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Inequalities Found Among Head Coaching Salaries

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Florida Tech displayed instances of inequalities, particularly among head coach salaries for men’s and women’s athletic teams in 2018, according to data reported within the Equity in Athletics Disclosure Act.

The Equity in Athletics Disclosure Act is an annual report released from the Department of Education that examines gender equity amongst collegiate athletic programs. 

 The most recent data from the Department of Education, dating from June of 2017 through May of 2018, cited the average pay for a head coach for men’s varsity sports programs at Florida Tech was $60,131. The average pay for a head coach for women’s varsity sports programs at Florida Tech was $40,700; resulting in nearly a $20,000 gap.

“We’re always looking at salaries,” said Bill Jurgens, Florida Tech’s athletic director.  

Jurgens also stated that there are numerous factors that play into a coach’s salary at Florida Tech. For example, contributing factors include age and experience, time spent at Florida Tech, success of the team, particularly raises for NCAA appearances and SSC championship wins. Florida Tech sports camps and youth programs also provide opportunities for coaches to obtain additional pay.

“I will say, there is much more money generated from the camps for men’s sports than women’s sports,” Jurgens said. “It often has a lot to do with the receptiveness of certain camps.  Some camps just draw a lot of people and a lot of youth and others don’t draw as much, and some of it has to do with your success and reputation.”

Coaches’ Voices

·According to Val Silvestrini, head coach of the Panthers softball team, the issue with the salary gap goes beyond gender.

“To me, the issue is not male versus female,” Silvestrini said. “My issue is that our salaries are not comparable to the other salaries in the conference.”

Florida Tech is one of 11 schools that competes within the NCAA Division II Sunshine State Conference. In comparison to other salary gaps between schools within the SSC, Florida Tech had the second largest pay gap among head coach’s salary for men’s and women’s varsity sports. Embry Riddle Aeronautical University had the largest gap of $54,166. 

Florida Tech’s gap of exactly $19,431 was almost double that of all other schools in the SSC, which include Barry University, Eckerd College, Florida Southern College, Lynn University, Nova Southeastern University, Palm Beach Atlantic University, Rollins College, Saint Leo University and the University of Tampa.

Pete Mazzone, Florida Tech’s associate athletic director as well as the head coach for the Panther’s men’s and women’s cross country team, alike to Jurgens emphasized that there are many factors as to why there are discrepancies between the salaries. 

“Certain factors need to be taken into consideration when looking at that stand alone number,” Mazzone said.  “Longevity as well as experience is not something that that gap examines.”

Mazzone went on to say that he thinks “there should be room for improvement.” 

“If you have one coach that has been here for eight years and that person happens to be coaching a female sport, there’s no difference in coaching men and they should be compensated for that properly,” Mazzone said.

 Recruiting Budget Gap within the 2018 EADA Report 

Another gap that stood out within the Department of Education’s EADA report for Florida Tech was the recruiting budget for men’s and women’s sports. In the 2018 athletic year, the recruiting budget for men’s sports was $87,841, and the recruiting budget for women’s sports at Florida Tech was $29,502—a $58,339 gap. According to David Fassino, Florida Tech athletics business manager, it is crucial to compare the recruiting budgets to the percentage of male and female athletes at Florida Tech.

“Once you look at that comparison you should see that the percentage of male and female athletes should be nearly equal to or very close to the allocation of the recruiting budgets being spent on men’s and women’s sports,” Fassino said.

Sixty-five percent of Florida Tech athletes were male and the remaining 34 percent of athletes were women. Yet, 75 percent of the entire recruiting budget was spent on men’s varsity sports, and 25 percent was spent on women’s sports.

According to Alexander Vamosi—an associate professor in the Nathan M. Bisk College of Business who teaches sports economy— the gap within the recruiting budget at Florida Tech “is not a fair comparison.”

“Football is a huge outlier in terms of operating expenses as well, but also the amount of revenue they bring in,” Vamosi said.

“No sport of such size or portion is at all equivalent to football in women’s athletics.”

Florida Tech is the only school within the SSC that has a football program. The Panther’s football program does not compete within the SSC, rather they compete in the Gulf South Conference, playing against many teams located outside of Florida.

Vamosi also stated that a huge factor that plays into the recruiting budgets at any athletic program is revenue.

“Primarily speaking, football and men’s basketball generate the most revenue and that’s simply because there is a higher consumer demand for those sports than others, making them profitable,” Vamosi said.

Backing Vamosi’s claims, the 2018 EADA report for Florida Tech showed that revenue generated from football was $3150,032, and the total revenue for all men’s sports combined not including football and basketball was $3,625,096. All eight other men’s varsity athletics programs brought in only about $475,000 more combined than football and men’s basketball alone. 

“The bottom line is that football is the main reason why there is a gap within the recruiting budget,” Vamosi said.  

Student-Athlete Voices

Kailee O’brien, a sophomore who was recruited out of Ohio to play as a midfielder for the Panther’s lacrosse program, was surprised to hear of the gap, but could see why there is such a discrepancy, saying that “football is a massive program in comparison to other sports teams on campus.”

“It makes sense why there’s a gap, but it’s crazy to see that $58,000 number at first,” O’Brien said. “It’s also scary that we’re not really aware of it.”

Evan Thompson, a  junior from Orlando on the football team as well as the men’s golf team, was not surprised of that gap because of his experiences on the football team and the general understanding that football  brings in large amounts of revenue between gameday tickets, revenues, special events, fundraising and more.

“I still feel as though the girls are not treated as fairly and are not given the same amount of opportunities as males at this tech school,” Thompson said. “I feel as though our school should do more research into closing this gap, and creating a more engaging culture for particularly women student-athletes at our school.”

Jurgens said that one of his main priorities in 2020 will be to perform a yearly analysis of data within the EADA report, specifically the gap among coaching salaries. 

“We will look at comparisons not just within the conference, but nationally,” Jurgens said. “The salaries are very important. I think it’s critical that we provide equitable support for the men and the women’s teams.”

As of now, the analysis is still underway as data is being collected for the 2019 athletic year. According to Jurgens, this criteria will be examined shortly into 2020. 

Florida Tech at risk of being fined millions of dollars for under-reporting crimes

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By Olivia McKelvey, Emily Walker and Kevin Boodoosingh

This story was written as a collaboration between FLORIDA TODAY and The Crimson. FLORIDA TODAY investigative reporter, Alessandro Marazzi Sassoon, worked alongside Crimson reporters: Emily Walker, outgoing editor-in-chief of The Crimson and 2019 graduate, Olivia McKelvey, incoming editor-in-chief of The Crimson (class of 2020) and Kevin Boodoosingh, managing editor of The Crimson (class of 2020). They collaborated to make records requests, consult experts and interview students who had reported crimes.

In collaboration with FLORIDA TODAY, the daily newspaper serving Brevard County, reporters uncovered at least 41 reported crimes that were not included within Florida Tech’s 2019 Annual Security and Fire Safety Reports, an error that could cost the university millions of dollars.

The Department of Education is able to fine universities $57,317 per incident of under-reporting, and with at least 41 incidents of under-reporting at Florida Tech—and the potential for there to be more—the university could be fined roughly $2.3 million depending on whether or not the Department of Education conducts an investigation and determines an outcome. 

Image result for clery act logo

Data Analysis

An investigation conducted by FLORIDA TODAY working alongside Crimson reporters led to the discovery of additional under-reporting of crimes other than just rape and hate crimes. Reporters cross referenced reports of crime from Melbourne police records, Palm Bay police records and Florida Tech’s campus security crime logs from 2016 through 2018 and compared them to what statistics were published in the 2019 Annual Security and Fire Safety Reports. The Brevard County Sheriff’s Office did not provide records after multiple attempts to contact them.

 Data revealed that there were at least 41 cases of reported crimes not included in the 2019 Annual Security and Fire Safety Reports in multiple categories, including rape, stalking, dating violence, aggravated assault, arson, robbery, burglaries and motor vehicle theft. Since data could not be obtained from the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office, the number of underreported crimes could be higher. 

There were zero reports of incidents falling under the categories counted as hate crimes, despite at least one incident of vandalism that was investigated by Melbourne police as a hate crime. 

Drug and liquor law violations, as well as weapons violations, were not examined for this data analysis.

In emails sent by Florida Tech security officers to local law enforcement agencies such as Melbourne Police Department and Palm Bay Police Department, reports of rape, sex crimes, domestic violence and stalking were not requested—all of which are categories that must be requested under Clery law. Although these categories were not requested, both law agencies provided Florida Tech with those particular statistics from 2016 through 2018. The majority of these statistics were not included within Florida Tech’s 2019 Annual Security and Fire Safety Reports. 

“The problem looks like one of a very sloppy process,” said S. Daniel Carter, the president of Safety Advisors for Educational Campuses, LLC and who worked with the Department of Education as a key player in writing federal regulations for the Clery Act.

Carter also mentioned that the under-reporting of crimes and unorganized method of obtaining data is a common theme nationwide at universities. He also said that the university could still be held liable by the Department of Education for “lack of administrative capacity.” 

Florida Tech Clery Act Violations

The Clery Act is a federal law that requires federally funded colleges and universities in the United States to publish statistics regarding reports of crime on and around campuses annually. Clery law requires that all reports of crime must be published within the annual report, regardless of whether or not charges were pressed.

Due to the fact that Florida Tech receives federal funding, it is required to publish an annual security report for both students and employees every Oct. 1. This report covers the past three years of data. The most recent report included data from 2016 through 2018. 

Florida Tech gathers data from campus security, the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office, Melbourne Police Department and Palm Bay Police Department.

Since the annual report was released, three students have come forward with reports of rape on campus that were not counted in the annual report. Additionally, another student has come forward with a report of a hate crime that was not cited within the annual report.

Each incident of a failure to include a reported crime in the annual Clery report can result in the U.S. Department of Education imposing a fine of $57,317. 

The Voices

Four students have come forward to share three reports of rape and one of vandalism. Two have chosen to remain anonymous while two have gone on record with their names. 

Those with reports of rape all shared similar feelings of invalidation when seeing that their reports of rape, all of which occured between 2016 and 2018, were not included within the 2019 Annual Security and Fire Safety Reports.

“The fact that it wasn’t reported—it’s sad,” one rape survivor said. “Like I say, it just goes to show that they only really care about the money they’re getting from us.”

In addition to issues with under-reporting within the annual report, the students brought up concerns regarding the lack of assistance they felt they were given from the then Florida Tech’s Title IX coordinator, Linda Jancheson, as well as accounts of what they described as “victim shaming” during initial investigations from campus security.

“Even if you didn’t sign off on [the report] or you didn’t know that the underreporitng was happening, you are the head of the Title IX office,” said Nicole Farnsworth, a 19-year-old forensic psychology student who reported her statutory rape to Melbourne police in 2018. “You have a job to do and you haven’t been doing that job.” 

Another student, who was raped on campus in 2017, said campus security asked her questions regarding what she was wearing. 

“I felt victim shamed,” she said. “I lost complete respect for the school.”

Evangeline Archer, a transgender aerospace engineering student, said her car was parked on campus in November 2018 when she found it spray-painted with slurs. Both campus security and Melbourne police took pictures and made reports of the incident. Melbourne police investigated the incident as a hate crime, yet it was not listed in Florida Tech’s 2019 Annual Security and Fire Safety Reports.

“I feel like [Florida Tech], they’re very supportive of the LGBT community until there’s something they have to actually do,” Archer said in an interview with FLORIDA TODAY.

University Response

Florida Tech President T. Dwayne McCay told FLORIDA TODAY that it was “difficult to justify incompetence and gross negligence.”

McCay also said that an internal investigation is currently underway.

Frank Iannone, Florida Tech’s director of security, said that he first became aware of discrepancies in the data in August of 2019 and all available crime data is being reexamined.

“I’m telling you right now, this won’t occur again,” Iannone told FLORIDA TODAY.

McCay said the university will implement changes such as retraining and employee turnover. Additionally, after the internal review is complete, an external reviewer will be contracted this year.

While McCay said that the university has no indication that anyone intentionally altered the data, he added in the FLORIDA TODAY interview, “Some people just didn’t do their job. And those people’s jobs are in jeopardy.”

Since FLORIDA TODAY’s publication on Jan. 10, an email was sent to the student body from Patrick Healy, Florida Tech’s general council, alerting them that Fanak Baarmand, Florida Tech’s risk and compliance manager, had been assigned as the new Title IX coordinator. 

Florida Tech’s online staff directory shows Jancheson is currently employee relations manager in Human Resources.

Jancheson did not respond to requests for interviews from FLORIDA TODAY and The Crimson.

Implications

Moving forward, one student whose rape went unreported in Florida Tech’s 2019 Annual Security and Fire Safety Reports said, “All I can do now is hope that the university will truly recognize how wrong this is and people will be aware.”

According to McCay and Iannone, administration plans to request to re-open Florida Tech’s crime statistics on the Department of Education website to enter the corrected data while providing a disclaimer as to why corrections were made. A new 2019 Annual Security and Fire Safety Reports will then be issued out to all students, staff and faculty. 

McCay told FLORIDA TODAY that he was “ashamed” of what has happened and went on to state, “I don’t know what to do about it, except repair it, fix it. And, and I apologize.”

If you have made a report to Security or Title IX and feel it has not been handled correctly, visit endrapeoncampus.org/the-clery-act to file a complaint.

As a student-run newspaper, your voices are extremely important to us.

If you feel you have experienced something similar as described in this piece and would like to speak with us, please contact us at crimson@fit.edu.

National Sexual Assault Hotline 1-800-656-4673

Women’s Center Counseling 321-242-1526

National Domestic Violence Hotline 1-800-799-7233

Florida Tech recognizes outstanding alumni at homecoming gala 2019

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Bino Campanini presents the Jerome P. Keuper Distinguished Alumni Award to Chip Perry.
FITV // Aayush Kapar

With over 60,000 alumni scattered throughout the globe, the Florida Tech Alumni Association has made it a priority to honor and recognize the legacy past students have left behind.

On Oct. 26, more than 500 people—including professors, faculty, alumni, and organizations that play a vital role in providing aid to Florida Tech—gathered at the 2019 Alumni Awards Gala to recognize outstanding alumni in various majors.

Award recipients included those with vast experience in their career fields as well as a continuous commitment to their alma mater.

Bino Campanini, vice president for Alumni Affairs, served as master of ceremonies and introduced the especially distinguished alumni of the evening.

“This event is a fantastic opportunity to catch up with colleagues, and a brilliant way to instill the spirit of the school and reinvigorate interest in each program,” said Robert Salonen, a 2019 Florida Tech graduate and the current director of Government Affairs and Strategic Partnerships at the university.

Others in the crowd agreed with Salonen that this was a special night that allowed individuals to return proudly to their alma mater and reminisce on past memories, but also learn about the future of the school and the growth it has seen in recent years.

After cocktails, photoops and dinner, Campanini continued as MC with lighthearted jokes as he welcomed each award recipient to the stage.

The first of five recipients was Jason Terreri, a 2001 Florida Tech undergraduate, awarded on behalf of the College of Aeronautics.

“The best advice I can give is to find someone who has the same desire and passion for your industry, and take them under your wing,” said the previous senior executive director of Syracuse Hancock International Airport. “Become a mentor, and give them an opportunity to be successful.”

While all award recipients mentioned how honored they were to be given recognition for their work and thanked the university for what it provided to them, each took on their own unique twist for their speeches.

One of the quirkier speeches came from the College of Engineering and Science awardee, Don Woodrow.

Woodrow is a distinguished 1986 Florida Tech undergraduate who is the president of Woodrow Construction LLC and also an advisory board member of civil engineering and construction advisory board at Florida Tech.

After cracking jokes about Bill Jurgens’ gray hair and poking fun at Campanini for his British accent, Woodrow concluded by asking the audience to stand up, enjoy the night and give their best impersonation of Elaine dancing from Seinfeld.

Others that received awards at the alumni gala were Monique Picou on behalf of the Nathan M. Bisk College of Business, Sherri Acanfora Ruohomaki on behalf of the College of Psychology and Liberal Arts and Gretchen L. Kelly on behalf of the College of Engineering and Science.

Picou, the senior vice president of flow and fashion for Walmart, compared Florida Tech to an ivy league university, and put emphasis on the fact that “it’s not where you start, it’s where you finish.”

Acanfora Ruohomaki, a former Florida Tech cheerleader and now the owner of K9 Kampus—a luxury dog daycare and boarding facility—concluded her speech with words of reflection: “Look at the growth and development that Dr. T. Dwayne McCay, and previously Dr. Catanese, have cultivated,” Acanfora Ruohomaki said. “It makes me want to come back here as a young collegiate and enjoy all the amenities that they have now that we didn’t have before.”

President T. Dwayne McCay stated that the alumni are “our strength” and “prove that the university did a good job.”

“Florida Tech teaches our students to work with people in teams, and in collaboration,” T. Dwayne McCay said. “Curriculum such as the senior design prepares our students to enter the workforce after graduation in a few weeks, whereas at other schools, it’s six months.”

The ceremony came to a close with the presentation of the Jerome P. Keuper Distinguished Alumni Award, the highest award bestowed upon by the Alumni Association.

Honored with such an award that remarks a reflection of a legacy of excellence was Chip Perry.

A former design engineer for Texas Instrument and founder of a top tier internet streaming service later bought out by Yahoo!

Perry was portrayed as a highly successful and memorable student from Florida Tech.

He took the guests down memory lane and recapped his journey from Florida Tech to where he is now.

Perry gave a special thanks to Ed Jonas, the designer of the Keuper statue in front of the President’s Office as well as the designer of all of the gala awards for the past five years.

“It was a true honor for Florida Tech to involve me in the design process,” Jonas said. “Although I am not a Florida Tech alumni, Brevard will always have a special place in my heart because it’s the hometown of the love of my life and it was one of the places where the last thing my father saw me accomplish was the sculpting of the Keuper statue.”

The night wrapped up with dancing and a continuation of celebrating Panther pride.

Combating food waste at Florida Tech

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Last year just shy of one million people walked through the doors of Panther Dining Hall.

Students, faculty, staff, members of the community, summer camp participants and more enjoyed their buffet-style meals.

However, they were also contributing to the 456 pounds of food waste that PDH generates on a daily basis.

With a large flow of both on-campus and off-campus students, coaches, professors and more, PDH is relied upon by many.

As soon as the doors open to when the dining hall closes, anywhere from 850 to 1250 people might swipe in between breakfast, lunch and dinner.  

 The estimated 456 pounds of pre-consumer and post-consumer waste was determined by using volume-to-weight conversions from the Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Resource Conservation and Recovery.

To elaborate, there is a clear distinction between pre-consumer waste and post-consumer waste.

Anything that comes from meal prep and cooking-related activities, including the non-edible portion of foods such as vegetable trimmings and watermelon rinds, are deemed pre-consumer waste.

Post-consumer waste—the majority of campus food waste—consists of the leftovers and discarded items that dining hall goers are putting back onto the trash conveyor.

“We attempt to keep our production levels to the point where we have zero pre-consumer food waste, but that isn’t always possible,” said Jon Skoviera, head chef at PDH.

Stewart and Skoveria also highlighted how PDH  has taken multiple steps in attempting to minimize pre-consumer food waste. 

Implementing techniques such as batch-cooking (a “cook as you go” method), daily meal prep sheets, post-shift inventory and using smaller plates than other college campus dining halls to control portions all aid in diminishing food waste.

The fact that there are no trays and no to-go option also encourages a system that promotes using all  resources in a cost-effective manner.  

“One of the most important tools that helps with reducing the volume of food waste is the pulper,” said Evan Olsen, assistant director of campus dining.

The pulper essentially grinds, compresses and rids the waste of any liquid to make it lighter and easier to throw away.

Olsen also mentioned that the pulper helps minimize the university’s carbon footprint and reduces landfill contributions by about 75 percent.

While 456 pounds may seem high for a daily measurement of waste, some students feel that it’s not a tremendous amount in comparison to other universities.

“I feel 456 pounds might not be as bad because we have a small undergraduate enrollment, only one dining hall and not every student has a meal plan,” said Carter Juskevich, a senior in sports management and marketing. 

Other students such as Ally MccArron, a senior majoring in sustainability and the vice president of SOSA, stated that 456 pounds is a lot of mass to comprehend, but “most likely not nearly as bad as some other campuses.”

Data from the National Resource Defense Council reports that 22 million pounds of food are wasted each year on college campuses, with the average college student contributing to about 142 pounds in food waste.

With that being said, Florida Tech seems to be doing above average in terms of food waste management.

On a much larger scale, data collected and reported on behalf of Michigan State’s Agro-Biology Research lab in 2018 reported an annual 516,818 pounds of pre-consumer and post-consumer food waste.

Based on the daily waste, Florida Tech would have an annual pre-consumer and post-consumer food waste of 166,440 pounds.

However, there is a large difference in undergraduate enrollment, where Michigan State has just under 40,000 and Florida Tech has about 3,600 undergraduates with only 2,100 of them having meal plans according to Stewart. 

While Florida Tech facilities has previously attempted to manage food waste by composting just pre-consumer trimmings and scraps, the university has never institutionalized composting for combined pre-consumer and post-consumer food waste.

“It’s something we’ve looked into before,” Stewart said. “But in terms of finding something that is cost-effective and finding a commercial composter in Florida, it’s extremely difficult.”

 Other issues when it comes to composting such as space, maintenance and quality control have also arisen. 

 “The main challenge about trying to institutionalize compositing is where to put it,” said Quinn Duffy, Florida Tech’s sustainability officer.

“We are zoned in the city of Melbourne building code as an institutional property, so the problem is that we have bought residential properties, and we have to be very conscious about smell, noise, traffic, things like that,” Duffy said.

In the past few weeks, Florida Tech has been discussing partnering with local farms, community members, clubs, the Brevard Zoo or any other organizations who are interested in setting up a composting program, but don’t have the volume of compostable waste that the university does.

According to Duffy,  institutionalizing composting on campus “would be likely” within the next six months to a year.

This would allow grounds on campus to use the fertilizer for amending soil for plants, or beds and filling in places where there will be higher nutrient landscaping.

When asked about how they would feel about composting becoming a reality on campus, Juskevich and MccArron both said they are in favor of it as long as it is economically feasible and cost-effective option.

In the meantime, while the campus awaits its first large-scale composting operation, MccArron urges students to be more conscious of what they put on their plates and to monitor what exactly they throw away.

“Even if one student goes into the dining hall and says, ‘Oh, I’m going to try working on portion control,’ they create less waste and that’s one step in the right direction,” MccArron said.

Smiles, laughs and music: remembering Jeff McGuire

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A friend of Jeff visits the memorial table in the Pantherium.
Crimson // Olivia McKelvey

Jeff McGuire — aka “Cowboy” — was a beloved grounds worker that unfortunately left the Florida Tech family Wednesday, Sept. 18, after a sudden cardiac event while at work.

The 55-year-old father of nine was described as “a friend to everyone.”

Fellow grounds worker and best friend, Jeff Adkins, was with McGuire in his last minutes. “It was very sudden and tragic,” Adkins said. “I think all the students would want to know that Jeff was a friend that would support you and protect you no matter what.”

Sunday, Sept. 29, a celebration of life was held at the Pantherium where friends, family members and others in the Florida Tech community shared memories and jovial words to reminisce his passing.

In between prayers, gospel music and other songs that reflected the best of McGuire such as Old Town Road, Car Wash and To Love Somebody by the Bee Gees, people strode up to the microphone to share the impact McGuire had in their lives and the legacy he left behind.

“Jeff knew this campus was all about the students and that’s why he came to work with a smile on his face everyday,” said ground worker Cheryl Cornwall.

To conclude the celebration that more than 50 attended, McGuire’s wife, Lori McGuire, thanked everyone for showing their immense support and coming out to remember the man that she had been married to for the past 28 years.

“I know Jeff is looking down on all of us right now and if he were still here, he would want to say that he is with you forever and ever,” Lori McGuire concluded.

SOSA takes part in Orlando climate strike

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Protesters hold signs about climate change outside Orlando city hall.
Photo by Florida Tech SOSA.

This past week millions of people participated in the global climate strike.

A small fraction of those striking were Florida Tech students, demanding a change to protect and preserve the planet.

Nearly two weeks ago, Florida Tech’s Student Organization for Sustainability Action sent four of its chapter members to Orlando to attend a Friday’s For Future climate strike outside city hall.

“The energy was amazing, and seeing 200 people plus unite for a cause that they are equally, if not more, passionate about than I am was an unforgettable experience,” said Taylor Greene, SOSA president.

The Friday’s For Future is a movement started by 16-year-old Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg, which so far has activated weekly student strikes in 150 countries.

Participating Orlando organizations and activist groups included IDEAS for Us, the Sunrise Movement Orlando, Fridays For Future USA and Fleet Farming.

These groups encouraged participants to wear green and raise their recyclable homemade signage high in the sky, reflecting the climate action they would like to see in Florida.

Guest speakers included Florida democratic state representative Anna Eskamani as well as others raising awareness for climate change.

“One of the things that resonated the most with me was when I heard Anna Eskamani preach that she didn’t run for office to talk about what was impossible, rather to fight for what is possible,” Greene said. “That was something that really spoke to me and demonstrated that there are people out there trying to do good.”

Tagging along with Greene were fellow SOSA members Jack Weaver and Jeffrey King, both of whom are juniors majoring in ocean engineering and minoring in sustainability.

Both students described attending the strike as “being a part of history and fighting for something our generation believes in.”

“I think some people believe that climate change doesn’t affect us,” Weaver said. “But people are dying as a result all around the world.”

According to Weaver, climate change goes beyond affecting the animals, it has repercussions on a human level that the majority of society should care about.

While Florida Tech’s SOSA chapter and other environmentally conscious activists rallied in Orlando, the scene in New York City was amplified.

World leaders, corporate executives and activists gathered at the United Nations Climate Action Summit.

A collaborative effort was made to turn promises into reality in hopes of global warming and rising CO2 emissions.

Topics such as the benefits and use of renewable energies were debated as well as setting a goal of reaching net-zero emissions by 2050.

“You have stolen my dreams and my childhood with your empty words, and yet, I’m one of the lucky ones,” Thunberg stated as she addressed presidents, prime ministers, and other diplomats. “People are suffering. People are dying. Entire ecosystems are collapsing.”

While there has been tremendous outrage and protests globally with frustration for the destruction of ecosystems, there has also been distress and efforts on a more local note.

For example, the same day as the strike in Orlando, there was also a rally and march held that night at the Eau Gallie Causeway hosted by young Brevard teens.

When she wasn’t marching along side community members with decorated signs covered from head to toe in green attire, Florida Tech senior and marine biology major Erin Casellas was trying to get signatures for the Florida Climate Pledge.

Casellas works as a campus ambassador for CLEO Institute, a Miami based non-profit that strives to educate and promote climate action.

By obtaining signatures Casellas was gaining support from those who want to protect Florida’s biodiversity.

“I think that a lot of people see how beautiful a place like Melbourne is, and we have these amazing ecosystems, but people don’t understand how fragile they are,” said Casellas when asked why some may not believe in climate change.

After a week full of awareness for the environment, the invaluable resources it provides us and the necessary action society needs to take for future generations, SOSA wanted to close their week of insightful environmental mandates and motives to “stand for what we stand on” with a tree planting ceremony on the Crawford Green.

Students planting the Gumbo Limbo tree in front of Crawford. Photo by Francesco Isaza.

A Florida Gumbo Limbo Tree, also known as the iconic south Florida tree, which is expected to grow up to 60-feet tall, was planted in a ceremonial atmosphere.

“Today, Friday, September 27, 2019, we set the roots for a better future,” Greene said as she introduced her final words of wisdom.

Perhaps the most simple and powerful statement came from a sustainability professor and faculty advisor for SOSA, Ken Lindeman left students with this lasting remark: “You got to come back and look at this tree in 10 years, this thing is going to be epic.”

Florida Tech helps Bahamas in relief missions

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CSA receives tremendous donations, such as home supplies and money, to send to the Bahamas after the Hurricane Dorian disaster. Photo by Francesco Iseza.

Since Dorian hit the Bahamas two weeks ago, Florida Tech has proved to be a united front, sending thousands of supplies over on countless relief missions.

The university’s College of Aeronautics alumni group was the first to spring to action by coordinating relief missions out of the Orlando Melbourne International Airport as early as Thursday, Sept. 5, just four days after the hurricane made landfall in the Bahamas.

Issac Silver, the associate dean of the College of Aeronautics, was one of the pilots that flew supplies over via Florida Tech’s Navajo Chieftain Piper aircraft.

“When we first landed in Abaco, it was basically like a post-apocalyptic movie,” Silver said. “There were virtually no people, maybe one or two here and there, but everything and everyone was practically gone.”

So far, Silver has made eight trips to multiple locations on the northern Bahamas island of Abaco, including Marsh Harbor and Sandy Point.

In addition to flying the Navajo, Silver has also been flying a C-47— Tico Belle.

Tico Belle was used during D-day to drop allied paratroopers over France.

The plane now serves as a memorial plane at Valiant Air Command, a warbird museum located at the Space Coast Regional Airport in Brevard County.

So far, approximately 4,000 pounds of supplies have been flown over on the Navajo Chieftain and an estimated 15,000 to 20,000 pounds on the Tico Belle.

A cart pulls a wagon of supplies to the plane. Photo // Adam Lowenstein

Silver also touched on the fact that the relief missions have evolved over the past week and will continue to do so with the possibility of future relief missions.

The first time the wheels hit the ground in the Bahamas, the goal was to provide water and food to the hundreds of people waiting to be evacuated.

However, as more and more people escaped the aftermath and devastation, that quickly changed.

“Our next mission will actually be a mobile field hospital, but there is still a huge need for humanitarian support,” Silver said.

From Boy Scout troops to local churches, numerous organizations have been volunteering alongside Florida Tech students.

The community outreach has been tremendous based off of testimonials from Alex Coultroup.

A graduate student majoring in aviation human factors, Coultroup was one individual who took a different perspective on the types of donations she wanted to send.

“As someone who cares a lot about women’s issues, I wanted to collect things like tampons and pads, diapers and wipes to fulfill those needs,” Colutroup said.

Raising awareness through her extensive updates on social media, Coultorup also brought attention to the value of cash donations, citing that for one round trip to fly Tico Belle it costs $4,500 for oil, fuel and maintenance.

Volunteers and students packing supplies to send on planes. Photo // Adam Lowenstein

Working beside Colutroup, Florida Tech alumni Marteen Edwards also devoted his time to loading up supplies onto planes.

A recent graduate with a masters in aviation management, the Barbados native explained how growing up in the Caribbean made him understand how powerful and damaging a natural disaster like this could be.

“It’s knowing the type of destructive power and knowing what a hurricane can do to your country that when you see it happen to someone else you’re inclined to give them a hand,” Edwards said.

In the midst of loading supplies onto the Tico Belle and other Florida Tech Navajo planes, Edwards heard many tales of what the islands now looked like.

“The most common thing I hear from pilots coming back is that the devastation is tremendous, and it looks as if a bomb had just gone off,” Edwards said.

The bottled water, hygiene products, batteries, cans of tuna fish and other perishable food items that Colutroup and Edwards have been loading onto planes have been coming from numerous student organizations on campus.

For example, Florida Tech’s student athletic advisory committee recently partnered up with the women’s soccer team at their first home game on Sept. 7.

“One of of SAAC’s main purposes is to have a positive influence on the community,” said Vanessa Rubio, a senior on the softball team and the president of SAAC. “After seeing the devastation in the Bahamas, there was no way we could just stand by and do nothing,” Rubio said.

Another student organization partaking in supply drives was the Caribbean Student Association.

Florida Tech’s CSA chapter has multiple Bahamian students.

All of them reported that their families were safe on the island; however, some of them have friends and others they are waiting to hear back from.

Malika Forbes, the vice president of CSA and native to Nassau, said that they have raised $700 in cash donations and collected roughly 500 pounds of supplies.

“What we keep trying to say is yes, it happened to the Bahamas, but it could happen anywhere,” Forbes said. “As Caribbean students, we need to step up and take action because if it was any other island we would be doing the exact same thing.”

To date, 13,000 people are missing in the Bahamas, 15,000 are in need of shelter or food based on reports from the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency and 50 are dead with that number expected to rise according to reports from CNN and USA Today.

Florida Tech’s president T. Dwayne McCay elaborated on how the university’s diverse student body—representing over 125 countries—demonstrates how a global and connected campus can lead to strides in humanitarian efforts.

“We see firsthand how compassion knows no borders,” McCay stated in an email. “One of our goals as a university is to help develop global citizens, and part of achieving that is to demonstrate through our actions the love and concern we have for those who may be struggling.”

Furthermore, Dr. McCay said this was not the first time Florida Tech has participated in a relief mission.

When hurricane Michael hit the panhandle last year, and when Maria slashed into Puerto Rico in 2017, Florida Tech was there, aiding in supply deliveries and evacuations.

“We got lucky this time when the storm stayed off our coast,” McCay stated. “At some point, when we are not as lucky, someone will help us. Human beings must take care of each other, and this is a way we can make a difference.”

Tinder profits off fraternities

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Instead of a student ID or campus activity apps like CORQ, new entry methods for college fraternity parties are rising in popularity: the latest, a Tinder profile.

The real question — will partygoers be seeing the “no app, no entry” Tinder policy making its way to Florida Tech’s campus?

The idea of Tinder partnering with college fraternities created buzz earlier this month when University of Texas fraternities signed exclusive contracts with the online dating app that has over 4.1 billion users according to data from The Business of Apps.

Reports from Vox and The Houston Chronicle cite a UT fraternity member describing the partnership as “mutually beneficial.”

The deal consists of a contracted fraternity house receiving a specific amount of money, with the potential for cash bonuses depending on the number of app downloads linked to a hosted event.

In return, the fraternity requires Tinder profiles to be shown as ID for party entry.

In addition, the online dating app provides the fraternity house with merchandise, memorabilia and other Tinder “swag” for promotional purposes.

University of Texas is not the only college where Tinder is tapping into a potential market, specifically those that fall into the 18-22 age bracket.

Fraternities from Northwestern University, Tulane University and the University of Oklahoma have also stated that they have participated in similar contracts with Tinder.

While the Tinder/fraternity partnership has yet to reach Florida Tech, there are mixed emotions among students about how the contracts would work and how well it would be received among partygoers.

“I love the idea of chapters making money and being more accountable at the same time,” said Adam Bettencourt, treasurer of Florida Tech’s Chi Phi chapter. “However, there are obviously concerns about the fallacies of meeting up with a stranger that is often associated with Tinder.”

He also questioned how it would look to download Tinder when an individual may be in a committed relationship.

As a senior majoring in mechanical engineering, Bettencourt said he views the situation as a way to hold accountability for those attending parties at Chi Phi.

Currently, the chapter is using CORQ to keep track of their guest lists, which they submit to Cat Nanney, Greek Life advisor at Florida Tech.

So far, CORQ has made Chi Phi’s job easier when it comes to keeping track of who is at a party, Bettencourt said.

CORQ does not provide any incentive or financial benefit for checking people in, whereas the Tinder partnership allocates an unspecified amount of money through these newly introduced exclusive contracts.

“If per se we did move forward with a contract via Tinder, the one thing I would do with the extra inflow of cash would be to decrease dues for membership,” Bettencourt said.

The other dilemma the business deal raises is if the Interfraternity Council chapter at Florida Tech would even allow this type of partnership.

According to senior, Mitchell Spalding — the vice president of recruitment and expansion for Florida Tech’s IFC chapter as well as the total member educator and philanthropy chair of Chi Phi — stated that the IFC executive board on campus has not specifically looked into any type of contracts with Tinder.

Spalding stated that fraternities could participate in something like this, but in his eyes, it is highly unlikely.

“I feel if we partnered with Tinder, it is tough to create a welcoming atmosphere at Greek Life events,” said Spalding. “CORQ is neutral and we have loved using it so far. It is not just used for fraternity events. It’s for sporting events and other organizations as well and it just makes everything more streamlined and navigable.”

Pat Spangler is the high epsilon for Lambda Chi Alpha, meaning that his responsibilities include party planning and security for events.

“I could see the contract being useful because a lot of students on campus probably already have Tinder, so showing it wouldn’t be that big of a deal,” Spangler said. “But then you still have maybe freshman, or those in a relationship or other outliers who do not have it, and targeting those people to force them to download an app isn’t right.”

Financially, the Lambda Chi Alpha high epsilon said he could see it being beneficial to supplement party expenditures, but overall doesn’t see his own fraternity participating in any type of future business ventures with Tinder.

In terms of the student body’s opinions on the trending party entry debate, some said they weren’t too bothered by it, while others deemed it as a “dumb rule.”

“I probably would show my profile just because I already have one so I don’t mind, but for those that don’t have it I would say it’s pretty unfair and an inappropriate form of targeting customers,” said junior Sigurd Ozols, a construction management major.

One graduate student in applied behavior analysis, Natalia Arasa Bonavila, took a similar stance.

“I don’t currently have Tinder, but if I had to download it to get into a party, I would,” Arasa Bonavila said.

The Spanish native also pointed out that she could easily just delete the app after she got into the party, hence the loophole within the system.

Some students seem unbothered by the possibility of Tinder app entry for their weekend festivities.

However, it is unlikely there will be any signage of contracts due to regulations that could later be enforced by the Florida Tech’s IFC executive board as well as a sense of hesitation from some fraternities on campus.

Bahamas Slammed by Dorian

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Sunday night, Hurricane Dorian slammed into the Bahamas, making landfill as a category five hurricane that battered over 13,000 residential homes and left five dead.

Two hundred twenty mile-per-hour winds in combination with torrential downpour and massive storm surges lasted for over 45 hours throughout parts of the islands, based on reports from the National Hurricane Center.

Bahamas Power and Light told authorities that the storm wiped out power to Nassau and the rest of New Providence, the country’s most populous island. The Bahamas hasn’t seen a hurricane as bad as this since since the 1935 Labor Day hurricane that matched Dorian’s wind surges at 185 miles per hour.

The New York Times reported that this was the strongest hurricane on record to hit the northwestern part of the archipelago — the Abaco Islands — leaving many referring to it as a “catastrophic hit.” Extensive other news outlets showed footage of many Bahamians suffering from Dorian’s damages. Video’s feature some people stranded on top of roofs and cars as at least 60 percent of Grand Bahamas Island remains underwater according to satellite images taken this morning from Satellite ICEYE.

This morning at 11 a.m., the National Hurricane Center released an update downgrading Dorian to a category two hurricane. However, the destruction in the Bahamas is not over yet as forecasters predict the storm to continue to affect the northern parts of the Bahamas for the next several hours before it moves toward the east coast of Florida with projections to move north toward Georgia and the Carolina’s.

Although Dorian’s winds have decreased, the National Hurricane Center said Dorian’s combined winds, storm surges and flood hazards are nothing to ignore and people should plan accordingly, listen to local authorities, follow news updates and obey any necessary evacuations.

Hubert Minnis, Prime Minister of the Bahamas, released a statement Monday evening.
“We are in the midst of a historic tragedy,” Minnid said. “Our focus is search, rescue and recovery. I ask for your prayers for those in affected areas and for our first responders.”

Women’s ex-golf team continues collegiate career

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In the spring semester of 2019, the Florida Tech Athletic Department dismissed three of its sports programs: the men’s and women’s tennis team, and the women’s golf team.

“In a five-minute meeting, the athletic director told us we were being cut because we weren’t competitive enough,” said Noelle Beijer, one of the eight women on the women’s golf team.

Instead of wearing Panther apparel this season, Beijer will be sporting Tiger attire at the University of Missouri.

She is one of three from the women’s golf team to transfer to another university to continue her collegiate golf career.

A key player for the Panthers, The Dutch native has an impressive golf career, scoring an average of 76.33 during her time at Florida Tech, as well as being a medalist honors at the 2018 World Golf Invitational.

Continuing her education path and majoring in global management and finance, Beijer is excited for her future at Mizzou but is saddened that she will no longer be playing on the field with her best friends and old teammates.

“The fact that I don’t even know when I will see them all again makes me sad,” Beijer said.

According to Florida Tech’s athletic director, Bill Jurgens, there were multiple factors that led to the team being cut, including a lack of competitive edge, facilities, the size of the team and the number of athletes that would be affected by the cut.

“We knew the team had not performed well in the fall, but by no means were we poor performers,” said Lauren Watson, a senior and member of the women’s golf team.

Although the women did not start off strong at the beginning of their season, they proved to leave their mark by the end of the season.

“The day we were cut, February 7, we were ranked 21 in the nation,” Watson said. “By March 26, we were fourth.”

The Scotland native described the news of being cut as giving her a sense of “betrayal” and leaving her feeling “undervalued.”

“Why us?” Watson said. “Why now?”

Refusing to go down silently, Watson challenged what she saw as discrimination with the backing of Title IX by talking to coaches and NCAA compliance directors.

After doing so, the NCAA ruled that she, as well as another woman, on the golf team could play and compete with the men.

“I know playing on the men’s team will be far more challenging due to the length of courses they play and the lack of strength and power I have in comparison,” Watson said. “It’s going to be a big adjustment because as I much as I love the guys, I’ll really miss the girls.”

Even though the news of the cut came in the middle of their season, the women persevered in the wake of what Watson described as disappointment, confusion and anger.

By mid May, the women’s determination and competitiveness led them to bring home a gold trophy with the label NCAA Division II Champions.

“Winning nationals was simply the best thing we could do,” Beijer said.

One key player that helped the Panthers take home a massive win was Megan Dennis.

Dennis had five top 10 finishes in the 2018-19 season for the Panthers, and was also a 2018 Women’s Golf Coaches Association All-American Scholar.

Additionally, she made the Sunshine State Conference Commissioner’s Honor Roll.

After the initial shock, Dennis said she immediately began to wonder what her future would look like.

“My first thoughts were complete sadness, but also panic because I knew I was going to have to transfer,” Dennis said.

Hence, The U.K. native made the decision to transfer to Pepperdine University in California to continue her degree in sports psychology for her remaining two years of undergraduate schooling.

Like the others, Dennis said replacing her previous Florida Tech teammates is impossible and she will never forget her time with them.

“I’m mostly going to miss the great atmosphere at Florida Tech,” Dennis said. “We worked hard, we were competitive, and we all shared the same passion.”