The Reporter Spring 2019 Issue 5

THE

REPORTER SPRING 2019 ISSUE V

ADVENTURE THROUGH SPRING BREAK

A look into a few Hatters’ spring break trips across the globe

THE WILD RIDE OF B.o.B

Opinion on B.o.B’s performance at Stetson: How Hatter Productions fell short

TWO CHEERS FOR STEVE LEVITSKY Commentary on the state of democracy by an American Studies professor at Stetson

staff

Stetson University The Reporter

Design by Isabel Solorzano Cover photo by Kaitlin Kocsis

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Shaylen Vitale Editor-in-Chief

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Colette Cacciola Executive Editor

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Kaitlyn Kocsis Section Editor

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Hannah Zeller Section Editor Lana Kaczmarek Section Editor Hali Pollard Creative Director Anika Hand Copy Editor Cat Keve Photo Editor Izzy Solorzano Designer

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Ruby Rosenthal Writer, Designer

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Ihsaan Fanusie Writer

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Sam Hadelman Writer

Contributing Writers Ashton Craig, Catie Brumit, Joseph Dallas, Lauren Ludlam, Nicole Rosen, Rene Campbell

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From the Editor-in-Chief of Hatter Network

Hello again,

We’re in the final stretch. Hang in there! April is one of the craziest months of the school year.

Seniors, if you’re like me, then you may be freaking out (and excited for the next adventure! but also freaking out).

The Reporter staff has continue to live up to their previous work and It is an understatement to say I am proud of them. It has been an honor to be the EIC of this organization for this past year. Check out their latest work in these pages and see for yourself!

From the Executive Editor of The Reporter

Hey guys, Realizing that you cannot do everything is such a process. For weeks I’ve been going nonstop trying to live up to the standards I set for myself and the impossible schedule I have committed to.

Sometimes, when you have two hundred pages to read, a documentary to make, a poster to paint, four articles to write, and a life to live aside from all of that you have to take a moment to slow down, take stock, and to figure out what you cannot do.

I realized a little late in the game that I simply could not finish The Problem With Money, Part III, in time for this issue. I was paralyzed by the fear that it would not amount to the expectations set by part II, I had no clue where to even start, my timeline was a mess and so was I. Rest assured, it remains a work in progress and you will see it soon. Just not yet. I am taking a breath.

Sometimes we all need to give ourselves time. April is one of the busiest months of the academic year, and we are all feeling it, I am sure. There is not very much we can do but live to see the end of it all. In just one month, everything will be so incredibly different, and we will all have survived.

Until then, dear reader, allow yourself a minute to breathe, sit down for a moment or two, or three, and please enjoy the fifth issue of The Reporter.

Issue V | 2

Design by Isabel Solorzano

contents table of

The Reporter Stetson University

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ISSUE V

Dining in Deland: The Farmer’s Market Edition

Written by Kaitlyn Kocsis & Cat Keve

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The Wild Ride of B.o.B Written by Sam Hadelman

Horoscopes: Special Edition

Written by Catie Brumit

Humans of Stetson

Written by Rene Campbell

Housing Central: Not Centered on Your Satisfaction

Written by Joseph Dallas

Modern Love

Written by Ruby Rosenthal

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Adventure Through Spring Break

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A Goodbye To An Idol, Nipsey Hussle

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Written by Kaitlyn Kocsis, Hannah Zeller & Colette Cacciola

Written by Sam Hadelman

SGA Highlights

Written by Colette Cacciola

Two Cheers for Steve Levitsky Written by Dr. Paul Croce

PSAFE Reports

Collected by Hannah Zeller

Here to Serve Who?

Written by Colette Cacciola

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DINING IN DELAND Written by Kaitlin Kocsis Photography by Cat Keve Layout by Hali Pollard

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n this special edition of Dining in DeLand, Cat and Kaitlyn explored the Artisan Alley Farmer’s Market, held each Friday from 6 to 9pm, for the best late night eats. From scrumptious baked goods to food truck fantasies, the market has a ton to offer. This hand picked selection represents our picks for the must-try market munchies.

DREMA BAKES

One word: heaven. The Drema Bakes tent is constantly swarming with people during the market, and for good reason. From tarts to layer cakes, simple cookies to brioche breads, Drema’s has it all. The key lime pie tart, a seasonal selection for spring, is incredible in its balance of sweet, sour, and creamy. Our favorite choice by far was the raspberry crumble tart. The shortbread crust was a buttery treat filled with fresh raspberry preserves and crunchy granola. Reminiscent of Knott’s Berry Farm raspberry cookies, a crowd pleaser from childhood, this tart is simple in the best way. Beyond tarts, Drema Bakes also features delectable coconut macaroons, gourmet rice krispie treats with white chocolate, and savory French breads. Gluten free options have a dedicated section as well, filled with cookies and treats galore. Prices are reasonable: $4 for tarts, $5 for layer cakes, and $2 for cookies, all sized for about two servings (or one very hungry college student).

Plus, Drema is more than happy to give free samples. Like I said, this place is heaven.

Directly across from Drema’s, Centro Tea Co. features stunning and delicious organic teas. The disco lemonade is our top choice. Brewed from beautiful bright purple butterfly flowers, stepped for twelve hours, and mixed with limeade, this drink is Instagram worthy. Paired with their delicious Florida Orange Roll or sweet peach scone, this drink is the perfect companion for browsing the market.

MIDNIGHT SUN ICE CREAM SANDWICH CO.

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Don’t be surprised when people stare, the disco lemonade draws quite the crowd. Can’t make it to the market? Centro Tea Co. recently partnered with Trilogy Coffee Roasting Co., on Georgia Avenue so you can get your tea fix seven days a week. Do know, however, that disco lemonade is a market exclusive. For your Trilogy visit, try any of their herbal blends for an amazingly fresh and fruity sip.

Parked right next to Parvathy’s, in what may be the most delicious corner of DeLand, is Midnight Sun. Home to some seriously amazing ice cream sandwiches, Midnight Sun is an upgrade from the freezer section ice cream sandwich bars of youth. Always homemade with the freshest sourced ingredients, flavors change weekly. Our favorites included the oatmeal cookies with root beer ice cream. The root beer was created and brewed by Levi Stewart, owner and flavor connoisseur, who sourced the sassafras root from Tennessee.

The oatmeal cookies were scrumptious, crumbling into sweet morsels of happiness. We also loved the churro cake with vanilla bean ice cream. The churro cake was a thick slab of cinnamon sweetness. For the more adventurous eater, check out flavors like the ricotta, lavender, and candied kumquat ice cream with toasted almond shortbread or the saffron, pistachio, and rose ice cream on cardamom shortbread cookies, with saffron directly from India.

Check out the full list of crazy amazing past flavors on their website: midnightsunicecream.com. Something delicious and brand new is always a week away. Just ask co-owner Jocelyn at the counter.

A one woman show, the market Pierogi stand is seriously delicious. Grilled on a flat top, each pierogi shell is crisp and peppery. Our favorite fillings were the London Broil, a tender and flavorful pulled steak that melts in your mouth, and the Potato and Cheese, a pocket of ooey gooey goodness. At $2 per pierogi, these little rockstars are an awesome snack or an easy meal. Try them topped with onions and sour cream for an authentically Polish bite.

There is something about a pickle. Its vinegar brine with touches of spice and the audible crunch satisfy in a simple way. The spicy dill spears at this stand, right next to the Pierogies, are amazing. English and Kirby cucumbers marinate in a blend of allspice berry, dill seed, mustard seed, fresh thai basil leaf, and jerk spices. Usually, spice is not our thing. But we found ourselves chatting to fellow market foodies over a mason jar of these spicy dills. And, boy, were we surprised as the jar quickly disappeared. At $7 a jar, these pickles are worth every penny. If spice is your forte, check out the fresh from the backyard cayenne pepper for sale.

The sweet scent of caramel wafts between macrame crafts and oak birdhouses for sale on Georgia Avenue. It is the iconic smell of a craft fair, pulling you somehow into the heart of it all. Nestled under a simple white tent in the far left corner of the food area, the kettle corn stand is easy to miss visually. But, that smell- the sweet, salty, roasted, intoxicating smell- leads the way. A minimalist selection of kettle corn and caramel corn leaves something more creative to be desired. Yet, one could cite the motto “do what you know and do it well”. And, damn, they do kettle corn well. The crunch is fantastic, the balance of salt and sweet is masterful. Be warned that the stand is cash only, but free samples abound. Try both varieties. They are equally wondrous.

PIEROGIES

CENTRO TEA CO.

PICKLES AND MORE

KETTLE CORN

THE WILD RIDE OF B.O.B

By Sam Hadelman Photos by Cat Keve Layout by Ruby Rosenthal

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hen I heard that B.o.B was the artist for our Spring Concert, I was not surprised. He makes perfect sense for our environment. The choice of B.o.B also reinforced that this concert is not solely put on in the students’ best interests, but is for the school’s image and donors alike. This is why a flip-phone era artist, regardless of how spherical he thinks the Earth is, is perfectly in line with Stetson’s attitude toward this concert. Stetson wants to promote what they interpret as a safe, family-friendly show bereft of artists who can produce dangerous rhetoric and weed smoke. Choices like T-Pain and B.o.B would make sense to an administrator or an organization as something that can tap into the childhood memories of the students’ iPod Nanos, while not putting the reputation of the school at risk by bringing young, more relevant artists.

As the music industry conceives a more rowdy set of young and popular artists like Lil Pump and Kodak Black, Hatter Productions’ allergy to booking artists whose music has been popular with collegeaged students this half of the millennium is unsurprising. They have donors to please and an image to maintain, and booking artists who may bring potentially threatening lifestyles to this campus could reflect badly on them.

While speaking with members of Hatter Productions, I was informed that the issue with securing performers is not just the artists themselves, it is the venue in which we can hold them.

A significant portion of the budget for the spring artist goes into hiring outside companies for staging and lighting, as the Edmund’s Center is not “equipped” to hold the number of people that would be anticipated were Stetson to host a pertinent artist. This was part of the explanation I received concerning why we did not land the popular, nautically themed artist Lil Yachty. He was my initial guess for who Hatter Productions was going to invest most of their time and effort into securing. He has no face tattoos, is sober, has a deep and relevant discography, and his performance could have been a catalyst for Stetson to book acts in the future that meet the interests of the general student body. My guess that he would be booked only arose when Hatter Productions used their playlist-style marketing plan to get the word out about the artist. With a list of artists that included Lil Baby, Gunna, Sheck Wes, and Lil Yachty, they set the bar incredibly high.

When I found out we did not book Lil Yachty for the Spring Concert, I thought it was due to scheduling conflicts. This was disproved when I talked to a Hatter Productions team member, who stated that Lil Yachty was not booked due to the cost/benefit analysis of the show. It was decided that the cost to bring him here would not be worth it, and that booking smaller shows makes more sense for the student body. Furthermore, this person said that Hatter Productions felt as if bringing Yachty, or any artist of similar merit to Stetson would not be worth it financially, especially because there isn’t a sufficient venue to hold them.

“THE ISSUE WITH SECURING ARTISTS IS NOT During the Hatter Productions booking JUST THE ARTISTS meetings, I assume they highlight every artist they can possibly conceive that won’t bring THEMSELVES, IT objects that are normally banned on Stetson’s campus, a true “catch .22” in today’s popular IS THE VENUE IN music climate. We can see how these situations are potentially harmful for all parties involved, WHICH WE CAN specifically with incidents like the arrests of This explanation was really infuriating for me. the Migos for possession of marijuana and The issue with this statement, in my eyes, is that HOLD THEM.” firearms during their show at Georgia Southern University. However, Stetson’s policy is to withhold payment from the artist until after the show, which holds the standards set contractually over the artist’s head to comply with the contract they sign.

This fear of the relevant comes from a place of concern for Hatter Productions. While I understand this fully, I truly do not agree with their line of thinking. We do not have to succumb to artists with niche markets, like Hoodie Allen, or the artists who ruled the days of Bar Mitzvah parties for this fear of image upkeep. The potential risk of bringing someone who may be more controversial than other options is worth it in my eyes if it can directly benefit the student body as a whole. Bringing someone like B.o.B. is not really bringing a family-friendly act to Stetson either.

Though it is clear that I enjoyed his music from my name on Facebook, “Sam IGotTheMagicInMe Hadelman,” I was truly offput as a Jewish member of this campus by his statements promoting David Irving, a known Holocaust-denier. The fact that this aspect of his image was consciously ignored yet supposedly we cannot have more relevant acts on this campus due to “safety concerns” is an enormous double-standard. I am not really sure how his David Irving statements and his flat earth ideas did not disqualify him from coming to Stetson University.

it feels as though our interests as a student body are not being catered to, and the benefit to said student body is not the main concern. Why shouldn’t we expect Stetson to go the extra mile to book acts that fit our needs and wants? If cost is truly the issue, there are many acts that are more relevant and as cost efficient as Hoodie Allen, B.o.B, and T-Pain that simply can’t come here because of the reputation Stetson wishes to uphold. Wake Flocka Flame is a perfect example: his booking costs are cheap and he is known for performing at schools with the same capacity as Stetson. Though this would make sense, I truly don’t believe that Hatter Productions would ever consider bringing him here, based solely on his image.

With increasing numbers of non-family friendly artists on the radio, Hatter Productions is going to reach a crossroads where they must decide whether they should book someone who will make the student body happy or the donors happy, and this time they picked the latter.

At the end of the day, we, students, are supposed to be the target audience and recipients of the benefits of this show. If Stetson were truly worried about the cost of the show, they could have charged us money to see Lil Yachty, and I am fairly confident the student body would pay, especially since a small chunk of students eventually paid to see B.o.B. I believe that all concerts held by Stetson should be free to students, but that line was crossed by the marketing decisions of Hatter Productions.

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Let’s highlight the marketing strategy, or lack thereof, for this event.

In a microenvironment, such as Stetson University, marketing should be simple: flyer two weeks ahead, social media post, free event. It is the model that every organization uses. Instead, the marketing for this was so limited that most people I spoke to said that they had not even heard we had a Spring Concert ‘till the day of the show.

Hatter Productions’ marketing plan was to announce the show through social media, which did not actually happen until days after it was supposed to. They then used Instagram live to communicate that the artist was B.o.B., which is a social media element similar to Snapchat that goes away after 24 hours. Not exactly the best way to reach the student body. It was not widely communicated that we were even having a Spring Concert until Hatter Productions made posters announcing the $5 charge, to see an artist whose last Top 50 Billboard hit was in 2012.

The $5 charge for the Spring Concert was flat out a horrible idea.

The whole point of these concerts, as I see it, is a thank you to the student body from the school, a token of appreciation even. By charging us $5 to see this act, it felt as though this relationship had been severed. Being a member of the student body, I and many others were completely bewildered by the motivations behind this.

Was it for the $35 dollars made between the seven tickets sold before the show? To my understanding, the $5 charge was used as a way to track the attendance at the show, rather than for the revenue generated. Whoever thought of that idea was definitely not a student.

It resulted in nothing but confusion and frustration within the student body. The low level of enthusiasm among students prompted Hatter Productions to market the event in several last minute ways, including putting balloons filled with tickets around campus and giving away tickets by spinning a wheel.

Due to how few tickets were sold, Hatter Productions was forced to create a code that allowed students to get tickets for free the day of the concert, up until it began at 7 P.M. By this point, though, it was too late and the student body was not only frustrated, but unwilling to go the extra mile to buy tickets to a show that should have been free in the first place. Furthermore, after this grace period was over, students were again charged $5 to get in at the door, which

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was completely unfair and shows a true lack of communication in Hatter Productions’ marketing.

From our reporters on the ground, we tallied that around 50 students were charged to go to this show at the door. The revenue generated by this was not worth the distaste left by this sentiment in the attending students’ mouths.

This distaste does account for the attendance at the show. Though it was far more than I expected, if the marketing and planning had been more efficient, I truly think the numbers would have been exponentially more impressive. The show itself was actually quite lively and fun, with B.o.B. hopping into the crowd at points and being more interactive than T-Pain or Hoodie Allen. He actually has a sufficient discography to put on a show at a college, though most people did not understand this. I did find it interesting that B.o.B. was deemed the safe choice for Hatter Productions, especially when the highlight of the show was him inviting students to twerk on stage and hoisting one of them into the air. At a normal concert, this would be considered crowd interaction, and although this was not a breach of his contract I highly doubt this was the image Stetson was attempting to uphold. The concert was actually the best part of the whole process, from the crowd-surfing, to the frequent tossing of promotional t-shirts. It actually felt like a normal concert and not a quick money grab for an artist. B.o.B genuinely had fun with it, while keeping the student body engaged and entertained.

I do not want to come off as overtly critical here, I understand that Hatter Production is burdened with a borderline impossible job: keeping the interests of 18-21 year old college students and those of older, impressionable donors sufficiently satiated, while at the same time running a large- scale concert. My point is that I would appreciate if the scale for whose interests are the most important weighed in favor of the student body, and I truly do not think that the B.o.B concert communicated that. Like I said earlier, Hatter Productions has finally hit this crossroad where they can continue recruiting throwback, “safe” acts, and have this recurring disconnect with the student body, or they can take a chance and book someone who will actually please the students and maybe turn a couple of administrators’ heads. The choice is theirs.

Written by Catie Brumit Layout by Hali Pollard

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f you have been reading these horoscopes for some time, you might be wondering how I get to the conclusions I reach about your signs. If you’re a newcomer to all things astrology, you may have heard friends talk about a moon sign or a birth chart and wondered what that is. If you have ever asked “why am I like this,” here are the tools to find out why! In this special edition, I give a general overview of some basic astrology concepts.

Each of these elements can help you find out things about your sign on your own, as well as have a better understanding of why you are the way that you are! I use all of these elements to determine your horoscope for each issue.

THE WHEEL

The astrological wheel is the zodiac calendar. The first sign in the zodiac calendar is Aries, which falls from March 21st to April 20thon our calendar. The signs in order are Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Sagittarius, Scorpio, Capricorn, Aquarius, and finally Pisces. The planets move through the calendar as time passes and their location at the time of your birth is what gives you your traits, as reflected in your birth chart. Each sign occupies a one month period, starting on the 21st of one month and ending on the 20th of the next month.

BIRTH CHART

Your birth chart is an in-depth chart that shows where all of the planets and constellations were at the time of your birth. The chart includes the angles of the planets as well as where they are located on the astrological wheel. Having your birth chart is the key to fully understanding your individual horoscope.

SUN SIGN

The sign that you’re most likely to know, often called a zodiac sign. This sign provides a general overview of the traits that you possess. It represents where on the astrological wheel the sun was when you were born. This sign gives much of the insight I use to formulate horoscopes. This sign is divided by months of birth and can therefore provide generalized insights without knowing a person’s full birth chart.

MOON SIGN

This sign represents your internal being and is reflected in your thoughts and how you process emotion. This is where the moon was on the astrological wheel when you were born.

RISING SIGN OR ASCENDANT

This is the planet that was rising in the sky over the eastern horizon at the time of your birth. This sign is often described as the way you may be perceived by people who do not know you on a personal level. This is often how you outwardly portray yourself to strangers or acquaintances.

If you want to know what any of your signs are, or would like to see your specific birth chart, cafeastrology. com has a free birth chart generator. You need to know the time and location of your birth in order to get the most accurate results.

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HUMANS

of STETSON KATELYN MURPHY ‘22

HOW DID YOU BECOME INTERESTED IN ACTING?

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t was my freshman year of high school, every year my school would put on a production of ‘The Nutcracker.’ My best friend and I had never done theatre before, but she was like ‘you should do it with me.’

My mom had told me that since it was my freshman year of high school, I should hold off on extracurriculars and wait until the spring to do the musical. But then my friend committed suicide, and I was in the hospital for a long time, so I missed all of the shows in the spring, and I couldn’t get involved that year. The next year came around and I decided to give it a try.

For my first show, I was given a good part with a monologue in it and I remember the seniors were impressed that I knew my lines and everything. The director was like ‘fuck, I didn’t know you could do that,’ and from there I was like ‘well maybe there’s something I don’t suck at.’ Theatre has become something I’m good at and also is something that keeps me connected to my friend.

Want more Humans of Stetson? Scan the QR code to the right to read more student features on our website www. hatternetwork.com 11 | The Reporter

Interviews: Rene Campbell. Photos: Kevin Vega, Layout: Ruby Rosenthal

BRIEL HAY ‘19

WHAT IS SOMETHING YOU’RE STRUGGLING WITH RIGHT NOW?

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omething I’m struggling with right now is becoming myself more. I’ve always struggled with it because I’m gay, and I’ve struggled with being able to express myself.

I have a girlfriend now and it’s hard for me to hold her hand or do that affectionate stuff because I’m always scared of what other people think and if they’re judging me. It’s definitely gotten better since I’ve been at college, though.

In middle school, I was made fun of for wearing boys’ clothes and playing sports, but coming to college has helped because people are more accepting and open at Stetson. Even though I’ve come to terms with it, I’m still struggling. My girlfriend and I have been together for almost three years; in high school, it was secretive when I dated girls, but now it’s not so much. We don’t publicize it, which she understands since I’m the first girl she’s ever dated. She was a little hesitant about PDA and stuff, but she’s come to terms with it quicker than I have. It’s crazy because I came out to my parents when I was in ninth grade and she just now has. I think it’s because of the different dynamics. It was more of a struggle for me to come out in high school, rather than in college where it’s more accepted. My parents are okay with it though and they love my girlfriend.

They want me to be happy and to be me.

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READ MORE STORIES ON

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PHOTO BY NATALIE BERGERON

HOUSING CENTRAL: not centered on your satisfaction Student housing: a system all Stetson students must go through at some point. The student housing (or lack thereof) on our DeLand campus has become a pressing issue for all those involved in the university.

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major problem became apparent almost immediately at the beginning of the Fall 2018 semester--the lack of available male housing. Those in charge of student housing tried to remedy this in any way possible, by placing the homeless students anywhere they could. Soon, many halls had no common room, as they had been converted into “quad” rooms where up to four people could live. Fraternity row was soon filled with many God Damn Independents who were simply there because they had nowhere else to go. While this issue was eventually somewhat corrected, with many of the students finally finding a real room to call their own, the issue still persists and will persist into the next academic year - especially if, as the current plan states, we are to take on as many new students as there are graduating (the official goal for next year’s academic class is 1,086 students, according to Bob Huth).

This problem--a lack of male housing--has not and will not be remedied by Stetson’s current policy regarding both on- and off-campus housing. The last student residence hall was opened by Stetson in 2016, with the purchase and renovation of Stetson Palms and Stetson Oaks. These are apartment style dorms, located on the edge of campus, open mainly to upperclassmen. The last dorm available to freshmen opened in 2013, with the purchase and renovation of University Hall. With the university planning on admitting an even larger freshman class in the 2019-2020 school year, this would appear to create the same issue we had this academic year.

According to Larry Correll-Hughes, Executive Director of Residential Living and Learning, there are no plans to build a new residence hall to accommodate the larger number of students coming in.

“What we don’t want to do, as a university, is invest long-term in a building that we are not able to fully occupy,” said Correll-Hughes, “I would not rule out the possibility of us constructing a building, but there are no plans for a full residence hall this fall.”

This is not a new problem. Stetson has been having issues with lack of housing long before the issues that plagued us this year, even as early as Fall 2015.

Many students recall a lack of on-campus housing forcing students to live in a local Hampton Inn hotel. Stetson, since then, has continued to pre-book space in local hotels in the event that they are forced to place students there.

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“In 2015, 48 students moved into the Hampton Inn,” said CorrellHughes, “They did have a great time--maybe even a better time than some of the other [students], but that is not ideal. A hotel is a last resort.”

Though the room service and free housekeeping were great perks of living in the hotel, it should be noted that the majority of students staying in the Hampton Inn during the 2015-16 academic year did not return the following fall.

While the idea of placing students into hotels is not one that is unprecedented (a simple google search will reveal that even the best universities can and will place students into hotels if need be) it would, in my opinion, be a much better idea to have enough space for every student. If Stetson is so dedicated to having a stellar on-campus experience--as illustrated by the 3-year residency requirement--then why is there not enough on-campus housing for every student of Stetson University? The average cost of schooling at Stetson is $24k after financial aid; would you pay $24k for a sub-par experience?

The paradoxical plan of taking on more students and not creating living space for those students will drive Residential Living and Learning, if not the residents themselves, completely mad as they struggle to find space for an expanded population. This plan becomes even more nonsensical when looking at Stetson’s residency requirement. Not allowing students to move off-campus for three years is unfavorable for the university, due to their unwillingness to build more housing to accommodate the number of students they wish to accept. Many universities, both within the state of Florida and nationally, do not require their students to stay on-campus for as long and even encourage their students to move off-campus.

Embry-Riddle, a private university only about 20 miles away from Stetson has a two year live-on requirement. According to their Residential Life department, “Most students tend to move off campus for upperclassmen years.”

Off-campus living is even more difficult for Stetson students due to the availability (and price) of DeLand housing. DeLand, being a small, historic community, is fraught with people who reject new apartments, condos, and such. A constant fight rages between this anti-growth crowd and the Volusia County officials who must approve (or disapprove) of this new housing. This local government approval often causes lawsuits or a lack of development depending on which way they decide.

“Of course, none of that matters to the anti-growth crowd,” says the local Hometown News, “who only see hordes of Huns ready to take up space in those tens of thousands of houses.”

A lack of on-campus housing combined with a lack of off-campus housing for completely separate reasons would seem to create a catch-22 of living space for Stetson students.

The problems do not stop there, however. Accommodations, as they apply to the residence halls, have also become a major issue for Stetson.

“They end up accommodating, but it’s a constant fight,” says Jaycie Cohen, one of many students on campus using our accommodations program, “I’ve lived in [University Hall] for three years now, and while it accommodates for me, they try to kick me out of it every year.”

Cohen, a junior with three life-threatening illnesses and a service animal, needs the space in University Hall. While she has been in her room at University Hall for the past three years, upon trying to move to a different accommodated space this year, she was met with resistance.

Jane Peterson, another student at Stetson, has been consistently denied accommodations. A junior transfer student from Marietta College, her article entitled “Fighting for Accessible Housing as a Disabled College Student,” was featured on The Mighty (for future publication online, we will link through to this article!), a community for people who face health challenges has sparked major discussion among students at Stetson.

“So if you were to ask me what it’s like to live on an accessible campus, I’d have to tell you I’m not living on one,” the article says bluntly, “Rather I’m living on an ableist campus that sees me as a paycheck rather than a human being with a disability who has actual needs.”

Peterson met with Correll-Hughes following her article’s publication and wished to provide further comment about Stetson’s accommodations system.

“I feel as if Stetson tries, however, I don’t think they’re succeeding,” Peterson stated, “Having come from a campus where I was able to pick the exact dorm and room I wanted to live in, this seemed like a huge setback.”

She did state, however, that Correll-Hughes was very open to conversation on how to improve their process.

Correll-Hughes attempted to provide some insight into the major issues with housing as reported by students all over campus.

“Pure occupancy numbers [last fall], we opened at just over 100%,” said Correll-Hughes, “Fraternities and sororities...are required to maintain the occupancy of the building. They are supposed to fill every single bed. We should never have to assign someone to a fraternity or sorority house if they have upheld the agreement. They should be filling those beds.”

Blame would seem to shift onto the fraternities and sororities for the occupants of their houses being placed there, but with our everglitching system of Housing Central, and the issues involved with it, it is tough to tell who really is at fault.

“Every semester we take the census date numbers, the enrollment numbers, and the residency numbers, and see the percentage occupied of those,” stated Correll-Hughes “We

have been making changes based on these numbers - we changed the commuter radius from 30 to 45 miles, for example, and that brought our residency numbers down.”

Problems can even come when moving the overbooked students out of their temporary quad or triple rooms.

“We have to do this in a way that is fair and equitable,” Correll-Hughes said, “It’s not appropriate to take a 17 year old first year student living in a lounge and put them in a vacancy in Palms.”

Correll-Hughes stated that the solution to this issue, for this year, was to move returning students into these living spaces for them to move into upperclassmen dorms.

“I care very deeply about making sure students have appropriate accommodations,” said CorrellHughes on the subject of accommodations, “We first look at how we can meet a student’s documented need, and if we can meet their preferences. Things are often conflated by students about what is a documented need or a preference.”

He continued, “If we can accommodate their preferences, we will.”

A solution to Stetson’s ongoing problem seems simple: building more on-campus housing.

However, with the University not wishing to invest in a building that may not be fully occupied, there is always the question of how this can be fixed. Perhaps using the remaining space in a newly built building for another purpose (example dorms for touring high school students, living space for touring students, or even storage space) may allow the school to build these dorms while still having a use for them in low-occupancy years.

With housing selection coming to a close for the 2019-2020 year, and issues with the system already being reported by word of mouth around campus, only time will tell how Stetson’s Residential Life department will handle the task of placing our growing population into housing.

Writing by Joseph Dallas Layout by isabel Solorzano Photos by Cat Keve

I’m living on an ableist campus that sees me as a paycheck rather than a human being with a disability who has actual needs.

Issue V | 16

MODERN

an exploration of what dating and sex has become in the 21st Century world of seemingly endless options

By Ruby Rosenthal Layout by Ruby Rosenthal

I

can pinpoint the exact moment I became obsessed with the idea of a relationship.

I’m seven years old, sitting on a soft, tearing couch in my friend Christina’s house the day before Thanksgiving. Christina somehow already has the newest Disney Channel movie in her possession -- High School Musical -- and as she begins to set up the DVD player, I could not have been less prepared for the movie that shaped my own laundry list of expectations for what young love “should” be.

The biggest emotion I feel before watching the movie is a sense of rebellion; High School Musical wasn’t on my parents’ list of approved movies, which included, among others, The Sound of Music, Fiddler on the Roof (but only the first half ), and The Wizard of Oz. HSM was something different; it’s a movie that, unlike a great majority of movies that I’d already been exposed to in my young life, dealt primarily with the romance between two people, two people whose ages I was more or less nearing.

Sitting comfortably squished on the couch after Christina figured out the DVD player, I was completely hooked, definitely more enthralled than I should have been by Troy and Gabriella’s seemingly fateful relationship. As one may recall, our 21st century Romeo and Juliet meet serendipitously at a ski resort, end up going to the same high school, then, even though he’s a basketball player and she’s a mathlete, end up, in no time, becoming boyfriend and girlfriend. As a girl already as nerdy at seven as Gabriella appeared to be on screen at 16, I took copious notes. If she could find love, then so could I. The formula seemed simple enough. Step one was to find an available male, and at Palm Beach Gardens Elementary School, there were plenty. I set my sights on Daniel, a Russian blonde who always wore knock-off Converse and a shirt that said “Class Clown”, both of which at the time, I found very alluring. For our inaugural date, we went to a nearby park with our mothers watching close by, which, according to my diary, was “sooo embarrassing.” Because of this, spending time with

17 | The Reporter

Daniel soon began to be limited to the classroom, where my mother could not come in the way of our growing feelings for each other.

Our relationship began to falter when I realized that although I liked Daniel, he did have a fatal flaw: he was a Jehovah’s Witness. This meant that he couldn’t celebrate Valentine’s Day, the day I’d hoped he would confess his true love for me after I gave him a tri-colored highlighter as a token of my own love. I wasn’t prepared to leave Daniel, but like Gabriella, I had to “go my own way.”

As I made it through middle school and finally reached high school, I was in my own kind of HSM fantasy, attending a magnet arts program in my district. To my dismay, my first and only “boyfriend” and I did not meet on New Years’ Eve while singing karaoke, and the next guy I liked had an attribute that High School Musical leaves out about art school boys: they’re usually gay.

When high school ended, and I still had not been in a “real relationship”, I questioned my self-worth, as an 18-year-old usually does on the daily. Why was it that people who I deemed to be “less worthy” of a relationship were able to experience all that I hadn’t? Why wasn’t I good enough? What was wrong with me?

Answers to these questions do not lie in my own personal issues, but the generation in which I grew up in. I know myself now: I’m a complete romantic. I want a Troy Bolton to support my nerdy aspirations and get excited to talk to me on the phone. And I’ve had that, but for very short snippets of time. The reason as to why this is just as much society’s fault as it is mine: more than ever before, the hunt to find someone special has become a much wider playing field.

With this in mind, I read Modern Romance by Aziz Ansari. I expected to find it humorous, as a great majority of his work is, but instead, I found truth, wisdom, and a sense of sincerity about what my generation has begun to experience in the increasingly complicated world of sex and dating. Even my mother picked up my copy, read it cover to cover, and walked into my room the next morning and confirmed my

“[The Internet] doesn’t simply help us find the best thing out there; it has helped to produce the idea that there is a best thing and if we search hard enough, we can find it.”

- Aziz Ansari’s “Modern Romance”

suspicions, saying that I’d “probably never be in the relationship I want to be in.”

This is due to one of the major issues that Ansari found in his book: this somewhat new concept of extreme searching, constantly trying to find the “best” thing, has become hyperactive in the past few years. We have more options to see what is out there in terms of finding “our person” than ever before, which can be both a blessing and a curse.

When my grandparents met and fell in love in the 1950s, they felt as if they were right for each other, and because they really didn’t know where else to look, after a couple of months, that was good enough to get married, and stay married, for almost 60 years. Additionally, my grandma and grandpa lived very close together. According to research done by Ansari, proximity was a huge factor in terms of being with someone for an extended period of time. If you lived nearby to your secret crush, and quite literally was the “girl” or “guy next door”, chances were much higher that you’d be together for much longer than if he or she lived even a couple towns over.

Today, with platforms like Tinder, Christian Mingle, JDate, Grindr, and more, we have so many options. If one lives in Florida, you can find someone that is hypothetically perfect for you in Brazil, for example. Ansari believes this increased opportunity to find someone absolutely anywhere tips the scale as more negative than positive. In Modern Romance, he states, “...no matter how many options we seem to have on our screens, we should be careful not to lose track of the human beings behind them. We’re better off spending quality time getting to know actual people than spending hours with our devices, seeing who else is out there.”

how much time they will have in their “relationship,” and thus proceed accordingly. This gives way to the idea that there is this “best” person out there for us, and if we keep searching, we will eventually find him or her. Though in theory, it seems logical to want this “best” and “greatest” person, Ansari believes this mentality is toxic.

“That’s the thing about the Internet,” he wrote in Modern Romance, “It doesn’t simply help us find the best thing out there; it has helped to produce the idea that there is the best thing and, if we search hard enough, we can find it. And in turn, there are a whole bunch of inferior things that we’d be foolish to choose.”

So with all that, where do we as a society go from here? Belgian psychotherapist Esther Perel believes that we have incredibly high expectations for what a potential partner should be. In her book Mating in Captivity: Reconciling the Erotic and the Domestic, she states that today, it seems we have an increased need for someone that has “a sense of grounding, meaning, and continuity. At the same time, we expect our committed relationships to be romantic as well as emotionally and sexually fulfilling.”

And this is true: we want our significant other to be everything for us, and that can be exhausting to the point of breakage; it’s so much to ask from just one person. To realize that someone cannot be the absolute manic pixie dream we want them to be is the first step in recovering from this so-called syndrome of perfectionism. Maybe I won’t meet a Troy Bolton who checks off of all of my boxes, but will anyone? No one is going to have every quality we want them to, and that’s okay.

Whether I meet the love of my life singing karaoke or on JDate, I won’t write someone off so quickly because of just one quality.

The way that we have begun to view romance feels so very Black Mirror, a show which takes certain aspects of what we perceive as normal in the 21st century and blows it out of proportion with a sense of realism, showing that we can mess up our lives with one small hitch if we let ourselves. An episode of the show in one of its later seasons depicts a world in which those who go on dates are already aware of

Issue V | 18

ADventure spring break THROUGH

Photo by Kaitlyn Kocsis Layout by Isabel Solorzano

From Ohio all the way to London, our Hatters stayed active this spring break.

Here we closely follow a few Hatters’ excursions around the world!

19 | The Reporter

Issue V | 20

C a p r i, tI

m o a b, uT

a h

a l y

I am usually claustrophobic, but not today, because today it was more important not be claustrophobic and I know that’s not how that works but today I’m going to pretend it is. Because today I got on a decently sized ferry boat to an island known for its 30 million dollar mansions and its cropped pants to then get on a small speed boat into the bay near the entrance of a cave where I then was asked to jump onto a row boat off the edge of the speed boat and sit on the floor and lean my head back as far as I possibly could to avoid decapitation. The Blue Grotto, located on (or maybe a better word is in) the island of Capri, just off the coast of Sorrento, feels like it was lifted from the pages of a fairytale: sunlight slips up through the sea underneath the walls of the cave, so though the cavern is dark, the water seems like its glowing a neon turquoise. That, in and of itself, is incredible. It’s the kind of thing that makes you question whether or not it could possibly be real, because surely things like this only exist in the movies, or in theme parks where this sort of fantastical occurrence is completely manufactured. But the waters, though enchanting, aren’t what made me jump off the boat at this end of this experience, laughing, flabbergasted, barely able to contain the joy I felt about the fact that I had really just done that. I had jumped into a boat, been propelled through an opening no taller than two meters high, only to find myself, seemingly, on another planet, being driven around by a weathered Italian seaman, who, instead of watching where he was rowing, was communicating with his fellow captains by loudly singing Italian opera. It was in this moment, floating on top of this nature-made lava lamp, surrounding by the sounds of our guides’ discordant baritone echolocation techniques that the real majesty of this experience set in. The magic of Blue Grotto isn’t its glowing waters, in the feeling of pure manic energy it leaves you with. In that moment, I felt I could conquer just about anything.

Writing & Photos by Hannah Zeller

In that moment, I felt I could conquer just about anything.

Finding myself on a two foot wide cliff edge was, admittedly, unexpected. 200 feet below me were cacti in every shade of green, purple, and brown imaginable.

Each one covered in spikes that glistened in the light of the setting sun. The hike was one of the toughest I had ever done. My knees ached, my lungs begged for a deep breath. My shoes were caked in thick red dirt, my hands coated in dust and sand. In every direction, sandstone spires reached toward the sky. While gazing at them from the cliff edge, a Japanese tourist passed me. She pointed with her hiking stick and said “God fingers”.

The La Sal mountains on the horizon and the valley of slickrock I was desperate to finish climbing through both told a similar story. One of spirit, of heavenly intervention, an otherworldly quality that somehow kept my feet moving and my camera clicking. People from every crevice of the world come to Moab for this moment. To turn the corner off the cliff edge and see Delicate Arch rise in front of them. It is truly spiritual.

The arch, in all its glory, seems impossible. Standing along a curved cliff edge high above a rocky canyon, its orange rocks sit content among thousands of years of geological change. It is hard to deny the hand of God or some creator standing in its presence. I sat along the smooth slickrock bowl of the arch viewing area for an hour, watching the wave of photographers, hikers, and tourists turn that cliff edge corner and smile. Each smile was first of relief, upon faces covered with sand and exhaustion. But that view, that arch, awakens something. Every smile sticks, plastered on faces for hours. It is a place of peace. An indescribable sense of contentment after a long climb.

As the sun set, the camera shutters clicked. The La Sal mountains tucked themselves in behind a haze of purple gray clouds. And the arch stood, proud and unchanging, while the colors of night set in. Turning away from that place and back to the cliff edge felt wrong. Like a portal back to reality where things changed in every moment. Even in the disappointment of leaving that incredible place, I found myself halfway back to the car still smiling. God fingers rose all around me, cradling the stars. I felt incredibly small, insignificant in the face of so much beauty. And yet, I was a part of it. My muddy shoes and sunburnt face, the camera around my neck and the smile that persisted, I was a part of the indescribable spirit of Moab. And there are genuinely no words to say just how wondrous that moment felt.

Writing & Photos by Kaitlyn Kocsis

19 | The Reporter

cleveland,oh While I was in Ohio, I learned that more than snow crunches, it deflates. It sighed, flattened under the soles of my boots. We flew into Cleveland, and the sun reflected, blinding, off of the ground. The trees were like skeletons, the leaves they had left shivered in the early spring breeze without coats to warm them. I thought I knew what mud was when I sloshed through a foot of water out onto my lawn in 2004, but even the sodden ground under the uprooted tree in my front yard didn’t compare to the mud in Ohio. It swallowed my boots mercilessly as I navigated misleading carpets of rotting leaves. Ohio made me nostalgic for things I had never experienced. I imagined growing up in a house surrounded by oak trees, with white siding and a red door. Everything was new, and old, and gleaming.

Writing & Photos by Colette Cacciola

London, uk

I visited London with my Creative Writing class over Spring Break. I never felt more connected to a new city over such a short period of time and more connected with a group of classmates. London is much better older than I had expected; London was created as a trading port by the Romans around two thousand years ago. The old blends with the new effortlessly; Westminster Abbey, a medieval church, is relatively close by to modern office buildings. London is a city of beauty and charm with its cobblestone streets and brick buildings. I enjoyed some of the greatest sushi I had ever had in Soho and saw iconic pieces of art by Vincent Van Gogh in the National Gallery. I had the pleasure of seeing Shakespeare’s Richard II at the Globe as though it were performed in the time of Queen Elizabeth I. I highly recommended for anyone to go to London as soon as they can to enjoy any slice of their interests. London has it all.

Photos by Jacob Mauser & Writing by Ashton Craig

Issue V | 22

As of the SGA meeting on March 13, Danny is officially back after a three week absence working on [title of show]. Skeleton Danny, the plastic Halloween skeleton that was placed in his chair while he was gone, has stepped down from his post for the time being, though we hope this is not the last we’ve seen of him.

Also on March 13, Senator Noah Katz presented a bill to allocate funding ($9,750) toward the Internship Impact Fund, a donor funded initiative intended to allow students to cover the living and travel expenses associated with internships around the country and the world, which are often under- or unpaid. Because the program is donor funded, it has trouble keeping up with student needs, funding less than 40 percent of student requests.

Although the bill was approved 29 to 0, with one abstention, concerns were brought up by several senators about a mention within the bill of an annual donation to the fund, as it seems to be something that is not necessarily SGA’s responsibility beyond one-time assistance.

This was cleared up by the explanation that these subsequent donations are all subject to future votes rather than being set in stone. The senate moved on.

highlights

SGA

Another bill was presented by Title IX proposing a contribution by SGA to various Title IX initiatives. Reflective of the previous issue of escaping the SGA umbrella, this bill immediately came under fire, in part because no staff were sent to discuss the bill. It was instead being presented by PACT students who, given an email to reference in responding to questions, could not effectively answer a majority of questions posed. The bill was amended to clarify amounts of money and the people to which these amounts would be dispersed. By vote of voice, the ayes had it (the bill was approved).

However, following this, Senator Katz spoke up in opposition to the bill, stating that Stetson’s offices should be funded in full by Stetson itself—“SGA is not the administration’s change purse,” he said to the senate, “and this sets a terrible precedent.” Chaos ensued. A motion was made for the bill to be tabled until a Title IX representative was able to come and clarify further what the bill means and what its implications are, and this motion was approved by a clear majority.

On March 27, the bill was brought back to the table, this time with Colleen Vanderlip, a representative from the Title IX Office, there to further explain the bill. The office received $30,875 this year as an operational budget from the university, but budgeted $44,575 for events, which is far more than they had on hand; even after factoring in additional resources, the office had $9,700 in unmet need. Again, concerns were raised among senators about whether funding the Title IX Office’s budget was within their scope of responsibilities. It is believed by several that although funding Title IX events and initiatives is important, it is not their job. Instead, it is Stetson’s responsibility to fund their office, or the responsibility of the Title IX Office to budget within their means. Stetson does not plan to increase the Title IX budget at this point in time. The Title IX Office plans on this being a one-time situation, but had the intention of coming back to the SGA if funds were needed again in the future. Senator Kennedy Ryder raised an important question during the process, asking Ms. Vanderlip, “Do you believe your office is being adequately funded by the administration?”

Her response was, “Yes, I do believe the Title IX Office is being funded appropriately by the administration, it is just a matter of the fact that we do not have enough funds to bring in speakers when we are spending the larger portion of our budget on paying our investigators.

We currently have two Title IX investigators who are responsible for investigating and handling cases and a significant portion of our budget goes to that.”

When staff resources are factored in, including funding for coordinators and investigators, Stetson actually allocates about $250,000 toward the Title IX Office.

There remains immense concern that the SGA is being taken advantage of for funding that Stetson will not provide to their own offices. In addition, students outside of SGA have framed the issue as SGA not caring about sexual assault. The double-edged sword formed by this problematic reasoning leaves SGA at a loss either way--the question is not whether SGA cares about sexual assault victims; rather, it is whether the Title IX Office is budgeting appropriately for events they already planned to hold, and whether Stetson University as a whole values Title IX initiatives enough to adequately fund them.

The bill was passed 30 to 0, with three abstentions.

Written by Colette Cacciola Layout by Isabel Solorzano

Issue V | 24

STEVE LEVITSKY Written by Dr. Paul Croce Layout by Hali Pollard

O

Photo courtesy of College Dems

25 | The Reporter

n Tuesday, February 19, students, professors, and community citizens filled the better part of the Stetson Room to hear Steven Levitsky. He is Professor of Government at Harvard University and coauthor with department colleague Daniel Ziblatt of the best seller, How Democracies Die (2018). Levitsky’s presentation lived up the dramatic intensity of his book. He provided a keen analysis of our present political weirdness: in the words of Stephen Stills, “somethin’ happenin’ here; what it is ain’t exactly clear” (Buffalo Springfield, “For What It’s Worth,” 1967, https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=gp5JCrSXkJY). Levitsky provided a lot of clarity.

Levitsky is worried about the erosion of democracy. Having studied democracies around the world, in health and in decline, he sees erosion in American “democratic norms” (100). The central agent of democratic decline, he suggests, is the sharpening polarization of political views.

Levitsky is no alarmist. He is not saying that the nation is heading to tyranny right now. And that’s because we have lots of democratic “guardrails” (97) including the checks and balances in the Constitution and a tradition of restraint in implementing power. After elections, there is no rounding up or exiling of the losers; they call the winners and turn to the job of loyal opposition—and they gear up for the next election.

But Levitsky is still worried, because despite that democratic history, the recent polarization has grown so intense that each side thinks the other has ideas that are downright dangerous for the country. Party polarization has in some ways even surpassed racial animosity; the number of Americans disapproving of marriage across party lines is now more than triple those who disapprove of interracial marriage.

With those partisan fears, citizens are more likely to jump the guardrails in favor of securing the nation from what they are calling the disasters that the other party will bring. Levitsky is not shy about identifying Trump as the chief agent of the more aggressive style of politics to address these fears. But the professor sees the president as a symptom of structural changes.

Trump is speaking out about the fears that a lot of Americans are feeling; as Levitsky pointed out, “white male Christians used to be the faces of both parties and all elites; now they feel their country is being taken away” (February 19, 2019 presentation).

He is not saying Trump is a demagogue, angrily expressing his supporters’ fears while shutting down debate and veering toward more unchecked power; but he is saying that the president has those tendencies. That is Levitsky’s current fear for our democracy.

The Harvard political scientist taps some history for examples of how Americans have avoided these dangers for democracy in our past. Levitsky regards political parties as major democratic gatekeepers. For example, before the present primary system for choice of presidential candidates, party leaders chose candidates in what he calls “invisible primaries” (57). Reforms

in the 1970s gave average citizens more voice than those party leaders in their proverbial “smoke-filled rooms,” but that has also “made it easier for celebrities to achieve public support” (56) in defiance of establishment bigwigs. Levitsky praises the party leaders as gatekeepers of democratic values despite the democratic reforms that overturned the influence of those leaders.

Another example, when polarization was even worse than in our time: in the 1860s, the US went from polarized culture war over slavery and states’ rights to a shooting war. Levitsky explains how the nation healed from its wartime wounds. The regioncentered parties of Southern Democrats and Northern Republicans found peace with each other after the Civil War, but at the expense of systematic racial segregation with almost all African Americans barred from voting, as Republicans largely turned a blind eye to these injustices.

While Levitsky provides astute analysis about dangers to democracy and reasons to worry about the potential for demagogues to rise from within our democratic system, these

examples provide clues that there are downsides to the safeguards he proposes. Trust in party leaders? For all of their ability to gatekeep against extremists, they can also muffle the voice of the people. And sometimes calling out injustices gets people riled up enough to become polarized. When social problems run deep, how much can we trust our political leaders, who might just label calls for justice mere agitation. Did the (white) political party leaders after the Civil War overcome polarization?

Sure ‘nuf! And they also postponed movements for Civil Rights by a century or more.

In our time, Levitsky sees erosions of democracy through the workings of a president who seems willing to play fast and loose with democratic norms. For example, Trump openly mocks establishment leaders of both parties; he calls criticism of his policies “fake news”; and he has supported attempts to “make it harder for minority citizens to vote” (183). These are dangers we need to notice and call out. But there are still more real dangers that Trump, along with liberal populists such as Bernie Sanders, are themselves pointing out.

Concentrations of wealth and of power have been on the

Issue V | 26

increase in the last few decades. Conservatives tend to worry about concentrations of public power, especially with government regulations, and liberals tend to worry about concentrations of private wealth, especially in corporations. Both agendas leave the average citizen squeezed. And despite the worries of the current occupant of the White House and fellow Republicans about government regulations, the growing wealth of the most wealthy is the most dramatic economic change of recent history. Fortune magazine recently reported that one out of ten Americans own more than twice as much as all the rest of their fellow citizens combined; the 400 richest Americans alone have witnessed a tripling of their wealth in the last three decades, while the poorest have seen their meager wealth drop by almost two thirds. And these trends are growing.

The last major American populist surge in the Gilded Age of the late nineteenth century had its share of demagogues, but the Populist Movement was also responding to genuine changes in American society with the wealthy adjusting economic and political rules to enable them to gain still more power. Railroad corporations provided rebates to favor certain companies, and the wealthy made large candidate campaign contributions to encourage favorable political treatment. An American citizen of the time, Mark Twain, said that history may not repeat itself, “but it does rhyme.” Are we now experiencing rhyming times with the Gilded Age? And while Levitsky is rightly worried about the Trump Administration taking steps to erode democracy by “rewriting rules to tilt the playing field against opponents,” (177) a rhyming couplet with that worry is that the president gains support at least in part because his supporters feel that the rich and powerful are rewriting rules against them.

So two cheers for Levitsky for alerting us to the dangers that our democracy faces. The intensity of polarization is alarming; the distrust on each side is none too healthy, and many leaders have been manipulating their power.

However, these are symptoms of a deeper problem, in the loss of average citizens’ voices in society and in government. We can and should listen to Levisky’s warnings about erosions in the structures of democracy, but until we address why people are feeling powerless enough even to look for protections by turning to the kinds of undemocratic policies that erode democracy, it will be like mowing weeds without getting at the roots of the democratic challenge.

27 | The Reporter

If all this seems like talk about stuff that ain’t your concern, consider this, dear students: in politics, business, and beyond, there are people hard at work trying to gain ground in the real estate of your minds for you to think with their interests, not yours. College is a great setting for building up your democratic power.

The next time that annoying professor asks you to think for yourself, rather than just saying, Oh bother—not again…. Try this one on: Ok, I’ll do it, and I’ll save democracy. Each student thinking for her- or himself, and each step of personal empowerment means putting on some intellectual self-defense when those leaders come a-callin’ wanting you to think their way. That will keep democracy from eroding even before the guardrails are needed to protect against any unscrupulous politician.

Paul Croce teaches courses on values topics that manners experts tell you not to bring up at the dinner table, and he has written Young William James Thinking and essays for Huffington Post, the Washington Post, and his own Public Classroom; and he spends still more time wondering how young adults think—if you have clues, please contact him at pcroce@stetson.edu.

PSAFE REPORTS 3/2 3/8

Report of a traďŹƒc accident in the Sage Hall parking lot

3/10

Conduct Investigation at the Stetson Palms Apartments

3/10

Report of a suspicious incident at Nemec Hall

3/12

Report of a boating accident at the Aquatic Center

3/15

Report of an intoxicated person at the Phi Sigma Kappa house

3/19

Report of narcotics possession at the Rinker Parking

3/22

Lot Animal complaint made at the Welcome Center

3/24

Report of a suspicious incident at the Stetson Palms Apartments

Report of grand theft (over $300) at Gordis Hall

Photo: Natalie Bergeron Reports: Hannah Zeller Layout: Ruby Rosenthal

Issue V | 28

THE MARATHON CONTINUES:

A GOODBYE TO AN IDOL, NIPSEY HUSSLE Written by Sam Hadelman Layout by Hali Pollard Album cover credit to The Marathon Clothing

THIS IS A DEDICATION.

This past Sunday night, I read a headline that made my heart drop instantly, “Nipsey Hussle was just shot in L.A.” Though I am a seasoned fan of hip hop at this point in my life, which includes losing rappers to the very conditions they are attempting to escape, this sentiment truly turned my stomach inside out. Losing Nipsey was not just as simple as being robbed of a rapper, because to compartmentalize his existence to simply his work on the mic would be completely ignoring true essence of legacy: his community.

I found Nipsey Hussle back in 2013, on the cornerstone of my early music fandom which I have detailed in other reviews, Datpiff. His name particularly caught my attention

It was until Nipsey Hussle released his Grammy nominated magnum opus, Victory Lap, that his lasting impact would strike my psyche. This was not a mere collection of songs to me; rather, it was a blueprint for identifying self-worth and conquering the set of hardships which we face everyday. His raps played like sermons to my impressionable ears; I obsessively analyzed and internalized his rhetoric. I crossed paths with this record at a time in my life where I fell astray from my destined path. For the first time in my life, I was unable to write the next chapter of my story and felt like my screams were being drowned out by the weight of anxiety.

My highest aspiration had always been to be involved in the music world in some capacity, whether it be in the boardroom or the newsroom, I wanted to be intricately involved in the culture to which had given so much to me. The most

LOSING NIPSEY WAS NOT JUST AS SIMPLE AS BEING ROBBED OF A RAPPER, BECAUSE TO COMPARTMENTALIZE HIS EXISTENCE TO SIMPLY HIS WORK ON THE MIC WOULD BE COMPLETELY IGNORING TRUE ESSENCE OF LEGACY: HIS COMMUNITY. because of his individualistic and unique marketing strategy for his mixtape, Crenshaw. Though the mixtape was available for free on streaming sites, Nipsey sold physical copies of the record for $100 a piece, while only making 1,000 copies.

This perplexed me at the time, I could not seem to grasp why someone would sell a product at such a high price point for something one could acquire for free online. This would not be the only time he would use this pricing model for a mixtape. In 2014 he sold physical copies of his project Mailbox Money, for $1,000 while only making 100 copies.

It would not be until much later in my life that this entrepreneurial spirit would truly change the way I look at the wealth within the hip-hop world and marginalized communities alike.

29 | The Reporter

significant drawback to my career desire was the idea of being part of the community of influencers within this culture that are running artists dry. I could not consciously be a part of the moving force of people in the music industry actively acting on self-interest, rather than rewarding the work of artists. I never want to colonize the culture that my existence has comprised of. It was not until this record and looking into Nipsey’s music industry business model that I was awoken to the method of acquiring rightful reparations that he had operated under for his whole life. By owning all his own masters, which are the ownership rights to one’s music, Nipsey Hussle had effectively broken the chains that the music industry had put on an entire generation of hiphop stars, from Lil Wayne to Lil Yachty.

Nipsey opened my eyes to the fact that I could operate within this culture without running it dry, that there was a whole movement bringing rappers to the table from which the industry had been eating from for years. These ideas led me to my current path. I want to give back to this community while simultaneously communicating the rhetoric of the marginalized communities which produce the content that has had such a lasting effect on me. The lyric that sparked this inspiration came on the title track of Nipsey’s debut record, “find your purpose or you’re wasting air.” That simple bar had a lifelong ripple on my path, making me realize that I can either attempt to figure out my true purpose or lose the opportunity to actualize the reason I was put on this Earth. There is nothing more depressing to me than wasted potential, but what people don’t tell you is that the biggest detractor from what is possible is you. This record taught me that to make anyone else believe in my passion and ambitions, I first had to believe in my own abilities. I cannot be scared of success. Instead, I have to attempt to reach the highest level attainable and make my perceived pitfalls dissipate.

Though Nipsey Hussle initially became my idol though his music, his work offscreen is what truly inspired me and an entire generation alike. Through his community outreach programs, he was able to create a culture of cultivation in marginalized areas, rather than letting them succumb to the conditions set before them. In almost every facet, Nipsey Hussle’s goal was to teach the youth to value their worth, and to own their existence. He bought back his neighborhood, including the block of stores within which he operated his store, The Marathon Store, and kept his community at arms reach. There has been a swell of stories about how personable Nipsey Hussle was in the area of Crenshaw and Slauson Avenue, and it is obvious that he touched the lives of an entire group of people. From promoting STEM programs to the youth of Crenshaw, to frequently employing released convicts, to his frequent acts of kindness in his section,

Nipsey Hussle became an icon not only locally but globally. This was one of the myriad reasons that there was such an anguish over his existence being ripped from us with his passing. The concrete that birthed the movement to which he dedicated his life would also serve as the place where he would take his last breath, only adding to the gaping hole he left in our lives. From sports to music, even reaching the Chief of the LAPD, his death was not only wholly detrimental, but serves as a reminder that an entire movement cannot rest solely upon the shoulders of one individual, no matter how strong their conviction. It is up to those with the ability to continue his mission to further his work, to continue to communicate that self ownership, determination, and perseverance are the oil in the machine of true success when the world is betting against you.

I have spent the last few days attempting to communicate his message to anyone who would listen. I sent over videos of his interviews to my mother to show to her high school classes because I truly feel as though this is the most I can do at a micro level. I hope to continue spreading his ideals and work throughout my whole life, and I believe this is what those who followed him should also do. I have not really had time to process that this is the second musical idol of mine to die unexpectedly in six months, I have channeled my sorrow and anguish into resolve. It now serves as the fuel that pushes me harder toward my goals. Even though his death will forever weigh on my conscience, and my dream of sitting down and explaining to him how much his work meant to me and my path cannot come to fruition, I hope to inspire others to have the same epiphany he inspired within me.

All I can do is continue the vision he inspired me to contemplate and communicate amongst my peers. His victory lap now lies within his followers and fans, not to let his legacy die with him, but to instead serve as a catalyst for the change toward which he worked for his entire life to spark.

REST IN POWER, NIPSEY HUSSLE. Issue V | 30

Photo by Natalie Bergerson Writing by Colette Cacciola Layout by Isabel Solorzano

WHO? here to serve

An exploration of how SGA’s administration has evolved between 2012 and 2019.

A

t one point, I had aspirations to be a part of the Student Government Association here on campus. Then I read Hatter Network’s bylaws and found that I am not allowed to be a senator. This tragedy aside, I found another way to be involved--thus, I have been spending most of my Wednesday evenings this academic year at SGA meetings, writing up highlights for each issue of The Reporter. At other colleges and universities, the Student Government Association plays a large role in the goings on of university life, but after eight months of SGA meetings, until recently I couldn’t say that I had seen anything major being done.

If you take a look at my compiled SGA Highlights, you will know that several weeks ago, SGA was voting to approve new senators, and I’ll be honest, the voting seemed lazy. Few people actually knew the 31 | The Reporter

candidates who came forward to present their ideas, even fewer asked many questions of the applicants, despite being given ample time to do so. The period of deliberation was short and quiet, then by majority the senate elects were all approved to be in SGA. This is troubling. It felt as if the goal were quantity over quality. If you do not know someone, and the questions asked are inadequate to form a more complete picture of them, you should abstain from voting for or against them. Instead, elects who may not have the work ethic, the communication and collaborative skills, or the drive to be effective SGA senators seem to be indiscriminately placed onto what is supposed to be a well-respected, powerful conduit through which the voice of the student body may be heard.

Curious to know what the senators thought of their own legislative process and organization, I reached out to several for statements.

The current senators I spoke to expressed that they prefer to remain anonymous, but the information they provided points to an immense issue with the current state of our Student Government Association.

Based on my own observation that SGA’s meetings seemed ineffective at best, I asked one senator what they believe the underlying cause of this is.

“SGA has a major problem with complacency and not properly fulfilling their responsibilities to their constituents. There are only a handful of senators who take their responsibility seriously, and they are carrying the weight of the entire legislative body,” they told me in response.

The thoughts of others seemed to align with this general idea--a majority of senators seemed disinterested and only vaguely involved in the proceedings of each Wednesday meeting, and many made motions that were little more than jokes.

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No real change is being seen on campus, or if there is, we definitely don’t know about it. ...I don’t know what to say when I’m asked why I’m in SGA, because honestly I don’t know,”

Faculty have remarked to me in the past that they have never been at a school where so few students engage in activism, and it seems that this problem is further manifesting itself in the form of reduced membership in clubs and organizations, lower levels of attendance in class, lowered involvement both academically and otherwise, and in the apathy of students who do join significant extracurricular bodies on campus.

“Student apathy is at an all time high in student organizations,” another senator said during our meeting, adding that over 50 percent of the current makeup of SGA is senators in their first term. Retention levels are alarmingly low, in their opinion, and seats still remain unfilled.

“Senate is supposed to be, you know, the best and the brightest... but a majority of the senate doesn’t give a shit, doesn’t know, and doesn’t care.”

In browsing the archives, it becomes apparent that we once had an effective, outspoken SGA--so what exactly happened? I was put in touch with a former high level SGA executive member to further discuss previous SGA administrations, and we spoke about their opinions regarding the shift.

In 2013, Dudley Joseph, known better as DJ, won the SGA presidency and proceeded to become what some I spoke to called one of the laziest and more incompetent SGA presidents in recent Stetson history.

During DJ’s time as president, the former executive member informed me, the decision was made by “Lua Hancock (under the advice of Tanner Vickers)” to use the excess SAFAC funds from that academic year to fund The Rock. A former member of The Reporter staff informed me that DJ encountered academic issues during his tenure and they do not believe he graduated from Stetson University. This was corroborated by the former executive member of SGA. DJ was succeeded by Aaron Bibbee, who stood up to the administration against their decision to construct the Rock, but often butted heads with the them over what exactly the purpose was that SGA was meant to serve. When contacted, Bibbee confirmed that there was “definitely a sense that the administration thought [he] should be more of a liaison,” and that “there was a fundamental difference of opinion in the amount of direct and unfettered control [SGA was] allowed to have over certain things.” Aaron’s term was especially unique in that there was a large amount of unrest within the student body over “large, visible, and

unpopular changes” made by the administration, making it “easy for SGA to channel...energy into legislation,” but there were still many challenges to face due to the legacy left by the previous administration. “[After DJ] when Bibbee was elected the next year, the admin didn’t respect or treat us seriously. [Dr. Libby] didn’t have meetings regularly scheduled. It was an uphill battle… At the same time, the senate was in disarray because Dudley [Joseph] and Alyssa [Collins] didn’t have the status to be able to actually bring passed legislation to the admins to be implemented and everyone knew it, so people just stopped...debating,” confirmed the former executive member. “I [feel] like we were never taken seriously by the administration, so there was only so much we could do.”

After Bibbee began bridging the gap that had been formed between the SGA, the administration, and the student body, it was the job of the following administrations to continue his work. And so they did.

Jeffrey Hahn, Alyssa Morley, and Daniel Mejia have since held the position of SGA president, and although the work has continued, in the perception of current senators it simply has not happened quickly enough. In light of this realization, I decided to speak to several current members of the SGA Executive Board. For this piece, I spoke to Patrick Sheridan, President pro tempore, Lauren Spratt, Vice President, and Joseph Francis, Chair of Academic Affairs.

Patrick Sheridan tends to stay relatively middle-of-the-road with his beliefs about Student Government’s purpose. “[The SGA is] representative of the student body, but is representative in terms of being a liaison, I think. The purpose of SGA is to effect change within the campus community, which, I would say, we’re probably doing a better job of this year than last year. I would say that...Jeffrey had a good handle on that...Alyssa leaned more toward the representation side, and it led her to stray more into issues that SGA doesn’t need to be dealing with.”

When asked what he meant by this, Patrick made note of several things SGA has been handling in the past couple of years that are not under their umbrella of responsibility, including DACA and Title IX. Lauren Spratt acknowledged that there are definitely still issues that will have to be worked on as time continues to pass. In addressing the gap, she spoke on the work being done to continue building the bridge Bibbee set the foundations for, saying, “We’ve been successful in getting these ties back, but we don’t have as much of a connection with the student body as I would like. ...Within the administration, we have definitely worked our way toward having more of a partnership. ...we have more student representation in different university committees.”

I asked her about an issue facing many previous SGA administrations, which is what exactly the purpose is that the SGA is meant to serve--what is their role?

“We are still in a process of self-discovery. Now that we have strengthened our relationships with the administration and with academic departments, it is time to turn our focus toward how we market ourselves to the student body. ...The next stage is trying to work on the student connection side. I think what the next step will be is...rather than telling students they can come to us, we will go to them.”

These points were reiterated by both Patrick and Joe Francis.

When I addressed with Patrick what I had spoken about with other senators, he responded, “We’ve had quite a few people drop out over the year, but... based on my three years...it’s much like any other organization. You know that saying, twenty percent of the people do eighty percent of the work? I would almost say that this year we definitely haven’t been passing as much legislation, but we’ve also been doing lots of smaller things. We’ve been interacting more with the administration, and especially with the faculty.”

Issue V | 32

Joe also touched on other issues brought up by others, namely the idea that the SGA is too large to hold senators accountable for their responsibilities, “Execs have been considering a reduction in size,” he told me, adding that “having fewer people makes each position more important, which will attract more driven people, make things more competitive. ...This tightens the framework of SGA.” In response to one senator’s comment that “the SGA Executive Board does not hold senators accountable for their actions,” Joe countered, “Accountability is one of our strongest suits right now. ...We have a pretty solid system. We have been very aware of when people don’t do stuff.”

Current executive board members of SGA clearly have high hopes for SGA’s future, and across the board agreed that although the work is difficult and tedious, progress is certainly being made.

It is difficult, especially on a micro level, to recognize just how much SGA has transformed since 2012. When executive and judicial power were sacrificed by a troubled administration in 2013, the Stetson Student Government Association effectively tasked its future iterations with several years of work in reconstructing the bonds that had been severed, and it is necessary to understand this context to entirely grasp where SGA is now. It is frustrating to feel stuck, to feel unproductive, and to see those around you lacking investment in their positions, but even now SGA is still within the process of “self discovery,” as Lauren put it. Retention is low and turnover high, but Joe Francis put it well when he thoughtfully said, “Within that turnover we have this unique opportunity…[to find] students who really care. I think we really need to pronounce the fact that many are still here

“

because they do their jobs.”

As our conversation came to a close, Patrick remarked that there is “a very core committed group of younger people willing to take on larger complex issues,” but admitted that the large issues they are taking on, fittingly, have much longer timelines within which they are acting. “These things take a while to come to fruition.” Lauren agreed, referring to it as the difference between a sprint and a cross-country run. “You have to keep working at it even if it feels like you aren’t getting anywhere.”

Joe focused on the smaller steps in our discussion, telling me, “I see a lot of room for checkpoints...greater student involvement, more people coming, more people giving their opinions, from SGA, more personal conviction to do stuff. ...Just, more. More action, more desire to grow SGA. Once that’s achieved, you can start to look at the more complex issues. ...I think the [future]’s kind of bright.”

Addressing these with Lauren, she agreed. “I feel like I’ve been able to see the changes that are happening in student government, although I would not say that we’re at the endpoint. We have made progress, which is what matters to me.”

“And what is the endpoint?” I asked her.

“Just doing more. Closing more gaps between different student groups, forming more connections with administration, having more direct sense of purpose within SGA as senators, and...always striving to do and be more.”

It is the least impactful, least effective, and least memorable thing I have been involved in on campus.

Photo by Kevin Vega

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