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The Oracle W E D N E S D AY, M AY 2 5 , 2 0 1 6 I V O L . 5 3 N O. 6 1

Inside this Issue

NEWS

Lightning’s Student Rush gains steam in playoffs.

Page 2

Montage

The Index

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

w w w. u s fo r a c l e. co m

U N I V E R S I T Y O F S O U T H F LO R I DA

A look at the 2016-17 A&S budget Path to preeminence prompts office integration Student Programs and Services - $10,819,383 Student Government Operations - $2,309,196 Student Organizations - $1,027,185 Interim & Reserve Accounts - $2,716,181

By Abby Rinaldi C O - N E W S

S PORTS Built from next to nothing, USF men’s golf has risen into a championship contender.

BACK

By Miki Shine C O - N E W S

E D I T O R

Student Government (SG) recently released the scheduled budget for the $16,871,945 received through the Activity and Service (A&S) fees. With the new budget come shifts in where the money is allocated from year to year.

The SG Activity and Service Fee Recommendation Committee (ASRC) is comprised of 13 members: the student body president, the finance chair, eight elected senators, the chief financial officer and an addition representative from the executive branch.

This past year, it was the former Vice President Michael Malanga who also chaired the committee.

“The committee goes through and critiques budget requests from multiple entities across campus — mostly student affairs departments but there are some expectations — as well as student government and student organizations,” former Student Body President Andy Rodriguez said.

Students pay a $7 flat fee per semester into the A&S fund along with an additional

$12.08 per credit hour. The committee trains during fall semester in order to understand the guidelines for allocating funds and then spend Fridays during the spring semester meeting with organizations requesting funding.

The budget is divided into four different subcategories into which each organization falls. The Student Programs and Services, Student Government Operations, Student Organizations, and Interim & Reserve Accounts.

Most A&S fees go into the Student Programs and Services pot, which has currently been allocated $10,819,383. These are organizations such as the Marshall Student Center, the Center for Student Involvement (CSI) and Campus Recreation.

One of the major changes in this year’s budget is that Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life will now be part of CSI, which will receive together $2,049,313.

Another large change is the creation of a Student Oracle Advertising Fund, which sets aside $23,320 that organizations can request from in order to place ads in the Oracle.

By allowing organizations to request funding for ads within their overall budget, the

money got mixed in with the rest and often times didn’t end up being used for advertising.

The hope is that this budget will allow that money to be used for its intended purpose.

Most of the changes in the Student Government Operations budget are a result of reorganizing things, according to Malanga. For instance, the funding for USF Day at the Capitol is no longer its own account but has been moved to the Executive Branch budget.

The large shifting came between the Executive Branch and the Special Projects budget.

“The Executive Branch is responsible for all the programming that (SG) does, but in years past, they had put the programming money into what we call ‘Special Projects,’” Malanga said.

“Special Projects is meant for contracts — things that we are obligated to do on a contractual basis would go in Special Projects so that the money has no choice but to go to that.”

For instance, free student printing comes from the Special Projects budget where as events such as Day with

E D I T O R

The offices of Student Affairs, Undergraduate Studies, and Enrollment Planning and Management will become one unit as of July 1 as part of USF’s push to gain pre-eminent status from the state.

Operating under Vice Provost for Student Success Paul Dosal, the re-organization will attempt to make the three offices stronger by uniting them as one larger unit.

Dosal’s new role makes him Vice President for Student Affairs and Student Success, a title that takes effect July 1.

The idea to institutionalize efforts for student success came from the results of the evaluation by the Student Success Task Force’s, a committee of 100 people established in 2009 to evaluate and make goals for the university, released in 2010.

The report released by the task force suggested an office with responsibility and authority to carry out initiatives for student success, something Vice President for Student Affairs Thomas Miller felt the re-organization will capture by combining the entities on campus that deal with what the university refers to as student success initiatives.

“It’s something we’ve been looking at for a while,” Dosal said.

In conversations with Provost Ralph Wilcox over the past few months concerning pre-eminence, Dosal crafted the idea for the integration. And for at least two months, Dosal, Dean of Undergraduate Studies Bob

n See FEES on PAGE 3 n See PREEMINENCE on PAGE 2

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W E D N E S DAY, M AY 2 5 , 2 0 1 6

Lightning’s Student Rush program continues to grow

SPECIAL TO THE ORACLE

By Jacob Hoag E D I T O R

I N

C H I E F

When it comes to sports over the past few seasons, Tampa has quickly transformed into a hockey-first city. In response to the rising popularity, the Tampa Bay Lightning continues to utilize its successful Student Rush program.

Student Rush provides an affordable alternative for students with valid ID at the high school and college level to attend Lightning home games, which exceed $100 at certain points in the season and playoffs.

Justin Savoie, Sports Marketing Coordinator for the Lightning, said it has been one of the Bolts’ most profitable programs, in terms of revenue.

“We wanted to get more engagement amongst the students and what better way to get that than offer a discounted ticket,” Savoie said. “It is our most successful single-game ticket that we offer. Every year, that’s one of our largest revenue generator with regards to singleticket offers.”

The Lightning are currently deep in a playoff run, tied 3-3 on the series with the Pittsburg Penguins after a 5-2 home loss in Game 6 and the continued success on the ice has created a much higher demand for student tickets.

In the 2016 NHL playoffs, the

lightning have sold out every game in Amalie Arena, reaching the capacity of 350 Student Rush tickets at nearly all home games.

This has caused students in search of guaranteed tickets to go to greater lengths to secure their seats — some getting in line as early as 7 a.m. for an 8 p.m. game.

But some tickets have still been available to fans closer to puck drop.

Courtney Ferrante, a junior Mass Communications major at USF, used Student Rush for the first time in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals, giving her a cheap seat in an electric atmosphere.

“I love the idea of student rush,” Ferrante said. “I think that it is a great way to reach out into the community and create a new wave of fans for the Lightning. I would have never been able to afford to go to a playoff game if they didn’t offer it.”

Ferrante was able to a $25 ticket after a short 20-minute wait, but as the playoffs grow deeper, Savoie said the wait times will get longer.

“We we’re definitely getting much bigger crowds,” Savoie said, recalling last year’s Stanley Cup Finals. “We’re already seeing the same thing this year with the Eastern Conference Finals.

The students are definitely coming out a lot more now than they do during the average game.”

PREEMINENCE Continued from PAGE 1

Sullins and Miller have been working on the details of that idea.

“It (has) been very, very much a participatory process,” Miller said.

The offices have collaborated with each other often over the past few years, between Dosal, Sullins and Miller. The idea is to lay down the groundwork for this collaboration to outlast those currently involved in it.

“We know we’re not going to be around forever and so we wanted to make sure that this lasts, and I think we’ve set up a structure that is going to do just that for the institution,” Dosal said.

Pre-eminence, as defined by the Board of Governors (BOG), requires that a university meet 11 out of 12 standards in academics and research. These standards work similarly to the metrics by which universities are measured in order to receive Performance Based Funding from the state.

The standards include requirements associated with the GPA and SAT scores of incoming freshman, numbers of doctoral degrees awarded, amount of money spent on research, freshman retention rates of 90 percent or higher, and a six year graduation rate of 70 percent or higher for full time, First Time In College students.

The legislation to establish this distinction emerged from the BOG in 2013. At the time, the only two universities that met the requirements were UF and FSU, both of which BOG spokesperson Brittany Davis felt are working to improve their rankings in U.S. News and World Report.

In 2016, the BOG introduced the emerging pre-eminent status for Florida universities that met six of the 12 standards, in what Davis called an effort to elevate universities in the state.

According to USF’s 2016 Work Plan, the university currently meets nine of the 12 standards and plans to meet 11 of the 12 by 2018.

“The benchmarks are designed to strengthen the universities’ core missions to educate students and prepare them for jobs after they graduate as well as accelerating research and innovation,” Davis said in an email.

The incentive comes in the form of increased distinction and funding. Universities designated as preeminent receive $20 million from the state in 2016, according to Davis.

Emerging preeminent universi-

ties receive $10 million from the state in 2016, and it is this designation that USF expects to receive from the state at the next BOG meeting.

“Pre-eminence, or certainly as an interim measure, emerging preeminence, I think is a clear acknowledgement of the path that (USF) has been on now for a good 10 to 15 years … toward becoming an elite public research university in the United States and increasingly on the global stage as well,” Wilcox said.

Continuing past the emerging pre-eminence designation, Wilcox felt assured USF will strive for preeminence and membership in the AAU, pursuing even more opportunities for funding and increased stature.

The re-organization of Student Affairs, Undergraduate Studies, and Enrollment Planning and Management into one office is a part of USF’s push towards a preeminent status. Wilcox ensures that nothing will be lost in the consolidation process.

“The re-organization isn’t about cutting resources,” Wilcox said. “It’s about maximizing performance in student access and success given the resources we have in place. So, there’s no particular notion here of eliminating operations but rather ensuring that they’re aligned with one another … to advance our strategic priorities.”

The new unit is focused on helping USF meet pre-eminence standards. Miller pointed out the stature associated with a preeminence designation, which he thinks will make USF a first choice for students, faculty and staff.

As far as an improvement in efficiency, Dosal pointed to the example of raising retention rates.

Currently, USF has an 88 percent freshman retention rate, as reported in the 2016 USF System Work Plan. However, to reach preeminent status, the university must reach 90 percent.

Dosal praised the university’s progress so far, but feels the current collaboration moves slowly, as those within the offices have to report to three different units. He said he felt the incorporation into one unit will lead the university to meeting requirements for preeminence with greater efficiency.

“But I see the value of this in that I’ll have Dean Sullins and Dr. Miller with me helping to determine what’s best for the university to hit these targets and then we decide as a group to implement them, I think we’re (going to) be

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much more effective.”

Miller emphasized that while the organization is important, it’s the quality of the people in charge that will make a difference.

The success of the new unit Dosal felt will depend on the strength of its leaders, which will not see any real changes.

“We have great confidence in our leadership, so while on paper it’s a big unit, I think we have good leaders in place who can get the job done,” Dosal said.

Sullins, who has worked in education for over 50 years, has seen many re-organizations and maintained that those that success is a result of the work of those in charge. Different pieces of each unit involved in this change have melded with the others before in a number of reconfigurations.

Due to the re-organization, Dosal, Sullins and Miller’s roles are set to change. Sullins will remain Dean of Undergraduate Studies.

He will now report to Dosal instead of Wilcox and will see the addition of new units in Undergraduate Studies.

Miller will have a dual role. He will support the transition, helping to make the process a smooth one for those employed and providing advice for Dosal during the process.

He will also return to the College of Education as faculty, teaching part-time and remaining involved in student success initiatives across campus.

Dosal, as Miller put it, will take on duties that will most likely triple his responsibilities, as he will lead the new unit.

“I’m thrilled, absolutely thrilled,” Dosal said. “It’s a great opportunity and an honor.”

For those who would otherwise have left USF or are not succeeding academically, the effects of this will be more apparent than they would to students on track to graduate, as the integration works on ways to work with those students and keep them at USF. In the short term, Sullins said he doesn’t think there will be a big difference, although the quality of service is something he hoped students feel has improved. It’s about reaching the standards of the metrics and achieving preeminence, which will in turn make the student experience a better one, Sullins said.

“We’re going to do everything we can to make sure this is a successful re-organization,” Sullins said. “... It’s the only right thing to do.”

W E D N E S DAY, M AY 2 5 , 2 0 1 6

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FEES

Continued from PAGE 1

the Bucs are organized by the Executive Branch of SG. The rebalancing of these accounts has resulted in an increase of $195,430 from last year.

This year, the largest change in the Student Organizations was the creation of Engineering Council.

While in years past there’s been a Sports Club Council and a Medical Council, the Senate decided to create a third council.

Councils receive a certain allotment of money from the A&S fees based on the number of organizations within the council, and then are responsible for distributing it among them. While they’re not required to distribute evenly, the system works under the assumption of a fair process.

According to Malanga, the councils are allowed to give one organization more money based on the projects they plan to do as long as if a different organization wanted to do the same projects then it would receive the same

amount.

“For example, a lot of them are requesting robotics equipment,” Malanga said. “I’m an accounting major. I knew nothing about that. For me to try to make a decision about that was pretty up in the air about how that was going to happen, it was a guessing game.

“But if you give it to engineering students who actually have some concept of the equipment then they’ll be able to say ‘You’re asking for $100, but you can get it for $10 online’ or ‘You’re asking for $50 for this and that’s exactly what it costs.’ Hopefully that will be a little bit more fair.”

The Interim and Reserve Accounts includes funding for Homecoming and Travel Grants. In the past, it’s also included $15,900 under the title of Signature Events Grants.

According to Malanga, this was originally made to subsidize a large program on campus that had never happened before, but the issue came in that the next year the event wouldn’t be eligible for that funding and the funding

A&S Budget growth over four years

SOURCE: A&S BUDGET REPORT 2016-17, 2014-15

2016-2017 stopped being used much.

“The committee talked about starting — hopefully this year — a collaboration grant so that organizations that work together on an event … that would be an event that would count for this new grant fund,” he said. “But in the mean time, we didn’t want to put money into an account that wasn’t working.”

Also included in this sub-

2015-2016

2014-2015

category is the Unallocated Reserves account, which holds approximately 10 percent of the total amount of fees collected.

Florida law requires student governments to set aside between five and ten percent to ensure they maintain sound financial condition — for example, in case of a fall in enrollment — and is not intended to be accessed on a

2014-2013

regular basis.

“I think it’s the most important thing that (SG) does,” Rodriguez said. “We’re lucky to live in a state where students are empowered to make decisions when it comes to allocating money, and there’s one pot in particular, which is the A&S fund that students are completely in charge of and completely empowered to allocate.”

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W E D N E S DAY, M AY 2 5 , 2 0 1 6

The Bulls defended their conference championship at Black Diamond Quarry Course in Lecanto, Florida, winning the AAC for a second consecutive season under coach Steve Bradley. SPECIAL TO THE ORACLE/GOUSFBULLS.COM gram, I knew it wasn’t going to be were so close,” Koepka said. “No ed pretty hard by some other overnight that we were going to go one believed in us, but we were schools, but it was an intriguing Continued from PAGE 8 from below average to great, but I able to hang with the best teams situation,” Fernandes said. “You pillars of what Malloy was attempt- was willing to put in the work, and in the country. It was just a little had the opportunity to be the first the guys around me were willing teaser of how good we could be.” to do some things here. I came ing to build from the ground up.

The recognition began to snow- from another country and didn’t “Well, nobody wanted them,” to do the same,” Koepka said.

“It was hard to look into the ball, and the program began to have much. I had to make my own Malloy said. “They were guys that name, and USF kind of provided were just sitting there and were future and see what this program grow.

In 2014, following a $1.4 mil- me with that same opportunity.” dying for a place to go and we could be, but I believed what coach With the addition of then-freshwere lucky that Trey Valentine Malloy was selling me and it’s lion gift from the Chowdhari family, USF finally got its clubhouse man Claudio Correa — last year’s turned out to be a pretty darn been nothing short of that.”

It didn’t take long for the turn- — a facility with lounge areas, AAC Freshman of the Year — good player and he helped build around to begin. Just eight months offices and most importantly, lock- and a junior college transfer Aksel (the program).”

Olsen the next year — the 2016 Then came Chase Koepka, into Koepka’s collegiate career, er rooms.

No longer would Koepka and AAC Player of the Year — everybrother of PGA Tour member USF won the program’s first-ever Brooks Koepka who played under Big East championship, adding a his teammates have to keep their thing was beginning to take shape. golf bags in their cars or rooms.

But then it wasn’t.

Malloy at FSU — that was his first trophy to the case.

“When I came on my visit, I The following season, USF Prior to the 2014 season, Malloy pitch.

Malloy soon began to fill remember Malloy telling me that added another pillar in Rigel took a coaching job rebuilding the Koepka’s head with a picture of we were going to build something Fernandes — an up-and-comer golf program at Ole Miss, his alma the future with Koepka standing at special. He looked me straight in who left his family behind in Dubai mater.

That left the half-built program the forefront as what Malloy paint- the eye, and I knew he was seri- at age 10 to pursue golf.

While recruiting another golfer in coach Steve Bradley’s hands. ed as potentially the best golfer to ous,” James said. “We did and we ever pass through USF — a picture did it all together. It’s probably, to at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, A former standout player at the Koepka is on his way to living up this day, my proudest moment of Malloy’s attention was stolen by University of Florida and coach Fernandes. at Mercer University, Bradley had to after what could be his third my golf career.”

From there, USF began its “I was talking on the phone on helped rebuild programs before straight All-American season.

He told Koepka, “You can go climb. Koepka, Valentine and the other end of the range … and and found himself in a prime there and be a guy, or you can James would play some of the I saw him hitting balls and I was position. best rounds of their careers in the like, ‘Oh Jesus, who’s this guy?’”

“I think there are some procome here and be ‘the’ guy.”

It didn’t take much convincing. 2013 Tallahassee regional, but fell Malloy said. “And from there, I said grams that you can label a sleep“A lot of it was the ability for me one stroke short in a playoff with ‘That’s my guy,’ and I recruited the ing giant where if they get the heck out of him.” right person in place, they can be to have a chance to play right away Oklahoma.

Despite the loss, the players Fernandes admits there was pretty good, and I think USF was … because I just felt like in order some hesitation, but once he was that way,” Bradley said. “It’s been for me to get better, I had to play were hooked.

“Once I got a little taste of what committed, he had bought in com- a nice combination of things that right away,” Koepka said.

He and Malloy shared the vision big time golf was my freshman pletely to the future Malloy was have led to where we are today.

“It started with hiring the right and goal: build the program and year — almost making it to the selling. national championship and losing “It wasn’t a program that was guy when they hired coach Malloy one day bring a title to USF. “The belief I saw in this pro- in that playoff — I knew that we high up there and I was recruit- and it continued with putting

SHINE

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resources in place where they had not been before — and I’m referring to recruiting budget, and team travel, and building the Chowdhari Center. We’ve got the weather, we’ve got the location, but you add resources and the commitment to want to get better, and the other stuff falls into place.”

From the second he set foot on campus, although his coaching methods differed from Malloy’s, he maintained the same vision as the former coach.

“He walked in and it was a bit of a different atmosphere that he brought,” Koepka said. “For me, I’ve been able to learn from two completely different guys and I’ve used things both of them have told me to help my golf game.”

In two seasons, Bradley led the Bulls to nine wins, two conference titles and back-to-back national championship appearances.

All of the pipe dreams funneled toward these athletes were beginning to gain a tint of reality.

USF had a seat at the national championship after winning the 2015 regional, an accomplishment most programs would be satisfied with.

But the Bulls stayed hungry.

Not only did USF make the championship, but its reached match play, beating out 24 other teams to reach the top eight.

“From the class of 2011 to now, they kind of set the stage for us and we’re just trying to continue it,” Fernandes said. “We want to go out on the highest note that we can. I don’t think anyone is afraid to say that winning a national championship is our goal and it has been since day one.”

After losing to eventual-champion LSU, USF vowed to not only get back, but also go further.

After an eerily similar season, the Bulls have put themselves back in position to reach the pinnacle.

Only six years prior, the program was an afterthought. Now, ranked 15th in the country, it’s on its way to becoming a powerhouse.

“It’s been pretty incredible, if you think about it,” Koepka said.

“When I first stepped on campus, … our goal was just to try and compete in events and give ourselves chances to win and now we’re looking to win every single event that we play in and win conference championships on a regular basis and compete for a national championship.

“It’s crazy to think of just how much the culture has changed for the better.”

W E D N E S DAY, M AY 2 5 , 2 0 1 6

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PITCHER

Continued from PAGE 8

pen for the Bulls was one to remember.

In relief, he made 17 appearances over the remainder of the season, recorded a .228 batting average against and struck out 32 batters in 26 innings. After giving up two earned runs in his first 18 innings as a reliever, Perez became even more dominant down the stretch, with an ERA of 1.00 over his final 11 2/3 innings.

Perez’s adjustment to the college game wasn’t the first time the Orlando native had to deal with setbacks.

Perez played from age 6 until his freshman year at Timber Creek High School, when it came time to try out for the Wolves’ baseball team.

His heart swelled with excitement in his first tryout for both pitcher and outfielder, but his performance wasn’t enough to make the team.

“When I found out I got cut, it was either pursue this or stop because it was only my first year in high school, so I knew that I’d fine something to do either way,” Perez said. “And so I took to my

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musical side of things and played drumline for my school’s band.”

Missing the cut was a tough pill to swallow for Perez. Following the tryout, Perez spent much of his time at Timber Creek pondering what he could have done to play on the field.

Though he would miss the cut yet again during his sophomore year, he refused to let defeat get the better of him and kept on chasing his dream.

“When I look back, it was a real eye-opener for me, because if you really work hard for something, you will pretty much get what you want,” Perez said. “And I remember my dad telling me then to use the thought of not making the team as motivation, and I have been doing that ever since. Without learning that lesson, I would not be where I am now.”

Perez’s dark cloud of doubt cleared up in his junior year when he made the Wolves’ baseball team as a pitcher.

He dominated the pitcher’s mound with a 15-6 record with an ERA of 2.00 and 192 strikeouts. In his senior season, Perez was crowned Team Pitcher of the Year, going 9-2 with a 1.95 ERA and 112 strikeouts in 51.2

innings, the most strikeouts in the area.

Even with all the obstacles Perez had to overcome as a young player, teammate and fellow college freshman, Chris Chatfield said he believed that Perez shows no signs of slowing down.

“I think he fits in pretty well, for he is one of the hardest workers I have ever met so far,” Chatfield said. “What motivates him to do well in my opinion, is the fact that he just wants to make his family proud, and when he told me he didn’t make the team in his freshman year in high school, is another motivating factor I think that keeps him going.”

Now a freshman majoring in mass communications and pitching as a relief for the Bulls, Perez says he is blessed with what he has accomplished in his life and he looks ahead for the future.

“To me, it is all about growth at this point,” Perez said. “So for every game I play, I plan to take it one day at a time and enjoy the moment.”

Despite setbacks throughout Perez’s career, Kingston said the way his player has fought back from those difficulties has prov-

Freshman pitcher Andrew Perez lasted only two starts as a starting pitcher for USF in 2016, but stepped up as a reliever in the eighthinning role after his demotion. ORACLE FILE PHOTO/JACOB HOAG en he’ll stop at nothing to get to and how hard he works. And the top. there is no question that we want “I think Andrew has the ability to be a championship-winning to be a part of a championship team here at USF, and I think team,” Kingston said. “How big he can be an important part for of a role he plays in that will be that.” determined by his development

Opinion

6

UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA

the Oracle the University of South Florida’s student newspaper since 1966

Editor in Chief Jacob Hoag oracleeditor@gmail.com News Editors Miki Shine Abby Rinaldi oraclenewsteam@gmail.com Sports Editor Vinnie Portell oraclesportseditor@gmail.com Opinion Editor Breanne Williams oracleopinion@gmail.com Lifestyle Editor oraclelifestyleeditor@gmail.com Multimedia Editor Jackie Benitez Copy Editor Grace Hoyte Graphic Artist Jessica Thomas Advertising Sales Alyssa Alexander Lauren Alford Destiny Moore Dylan Ritchey

The Oracle is published Monday and Thursday during the fall and spring semesters, and once weekly, Wednesday, 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).

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W E D N E S D AY, M AY 2 5 , 2 0 1 6

It’s time colleges reform their application process Breanne Williams

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What you said With the new Activities and Service (a&s) budget finalized for the 2016-17 school year, Multimedia Editor Jackie Benitez asked students if they think they should have more of a say in the allocation of the $16.8 million a&s fund.

COLU M N I ST

Thanks to a push by the Obama administration, people with criminal records may soon have a better chance at obtaining a college degree. The administration is insisting universities re-evaluate how they use criminal record information in their admission process.

Schools that require applicants to reveal criminal records on the application discourage those who are very often academically sound and not a real threat to campus safety.

No one is saying criminal records don’t need to be disclosed, but they need to be delayed until the applicant knows there is a good chance they will be accepted into the institution. Otherwise, he or she might believe there is no chance and give up prematurely.

There is a difference between keeping a violent perpetrator off campus and closing the door to a kid who was caught smoking pot in high school.

Violent criminals should obviously undergo more scrutiny before being admitted, but perpetrators of lesser crimes do not deserve to be lumped with those that threaten campus safety.

Prison reform is a movement that is beginning to spread across the U.S., with many questioning the logic behind the obviously flawed system. The U.S. has “less than 5 percent of the world’s population,” according to the New York Times. “But it has almost a quarter of the world’s prisoners.”

Unlike other countries, crimes like drug use and writing a bad check can lead to immediate jail time. Choices that would lead to a slap on the wrist or a fine elsewhere incur criminal records on U.S. soil and haunt the perpetrator for the rest of his or her life.

It is nearly impossible to get a well-paid job without a college degree. Studies have shown that the number of people completing higher education is only increasing as they fight tooth and nail for the few open positions in the modern

job market.

Unfortunately, in many universities across the country, the application process searches for not only minor offenses put also for violations as far back as the beginning of high school. If a girl is suspended for dress code in ninth grade she may find it difficult to get into college four years later thanks to the strict application process.

A study by the Center for Community Alternatives found two-thirds of those who begin applications for admission to The State University of New York never finished them if they had a criminal record. The same rate for those without a record was only 21 percent.

Despite claims that the process protects students, “research suggests that colleges that admit students with criminal histories are no less safe than others,” according to the New York Times.

The process doesn’t increase safety and instead limits the opportunities for a vast number of Americans.

If universities would simply delay the conviction question or make it explicitly clear how it intends to use the information in the evaluation process, more of the nearly 70 million Americans who have a criminal record may have a chance of obtaining a degree.

“Too many Americans are denied opportunities to lead fulfilling and productive lives because of a past arrest or conviction — including opportunities to access a quality education,” U.S. Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch said in an interview with EAB.com.

“Expanding access to higher education for justice-involved individuals can help them step out of the shadow of their pasts and embark on the path to a brighter future.”

Breanne Williams is a junior majoring in mass communications.

“Yeah, definitely. We should know where they are putting the money so we know it’s going to the right place.”

-Apeksha Chheda, a graduate student majoring in marketing

“It’s not really a problem to me, because the events are for the students, so I don’t have a big issue with it.”

-David Perez, a junior majoring in accounting

“Students should have more of a say, because they may pick something that isn’t generally liked. It should be less favoritism towards something specific and it should instead be something every student can enjoy.”

-Amanda Hill, a senior majoring in communications

“Yeah I think we should, especially since we have to pay.”

-Reema Patel, a senior majoring in biomedical science

Classifieds UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA

To place a classified ad go to HELP WANTED Swim Instructors: If you’re good come work with the BEST FT/PT. Multi Fl locations. $12-$16/hr info@sharksandminnows.com or Call (800) 511-7946 www.sharksandminnows.com Level 2 File Clerkneeded for busy Tampa Law Firm. All qualified candidates must be organized, able to multi-task under strict time deadlines, and type 60 wpm. Must be able to work standard Monday-Friday from 8:30-5:00pm.

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Lawn Maintenance Technicians Needed!

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The Rundown Outside USF

Quote of the day Florida State football coach Jimbo Fisher described FSU’s upcoming game against the Bulls as USF’s Super Bowl when asked about the two teams’ matchup next season. “ S o u t h Florida’s a heck a football Jimbo Fisher of team,” Fisher said in an interview with the Tampa Bay Times. “We were tied up at halftime. They won seven of their last eight. They went to a bowl. Willie (Taggart) has done a great job. It’ll be a Super Bowl for them. They’ll be ready to play. We’re coming off of our third game in 12 games, coming back here. It’ll be tough.”

Baseball

ROUND 1 • Friday • Eugene, Oregon

Rise and shine

The awakening of USF’s sleeping giant

Bulls in AAC Tournament Number to know

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Following an up and down season, USF baseball earned the No. 7 seed in the AAC tournament and will take on second-seeded East Carolina at 11 a.m. today at Bright House Field in Clearwater.

MORE COVERAGE ONLINE

USF AD Mark Harlan presents five-year plan for USF Athletics.

Read it at USFOracle.com

Junior Rigel Fernandes left his family in Dubai to pursue his golf career. Now his team in making its second consecutive national championship appearance. SPECIAL TO THE ORACLE/GOUSFBULLS.COM where it hadn’t been since the golfers that had been overlooked

By Jacob Hoag E d i t o r I n C h i e f by other schools. For Malloy and 70’s.

Six years later, a handful of the staff, it wasn’t ideal, but it was It was once just a pile of dirt. athletes and two coaches have all they had.

A barely visible patch off North put USF in position to make that “The best advice I got from one 46th Street — just north of the USF dream a reality as the Bulls embark of my old bosses at Florida State campus — surrounded by a sub- on its second quest toward college was: ‘You don’t have to go out and par golf course, and a small prac- golf immortality. recruit the All-American, or the tice green, it was certainly nothing But before that could transpire, No. 1 kid in the country,’” Malloy to call its own. recalled. “’To build a program, you Malloy had to plant the seed.

That’s what Chris Malloy inher“I wouldn’t let recruits visit just have to get guys in there that ited in 2010 when he left Florida campus until I got a chance to are better than what you have.’

State to take the coaching job with figure out what the hell I was going “I knew that we were going to USF men’s golf. The school was to sell them on. I knew what I saw be good, but I didn’t know how.” ranked in the low 200’s with no when I came on the visit and the Among the pile of passedclubhouse and was the school’s facility was God-awful. So I was over players were Trey Valentine, only athletics program without a like, ‘I can’t sell them on the facil- Branden Collins and Richard proper locker room.

James. ity.’ It was so bad.”

Malloy sat and looked at an Collins had one good season and Upon taking the job in July with empty trophy case filled with piles next to nothing to dazzle potential before fizzling out, but Valentine of dust and a vision — of USF players, recruiting was a struggle. and James would become the first returning to national relevance, This forced Malloy to sift through n See SHINE on PAGE 4

Freshman pitcher finds his stride in the bullpen

By Dan Fisher C O R R E S P O N D E N T

It was a daunting experience for Andrew Perez to be removed from his starting pitcher role, especially only two starts into his collegiate career.

But after surrendering 10 runs in 3 2/3 innings over those two starts, he vowed to show U S F coach Mark Kingston and pitching coach Billy Mohl that he was far from done.

“It was kind of hard being the new kid on the block because I was the young 18-year-old guy, and there were guys older than me who were watching and critiquing how I play,” Perez said.

“But the transition was not as rough as I expected it to be because after I improved my throwing velocity, my confidence started going up and I was less nervous pitching for the bullpen.”

Following a few weeks of work in the bullpen, Perez impressed Mohl with his improved velocity and optimism to the point that he thought Perez was ready to return to the mound, this time as a relief pitcher.

After throwing in the 86-90 mph range in high school, Perez’s fastball now averages 92 mph, touching as high as 94 at times.

“The biggest strength he has is that he is left-handed,” Mohl said. “His second strength is that he throws hard. So the biggest tip I give him is to stay calm, stay relaxed and competitive, so that he can focus on the strike zone without feeling scared or tentative.”

Perez’s first stint in the bull-

n See PITCHER on PAGE 5