also known affectionately as “Big Mother,” was completed in 1973 by students and late Professor of Art Jack Cartlidge, who taught at New College from 1968 to 1998. Cartlidge was one of the founders of the Art department at New College and is known for his copper sculptures across the Sarasota area, including Nobody’s Listening, Earth Mother and Guardian located at Sarasota’s City Hall, and Titan’s I on the bayfront across from Selby Gardens.

After years of exposure to natural elements, the 15-foot-tall steel and mortar statue had a noticeable amount of deterioration that created a sense of neglect among alumni and current students.

Former Professor of Mathematics David Mullins (‘81), who taught at New College from 1991 to 2015, played a crucial role in the restoration of the sculpture.

“I have been concerned about the lack of appreciation and devotion of resources to art on campus,” Mullins said in an email interview. “In January 2017, I noticed the sculpture was in bad repair and worried about it deteriorating beyond the point of repair.”

Mullins took strides to bring administrative attention to the sculpture by sending an email to the President and the Provost of New College, requesting permission for a skilled alumnus to repair the sculpture. This outreach to the President and Provost was followed with conversations with Vice President for Finance and Administration John Martin, who assured Mullins that there was administrative interest in repairing the sculpture. Though there were promises that the administration had an interest in repairing the sculpture, Mullins said that “the discussions and actions ran in circles for a while, and there were many fits and starts.”

Art restoration expert Scott Moore was contracted by the school to restore the sculpture and spent the month of January working to clean, grind and patch problem areas in the work.

“New College prides itself as a school that makes powerful, positive changes in students’ lives,” Mullins said.

“But it is not the school that does this–it is largely the faculty. Jack Cartlidge was one such professor, who had a profound influence on so many students. Further, this joint student-professor work of Jack’s is the only significant piece of Jack’s on campus. Jack is a world-renowned sculptor, and has works throughout Sarasota– the school should preserve and celebrate his work. Also, the school suffers from lack of public art, in my opinion. We need more, not less.”

Frazier Carraway (‘72) recalls working on the project with Jack Cartlidge in 1972.

“I remember working on the foundation and seeing rebar sticking up out of concrete pads,” Carraway said in an email interview. “We all bought end cutters and spools of tie wire. I learned how to install lath working on the Big Mother. [Working on the project] was a great opportunity to learn a material for creating a large sculpture that was relatively inexpensive and we enjoyed working with Jack.”

Knowing the sculpture’s restoration is complete, Carraway reflected on how “public art enriches us all. I think the Band of Angels also ties the college to its early days.”

As for others, the future of the sculpture is still an uncertain one.

“I am still concerned about the long-range plans for the sculpture,” Mullins said. “[Moore] did say it would be easy to move the piece, which may be necessary if the multipurpose building is funded and ends up in the Palmer space.

If so, where it is moved is an important question. I don’t want it to end up like the Boat Fish sculpture which suddenly ended up moved from in front of the Academic Center (ACE) (as part of ACE’s art funds) to behind the retention pond at Caples, without discussion or for any clearly stated reason.”

Through the restoration of the Band of Angels, it is apparent that the masterpieces of the school aren’t limited to effortful theses or independent study projects (ISP), but also include the art created by—and belonging to—the campus community.

photo courtesy of NCSA Archives

“Band of Angels” sculpture in the Palmer courtyard, May 1988. photo courtesy of NCSA Archives

Picture of the process creating “Band of Angels,” 1972. The sculpture’s frame was done in #5 and #3 rebar and the skin was formed of expanded metal lath which was shaped by hand and tied together with tie wire. photo courtesy of Jim DeLa

Art restoration expert Scott Moore was contracted by the school to work on the “Band of Angels” sculpture.

Here, Moore is shown repairing a hole in the sculpture using mortar.

CATALYST

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2019 www.ncfcatalyst.com | @ncfcatalyst

Photo courtesy of The Party for Socialism and Liberation-Florida

Throughout this week (2/20 - 2/27), activists have the opportunity to participate in public meetings, panel discussions and film festivals. Read on if you want to get involved in the community regarding political polling and race relations.

BY EILEEN CALUB Wed., Feb. 20, Understanding the Art and Science of Political Polling @ 7 - 9 p.m.

Lakewood Ranch Town Hall - 8175 Lakewood Ranch Blvd., Lakewood Ranch.

Indivisible East Manatee (IEM) will host a public meeting featuring two nationally known experts who will discuss how public opinion polls are generated and how people can better interpret poll results to know if the data are meaningful. The presentation on The Art and Science of Political Polling will feature Michael Binder, Ph.D., an associate professor of political science and faculty director of the Public Opinion Research Laboratory at the University of North Florida (UNF) in Jacksonville. He will provide insights from the polling done

by UNF in 2018 and discuss polling plans for the 2020 election cycle. In addition, Robert McCaa, a former research professor at the Minnesota Population Center and Fulbright fellow, will dissect 2018 voter data collected from Sarasota and Manatee counties. This event is free and open to the public.

Thurs., Feb. 21, The Boxser Diversity Initiative Presents: The Language of Racism @ 5 - 8:30 p.m.

New College of Florida - Sainer Auditorium - 5313 Bay Shore Rd., Sarasota.

Racism continues to overshadow much of the progress that is being made in the United States and in the world. The language of “racism” is used in many ways, formats and styles. A panel discussion facilitated by Judge Charles Williams featuring Michael Jeffries (Wellesley College), Timothy McCarthy (Harvard University) and Professor Ladee Hubbard (Tulane University) will discuss these issues.

There will be a reception before the event with entertainment and food trucks that starts at 5 p.m. Students need to RSVP via NovoConnect to

reserve one of the 30 free student tickets for this event.

Sat., Feb. 23, Overcoming our History of Hate @ 11:30 a.m. - 1 p.m.

New College of Florida - Sudakoff Center - 5800 Bay Shore Rd., Sarasota.

A presentation by Equal Justice Initiative co-sponsored by The Florida Conference of Historians. This event is hosted by the Black History Month Committee. This event is free and open to the public.

Tues., Feb. 26, African Diaspora Film Festival - Tongues United — How Are We Doing? @ 6 - 9 p.m.

New College of Florida - ACE 115 5800 Bay Shore Rd., Sarasota.

Filmmaker Marlon Riggs gives a voice to communities of gay black men, presenting their cultures and perspectives on the world as they confront racism, homophobia and marginalization.

This event is hosted by the Black History Month Committee. This event is free and open to the public.

Tues., Feb. 26, Conversation with Chief DiPino @ 6:30 p.m.

Fogartyville Community Media and Arts Center - 525 Kumquat Ct, Sarasota.

Chief DiPino was appointed as Chief of Police of the Sarasota Police Department on December 31, 2012. The Chief of Police is the executive officer of the Sarasota Police Department and is ultimately responsible for decisions regarding policy, enforcement and use of resources in conjunction with the City Manager and the City Commission.

The Chief maintains command authority over all department employees, both sworn and civilian.

This meeting is free and open to the public.

PAGE 6

Mindfulness on campus

BY HALEY BRYAN

The Activist Newsletter

features

Some 20 New College students were scattered around the Bayfront this Wednesday afternoon, Feb. 13, as part of a new tutorial entitled Mindfulness.

Lynne Lockie, the tutorial’s instructor and a board member of the Sarasota Mindfulness Institute, used a singing bowl nearby to cue students when to walk and when to pause as they concentrated on the sights and sounds outside by the Bay. This walking meditation is one of the many activities used in the tutorial which all aim to promote stress reduction and self-awareness among students.

“Mindfulness is basically about grounding yourself, about finding a space—mental space, physical space— where you can feel grounded, connected, present,” Professor of Religion Manuel Lopez-Zafra, the tutorial’s sponsor, said.

“And that’s something that’s not always easy to do. We live in a world in which we’re constantly distracted, and sometimes it’s very difficult to even hear yourself. The tutorial’s goal is to allow people and to create a space so people can explore something that is very important to all of us, which is our own minds. But it’s not neuroscience what we’re doing here, or a psych class, it’s a different approach.”

Previously, spiritual communities primarily observed concepts involved in mindfulness. More recently, Western and secularized groups have advocated for the practice of mindfulness, such as the United Kingdom’s National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) and the American Psychiatric Association

(APA). A spate of recent research has also supported mindfulness’ effectiveness for reducing stress and fatigue, enhancing creativity, increasing compassion and empathy and improving decision-making abilities, such as the ability to avoid addictive behaviors.

“One of the interesting developments that have happened over the last few years is this expansion of meditation all over the world—transforming what was a religious tradition into a secular practice,” Lopez-Zafra said. “You don’t have to be a Buddhist [to be able to] use this practice of meditation to find yourself present.”

Shifts in the way people interpret the practice of mindfulness have provided unique opportunities to use the technique in practical ways. In the context of New College, establishing mindfulness in the school’s curriculum might be a way to expand what students are capable of learning while enrolled.

“When people think about New College, as students and prospective students, they think that [mindfulness] is something that is at the core of what we do,” Lopez-Zafra noted. “We spend years here, not only as faculty members, but as students, trying to work with your mind, but sometimes we don’t really spend a lot of time looking at our own mind. I think mindfulness provides those tools, and it can be very useful, in terms of creativity, in terms of writing, in terms of managing stress.”

continued on page 7

Dining with dietary restrictions on campus

BY EILEEN CALUB

For students who have dietary restrictions, limited on-campus dining options have proved a challenge. With the closure of the Four Winds Café, students who are vegan or who have food allergies or intolerances now have even fewer food options. Concerned students discussed their difficulties with accessibility to diet-compliant foods as well as their hopes for a better dining experience with Metz Culinary Management.

With just one dining hall, New College students are limited to the choices in Hamilton “Ham” Center and Boar’s Head Deli and C-Store. Moreover, as primarily a residential college, as stated on the New College website, “almost all students are required to live in the residence halls and participate in a meal plan.”

“Metz has fairly limited options as it is, let alone when you have dietary restrictions,” third-year Emma Knadle said in an email interview. Knadle is gluten and dairy free, as ascribed to her by her doctor. “My problem in particular is that I’m not just gluten free or just dairy free.

I am both and it is especially hard to find options that can accommodate for those needs simultaneously, most are just one or the other.”

While Metz does offer a salad bar and “Vegan Soup of the Day,” these mea-

sures may not adequately cater to the needs of students with dietary restrictions. Further, the lack of variety and concern regarding cross-contamination has caused frustration among students.

“Most of those options that are available tend to stay the same day to day, and sometimes from lunch to dinner,” Knadle said. “An example of this would be the salad bar. The situation is even more dire for those who have allergies, as Metz makes little to no effort to prevent cross-contamination, which is something they openly admit to.”

Cross-contamination can cause upset stomachs and allergic reactions.

Unfortunately, Knadle is not alone in her experience with finding unsavory food items in her meals. “I’ve consistently gotten vegan dishes at Ham Center and found meat in them, or cheese,” thesis student Becca Caccavo said in an email interview. Caccavo has been vegan for three years. “The cross-contamination there is real, especially in the Bravo! section, there’s very little care to prevent cross-contamination. Even the pizzas in Boar’s Head with vegan cheese are put on naan made with eggs.”

On the other hand, other students believe that the larger issue lies in the lack of nutritious options for those with

continued on page 7

CATALYST FCH

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Florida university system have grown the conference into something that Florida’s historian community can be proud of. Total participation has doubled since 2013, when New College first hosted the conference, according to Harvey.

“When New College hosted the first FCH event, I think we had 30 panels,” Harvey said. “This time we will have 53. This year we have 20 New College students participating, which is not only the most New College has ever sent, but more than any single institution has ever sent. Considering how small a school New College is, it’s really striking and a sign that we are getting the message out—not only among history students, but among many disciplines.”

Harvey sees the event as a place

E-contracts CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

out the contract and save it on your SES account. Getting some sort of notification that the deadline is coming up and something hasn’t been filled out would also be helpful.”

Winfrey also had thoughts on improvements for the system.

“I wish they would do some more improvements where you didn’t have to go back and look for the idiosyncrat-

MBC CONTINUED FROM PAGE 3 one of the people who supported Patton’s MBC project.

“He told Margaret Good about me, along with like 15 other people, especially because I was Wesley Beggs’ environmental coordinator,” Patton explained.

“Good contacted me about getting involved in this bill.”

When asked why she chose The Landings to announce this bill, Good explained that there were homeowner associations all over Florida that have begun to employ MBC to deal with invasive species and water management, including The Landings, thanks to Patton’s efforts.

“I think this is the perfect place to talk about our bill and how important it is to reduce the use of herbicides in water quality management,” Good said.

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2019 www.ncfcatalyst.com | @ncfcatalyst

where a student can be comfortable presenting their first conference paper.

Whereas the big professional meetings in history are more high-pressure, FCH is more laid-back.

Andrew Kotick (‘09), a Modern European History Ph.D. candidate at the City University of New York, told the Catalyst that FCH was filled with positive experiences all around. The first time Kotick presented a paper at FCH—hosted in Lake City—was in his third year.

He had worked on it for a class taught

by Goff.

“For my thesis year [in 2013, when New College hosted FCH] I presented a chapter of my thesis in a panel with some other graduate students from UCF,” Kotick said. He recalls that he reconnected with one of the students on that panel during their respective graduate education paths in New York and believes that speaks to the quality of the conference.

“I got the impression in 2013 that ic [Course Request Number] CRN,” Winfrey said, referring to the need for students to open the class schedule separately in order to fill out their e-contracts.

Scholten explained that CRNs are needed as independent identifiers for courses each time they are offered for the Banner system used to keep track of student records, so streamlining this may not be straightforward right away. “[The contract is] just like another thing I’m sending off into the ether, but I feel like it’s not that big of a deal compared to other large changes [at the college],” Winfrey said.

This project by Patton and Good is the type of policy that fulfills one of the goals laid out in the Green New Deal resolution by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Section 2, subsection K of the resolution states that a goal of the project is “restoring and protecting threatened, endangered and fragile ecosystems through locally appropriate and science-based projects that enhance biodiversity and support climate resiliency.”

In addition to meeting this goal, Good and Patton both believe that MBC could be used to both reduce costs in the long term and create jobs. This bill, if passed and carried out using a science-based framework, has an excellent chance of doing just that.

“This is certainly a relatively new industry,” Good said. “This is a natural process. Managing invasive species with native plants is what our ecosystems should be doing. There is an opportunity here to create jobs and create a cleaner, greener economy.”

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CONtinued PAGE 7

we were doing good rigorous preparation for academic study of history,” Kotick said. “The scholarly foundations of history are being laid well at New College.”

“By the time our students are in their third or fourth year, they are doing really impressive work,” Harvey said. “It’s a great opportunity to showcase their work and receive feedback from somebody who is not their professor.”

Harvey noted the conference is also an opportunity to learn about what other people are doing. Shane Donglasan (‘10), Social Sciences Area of Concentration (AOC), did not present at FCH, but remembers receiving a lot of inspiration from listening to presentations that paralleled her own thesis topic.

“It was a really serendipitous experience because the keynote speaker was Paul Kramer, someone whose book Blood of Government: Race, Empire, the United States & the Philippines was a central resource for my thesis,” Donglasan said.

“I remember thinking, ‘Wow, I get to see this fellow scholar that looks at the same topics that I am looking at too.’” She also attended a panel consisting of students from other institutions that focused on her thesis topic. She said attending FCH was a great opportunity for her.

Third-year Emily Lovett, with a History AOC, is presenting her paper at FCH this year on the perceptions of Matilda of Tuscany in 11th century chronicles.

“To actually be able to share papers we worked really hard on last semester (and continuing as we edit them down to presentation length) is really exciting,” Lovett said in an email interview.

“Presenting at a historical conference as an undergraduate student is not very common, and I’m just so grateful for the amazing history professors encouraging students to submit papers and participate in the conference.”

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 6

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 6

Lopez-Zafra first reached out to the Sarasota Mindfulness Institute last year to collaborate on an Independent Study Project (ISP) for the 2017-2018 school year. Three people from the Mindfulness Institute participated in the ISP; among those three was Lockie. Lockie made a good impression during the first mindfulness-based ISP, and the enrollment in the mindfulness ISP for the 2018-2019 school year increased from eight students to 36 people.

“The different people from the Mindfulness Institute were all good, but Lynne was very special,” Lopez-Zafra said. “Lynne has 60 years of practice and she really represents what I like about mindfulness, [which] is someone who is really grounded, who is very present and is very good at teaching. It’s not just about sitting and meditating; she can see what the students want and adapt to each one of them.”

Lockie, a clinical social worker and therapist, started the Minnesota Zen Meditation Center in the 1970s and was a founding board member of the Chattanooga Center for Mindful Living around 2012. As for leading classes in mindfulness at New College, Lockie is excited to be working with the school.

“It’s wonderful [teaching mindfulness at New College],” Lockie said after Wednesday’s class on Feb. 13. “I teach mostly retired people, so although it’s similar it’s also really quite different. The students are enthusiastic. It’s very joyful to me.”

With exercises in compassion, creativity and concentration and opportunities for students to disconnect from various expectations and distractions, the goals of the Mindfulness tutorial extend much further beyond the scope of a semester.

“This is something you can use all your life,” Lockie stated. “If you just learn to just stop, breathe and take a wide view, you don’t have to get caught up in the bad decisions you might make if you’re stressed. You can use mindfulness to be skillful, and skillful is whatever is helpful to you and other people.”

dietary restrictions.

“There are plenty of potentially vegan things to eat in Ham, like steamed rice and veggies, Oreos, Nutter Butters and Boar’s Head wraps,” first-year Beau Perkins said in an email interview. Perkins is vegan for ethical reasons. “Some would consider the actual spectrum of vegan food here limited, especially with the downfall of the Four Winds, but I see that issue as secondary.”

Perkins emphasizes the need to offer more nutritious vegan foods. Often, vegans do not acquire the necessary quantities of certain vitamins, such as B12. A deficiency in B12 can lead to serious health problems, such as anemia and blindness.

“Another such nutrient is complete protein,” Perkins added. “It is very possible to get complete proteins as a vegan, but the best source of this is rice and beans. Ham isn’t too keen on getting those in together.”

On Jan. 2, New College Student Alliance (NCSA) Chief of Staff Eleni Spanolios announced the final decision to close the Four Winds Café due to financial issues. This was a blow to students with dietary restrictions in particular, who depended on Four Winds as a dependable source of diet-compliant meals.

Fueled by her frustration with the limited options and abrupt Four Winds closure, Knadle reached out to General Manager of Metz Culinary Management Bill Moore to organize a meeting. In late January, Knadle reached out on the Forum to invite students to join her for the meeting with Moore. Unfortunately, Knadle describes this meeting as “rather disappointing,” and only one other student joined her for the discussion.

“If you’re a vegan living off of Ham food, you’re not nutritious. I could go on about vitamin A and vitamin D and calcium and calories,” Perkins said. “I would really like to see more care put into this.

More vegan nutritional calories, please.”

At the time of publication, Moore was unable to provide comment.

Mindfulness

Dining

A shortened version of this article was sent to print, the full version of this article can be found online at ncfcatalyst.com.

CATALYST

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2019 www.ncfcatalyst.com | @ncfcatalyst

BACK PAGE

PAGE 8

4th annual black history month open mic hosts hood profet

BY CASSIE MANZ “More poems?” Hood Profet, formally Mike Davis, asks the crowd gathered to see him perform. The crowd responds with murmurings of yes and snaps. He goes on.

Hood Profet, a spoken word artist from Los Angeles, performed at the Fourth Annual Black History Month Open Mic Night, on Friday, Feb. 8 in the Four Winds Cafe. Before the open mic began, he led a grounding exercise with the audience. In one exercise, Hood Profet instructed the crowd to think of something they wanted to bring into the space and manifest it between their palms. Then, together they called it into the space, starting with a whisper and slowing rising to a loud scream.

Students, members of staff and faculty and alumni also performed at the open mic. The performances varied from poetry and prose to music.

Before Hood Profet began his performance, he stated that art is a form of healing but that he didn’t feel like he needed to explain that at New College.

Barefoot on stage, he opened up the space for discussions and comments from members of the audience at any time during the performance.

“Whenever I do anything, I feel like it’s important to tap in with folks while you’re on stage,” he said. “Or else it becomes this repetitive, weird thing where it’s like you’re screaming at people and nothing really resonates.”

Hood Profet approaches poetry from an organizer’s standpoint. He feels as if his job is not only to talk about his pain, but to show others how he got through it in hopes that it might help them as well.

“So whatever I write about is like, yeah, this is fucked up, but here are the tools that I’ve used to navigate it,” he said.

“And if folks are going through the same thing, here are the tools that you could possibly take with you to help shape

space, which is also stemming from an organizing point of how do I give folks tools to exist and navigate.”

Connecting with people, helping them and offering spaces to heal is what drives his work. Although “poetry has always been there,” when he was growing up he used to tell people he wanted to be a psychoanalyst or a therapist.

“When I started teaching, I remember going into a classroom and seeing a boy that looked like me light up when I walked into a room and then I was like, ‘Oh yeah, this is what I do this for, for people that can resonate with whatever it is that I have to say, that I can offer tools to, to maneuver, that they might not have found somewhere else.’”

He also touched on what vulnerability looks like in his work, and the balance of making art for himself and for other people. It has been a journey of letting go: letting go of the fear of how people will consume his art, the fear of fucking up and the fear of people not understanding it.

“So it’s been a thing of me like, how do I just exist, you know, or how do I just actually use this as a thing for myself ?” he asked.

All of the work he does is rooted in healing. For Hood Profet, his overall goal is figuring out how to build sustainable things for folks to use.

“I feel like we always talk about fighting and dismantling and breaking and doing away with things and we don’t talk about like, ‘Okay, cool, so after the system’s dismantled, what are the systems that we’re now putting into place or what are the actual abilities that we have that offer resources to communities?’ he said.

“Even with open mic was the first time that I was like, ‘Okay, this is a sustainable space that people can come to to heal and check in and build relationships with folks and community and other things.

So I think using that same idea, but expanding on it significantly.”

all photos Cassie Manz/Catalyst

As he writes about pain and loss he has experienced and the tools he used to navigate it, he hopes “if folks are going through the same thing, here are the tools that you could possibly take with you to help shape space,” he said.

Thesis students and Black History Month committee members Mary Robertson and Iyanu Corniel perform on stage.

Thesis student and Black History Month committee member Andre Ayers recites several poems.

Students gathered outside the Four Winds Cafe patio for the Fourth Annual Black History Month Open Mic Night on Feb. 8.