UP17_7

Vol. 17 | # 7 | November 10, 2015

ARMED AND EDUCATED

Lawmakers are using recent violence to get more guns on Florida campuses through a new bill.

Page 6

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UP STAFF

11.10.15 | Volume 17 | Number 7

TABLE OF CONTENTS

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Emily Bloch MANAGING EDITOR Gregory Cox

Lazy Trumps Safety 4

Students find a loophole in their nightly safety service.

Story by Patrick Martin

CREATIVE DIRECTOR Ivan Benavides ASSISTANT CREATIVE DIRECTOR Mohammed F. Emran

Armed and Educated 6

WEB EDITOR Alexis Hayward

A new bill is pushing to allow students and staff to carry concealed weapons on campus.

Story by Amanda Hicks

ASSISTANT WEB EDITOR Richard Finkel COPY DESK CHIEF Carissa Noelle Giard

Spiders and Cats and Ducks, Oh My! 8

ASSISTANT COPY DESK CHIEF Rafael Baez NEWS EDITOR Patrick Martin

Your handbook to FAU Wildlife: what they are, what they do and where you can find them.

Story by Zak Sadik

FEATURES EDITOR Emily Creighton SPORTS EDITOR Ryan Lynch

Photo Brief 12

SCIENCE EDITOR Andrew Fraieli

Photo by Max Jackson

COPY EDITOR Kerri Covington

The Brain in the Box 14

FAU is developing an artificial intelligence for psychology and neuroscience research that runs on a computer server.

Story Andrew Fraieli

PHOTO EDITOR Brandon Harrington STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER Max Jackson BUSINESS MANAGER Wesley Wright

Don’t Walk This Way 16

CONTRIBUTORS Amanda Hicks, Zak Sadik, Jasmyn Williams, Andre Gore

Make your walk to class a breeze with our guide to avoiding Breezeway promoters.

Story by UP Staff

DISTRIBUTION MANAGER Bill Good ADVISERS Michael Koretzky, Neil Santaniello, Ilene Prusher

Uncharted Territory 18

Faced with giving up one of her goals, women’s basketball player Nika Zyryanova found a solution in an unlikely place.

Story by Ryan Lynch

COVER PHOTO BY Max Jackson WANT TO JOIN THE UP? Email universitypress@gmail.com Staff meetings every Friday, 2 p.m. in the Student Union, Room 214

New Kids on the Court 20

WANT TO PLACE AN AD? Contact Jacquelyn Christie 888-897-7711 x 124 jchristie@mymediamate.com

With several new players, men’s basketball head coach Michael Curry has a challenge ahead.

Story by Ryan Lynch

PUBLISHER FAU Student Government The opinions expressed by the UP are not necessarily those of the student body, Student Government or FAU. ADDRESS 777 Glades Road Student Union, Room 214 Boca Raton, FL 33431 561.297.2960

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A Year Older and Wiser 22

Forward Javier Lacunza is entering his fourth year with the FAU basketball program. In a Nov. 5 exhibition game against St. Thomas University, he scored two points in five minutes of play. Photo by Max Jackson

Florida Atlantic had the youngest women’s basketball team in the country last year. Take a look at how we think they will do this year.

Story by Ryan Lynch

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Lazy Trumps Safety The nightly safety service is being transformed into a convenience service, but the program can’t handle the sheer amount of rides.

Story by Patrick Martin Illustration by Ivan Benavides

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NIGHT OWLS

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t began in 1993 as a way to provide a safe ride from dangers in the shadows on campus, but lately students are using the service for a free lift because they don’t want to walk.

The nightly safety golf cart ride, Night Owls, is so popular that they receive around 300 calls on any given night, according to Sasha Therlonge, director of the program.

“We’ve been abused and turned into a convenience service,” Therlonge said. ”These phones ring non-stop.”

Therlonge said she sees kids getting a ride from the Student Union to Algonquin Hall or Heritage Park Towers using the excuse that they’re sick or hurt. She said those are rides that could go to people who are feeling unsafe.

With the increase in students, especially the freshman population, Therlonge thinks the service is being exploited.

Night Owls’ mission, according to their 2015 statement, “is to provide safe, convenient and efficient student transportation service on the Boca Raton campus of FAU.” Their operating hours are Monday through Friday, 6:45 p.m. to 2 a.m. in the fall and spring semesters, and 6:45 p.m. to 11:45 p.m. in the summer semester.

Therlonge said the recent budget cuts have put a strain on the program.

Their budget, which includes paid employees, repairs and maintenance, promotional items and miscellaneous purchases like office supplies and furniture, is $121,587, according to their audit.

A quarter of this budget is used for expenses, with $20,000 put to repairs and maintenance.

One cart alone has had more than $7,900 in repairs, according to the audit.

Night Owls currently employs seven drivers but has the potential to employ 15, along with one director, the audit states.

To get a better understanding, a reporter rode the safety service to get a better feel for how it runs.

A NIGHT OUT WITH THE DRIVER Despite the program having struggles, some drivers enjoy their work transporting students around campus late into the night.

A driver outfitted in a red shirt and reflective vest, armed with a sixpassenger golf cart, just dropped off one of his passengers — a pretty girl that gave him her number at the end of the drive.

His vest barely fits his burly chest and his face resembles a raccoon with a white sunglass outline around his eyes.

The tan was a result of tailgating at a football game the previous Sunday with his fraternity, Alpha Delta Pi. “I just texted her after work and she came over that night,” David Lewinsohn, a 23-year-old senior majoring in education said.

Prospective drivers need a grade point average of at least 2.5, a valid driver’s license and must go through a training process that involves shadowing a veteran driver.

Lewinsohn said getting the girl’s number was rare but he’s seen his fair share of eccentric and rowdy passengers while driving for the service paid for by students’ tuition through their activities and service fees.

WHY ARE A&S FEES IMPORTANT? The A&S fee of $12.32 is taken out of students’ tuition “to benefit the student body,” according to the FAU Student Affairs site.

The service is student-run and law enforcement doesn’t interfere.

STORIES FROM PASSENGERS Cody Lucas, a junior majoring in business, was just picked up at the Rec Center. He’s over 6 feet tall and needs to be dropped off near the president’s house by 20th Street.

Lucas has a bad knee and walks with an observable limp. His navy blue FAU shirt has a light coat of sweat and he’s wearing white compression braces on both of his knees.

He jokes around with another passenger about being “uncapable” to walk around campus.

Lucas was a veteran passenger but remembers one ride involving two very inebriated women.

“I was riding last year and saw a girl just tumble out of the cart,” Lucas said trying to hold back laughter.

“The other girl was laughing so hard she almost fell out too.”

They were pretty obnoxious he said, and really loud.

The driver, Lewinsohn, said drunk passengers aren’t uncommon, especially when the school holds sorority events.

THE NEXT STEP The director of Night Owls has proposed a plan to set up stops around campus, on top of a caller dispatch system.

Therlonge said she will bring the new proposition up during the next Board of Directors meeting.

The route system will have two designated carts driving to each stop, but one issue is slowing down the plan.

“We can’t run the route system because there aren’t enough drivers,” Boca Campus Governor Christopher Ferreira said.

Ferreira is responsible for the Night Owls program.

“I’ll admit, we’re off to a bumpy start,” he said.

Another problem the service was called out on during

their audit was accountability and maintenance.

Two of the carts weren’t operational, and a golf cart tire exchange costs Night Owls about $150 dollars per tire.

Ferreira said one way the service will work on accountability is by filing incident reports and following the operations guide book.

The recommendations put forth after the audit were to develop a logging system for all rides and a better accountability system for maintenance problems.

As for the pricey tire changes, the recommendation is to replace the tires with a stronger off-road tire.

Therlonge has also interviewed and identified someone to take care of golf cart maintenance. The job consists of a person ensuring all carts are operating and monitoring all incidents requiring repair.

Night Owls, a nightly safety service that transports students around the Boca Raton Campus, began in 1993.

Photo by Jasmyn Williams

PROPOSED STOPS FOR NIGHT OWLS 1. Student Union 2. FAU Basketball Arena 3. The Tom Oxley Center 4. The FAU Track 5. Parking Garage 1 6. S.E. Wimberly Library 7. Housing Lawn 8. South Breezeway Entrance 9. The Social Science Building 10. Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters 11. Living Room Theaters 12. Parliament 13. Parking Lot 1 14. UVA North 15. UVA South

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Map courtesy of FAU

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16. IVA dorms 17. FAU Football Stadium 18. Parking Garage 3 19. Campus Recreation Center 20. Hillel Jewish Life Center

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11.10.2015 University Press 5

ARMED and

Educated Florida lawmakers are using recent violence to get more guns on campus through a new bill.

Story by Amanda Hicks Photos by Max Jackson

S

chool shootings have become a common occurrence in the U.S., with 52 this year alone.

Of those, 23 took place on college campuses.

Lawmakers are using those numbers as fuel to pass House Bill 4001, which will allow those with concealed weapon permits to carry guns onto college and university campuses.

Earlier this semester, Florida Atlantic was in the news for a shooting threat made over the anonymous social media app, Yik Yak. A student made a phony post that claimed his friend sent him a picture of a gun, threatening to shoot up the Breezeway. The student later came forward and was suspended indefinitely.

Because of recent shootings on other campuses, the bill is gaining serious speed. The Criminal Justice subcommittee has voted in favor of the bill 8-5, and the Higher Education and Workforce subcommittee has also approved it 10-3.

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The bill is now in the hands of the Judiciary Committee, which has yet to vote on the revisions.

It still has to go through the committee process, another reading, a conference committee and the governor.

The bill is set to be effective July 1, 2016.

Chief Press Officer Lisa Metcalf declined to speak about the bill, instead giving a statement from the Florida Board of Governors.

She said they are the spokespeople for the “Guns on Campus issue.”

“The State University System and all 12 state universities are united in the belief that Florida should maintain the long-standing Florida law that prohibits concealed weapons on university campuses,” the statement said.

However, since 2011, people with concealed weapons licenses have already been allowed to bring guns onto FAU’s campuses — in their cars.

FAU’s Weapons on University Property policy, created in 2008, was quietly changed in 2011 to allow concealed firearms in motor vehicles.

While this is not necessarily advertised by the school, university policy allows carriers to file paperwork to keep their weapons in their cars.

Recent surveys have found that 1 in 3 Americans own at least one gun, published in the journal Injury Prevention.

Even with this high gun ownership rate, gun-related homicides are down by nearly 50 percent since the 1990s, according to the FBI. Even before this information was released, Harvard conducted its own report titled, “Would Banning Firearms Reduce Murder and Suicide?”

They studied the U.S. and other developed countries such as Norway, France and Denmark, which also have high gun ownership rates. They found the same patterns when comparing gun ownership to violence within a country, which often shows a “negative correlation.”

“Where firearms are most dense, violent crime rates are lowest, and where guns are least dense, violent crime rates are highest,” the report concluded.

At the most recent GOP debate, Donald Trump called gun-free zones “target practice for the sickos and the mentally ill.”

“Mass shootings almost always take place in gun-free zones,” said Adam Dobrin, an FAU law enforcement professor with a Ph.D. in criminology. “Law abiding citizens are disarmed targets, while criminals are unfettered to create mayhem.”

The real questions to ask he said, are what “magic spell” does the campus cast over people to turn them into homicidal maniacs once they step onto campus?

And if permit holders are not committing gun crimes off campus, why would they on campus?

Student Body President Kathryn Edmunds did not give her personal opinion on campus carry, but did say that FAU students will have the chance to voice their opinion.

In the upcoming months, the Florida Student Association will gather to discuss the topic on a state level, depending on what the legislature decides.

FAU uses a response system that is nationally accredited for an active shooter or a hostile intruder situation. The FAU Police Department says to place an object between shooter and yourself in order to reduce vulnerability. Then call 911.

If in a classroom, barricading doors and hiding may be the best one can do. But if in an open area, the system said to hide behind the nearest object.

So far, eight states allow concealed weapons on college campuses — Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Mississippi, Oregon, Utah, Wisconsin and Texas.

In Texas, the campus carry bill passed on June 1 of this year. While the bill has support, many have protested.

University of Texas in Austin professor Daniel Hamermesh resigned from his job because of the safety risks that accompany the campus carry bill.

Hamermesh argued that the bill only increased the chances of an angry student coming into the classroom and starting a shootout.

“A lot can happen in those minutes that it takes the police to get there. I believe a student carrying a concealed weapon can either stop the situation before it happens or end it very quickly.”

- Candace Fuhrmann, sophomore engineering major

Also at UT , “Campus (Dildo) Carry” is an event that has sprung up in rejection to the bill. Devised by Jessica Jin, a student at the university, she is calling for students to bring dildos to class on Aug. 24, 2016 to protest the campus carry bill in Texas.

On the Facebook page for the event, Jin explains how she feels about the law, saying that the university has stricter rules about “free sexual expression” than it does a deadly weapon.

“You would receive a citation for taking a dildo to class before you would get in trouble for taking a gun to class,” she writes. “Heaven forbid the penis.”

Candace Fuhrmann, an FAU sophomore and engineering student, says she will absolutely carry a gun on campus if she is able to.

“I hope I never have to use the gun, but at least I wouldn’t be a defenseless target if that situation arose,” she said. “A lot can happen in those minutes that it takes the police to get there. I believe a student carrying a concealed weapon can either stop the situation before it happens or end it very quickly.”

Dobrin added, “here is the bottom line, the uncomfortable truth. Criminals don’t follow laws. If a killer is going to kill, why would one more law stop him?”

He said the current law stops law-abiding citizens from having the means to protect not only themselves, but also unarmed classmates.

He also pointed out that based on existing patterns, “it is unlikely that a mass shooting event will occur with or without a policy change.”

But without a change, he said, the chances of an armed “good guy” limiting the carnage of the event is reduced.

The Criminal Justice subcommittee released a statement regarding their support for the bill.

It said: “In the wake of several campus shootings, many states are considering legislation regarding whether to permit concealed carry licenses to carry

concealed weapons and firearms on college campuses.

For some, these events point to a need to ease existing firearm regulations and allow concealed weapons and firearms on campus.”

The bill still has several steps to go before becoming a law, but Florida legislators have been making sure the process is moving fairly quickly.

“This [bill] has been proposed and shot down a few times before,” Dobrin said. “If it loses this time, it will come back again next year I’m sure.”

Check back to upressonline.com for updates.

PROCESS OF THE HOUSE BILL Aug. 3 House Bill 4001 filed Sept. 16 Favorable 8-to-5 by Criminal Justice subcommittee Nov. 4 Favorable 10-to3 by Higher Education and Workforce subcommittee TBD Bill to be presented in the Judiciary subcommitttee TBD Bill 4001 presented in the house July 1, 2016 House Bill 4001 will come into effect if passed 11.10.2015 University Press 7

Spiders and Cats and Ducks, Oh My! A guide to wildlife that students at FAU come into contact with everyday.

Story by Zak Sadik

W

alking under bridges of spider webs, swerving through sidewalks littered with duck feces and watching stray cats scuttle through courtyards seems closer to an image of Florida’s Everglades than a college campus.

Yet, roughly 100 miles away from the Everglades at Florida Atlantic University, students experience these encounters with wildlife on a daily basis.

To help students know what wildlife is looming overhead and defacating on the walkways, here’s a safari guide to FAU’s Boca Raton campus:

SPIDERS

What: Golden silk orb-weaver spider (known as the banana spider) Where: All over campus, particularly on trees or building overhangs Danger: Harmless unless provoked; venom causes slight redness There are several species of spiders around campus, but Evelyn Frazier, Ph.D., from FAU’s department of biological sciences says the ones that catch the eye are the Golden silk orb-weaver spider and the crab spider. Other spiders, such as the black widow, can be found in FAU’s preserve.

Possibly the most prevalent arachnid around campus, the Golden silk orb-weaver is commonly known as the banana spider.

In general, female banana spiders are much larger than their male counterpart, often three to four times the size of males, reaching sizes up to 5 inches. The sheer size of the banana spider is one of the main reasons students may view them as menacing.

“They’re freaking huge,” senior Saudia Ali says. “And they’re everywhere.”

However, these spiders are virtually harmless to humans. They are normally not aggressive and only bite when pinched, with their venom rarely causing more than slight redness.

Dennis Zabel, interim director of FAU’s Environmental Health and Safety division, says, “There are always issues when people and nature combine.” But, 8 11.10.2015 University Press

Photo by Mohammed F. Emran

he says, as long as people just observe nature and don’t interact with it, everything is fine most of the time.

The species is so common around campus that students began joking about them on social media websites. As one anonymous Yik Yakker wrote about the Halloween season, “All FAU needs is pumpkins and skeletons since the spiders and webs are everywhere already.”

There’s even a Twitter profile dedicated to the Golden silk orb-weavers on campus (@FAUSpider), which pokes fun at the misplaced fear of the arachnids.

DUCKS

There are four types of ducks that can be seen on campus — two are native and two are invasive.

Dr. Dale Gawlik from FAU’s environmental science program says the native ducks — a brownishorange mottled duck and the shiny green, Ducks mullet-rocking Wood Duck — breed in the area, What: Four types of duck: mottled, wood, Egyptian goose and Muscovy but not necessarily on campus.

Where: Near bodies of water, such as the Arts & Letters pond The waterfowl that are not native to the area Danger: Duck shit on sidewalk and in the way of cars, longboards and bikes are the Egyptian goose and Muscovy duck.

Photo by Andre Gore Egyptian geese generally have light brown backs and dark brown spots around their orange eyes. They’re normally found in Africa, but have been present in the area and on campus for at least the last five years, according to Gawlik. Florida’s population of Egyptian geese represents escapees, or a lone few that migrated and began breeding in the area.

The Muscovy have the noticeable red, bumpy faces.

They are native to Central and South America, as well as Mexico, but have been in South Florida for decades, according to Gawlik.

Some students have grown irritated with the presence of the ducks on campus.

“There’s so much shit all over the sidewalks,” says Ali. “It makes the whole area smell horrible. And the other day they were walking in the crosswalk holding up a bunch of cars. That could’ve caused an accident.”

CATS & RACOONS

Cats & Raccoons While raccoons are scavengers that are What: Cats and raccoons typically found anywhere that there are large Where: Where the food is. Cats hangout near UVA and, raccoons amounts of waste (like FAU’s array of trash cans are typically near dumpsters and trash cans and dumpsters), cats are less common in those Danger: Raccoons are protective of their babies areas.

Photos by Andrew Fraieli The tabby cat, a type of feline seen around school takes them away,” Caicedo says. “I mean, those campus, is a domesticated breed that’s normally used to be someone’s pets. People need to be more kept as a house pet. responsible when it comes to their pets.”

FAU has a strict no-pet rule (besides fish), but many Zabel says they’re on campus because of the food. students — particularly around University Village And they’re not the only ones.

Apartments and the Breezeway Food Court — treat Possibly more common in an outdoor environment the strays as their own, by feeding them. like FAU’s are raccoons that can be seen every night The presence of smaller, young-looking cats has led rummaging through trash cans and searching under senior Stefany Caicedo to believe they’re breeding on tables for food. campus.

On her way to class one day, senior Paola Flechas was “It seems like there are more and more cats around walking down a sidewalk with palm trees on either campus,” she says. And with a growing cat population, side.

Then, she says, she heard branches rustling from she’s worried the university may have to take action above. in the near future.

“A raccoon fell out of a tree and almost landed on “I’m afraid of what might happen to them if the me,” she says. “I stay away from that path now.”

11.10.2015 University Press 9

IGUANAS

Even before the raccoons, as recalled by Elisa Gaucher, director of research integrity at FAU, a large number of iguanas were mainstays on campus. It wasn’t until the frigid winter of 2010 that much of the population was wiped out.

The green iguanas that found shelter in warm enclosures like tree cavities during that winter were able to reproduce, and have since repopulated the area.

Patrick Barry, owner of Wildlife Removal Services Inc. of Boca Raton, says, “with another winter like the last few, where the temperature never gets to the 30s or even the 40s, we will see a banner number of these guys next summer.”

The green iguanas are native to Central America, but became popular exotic pets in the 1960s, when they were first introduced to Miami-Dade County.

They were first seen in Broward County in 2001 and weren’t found in Palm Beach County until 2003.

They can grow as long as 6 feet from spiky head to whip-like tail and consume a vegan diet. It’s the biggest known species of lizard in the United States, according to the March 2008 Journal of Kansas Herpetology.

Iguanas What: Green iguanas Where: Outside of Parliament parking garage Danger: May hiss if you get too close

“The main instructions are please just observe the wildlife, they are not pets, and if you see any animal in distress inform someone.”

- Dennis Zabel, Interim Director of the Environmental Health and Safety division

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The Extras

Beyond the animals that are seen among the buildings and sidewalks, the university also maintains a wildlife preserve in the northwestern corner of its Boca Raton campus — roughly 90 acres of undeveloped land.

It houses some animals whose populations are in danger of dwindling to endangered levels, notably the gopher tortoise and burrowing owl, which happens to be the official mascot of FAU. As far as animal control goes, Zabel says FAU calls upon a trapper service, but only if there is an animal that appears ill, is in danger or is posing a threat to people. The company hired uses a trap-andrelease method.

Besides measures to protect students in dangerous situations, there is no mention of efforts made by the school to monitor or control the populations of these animals.

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Photo Brief

Florida Atlantic football beat Florida International at home on Saturday, Oct. 31, in the 14th annual Shula Bowl. The Shula Bowl is an annual rivalry game between the Owls and Panthers. With a final score of 31-17, Head Coach Charlie Partridge said, “It feels great. Our kids were passionate to get that trophy back.” This marked FAU’s first Shula Bowl win under Partridge, who joined the staff in 2013. This is the Owls’ tenth Shula Bowl win.

For the full story, visit upressonline.com

Photo by Max Jackson

11.10.2015 University Press 13

Story and photo illustration by Andrew Fraieli

FAU is developing an artificial intelligence for psychology and neuroscience research that runs on a computer server.

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“The Thinker,” statue by Auguste Rodin.

Photo courtesy of Yair-Haklai

small toy rover exploring a room like a skittish mouse may not seem to be a scientific feat. But the absence of anyone controlling it is.

Moving of its own accord, this “robotic rodent” sees with a camera attached to its front and “thinks” with an algorithm that simulates a rat’s brain on a computer server.

“It’s virtual biology,” says psychology professor Elan Barenholtz, the director of the Machine Perception & Cognitive Robotics Laboratory on Florida Atlantic’s Boca Raton campus.

“Our main goal is not to make a functional robot to, say, get coffee,” he says. “We’re trying to replace the lab mouse to develop a computer-based model of real intelligence to test psych theories on.”

This is the first step toward artificial intelligence at FAU. After opening in January 2014, the lab recieved funding from the university and a grant from the National Science Foundation for about $200,000.

The NSF awards about 11,000 research laboratories around the country, funding, projects like 3-D mapping of the brain and sequencing an octopus genome.

The laboratory runs like a club and is open to all undergraduate and graduate students. There are approximately 11 students involved, who study subjects ranging from computer science to psychology.

What separates MPCRL’s work from other AI efforts is the fact that FAU’s AI was not pre-programmed to complete a single task, but to learn — just like a human brain.

Deep Blue is famous among the AI community

(Fifth from the left to right) Michael Kleinman, Stephanie Lewkowitz, Yunier Nieves, William Hahn, Elan Barenholtz. Photo by Jasmyn Williams

for being the first computer to beat a world chess champion, Garry Kasparov. This AI was programmed specifically to play the game though.

“Train it for chess and give it Tic-tac-toe and it collapses,” says William Hahn, a Ph.D. candidate working in the lab.

Barenholtz explains that MPCRL’s bot, contrary to Deep Blue, has “a general purpose brain.”

Creating an AI permits scientists to “ask fundamental biology questions in a way that allows us to parametrize in ways we can’t with live subjects,” says Barenholtz. Essentially, researchers are able to study the capability of a brain under different restrictions.

To further explain, Michael Kleiman, a psychology Ph.D. candidate in the lab says, “With rats we only let them go left or right [in a maze], restricting them. This allows us to test only for what we want to test for.”

The concept is the same with the “robotic rodents.”

The brain of the bot is on the lab’s server and consists of computer models of real biological brains, simulating connecting nodes like neurons.

The “brain signals” are sent via Wi-Fi to the bot.

The lab then teaches it to act based on what it “sees.”

One exercise the lab conducted involved color.

Barenholtz describes it as operant conditioning: “We mold the rodent to get it to do what we want.”

By forcing the bot’s actions, like moving forward or backward, when presented with specific stimuli — different colored paper — the bot learned to associate colors with actions. They could tell it began to learn when they showed it all of the colors at once and it started moving randomly out of confusion.

The operant conditioning Barenholtz refers to is similar to how drivers have been taught to stop at red lights and go at green lights.

Artificial intelligence is already taking over human activities, according to Barenholtz.

“Human drivers are already obsolete,” he says, referencing the Google car.

“Terminator probably isn’t going to chase you down the street, but it will take your job,” says Hahn, in agreement with the professor’s view.

But whether a Skynet-level intelligence could take the human race by the neck is not a question Barenholtz sees as having an obvious answer. “It’s an open question if they can achieve common-sense intelligence, but it’s not a question of more power or more processing.” He sees it as a question of more complex algorithms and a better understanding of the mind.

The bot used by Barenholtz’s lab Photo by Jasmyn Williams.

Essentially, humanity is learning more about itself in neuroscience and psychology through an “artificial” version of its own intelligence “that will bring great advances in our understanding of true biological intelligence and our ability to simulate it,” says Hahn.

11.10.2015 University Press 15

Don’t Walk This Way The Track

91 RC-91

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FA-94

LOT 7

UP guide to avoiding Breezeway promoters

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Story by the UP staff Map courtesy of FAU

P

romoters litter the Breezeway with LOT flyers 8 and their presence.

There’s a never-ending stream of “Would you like to support [insert cause]?,” “Sign up for [insert club]!” and “Come check out [insert event].”

Stephanie Etienne, the student director for guest services, says there are anywhere between 20-50 registered student organizations using aLOT Breezeway tableLOT on10any given day. That, plus the local49businesses DP-49 to some and other non-students can contribute serious congestion.

So, the UP and your fellow Owls have come together to create a list of the best excuses to ward off promoters, as well as alternate routes to avoid the crowd:

FW-23

OD-93

ED-47

PG-35

BU-86

Keep Out

BARRY KH-25

FL-24

KAYE HALL

Forget 10-and-2.

12-and-2 should be your concern when navigating the Breezeway.

Organizations can table anywhere from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., but Etienne says the busiest time tends to be between 12 p.m.

UT-5and 2 p.m.

BEHAVIORIAL SCIENCES

GN-73

BS-12

CM-22

SANSON SC-1 LIFE SCIENCES

PK-81

They Don’t Even Go Here How do outside organizations get permission to table in the Breezeway?

LY-3

WIMBERLY LIBRARY LY3A

VOLUSIA STREETOutside organizations can request a table, as The List Of Our Best Excuses 2. Student tip: “If you see anyone with petitions, just say you’re not a registered voter. They can’t tell if you’re lying, so they back off!”

- Imani Murph, junior, neuroscience and behavior

4. “No hablo inglés.”

WEST UNIVERSITY DR.

3. Pretend to be on your phone

LL-31C

CE-31D

7. Student tip: CR-31E “Sorry, I have a boyfriend.”

- Julie Hanlon, sophomore, political science 8. Student tip: “Wear sunglasses and headphones!”

- Seamus Maloney, sophomore, political science

GENERAL GS-2 SOUTH

PV-77

LO-31B

BK-76

EG-36

STUDENT SS-8W SERVICES

- Julie Hanlon, sophomore, political science

SS-8 BREEZEWAY FOOD COURT

LOT 41

DM-6

FAU Breezeway Escape Plan Measure of how busy the promoters HP-89 at the Breezeway can get

SU-80 LOT 16

10. S tudent tip: “I just don’t make eye contact and walk quickly. As soon as you make eye contact, it’s all over.”

- Madison Hudson, sophomore, pre-nursing 16 11.10.2015 University Press

IS-4

“Sorry, I have AU-31A a boyfriend.”

UN-31

6. “I’ve already signed.”

Glades Road

LOT 19

Student Tip #7

5. Student tip: “I’m late for my nail appointment.”

- Trevor Fowlow, senior, accounting

9. Student tip: “I/We support in other ways.”

- Peter Viverito, senior, political science

AG-39

They must also follow a series of guidelines.

These include paying a $50 fee for a table, not being allowed to sell anything with LOTan 20 FAU symbol or logo on it and submitting sales tax to the Department of Revenue.

DADE AVE.

LOT 15

long as they “have a valid business license and liability insurance” that meets the school’s standards.

SH-46

DM-18 Photo by Mohammed F. Emran

LOT 18

Metered

Low Density

Medium Density

High Density

Alternative Escape Route

AL-9

PA-5

Alternative Routes: The second floor of the Breezeway

IR-70

T

1. “I’m late for class!”

NEW

You have the passion... we have the tools.

Gain the skills to fight social injustice.

F U L L -T I M E & PA R T-T I M E , E V E N I N G

P R O G R A M S AVA I L A B L E

law.cuny.edu/prospective 11.10.2015 University Press 17

UNCHARTED

TERRITORY

Faced with giving up one of her goals, Nika Zyryanova found a solution in an unlikely place.

Story by Ryan Lynch Photos by Mohammed F. Emran.

N

18 11.10.2015 University Press

ika Zyryanova had a choice to make: While playing with her hometown team in 2013, the 18-year-old guard thought she had to make a decision between playing professional basketball and a college education.

There are no college athletics in Zyryanova’s native country of Russia; joining a professional team meant she’d forego her chance at a college education.

But during a summer camp she attended in Serbia, coaches told her of a third option: Traveling to America — a country she’d never been to — would mean she could hit the books and play the sport she loved.

“I know basketball is not going to be forever, and I have to do something after my athletic career,” Zyryanova said. “The combination of being able to play basketball at a high level and get my education was a big reason I came.”

Born in Yekaterinburg, Russia, basketball was not the sophomore’s first priority. Zyryanova rode horses competitively for six years in various competitions in her home country, from as early as 8 years old.

“I really wanted my own horse,” she said. “But when I started playing basketball, I had to choose which one would be my hobby and which I would do seriously.”

At the age of 14, she joined UMMC, the Ekaterinburg youth academy. Playing just below the professional level, Zyryanova frequently saw players she admired from the States when they came over to play for Ekaterinburg’s first team during the WNBA offseason, including Candace Parker and Diana Taurasi.

“When I first saw Candace Parker, I was like ‘Oh my god, she’s so big,’” she said. “After practice, my coaches came up and asked me if I wanted to shoot with her because she was hurt and couldn’t practice with her teammates. I said ‘Of course I’ll do it, let me do it!’”

While improving her game at home, Zyryanova was selected to play for the Russian 18 and under national team in 2013. That led her to play with the best

Russian players in her age group: her team finished fifth at the FIBA junior championships that year. “I really liked it a lot,” Zyryanova said. “It was really fun because we got to travel a lot. We went to Germany for

a tournament, we went to France for a tournament. I loved France.”

Despite having played for her country and being on the cusp of reaching the professional ranks, she still had a dream of playing college basketball in America.

Heeding the advice she got from her coaches, she came to the United States for the first time.

After being contacted by Dwight Gunnare, Casper College’s head basketball coach, Zyryanova made the trip to Casper, Wyoming.

Gunnare said that current UTEP assistant coach Ewa Laskowska knew that he was looking for new players to fill his roster and told him of a friend who knew of Zyryanova’s desire to play overseas. Through Laskowska, the player and team were brought together.

The change in scenery introduced her to a new culture, one completely different from the city she grew up in.

“For me, it was a boring place, because I’m not used

The combination of being able to play basketball at a high level and get my education was a [big] reason I came.

- Nika Zyryanova

to their traditions,” she said of Wyoming. “They hunt and fish for fun, which is not for me.”

Zyryanova’s first year ended just five games in: An injury to her ACL ended her season. Unable to play, she traveled back to her family for the first time in months, spending Christmas break with them.

After returning, she immediately put herself into a rehab routine. “Nika was incredible during rehab.

She’s got a huge work ethic,” Gunnare said.

“It was hard coming back, but at the same time my assistant coach [Sarah McNamee] helped me a lot mentally,” she said.

Gunnare said that current UTEP assistant coach Ewa Laskowska knew that he was looking for new players to fill his roster and told him of a friend who knew of Zyryanova’s desire to play overseas. Through Laskowska, the player and team were brought together.

The change in scenery introduced her to a new culture, one completely different from the city she grew up in.

“For me, it was a boring place, because I’m not used to their traditions,” she said of Wyoming. “They hunt and fish for fun, which is not for me.”

Zyryanova’s first year ended just five games in: An injury to her ACL ended her season. Unable to play, she traveled back to her family for the first time in months, spending Christmas break with them.

After returning, she immediately put herself into

a rehab routine. “Nika was incredible during rehab.

She’s got a huge work ethic,” Gunnare said.

“It was hard coming back, but at the same time my assistant coach [Sarah McNamee] helped me a lot mentally,” she said. “My desire was that I had to prepare for the next season and be better than I was before.”

Zyryanova played in 30 games in her next season, registering an average of 5.3 points and 2.1 rebounds per game. She contacted teams to see if they were interested in her, including Florida Atlantic, North Dakota and Illinois-Chicago.

“She filled out our online questionnaire, and we thought she was a year younger than she actually was,” Florida Atlantic women’s basketball head coach Kellie Lewis-Jay said. “I started doing a little research and found she would be immediately eligible to play.”

As the lone foreign player on the roster, her teammates made sure to make her comfortable.

“Sometimes I don’t understand what they say,

and then they’ll say it again so I understand better,” Zyryanova said. “I love their attitudes, all of them try to cheer me up and always are patient about the language barrier.”

Lewis-Jay thinks Zyryanova will play a sizable role in her first year. “She’s someone with a great jump shot, one of the best on our team,” the coach said. “She’s a lot of fun to be around and watch on the court.”

Zyryanova’s goal is still to play professionally. She did not rule out possibly returning to UMMC Ekaterinburg.

“I’d like to play overseas, because a majority of women’s players play over in China, in Russia and in Europe,” she said.

It’s a wonder all this movement has come from a girl who no longer enjoys to travel by plane.

“I hate flying, even though when I was little I was like ‘I love flying and want to see all the countries.’ Now I just think ‘OK, here we go again. Now I have to travel eight or 10 hours.’”

“She’s someone with a great jump shot, one of the best on our team.”

- Kellie Lewis-Jay, Florida Atlantic women’s basketball head coach

Women’s basketball head coach Kellie Lewis-Jay (left) and sophomore guard Nika Zyryanova (right) pose for a photo after a 79-64 win against Barry University.

11.10.2015 University Press 19

NEW KIDS ON THE COURT Story by Ryan Lynch Photos by Max Jackson

After a 9-20 season that included an 11-game losing streak, men’s basketball will approach its year with eight new players.

With eight new players suiting up for their first season, head coach Michael Curry will have to work to climb out of the bottom of Conference USA.

A

new head coach couldn’t change the fortunes of the Owls last season, as the team finished 9-20 and missed the conference tournament under Michael Curry.

Tasked with navigating a tougher schedule with a team that lost nine players to graduation or transfer, they need to address their problems or risk falling to the bottom of the Conference USA standings again.

TRANSFER-MATION A few of coach Curry’s recruiting moves are making

20 11.10.2015 University Press

their way onto the court for their first season with the Owls, including four transfers from other programs.

Redshirt senior guard Solomon Poole was the lone transfer to play last year, finishing second on the team in scoring, with 12.5 points per game while adding 49 assists.

Poole, a Georgia Tech product will be joined by redshirt junior guard Adonis Filer and sophomore center Ronald Delph. Both sat out last year because of NCAA transfer rules.

The 7-foot, 235-pound Delph brings size to the Owls’ frontcourt after spending a year redshirting at Auburn and will bring an immediate impact when he is activated in December (Delph only sat half a season last year).

Filer played two years at Clemson, averaging five points and 1.6 assists per game. His arrival will give scoring touch and game experience to a team that lost five guards to transfer or graduation.

Forward Matthew Reed rounds out the group as

the only player from junior college on the roster. The Shelton State Community College grad played in 30 games last year, registering 38 blocks during that time.

NEW FACES Four freshmen will join the rotation this season forwards Jeantal Cylla, Connor Shorten, Jesse Hill and guard Nick Rutherford.

Cylla was ranked the 43rd best player in the state of Florida’s 2015 recruiting class and received offers from several major basketball programs: Virginia Tech, Oklahoma and Rhode Island — before picking Boca Raton as his final destination.

New Jersey natives Hill and Shorten make up a power forward duo that could see time off the bench with the graduation of Kelvin Penn and Justin Raffington.

Rutherford played for Allen Prep in Allen, Texas; they were ranked the 16th best team in the state after last season.

“Our strength and conditioning, we’re already seeing a different [team] now than if we look at how we went from the start of camp this year to last season.”

- Men’s basketball head coach Michael Curry

CONFERENCE WOES FAU finished last in the conference standings last year, going 2-16 against C-USA opponents. Their troubles included an 11game losing streak that spanned a month during conference play.

That streak was a major reason the Owls were kept out of the postseason tournament.

POINT PRODUCERS Guards Solomon Poole, Marquan Botley and Jackson Trapp have all returned as the top scorers for the Owls.

Junior Botley led the team in scoring with 13.1 points per game, while Poole finished second with 12.5 PPG. Trapp, a senior and the team’s captain, scored 10.1 points as one of the team’s primary shooters.

What remains to be seen is who will replace the production of Justin Raffington and Justin Massey. Raffington scored 9.2 PPG in his final season with the Owls, and Massey scored 7.5 PPG before transferring to Brown University.

Sophomore center C.J. Turman looks like FAU’s current replacement for Raffington. As a freshman, he shot 57.6 percent from the floor while averaging 5.8 points per game.

Expect the guards coming in and out of rotations to take over Massey’s old role. Curry used as many as five guards last year.

TURNOVERS AND DEFENSIVE MISCUES A recurring theme for last season’s team was an abundance of giveaways. The Owls averaged 12.7 turnovers per game, compared to 11.1 takeaways per game.

Their possession margin of -1.6 tied them with Arkansas State for 281st out of 344 teams. Only Marshall, Rice and FIU had worse margins in the conference than FAU last year.

Six players had over 35 or more turnovers last year. That number includes Poole, who led the team with 79 turnovers.

Another year under coach Curry should fix most of the problems the team had with securing the ball.

Defensive struggles did not keep the team in close games last season, as they surrendered an average of 66.7 points versus opponents all of last year, compared to 62.6 scored on average.

Perimeter defense was one of the places FAU succeeded, holding teams to a conference low 28.7 shooting percentage from 3-point range.

Keeping opponents out of the paint will be the Owls’ most important goal. Opposing offenses will test the young combination of Delph and Turman, forcing them to prove that they have developed.

SCHEDULE*

Nov. 17, 7PM

vs Nov. 20, 5PM

Warner

vs Northeastern Senior guard Solomon Poole was second on the team in scoring with 12.5 points per game.

Head coach Michael Curry will rely on him for the same performance in his final year.

*This is the schedule of the next two home games.

For a full schedule, visit fausports.com.

11.10.2015 University Press 21

A YEAR OLDER & WISER Story by Ryan Lynch

Women’s basketball huddles up before their 67-65 loss to Southern Miss on Feb. 14 of last season. Photo by Mohammed F. Emran.

Known as the youngest team in the NCAA last year, women’s basketball comes into the season with a more experienced core.

H

ead coach Kellie Lewis-Jay took the youngest team in the NCAA to their second Conference USA tournament appearance, finishing the year with a 13-17 record and a first round loss.

A year older with a more experienced core, the Owls have the potential to take another step forward in the conference.

REPLACING SHANEESE Sophomore guard Shaneese Bailey transferred to Miami at the end of last year, taking her talents to a bigger program.

22 11.10.2015 University Press

There’s no disputing Bailey’s importance to the team last year. In 29 games, she led the team in scoring with 16.2 points per game, along with 5.3 rebounds per game (second on the team). On defense, she led her teammates in steals with 34.

Without Bailey, guards Morgan Robinson and Ali Gorell will see more shot attempts, but the Owls will need to find a third player to contribute on offense.

Sophomore Malia Kency and junior Kat Wright each could be a possible fit, but it remains to be seen if the team’s style will change without Bailey on the court.

OLDER, WISER OWLS The team had eight freshmen playing last season.

With five of those eight returning for their sophomore season, the team will look more comfortable than it was in the past year.

Forwards Sasha Cedeno and Melinda Myers are the biggest providers of defense and scoring in the paint. The duo combined for 27 total blocks and 201 rebounds in their first season.

Malia Kency and Danneal Ford will both see more time in one of the three guard spots this year. Kency provided 7.5 points and 1.8 assists per game in her first year.

Ford had 10 steals coming off the bench and averaged 1.8 PPG. Raven Doyle averaged 1.7 points in limited time from the bench after coming back from a medical redshirt in her freshman season.

NEW YEAR, NEW COACHES A new season means some changes to the coaching staff for Lewis-Jay. Her most noteworthy change was bringing in Richard Henderson to replace Harry Elifson in July. Henderson was previously on the Oklahoma State staff since the 2007-2008 season as an assistant.

The team also moved on without Fitzroy Anthony, who was one of Lewis-Jay’s first hires in 2012 along with Elifson. Anthony is now on the staff of the Miami Hurricanes, where Bailey transferred to in 2014.

“I’m excited about this group, they’re a lot of fun to coach.

They’re growing every day, trying to get better every day that’s our thing.”

- Women’s basketball head coach Kellie Lewis-Jay

STREAKING AWAY FAU was very streaky last year, with multiple winning and losing streaks. A three-game losing streak ended the Owls’ season, with the final loss coming in the C-USA tournament opening round versus Louisiana Tech 84-74.

It may be the mark of a new team, but with experience on their side, long slides are projected to be a thing of the past.

SIZE MATTERS Head coach Lewis-Jay ran a three-guard system since she took the job in the 2012-2013 season. Relying on speed, the team played at an up tempo pace, forcing 6.7 steals per game and creating offensive opportunities on the fastbreak.

The downside to their style proved to be playing against bigger teams, as the Owls were unable to control the paint when they did not hold the size advantage. Opponents out rebounded the Owls by an average of 7.6 boards per game.

Bailey led the team in rebounds as a guard. In her absence, the forwards will become more important than ever. The addition of 6-foot-2 Ra’Kyra Gabriel will help, but Cedeno, Myers and Doyle will need to take back the inside in their sophomore seasons.

SCHEDULE*

Nov. 13, 7PM

vs Akron

Nov. 24, 7PM

vs Milwaukee

Nov. 27, 12PM

vs Delaware State

Dec. 06, 2PM

vs Keiser

Dec. 29, 5PM

vs Sophomore forward Sasha Cedeno averaged 2.4 rebounds per game last season. Photo by Max Jackson.

Bethune-Cookman *This is the schedule of the next five home games.

For a full schedule, visit fausports.com.

11.10.2015 University Press 23