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Local bar in the midst of potential closing

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Quarters has multiple arcades of retro games, such as Pac-Man and Galaga, for customers to play. Crimson // Olivia McKelvey

Drinking and playing arcade games wouldn’t be the same anymore in downtown Melbourne.

Quarters Brewery, a local bar in downtown Melbourne, announced on their Facebook page on Oct. 15 that profits were not enough to pay their landlord to keep the business running.

On their post titled “A Letter from the Owners…”, the company stated that they have found themselves at a crossroads.

“The ‘for lease’ sign is up, but we’re not done fighting yet,” mentions the post.

Quarters Brewery was created by best friends Tyler Griffiths and Brock Turner as a hobby project from homebrewing and creating game cabinets for people to enjoy.

The brewery opened on June 29, 2018 in downtown Melbourne, and attracts many adults to play arcade games while playing the arcade games such as Pac-Man and Galaga.

Brock, an alumni of Florida Tech and co-owner of the brewery, explained the reasoning for the announcement.

“Quarters has been having some issues staying afloat due to staggering prices of downtown rent,” Brock said. “Even though downtown has high foot traffic, Quarters’ customer base is more geared towards craft beer fans, video game enthusiasts, and the like.”

The Facebook post came as a shock to many of their customers, with supportive comments from customers and hundreds of shares throughout the site.

The brewery is a popular hotspot for the local community, including Florida Tech students and alumni.

“I’m upset that it’s [potentially] closing down,” said Faisal Ahmed, a graduate in business administration. “Every time I’m with my friends, we play the hockey game that they have as well as Pac-Man. I thought they were doing pretty well.”

The news was passed around through word of mouth for those that didn’t see the post on Facebook, such as Ahmed.

“I also heard the news through my friend Kevin,” said Siomara Nieves, a graduate in computer science. “I liked the place and its atmosphere was very cool and amazing. When I just wanna hang out and not stress about anything, I would go to Quarters and play.”

Quarters is currently a brewery that exclusively sells beer and a couple of wines.

Even if the majority of downtown establishments are full liquor bars, Brock has stated that they refuse in becoming one.

“We have expanded our offerings to include both hand crafted hard seltzers and more recently the introduction of a food menu as of September,” said Brock. “We also have events six times a week, such as trivia and beer bingo.”

Many Florida Tech students spend time at Quarters playing games and having a beer to let off steam. Crimson // Emily Walker

The company also stated that they do not intend on closing down and will continue their regular business to their best of their abilities.

“We appreciate all the support that we’re getting from folks as we try to make this work,” said Brock. “We’re optimistic about what the future holds for Quarters and as things progress, we hope to have positive news to share.”

The company posted an update on their Facebook page on Nov. 5 mentioning their audience’s support in their journey of staying open.

“We are working day and night on a plan that will allow us to not just stabilize Quarters,” but to make it bigger and better than before,” the company stated.

New plans in their campaign of saving the company, #SaveQuarters, include distributing to local vendors, like The Broken Barrel Tavern.

Future updates and current events of Quarters Brewery can be found on their Facebook page, Quarters Brewery and Arcade.

Homecoming wraps up the week with carnival

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This year’s carnival offered free beer, food and entertainment to the Florida Tech community.

Food trucks gathered in front of Crawford Green on Oct. 26., offering SMAC and El Cubanito, frozen chocolate bananas, and Meg O Malleys, a new addition to this year’s carnival.

Cat Nanney, director of student involvement, said she was pleased with the turnout of the event.

“It was the best year of homecoming we’ve ever had, even with the new beer garden for parents to join in on the fun,” said Nanney. “We decided this year to put more money toward merchandise that students can walk away with but still wanted to bring those fun carnival games.”

A homecoming shirt and a cloth bag were given out to students for free, as well as food tickets for the food trucks on the field.

Other than typical carnival games run by Residence Life, a new addition was a laser tag tent across from the beer garden.

“A lot of people showed up at this event this year,” Nanney said. “There were over 700 students that checked in, and we had to stop for a while due to the overflow of people.”

Families and parents were invited to the carnival due to Florida Tech family weekend occurring.

Alexandra Abova-Volkova, homecoming chair, said she had a good experience organizing the event, as well as the other events that occurred during the week.

“This is a larger turnout than it has been in the past years and the addition of a beer garden might have contributed to it,” said Volkova. “Although the activities at the football game were rained out, all the other events went smooth, even the talent show.”

The homecoming royalty winners were announced near the end of the carnival, as well as winners of a raffle.

Campus Activities Board and Phi Sigma Sigma won the royalty in first place, Alpha Phi and Baseball Club won second place and Delta Tau Delta and Residence Life came in third place.

Students such as Ivan Hernandez, a sophomore in computer science, won a Nintendo Switch for winning in the raffle.

“I didn’t even know how to react about it because I never win anything like that,” Hernandez said. “I had a really fun time hanging out with my fellow drumline members, and by far the best moment last night was the picture booth since we got to keep those memories.”

Even with the variety of food stations, some students like Erisa Hasanl, a Florida Tech alum, said they wanted more activities to take part in.

“It was much better last year,” said Hasanl. “There were more bouncy houses and games, but now there’s a lot of food for a lot of people. It felt like an actual carnival before.”

Hasanl also mentioned that the grass on the fields were very wet and difficult to walk across due to the rain earlier in the day.

Despite the mixed reaction, Volkova said it was a great experience for her to help run the homecoming events this year.

“Even though I’m graduating next semester and won’t be able to stay on the committee, I’m excited to see what Sam will do for next year,” Volkova said.

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.

Florida Tech remembers Judy Brooke and Rosary Pedreira

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Florida Tech recently lost two long-time dedicated employees: Judy Brooke and Rosary Pedreira.

Brooke started her career at Florida Tech 15 years ago and worked as the director of International Student and Scholar Services.

Family, friends and members of the Florida Tech community attended Brooke’s memorial service, held on Oct. 19 at the All Faiths Center.

Brooke was born in South Africa, then moved to London as a young adult and as mentioned in her remembrance in the All Faiths Center, “Somehow ended up in the United States.”

Her favorite song was played on the piano in her honor, and a slideshow of pictures of her greeted guests as they entered the chapel.

Candles lit the chapel, and red, orange and yellow flowers colored the room. A photo of Brooke sat in front of the podium.

Brooke battled cancer and underwent three years of treatment.

She passed away in her home on Saturday, Oct. 12, surrounded by family. Mike Neeland, the campus chaplain, spoke at the service.

He described Brooke as a caring and strong-willed wife, mother and friend to all who came through her office during her time at Florida Tech.

He recounted the family’s memories of her, recalling her passion for cooking and playful ways of retaliating when cereal boxes were left opened and she would pour the loose cereal on the culprits’ beds. Lareyne Ellebracht, the immigration advisor at ISSS, described Brooke as being warm and welcoming to international students.

“Judy was sympathetic toward our international students and the struggles they oftentimes faced in the United States,” Ellebracht said. “She would often go above and beyond to help them.”

Deborah Matta, the manager of international student programs, said from the moment she met Brooke, she felt Brooke’s care for her coworkers.

Matta said she knew she wanted to work in Brooke’s department and that six years later, Brooke interviewed and hired her to work in ISSS.

Matta said that while many students didn’t get the opportunity to meet Brooke, she wants them to remember her.

“I do want them to know that her legacy lives on in the International Festival and the International Coffee Hours,” Matta said. “These were both events that Judy created. She wanted to increase activities that would promote relationships between people of different cultures at Florida Tech.”

Rosary Pedreira served Florida Tech for more than 30 years and left a lasting impression on her Florida Tech family.

On Oct. 19, the All Faiths Center held an intimate remembrance for Pedreira with food and drinks.

Jackie Saunders, who worked alongside Pedreira in the mailroom, remembers how kind Pedreira was.

“She bent backwards to help people,” Saunders said. “She’ll give you the shirt off her back if she can. She won’t give you cash, but she’ll give you her shirt.”

Shawn Hughes, who was Pedreira’s boss in the mailroom, recalls Pedreira as his “abuela” with her infectious smile.

“Imagine having your grandmother with you all the time,” Hughes said. “That’s what it felt like.”

One story about Pedreira that stays with Hughes is from when Pedreira had just begun working in the mailroom.

Holmes Regional Medical Center contacted her, as they were looking for someone who was bilingual.

According to Hughes, the hospital offered Pedreira a substantial amount more than what she was making working in the mailroom.

When Pedreira went to resign, it was the week before her birthday.

“When she went into the copy center to give her resignation, the current manager at that time brought her a cake and bought her a briefcase,” Hughes said. “She was so heartfelt and struck by that she couldn’t go anywhere.”

Both women will be remembered by their Florida Tech community.

For Brooke and the events she created, Matta said, “As long as I’m in my position, I will try to make these events successful in memory of her.” Hughes simply stated in remembrance of Pedreira, “We miss her a lot.”

Weather doesn’t scare Residence Life: Treat or Treat

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Kids play on an inflatable couch at Treat or Treat.
ASCE and SOSA created a sculpture out of campus waste.
FITV // Quang Dinh

After being pushed back a day due to heavy rain, Halloween came early at Florida Tech and for the whole community with Treat or Treat.

With a large turnout in the hundreds, Florida Tech’s ResLife hosted the annual event on Sunday, Oct.20 with attractions ranging from haunted houses based on popular movies, bounce houses, a pumpkin patch and a costume contest.

With the previous day having a downpour of rain during the event’s time from 2:00–6:00, the last-minute decision to send out an email detailing the delay on Friday, Oct. 18 proved to be the right call.

Compared to the dour and dreary Saturday, the event itself benefitted with a sunny day and nice breeze as attendees stood in lines for the haunted houses.

Five haunted houses were set-up in the residential quads with the following themes: Enchanted Forest, Blue Genie, Men in Black Suits, Jurassic Land, and Scary Clown.

While the houses went by other names, they followed themes of popular movies such as “Aladin,” “Men in Black,” “Jurassic Park,” and Stephen King’s “It.”

“We’ve actually been working on all of this for the last two months,” said Alex Smith, a student volunteer. “With the logistics phase, designing, planning and getting the volunteers all together, it took about two months.”

Smith said that all of the RAs on campus volunteered during the event, helping out with every component of Treat or Treat.

“We were looking out for the safety of the people in the community,” Smith said when asked about the delay. “We wanted to make sure that it was nice, safe and fun for everyone by pushing it back a day.”

All of the houses were set up over the course of the week prior while the day of the event drew closer and closer.

“When it comes down to that last week of setting up, it’s all hands on deck with everyone running around,” said McKenzie Stack, residence life coordinator.

Stack said that with how much work it takes to get the event up and running, there were many last-minute trips to Walmart and decisions made to ensure the event’s success.

She also said that this was the first time Treat or Treat utilized the SUB area for the event and included food trucks, both of which worked out great in her opinion.

“It was a whole lot better than I thought it would be,” said Yajing Liu, a graduate student. “The settings were incredibly amazing. I can see the efforts and the students trying their best to present a good show.”

Liu said his favorite haunted house was the one in Evans Hall, called “Scary Clown.”

This house was based on “It” and was Liu’s favorite mainly for its scares.

The “Scary Clown” house was also the favorite for Kendall Willwerth, a freshman studying genomics and molecular genetics.

“There was actually a person standing in a yellow coat that I thought was a mannequin and when I walked by, they started following me and I was really scared,” Willwerth said. “The clowns were also very creepy.”

She said it was a lot of fun and she had a great time attending.

Despite the setback due to weather, many attended Treat or Treat and inspired Liu to celebrate in the future.

“Maybe next time I’ll try to put a costume on for the very first time and celebrate Halloween,” Liu said.

Homecoming committee aims to bring community together

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Alex Volkova, a senior in astronomy and astrophysics, and Sam Gallion, a junior in forensic psychology, are running homecoming for the first time this year.

They have made some changes to homecoming in order to make it inclusive and exciting for all who wish to participate.

Both Volkova and Gallion have made changes to homecoming in order to make it inclusive and exciting for all who wish to participate.

“The theme this year, we feel, is something that everyone can relate to,” Gallion said.

Gallion said last year the two of them had worked actively with Marianne Amundsen, last year’s homecoming coordinator.

They feel this gave them the experience they need for this year. Volkova and Gallion said they have a clear image of what they want this year’s events to look like.

Gallion said that she wants students to learn more about each other and work together in a way they wouldn’t have before.

One of the major changes is the Royalty competition, both in changing its name from King and Queen to Royalty, and also in preventing Greek organizations from working with one another.

Homecoming has always been a platform for organizations to come together, and Greek Life has been especially active and involved, according to Volkova.

She said that they wanted to use the successful homecoming platform to inspire organizations other than Greek Life to participate as well, encouraging organizations who have not worked together in the past to come together now.

“All organizations on campus make it a great place, so what better way to show it than to unite different types of organizations in doing things together,” Volkova said.

Likewise, the name for the competition was changed to make things more inclusive.

“There’s never really been a rule that says you need to be male and female to do this,” Volkova said.

Gallion agreed, saying that changing the name would make it more appealing to those who identify with something outside of the gender binary and could encourage organization pairs with a same-sex pairing.

Beyond the Royalty competition, Gallion and Volkova have also added a new event called Big Night Out 2.0, which will take place before a soccer game and reminds Gallion of a high school football game.

“You’d get food, you’d hang with your friends,” Gallion said. “It’s really about school spirit and making sure that people go to events that our athletes work so hard to put on for them.”

Alumni Affairs and the Florida Tech Alumni Association are also putting on events for alumni, students and the local community to encourage this theme further, said Cindy Berger, the director of Alumni Marketing and Communications.

“There’s a little bit of something for everyone,” Berger said, who’s planning her second homecoming. “It’s a chance for student activities and alumni activities to all come together.”

While the talent show for students is Thursday night, Alumni Affairs is having a 5K event during the day.

Meg O’Malley’s is serving as the meetup location as well as the location of the post-race party.

There’s also the signature concert event on Friday as part of Homecoming Fest in Downtown Melbourne.

“A free concert with great music is good for students, good for family and friends and good for the community, so we’re really proud to be a part of that,” Berger said.

On Saturday, the football game will kick off with tailgating, and alumni can attend the black-tie Alumni Gala Awards at night during the carnival for students.

According to Berger, one distinguished alumni will be awarded the Jerome P. Keuper Award in honor of Florida Tech’s founder and first president.

Berger said that they are trying to make sure the students have great experiences and that they feel engaged so when they become alumni, they are proud to have a good relationship with Florida Tech and Alumni Affairs.

“Homecoming is a great opportunity for student focused fun and a reason for graduates to come back and look upon their alma mater fondly,” Berger said.

According to Gallion, the reason homecoming is so important is because it brings people together.

The most important thing, she said, is enjoying the events together and being able to put that unity to good work.

Gallion said that the organization they are donating the raised funds to is HeadKnowles for the Bahamas hurricane relief. Both Gallion and Volkova agreed on the purpose of homecoming: bringing people together and helping people in whatever way possible.

Volkova said, “We’re all family and we want everyone to feel happy.”

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.

Gleason showcases local arts in celebration of 50 years

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Evan Olsen interviewing Salem Murphy at the showcase.
Crimson // Jesse Villaverde

At a school like Florida Tech where STEM is highly valued, the highlight of local arts and new technology within community made its debut at its own auditorium.

Gleason Performing Arts Center held their first arts showcase on Oct. 4 presenting an array of space-themed paintings and the display of their new lighting system and LED screens.

The showcase also celebrated the 50th anniversary of the auditorium, with about 86 attendees at the event.

William O’Steen, the general manager, and Jeffrey Richardson, the assistant manager, created this showcase to not only show their new direction for Gleason but also to display their new equipment and abilities.

“We wanted to find an opportunity to thank the campus and community for taking part in the upgrades and improvements we have made,” Richardson said. “It was our way of inviting everyone to a free and inclusive event where we could show some of the types of events our building can support.”

According to Richardson, this was their first event that focused on their own creativity, with an attempt on utilizing their own production knowledge.

The front lobby was decorated with giant paintings from local artists Christopher Maslow and Mark Gilliam, as well as having a
lighting control booth for guests to interact with featuring colored spotlights.

Big LED screens were hinged on the front wall, presenting advertisements and graphics from Florida Tech College Players and Florida Tech Video Productions.

Before the main event, a special VIP event was held on stage for donors and the school’s administration to meet with Gleason staff and the keynote speaker, Salem Murphy.

Paintings of a galaxy cluster and a rocket were displayed at the showcase. Crimson // Jesse Villaverde.

The showcase opened up with Anja and The Band, an alternative/pop/rock group, for the first thirty minutes.

The performance was then followed by the keynote speaker, Salem Murphy, an actress and producer known for her role as the principal in season one of “Stranger Things,” as well as “Abe” and “Reckless.”

Murphy graduated from Florida Tech in 1986 in business and finance and was invited through the Office of Development for the showcase.

“I was honored to be part of the showcase,” Murphy said. “It was a wonderful opportunity to see all the ways in which Florida Tech has thrived throughout the years.”

Evan Olsen, assistant director of dining services, presented Murphy as the keynote speaker and interviewed her on stage.

“It was a great experience for me as an MC,” Olsen said. “It was my first time being a formal speaker outside of my dining services circle.”

Murphy explained her experience at Florida Tech, her personal growth and her journey in becoming an actress in the industry.

“Just to see how many wonderful things are happening here at Florida Tech is pretty cool,” Murphy said.

Olsen said that he would like Gleason to have more events like these geared towards the student body.

“After this event, I’d say there is an opportunity in doing showcase events of various talents, such as comedians and bands,” Olsen said. “Even though it’s utilized more for formal events, I would like the students to get more involved with Gleason.”

Richardson heard this type of feedback from the audience and is looking into making this showcase a recurring event.

“Much of the new equipment we use in our building is shown frequently at events around campus,” Richardson said. “We make every event we support on campus a way that we can show off some of the new creative equipment that we desire.”

Floridians celebrate coming out at Orlando Pride

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People march to celebrate LGBTQ community in Orlando.
Crimson // Isabel Cordero

Maria Clara Melo waved a rainbow flag proudly over her head.

The crowd was decked out in everything from shiny spandex shorts and tiny tops to overalls and rainbow striped crop tops.

She was surrounded by people of all colors, genders, shapes and sizes, and she was proud.

On Saturday, Oct. 12, Orlando Pride colored all of Downtown Orlando rainbow, just 50 years after the Stonewall Riots and one day after National Coming Out Day.

Orlando’s Come Out with Pride event aimed to remember the events and lives lost during the riots and celebrate how far the nation has come, according to the event description on Facebook.

Melo, 21, an Orlando resident, said she feels like Pride has always had a positive atmosphere.

This was her third time at Pride, and the first time she brought along her sister, Ana Bentim.

Melo said it’s important to be around people in the same community who get where you’re coming from.

“I think it’s really nice to be around people in the queer community that feel comfortable expressing themselves and their sexuality,” Melo said. “It’s really cool and validating”.

Bentim, 29, said her first Pride was a cool experience as she watched everyone come together in one place.

As an Orlando resident, Bentim said she has seen the parades from her home before, but that being at the event was an entirely different experience.

“It’s good to walk around and see everyone show a different part of them and who they are,” Bentim said.

Melo said Orlando Pride is bigger and more developed that other Pride events she’s been to before, and that there are a lot more physical structures and stands around.

“It seems like it gets bigger every year,” she said.

The event had everything from food, clothing and flag vendors, to information stations about staying healthy and safe.

While Pride is an event that’s able to take place now, the signs present at the event addressed the memory of the events at Stonewall in 1969.

Jacob Chesslo is the president of Rainbow Alliance, Florida Tech’s LGBTQ student organization.

He said, “Historically, Pride was important due to acting as a protest against anti-LGBTQ prejudice, and acted as a way to support each other in the fight for equality.”

Chesslo went on to add, “It’s a way to celebrate the steps we’ve made in equal rights, and a way to show the community love and support.”

Chesslo has been involved in Rainbow Alliance ever since starting at Florida Tech, and has been to Space Coast Pride parades, St. Pete Pride and now Orlando Pride.

Chesslo, a junior in physics, said that he believes that the country is supportive of the LGBTQ community.

“Many more allies are coming out to events and celebrating the gains we’ve made in the fight for equality,” Chesslo said.

Still, those who oppose LGBTQ rights are present in 2019.

At Orlando Pride, three protestors stood outside of the fence that separated the event from the rest of Downtown Orlando at about three p.m.

Women show affection in spite of the protesters. Picture // Isabel Cordero

They held signs saying, “Jesus saves from God’s wrath” and “Turn from Pride to Jesus.” This is not the only opposition.

According to the New York Times, the Supreme Court met last week to decide whether the current civil rights legislation allowed employment discrimination based on sexual orientation and transgender status.

Title VII outlawed discrimination of race, religion, national origin and sex, and the specifics of “sex” have not been explicitly written to include sexuality and gender identity, according to the New York Times.

Chesslo said the judicial proceedings are necessary, and that without a judicial ruling, the actions against the community will continue.

“It’s a necessary process to, hopefully, solidify the human rights that the LGBTQ community has,” Chesslo said.

Melo said that the importance of Pride is to provide an event where LGBTQ people can feel proud to be who they are.

“I love seeing all the people dress up and be happy and gay,” Melo said. “It’s nice that they can feel safe and comfortable because there aren’t that many spaces where they can be.”

The Human Rights Campaign stressed that this is the importance of National Coming Out Day, according to their website.

The day is a time to celebrate coming out as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or another orientation.

The Human Rights Campaign website states, “Every person who speaks up changes more hearts and minds, and creates new advocates for equality.”

Teresa Rago, a junior in mechanical engineering, was one of many who celebrated National Coming Out Day.

To celebrate, she created an Instagram post. “Posting it online gave my friends from back home a chance to support me if they wanted,” Rago said. “It really shows how much I’ve grown and how confident I’ve become and how comfortable I am being myself in front of everyone.”

Rago said in high school, she was much less comfortable with her sexuality. However, she was still able to participate in National Coming Out Day during her senior year of high school.

“I brought rainbow-themed treats to my teammates for Coming Out Day,” Rago said. “Even though I wasn’t really out back then, I wanted to help form an environment where other potentially closeted teammates could feel safe, which is something I wish I had back in high school.”

When coming out is a concern for many young people, Orlando Pride took the opportunity to make a space where all members of the community could feel safe, especially when LGBTQ members haven’t been so safe in the past.

Pulse Nightclub, a gay nightclub, had representatives walk in the parade.

They held a banner with the faces of those who died in the shooting on June 12, 2016, with the hashtag #wewillnotlethatewin across the front of the banner.

Equality Florida, a civil rights organization for the LGBTQ community, walked as well.

The group was led by a man with a megaphone who walked in front of their banner.

Through the megaphone, he called towards the crowd following him, saying, “What do we want?” The crowd behind him replied, “Equality!” “When do we want it?” he continued. “Now!”

Florida Tech ROTC’s atypical summer

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While college students’ summer plans often consist of vacations or summer classes, Florida Tech Army ROTC students had another atypical break.

They completed rigorous training camps and
internships, traveled with cultural programs and attended specialized schools like Airborne School or Air Assault School.

Isiah Mossiah, a senior studying molecular biology, completed advanced camp at Fort Knox in Kentucky.

The camp was a 31-day training course Mossiah described as “a culmination of our previous three years of ROTC training.”

Cadetcommand.army.mil states that the mission of advanced camp is to assess a cadet’s potential to serve as a commissioned officer. It lists highlights of the training event, including first aid, a field leader’s reaction course and tactics training.

Mossiah said that cadets are put into platoons of 40-45 people, and are constantly evaluated by cadres—the officers responsible for the training of cadets.

He discussed field training exercises, explaining that the first is cadreled, while the others were completed independently for purposes of evaluation.

They also completed road marches of up to 12 miles.

“You have a 35 pound ruck on your back, and you have to make a certain time requirement,” Mossiah said.

He added that many exercises are pass or fail, and that cadets must pass to continue in the course.

Cadets are ranked at the end of the training.

This ranking influences their placement in the Army later on.

Mossiah said the training gave him valuable experience in communication with a diverse group.

He said it gave him the opportunity to compare and contrast his leadership skills with others, then use that to communicate more effectively across a group.

Sergeant First Class Arsenio Rodriguez, a military instructor with Florida Tech Army ROTC, said cadets completed summer training in Africa and South America through the Cultural Understanding and Leadership Program.

According to cadetcom-mand.army.mil, CU&LP
completely immerses cadets into another culture, improving their cultural awareness.

“They get to work with cadets that are in the same role as they are, but just in a different country, and they get to experience a day in the life of how they function and what their training consists of,” Rodriguez said.

He said some cadets attended Airborne School, a three week course which includes military parachutist training.

Others attended Air Assault School, a 10 day course which Sergeant First Class Jeremy Brandon, a military instructor with Florida Tech Army ROTC, described as “physical and mental.”

“You learn all about the capabilities and limitations of all the different rotary wing aircraft,” Brandon said.

goarmy.com states that the course is designed to prepare soldiers for missions that call for the use of transportation and assault helicopters.

Brandon said he thinks the biggest benefit of summer training is the real-world experience, where cadets are able to apply the theory they have learned, and “work through problems in a way that you can’t really simulate in a classroom or laboratory environment.”

He said these concrete experiences prepare students for the responsibility and depth of knowledge required of a lieutenant before they are commissioned into the Army.

Going forward into the fall semester, Rodriguez said cadets will gain more out-of-classroom experience in field training exer-
cises.

“They get to spend two nights out in the woods,” he said. “It lets us evaluate them as leaders and how they perform under stress.”

The field training exercises are planned for the first week of November.