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The Oracle

Students see decrease in financial aid

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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

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

Thirty years ago, college students simply had to work part-time over the summer to afford tuition. Now, many students must work at least 15 hours a week during the school year. Modern students are also expected to have a more rigorous schedule, attain a minimum of a 3.5 GPA and be involved in multiple student organizations.

Expectations have grown since their parents’ generation.

As these pressures increase, financial aid for students is decreasing for some individuals.

Reduced financial aid, which USF Financial Aid Services claims is caused by changed deadlines and enforced regulations, puzzles many students who depend on it.

“I have lost substantial funding,” said third year English education major Brittany Schmiedal. “Last year, I had a need based grant, a Pell grant and two student loans. The need based and merit based grants are completely gone, and the Pell was cut in half,” Schmiedal said.

“I unfortunately don’t have the option to work any extra, and I have bills, an apartment, and need to pay for gas,” Schmiedal said.

She is concerned about making ends meet without having to drop classes without her financial aid.

Besides reduced financial aid, another major complaint among students is that many did not

n See AID on PAGE 3

The costs and benefits The ‘Muslim ban’ is of Shark Week not a good idea Page 4

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Mohl promoted to head coach 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 Ashley Bazile Destiny Moore Tadge Haskins

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NEWS

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News Briefs

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USF World explains travel ban to international students

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New North Korean missile could reach Alaska

Monday, North Korea reportedly tested a ballistic missile strong enough to reach Alaska. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson called the missile a “new escalation of the threat” of North Korea, according to the BBC. The test comes just before President Donald Trump plans to meet with key Asian leaders and Russian President Vladimir Putin later this week, according to the Washington Post. North Korea was already expected to be a main subject of the meeting.

ULS survey for next year’s speakers opens The survey for next school year’s University Lecture Series speakers opened Wednesday.

The list includes former mayor of Los Angeles Antonio Villaraigosa, YouTube star Kid President and Hip-Hop artist The Genius.

This year, the Center for Leadership and Civic Engagement is also asking students what topics they’re most interested in hearing about. Choices include leadership, finance and diversity.

Some students have noticed a decrease in the financial aid they’re recieving for next year. SPECIAL TO THE ORACLE

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receive ample notification time about the change.

“I got an email that the 2017-18 financial aid information had been updated. I went in to OASIS and saw that my funding was drastically decreased,” said first year marketing major, Kyla Hermelyn.

Second year pre-finance major, Alfredo Luis de Zayas echoed Hermelyn’s response.

He was only notified his financial aid was available by email and was not expecting a dramatic change.

“I feel betrayed by the University because I lost three grants after performing very well academically, and my parent’s income had not changed in any significant way for the grants to be removed, as they were need based,” Zayas said.

There hasn’t been an institution-wide reduction for financial aid, according to Billie Jo Hamilton, assistant vice president of Enrollment Planning & Management and director of University Scholarships & Financial Aid Services. In fact, the amount allocated from federal Pell grants increased, and the state and institution aid provided is the same.

Changes in student funds occur for a number of reasons, according to

Hamilton. Explanations range from modifications in FAFSA data to exceeding the 135 credit hour limit on particular grants.

Another cause for the change may be the new FAFSA application deadline, as it was pushed back from March first to January first, and the efficiency of awards granted.

Hamilton also added that she saw an increase in the number of students who completed the application early. She credited the Financial Aid Services office for marketing the change to students.

“We had 19,000 continuing students that we awarded financial aid in mid-June.

With this amount of students being so much more, all of our Institutional Aid was given out in the first half,” Hamilton said.

In regard to helping students who are at risk of not affording their tuition, Hamilton said Financial Aid Services has done everything it can.

Students should expect the new application and fund distribution process to remain the same for semesters to come.

“If a student received less aid than in the past, I am willing to sit down with them and explain why that may have occurred. That is what we are here for,” Hamilton said.

USF has 4,726 international students. SPECIAL TO THE ORACLE

By Maria Ranoni C O R R E S P O N D E N T

Concern over the recently reinstated travel ban led to USF World releasing a statement to international students about how it could impact them.

Amid much contention, the Supreme Court allowed portions of President Donald Trump’s travel ban to become effective this past week. The travel ban will last 90 days and will bar the entry of people coming from Libya, Sudan, Syria, Iran, Yemen and Somalia who do not have a bona fide relationship with a person or entity in the U.S. “According to the Supreme Court, examples of bona fide relationships include students admitted to a United States college or university; those with a close family relationship with an individual in the United States; those who have accepted offers of employment in the United States; and those invited to give a lecture in the United States,” the letter stated.

During this 90-day period, U.S. travel officials will be revising the current screening procedures and will be determining how to improve them to stop any threats.

According to Glen Besterfield, assistant vice president of International Admissions and Global Partnerships, this letter was necessary.

“Misinformation can easily spread, and the fact that students

are excluded is missed,” he said.

Besterfield believes this court decision “may set a precedent to exclude students from future immigration discussions and executive orders.”

In the past six months, Besterfield said USF World has communicated with international students to ease potential fears about traveling to the U.S. in the current political climate. USF has 4,726 international students, according to its 2016-17 fact report.

Even though the ban should not affect students’ travel, it leaves people to wonder if a policy such as this will discourage international students from venturing to the U.S for education in the future.

According to the New York Times, nearly 40 percent of colleges report an overall decline in the number of international students since November. The biggest decline is in applicants from the Middle East.

While Besterfield isn’t concerned about a large impact on the USF community, USF World continues to reassure students that they don’t need to worry.

“The most important thing that USF World is trying to convey to the university community of faculty, staff and students is that we are a global community of scholars and we value the diversity that our international students and scholars bring to the academy,” Besterfield said.

LIFESTYLE

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Shark Week offers pros and cons

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What you said Sports Editor Josh Fiallo asked students what their opinion is on Shark Week.

“I think it’s very good to draw people in and I think the topic is very interesting.

I think with a topic like that they could be a bit more educational.”

USF researchers weigh in on debate over the costs and benefits of media attention

By Jenny Rughoonundan C O R R E S P O N D E N T

From bared teeth to blood filled water, people have come to expect a montage of shark-based aggression from the annual Shark Week lineup on the Discovery Channel.

Though the popular program — which starts July 23 — does offer benefits for the marine sciences, it could ultimately do more to highlight other work in the field.

“It’s not exactly cutting-edge science or anything, but it’s very visual and appealing,” said Cameron Ainsworth, assistant professor at USF College of Marine Science. “I think everyone has a natural fondness of sharks and it’s the same thing with nature programs like BBC, they always sort of put what’s visually appealing on the screen, but it’s a great way to generate interest.”

In featuring more work from the science community, Shark Week stands to draw more attention to critical areas of research, according to Ainsworth.

“I’m not sure we’ve done enough to allay people’s fears about sharks,” said Steven Murawski, professor at USF College of Marine Science. “You have more of risk of dying because of a bee sting than you would ever have of with a shark bite.”

According to the Washington Post, sharks kill approximately one person a year compared to bees, wasps and hornets, which kill 58

people a year.

“A lot of the programming is somewhat sensationalized around the animals being dangerous animals, so I’m not sure we’ve really done them a favor in terms of people’s perceptions of their role in the environment, how dangerous they are,” Murawski said.

Research, such as developing nurseries for at-risk sandbar sharks and studying the biology of sixgill sharks by FSU researcher Dean Grubbs is not featured during Shark Week.

“We’ve caught 31 species of sharks for oil-contamination analysis,” Murawski said.

“We’ve been able to look at fish communities and how they differ between the different regions of the Gulf of Mexico and we’ve collected samples from all of the fish. What we’re trying to do is build a baseline of oil contamination for when we have the next big oil spill come in.”

Shark Week presents the opportunity of promoting further conversation about the marine sciences, according to Murawski.

“I think they could probably do a lot more in terms of inspiring people to go out and be involved in the environment, there’s a lot of opportunities,” Murawski said. “Shark Week is shark week, but it’s 52 weeks a year for the sharks. I think it’s great to highlight what’s going on with them one week a year, but where are the opportunities to get involved?”

Despite these drawbacks,

Murawski said Shark Week has caused positive changes when it comes to the accessibility of the marine world. Instead of needing to kill animals in order to make observations, underwater camera crews can provide insight.

“Something that was invoked maybe 20-30 years was something called Kill Fish tournaments. They would have a big shark tournament off Montak in New York and big shark tournaments all over the place,” he said. “I think one thing Discovery Channel has helped to do is say everybody wants to see big sharks but you don’t necessarily have to see them dead.”

Additionally, Murawski and Ainsworth have seen the positive impact such programming created in the number of students interested in studying marine science and related fields.

“They’re a great recruitment tool for new students,” Ainsworth said. “The first exposure that a lot of people have is seeing things like this on Discovery Channel or other TV shows, like BBC, with scientific interests.”

As an introduction to the marine sciences, Shark Week has been able to provide basic information to the public to raise awareness about intriguing animals, such as sharks, and spark interest.

“There’s no doubt when the media is involved, people understand better about what the field is,” Murawski said. “They see a little bit about what people actually do as far as the job goes.”

- Amin Taha, a freshman majoring in psychology

“I think the platform is really educational and I think for entertainment purposes, it’s really good.” ­ Jasmine Sanchez, a — freshman majoring in pre-nursing

“I think it’s pretty cool to watch, but that we see the same ones every year. I think they should update their research and keep it fresh.”

- Katrina Anderson, a senior majoring in speech pathology “I love sharks, I love watching Shark Week. It’s the best of both worlds really. You learn about all the sharks and people like to watch sharks.”

— Stephan Pique, a freshman majoring in business

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OPINION UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA

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New Snapchat feature exposes vulnerability

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The ‘Muslim ban’ is still not a good idea

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

Selecting ‘Ghost Mode’ on the new Snap Map won’t really protect your privacy, but you should do it anyway.

SPECIAL TO THE ORACLE

By Renee Perez C O L U M N I S T

As part of a larger trend of social media becoming increasingly invasive, Snapchat’s most recent update introduced a controversial new feature called Snap Map. The real-time map allows users to broadcast their location to their Snapchat friends every time they open the app. Snap Map uses Bitmojis to indicate users’ current coordinates and their last known location.

Schools, law enforcement and news outlets are warning parents about the dangers Snap Map could pose to children, who comprise 23 percent of Snapchat’s 158 million users, according to BusinessInsider.

However, the live map is not just hazardous to the safety of kids and teens, but adults too. It gives predators, bullies, abusers and stalkers an effortless way to track potential victims.

Although many are blindsided by the feature’s intrusiveness, Snap Map is merely a reflection

of the disconcerting reality of modern-day internet usage: Terms and conditions have become soulselling deals in which we agree to be surveilled.

We are surveilled not only by our friends, but by any company or agency willing to pay for our information in exchange for a counterfeit approximation of social interaction.

For instance, internet service providers like Bright House Networks can legally track and sell browsing habits without consumers’ consent.

Just this week, a U.S. district judge dismissed a nationwide lawsuit against Facebook for violating federal privacy laws.

The grounds for the lawsuit were that Facebook is “tracking users” internet activity even after they logged out of the … website” and selling this information to marketers to generate targeted advertisements.

Even more unsettling is that the monitoring is not limited to our online behavior.

Facebook doesn’t just know

what late-night questions you Google and what is in your Amazon cart. Thanks to its Offline Conversion API, it also knows what stores you visit, when you visit them, how much money you spent there, and what items you purchased. This information is all stored and sold by Facebook, according to Econsultancy.

There are certainly ways of increasing online privacy — for instance, selecting “Ghost Mode” on Snap Map prevents location sharing — but these measures are quickly losing effectiveness.

In this age of technology, we must decide whether we hope to actively live our lives or simply discharge responses to a constant barrage of targeted ads, stopping only when the lighting is just right for an Instagram photo.

Perhaps it is time we log off of social media, lest we become no more autonomous than the smartphones we use to access it.

Renee Perez is a junior majoring in political science and economics.

“Allaa, I need you to send this Western Union to my cousin Mohammad in Damascus” my father asked through worried eyes.

I watch him weakly pace the living room with a furrowed brow, troubled by how little he can do to help his family. I know this is his way of trying to make it right and of feeling better about sitting idly while his mother’s home is torn apart by war and hate.

For those who may not know, Damascus is a city in Syria, one of the countries affected by the ineffective travel ban put back in place Thursday. It was beautiful and lively, until a new president took power and allowed the country to crumble.

Unfortunately, some of my family stands amid this crossfire.

My grandmother was lucky enough to leave Syria well before the tyranny began to give my father and his siblings a life free from war.

My mother’s family was also lucky. My noble grandfather rescued his wife and seven children from Palestine shortly after its occupation.

My parents were lucky enough to grow up in Jordan and immigrate to this country.

And I was lucky enough to be born and raised in America.

But not everyone is as lucky as my family or me. Many Palestinians still live in cities where simply leaving their homes can be fatal. Many Syrians,

including my father’s cousin, live in broken neighborhoods where clean water is considered a luxury and not a necessity.

Luck will always be random.

Never forget that.

While your privilege warrants you the ability to sit and read this article, across the ocean people sit with no electricity, food or shelter from war.

Yet our president believes Americans are the ones who need protection. He supports banning people from entering a country based on the irrational behavior of a select few.

The revised travel ban will not save this country from terrorism, for terrorism knows no religion or nationality. It can be anyone, even someone born and raised within these borders.

This ban will mostly aid in preventing innocent civilians from a chance at freedom. It may save a few lives, but undoubtedly ruin hundreds.

It scares me to think that without luck, it could be me without electricity. That instead of writing this article, I could be barred from the most basic human necessities. Or worse, that one of the most powerful nations in this world would be banning me from seeking refuge within its borders.

But what good is my opinion on this matter, anyways? After all, aren’t I just the daughter of two Muslim immigrants?

Allaa Tayeb is a sophomore majoring in English and film studies.

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CROSSWORD

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Sports

Billy Mohl to replace Kingston as head coach 8

By Sam Newlon

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

Following former coach Mark Kingston’s departure to South Carolina, USF acted promptly to hire from within.

Billy Mohl, USF’s pitching coach of three years, was promoted to head coach by athletic director Mark Harlan hours after Kingston’s departure on June 30.

“We are very excited to be able to continue the tremendous momentum of our baseball program with Billy Mohl as our head coach,” Harlan said. “He has a tremendous track record of recruiting and developing high caliber student-athletes, did a tremendous job with our pitching staff over the past three seasons.”

Kingston gave Mohl his first coaching job in 2010 as the pitching coach at Illinois State. Mohl then took the same position at USF when Kingston was hired in 2014. The State (Columbia, South Carolina) previously reported him as a potential candidate to follow Kingston to South Carolina as the

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Gamecock’s pitching coach.

Pitching led the way for USF’s 41-win season in 2017, with its pitchers average ERA ranking 10th in the nation, while its strikeout per nine innings ratio was No. 1 overall. Pitchers Phoenix Sanders, Joe Cavallaro and Ryan Valdes were all drafted two weeks after the Bulls’ season ended in the Gainesville regional.

Last season was no fluke for a pitching staff led by Mohl.

Since Mohl’s transition to Tampa in 2014, Bulls pitchers have posted 500-plus strikeout seasons each year. In that same time, eight USF pitchers were selected in the MLB draft, while only three non-pitchers were selected.

In his five-year tenure at Illinois State, nine pitchers were drafted, and the Red Birds won their first ever Missouri Valley Conference title.

“Many thanks go to Mark Kingston,” Mohl said in a statement. “I couldn’t be more appreciative of everything he has done for me throughout our time togeth-

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er. I’m excited to continue to build on the foundation and successes he has laid here.

“The players in this program are the most important thing to me. I am proud to be their coach, mentoring and leading them both on and off the field as players and men.”

Many of those players voiced their support of the decision to hire Mohl via social media.

“Billy’s Bulls to Omaha baby #Gobulls,” starting pitcher Shane McClanahan said in one tweet the day of Mohl’s hiring.

“LETS GO!!!!! @USF_ CoachMohl,” he said in another.

Along with current Bulls, former players have shown their support of the hiring also.

“Can’t express how great of a hire @USF_CoachMohl is for @USFBaseball,” tweeted Austin Adams, a former Bull and current pitcher in the Nationals organization.

USF will be Mohl’s first head coaching job, but there’s no lack of post-season experience for

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Coach Billy Mohl was promoted to head coach less than a day after Mark Kingstons departure to South Carolina. SPECIAL TO THE ORACLE Mohl, who’s been to the NCAA Tournament both as a player at Tulane and twice as a coach at USF. Kingston made $140,000 annually in his three years at USF, and will now make $475,000 a year in base salary at South Carolina, with the possibility to make $600,000

per year with incentives.

Mohl will be officially introduced this afternoon at the Sun Dome.

The event will include an introduction from Harlan, remarks from Mohl and an ensuing media question period for the new head coach.

Notebook

Judge to allow use of new self-denfese law in death of former Bull

Elkino Watson died from a stabbing in Ybor in September of 2015.

SPECIAL TO THE ORACLE

By Josh Fiallo S P O R T S

E D I T O R

After a win over Florida A&M in September of 2015, former USF football player Elkino Watson died of stab wounds during a fight in Ybor City according to Tampa Police.

The man who allegedly stabbed Watson, Randolph Graham, has been charged with second-degree murder, but intends on appealing the charges using Florida’s new “stand your ground” law.

In the past, it was the defense’s job to prove self-defense was necessary. However, under the new “stand your ground” law, it is up to prosecutors to prove self-defense was not necessary.

As a result of the law change, Senior Circuit Judge J. Rogers

Padgett heard arguments from a prosecutor and Watson’s defense attorneys Wednesday regarding whether the new law could be used retroactively in Graham’s case. He ruled it could.

Florida law says a person has no duty to retreat when faced with a violent confrontation and can use deadly force if he or she fears great bodily harm or death.

Graham, who is 5-foot-6 and weighs 140 pounds, was significantly smaller than Watson, who stood at 6-foot-2 and weighed 290 pounds. Due to Watson’s size superiority, the defense motion states that Graham was forced to act “in order to prevent great bodily harm” to him and his friends, the Tampa Bay Times reports.

The hearing will be held August 29-30 and will have similar traits to a regular trial.

USF men’s basketball nonconference schedule released USF announced its non-conference men’s basketball schedule Monday. It includes nine home games and four away games in coach Brian Gregory’s first season at the helm.

The Bulls will start their 201718 campaign against Florida Atlantic, Morgan State and Stetson before playing in the Hoosier Tip-Off Classic against Indiana in Bloomington, Indiana.

The average RPI, a measurement used to rank sports teams based on a team’s wins, losses and its strength of schedule, of USF’s non-conference opponents is 259 out of 351 eligible teams.

USF’s current RPI is 317, the worst in the AAC. Arkansas State is the only non-

conference opponent of the Bulls who won more than 20 games last season and will play USF at the Sun Dome on Friday, November 24.

Commits pouring in for Strong In June alone, five football players committed to play for USF in 2018.

The group of five includes Jajuan Cherry, Trey Laing and Brad Cecil, who are three-star recruits according to 247 Sports, as well as Gerald Jackson and Octavious Battle, who are not yet rated.

Tuesday, Atlanta native Antonio Grier committed to the Bulls, making him the classes’ seventh player overall and second from the state of Georgia according to 247 Sports.