10-27-14

The Oracle MONDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2014 I VOL. 52 NO. 36

The Index

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

www.usforacle.com

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

UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA

Tuition billing lacks ‘transparency’ in student fees

By Roberto Roldan M A N A G I N G

E D I T O R

The biggest complaint among college students is the rising cost of tuition and fees, but if you were to ask students at USF where exactly their tuition money is going, they are not likely to know.

Students who attempt to view their tuition and fees receipts through OASIS are met with a number of charges labeled simply as “Tuition.”

These charges are made up of a handful of student fees, including the per-credit-hour charges for Athletic, Health, and Activity and Service fees, all bundled into multiple “Tuition” amounts.

Corey Ulloa is a Student Government (SG) senator, as well as a member of the Local Fees Committee, the committee in charge of deciding which student fees to raise and by how much.

In the year he has been on the committee, Ulloa said he has never seen a student show

up to one of the public meetings and believes the way in which student fees are hidden on OASIS may prevent more broad participation from students in issues that directly effect them.

“I think it’s a big part of it because, until last year when I was in SG, I didn’t know that (fluctuating student fees) actually existed either,” Ulloa said.

“I just saw the ‘tuition’ charges on my OASIS and just thought ‘OK, I’m paying random fees for tuition.’”

Ulloa said he feels there needs to be more transparency on OASIS to give students some context for raises to student fees.

“In the committee we actually talk a lot about the fees and what they’re at now ­ — so we have those numbers,” Ulloa said. “I don’t know why they are not necessarily on our OASIS pages for students to see where all their money is going.”

Student fees are used for everything from buying new gym equipment and subsidiz-

Health fee: $9.94 per credit hour

A&S fee: $12.08 per credit hour

Athletic fee: $14.46 per credit hour

* As of 2014-15 academic year.

Other fees: $5.50 per credit hour

Capital Improvement fee: $6.76 per credit hour

Currently, students taking a 15-credit-hour course load pay roughly $768 per semester in student fees, including $37 in flat rate fees. ORACLE GRAPHIC/ADAM MATHIEU ing student organizations to covering state-mandated salary increases. The proposed student fee increases for this year will provide funding for

Clinton campaigns for Crist

projects such as a new gym in the USF Health area and paying scholarship differentials for student-athletes.

SG student body president

n See TUITION on PAGE 3

Committee approves student fee increases

By Roberto Roldan M A N A G I N G

Former U.S. President Bill Clinton rallied beside gubernatorial candidate Charlie Crist at Cyrus Greene Park Sunday afternoon ahead of the Nov. 4 election. ORACLE PHOTO/AMINA SPAHIC

Jean Cocco said he agrees with Ulloa and campaigned specifically on the issue of transparency in student fees last year.

E D I T O R

The Local Fee Committee voted Friday to increase student fees by $1.82 per credit hour, the maximum allowable increase.

Beginning next academic year, a student taking a 15-credit-hour course load can expect to pay roughly $195 per semester for the Activity and Service fee, $227 per semester for the Athletic fee and $168 per semester for the Health fee.

The proposed increase to the Athletic fee to pay for stu-

dent-athlete scholarship differentials was approved for 75 percent of what was originally asked for at $450,000 – 46 cents per credit hour.

In total, the Athletic fee was raised by 72 cents per credit hour.

The proposed increase in the student Health fee was approved in full at 63 cents per credit hour or $609,132 in total additional funding.

The increased revenue will go toward salary increases for departments under USF Wellness, including the hiring of a new Victim Advocate for

n See INCREASE on PAGE 2

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T H E O R AC L E

Unique sports tournament shines light on disabilities

By Jessica Prakke C O R R E S P O N D E N T

Nineteen intramural teams stretched, put on kneepads and talked strategy Friday in the USF Campus Recreation Center.

Players blinded themselves with blackened goggles and lay on the basketball court floor to guard a goal. When the whistle blew, the second annual Disability Awareness Month Goalball Tournament began.

The event was meant to connect disabled and able-bodied students through the sport for the visually impaired and blind, thus raising empathy for the disability.

“It’s a great way for able-bodied students to experience something different,” said Jason Werle, the assistant director of intramural sports and sport clubs.

Goalball consists of three blindfolded players on each team. A ball filled with bells is thrown at a low level and has to hit the ground by a certain point otherwise there is a penalty.

The players stay close to or lay on the ground in strategic positions to block the ball. If the ball makes its way past the players into the goal, the other team gets a point.

Campus recreation and the sports clubs teamed up with Students with Disability Services to create the annual event. The plan was to pick a different disabled sport every year. A few years ago the event featured sitting volleyball.

After the high popularity of goalball last year, they decided to bring it back, Werle said.

“Last year it got really, really competitive,” said Associate Director of Students with

Disabilities Services Raquel Pancho.

The visually impaired students who participated in the tournament enjoyed feeling normal, said Amanda Furr, a visually impaired student majoring in sociology and communication.

“It really brings awareness that blind people can play sports,” Furr said.

Students who were not visually impaired had a harder time with the game. They said the sport becomes difficult once the sense of sight is taken away.

“It’s a lot more disorienting than you’d think it was,” said James Cavanaugh, a senior majoring in history.

Though Cavanaugh’s co-ed team lost early on, his men’s team continued on.

“I felt very discombobulated,” said Kathy Ridyard, a business management major and a mem-

ber of Cavanaugh’s team.

The team felt out of its element while playing.

Though it is not an extremely physical sport, it is a skillful and strategic one, Cavanaugh said.

Players have to make the decision on how to position the blockers lying down or whether or not just to dive for the ball while kneeling.

Cavanaugh also said players try to aim for the corners, but that is hard when you don’t know where the ball is going.

“We have kind of an advantage,” Furr said.

She and David DeLacure, a microbiology major, played goalball together at the Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind and won gold medals in the sport.

As the seeing-students struggled to block the ball or were hit in the gut or face as it rolled up to them, they refused to give

up, and the game became more competitive as the night went on.

“We’ll train them,” DeLacure said while watching other students play.

At the end of the tournament, Delta Gamma Alpha claimed victory in the women’s division, Delta Chi won the men’s division and Kick It to the Fat Kid won the co-ed division.

The goalball tournament was the last USF event celebrating Disability Awareness Month, a month that included a lecture by performance artist Anita Hollander who continues to sing and dance despite losing one of her legs to cancer.

Students with Disabilities Services will also partner with the Tampa Bay Strong Dogs wheelchair basketball team to bring a wheelchair basketball tournament to USF in the spring.

INCREASE

5 cents per credit hour or $44,500 total.

The proposed student initiatives included free parking at football games and other school spirit events such as Marshall Mayhem.

SG President Jean Cocco said he plans to meet with administrators in USF Athletics to try and convince them to still use the additional funding for free parking.

“I’m going to try and make sure they use the $44,000 toward the free parking, because that’s really the most important one,” Cocco said.

“That’s the one that’s going to get students to the games.”

The $451,932 in proposed increases to the Activity and Service fee will still need to be approved by the SG Senate A&S Recommendation Committee.

The approved increases will go before USF President Judy Genshaft on Nov. 17 for review.

Continued from PAGE 1

the Center for Victim Advocacy and Violence Prevention.

The Activity and Service fee was also approved in full at an increase of 47 cents per credit hour – $451,932 overall.

The increase will fund the replacement of gym equipment in the Campus Recreation Center, a new gym on the USF Health portion of campus and will cover state-mandated salary increases for departments such as the Center for Student Involvement and the Center for Leadership and Civic Engagement.

Overall, the only major cutbacks were to the student body initiatives proposed under the Athletic fee increase. USF Athletics had originally requested $150,000 for student initiatives, but their request was only approved at

M O N DAY, O C TO B E R 2 7 , 2 0 1 4

TUITION

Continued from PAGE 1

He said the lack of transparency on OASIS becomes an issue when SG attempts to solicit feedback from students who may not know they are even paying these fees.

“It’s definitely an issue of transparency,” Cocco said.

“You look at your fees and you’re like, ‘What the hell is that? Where does this stuff go to?’”

Previously, the only way for students to see exactly how much they were being charged in per-credit-hour student fees was to navigate three separate pages of the Office of the General Counsel’s website, find the specific regulation regarding tuition and fees (USF4.0102), and read through the six-page document.

After an inquiry by The Oracle into the transparency of tuition and fees and the accessibility of tuition information for students, the Controller’s Office placed a link to the tuition and fees regulation on its website, according to Assistant Vice President and Controller Jennifer Condon.

The link went live on the Controller’s Office website Thursday, Condon said.

Before Thursday, the Tuition and Fees page of the Controller’s Office website only offered information on the flat rate student fees that students can access through OASIS. On top of the $37 flat rate fees students pay every semester, students are currently charged $48.74 per credit hour for seven fees that fluctuate each year.

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T H E O R AC L E

The Local Fee Committee approved a $1.82 overall increase to the Activity and Service, Health and Athletic fees.

Beginning next academic year, a student taking a 15 credit-hour course load can expect to pay roughly $195 per semester for the Activity and Service fee, $227 per semester for the Athletic fee and $168 per semester for the Health fee.

The reason for clumping together fees and charges on OASIS, Condon said, is because the university feels students would be overloaded if they could see the specific fee charges on their OASIS accounts each semester.

“We’re happy to provide the information, we just don’t want to overload other folks with information they don’t want,” she said.

Condon also said the university believes most students don’t want to see the exact fees they pay for through OASIS, based on feedback the Controller’s Office has received.

Condon said the ideal situation would be to implement some sort of drop down on the Account Summary page that would allow students who want it to see a more detailed receipt of tuition and fee charges, but said she’s been told that’s not possible with the way the university has designed the OASIS system.

“You’re talking about a system that’s been implemented long before you and I even dreamed of being at USF,” Condon said. “So I think it’s the way that it’s implemented, we’re kind of down this road with the way we enter our fee

rolls.”

However, the Controller’s Office is currently working to introduce new memo functionality in OASIS, but only for students who have Florida Prepaid.

At present, students with Florida Prepaid can’t see some tuition and fee charges after they are paid by the Florida Prepaid College Program.

“The charges go onto your account and come off the account and then they’re just gone,” Condon said. “That’s not the most transparent thing and that’s the way the system has always worked.”

Condon said the university is close to implementing the system soon, but has run into issues with the Florida Prepaid billing system. She said the university has had to double back and find a new tactic to make the changes available.

The changes to the OASIS account summary for Florida Prepaid students would not affect the detail of the tuition and fee charges.

Despite the Controller’s Office currently having no plans to offer a more-detailed summary of payment to students, some administrators, along with SG representatives, hope to be able to work out a more accessible system of billing.

“The Office of Student Success is prepared to work with all parties to streamline all of our billing processes,” said Paul Dosal, vice provost for Student Success. “To the extent that we can develop a billing process that is easier to understand and manage, I’m in favor of working on it with all stakeholders.”

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He shoots...

Corey Allen Jr. and the men’s basketball team showed off at Saturday’s Hoops Hysteria event. The first USF basketball game of the season is Nov. 8 at home. ORACLE PHOTO/ADAM MATHIEU

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Lifestyle

Ghastly tours haunt Tampa Bay area UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA

The Cuban Club is home to several unsettled spirits including the Woman in White. ORACLE PHOTO / POLLY SNOVER

Ybor City Ghost Tour

By Polly Snover

C O R R E S P O N D E N T

It is said there are many restless spirits in Ybor, and the Ybor City Ghost Tour is a fantastic way to meet them.

The excursion consists of several creepy stops around the city, including the sites of Ybor’s cigar factory and two old hospital buildings, as well as a tour guide who loves the town and a few electromagnetic field (EMF) readers.

The tours run on select nights from 7:30 to 10 p.m. throughout the year and cost $25.

Those hoping for a few ghostly encounters will get to visit the Don Vincent Inn, one of the most haunted lodgings in the country, and hear the story of José Luis Avellanal, a psychopath and possible serial killer.

“Ghosts are conscious,” said tour guide Joe Howden. “I

believe that spirits are attached to places of their greatest pain.”

Howden, the creator of Ybor City Ghost Tour, usually only gives tours Sunday evenings.

Howden believes aside from pain, excitement may also cause the ghosts’ attachment.

The Cuban Club is home to many more spirits waiting for the sun to go down so they can party the way they once did in life, he said.

Aside from the ghastly partygoers, the club is said to be home to a ghost called the Unknown Director, who has been known to scratch or scream at the living, as well as the Woman in White, an unlucky bride murdered on her wedding night in the Cuban Club.

The ghost tour offers guests the opportunity to learn about the darker side of Ybor’s history and meet more people from the afterlife than they ever wanted to know.

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A former projectionist is said to still work at Tampa Theatre long after his death in 1965. ORACLE PHOTO / COURTNEY COMBS

Tampa Ghost Tour

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

E D I T O R

It might be difficult to imagine, but there may be something sinister lurking in the nooks and crannies beneath the glowing and psychedelic Tampa skyline.

From a heartbroken actress in the Falk Theater to a potentially pissed off Henry B. Plant at the University of Tampa, downtown is haunted by several lost souls who can’t seem to move on.

Ghost story aficionados, history buffs or anyone looking for a creepy yet entertaining way to spend an evening can explore these dark and twisted stories and learn a bit more about the history of the city on the Tampa Ghost Tour.

“It really is an old city,” said Parker Lillie, one the guides for the tour. “It has a lot of interesting history that people don’t really know about

because they kind of assume it isn’t there.”

Tours are held year-round at 8 p.m. every night and cost $15 per person. Those interested in seeing the darker side of downtown must make a reservation ahead of time.

During the tour, the guide will tell spooky tales about different locations, such as the story of Tampa Theatre, where a deceased projectionist still comes to work, and the Old Tampa Book Company, whose former owner may or may not have stabbed a robber with a pair of scissors.

Each tour runs approximately 75 to 90 minutes and makes stops at several spectral spots around the city, including Le Meridien, the U.S. District Court and the Hotel Floridian. Lillie said he will also occasionally bring groups to the Fort Brooke parking garage, which was built on the site of the old Fort Brooke burial grounds.

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Men’s Soccer

Bulls’ defense struggles in loss to Memphis

By Chris Villar C O R R E S P O N D E N T

The Bulls were not able to tie the score late in the game, losing 2-1 to Memphis after giving up two goals early in Saturday’s match.

USF was down two before scoring its first goal late in the first half. The Bulls created multiple chances in the second half, but they were not enough as Memphis came away with the win.

“A two-goal lead in soccer is a good lead; it’s tough to climb out of,” coach George Kiefer said. “I said to them that they gave everything, they pushed forward, and they created a lot of chances in the second half where clearly we left it all on the field.”

It took just 10 minutes of gameplay for Memphis to open up the scoring, with midfielder Wil Linder scoring from the top of the box to the

right post off a pass by midfielder Kenneth Kauker. USF goalkeeper Spasoje Stefanovic made a touch on the rolling ball, but it was not enough to make the save as it slowly bounced into the net.

The second goal was from Memphis defender Quincy Thomas as he dribbled down the right side past the defenders to shoot the ball past Stefanovic toward his far post.

USF’s only goal came from multiple passes between senior midfielder Edwin Moalosi and sophomore Lindo Mfeka in the box. Moalosi gave a pass ahead of Mfeka on the right side and Mfeka shot it just inside Memphis goalkeeper Cody Uzcategui’s far post.

USF came out in the second half with an all-out offensive scheme, putting up nine shots compared to Memphis’ one.

“In the first half we came in unprepared for the fight and we got punished,” Mfeka said.

“We came out in the second

half ready to fight, but we couldn’t get the goal.”

Uzcategui made his two saves in the second half, and Spasoje Stefanovic made three saves throughout the game.

“When we were trying to get that second goal back, there were a lot of chances where I felt like it was coming, but it just didn’t come tonight,” Kiefer said. “The issue really was just going down by two, that’s what made it difficult for us.”

With this loss, USF is now ranked third in the conference behind Connecticut and Tulsa. The Bulls will go on the road to play the Clemson Tigers on Tuesday night and will resume conference play Saturday against Connecticut.

“For now we’re just looking at Clemson,” Mfeka said.

“We’re just taking one game at a time so we’re not worrying about Connecticut just yet.”

Sophomore midfielder Lindo Mfeka scored the Bulls’ only goal Saturday in a 2-1 loss to Memphis. ORACLE PHOTO/GABRIEL HERNANDEZ

Opinion

6

UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA

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Fox News sends wrong message to women mockery of women didn’t end there as she added, “I just think: excuse them so they can go back on Tinder or match.com.”

Essentially, Guilfoyle’s message is that young woman have neither the knowledge nor acumen to make informed decisions, and should therefore waive their civic duties in favor of being consumed with Tinder and online dating websites.

It should be of no shock or surprise that a Fox News talking head would target single, young women, especially considering it was a segment on the consistently liberal voting habits of that demographic.

Regardless, Guilfoyle’s words are a flagrant smack in the face to all of the eager and politically cognizant young women who choose to exercise their rights and participate on juries and in elections. It should go without saying that such inaccurate and sweeping generalizations have absolutely no place on television, or anywhere else for that matter.

But not only do the comments encourage sexism, they also contain anti-democratic undertones. The logic of a democracy is that all citizens engage in the

Matthew Brotz COLU M N I ST

Fox News is by no means a stranger to unabashed and shameless sexism. Actually, the controversial news station often finds itself in the public’s crosshairs for acting as a proponent of archaic, disparaging and bigoted, misogynist thought.

Recently, Fox News anchor Kimberly Guilfoyle articulated her degrading and vulgar perspective on a young woman’s place in American society during the Fox News program, ‘The Five.’ While discussing the impact of young female voters in the upcoming elections, Guilfoyle lightheartedly quipped, “It’s the same reason why young women on juries are not a good idea. They don’t get it!”

Unfortunately, her crude

the Oracle

political process equally.

Consequently, all groups and demographics of people are uniformly represented. Encouraging a whole sector of the population not to vote fundamentally undermines the philosophy and ideology behind a democratic government.

Although Guilfoyle’s words were likely intended to be a joke, a woman who possesses a position of influence like hers has a responsibility to advocate and motivate young women to vote, not dissuade them from getting involved.

Ultimately, the unintelligent and sexist banter that often rears its ugly head on Fox News’ programs serves as a perfect illustration of the attitudes and beliefs women have been struggling against throughout much of history.

Hearing such drivel in the context of a 21st century talk show reveals just how little progress we have actually made.

Furthermore, such instances should serve as a reminder that we still need to continue to make strides toward equality.

Matthew Brotz is a freshman majoring in philosophy.

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T H E O R AC L E

What you said Multimedia editor Adam Mathieu asked students if they would like to see a more detailed breakdown of the tuition and fees bill on OASIS.

“Yes, I have no idea what I am looking at on OASIS and it would be nice to have a better understanding.”

— Amanda McDuffie, a sophomore majoring in classics “I would like it because there are so many random fees and I have no idea where my money is really going.” ­ Isabelle Arroyo-Acevedo, — a junior majoring in public health

“I’ve never had an issue with it so, no. I think it is fine as is.”

— Dom DeFeo, a senior majoring in biochemistry

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Sports

8

UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA

The Rundown No. 10 TCU put its explosive offense on display Saturday when it defeated Texas Tech 82-27. The Horned Frogs scored at least 13 points in every quarter, including 31 in the third.

Weekend scores Volleyball

Houston 3 USF 1 Men’s Soccer

Memphis 2 USF 1 Women’s Soccer

ECU USF

0 2

Conference update UCF defeated Temple 34-14 Saturday to move into a tie with East Carolina for first place in the AAC. No. 18 East Carolina held off UConn in a 31-21 win Thursday night.

Memphis blew out SMU 4810 to improve to 2-1 in conference play.

FOOTBALL

Houston (4-3, 2-1) at USF (3-5, 2-2)

When: Saturday, 4 p.m.

Where: Raymond James Stadium TV/Radio: ESPNews, IMG/USF Radio Network

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Football

Women’s Soccer

By Vinnie Portell

Pirates

White benched in loss to Bearcats Bulls blank S P O R T S

Outside USF

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E D I T O R

USF entered the second half of Friday’s game in a nearly identical situation to the one it was in against Tulsa – trailing by multiple touchdowns on the road – but was unable to pull out the comeback this time, resulting in a 34-17 loss.

The Bulls seemed to be starting another second-half turnaround after Cincinnati running back Rod Moore fumbled the ball on the Bearcats’ 12-yard line only four plays into the third quarter.

USF trailed Cincinnati 20-3, but with the ball only 12 yards from the end zone, the Bulls were set up in prime position to whittle the deficit down.

However, the Bulls’ first offensive play of the drive resulted in a fumbled snap by sophomore quarterback Mike White. The fumble was his second of the day and coach Willie Taggart decided to pull him from the game. “(White) thought coming out of halftime he would get over it like last week,” Taggart said.

“The defense got a turnover to start the second half off to get us going and we fumbled the snap again. We just weren’t in it.”

The Bulls’ defense, which has been the strongest unit this year, gave up 590 yards, including 273 on the ground.

Even after that performance, Cincinnati is ranked only 92nd in the country out of 125 FBS schools in rushing yards per game.

“Never in a million years did I think they would run for that many yards on us,” Taggart said. “We didn’t do a good job of stopping the run and we didn’t do a good job of stopping the pass. We just didn’t play well defensively.”

The defense had a difficult time stopping every aspect of the Bearcats’ offense, but the USF offense’s inability to keep control of the ball was the

Junior Olivia Chance scored the Bulls’ second goal in Sunday’s shutout of ECU. ORACLE PHOTO/ AMINA SPAHIC

Sophomore quarterback Mike White was pulled after he fumbled the first offensive play of the third quarter. ORACLE FILE PHOTO/ ADAM MATHIEU

team’s ultimate undoing.

“We didn’t execute,” Taggart said. “We fumbled snaps. We threw picks. We did things that you can’t do when you’re trying to win a football game against a good football team.”

White struggled holding on to the ball, fumbling it four times. Two of his fumbles were recovered, but the damage was done. The sophomore quarterback had difficulty regaining his confidence.

“I thought Mike got too down on himself,” Taggart said. “Even after we talked to him, he was really ticked off. He was mad; he felt like he was hurting the team. You can’t be that way; you have to stay locked into the game and think about those things after the game.”

Against Tulsa in Week 7, White threw for 292 yards and three touchdowns. Taggart said the reason for White’s inability to hold on to the ball against the Bearcats may have been due to his composure.

“The only difference I saw is

him getting down on himself and punishing himself before the game is even over with,” Taggart said. “You can’t win games when your quarterback feels that way.”

White ended the day with four turnovers and 92 yards on 11-for-19 passing.

Bench replaced White for the remainder of the game and he finished with 147 yards and two touchdowns on 9-for-14 passing.

Taggart said despite the quarterback switch, White will still be the starting quarterback for the Bulls when they host Houston on Saturday.

Bench, who was previously demoted as starter, offered his advice to White after the game.

“I’ve been in those shoes before and it’s no fun, there’s no doubt about it,” Bench said.

“But the thing you do is you wake up the next morning and you get to work. Don’t let this beat you twice. That goes for a lot of things, in football and life.”

By Vinnie Portell S P O R T S

E D I T O R

Senior forward Sarah Miller opened the scoring for the Bulls in the 21st minute with a breakaway play in a 2-0 shutout against East Carolina (107-1, 4-5) at Corbett Stadium on Sunday.

Miller’s one goal would have been enough for a Bulls victory, with the USF defense limiting ECU to only one shot on goal for the entire game.

Junior midfielder Olivia Chance put the game out of reach in the 48th minute when she scored an unassisted goal from six yards away.

USF had seven shots on goal compared to ECU’s one, and the Bulls had the opportunity to score even more than they ultimately did.

The Bulls had two shots hit the crossbar in the first half and ECU goalkeeper Erika Lenns made five saves.

With the win, USF (11-6-1, 6-3) secured third place in the AAC standings and will host Cincinnati on Sunday at Corbett Stadium. The time of the game has yet to be announced.