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The Oracle

Petition created to change SG regulations Student org workspace regarding recording of public meetings temporarily

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

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By Miki Shine E D I T O R

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C H I E F

Public response to the threat of enforcing Student Government (SG) statutes restricting the recording of open meetings has resulted in a petition for SG to change its standards.

A petition started by USF ’15 alumnus Eli Hadam charges SG to reconsider regulations restricting recording of meetings to only the committee chair and mandate timely posting of video recordings.

He argues that Sunshine Law — or Florida Statute Chapter 119, which allows for the recording of public meetings and the release of public records — should apply to SG. “There are other public universities in the state of Florida which do state that the student governments are liable to Sunshine Law … so it doesn’t make sense that when (Student Government Advising, Training and Operations) goes ahead and gets in touch with the General Counsel that they’re just stopping at what the General Counsel says,” Hadam said.

SGATO director Gary Manka could not be reached for comment.

The situation arose after a senator started live streaming the June 13 meeting and others voiced concern. While a

By Jesse Stokes C O R R E S P O N D E N T

n See RECORD on PAGE 3

n See WORK on PAGE 3

A concerned alumnus responded to the public’s inability to record Senate meetings by creating a petition encouraging SG to change its policies. SPECIAL TO THE ORACLE consensus was reached where the Senate President could video record to Facebook — which did happen for sections of Tuesday’s meeting — the possible implications of enforcing the rule caused apprehension within the community.

Hadam also voiced concerns while he was a student at USF about the accessibility of SG minutes.

“We went to SG multiple times, we told them our grievances, and it was just this constant song and dance with

Summer Yard Show to celebrate diversity Page 4

it also calls out USF General Counsel. Those listed include Student Body President Moneer Kheireddine, Senate President Amani Taha, Senate President Pro Tempore Yusef Shafiq and Manka. “(General Counsel) stated that our Student Government is not subject to Sunshine Law, and that our meetings are subject to two-party consent,” Taha said.

“This is not our personal opinion, rather the legal interpretation of the University.

The workspaces of 36 student organizations in the Center for Leadership and Civic Engagement (CLCE) are potentially being redesigned.

In theory, the renovations would create a more collaborative space for student organizations and allow for an atmosphere of camaraderie amongst campus leaders. This proposal comes after the Student Senate denied the initial fiscal proposal that would fund renovations to the workspace on May 30.

Consequently, the CLCE office is at a standstill.

According to Cord McLean, the interim director and associate director for leadership, topics of reallocation and renovation will be proposed and discussed among him and his co-workers.

“We want this decision, whether it be to leave as is or continue to pursue the renovations, to be implemented by the start of the fall,” said Katie Leonard, the coordinator for student organizations and leadership.

McLean indicated the decision-making process could continue through the beginning

people pointing fingers at one another,” he said. “It just made me feel ashamed as an alumni that nothing had changed since I graduated and that there are still these issues with SG being held accountable and actually recording things so that the student body could actually be involved with the decision making.”

The petition had received 61 signatures as of Tuesday at 9:30 p.m. with a goal of 100.

In addition to being directed at members of SG leadership,

SG is not above following Florida laws Page 6

Sundoll inspired by past hardships Page 8

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the Oracle

News........................................................3 Lifestyle................................................4 Opinion.................................................6 Classifieds...........................................7 Crossword..........................................7 Sports.....................................................8

Editor in Chief Miki Shine Sports Editor Josh Fiallo Graphic Artists Destiny Moore Mark Soree Advertising Sales Alyssa Alexander Ashley Bazile Destiny Moore Tadge Haskins

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NEWS

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News Briefs GoFundMe for USF student’s funeral excedes goal

Over 300 people joined together to create a GoFundMe for the funeral of Andres Castillo.

Castillo, a former USF student, was killed in an accident ANDRES CASTILLO at 50th Street and Fletcher Avenue Friday morning. A driver turning onto Fletcher ran into Castillo on his motorcycle and sent him spiralling down Fletcher.

He was ultimately pronounced dead at the scene.

The GoFundMe exceded its goal of $30,000 within three days. By 11 p.m. Tuesday, it had raised over $35,000 to cover his funeral costs.

The funeral will be held in Miami today.

Due to the July Fourth holiday, The Oracle will publish on Thursday next week.

ORACLE FILE PHOTO

RECORD

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“The petition states that since USF Senate is a public meeting, two-party consent doesn’t apply — however the question is also whether SG Senate meetings are considered public meetings

by Florida Law. Public agencies have public meetings, and per the interpretation of this university and USF legal, we are not considered a public agency.”

Sen. Aladdin Hiba, who has been actively involved in conversations regarding the recording of Senate meetings by the public, has remained insistent that SG is simply following direction from the USF General Counsel.

“I know the Florida attorney general has declined — as far as I know — to provide clarification on Sunshine Law and Student Governments, and we’ve gotten plenty of legal opinions from legal counsel, but if students are concerned it definitely deserves being brought up,” Hiba said.

On the Florida attorney general’s website, the only mention of SG pertains to the redaction of information from SG documents. For instance, the name of an official charged with misconduct would not be redacted because they should know there’s discipline for misconduct.

However, Hiba is concerned that these discussions could give the wrong impression of SG. While not currently complying with Sunshine Laws, SG does have some regulations in place for release of public information.

“One concern that I have though is that students may inadvertently be misled into believing we don’t have any public records or transparency policies,” Hiba said. “We do have our own policies, established by us in our statutes, which mandate that meetings are open to the public, recorded and transcribed, among other things, and that our documents are available for public records requests.”

Hadam said he thinks that SGATO and SG need to push past the General Counsel and seek out alternate perspectives on the matter. Meanwhile, students need to keep on eye on their elected officials.

“With ($17.8) million on the line, doesn’t someone think it is important to make sure SG is doing its part to actively ascertain whether they are following the law? For the sake of the student body, and subsequent SG administrations that will continue to follow?

Asking the attorney general only seems like common sense,” Hadam said. “I feel that students really need to be critical of the administration.”

Workspace previously used by student organizations is currently not available to them during possible renovations. SPECIAL TO THE ORACLE

WORK

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of the fall semester.

With an overwhelming amount of differing opinions, it seems as though what is to come for the CLCE student organizations office spaces is still in question, especially among those who are deciding.

“The usage for the space is now unknown, it will likely remain as the status quo, or could potentially become just another student gathering space,” said Winston Jones, the associate dean of student affairs.

Existing occupants will be granted priority for allocation of workspaces when a decision is made, Leonard added. Until that time, student organizations will have access to locker spaces, but all of the desks are expected to remain empty.

Campus leaders are left to question this decision and what it means for the future of their student organizations.

Julia McClure is one of those leaders and is the vice president of the P.R.I.D.E. Alliance student organization. McClure and her organization have occupied an office space in the CLCE offices for a number of years. She said the space has proven to be a

true asset to the mission of their organization.

“The hold on CLCE office spaces will definitely affect P.R.I.D.E. Alliance. Our organization is one that must provide privacy and confidentiality. Not having an office space puts that at stake,” McClure said.

McClure also added that according to Facebook polls, an overwhelming majority of students do not support the proposed renovations and most certainly would not like office spaces being removed.

Since no official polls have been taken to express opinions, Student Body President Moneer Kheireddine spoke as the voice of the students. He said he believes a step needs to be taken to accommodate student organizations that want to use the area as a workspace.

“My goal is to be a representative of the students,” Kheireddine said. “In that role I will be reaching out to the CLCE to see what steps we can take from a Student Government perspective to assist and ensure that our student organizations have the space to utilize and take a step forward in a positive direction as opposed to pointing fingers.”

LIFESTYLE

First 50 Days ushers in summer 4

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Summer Yard Show to celebrate diversity

Greek life is one of 24 organizations contributing events to the First 50 Days program. ORACLE PHOTO/MIKI SHINE

By Jacqueline Miller C O R R E S P O N D E N T

The Summer Yard Show is a multicultural event that displays dance, diversity and education as part of USF’s First 50 Days program.

“It will showcase our 24 culturally based and traditionally African-American fraternities and sororities,” said Viancca Williams, assistant director of The Center for Student Involvement and Fraternity and Sorority Life.

The event on July 6 begins with a meet and greet at 4:30 p.m. and will continue until 6 p.m. The lineup is yet to be finalized.

“If you look up USF Fraternity and Sorority life on Facebook, you’ll be able to get information there,” Williams said. “It’s a great opportunity for people to be entertained and understand the traditions that are associated with these organizations.

“So, it’s essentially open to anybody because it provides an opportunity for people to learn

history and be excited about these organizations.”

Williams reminds students not to judge the performances of stepping, a rapid rhythmic dance, and strolling, a synchronous line dance.

“What defines (the organizations) really is the community service that they’re doing and the awareness and advocacy that they’re doing for different community issues and clearly the investment in just being a student here at USF,” Williams said.

The turnout in previous years was between 250 and 300 people.

A similar turnout is expected this year.

“Every year, new students join fraternities and sororities,” Williams said. “What that does, is that it provides new opportunities for new people to come to the table and just represent their organizations in general.”

During First 50 Days, there will be other events and opportunities for students to participate in different aspects of campus life.

Keri Riegler, director of New Student Connections, said there are many multicultural events included in First 50 Days this year, such as weekly student socials that connect cultural and minority populations.

“I think from the event series perspective we’re excited to have the diverse offerings of events this year that are in there and the yard show is one of those,” Riegler said. “So, Glow in the Park happens on July 7 and we have the Summer Splash Bash.”

For now, student organizations are focusing and preparing for the upcoming Summer Yard Show.

Williams ensures a good time for all students who attend the event.

“It’s a fun event,” Williams said. “You have an opportunity to truly see the talent that the organizations have to showcase, but then you get to learn so much about the history and why they advocate on behalf of the issues that they advocate for, but then also what makes those organizations just truly special and just really cool.”

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OPINION UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA

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Conservatives can get away with more offensive speech than liberals

Recent comments by actor Johnny Depp sparked yet another debate over what celebrities can say.

SPECIAL TO THE ORACLE

By Allaa Tayeb C O L U M N I S T

Tensions continue to boil over yet another celebrity threat toward President Donald Trump. Thursday afternoon during an arts festival in England, Johnny Depp was added to the growing list of celebrities who have ‘threatened’ the president’s life.

It seems that the only individuals exempt from the blacklash of threatening people in the name of free speech are right wing conservatives.

“When was the last time an actor assassinated a president?” Depp asked in reference to President Abraham Lincoln’s assassination by actor John Wilkes Booth.

“I want to clarify, I am not an actor. I lie for a living. However, it has been a while and maybe it is time,” Depp added.

His comments were met with intense scrutiny that forced Depp to apologize. Audiences had little sympathy for him.

Depp’s statements came shortly after comedian Kathy Griffin released a fake photo of her holding the detached head of President Trump.

Griffin released an apology stating she “went too far this time” and has since been removed as a co-host for

CNN’s New Year’s program.

So, if a comedian like Griffin, defined by her risqué humor, and an actor like Depp, with dramatic tendencies, cannot uphold their first amendment right to free speech, who can?

Where was the uproar when washed-up rocker and strong supporter of the Republican Party, Ted Nugent, threatened former President Barack Obama and the entire Democratic Party in 2012?

“We need to ride onto that battlefield and chop their heads off in November,” Nugent said of the Democratic Party.

“If Barack Obama becomes the president in November, again, I will be either dead or in jail by this time next year,” Nugent added.

His threatening comments toward Obama were investigated by the Secret Service, and Nugent never apologized or was publicly shamed for his words. In fact, one may say the president has praised him when he was invited to the White House in April.

“Ted Nugent was obviously using a figure of speech, unfortunate as it was. It just shows the anger people have towards @BarackObama,” President Trump tweeted April 19, 2012, in defense of Nugent’s

comments.

Our president believes Nugent’s words are only unfortunate, yet contends Griffin’s photo was “disgusting” and enough to end her career.

Nugent is not a conservative outlier though. Conservative talk show host and former Illinois representative Joe Walsh also made tasteless comments about former President Obama.

“3 Dallas Cops killed, 7 wounded.

This is now war. Watch out Obama.

Watch out black lives matter punks.

Real America is coming after you,” Walsh tweeted July 7, 2016, after the police shootings in Dallas.

Once again, Walsh was not met with the same response Griffin and Depp received. He was not fired or publically shamed. He did, however, delete the tweet and take some accountability for his actions.

It seems there is a trend. Free speech, while a right granted to all Americans by the constitution, is only upheld for those standing on the conservative side of the political spectrum.

How unfortunate is that?

Allaa Tayeb is a sophomore majoring in english.

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EDITORIAL: ●

SG is not above following Florida laws

A pointlessly heated debate among Student Government (SG) senators and the public broke out over the past week concerning students’ rights to record meetings.

Despite assertions by USF General Counsel and some senators, SG should not be considered exempt from state laws that allow for recording in public space.

During a Senate meeting on June 13, one of the senators attempted to live-stream the meeting without prior permission.

Other senators expressed being uncomfortable with the streaming, but gave permission for the Senate President to video record.

By SG statutes, the chair and only the chair is allowed to record meetings in any form.

SG reiterated this point last week in an email sent out by Student Government Advising, Training and Operations director Gary Manka. The email stated that anybody — SG member or not — found recording at a meeting could be referred to Student Rights and Responsibilities.

Florida State Law Chapter 119, commonly referred to as Sunshine Law, asserts that open meetings are allowed to be recorded by those in the room. An open meeting has no assumption of privacy.

Yet, USF General Counsel insists that SG is exempt from the law. General Counsel has

taken this stance multiple times in the past, including in 2014 to allow SG to deny or delay public records requests.

Still, public record requests are filled “voluntarily” by SG. This comes from General Counsel’s legal opinion that Sunshine Law does not define SG as a “public agency.”

Whether SG is a public agency or not really doesn’t matter in this case. SG is a part of the university, which is a public agency and would therefore be required to fulfill duties of public agencies anyway.

Even that is being disputed.

In an interview with The Oracle last week, Manka said he could not define whether SG is an agency of the university or not.

However, the dean of students doesn’t decide the outcome of a club election.

The average club isn’t in control of allocating $17.8 million in fees collected by the university. The Board of Trustees doesn’t put regulations on student organizations.

If SG isn’t part of the university, those things shouldn’t be happening, but all have in the past few months.

The student governments at UCF, UNF and UF allow for outside recordings of its Senate meetings and follow Sunshine Law. USF should be no different than our fellow universities.

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SUNDOLL

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them wheel your healthy, happy daughter into the OR (operating room) not knowing what’s going to happen,” Vickie said. “They could’ve come out after the surgery saying that it didn’t go well. They could say that she couldn’t feel her legs or see. It was terrifying.”

After the surgery, there was a three-month recovery time for Gonzalez before she could dance again. The first two weeks were the toughest.

“For three months I couldn’t bend, lift or twist,” Gonzalez said. “I literally couldn’t do anything. I couldn’t even pick up a can of soda because it was too heavy. To pick up anything I had to squat down to do it.”

Her eagerness to start dancing again was apparent as she attended all her dance practices after the initial two weeks post-surgery even though all she could do was sit on the side – and do a couple stretches she wasn’t technically supposed to be doing.

Once she received clearance from her doctor, Gonzalez quickly went back to work on the dance floor and won an individual state dance com-

DWYER

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In his only season as a Bull, Dwyer led the Big East with 16 goals and was named the Big East Conference Player of the Year. He then led the way for the 2011 Bulls as they became the only team in Big East history to go undefeated in conference play and made it into the Elite 8 of the NCAA tournament.

His play at USF caught the eye of Sporting KC, which used the No. 16 pick in the 2012 MLS Super Draft to select Dwyer. He would lift the MLS Cup in his first season with the club in 2013.

Dwyer has scored 57 regular season goals since he joined the MLS, the fourth most in that time frame. As the goals continued to come, so did the attention from U.S. men’s national team coach Bruce Arena.

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petition just six months’ postsurgery.

While excelling in dance, she also maintained focus on her future goals by shadowing the same surgeon who operated on her. She now regularly shadows at St. Joseph’s and Florida Hospital Carrollwood.

Gonzalez kept her grades up throughout high school despite her condition. She earned principal’s honor roll every school year and was awarded the Florida Academic Scholars Award, the highest Bright Futures scholarship available to Florida high school students.

USF was the only school she applied to, and she will be a junior in credits next fall despite graduating high school a year ago.

She plans on dancing for the Sundolls as long as she can and hopes to stay at USF through medical school while she pursues her dream of becoming a pediatric spinal surgeon.

“She really enjoys helping people,” her mother said. “She has a sensitive side, and she loves to help children especially. She’s worked at a lot of different dance camps and she’s volunteered at St. Josephs every summer since eighth grade. I think that really shows who she is as a person.”

“Dom’s a very good player,” Arena said in May. “He has just become eligible and is certainly on our radar. I’m hopeful between now and the end of summer we’ll have an opportunity to have him play for the U.S.” The United States hasn’t won a tournament since the 2013 Gold Cup, the same season Dwyer won the MLS Cup with Sporting KC. For Dwyer the call-up to represent the U.S. is a dream come true regardless of how the team performs in the tournament.

“I’ve lived here for about nine years now in the U.S.,” Dwyer told ESPNFC. “I wasn’t born here, but this is, if not my second home, my home. I think any footballer, you want to play on the international stage. That’s the biggest there is. To play for your country would be amazing.”

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CROSSWORD

Sports

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Past struggles with scoliosis shapes Sundoll’s future UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA

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By Josh Fiallo S P O R T S

E D I T O R

It was supposed to be a routine physical examination, nothing more.

Instead, 12-year-old Melissa Gonzalez was overwhelmed when the doctor told her that she had scoliosis, a disorder that causes curvature of the spine. At the time, neither her nor her parents knew anything about the disorder or how much it would change their lives.

Gonzalez is currently scoliosis free following a successful surgery in 2015 and is a second year member of the USF Sundolls dance team.

Though dancing helped Gonzalez through her four years of having scoliosis, it was the struggle itself that impacted her future dreams the most.

“I’ve wanted to be a doctor for as long as I can remember,” Gonzalez said. “Then I wanted to be a surgeon. After my surgery though, I knew that I really wanted to do pediatric orthopedic spine surgery.

That way I can really share and commiserate with my patients as I help them through the process because it can be hard.”

For Gonzalez, the process was difficult from the minute she was diagnosed.

“Me and my parents were both freaking out when I found out because neither of us really knew what scoliosis was,” Gonzalez said. “I remember sitting and waiting for my X-ray that day and I was thinking, ‘Wow, what is my life about to be like?’”

Gonzalez couldn’t immediately fix the curvature in her back surgically because she was still growing, which meant there would be an increased risk of complication.

Scoliosis is most common in children aged 10-15, according to Webmd.com, with boys and girls developing the disorder at

Men’s Soccer

Dwyer gets call-up to national team

Former Bulls standout Dom Dwyer scored 16 goals in 21 games his junior season.

SPECIAL TO THE ORACLE

By Josh Fiallo S P O R T S

Melissa Gonzalez aspires to be a Bull all the way through medical school. SPECIAL TO THE ORACLE the same rate. Girls, however, are 10 times more likely to require treatment.

Since surgery was not the best option yet, the next three years of Gonzalez’s life were excruciating at times due to a pesky back brace that affected numerous aspects of her life.

“I was supposed to wear the back brace 23 hours a day,” Gonzalez said. “It was really painful and would leave scars on my back. My mom would come and sleep with me sometimes because I was so uncomfortable, I would do nothing but cry all night because it hurt so bad.”

Besides the physical pain and scars, Gonzalez was often embarrassed by the brace.

“Outfits would look funny on me because of (the brace).

My shoulders would be uneven and the middle of the outfit would basically be on

my side,” Gonzalez said. “I would wear a shirt, then the back brace, then another shirt on top of the brace that way people couldn’t see it.”

Gonzalez’s mom, Vickie Gonzalez, recalls all of the hardships the brace caused as well.

“She couldn’t wear normal clothes, so she had to wear baggy stuff since the brace covered her entire torso,” her mother said.

“It’d get so hot when she was sitting in class it’d give her back sores. She also couldn’t sleep at night. She would cry and say ‘Mommy can I not wear it tonight so I can get a good night’s sleep?’”

Though the pain was unbearable at times, Melissa pushed through.

Despite fears from her mother that the disorder would cause Gonzalez to become

depressed, she remained positive and never stopped dancing.

“I never thought about quitting dancing because that’s what I love to do,” Gonzalez said. “My last few years at Tampa Catholic it was my goal to tryout and make it on the Sundolls, and I did, thankfully.”

After three long years of wearing a back brace everywhere, Gonzalez had a successful surgery at St. Josephs Hospital that ended her scoliosis in summer 2015.

Gonzalez’s mother still remembers the exact date of the surgery and how nervous she was for the seven-hour long procedure that would include two rods, 18 screws and a chain being placed into her daughter’s body.

“It was terrifying to have

n See SUNDOLL on PAGE 7

E D I T O R

Four months ago, former USF soccer player Dom Dwyer wasn’t an American citizen.

Now, after securing his American citizenship in March, the England native has been called upon to join the U.S. men’s national team for the 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup beginning July 7.

“It’s an incredible honor to represent the United States for the first time,” Dwyer said in a statement. “I want to thank everyone who has helped me make this goal a reality.”

Dwyer first moved to the United States in 2009 to play soccer at Tyler junior college in Texas. He led the school to consecutive national championships and won the Junior College Player of the Year award his sophomore season.

In 2011 he transferred to USF where he would continue his prolific goal scoring.

n See DWYER on PAGE 7