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The Oracle

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w w w . u s f o r a c l e . c o m U N I V E R S I T Y O F S O U T H F L O R I DA

Rumors lead to shake-up of TPUSA

By Maria Ranoni N E W S

E D I T O R

Turning Point USA (TPUSA), an organization that promotes free market and limited government, has disbanded the USF chapter after rumors surfaced that their now former president is anti-Israel.

Aida Vazquez-Soto, an SG Senator and the former presidentfounder of TPUSA USF chapter, said these rumors originated from a controversial Senate resolution that passed last week.

The New Hope resolution was a product of compromise between pro-Palestinian Senators and Hillel, a Jewish organization on campus.

Vazquez-Soto worked with Hillel in attempt to change the intent and language of the original version, originally named the Hands Off resolution.

“The New Hope Resolution didn’t make me happy, because the subtext of that resolution was always going to be pro-Palestine

and the authors were not going to negotiate that part out,” VazquezSoto said. “But, we watered down so much of that language. I’m really happy I could have played any part in that at all.”

However, the morning before the resolution reached the Senate floor Jan. 30, Vazquez-Soto said she received correspondence from the national representatives of TPUSA expressing concern of some rumors about her.

“That morning, I got a text message from my regional manager, Driena Sixto, who heard rumors about my beliefs on the Arab-Israeli conflict and those rumors specifically were about me supporting the anti-Israel resolution and just being anti-Israel in general,” Vazquez-Soto said. “On Thursday (Feb. 1), I realized those rumors had reached donors.

“I also found out that Turning Point had gone to other organizations I’m involved in and

accidently spread those rumors that I was anti-Israel. In the line of work I’m in, those kinds of rumors are slander.”

TPUSA has a history of meddling in USF affairs. Last year, Ryan Soscia and Logan Holland were accused of taking campaign merchandise from the organization during their campaign for student body president and vice president.

The organization has been attempting to influence collegiate politics at Ohio State University, University of Maryland-Wisconsin and the University of Maryland through its “Campus Leadership Project.”

According to a report by The Ohio State Lantern, TPUSA’s goal at the collegiate level is to influence Student Government (SG) races across the country to elect conservative students.

According to Vazquez-Soto, these rumors were the beginning of the end for her involvement in

Rumors about the former chapter leader of Turning Point USA at USF resulted in a walkout of almost all the organization’s members.

SPECIAL TO THE ORACLE/AIDA VAZQUEZ-SOTO

TPUSA. “My field director (Mark Canup) met with me at two o’clock on Thursday and he informs me that TPUSA has decided to ask me to step down from leadership of any

kind in the chapter that I founded,” Vazquez-Soto said. “They didn’t even know I voted yes on the New Hope Resolution at that point. The first thing out of his mouth was ‘Be

n See TPUSA on PAGE 3

SG gears up for new election cycle

By Maria Ranoni N E W S

E D I T O R

Cue the campaign signs and free T-shirts. Election season is right around the corner. However, this year Student Government (SG) is working to avoid a repeat of the controversies that surrounded last year’s election.

After the election of president

and vice-president, Moneer Kheireddine and Shaquille Kent, a grievance was filed stating that Dika Ezevillo, a USF student employee, wore his employee nametag while campaigning for Kheireddine and Kent.

After deliberation, the SG Supreme Court unanimously found Kheireddine and Kent guilty of a major grievance involving an abuse of power by Ezevillo resulting in the

ticket’s disqualification.

However, Kheireddine and Kent successfully filed a letter of appeal in which one of the reasons for appeal stated that the statute in question was vague and did not properly define what an abuse of power is.

SG has simple procedures for vetting applicants, but they are making some changes as to how they communicate campaign rules.

In an email to The Oracle, Gary Manka, director of Student Government Advising, Training, & Operations (SGATO), said when candidates initially apply to run in SG elections, they must meet three basic requirements.

“Basically, students have to meet 3 criteria – GPA (2.5 as undergraduate/3.0 as graduate); credit hours enrolled (6 per semester for undergraduate degree

seeking student/4 for graduate.

This excludes summers); and they cannot be on probation, suspension or expulsion with the university,” Manka wrote. “A student may be removed for other reasons (e.g., missing a mandatory candidate meeting, etc).

“SGATO checks student applicant eligibility based on the Student Body Constitution

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TPUSA

Continued from PAGE 1

frank with me, how did you vote on this?’”

Coincidentally, Vazquez-Soto’s TPUSA chapter was having elections that night and she was the only person running for president for the 2018-2019 year.

“Mark attends my meeting that Thursday night to suspend the elections, which is also a major overreach of the national organization,” Vazquez-Soto said.

“Suspending my election over rumors of me having a dissenting opinion, which is completely trash coming from an organization that prides itself over free speech and freedom of opinion. The idea is you should be able to have a debate with someone, not just silence them, because they have a different opinion.”

The Oracle reached out to Canup for comment and he said questions should be directed to Sixto, a regional manager for TPUSA. Sixto could not be reached for a comment. However, in a statement made on her Facebook, she said Vazquez-Soto’s claims are unfounded.

“The anti-Israel and anti-Semitic “resolution” seen below was drafted at the USF Student Senate and passed. The majority of SGA belonging to Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP). It helped pass however, with a vote of “Yes” on behalf of our former employee (no longer with us when vote was taken) and former chapter leader, Aida Vasquez Soto,” Sixto wrote. “She decided to leave the organization and create a new one claiming that her right to free speech was punished within the organization.

“This is completely untrue, as Turning Point USA always advocates for everyone to have

an opportunity to present their opinions, as stupid and factually incorrect as they may be sometimes.

BUT, as a representative for our organization, we do not allow for our affiliates to side with organizations that explicitly vilify and harass the Jewish community.”

As Sixto said, Vazquez-Soto did start a new organization, taking almost all of TPUSA’s former members with her.

“When he first told me, I kind of cried for about two hours, because this was my baby,” Vazquez-Soto said. “This is a year and a half of my life that I’ve given to the organization. I remember when I couldn’t get five people in a room in the MSC, and now — the night of the announcement — the entire room was packed and there was people sitting along the walls.

“These are the kind of people I surround myself with. When I got through with my crying, I realized I wasn’t going to let this stand. I reached out to the people that had been with me from the beginning and I said this is what is happened and I invite you guys to walk out with me.”

Those that walked out with Vazquez-Soto said that what happened to her was unfair and joined her in creating a new organization, The Forum.

“I think we all feel Aida was removed based on an unofficial stance on Israel and ‘he said, she said,’” said Aurelia Shears, the former social media recruitment manager of USF’s TPUSA and current member of The Forum.

Bryant Howard, the current social media manager of The Forum, said TPUSA didn’t do their due diligence.

“She wasn’t given any sort of fair trial or investigation into what actually happened. They just took a rumor at face value and did away

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with her,” Howard said.

The Activity & Services funding that the USF TPUSA chapter received will be transferred right to The Forum.

“They’ve all mutually agreed that we shouldn’t just disband, we should start a new organization and that organization will be called The Forum,” Vazquez-Soto said.

“We actually have logos already and we’re hosting an event on 27th.

We’re just taking everything that we had. Everything is coming with us — our room reservations, the office, all of it.”

Vazquez-Soto said she remains hopeful about her new organization’s future and that it will be a center of free speech.

“In light of what has happened with Turning Point, it makes me feel that the atmosphere of The Forum is much better suited to that kind of discussion,” VazquezSoto said. “Apparently, you can’t have discussion about differences of opinions in Turning Point. You either agree with them or you don’t.

You can have differences of opinion in the Forum.”

Vazquez-Soto said she received no guidance from TPUSA on how to handle this contentious resolution even after reaching out to them.

“Something is clearly wrong with an organization that felt that somehow by silencing me they could deal with the problem at hand,” Vazquez-Soto said. “Here’s the thing, I told Driena ‘there’s this resolution that’s coming to the Senate and I have to take some time and work on it.’ They knew about that resolution two weeks ahead and they never gave me any guidance that the way that I voted in Senate as a senator would have any impact on my presidency in Turning Point.”

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Candidate meetings should relay all campaign rules to hopeful SG member. SPECIAL TO THE ORACLE/CHAVELI GUZMAN

SG

Continued from PAGE 1

requirements and/or university regulations. If the student doesn’t meet the requirements then they can’t run for office (or stay in office if already elected or appointed, this includes volunteers). It is that simple, but it is also a student confidentiality issue protected by law. Membership checks are run for every election and every semester for current SG officers/members.”

Aside from this, applicants aren’t further vetted. This begs the question of how campaign rules are communicated to hopeful SG members and how the statute’s language was changed to avoid a repeat of last year’s election.

“SG revised Title VII during Fall Semester to address any concerns that emerged during the general election last year,” Manka wrote.

“Basically, these issues are also being directly addressed in the candidate meetings especially the issues that may have been grey regarding statutory interpretation last year.

Finally, as has been the standard

in previous elections, candidate meetings are mandatory for all students running for office so each and every candidate should know the regulations.”

All candidates go to these meetings the week before elections.

The last candidate meeting is occurring today at 5 p.m.

According to Jennifer Bielen, assistant director of SGATO, these changes are routine.

“Every year there is typically an Ad Hoc called for Title VII by the legislative branch in which they take feedback from things that occurred from the prior general elections and make changes/edits- this is called by the senate president,” Bielen said.

“As for the changes they occurred throughout the entire chapter starting with the definitions all the way through the duties of the ERC (Election Rules Commission) with a heavy focus on the Minor and Major Grievances.”

As students move through the election cycle, it will be more evident if these changes can quell some of the drama experienced in the prior election.

LIFESTYLE

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Students give advice on how to file taxes for the first time

By Andrea Martin C O P Y

E D I T O R

According to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) research staff, more than 230 million tax returns are done each year.

With so many of those being done by novice students, the idea of taking that next step into adulthood can be nervewracking.

According to IRS.gov, tax season began on Jan. 29 and will extend until April 17. Right in the thick of the spring semester, the idea to add filing taxes to one’s to-do can be daunting.

Michael Alfaro, a sophomore majoring in business management, will experience filing his taxes for the first time this year.

“When thinking about filling our taxes in the future, I get nervous thinking about all the work that goes into them,” Alfaro said. “It is a lot of numbers and math, and I’m nervous I might mess up.”

Zachary Cruz, a sophomore majoring in mass communications, has been filing his taxes since he started working part-time in high school. He has found the perfect way to avoid stress and get through tax season in a breeze.

“Go to TurboTax to start your taxes,” Cruz said. “It’s easy to fill out and start.”

By following directions, Cruz no longer faces the jitters of the adult task.

“Just make sure to follow the directions and answers the questions the best you can,” Cruz said. “The website walks

Experienced students recommend the novice students to take advantage of online resources to help with their first time filing their taxes.

SPECIAL TO THE ORACLE

you through everything to make sure you get the biggest refund.”

Apps and online websites can be helpful tools for students that aren’t sure how to start.

Taylor Wenz, a sophomore majoring in environmental science and policy, suggests students should take advantage of those resources as an easy way to fit filing taxes into a busy schedule.

“It’s really a lot more simple than you think,” Wenz said.

“There are tools online you can

use like TurboTax, H&R Block and others that can help you file. Usually they are free and you just enter in your basic information as well as your tax info, and it basically files it for you.”

Some students, however, avoid taxes like it’s pulling teeth and won’t go until it’s absolutely necessary.

Samantha Lutrin, a sophomore majoring in political science and philosophy, is waiting for graduation to start

the yearly process.

“Filling out my taxes appears to be the next step into adulthood which I am not ready to make,” Lutrin said. “It takes my parents hours to do, and I don’t feel like I have that kind of time. I will most likely fill them out on my own for the first time once I graduate college.”

For those overwhelmed by the thought of messing up, having someone accustomed to the yearly process can ease anxieties. Wenz had the help of

her grandfather.

“The first time I did my taxes I was nervous too, but luckily I had my grandpa to help me with it,” Wenz said.

Many websites like USA Today College, have sections to help college students filing for the first time. From what types of forms they most likely will have to fill out to the uncertainties of filing as a dependent or independent, there are answers for everything.

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OPINION

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American Olympians are what the country needs to unify

T H E O R AC L E

What you said Multimedia editor Chaveli Guzman asked students which winter Olympic sport they are looking forward to watching most and why.

“Figure Skating. I really like watching it.”

— Dinah Hunsicker, a junior majoring in geology

With tragedies and polarization spreading through the country, the U.S. Olympic team needs to be able to bring us all together again. SPECIAL TO THE ORACLE

By Jesse Stokes M A N A G I N G

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E D I T O R

Since the last Olympic Games, in the summer of 2016, the U.S. as a whole has endured enough to break the patriotic spirits of many around the country. An ever-growing tumultuous political climate has polarized and divided the country leaps and bounds.

That is why, this year the Americans competing in the Winter Olympics will have more riding on their shoulders, as they will have the opportunity to put the “United” back in the United States of America.

This year, American Olympians are freestyle skiing for the victims of gymnastics team doctor Larry Nassar, many of whom are Olympians in their own right.

This year, American Olympians are bobsledding for the people of Florida and Texas, who have had their lives turned upside-down by the particularly powerful storms during the 2017 hurricane season.

This year, American Olympians are curling to show that despite all of the conflicts and protests in the streets, our nation is not defined by social injustices or police brutality.

This year, American Olympians are figure skating to show that the mass shootings in Orlando and Las Vegas will not break our American spirits.

This year, American Olympians are ski jumping on behalf all of the voices who stood up to their abusers and claimed their spot in history as a part of the #MeToo movement.

This year, American Olympians are snowboarding for the more than 64,000 people who overdosed on drugs in 2016 alone and the thousands of others who are still affected by the opioid crisis today.

This year, American Olympians are playing hockey to show that the insensitivities of online personalities such as Logan Paul are not a universal truth for the rest of the country.

This year, American Olympians are cross-country

skiing so it is clear that the country is more unified than the debate about standing or kneeling for the national anthem implies.

This year, American Olympians are participating in the biathlon to show that the hate-filled rallies in Charlottesville do not represent the thought processes of all who call this nation home.

This year, above all, American Olympians are competing in the 2018 Winter Olympic games so that it is made clear to the whole world that our patriotism cannot and will not be broken.

Come tomorrow morning, the Olympians competing such as Nathan Chen (figure skating), Abby Ringquist (ski jumping) and Shaun White (snowboarding) will serve not only as some of the best athletes that the nation has to offer, but also as the unifying forces that our nation so desperately needs.

Jesse Stokes is a sophomore majoring in political science.

“I am looking forward to bobsledding because of the movie ‘Cool Runnings’ with the Jamaican team.“ ­ Antony Morata, a senior — majoring in health sciences

“Definitely ice skating.”

— Gerdine Behrmann, a senior majoring biomedical sciences

“Ice skating because the first African American woman qualified for some aspect of it.”

— Isaac Boateng, a graduate student in biomedical sciences

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T H E O R AC L E

Classifieds To place a classified ad go to

http://www.usforacle.com/classifieds

ANNOUNCEMENTS Tutor for highschool artist needed Seeking tutor that is proficient in CAD design for artist along with the ability to teach Z Brush. Also, knowledge of VR helpful.

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Magic Puzzle Rules: Fill the rest of the puzzle using words from the official International Scrabble Word List. Words must be spelled left to right or top to bottom. Words can only be used once. THERE IS ONLY ONE SOLUTION ! Good Luck.

Solutions will appear in Monday’s paper.

Created by faculty member H. Henrick Jeanty, an instructor in the Computer Science and Engineering department.

CROSSWORD

Sports

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Football

USF picks up two signees on calm National Signing Day

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Women’s Basketball

Freshman make impact as Bulls hold Pirates at bay, wins 88-47

By Sam Newlon S T A F F

Coach Charlie Strong signed 24 players in December’s early signing period.

By Josh Fiallo S P O R T S

E D I T O R

Opposed to years past, USF football had one of its calmest National Signing Days ever Wednesday.

After signing 24 players in December’s inaugural early-signing period, USF added defensive tackles John Waller (St. Petersburg) and Tyrone Barber (Venice), who helped lead Venice High School to the 2017 Florida Class 7A state title, on the traditional signing day.

“National Signing Day is usually a day full of drama,” coach Charlie Strong said. “We only had to wait on two faxes to come through the machine today. During the early signing period, we signed 24 guys and were able to file a bunch of needs after losing the group of seniors we lost last year.”

Both Waller and Barber are rated as three-star athletes by 247Sports.

They’ll potentially have spots to fill

as USF lost last season’s starting defensive tackles Deadrin Senat and Bruce Hector to graduation.

Last season, Strong signed 18 players in his first recruiting class at USF, 17 of which signed on National Signing Day. Due to the size of the class being seven below the NCAA limit of 25 per signing period, USF was able to assign six early-enrollees that signed in December, which would’ve been members of the 2018 class, as part of the 2017 recruiting class. The early enrollees mean that USF still has five spots free to issue a scholarship to potential transfer players.

With most of his class secured by mid-December, Strong didn’t have to stress making trips across the country to try to secure commits all January.

“Last year, in the month of January, I think 172 guys de-committed and this year it was 26,” Strong said. “I kind of like the early signing period.

ORACLE FILE PHOTO/JACKIE BENITEZ

We’re able to get some really good players so you don’t have to go into January worrying, ‘where’s this guy visiting? What happened on the visit?’”

Instead of traveling to bolster his 2018 class, Strong spent January making connections for future recruiting classes.

USF’s class is ranked second in the American Athletic Conference behind Cincinnati, ranking 56th nationally by Rivals and 61st by 247sports.

With National Signing Day behind him, Strong has already started recruiting his 2019 class, as well as building relationships for recruiting classes to come.

“I went to over 100 high schools (in January),” Strong said. “I told the coaching staff, ‘Y’all better take you a snack. We’re not stopping for lunch.

We’ve got to get to as many schools as we can.’”

W R I T E R

USF (19-5, 9-2) led ECU (1311, 5-6) from wire-to-wire in its 88-47 victory Wednesday night, allowing for freshmen Alba Prieto and Vanessa Blagmon to play significant minutes.

The freshmen duo stepped into a more prominent role, playing a combined 32 minutes, while scoring a career-high 13 and 11 points, respectively, in front of 2,009 fans at the Sun Dome.

“Both of them, they’re going to have nice careers here,” coach Jose Fernandez said.

“They’ve just stayed with the process and they continue to work and invest and put in time. They got opportunities tonight and they played well.”

Prieto shot 75 percent from three-point range and dished out three assists.

“I think we just came with another energy and another attitude,” Prieto said. “I don’t know, we felt like the team was really supporting us and telling us to shoot the ball, so we just did it.”

In their last three games, the Bulls have recorded 50-plus rebounds, but came up short against the Pirates, bringing down 49. They also allowed the Pirates to record 16 offensive rebounds. Fernandez noted that rebounding, particularly on the offensive glass, needs to be improved moving forward.

“The two areas that were very uncharacteristic for us, yeah, we won the rebounding battle, but we gave up so many offensive rebounds and that’s just not us,” Fernandez said.

“We had six more turnovers than our average. We average 11 a game. We gave them extra possessions.”

Blagmon recorded three rebounds and two assists in addition to scoring in doubledigits.

On the court, junior guard Kitija Laksa was visibly excited when Prieto and Blagmon were making their shots. After the game, the excitement continued.

“I’m happy for my freshmen,” Laksa said.

Laksa led the Bulls in scoring with 25 points and shot 58 percent from the field, but didn’t earn any trips to the free throw line.

As a team, the Bulls shot 52 percent and converted half of their three-point attempts. In the first half, ECU was unable to make a single three-point shot, allowing the Bulls to pull away early.

“I’m pleased how we shot the ball, I don’t think we’ve shot the ball like that in a long, long time,” Fernandez said.

Next up, USF hosts No. 13 Ohio State (19-5, 8-3) on Sunday at 2 p.m.