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The Oracle MONDAY, JANUARY 12, 2015 I VOL. 53 NO. 62

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News.................................................................1 classifieds..............................................7 Opinion.......................................................6 Crossword.........................................7 sports............................................................8

UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA

Alliance aims to vitalize university area

By Wesley Higgins N E W S

S PORTS Tulane out lasts struggling Bulls in overtime.

BACK

O PI NION Obama’s plan to make community college affordable.

Page 6

E D I T O R

If one of the Tampa Innovation Alliance’s goals is to bring community leaders together, then Friday’s kickoff was a promising first step in a unified effort to vitalize the university area.

In the atrium of USF Connect, business owners and government officials filled more than 150 seats as they listened to a series of pitches advocating the area as a place worth investing in.

Mark Sharpe, the executive director of the Tampa Innovation Alliance and former Hillsborough County commissioner, said the alliance is less of a business opportunity and more of a “movement” for the area.

“This economic development area could be globally

n See ALLIANCE on PAGE 3

Mark Sharpe led the Tampa Innovation Alliance on Friday, discussing how businesses could bring prosperity to the area around the university. SPECIAL TO THE ORACLE / QUINCY J. WALTERS

Youth of the Year Story on PAGE 2

USF student Maryah Sullivan has traveled the country representing the Boys and Girls Clubs of America’s Youth of the Year. SPECIAL TO THE ORACLE

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T H E O R AC L E

USF student becomes national Youth of the Year

By Allison Leslie C O R R E S P O N D E N T

Queen Latifah, Denzel Washington, Timbaland and Misty Copeland are a few of the celebrities one USF student met while traveling across the country as the Boys & Girls Clubs of America’s Youth of the Year.

This year, the national Youth of the Year was awarded to Maryah Sullivan, a USF freshman studying to become a neurosurgeon.

Earlier this year, Sullivan competed against Florida Boys & Girls Clubs of America members across the state before going on to compete and win in the national competition.

The national winner is selected based on leadership skills, overcoming obstacles and family values. Sullivan was awarded a $50,000 scholarship for her title.

“I began going to the Boys &

She said she manages to Girls Club when I was 6 years “I don’t think we should old; my elementary school was leave it up to government offi- juggle volunteer work and only a few feet away from the cials, the mayor or city coun- schoolwork because, in her Boys & Girls Club,” Sullivan cil. I think that the people in experience, it is easy to do said. “I saw all my friends the community know what the work you love doing. going after school and so I community itself needs and “It makes me feel like I asked my mom if my brother it’s important for us all to give broke a chain, but also started and I could also go to the a new path,” Sullivan Boys & Girls Club.” said. “I know that my In elementary school, “I think that the people in the brother and my little sisSullivan began lending a ter are up to higher stanhand in the local com- community know what the dards now and I know munity volunteering at they’re going to follow nursing homes and at the community itself needs and in my footsteps. It’s the beginning of a new jourRonald McDonald House it’s important for us all in Orlando, which housney for my family.”

After being named es families of pediatric to give back to it.”

Youth of the Year, patients.

Sullivan’s life has been In high school, Sullivan Maryah Sullivan an adventure, though became the president USF freshman and Boys & Girls Clubs of America’s she said she tries not to of the National Honor Youth of the Year let it go to her head.

Society and led a volunTraveling to New York, teer group every Saturday Sullivan appeared on at the Ronald McDonald TODAY’s “Kathie Lee & House. back to it.”

“It’s very important to me to While being an active volun- Hoda” show, in ABC’s “Disney Frozen Christmas volunteer in my own commu- teer, Sullivan was also a dedi- Parks nity,” Sullivan said. “I believe cated student. She graduated Celebration” at Magic Kingdom that it’s up to the people with- high school with a 4.4 GPA and and has been featured on “The in this community to change as the first person in her fam- Queen Latifah Show.”

“I’ve always said that the their own community. ily to go to college.

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Boys & Girls Club has given me hope for as long as I can remember,” Sullivan said. “I’m able to go around and travel the country and just give that same hope to other kids. I think it’s very important to understand that you are not where you come from, that your obstacles don’t necessarily define you.”

While representing the Boys & Girls Clubs, Sullivan also attends USF studying to become a neurosurgeon. She said she knew by junior year of high school that neurosurgery and studying cancer were what she wanted to do after members of her family passed away from the disease.

Sullivan said she finds motivation for her full workload from her mother.

“I use her struggles and her obstacles as stepping stones for myself,” Sullivan said. “I learn from all of her experiences that she’s had as a teenager and that she’s still having now.”

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ALLIANCE

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recognized as the most innovative place, where the brightest talent around the world would want to come and work,” he said. “Not just be a place where people come during the day and go back home, but would instead come and stay because it’s exciting, with places to eat and shop.”

The Tampa Innovation Alliance is spearheaded by USF, Busch Gardens, Moffitt Cancer Center and Florida Hospital. Though already composed of this area’s major economic giants, the alliance still wants other businesses of any size to join in a singular vision of the area.

Frank Chillura, mayor of Temple Terrace, said businesses and local government could join together to rebrand Temple Terrace. Instead of considering Temple Terrace just a place one goes through to get to USF or Busch Gardens, he said it could be unified to become a cultural highlight of Tampa.

“There’s been a talk of a uni-

fied front for years,” Chillura said. “Downtown has it, Westshore has it, but this part of town has never had it. If we have one voice, we’ll get so much more done.”

Dormant resources in Temple Terrace, such as a 262acre plot of land, could be used for new businesses. The area has also received grants from the city in the last few years to improve the landscape, making the area a more attractive place to live in.

Chillura also talked about pedestrian pathways and bicycle trails that make Temple Terrace accessible. He said that a city rail is still in the talks, and that USF would be one of the main stops of the rail.

Current advantages of the area were discussed, such as the tourist-friendly location, with traffic coming from I-275 and visitors going to Busch Gardens.

Busch Gardens President Jim Dean said the university area is located strategically between Orlando, which is the largest tourist destination in the world, and some of the best beaches in the world.

“We’re in the perfect spot to

Hoax raises false hope for campus Chipotle

By Alex Rosenthal E D I T O R

I N

C H I E F

To the likely dismay of many on campus, there are no plans to bring Chipotle on campus within the next year.

Student hopes were foiled after a student’s post on the USF Class of 2018 Facebook group, which received 387 likes and several dozen comments since being posted last week, showed a screenshot of a USF Health news article with the headline “Organic Fast-

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Food Chain Chipotle To Open Location On USF Campus in October of 2015.”

Comments on the Facebook post included “OMG Chipotle is my life!!!” “This has got to be too good to be true,” “this is great Photoshop,” and “there’s a special place in hell for the people who lie about this…”

Spokespeople at USF Health and University Communications and Marketing put a wrap on the hoax, stating there are currently no plans for a Chipotle location on campus.

drive tourism from all of the world,” Dean said.

For small business startups, the cost of real estate in the area is some of the cheapest in the region, one business owner mentioned.

Westshore Pizza co-owner, Paul Samson, said businesses need to keep in mind a large student base and their demands, such as pizza.

But many agreed that students were not just the consumers in the area, but could also feed back into the area with their innovation and talent.

“We’ve got to get students engaged, because students are going to be the ones who drive this ultimate goal,” said student body president Jean Cocco. “Students should be the priority in this alliance.”

Some business owners already in the area said the university not only provided business, but also a large pool of interns.

However, a challenge is convincing students to stay in the area instead of taking their skills somewhere else once they graduate.

“To keep our kids here

to unleash their potential, we need to have a job strategy,” said Hillsborough County Commissioner Sandra Murman. “We can’t lose our kids to other states, other businesses ... we need to keep them here in Hillsborough.”

Many business owners and government officials acknowledged other challenges.

One of the reasons there’s a need for the alliance is the lack of communication between leaders in the area, and therefore no focused strategy for improving the area.

Sansom said Westshore Pizza had to go through yards of red tape to partner with USF. He gave the example of having to go through 17 different divisions and talking to 24 different people just to pitch the idea of students using dining dollars for pizza deliveries.

Tampa Councilwoman Lisa Montelione said a huge challenge is considering how businesses market in polar opposite demographics. She also mentioned the reputation Temple Terrace has for poverty and crime.

“I have the privilege to serve some of the richest people and

some of the poorest people in the city,” she said. “(The area) has a negative reputation; it’s a challenge to overcome that.”

Others noted that though there is a largely educated population in the university area, there is also a high percentage uneducated people who find it hard to obtain a job.

Hillsborough County Commissioner Victor Crist said the alliance, by connecting neighborhoods with businesses, would provide the opportunity to pull the area out of poverty.

“The richest people, the poorest people. The biggest houses, the smallest houses ... all within walking distance,” Crist said. “If there’s one simple thing we need to do, that’s focus on stabilization, which will reduce crime and increase business opportunities with jobs at all different levels.”

Pathfinder Group Manager John Foster, who helps family businesses manage risks, said a practical first step is to link businesses together by allowing shared services.

“We can make those handshakes possible,” Foster said.

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UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA

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were ahead by as much as 22 points thanks to the play of sophomore center Katelyn Weber, who grabbed 11 rebounds and shot 4-5 from the field for eight points. USF outscored Temple 38-18 in the paint, proving to be too much for the Owls to handle down low. Additionally, the Bulls came away with 18 fast break points compared to Temple’s two.

Looking forward, USF returns home for its next game Wednesday at 7 p.m. against SMU. The Mustangs (4-10) have yet to win a game on the road this season or in conference play.

USF has not lost since a home game against St. John’s (13-3) on Dec. 7, when the Bulls lost by three points.

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Opinion

UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA

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Obama pushes U.S. closer to college affordability

Though the idea of all students getting their first two years of college for free might sound too good to be true, it may soon become a reality.

With a proposal President Barack Obama introduced Friday, any student could attend the first two years of community college without charge as long as they are “willing to work for it.”

According to WhiteHouse.gov, federal funds would pay for threequarters of the average community college cost for students, and the participating states would be required to cover the remainder of tuition costs. All students must do to be eligible is attend a community college with at least half-time status, keep a 2.5 GPA and make progress toward their degrees.

In addition to making college much more accessible and affordable for students, slashing out the cost of tuition would also cut back

on the pile of student loan debt U.S. students face, which amounted to a national total of $1.2 trillion last year, according to New York Daily News.

One of the major questions surrounding the proposal, though, is how the federal government plans to pay for 75 percent of tuition costs for students. According to an Inside Higher Education article, Obama will discuss the cost of the plan and the full proposal at the State of the Union address Jan. 20.

While the full plan hasn’t yet come to light, for the time being, it’s important to judge the proposal based on the benefits it would bring students, which are substantial.

For instance, if all states chose to participate, it would make community college free for about 9 million students and save fulltime students $3,800 in tuition costs every year, as reported by WhiteHouse.gov. On average, the College Board reports that tuition and fees for public two-year colleges amounts to $3,347, but this number varies by state.

Of course, students have other expenses aside from tuition, such as textbooks, housing and food. As calculated in a Chronicle of Higher Education article, community college students pay about $16,325 annually for these costs before financial aid is applied.

Clearly, Obama’s plan wouldn’t

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the University of South Florida’s student newspaper since 1966

Isabelle Cavazos COLU M N I ST

Editor in Chief: Alex Rosenthal .............................. oracleeditor@gmail.com News Editor: Wesley Higgins .......................... oraclenewsteam@gmail.com Sports Editor: Vinnie Portell ........................ oraclesportseditor@gmail.com Lifestyle Editor: Brandon Shaik ............... oraclelifestyleeditor@gmail.com Opinion Editor: Isabelle Cavazos ....................... oracleopinion@gmail.com Copy Editors: Grace Hoyte, Caitlin Lochner Multimedia Editor: Adam Mathieu Assistant Editors: Sebastian Contento, Jacob Hoag, Polly Snover

take care of all of these expenses, and it definitely wouldn’t trigger the end of student loans in those first two years. However, it would eliminate a significant cost for students and hopefully reduce the amount students need to borrow.

According to the Chronicle, if state and federal governments cover tuition not already paid for by financial aid, then students who receive grants may not receive as much as students who don’t qualify for any need-based aid. On the other hand, students who qualify for the Pell Grant might receive the benefits of the plan and receive their Pell Grant for other costs.

Additionally, the plan comes at the right time, as its inspiration is based on work force expectations for 2020. WhiteHouse.gov points out that by then, about 35 percent of jobs will require a bachelor’s degree and 30 percent will require an associate degree. It’s only logical to boost access to an education that will make students more qualified for the job market.

All in all, the most important possibility of the proposal is that students who have the motivation and will to attend college and advance their opportunities in the work force would no longer have factors such as tuition hikes holding them back.

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T H E O R AC L E

What you said President Barack Obama recently proposed a plan to cover tuition costs for the first two years at a community college.

Editors Isabelle Cavazos and Adam Mathieu asked students what changes, positive or negative, this proposal could have.

“It’s detrimental because an A.A. will have less value, but our society is also more educated because more people will have a degree.”

— Walter Hernandez, a junior majoring in computer science

“It wouldn’t affect international students, but I think international students should (be eligible to) apply.” ­— Moin Khan, a junior majoring in mechanical engineering

“I like the idea because a lot of people go to community college in the first place.”

Isabelle Cavazos is a junior majoring in English and Spanish.

— Kat Lord, a senior majoring in nursing

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.

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“It would be positive in that people who can’t afford a degree can get an associate, and that’s better than a high school degree.”

— Laura Solinger, a senior majoring in marine biology

Classifieds UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA

To place a classified ad go to

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Part-time Warehouse Worker Warehouse Position Irvin, Inc., a full-service billboard supply house, is seeking to fill one part-time position in the warehouse. The ideal candidate will meet the following requirements: - Valid driver’s license - Reliable transportation to and from work - Strong attention to detail - Forklift experience, including loading and off-loading within a racking system - Basic Computer Skills (Online freight rate quotes and familiarity with Bills of Lading a plus) - Ability to pass a background check with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) Job Responsibilities: - Strict Adherence to a Monday - Thursday 12pm - 4pm work schedule - Pull customer orders with attention to detail.

- Create bills of lading.

- Receive product in from various suppliers.

- Drive forklift for various functions.

- Keep warehouse clean and orderly.

- Complete other duties as needed.

- Be able to lift 50lbs.

Only serious candidates should submit resumes to denise@theirvincorp.com.

No walk-in interviews will be granted.

Email denise@theirvincorp.com

Large Mini Storages Available We currently have a great rental special for any USF student looking for storage space , we have sizes that range from 10 x 10 ‘s at $75.00 per month, 10 x 18’s that is located within 3 miles of the school. We are located on Busch Boulevard and can accommodate your storage needs. Give us a call at 813.931.0948

Veterinary Tech/Assistant or Receptionist needed for animal hospital close to campus.

Part-time or full-time. Experience a plus, but will train.

Email resume to acahhiring@gmail.com.

Gymnastics and/or Swim Instructors Needed Must Love Kids & Be Enthusiastic!

Call 813.264-5000

CLINICAL RESEARCH ASSISTANT Full-time for New Tampa clinical research center.

Must have good computer and multi-tasking skills.

Email resume: careers@jaeb.org EOE M/F/V/D/DFWP. Email careers@jaeb.org LAB TECH ASSISTANT Needed. FT/PT positions. Near HCC Brandon Campus.

Gain science experience and work around classes. Experience not necessary. Work minimum 20 hours M-F, 8 am - 5 pm. $9/ hr. E-mail work schedule availability and resume to hr@randglabs.com.

Email charles@randglabs.com

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Sports

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UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA

The Rundown

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Men’s Basketball

Green Wave overcomes Bulls in OT

By Vinnie Portell

Outside USF The No. 2 UConn women’s basketball team defeated SMU 87-28 on Sunday. Four Huskies scored at least 11 points in the blowout, while SMU’s leading scorer had nine points. UConn will host USF on Sunday at 1 p.m.

Weekend scores Men’s Basketball

USF Tulane

51 56

Women’s Basketball

USF

Temple

70 58

Conference update Men’s Basketball

SMU, Tulane and Temple are tied for second in the AAC, trailing conference-leading Tulsa by a half game.

USF is tied with UCF for seventh in the conference.

S P O R T S

E D I T O R

It had been nearly two months since USF (7-10, 1-3) went into overtime before the Bulls were defeated 56-51 in overtime by Tulane (12-4, 3-1) on Sunday.

The Bulls’ first overtime game of the season was a 73-71 victory over UAB, but they have only won four games since.

Only one of those wins, a 58-50 victory over East Carolina, was a conference game. The Bulls needed a win over Tulane, which is tied for second in the AAC, to avoid a losing record in conference play.

Though the Bulls scored the opening points of the game, they couldn’t get the offense going until the end of the second half, trailing for almost the entire game in New Orleans and didn’t lead until only 22 seconds remained in regulation.

Tulane guard Jonathan Stark made one of two free throws to tie the game at 46 with 16 seconds remaining, and USF had the ball with a chance to win.

Junior guard Anthony Collins patiently let the clock wind down and then drove hard to the right side of the basket. Collins was met with several defenders and wildly threw the ball at the backboard.

Troy Holston Jr. was the only Bull to score in overtime against Tulane on Sunday. The guard scored 11 points throughout the game, including three 3-pointers. ORACLE FILE PHOTO/SEBASTIAN CONTENTO Freshman center Ruben Guerrero collected the miss, but his put back attempt fell short as time expired.

Freshman guard Troy Holston Jr. scored five of his 11 points on two shots to open overtime for the Bulls, but Tulane was able to stop USF from scoring in the game’s final 2 minutes and 37 seconds.

USF pushes streak to seven at Temple

By Zach Lowie S T A F F

USF currently leads the AAC with four conference wins.

No. 2 UConn, Tulane and Temple all closely trail with three wins.

Women’s Basketball

SMU (4-11, 0-4) at USF (13-3, 4-0) AM(1040)

of the disproportionate amount of free throws the Bulls allowed.

The Green Wave made 22 of its 27 attempts, compared to USF’s four out of five tries.

USF will return to the Sun Dome in search of its second conference win when it hosts AAC-leading Tulsa (10-5, 3-0) on Saturday at 11 a.m.

Women’s Basketball

Women’s Basketball

When: Wednesday, 7 p.m.

Where: Sun Dome TV/Radio: ESPN3/WHBO-

Tulane guard Louis Dabney outscored the Bulls in overtime by himself. The junior scored six of his 25 points in overtime and made more than half of Tulane’s shots. Without Dabney, Tulane shot 21 percent from the field, including only 2 of 10 3-pointers.

USF made six more shots than the Green Wave, but lost because

Sophomore center Katelyn Weber proved to be a pivotal player in the post for the Bulls on Sunday as she recorded eight points and 11 rebounds. ORACLE FILE PHOTO/ADAM MATHIEU

W R I T E R

The USF women’s basketball team continues to stay hot with its seventh straight win Sunday, beating Temple (7-10, 3-10) 70-58 in Philadelphia.

USF (13-3, 4-0) gained ground in the first few minutes of the game and never looked back, maintaining the lead from start to finish. With a 15-point lead at halftime, the Bulls remained consistent in the second half, limiting

Temple to 29 percent shooting from the field. This was the fourth consecutive game in which USF held its opponent to less than 30 percent shooting.

The Bulls shot 51 percent and knocked down three crucial 3-pointers in the first half.

Junior guard Courtney Williams made the Temple defense crumble, coming away with another double-double, with 21 points and 12 rebounds.

In the second half, the Bulls

n See STREAK on PAGE 5