7-10-14

The Oracle THURSDAY, JULY 10, 2014 I VOL. 51 NO. 132

Inside this Issue

USF hires Russ Coughenour as first AVP for Career Services.

By Adam Mathieu

USF alumna returns to Tampa for comedy act.

Page 4

Montage

S P ORTS Davis aims for USF records in senior season.

BACK

Oracle online Follow The Oracle on Twitter @USFOracle or take a photo of the QR code below with a QR reader app on your smartphone.

S T A F F

W R I T E R

As part of the ongoing effort to expand Career Services, USF has named Russ Coughenour as the university’s first assistant vice president for Career Services.

While most universities have offices dedicated to making students employable, on July 21, Coughenour will begin working as one of the first at a state university to be given an assistant vice president title for students’ career development.

“When I see (USF has) gone in and reorganized the upper level positions in the Career Services office, I think that’s exactly the type of organization structure that’s needed,” Coughenour said. “It will help USF with its visibility across the country and certainly with its visibility within the state of Florida.”

Previously, Director Drema Howard, who retired in June, headed USF Careeer Services.

Now, Career Services will be

restructured with an AVP and three directors leading a larger office with the goal of increasing student employment after graduation.

Coughenour, who served as the director of Career Services at the University of Tennessee, said he knows from experience the impact a career services office can have on students and aims to continue advancing student development by building relationships with employers, organizations and universities across the state.

As a college grad, he worked as a sales representative for three and a half years.

Unfulfilled with his work, he decided to rethink his career.

“I didn’t feel that I had really examined my career as well as I maybe should have,” Coughenour said.

After visiting the Career Services office of a nearby university, Coughenour began to have frequent conversations with the office’s director.

“The more I got working with him and the more I understood what people in Career Services did and how they impacted people … the more interested I got,” Coughenour said. “The last meeting I had with the director I told him that I wanted to do what he did.”

classifieds..............................................7 Crossword.........................................7 sports............................................................8

UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA

New leader to offer career guidance n

LIFESTYLE

www.usforacle.com

The Index

News.................................................................1 Lifestyle......................................................4 Opinion.......................................................6

Graduate assistant bargaining resumes

By Wesley Higgins N E W S

E D I T O R

Negotiations resumed Wednesday between USF Graduated Assistants Russ Coughenour. SPECIAL TO THE ORACLE United (USF-GAU) and university Coughenour said he knows officials.

Though nothing was officially sethow to talk to alumni who want to make a career change and tled, USF Media and Public Affairs undergraduate students who Coordinator Adam Freeman said the have yet to choose a career progress toward the 2014-17 graduate assistant collective bargaining path.

“I know what that feels like agreement was positive and producto be in the wrong thing,” tive.

USF-GAU co-president Josh Lenes, Coughenour said.

Career Services is a tool however, said what was accomCoughenour said students plished depends on one’s definition should take advantage of as of progress.

“The university came back with early as freshman year and continuously visit as they prog- nothing for the graduate assistants, ress through school, moving not a single penny,” he said.

In June, the first bargaining meetever closer to entering the work ing revolved heavily around three force.

“You don’t want to throw too key issues. The USF-GAU proposed much at them in that freshman higher wages, reduced student fees year,” Coughenour said. “But at and an unpaid leave policy.

Of these, the university negon See AVP on PAGE 2 tiators only tentatively agreed Wednesday to allowing unpaid leave for up to six weeks in the event of serious issues, such as childbirth or critical medical conditions.

While graduate assistants appreciate an unpaid leave policy, Lenes said it is not enough to close negotiations.

“That was something that we expected given it was on the table for years now,” he said.

What Lenes did not expect was a proposal by university negotiators Wednesday for USF-GAU to require members to re-apply for union cards every semester.

Typically, when graduate assistants join the union, they remain members as long as they continue The Starbucks in the USF Bookstore relocated to the ground floor, part of the USF Bookstore’s summer to hold their position. renovations. Starbucks is scheduled to re-open Monday. ORACLE PHOTO/ADAM MATHIEU n See BARGAINING on PAGE 2

Ground coffee

2

AVP

Continued from PAGE 1

the same time the student has a responsibility to start thinking about what comes at the end of the four years.”

From freshman year forward, Coughenour said students should think about getting experience outside the classroom to increase their marketability to future employers.

“What a career services office does is help a student with polish, making them look like the very best professional they can as they’re exiting USF and going into the world of work,” Coughenour said.

For Coughenour, making students marketable includes

T H U R S DAY, J U LY 1 0 , 2 0 1 4

everything from assisting them with cover letters to teaching interview processes and how to dress for success.

As for the job market, Coughenour said the entry-level market has been healthier than the overall job market.

Coughenour said STEM fields are excellent places for students to be, as these fields have great demand.

Coughenour said some majors, such as political science and language, should make more use of Career Services.

“There is not necessarily an occupation attached to those (majors) at the entry level after a four-year degree,” he said.

“What Career Services hopes to accomplish is for the student to understand that cer-

tain occupations may have to obtain a master’s degree.”

As the state pushes universities for more performancebased funding, universities are being assessed on the percentage of graduates who gain employment or continue education within a year of graduation. Last year, the Board of Governors awarded USF the second-highest amount of funding in the state for having a 69 percent rate of students who gained employment or continued their education and had a median average full-time salary of $34,600 within their first year after graduation.

Nationally, the unemployment rate for college graduates between the ages of 22 to 27 was 6.4 percent, but according to Bloomberg News,

the percentage dropped to 5.6 last year.

Coughenour will begin as USF’s AVP of Career Services at on July 21, and in addition to the new AVP of Career Services position and three new directors, the office will add two full-time career counselors and six student career peers.

Career Services previously had a budget of just more than $1 million, but has a proposed increase of $605,000, USF Vice President for Student Affairs Tom Miller said in an interview with The Oracle in May. “We want to expand the opportunities for students, to have practical real-world experiences and develop skills that make them more ready for the job market,” Miller said.

●

T H E O R AC L E

BARGAINING Continued from PAGE 1

“I have never heard of any university doing this,” he said. “We have a term for this: Union busting.”

Lenes said the inconvenience could only weaken USF-GAU membership.

“They know that there’s a threat in us getting organized around these issues,” he said.

With nothing finalized, both parties will re-evaluate their positions before reconvening.

Freeman said university representatives value graduate assistants and recognize the importance of their teaching and research for the university.

“The negotiating team looks forward to continuing these discussions soon,” he said.

There is no set date for the next negotiations meeting.

T H U R S DAY, J U LY 1 0 , 2 0 1 4

●

T H E O R AC L E

3

Lifestyle

4

UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA

●

T H U R S D AY, J U LY 1 0 , 2 0 1 4

●

T H E O R AC L E

COMEDIAN RETURNS TO HEADLINE IN TAMPA

By Courtney Combs L I F E S T Y L E

E D I T O R

When USF graduate and Los Angeles-based comedian Jessica Michelle Singleton was about 10 years old, she decided she wanted to be on “Saturday Night Live.”

“I originally tried standup just ‘cause I wasn’t sure how one goes about getting on ‘Saturday Night Live,’” Singleton said. “The first time I did stand-up I fell in love with it, so that’s when I decided I really wanted to be a stand-up comedian.”

After graduating from USF with a degree in mass communications, Singleton moved to LA and pursued a career as a stand-up comedian.

“When I was in Tampa you could maybe see a show once a month,” Singleton said. “Out here, I do shows every night.

It’s a really great place for comedy.”

Now Singleton is getting ready to return to Tampa for a special one-night-only performance at Peabody’s Billiards and Games on Wednesday at 8 p.m. It will be her first time performing in the city where she got her start more than four years ago.

Singleton performed her first stand-up show at Side Splitters in Tampa. At the time, Singleton was unaware her first experience with open mic was part of the opening round for Florida’s Funniest Comedian.

“The first time I got on stage was incredible,” Singleton said. “The second

time ... they told me I had to be clean and I didn’t know what that meant and I wrote an awful dorky clean set, like G-rated … and I bombed.”

“I’m kind of open to anything where I get to use my abilities to make people laugh in one way or another.”

Jessica Michelle Singleton USF alumna and comedian SPECIAL TO THE ORACLE

Since then, Singleton has had a lot more practice and is looking forward to showing what she’s learned.

“When I left, I was kind of an open mic level comedian,” Singleton said. “I’ve done a lot of work in the last four years and I’ve really grown. I have a full headlining set so I think that it will be very exciting. I get to show people that I’m actually doing comedy.”

Because Singleton is based in LA, most of her tours stick to the West Coast and a Tampa performance was just too costly. However, after she was invited to a friend’s wedding in the area, she saw her chance to once again perform in the city where she began her career.

“I’ve been trying to incorporate Tampa somehow into my road travels but it just hasn’t worked out,” Singleton

said. “I haven’t had the best of luck communicating with the comedy club down there.

I think a lot of it’s because I started there… they haven’t seen me grow.”

“I have a lot of observational material,” Singleton said. “… I would say it’s a pretty good mix between personal family storytelling and observational.”

Currently, Singleton said a lot of her set is based on her observations of women and dating, and she said she pulls inspiration from comedy greats such as Joan Rivers and Louis C.K. Last year Singleton participated in the Montreux Comedy Festival in Switzerland, the largest and longest running comedy festival in Europe. Out of the thousands of applicants, only five English-speaking

Singleton will perform at 8 p.m. Wednesday at Peabody’s, located at 15333 Amberly Drive in Tampa. SPECIAL TO THE ORACLE

SPECIAL TO THE ORACLE

comedians were invited.

“I got to perform for an international audience, which was incredible,” she said.

For other comedic hopefuls, Singleton said the key is to write a lot and get in front of an audience as often as possible.

“It’s not easy,” Singleton said. “You don’t become a star overnight. It’s a lot of hard work for basically nothing upfront.”

Singleton would still like

to one day get on “Saturday Night Live,” but not in the way she originally planned.

“I would be totally happy being a writer for ‘Saturday Night Live,’” she said. “There was a point where I would not have been OK if they would have been like ‘yeah we could take you as a writer,’ but now I just enjoy creating comedy so I’m kind of open to anything where I get to use my abilities to make people laugh in one way or another.”

T H U R S DAY, J U LY 1 0 , 2 0 1 4

●

T H E O R AC L E

DAVIS

Continued from PAGE 8

players and watching myself,” Davis said. “But as the years progress, I’m starting to learn how to understand coverages, read the cornerback, how to break your route, and where to break your route. Coach Dugans played a big role in that.”

Dugans was the wide receivers coach for Louisville before coming to USF in January. “(Davis) leads by example,” Dugans said. “He’s a kid that does what he’s supposed to in the classroom, shows up on time and is a kid that wants to do good not only for himself, but for his team.”

Going into his final season with the Bulls, Davis said he is aware of the company he will be with atop the all-time leaderboards, but knows he will need his team behind him to get there, including consistency at the quarterback position.

Davis spoke of the importance of quarterback stability for his position, something that escaped the Bulls as they switched quarterbacks mid-way through last season.

Without a day-one starter announced, Davis is making sure he builds a rapport with each one of the quarterbacks this offseason.

“I’ve worked with all three quarterbacks and my main thing is for them to be comfortable and that they have that trust in not only me, but all of the receivers,” Davis said.

Davis has lofty expectations for himself this season including the first 1,000-yard, double-digit touchdown season of his career.

“I’ve had these expectations every season, but in past seasons I felt it wasn’t my place,” Davis said. “We had a lot of seniors last season and now that it’s my senior year, I want to put the team on my back.”

5

Opinion

6

UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA

●

T H U R S D AY, J U LY 1 0 , 2 0 1 4

EDITORIAL

Online classes should be more affordable Though online courses can offer students many conveniences not available to those enrolled in physical classes, they are not always the most financially convenient option.

Students seek online courses for a variety of reasons, whether it’s because they prefer to work from home or because they have a job or family commitment. Others may simply want to avoid a commute or may opt for them because of course availability.

As stated in a report from the Learning House and American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU), nearly half of public universities offer five or more completely online programs.

USF offered over 1,600 sections of online courses last year, and 63 percent of students are enrolled in at least one online course each year, according to USF Innovative Education.

While online courses have appeal as an alternative to those offered on campus, students are sometimes forced to pay a larger cost than they would for on-campus classes.

While Georgia Tech offers an online graduate program that costs over 80 percent less than the oncampus program, as it did with its online computer science program that launched this spring according to an Inside Higher Ed column, this isn’t the norm.

the Oracle

As mentioned in the column, 36 percent of large public universities in the country charge students a premium for online courses, according to the AASCU and Learning House report. Of the universities offering five or more online classes, 64 percent charge students an online technology fee.

Additionally, most large public universities that offer online courses charge virtual students the same residential rate for tuition as students in on-campus courses, according to the same report. Only 2 percent offer online tuition at less than that rate.

At USF, all undergraduate Tampa students pay the same tuition per credit hour rate of $211.19.

However, when the $50 distance learning fee — which, according to Innovative Education, covers expenses such as software licenses, support services and instructional materials — is added per credit hour, online students could pay as much as $150 more for each online class.

While tuition may be the same, this fee compromises the affordability of seeking online education.

In the past year, USF Tampa has collected about $6.5 million from this fee, and reinvested it into expenses for distance learning and activities such as transitioning oncampus courses to online courses, according to Innovative Education.

All USF students, with the

exception of graduate students in a fully-online program living outside of Tampa, are required to pay mandatory flat fees, one of which is the Tampa Student Union Enhancement Flat Fee, which covers Marshall Student Center (MSC) maintenance.

Since USF’s fully-online programs are only at the graduate level, this fee is fair since these students may never set foot in the MSC if all of their classes are online.

Online students don’t use all of the institution’s amenities and don’t wear down the school’s facilities, if they take all of their courses online. But even if a student is only enrolled in one online class, his costs for that class should be adjusted to match only the resources he’s expected to use.

As the Inside Higher Ed article addresses, a solution to the problem of online tuition could be e-tuition, which sets the cost of tuition for online classes reasonably lower than the on-campus cost.

While many universities don’t charge online students at a higher price than on-campus students, the example set by Georgia Tech and other schools who charge tuition at significantly lower rates than the on-campus rate could help make the path to online education more affordable and that much more accessible.

●

T H E O R AC L E

What you said In light of the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that a warrant is required to search a cell phone, editors Isabelle Cavazos and Adam Mathieu asked students what they think about the decision.

“Privacy protection is very important. Going against that would open up more issues with privacy.”

— Tatiana Eggers, a graduate student majoring in applied physics science

“I think they should be able to check if someone is in trouble.

It’s for our safety.” ­— Rayan Armouche, a senior majoring in finance “It leaves gaps. Is it the cell phone, the hardware, Internet searches or information taken from apps?”

— Jesse Heath, a junior majoring in computer science

the University of South Florida’s student newspaper since 1966

Editor in Chief: Alex Rosenthal ............................ oracleeditor@gmail.com Managing Editor: Mike Mallory ........................ oraclemeditor@gmail.com News Editor: Wesley Higgins ......................... oraclenewsteam@gmail.com Sports Editor: Vinnie Portell ........................ oraclesportseditor@gmail.com Lifestyle Editor: Courtney Combs .......... oraclelifestyleeditor@gmail.com Opinion Editor: Isabelle Cavazos ....................... oracleopinion@gmail.com Copy Editor: Grace Hoyte Multimedia Editor: Adam Mathieu Graphic Arts Manager: Chelsea Stulen

The Oracle is published Monday through Thursday during the fall and spring semesters, and twice weekly, Monday and Thursday, during the summer.

The Oracle allocates one free issue to each student.

Additional copies are $.50 each and available at the Oracle office (SVC 0002).

BY PHONE Main . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

News . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Sports ................

Lifestyle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Advertising . . . . . . . . . . . .

Classified . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Website: Facebook: Twitter:

974-6242 974-5190 974-1888 974-2842 974-2398 974-2620 974-6242

usforacle.com facebook.com/usforacle @USFOracle

CORRECTIONS The Oracle will correct or clarify factual errors.

Contact Editor in Chief Alex Rosenthal at 974-5190.

“I would prefer that you didn’t need the warrant.

It could be a critical part of evidence.”

— Elizabeth McMillan, a junior majoring in management

Classifieds UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA

To place a classified ad go to

●

T H U R S D AY, J U LY 1 0 , 2 0 1 4

http://www.usforacle.com/classifieds APTS & HOUSES FOR RENT

CONDO FOR RENT 2bdrm/2bath 1200 sqft available in guarded/ gated community, 3 miles from USF, partially furnished, $750/mos. Call Lindsay at 813-469-1802.

HELP WANTED LAB TECH ASSISTANT Needed.

FT & PT positions. Near HCC Brandon Campus.

Gain science experience and schedule work around classes.

Experience not necessary. Work minimum 20 hours M-F, 8 am - 5 pm. $9/hr.

Fax: 813-793-4429 or e-mail hr@randglabs.com. Send work schedule availability.

Email charles@randglabs.com

Check out The Oracle online www.usforacle.com

Crossword

Studio for rent with private bathroom and entrance. The room is fully furnished. Very quite neighborhood and area. Also a 5min drive to USF. $500/month all included. For any questions please call Marta home# 813988-1655, cell#813-416-0066

●

T H E O R AC L E

7

8

Sports

UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA

●

T H U R S D AY, J U LY 1 0 , 2 0 1 4

●

T H E O R AC L E

Football

Davis aims for USF records in senior season

By Jacob Hoag C O R R E S P O N D E N T

After a rebuilding year for USF football in which the Bulls won only two of their 12 games, the team is back preparing at the Morsani Complex in hopes of a bounce-back season. Among the anxious players is senior wide receiver Andre Davis.

Davis got off to a sputtering start last season averaging 2.5 catches and 39 yards per game in his first seven games, only to end the year by setting the USF single-season yardage mark for a receiver (735).

His second half turnaround has put him in position to break even more records in the upcoming season.

“I came in with the mindset to win first and foremost, but I also came in with the mindset that I was going to take over those records,” Davis said.

“That’s what I wanted to do.

That’s what I needed to do to get to the next level.”

Needing just 14 receptions and 106 yards in his senior season to eclipse the all-time

marks held by Hugh Smith (Rec.) and Carlton Mitchell (Yds.), Davis looks to his team and the program for support.

“I’m going to lead by example,” Davis said. “With it being my last year, I feel like I owe it to this program and to the young guys. USF gave me the opportunity to come in and provide for the program, so I feel that I owe it to them to get this program back on track and leave on a winning season.”

As a team-first player, Davis knows the importance of a strong foundation with solid leadership inside the locker room — a trait of Davis’ that was instrumental in quarterback Mike White’s development. “(Davis) was huge (in my development) even before I was named the starter,” White said. “As soon as I got to campus he was working with me and being real positive with me, which is what a freshman needs to lean on.”

White was thrown into the starting lineup seven games into his freshman campaign

Andre Davis looks to improve on his statistics of 735 yards and two touchdowns last season.

ORACLE FILE PHOTO/ADAM MATHIEU

last season, but refused to let the pressure affect him, throwing for 311 yards in his debut—134 of which with Davis on the receiving end.

Nicknamed “Freak Show” by his peers for what he does

on the field, what Davis does behind locker room doors may be even more important.

Davis said he never paid much attention to film study in his first few years at USF, but with the addition of for-

mer FSU wide receiver Ron Dugans as the receivers coach, Davis has learned the importance of film.

“Freshman year I felt like I was just in there watching

n See DAVIS on PAGE 5

Four Bulls named to preseason watch lists

Chris Dunkley will potentially have three roles with the Bulls this season as a wide receiver, kick returner and defensive back.

ORACLE FILE PHOTO/ADAM MATHIEU

Preseason award watch lists for college football were announced this week and four Bulls were nominated.

Senior center Austin Reiter was added to the Rimington Award watch list for the second consecutive year. The Rimington Trophy is given annually to the most outstanding center in college football.

Reiter has started every game for the Bulls over the past two seasons and has added over 20 pounds to his playing weight from last season.

Senior wide receiver and kick returner Chris Dunkley was added to the preseason watch list for the 2014 Paul Hornung Award. The award is

presented to the most versatile player in college football.

Dunkley caught seven passes for 87 yards last season, but special teams is where he shined for the Bulls. Dunkley returned kickoffs for an average of 22.6 yards, which ranked 62nd in the nation out of 113 returners. Dunkley also saw limited time returning punts, including a 50-yard return for a touchdown. To improve more on his versatility, Dunkley practiced as a defensive back with the Bulls in the spring.

Sean Price, the only junior to be nominated, was named to the watch list for the 2014 Mackey Award, which is pre-

sented to the most outstanding tight end in college football. Price caught 21 passes in each of his first two seasons with the Bulls and was the only tight end in the AAC and one of 40 players nationally to be nominated to the watch list.

Senior kicker Marvin Kloss was a 2013 finalist for the Lou Groza award, awarded to the most outstanding field-goal kicker in college football. This season, he was once again named to the preseason watch list for the award. Kloss enters his senior season already holding the USF-record for most consecutive field goals (13).

—Staff report