UP20_05

UNIVERSITY PRESS VOL.20 | #5 | 1.15.2019

A presidential election was held twice. Dozens of candidates were disqualified, then reinstated. An impeachment failed. Here’s a recap on Student Government’s past year and how these controversies could affect the next presidential race.

NOAH GOLDBERG LUKE TURNER SAYD HUSSAIN FIRST ISSUE IS FREE; EACH ADDITIONAL COPY IS 50 CENTS AND AVAILABLE IN THE UP NEWSROOM

TABLE OF CONTENTS ON THE COVER

Boca campus Gov. Luke Turner faces off against former SG Associate Justice Sayd Hussain, who wrote the Articles of Impeachment against Turner.

Political cartoon by Dan Bartholomew

PHOTOS FROM LEFT TO RIGHT

Luke Turner at State of the Campus governor address by Emma Saunders Behind the scenes with Sophie Siegel by Melanie Witherup Solar Reef by Violet Castano Illustration by Candice Puentes Toledo by Melanie Witherup

Editor’s Letter 4

HERE’S TO ISSUE ONE And more to come.

By Sophie Siegel

Sports 6

IT’S TIME TO EXPAND THE COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF Winning 25 games straight wasn’t enough to vault UCF into the 2019 College Football Playoff. Here’s why FAU fans should take offense to their in-state rivals’ omission and clamor for change to the current four-team format.

By Wajih AlBaroudi

Features 8

TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE FAU students are losing time and money to potential pyramid schemes cloaked as legitimate businesses.

By Kristen Grau

10

FAU’S PROTECTION OF CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS IMPROVES The Foundation of Individual Rights in Education, or FIRE, has FAU listed as mediocre — but the number of policies that make it so have shrunk.

By Hope Dean

WHAT DO THE PAST EVENTS OF SG MEAN FOR THE FUTURE? This semester will see another presidential race, and what’s happened in the last year will impact who’s running.

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14

By Cameren Boatner

By Sophie Siegel

LOCALS ONLY Solar Reef and Toledo are two FAU-rooted bands rising in the ranks of entertainment.

By Sophie Siegel & Kristen Grau

2 UNIVERSITY PRESS 1.15.2019

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MAKING ENDS MEET: BEING A SUGAR BABY AT FAU College life may not be all that sweet — some students need alternative ways to make money during school.

Opinion 22

FAU SHOULD STOP FORCING STUDENT ORGANIZATIONS TO ATTEND THEIR ‘LEADERSHIP’ CONFERENCES From political bias to the endorsement of false facts, FAU’s Lead and Serve conferences are not about leadership, nor do they promote diversity.

By Ross Mellman

VOL.20 | #5 | 1.15.2019

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UP STAFF EDITOR IN CHIEF Sophie

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MANAGING EDITOR Ross

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SENIOR DESIGNER Ivan

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CREATIVE DIRECTOR Melanie NEWS EDITOR Hope

Witherup

Dean

FEATURES EDITOR Kristen SPORTS EDITOR Wajih

Grau

AlBaroudi

PHOTO EDITORS Violet

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Santaniello Ilene Prusher Michael Koretzky 1.15.2019 UNIVERSITY PRESS 3

EDITOR’S LETTER

HERE’S TO ISSUE ONE And more to come.

SOPHIE SIEGEL | EDITOR IN CHIEF

O

NE YEAR AGO, I was a student activist. Now, I am the editor-in-chief of the University Press.

Every editor comes in with a vision, which is why the UP looks different this semester. FAU is a quirky place — and the UP is no exception to that.

The UP is unique because our members aren’t only comprised of writers, nor are we all journalism majors.

Managing Editor Ross Mellman and I study political science, for example. But we found ourselves in this newsroom.

The UP has its place for all kinds of people, and there is a job open for everyone at the UP, whether you want to take photos of a sports game or write about current events.

I promise you, joining a student newsroom changes your life. I encourage you to come and see what happens here.

I’m not sure what this semester will entail, but I am excited for a new look for the UP’s print editions and website.

Meetings occur every Friday at 2 p.m. in the newsroom, on the second floor of the Student Union. Comments?

Questions? Concerns? Email us at universitypress@ gmail.com.

SOPHIE SIEGEL. PHOTO SERIES BY MELANIE WITHERUP

4 UNIVERSITY PRESS 1.15.2019

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SPORTS

FAU JUNIOR RUNNING BACK DEVIN SINGLETARY (5) ATTEMPTS TO RUN ON THE LEFT SIDE BEFORE GETTING TACKLED BY A UCF DEFENSIVE PLAYER. PHOTO BY PIERCE HERRMANN

Winning 25 games straight wasn’t enough to vault UCF into the 2019 College Football Playoff. Here’s why FAU fans should take offense to their in-state rivals’ omission and clamor for change to the current four-team format.

WAJIH ALBAROUDI | SPORTS EDITOR

6 UNIVERSITY PRESS 1.15.2019

C

OLLEGE FOOTBALL has been played for nearly 150 years, yet one question remains: what makes a champion?

The College Football Playoff selection committee thinks it has the answer.

It’s not having a rocket-armed quarterback or a play-wrecking defensive tackle — that would be too simple. The mark of a champion, at least based on the committee’s recent decision-making, is the size and brand name of the conference it represents.

That needs to change, and it starts with expanding the College Football Playoff to an eight-team format.

The 2018-2019 season marks the fifth year of the four-team College Football Playoff — a system where the nation’s top four teams play against each other in two elimination games, with the winners facing off in the National Championship — and there has yet to be a Group of Five team like University of Central Florida or FAU selected.

Teams in the Group of 5 — a tier of athletic conferences below the Power 5, the highest level of college football — like UCF and FAU play the same game as the Alabama’s and Clemson’s of the world but are graded on a different

curve. A curve that makes a Cinderella-like run to the National Championship game impossible.

No matter how much success they incur in a given season, Group of Five teams aren’t even considered for the Playoff because of a perceived lack of competition on their schedule.

That is something Owls fans should find unacceptable.

If FAU won 25 games straight like UCF, it would want a shot at the top dogs. And like the Knights, the current Playoff selection system ensures that shot never comes.

Non-Power 5 standouts are instead left out in favor of one-loss teams in stronger conferences. This year’s No. 4 seed, for example is Big 12’s Oklahoma, which fell to rival Texas earlier in the season.

But while the Sooner’s selection can be justified based on them having a Heisman-winning junior quarterback in Kyler Murray and an offensive genius in head coach Lincoln Riley, that team is undeniably flawed. Before Bowl season began, Oklahoma ranked a measly No. 92 nationally in defensive efficiency (41.3), which, coincidentally, is one spot lower than No. 91 FAU (41.8).

But why does the strength of schedule argument against this year’s UCF team outweigh the argument against Oklahoma having a putrid defense?

No team’s case for the Playoff is unblemished, and that’s been represented in its results.

Two of the five National Champions of the College Football Playoff era were No. 4 seeds, those being Ohio State and Alabama in 2014-15 and 2017-18 respectively.

If 40 percent of college football’s National Champions over the past five seasons barely even qualified for the playoff, that proves the selection system is too narrow.

What if the one of the teams left out of the top four was good enough to win the title? The parity in college football is as high as it’s ever been and that’s why the Playoff needs expansion.

And exactly that could be on the way.

“A number of influential voices in college football are calling for a serious look at expansion,” The Athletic’s Nicole Auerbach wrote. “There is a groundswell of support to expedite expansion before the end of the CFP’s initial 12-year contract with ESPN in 2026.”

Former Big 12 commissioner Chuck Neinas constructed an eight-team Playoff model that would guarantee the top Group of 5 team a shot at the National Championship, and according to Auerbach, that plan has picked up steam among the “influential figures” of college football.

FAU head football coach Lane Kiffin is on board, tweeting “yes” in response to ESPN commentator Paul Finebaum on if there should be an expanded playoff.

So while Owls fans might be apathetic about expansion given their team isn’t at that caliber yet, they should look to UCF’s 25-game win streak and subsequent omission from the Playoff as inspiration to feel the opposite.

If FAU went on a magical run like UCF has over the past two seasons, a shot at the National Championship and the confetti-filled glory that comes with it would only be secured in an expanded College Football Playoff structure.

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FEATURES

TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE FAU students are losing time and money to pyramid schemes cloaked as legitimate businesses.

KRISTEN GRAU | FEATURES EDITOR

HOW TO SPOT A PYRAMID SCHEME There are a few ways to tell legal multi-level marketing (MLM) companies and illegal pyramid schemes apart.

Not every MLM business model is a pyramid scheme — there are uncanny similarities, but also subtle differences in their policies.

Marketing professor and chair of FAU’s Department of Marketing Cheryl Darvis argues the following are a few key characteristics that college students can use to differentiate between the two if they’re considering signing up.

Is the focus on selling the product, or recruiting new members? If the company puts more emphasis on recruiting more distributors, then it’s probably a pyramid scheme. The FBI said that in pyramid schemes, “the real profit is earned, not by the sale of the product, but by the sale of new distributorships.”

Have there been FTC lawsuits or investigations? The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) regularly investigates companies that are borderline pyramid schemes. For example, the FTC said it mailed checks to nearly 350,000 people who lost money to Herbalife, a pyramid-based nutrient company in 2016. Darvis says to “do your research.”

Does the company offer refunds on unsold products? Mattie Ralston, a current ItWorks distributor, has a drawer at home full of wellness products like “keto coffee” and “chocolate greens” that she has yet to sell. She can’t refund them with It Works — unless she pulls out of the company entirely.

With legitimate MLM companies like Amway, distributors can return most products for a small fee.

ILLUSTRATION BY CANDICE PUENTAS

8 UNIVERSITY PRESS 1.15.2019

W

HEN college students see the opportunity on social media to make $5,000 in two months — a real claim on Instagram — just from using their phones, some will not think twice.

Elyssa Reardon didn’t: the FAU health science major saw an It Works distributor’s multiple hiring calls on Instagram for “all boss babes” to earn those thousands, with the only qualifications to work for the wellness and nutrition company being “Motivated, 18-years-old, coachable and ready to learn.”

After joining, she realized she wouldn’t come close to $5,000. She ended up losing over $300 over the course of four months.

“The whole thing felt like a hoax,” she said.

Businesses, particularly health and wellness companies, like It Works and Herbalife market toward college students, among other demographics, and promise six-figure profits while working from home.

But these businesses might not be following the legal method of multi-level marketing — they’re potentially illegal pyramid schemes.

Some FAU students, while juggling classes and work, are gravitating toward these in hopes of quickly rising through the company ladder and making a comfortable profit.

They pay costly initial fees to enter and routinely struggle to recruit new members, which makes it almost impossible to make the reliable profit they’re promised.

“If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is,” said Cheryl Darvis, a marketing professor and chair of FAU’s Department of Marketing.

BRICK BY BRICK: HOW PYRAMID SCHEMES WORK A pyramid scheme is a business model that profits off signing up new people rather than selling the product — which is likely wellness-related, according to the Direct Selling Association.

Pyramid schemes fall under the umbrella of multilevel marketing (MLM), meaning you won’t find these products on shelves. You’ll find them through your friends and family advertising them on social media.

There is one key difference between MLM companies (often called MLMs) and pyramid schemes: The former’s profit is based on product sales while the latter’s profit is based on recruiting new distributors. And if you’re recruited, there’s a 99 percent chance you’ll lose money, according to the Consumer Awareness Institute.

A 1979 Federal Trade Commission (FTC) decision deemed Amway, a home and health company, as a legitimate MLM because they didn’t charge large entrance fees into the company, nor did they have distributors buy a surplus of products to sell that couldn’t be refunded if they weren’t bought, according to the FTC. This landmark case made pyramid schemes illegal.

EMPTY PROMISES: THE REALITY OF PYRAMID SCHEMES Distributors aren’t told very much about the logistics.

Instead, they’re told by their recruiters not to “lose confidence,” Mattie Ralston, a distributor for It Works, said.

The FAU psychology major is a current distributor for the wellness and health company that sells items like plastic stomach wraps, protein powder, and “fatburners.”

After talking with her recruiter, Ralston was under the impression that the company would be “successful” for her. “[It Works tells] a lot of success stories about how people lost their jobs and did It Works, then made a lot of money,” she said. “They try to promise it’s a lifetime thing.”

Darvis, however, said that pyramid schemes are “not sustainable.” If one person were to recruit five people, and those five people recruited five more people to distribute any given product, and so on, you would exceed the planet’s population in just 15 cycles.

Reardon joined to make extra cash. Her efforts to distribute plastic stomach wraps and protein shakes were fruitless. She only pressed on with the fourmonth endeavor because of the lifestyle that It Works marketed, where dozens of distributors under you make your profit.

Pyramid schemes often pump out narratives like this one on It Works’ site: “Because of It Works, I’ve gone completely debt free! I was able to leave a job that kept me away from home nine months out of the year, including holidays.”

Reardon reached out to people on every platform she could. She couldn’t find a sole willing distributor. “[MLMs] can be overly optimistic,” Darvis said.

“What’s possible in the one percent [of high-income earners] ... may not really be achievable.”

According to the It Works site, only .03% of distributors are at the highest earning level, which is “ambassador diamond,” as of 2016.

BUILDING THE PYRAMID: THE WORK BEHIND THE GLAMOUR To climb your way to the top of the pyramid and become one of those top earners, you must constantly be scouring social media and reaching out to potential distributors.

Even those who go through the ranks and find people who will either buy the products or become distributors admit that staying successful can be taxing.

One former Herbalife distributor, an FAU health administration major who chose to remain anonymous, earned eight consistent customers during her five month stint — but no distributors.

With that many customers, she earned around $1,500 in total. She struggled with her weight, so she even bought some products for herself and lost over 20 pounds.

Selling and using Herbalife products was an “overall positive experience,” she said. However, she admitted it’s not a wise long-term commitment.

“With [Herbalife], it’s easy to make decent money,” the former distributor said. “But career money — that’s a different story.”

Ralston said she has only two “loyal customers,” or customers who purchase products for up to three months. She says that it’s hard to earn customers who are sometimes “skeptical” of the products.

It’s not just consumers who are skeptical of online nutrition products — it’s the experts too. Surgery professor and analytical chemist David Gorski from Michigan told the Chicago Tribune that “If [those products] really worked that well, you’d have heard about it and it wouldn’t be sold online for $29.95.”

The drawer in her apartment with six months’ worth of unsold “keto coffee” and “chocolate greens” reminds her how skeptical people really are.

When companies allow those pyramid scheme-like policies, that sometimes hurts distributors’ wallets — one of them being Reardon.

Reardon, a former It Works distributor, said she paid $80 monthly fees, along with a $99 entrance fee, that she felt was a “waste of money.”

TEMPTING, BUT DRAINING: WHY STUDENTS QUIT Darvis said that one reason college students may be attracted toward pyramid schemes and multi-level marketing is because they’re convenient.

The claims that distributors can make their home, a beach, or a coffee shop their office are true. You can work from your phone and make your own hours. According to Darvis, this is an effort to appeal to “susceptible” demographics, like stay-at-home moms and college students.

Despite the flexibility, the work’s nature outweighs the perk of laying in bed, some distributors say. Reaching out to people through social media, which is the bulk of their job, could be awkward.

“I would follow a bunch of people on Instagram and [direct message] them, ” Reardon said. “The team leader makes you follow up with people who are leaning towards doing it, but I felt annoying and forceful. I did not like bothering strangers and trying to make them make this huge decision.”

So is trying out these kinds of companies worth it? For many, the answer is no.

“I definitely do not recommend it to anyone who needs extra cash,” Reardon said. “It’s a lot of work and the success stories are few and far between.”

1.15.2019 UNIVERSITY PRESS 9

FEATURES

WHAT DO THE PAST EVENTS OF SG MEAN FOR THE FUTURE?

This semester we’ll see another presidential race, and what’s happened in the last year will impact who’s running.

SOPHIE SIEGEL | EDITOR IN CHIEF

S

TUDENT GOVERNMENT endured a rollercoaster of events this past year, ranging from candidate disqualifications to a close-call impeachment.

So here’s the UP’s recap on what exactly happened, and our prediction on how the polarizing turmoil could indicate the potential candidates for this year’s presidential election.

PRESIDENTIAL PROBLEMS

During March of 2018, Jacqueline LaBayne was elected to be student body president, with Kyle MacDonald as her VP. However, both were kicked out of office for creating a GoFundMe before the official campaign start date, which was a violation of SG statues.

Vice President of Student Affairs Corey King then announced a “special election,” where former speaker of the house Marianne Alex and Rep. Edward Perez would face off with the original winners in a re-do. The election continued despite it being called “unconstitutional” by the Student Court, and LaBayne and MacDonald won again in late April.

After the win, however, the Student Court had to

10 UNIVERSITY PRESS 1.15.2019

GOV. LUKE TURNER SPEAKS DURING HIS IMPEACHMENT HEARING ON THE ARTICLES OF IMPEACHMENT AND WHY HE BELIEVES HE SHOULD STAY IN OFFICE. PHOTO BY HOPE DEAN

THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES VOTES ON A PROPOSITION DURING THE IMPEACHMENT HEARING. PHOTO BY HOPE DEAN

hear out “contestation appeals,” or complaints claiming that a candidate broke SG statues before the two could take office. But this hearing was “tabled indefinitely,” according to Chief Justice of the Student Court, Isaiah Moriarity.

With the results unclear, MacDonald, who was VP under former student body President Emily Lawless, took over as president when Lawless graduated as a part of the “succession plan.” He chose Alex as his VP, and LaBayne became the director of governmental relations.

After the ordeal, Alex and Perez were found to have taken money from Turning Point USA, a conservative activist group, that gives money to SG candidates to push a more conservative agenda on campus.

DISQUALIFIED?

After 41 candidates applied to the Boca House of Representatives, only seven were accepted. The rest were disqualified, and most eliminations were due to the candidates not filing proper expense reports. These required forms chronicle the money they raised and what they spent it on during their run for office.

The Student Court later heard nine appeals and reversed the decision, admitting the representatives into the House. This decision was based on disapproval of the Elections Board, which only had one of the five required student seats filled, for not properly informing candidates on how to run for office or telling them what forms they needed to file.

IMPEACHMENT FILED — AND FAILED

The turmoil hit a high when Sayd Hussain, a former SG court justice, filed his Articles of Impeachment against Boca campus Gov. Luke Turner. The arguments to oust him from office were mostly related to his use of student money.

Hussain cited that Turner spent about $22,214, or almost 62 percent, of his $36,000 budget when the year wasn’t even halfway over. The Articles also claimed that Turner spent $3,348 for a two-person trip to D.C. for an SG conference, which was more than the original cost because he was late on registration and had to pay additional fees, the UP previously reported.

A legislative discussion meeting occurred after the Articles were filed, where some members voiced their opposition to Turner. Some who spoke out, including Boca Campus Treasurer Gabriella Webb and Director of Multicultural Programming Elijah Colas, were later fired — and then rehired.

The day of the impeachment hearing, cops stood just outside of the meeting room as tensions rose.

A 2/3 majority, or 29 votes, was required for Turner to be impeached, but he narrowly avoided it with 23 House members voting to oust him and 17 voting to keep him.

Many members abruptly stood and stormed out of the meeting after the results.

WHAT WENT RIGHT

Safe Ride Program, which is a $5 off discount program for FAU students, will continue. The library will also run a pilot program this semester involving a 24/5 hour program, where the building will be open 24/7 excluding weekends.

Speaker of the House Noah Goldberg said he “anticipated for a lot of candidates for president and governor,” as a lot of current SG members have “ambition” for the future.

“A lot of people have spoken to me, who have basically expressed their interest in moving up [to higher positions],” he said.

He believes “It’s great because students will have a choice,” as there will be a wide selection of candidates to choose from.

Other members, like Moriarity, felt differently.

“I am glad it will be my last [year]. The culture is toxic and goes against the very ideals we were founded on.

Ideals I still very much believe in,” he told the UP in regards to last semester on SG. However, MacDonald said that he was “very excited for the future” regarding SG.

SO WHAT’S NEXT?

The next major event in SG is the presidential election in the spring. And given the events of the last semester, the UP decided to predict who they could see running for the top spot.

SG did reach some goals this past semester. The Uber

1.15.2019 UNIVERSITY PRESS 11

FEATURES

THE UP’S PRESIDE

PHOTO COURTESY OF LUKE TURNER’S FACEBOOK

PHOTO COURTESY OF ELIJAH COLAS’S FACEBOOK

PHOTO COURTESY OF KITANA THOMAS’S FACEBOOK

Luke Turner

Elijah Colas

Kitana Thomas

Turner is the Boca campus governor, a brother of Pi Kappa Phi, and part of law fraternity Phi Alpha Delta.

Previously, Turner was FAU College Democrats’ Director of Political Affairs during his freshman year. Current student body President Kyle MacDonald said “I try to pass wisdom and advice onto other members of Student Government as much as possible. That is definitely the case with Governor Turner and many other members of SG. However, I haven’t held an official mentoring role with Governor Turner or told him to pursue a specific position.” The UP reached out to Turner for comment, but he did not respond as of publication time.

Currently the director of multicultural programming as well as the former chapter president of Turning Point USA’s (TPUSA) FAU chapter, Colas has also been rumored to ask about getting funds from TPUSA, as it was said to UP from multiple SG officials. This was confirmed by Chief Justice, Isaiah Moriarity. Colas said he’d have to consider “pretty soon” whether or not to prepare for a presidential bid, as most candidates announce in late January.

Thomas is newer to SG than the others, as she joined in the summer 2018 semester. Thomas is currently the Chair of the Ways and Means committee. “I have thought of running for a higher position,” she said. “But my thoughts have been confirmed before even joining the House. I have always wanted to help people and I want people’s voices to be heard and I want to be that voice.”

EDITOR’S NOTE

THIS IS NOT AN ENDORSEMENT. CANDIDATES WILL OFFICIALLY ANNOUNCE THAT THEY’RE RUNNING FOR PRESIDENT SOMETIME DURING THE SPRING SEMESTER.

12 UNIVERSITY PRESS 1.15.2019

ENTIAL GUESSES

PHOTO COURTESY OF KEVIN BUCHANAN’S LINKEDIN

PHOTO COURTESY OF JAVIER BRAVO

PHOTO COURTESY OF MICHAELANGELO HAMILTON’S FACEBOOK

Kevin Buchanan

Javier Bravo

Michaelangelo Hamilton

Buchanan has previously served in the House as a representative, and was the former Ways and Means Committee chair and a chief financial officer within SG. Buchanan was also the former president of Pi Kappa Alpha. The UP reached out to him for comment but did not hear back in time for publication.

Bravo, a representative in the House, has served since spring of 2018. He’s currently an RA as well as an orientation leader and told UP that he has “a passion for service,” which is why he joined SG. Bravo said he’s “considering” running for higher office. “I have built many relationships with students that belong to a wide range of communities that often go unrepresented like our first-year students and our LGBTQ+ community,” Bravo said.

Hamilton joined SG during the fall semester because “It’s important to have people in SG who are watchdogs and will hold their own accountable,” he said. He said he has four years in “public policy experience,” and felt last semester was not good enough for students, especially with the failed Turner impeachment.“I believe the student body wants a government that will be transparent, accountable, and reliable. That is why I am considering a few positions to run in Student Government. Change must happen,” he said.

OUT OF THE PICTURE

SAYD HUSSAIN, WHO TRIED TO IMPEACH LUKE TURNER, SAID HE WON’T RUN FOR PRESIDENT AND WILL NO LONGER BE INVOLVED WITH STUDENT GOVERNMENT. HOUSE SPEAKER NOAH GOLDBERG ALSO SAID HE WON’T RUN FOR HIGHER OFFICE AFTER THIS YEAR.

FEATURES

LOCALS ONLY

SOLAR REEF PREFORMING AT THE HOUSE OF ROCK. PHOTO BY VIOLET CASTANO

Solar Reef and Toledo are two FAU-rooted bands rising in the ranks of entertainment.

Palm Beach is a hotbed of start-up bands and live entertainment — and some FAU students are getting in on the action.

Two bands with FAU ties, Solar Reef and Toledo, are slowly making a local name for themselves. Here’s how they started, and where they’re going next.

KRISTEN GRAU | FEATURES EDITOR

S

OLAR REEF Bruno Medina, 24, scrambled to set up his art equipment at 1 a.m. His project for printmaking class was due the next day, and between his job and two bands, he couldn’t carve out the time to do it earlier.

Both panicked and exhausted, the graphic design major called his bandmate, Mark Sipple, for backup.

Sipple, a 23-year-old former FAU student, didn’t have the faintest clue about how to carve metal. But for his bandmate, Sipple rushed over from the cramped music studio he lives in and helped set up all he could.

This was just one of many stressful late nights while juggling 12 credits and playing in a band. Sipple and Medina have worked on this balancing act for the single year their Boca Raton-based band, Solar Reef, has been around.

Solar Reef is an alternative band composed of Medina, Sipple, 27-year-old FAU film studies alumni Darek Bloch, and 26-year-old Palm Beach State College film student Juan Portillo. The four members’ roots are scattered across the world — but the diverse South Florida “progressive rock” scene has brought them together.

Sipple, Portillo, Bloch, and Medina all love rock bands like Guns N’ Roses, Cage the Elephant, and The Strokes, as well as sipping Yuenglings during practice. Though connected by music and beer, their influences aren’t

14 UNIVERSITY PRESS 1.15.2019

so connected from growing up across different regions around the world.

“There’s a place for any kind of music in South Florida,” Sipple, Solar Reef’s guitarist who has lived and played music in Tennessee, Missouri, and Germany, said.

“Nobody discriminates. Everybody listens to you.”

Bloch, lead vocalist, grew up in Austin, Texas — the city whose motto has been “live music capital of the world” for 30 years.

“I started playing at niche, small places true to my rock scene roots,” Bloch said about his time in Austin.

The same holds true in Florida — Bloch’s favorite venues to play at with Solar Reef are O’Malley’s Sports Pub and Robot Brewing Company, he said.

A bit west of Austin, Portillo, the band’s bassist, was soaking in the electric indie music scene in San Francisco — and began listening to Eminem when he was 11, he said.

Medina lived in Peru until two years ago, when he moved to South Florida. Peru was a fluid display of almost everything, Medina said: “Blues. Funk. Rock.

There are all sorts of different flavors.”

Each member has sacrificed things great and small for the sake of rock. For Medina, it’s assignments. For Portillo, it’s sleep. For Bloch, it’s money for a guitar tattoo on his left shoulder. For Sipple, it’s a house with a bedroom.

“Have you ever seen a tiny home? That’s what [my studio] looks like,” Sipple said. “But I’m the happiest I’ve ever been.”

Solar Reef’s latest rock single, “Wine,” is a deft exhibit of the four’s crafts. It begins and ends with polished guitar and bass riffs from Sipple and Portillo, with Bloch’s complimenting voice and Medina’s dynamic drumming tying the whole song together.

Their practice space, the School of Rock, is a small stage with a pair of leather couches facing it. The School of Rock is a nationwide company that offers music lessons to people of all ages — and Bloch is the general manager of the Boca Raton location five minutes from FAU. Solar Reef’s members all teach classes there by day, and bring new songs to life there by night.

“It’s awesome getting to work with music all day,” Bloch said. “We’re all nerds — we all trade lessons with each other.”

Though the burdens of being a student while chasing dreams of becoming a household name are heavy ones — like finishing projects at 1 a.m. — the journey is always worth it.

“You always make it work,” Bloch said, “for the love of music.”

CHECK OUT SOLAR REEF’S MUSIC ON SPOTIFY

TOLEDO PHOTO SERIES BY MELANIE WITHERUP

SOPHIE SIEGEL | EDITOR IN CHIEF

T BRENDAN LYONS

DIEGO VASQUEZ

MATT BIELASIAK

BRIAN FERGUSON

OLEDO Toledo played in a dimly-lit bar that reeked of smoke and spilt beer this past December. Despite that and the low turnout, the band from Boca Raton managed to play with high energy.

Toledo consists of four members: 23-year-old lead vocalist and guitarist Brendan Lyons, 21-year-old bassist Brian Ferguson, 22-year-old drummer Matt Bielasiak, and 23-year-old guitarist Diego Vasquez.

They all love Weezer, and cite the alternative indie band as their biggest influence and a catalyst for their friendship. All except for Vasquez are currently FAU students.

Every show usually features a cover of “El Scorcho” from Weezer’s album “Pinkerton,” which is one of the band’s biggest hits.

“If you say “El Scorcho” in the mirror three times with the light off, Toledo will show up in your bathroom,” Lyons joked to the audience during the December show.

Some of the band members knew each other way back. Lyons and Vasquez have been playing together since they were 15 and going to high school in Broward County.

Lyons later met Bielasiak at Solid Sound Studios, a recording and rehearsal space in Pompano Beach.

Bielasiak wasn’t a huge fan of Weezer at first, but the others converted him quickly.

Ferguson was the last one to tag along, meeting Lyons and Bielasiak in a music class at FAU. “The first day of school, I heard Brendan talking about Weezer and My Bloody Valentine and I was like ‘hey, woah…,’” Ferguson started.

“It looks like we’re going to be friends,” Lyons finished.

When it comes to live performances, Toledo has played their fair share of interesting shows — one being a Halloween-themed gig in Beer Punx, Fort Lauderdale where the band dressed up as various music icons like Kurt Cobain and Freddie Mercury.

Between sets, the band makes small talk. During their New Year’s show at a venue called Robot Brewing Company in Boca — which is also where they played their first show ever — Ferguson and Bielasiak made jokes about their merch while Lyons changed his instrument in-between most of their songs.

Their last EP named “Either Way,” came out in October 2017. It’s marked with fireworks, but paired with soft, indie rock, courtesy of Weezer’s influence.

However, their next EP may be a little different.

Toledo noted that the new songs will be out sometime this January, and will play with a more experimental sound, which Lyons defines as “trying to write outside of the genre we have established for ourselves.”

CHECK OUT TOLEDO’S MUSIC ON BANDCAMP

FEATURES

FAU’S PROTECTION OF CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS IMPROVES The Foundation of Individual Rights in Education, or FIRE, has FAU listed as mediocre — but the number of policies that make it so have shrunk.

HOPE DEAN | NEWS EDITOR

ILLUSTRATION BY CANDICE PUENTAS

16 UNIVERSITY PRESS 1.15.2019

S

IX YEARS AGO, FAU was rated among the worst universities in the country when it came to its’ protection of free speech.

But now it’s in the middle — and improving even further.

The Foundation of Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) is an organization that’s been defending students’ rights since 1999. The non-profit has over 450 universities across the U.S. rated on a scale of harmful to acceptable when it comes to their protection of constitutional rights.

FIRE has been involved in multiple court cases on students’ behalf and uses the media to expose policies that hurt civil liberties, which are guaranteed rights like freedom of speech that the government can’t tread on without a fair trial.

But FAU hasn’t been involved in any of that so far.

Instead, its relationship with FIRE has been related to the organization’s Speech Code Ratings, where red is the worst, yellow is mediocre, and green is the best.

In 2013, the university was red. In 2019, it’s yellow — and some of the questionable policies have undergone changes.

The University Press reached out to Dean of Students Larry Faerman and Director of Student Conduct and Conflict Resolution Audrey Pusey for comment, but they did not respond as of publication time.

HOW DOES FIRE DECIDE THEIR RATINGS?

A university’s designated Speech Code Rating is based on the U.S. Constitution, the constitution of the state that the university belongs to, and multiple supreme court cases.

FIRE gives the school an overall color rating before breaking into smaller sections where individual policies are labelled on the same scale.

A green-light rating is one that does “not seriously imperil” free speech or other civil rights, but this does not mean that the university in question “actively supports free expression. It simply means that FIRE is not currently aware of any serious threats to students’ free speech rights in the policies on that campus,” FIRE website specifies.

A yellow-light rating is one that can be “easily be used to restrict protected expression.” These policies are usually too vaguely worded, allowing them to be bent in whatever way the university pleases.

And a red-light rating is one that “unambiguously infringes on what is or should be protected expression.”

Out of all the court cases used to judge policies, one is especially important in FAU’s case — 1999’s Davis v Monroe County Board of Education, which officially outlined what counts as “harassment.” FAU’s yellowlight policies do not adhere to this standard.

According to the outcome, the bothering behavior must be repeated, and the intensity of it has to cross the line of Title IX. Title IX is a 1972 ruling that bans discrimination under education programs and other activities that receive federal money. The law also states that nobody can be “excluded from participation in [or] denied the

benefits of” these programs.

The plaintiff in Davis v Monroe successfully argued that harassment could scare people away from these environments, which would mean the abusers are in violation of Title IX. But no matter the reason behind FIRE’s rating, it only takes one red-light policy to make an entire school’s Speech Code Rating red.

In fact, this happened to FAU six years ago.

REVISED POLICIES: PAST AND FUTURE

FAU earned FIRE’s Speech Code of the Month in August 2013, which may sound like a good thing, but wasn’t. Instead, the university’s Speech Code Rating changed to red because of a policy on “Free Speech and Campus Civility” which asked that students “speak to and about one another in ways that are not racist, religiously intolerant or otherwise degrading to others.”

The intent of the policy wasn’t the problem. It was the wording that backfired.

FIRE representative Samantha Harris pointed out in an article that the broad definitions in the policy presented a slippery slope. The ban on “religiously intolerant” speech, for example, could be used to stop discussion against the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, as one side could shut the other down on claims of religious intolerance, she said.

The same could be said for racism, where students discussing immigration and affirmative action could easily be accused of bigotry.

“And the prohibition on ‘otherwise degrading’ speech could apply to speech on virtually any topic that offends another person,” Harris added.

FAU revised the policy in response, changing it to only point out “unlawful” behavior in these types of discussions.

And this is far from the first revised policy in FAU’s history.

According to FAU Media Relations representative Joshua Glanzer, all FAU regulations and policies “are drafted and periodically revised to maintain consistency with the requirements of state and federal law.”

A recent example is FAU’s campus posting policy. It was greenlit just last week on FIRE’s website.

The old version subjected posters and handouts to a university approval process before their distribution, and only departments and student organizations were allowed to distribute. With the new policy, however, anybody can tack up flyers or hand out pamphlets approval as long as the content and place they’re posted is lawful.

The university does not currently have any red-light policies. However, it has plenty of yellow and green ones that affect the student body, so the UP spoke with Beltz to find out what exactly is wrong or right with FAU’s rules.

CURRENT YELLOW-LIGHT POLICIES

University Policy 4.2.4: Distribution of Printed Material Despite one distribution policy being greenlit, another

still needs work.

The new and improved policy claims that it “is applicable to all members of the University community, including all students, faculty, staff and all visitors,” but another policy seems to contradict this.

The outlier is in the most recent version of the Student Organization Manual, and it requires all registered student organizations to have any “flyers, posters, signs and/or notices” stamped and approved by the university before they are sent out.

The UP tried to contact Media Relations and the Council of Student Organizations on this matter, but they could not be reached before publication time.

University Regulation 4.007: Student Code of Conduct — Violations of the Code of Conduct This policy outlines sexual harassment as “unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal, nonverbal, or physical conduct of a sexual nature.”

It also has to “unreasonably” interfere with someone’s work or academic turnout, or create an “offensive” or otherwise negative environment.

However, FIRE believes this definition is far too broad. “‘Unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature’ could also just be an off-colored joke that someone subjectively didn’t like,” Beltz said. “By leading off with that broad definition, it seems to indicate that anything that is ‘unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature’ is sexual harassment when that’s not the case.”

The definition also doesn’t explain what an “offensive” environment is or mention that the conduct must prevent someone from using institutional resources in order to be punishable, she added.

University Regulation 5.010: Anti-Discrimination and Anti-Harassment Regulation This policy lays out what the university accepts as general harassment, which includes verbal or physical conduct that: 1) Creates an “objectively intimidating, hostile or offensive work or educational environment” 2) Interferes with performance or opportunity when it comes to work or academics But the problem with the policy is its specific examples, such as “jokes based on a protected characteristic,” threats of harm, the use of slurs, and “hostility based on sex or sex-stereotyping.”

These may be able to help students understand what harassment might be, but the policy doesn’t specify that these situations are only harassment if they’re part of a broader pattern of abuse, Beltz said.

CURRENT GREEN-LIGHT POLICIES

University Policy 4.2.2: Campus Free Speech This policy dictates where and when students are allowed to gather to demonstrate. It’s been expanded since last July, when demonstrations were previously restricted to the “free speech lawn” outside the social science building — although Groups can still book the former free speech lawn for their demonstrations if they want to, Glanzer said.

STORY CONTINUED ON PAGE 18 1.15.2019 UNIVERSITY PRESS 17

FEATURES FAU IN MIDDLE OF THE PACK WHEN IT COMES TO FIRE’S RATINGS

THE ORGANIZATION HAS RATED ELEVEN OF FLORIDA’S TWELVE PUBLIC UNIVERSITIES, AND EIGHT OF THEM ARE DEEMED YELLOW, WITH AN ADDITIONAL TWO AS GREEN AND ONE AS RED.

UNIVERSITY

OVERALL SPEECH CODE RATING

# OF RED LIGHT POLICIES

# OF YELLOW LIGHT POLICIES

# OF GREEN LIGHT POLICIES

FLORIDA A&M UNIVERSITY

YELLOW

0

5

2

FLORIDA ATLANTIC UNIVERSITY

YELLOW

0

3

6

FLORIDA GULF COAST UNIVERSITY

YELLOW

0

2

3

FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY

YELLOW

0

5

3

FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY

RED

2

6

3

NEW COLLEGE OF FLORIDA

YELLOW

0

3

1

UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL FLORIDA

YELLOW

0

1

7

UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA

GREEN

0

0

6

UNIVERSITY OF NORTH FLORIDA

GREEN

0

0

8

UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA

YELLOW

0

4

4

UNIVERSITY OF WEST FLORIDA

YELLOW

0

6

1

All of campus is a free game now, except for: -Grounds near residential facilities or the president’s Baldwin House -Places within 200 feet of the university-operated childcare centers, elementary schools, middle schools, or high schools -Areas that block entrances or exits to a building or interfere with activities in the building

-Athletic or recreational fields -Streets and roadways Demonstrators are also not allowed to use sound amplification devices like megaphones, disrupt or force the cancellation of a speaker, damage property, occupy space overnight, or create permanent or semipermanent structures.

These restrictions are “reasonable” and make sense, Beltz said: What if student-athletes have to use their fields for practice or a game? Do you really want someone on a microphone five feet away from a classroom when people inside are trying to learn?

University Policy 1.15: Prohibited Sexual Conduct

18 UNIVERSITY PRESS 1.15.2019

This policy makes it clear that sex discrimination can be verbal, physical or electronic — and like the others, it must interfere with education or federally-funded activities to be an offense.

Unlike the yellow-light policies, however, this one clearly describes what a “hostile environment” is, and highlights the fact that the repeated conduct must be “severe, persistent or pervasive” enough to create an abusive environment.

This section almost perfectly aligns with the supreme court definition of harassment, which is why it earned the green-light rating, according to Beltz.

University Regulation 4.007: Student Code of Conduct - Violations of the Code of Conduct This bullying policy is in the same section of the Student Code of Conduct as the yellow-light sexual harassment policy, but unlike the former, it clearly outlines that bullying is “physical hurt or psychological distress” and can include “teasing; social exclusion;

threat; intimidation; stalking; physical violence; theft; sexual, religious or racial harassment; public humiliation or destruction of property.”

Another greenlit section of the code goes into general harassment further, explicitly listing coercion and verbal, written and physical abuse as prohibited activities.

These are examples of speech that’s not protected under the First Amendment, Beltz said. The emphasis on repeated behavior is also important here — the policy says it must be “chronic” to be punishable.

CLOSE, BUT NOT QUITE THERE YET

Beltz encourages revisions and advises for FAU to continually keep a close eye on their laws.

“FIRE always invites school administrations to work with us to revise policies. The ones that … earned that yellow light really aren’t that far from earning a green light rating, so we just encourage the school to work with us to make those changes,” she said.

G N I K O O L S Y A W L A E R ’ WE W TALENT! at it takes to E N ph wh a e r R v g O a o t h F o h ou nk y edit and p our i h t u o If y e, t i e to e r m w o , c n , g r th n desi newspape i . m . p s for our meetings at 2, Boca campu Friday t Union Bldg Studen

1.15.2019 UNIVERSITY PRESS 19

FEATURES

MAKING ENDS MEET: BEING A SUGAR BABY AT FAU PHOTO BY MELANIE WITHERUP

Editor’s note: Diana, Michael, and Sean’s names have been changed, as they wished to remain anonymous.

College life may not be all that sweet — some students need alternative ways to make money during school.

CAMEREN BOATNER | STAFF WRITER

20 UNIVERSITY PRESS 1.15.2019

D

IANA CAME TO FAU on scholarship in her freshman year but lost it halfway through after she wasn’t able to maintain a high GPA. Coming from a low-income family, she couldn’t rely on her parents to cover the costs, nor did she want to ask them for help. So she decided to take matters into her own hands.

That was three years ago. Now a senior at 23 years old, she’s paying for college, works a job in the field of politics, is finishing her degree in political science, bought herself a new Subaru in cash, and has $25,000 saved up for law school.

Diana is what most would call a sugar baby. She gets a monthly “allowance” in exchange for companionship, in

many senses of the word. She has two “sugar daddies,” as they’re called, named Michael and Sean.

“Really, truly, I do enjoy it because I wouldn’t be living the life I am without them,” she said.

However, it’s not always easy. To most, getting paid to hang out with someone seems like a no-brainer, but Diana said it takes a toll on her wellbeing.

“I hate it, but I love it. It is degrading, it’s difficult, but you have to just look at it as a job,” she said.

JUST A JOB

Diana set up her profile on Seeking.com, which basically works as a dating website for sugar daddies/ mommies to find sugar babies, and vice versa.

Just like a regular dating profile, she has a cute, yet modest profile picture and a little bit about herself in her bio. But Diana doesn’t like the terms “sugar baby” and “sugar daddy.” She says the bottom line is, it’s just work.

“I don’t call myself a sugar baby. It’s just a job. At the end of the day, it’s sex work, and I’m a prostitute,” Diana said. “But sex work is real work.”

Diana has been with Michael and Sean for two years, and she gets an allowance of $2,000 a month to meet with them once a week on average. Working two other jobs along with sugaring, Diana makes a total of around $50,000 a year.

Decked in a plaid, expensive-looking pantsuit and heels, Diana says her shopping trips typically cost upwards of $1,000.

“My mom knows I have nice clothes, and she must assume I spend quite a bit, but she wouldn’t be happy if she knew I was spending thousands on clothes,” she said. “My mom is a super feminist liberal, and she thinks sex work is real work, but I think it would be different if she knew it was her own daughter.”

SUGARING GOES BOTH WAYS

While most stereotype a sugar baby as a young woman, some are male as well. Ben, who wanted his last name left out of this article, uses Grindr to find clients.

The sophomore at FAU has been sugaring for two years and says the most important part of his job is to enjoy himself, on his own terms.

“It’s all based on my circumstances and what I want.

They like to think I’m doing it for them, but it’s all for me and my pleasure,” he said.

Ben, who is bisexual, became a sugar baby when someone offered him money for sex on Grindr. He wasn’t actively looking for a sugar daddy but decided he wanted to have sex and figured the payment was a bonus.

He was slightly nervous at first, but has found nothing to be dangerous so far, he said.

“In the male gay community, at least, they’re mostly sincere. I ask them if they’re clean, and if they say yes, I have no reason to not believe them. And if by some chance they did give me something, they’d have a lawsuit on them,” Ben said.

He says the usual offer is around $75, the men are normally in their 30s to 60s, and he goes for men that live in “easily multi-million dollar” homes in West Boca — they’re willing to pay more. But he says you can’t always be searching for these people.

“Don’t get picky, because then you won’t enjoy it. Just have fun, and if you ever feel uncomfortable, leave,” Ben said.

Ben says whatever he does, he always makes sure to enjoy himself with his job.

“Being a six-foot-tall man, not many people would want to try me. But if you were a girl, I’d say carry a weapon, because it can be dangerous. I also feel like women doing this could be paid a lot more. I’d pay more for a girl than I would for a guy. Women just don’t need to pay for companionship,” he said.

He says being a male sugar baby is much different from being a female sugar baby — it’s safer but pays much less.

HOW DOES SUGARING LINE UP IN THE U.S.?

Out of every 1,000 women in Florida, about 21 are sugar babies, and out of every 1,000 men, about 5 are sugar babies. This makes the female ratio the fifth highest in the U.S., and the male ratio the fourth highest, according to Seeking.com. At the top of both lists are New York and Nevada with the “highest concentration of activity” per male and female.

As of October 2018, there are about 3 million college students in the United States who are sugar babies, with the average baby being about 26 years old

SUGARING SAFELY

Diana said she never recommends sugaring to anyone, but if they choose it, she has some advice.

When Diana set up her profile on Seeking Arrangement, she soon found tons of men messaging her with skimpy and too-good-tobe-true offers. Here are her tips on engaging in sugaring:

Stay sober Diana was nervous on her first “sugaring date,” as she called it. She went to dinner with a man and decided to drink to calm her nerves. She ended up getting drunk and went back to a hotel room to sleep with him. Diana says do as she says, not as she did.

Screen “candidates” Another important factor is to carefully judge the profiles. If there aren’t pictures of the people, red flag. If there’s a skimpy bio, red flag. A lot of the screening, she says, is common sense. You just have to be aware of what can indicate a person is fake or potentially dangerous.

Never take low offers The biggest piece of safety advice Diana offers is not to take men up on offers that are too low. “If some man offers you $300 or less for a sugar date, they are fake and you should run the hell out of there,” Diana said. “The whole point of sugar dating is for the money and the experiences you get. You have to be looking for men with millions of dollars.”

Have social media rules

Sugar daddy/mommy: A man or woman who pays their sugar baby for companionship.

When setting up a profile, Diana says to use a fake name. Diana is her “sugaring name,” which appears on her profile instead of her real name.

Once she feels comfortable and sure the person is safe, she will tell them her real name. She also says to use pictures that aren’t already on your social media to avoid stalkers back-searching the image.

Allowance: The monthly amount of money a sugar baby gets.

Use a fake email address

Generous: A term used on dating sites to determine whether someone is willing to pay for sex or companionship.

Like using a fake name on social media, using a fake email address is another important step in separating sugaring from day-to-day life. Many jobs provide their employees with a work email, and it makes it easier to separate the inbox.

TERMS TO KNOW

The world of sugaring comes with its own vocabulary.

Sugar baby: A man or woman paid in cash or gifts in exchange for companionship. This can be in the form of dates, sex, trips, and other common aspects of a relationship.

Sugaring: The act of being a sugar baby.

Arrangement: A “relationship” in regards to a business transaction.

SOURCE: LETSTALKSUGAR.COM

1.15.2019 UNIVERSITY PRESS 21

OPINION

FAU SHOULD STOP FORCING STUDENT ORGANIZATIONS TO ATTEND THEIR ‘LEADERSHIP’ CONFERENCES From political bias to the endorsement of false facts, FAU’s Lead and Serve conferences are not about leadership, nor do they promote diversity.

ROSS MELLMAN | MANAGING EDITOR

A

S A LEADER of a bipartisan student organization called Right on Campus, which creates political opinion magazines, I was required to attend WeLead: Diversity Matters Student Leadership Symposium in Spring 2018.

WeLead is a seminar on diversity and was something I was actually looking forward to attending.

We are lucky to study at Florida’s most diverse public university. With over 30,000 students and hundreds of faculty members, we have the opportunity to learn from people of differing races, cultures, ethnicities and beliefs.

Yet, during my attendance at WeLead, an event that is advertised to promote diversity, I was shocked to find

22 UNIVERSITY PRESS 1.15.2019

ILLUSTRATION BY JOEY SENA

out that the focus of the conference was taught entirely from one political perspective, from the keynote speaker right down to the smaller “breakout” sessions.

MY FIRST EXPERIENCE AT WELEAD OPENED MY EYES TO HOW POLITICALLY BIASED THEIR CONFERENCES ARE.

It did not take long for me to realize that WeLead wasn’t focused on diversity or inclusion at all.

The first event of the conference was a keynote speech from Rosa Clemente, a self-described activist and former Green Party vice presidential candidate.

Shortly after her speech began, she went on an anti-

Trump rant that berated white women who voted for Trump and called Republicans racists. Clemente taught us that if you do not agree with her political beliefs, you must be a racist or bigoted person.

While I was well aware of how divisive the political atmosphere from the 2016 election had been, I was hoping that if her speech were to be political it would be one about putting aside our differences and coming together as fellow Americans.

My hopes could not have been more contrary to the speech that she gave.

Perhaps FAU wasn’t expecting Clemente to give such a bigoted speech, but even a quick review of her social media gives away her hateful nature.

One month before her speech at FAU, Clemente posted a picture on Instagram featuring a coffee cup with “WHITE TEARS” written on it in bold lettering. The caption says “...you crazy white supremacist pedophile loving Trump supporters can sit down, shut the fuck up and put your tears in this cup.”

And two months before that post, she had uploaded a picture on Instagram of a poster that reads “Fuck the US Military.” More recently her retweets have even included disgusting rhetoric that I feel is anti-Semitic, such as “Fuck Zionism,” which is a movement supporting the independence of Israel.

This means our school either did not bother to do any research about who they were inviting to speak, or knew whole-heartedly just how hateful she is and thought she would be great for a speech about promoting diversity.

“The committee does not control the content of any particular speech, and does not select speakers on the basis of political ideology,” Joshua Glanzer, the FAU Media Relations representative said about the speaker selection process.

Yet it seems evident that the university is well aware of Clemente’s political ideology since the current WeLead 2019 website describes her as “one of the most raw, honest, political, social and cultural voices in the country.”

I suppose I was unaware that Clemente’s unrelenting bigotry qualifies her to be “a cultural voice in our country,” as FAU so claims. I reached out to Rosa Clemente for comment, but she did not respond as of publication time.

I’M NOT THE ONLY ONE WHO WAS DISAPPOINTED.

It should be noted that conservative students weren’t the only ones who took issue with the content of Clemente’s speech.

“Clemente was speaking about a lot of issues with leftleaning viewpoints, and although I agreed with her on parts, it has no place at a forced diversity conference held by the school,” Hannah Schimko, a sophomore marketing major and the social media director for FAU Young Democratic Socialists of America, said.

“The event should be nonpartisan” she added. “It’s an event about diversity, not politics left or right.”

A student who ran one of the “breakout” sessions at WeLead after Clemete’s speech, who chose to remain anonymous, called her keynote speech a “disgrace.”

“FAU sanctioned a bigot to speak at an event that the school hosted and forced students to attend. By extension, the university was foisting hateful rhetoric on us,” he said. “It was mildly surprising to see how many people, including staff, agreed with her. It was sad, disturbing, and utterly disappointing to see so much hate accepted in public.”

THE SMALLER SESSIONS RAN BY FAU FACULTY AND STUDENTS WERE JUST AS ONE-SIDED.

During iLead, a different conference that is advertised to focus on leadership in Fall of 2018, I attended a breakout session titled “Healthy Leaders.” I soon found out that the true intention of this session was to promote political correctness — as opposed to actually encouraging awareness about how to live a healthy lifestyle.

Shortly into the presentation, which was conducted

by FAU faculty who were not physicians, we were told irresponsibly that one’s body mass index (BMI) has no reflection on whether or not they’re healthy.

We were additionally told that you can be healthy at any size.

These were irresponsible statements that are undeniably opposed to commonly accepted facts within the medical community.

The American Heart Association’s website asserts that “for every additional unit of BMI, there was a slight increase in blood pressure readings and in the thickness and size of one of the heart’s main pumping chambers,” which leads to heart problems.

The idea that BMI has no reflection on one’s health was taught to us in our session about preventing “fat shaming” — which we were lectured on for almost an hour.

I reached out to Jill Rubin, a coordinator from the Women and Gender Equity Resource Center who was one of two presenters during the Healthy Leaders seminar, but she did not respond in time for publication.

During a breakout session at WeLead, the presenters encouraged us to introduce ourselves. They told us we should begin our introduction by stating “what gender we identify as.”

This appeared as yet another instance of forcing students to abide by politically correct terminology that aligns with left-leaning viewpoints.

I reached out to Lead and Serve, who are involved in organizing both iLead and WeLead, but they did not respond in time for publication.

THE UNIVERSITY SHOULD BE USING THE EVENT’S FOCUS ON DIVERSITY TO CHALLENGE MULTIPLE VIEWPOINTS, NOT JUST ONE.

FAU anticipated “the possibility … that attendees may be exposed to views that are controversial or contrary to their own deeply held beliefs,” Glanzer said. “As an institution of higher learning, we always encourage students to challenge those ideas, while treating members of the university community and our guests with respect and civility.”

But is a speaker who berates students and calls them bigots for supporting a candidate that they disagree

ATTENDANCE RULES FOR STUDENT ORGANIZATIONS

Attending both conferences requires major time commitments that have strong penalties if you do not attend.

FAU requires two members from all registered student organizations to attend an iLead conference each semester. The conferences take place on either Friday or Saturday and are roughly seven hours long. One person may not represent more than one organization. If an organization does not attend, they may not be able to utilize funding or campus space.

with truly teaching us to treat others with “respect and civility”— and is a political tirade really the right way to challenge students deeply held beliefs?

If FAU wants to challenge conservative students’ beliefs — which they have every right to — then they also have an equal responsibility to challenge liberal students’ beliefs.

I reached out to the Center for IDEAs, formerly known as the Office of Diversity and Multicultural Affairs, who was involved in selecting Clemente, but they did not respond in time for publication.

IF FAU WANTS TO KEEP THEIR CONFERENCES POLITICALLY BIASED, THEN OUR ATTENDANCE SHOULD NOT BE MANDATORY.

As a defender of free speech for all people, I have absolutely no problem with having Clemente speak on our campus.

If FAU wants to host a conference that is politically biased — one that promotes groupthink rather than true diversity of thought — I am completely ok with that.

But if they are going to do this, the mandatory attendance of all student organizations should not be required. Better yet, they could make their conferences actually embrace diversity by having speakers who teach from different political perspectives.

The diversity of our students extends farther than just our differences in skin color. FAU’s political thought is also diverse, as indicated by the plethora of different political student organizations that we have on campus.

If the opinions of our students are so diverse, then the curriculum and speakers present at iLead and WeLead should be too.

HERE’S WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU DON’T ATTEND THEIR MANDATORY CONFERENCES.

Student organizations that were not able to attend an iLead conference were sent this message. Many organizations that fully attended were sent this message by mistake due to errors in recording their attendance.

1.15.2019 UNIVERSITY PRESS 23

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