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“The Hidden World” keeps up the momentum in How to Train Your Dragon

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Official movie poster by Dreamworks.

They always say, the sky’s the limit – unless you’re a professional dragon rider, of course.

The grand finale of Dreamworks Animation Studios’ “How to Train Your Dragon” trilogy landed in theaters Friday, Feb. 22.

It received a score of 92% Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes and earned more than $466.50 million in box office sales in less than a month.

In the final chapter of this story, Berk village chief Hiccup is intent on building a peaceful dragon utopia with his girlfriend Astrid and beloved Night Fury dragon, Toothless.

However, a mysterious female dragon draws Toothless away and is soon dubbed a “Light Fury.”

At the same time, a ruthless dragon hunter named Grimmel has his sights set on killing Toothless, the last living Night Fury.

With Grimmel on his tail and his civilization at stake, Hiccup must save his people and all of dragonkind and make a choice that will change the course of his life.

Once again, Dreamworks has put together a fantastic film that is sure to win hearts everywhere.

The “How to Train Your Dragon” franchise has been the most well-received that the company has ever produced.

The first and second films scored 98% and 92% Fresh and grossed $495.8 million and $621.5 million, respectively, averaging to 94% Fresh and totalling over $1.5 billion.

The story is phenomenal; it gave me everything that I expected out of it and so much more.

This film flawlessly depicts important lessons about love and coming to terms with loss.

Its comedy was also spoton: not too much, not too little.

Every joke landed and the typical potty humor overload in Dreamworks films was entirely absent, as with the first two films.

The ending of the film was perfect as well, and it connects the films to the real world in a way that I wasn’t expecting.

And of course, I can’t write a review on a “How to Train Your Dragon” movie without talking about Toothless.

Toothless continues to be one of the most loveable characters in animation, with his personality and mannerisms further exemplifying just how adorable he is.

Speaking of the animation, the quality of the graphics is astounding; the fact that you can see every little freckle on the characters’ faces and every individual hair and the roughness of each dragon scale.

Combined with the almost photorealistic water, you’d have to wonder if Dreamworks managed to borrow Pixar’s water guy.

My only complaint? That we most likely won’t get to see another fully-fledged film.

“How to Train Your Dragon” is, and always will be, one of the best animation franchises.

With three movies, multiple television shows, and tons of merchandise, it’s hard to see its popularity fading anytime soon.

A Casual Review – Hellblade Senua’s Sacrifice: A beautiful and harrowing experience

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Official game poster by Ninja Theory.

Hellblade is a game that’s not very well-known to many but highly recommended by people who have played it.

Developed and published by Ninja Theory, Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice is an action-adventure game that was released back in 2017.

The game has surprisingly high production value considering that it was made by a very small team of developers.

In Hellblade, the player sees the world through the eyes of Senua, a Pict warrior who has embarked on a journey to Helheim hoping to save the soul of her dead lover from the Norse goddess of death, Hela.

Before I proceed to evaluate the game, it is worth mentioning that Hellblade is really not what it claims to be on the surface, and I personally think the game is more of an experience than a simple game: The player’s eyes will be deceived, and the mind will be challenged.

On a technical standpoint, Hellblade has met almost all the requirements to be a good AAA title.

The graphics are stunning, the sound designs are incredible and the gameplay is fun and immersive.

The game is relatively short compared to most modern games and is also very linear.

On average the game should only take around 6-8 hours to finish, but I have to say that it was the most memorable six hours I’ve ever experienced.

In general, Hellblade is an exploration game rather than an action game.

The player will spend most of their time walking around and solving puzzles instead of hacking down monsters or demons.

However, when there is combat, it is very fun and engaging; the actions are smooth and the controls are easy to master.

It is hard to explain what the game really is about without spoiling major plots of the story, but it is worth noting that the game has many metaphorical meanings behind almost everything.

Like mentioned earlier, the player’s eyes will be deceived, and the mind will be challenged.

The starting screen of the game advises the player to put on headphones, which is very important if the player wishes to better understand the story of the game.

There is also a short documentary that the player can choose to watch in the main menu of the game.

On top of showing how the game was made, the documentary will also help the player to understand the game better.

Overall, I think Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice is a game really worth playing if anyone is looking for an atmospheric or interesting game to play.

Turn off the lights, put on headphones and just let the game tell its story.

Professor iterates research integrity amidst anti-vaccination controversy

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The controversy surrounding the anti-vaccination movement on social media has some students expressing the importance of peer-reviewed journals.

An Ohio teen, using Reddit— an American news aggregation, web content rating, and discussion website—and scientific journals, went against the views of his mother and got himself vaccinated.

The teen testified against his mother before at a Senate hearing alongside experts, according to the Washington Post, which has caused an increase in the discussion of the topic.

Dzmitry Yuran, assistant professor in the school of arts and communication, believes that the popularization of peer-reviewed journals does more harm than good in the spread of misinformation in media.

“[Peer-reviewed journals] are crucial,” Yuran said. “But they’re not all powerful.”

Yuran said one such problematic journal was the anti-vaccination research.

He said the anti-vaccination movement was popularized with a scientific journal that has since been retracted because the co-authors revealed the data collection was unethical.

Yuran said peer-reviewed journals never give a 100 percent course of action; it’s the second level of interpretation that does that, which is usually in the realm of the media.

He said new research gets into places like a morning talk show or in the pages of the BBC.

The discussion usually surrounds understanding research that’s been done on a small animal, usually a mouse, but is interpreted as a course of action for human beings.

“Once it’s out of the journals, there is no control over it,” Yuran said. “It goes into the realm of misinterpretation, speculation and everything else.”

Yuran said this misinterpretation is caused by the simplification of information based on what people want to get out of them.

He said they’re often read by people who don’t necessarily “understand [the journals] fully, crawls down to [the] conclusion section and fishes for that one useful tidbit of information that they can turn into [a] course of action.”[sic]

Zachary Eckert, a graduate physics student, also shares the same beliefs as Yuran Eckert said science can easily be used to prove personal bias.

“With nearly any set of data you can get pretty much any outcome you want,” Eckert said, “depending on how you look at the data.”

Eckert said there are multiple ways of looking at numbers. He said it’s imperative to try and find the most true results from any set of numbers.

“The simple solution to every ailment in life is what we’re after,” Yuran said. “We want a simple shortcut and hope that science will give it to us.”

Yuran said that there’s no one solution to the spread of misinterpreted research, but education plays a big role.

Many scientific journals are published by people who have a very specific educational background and are difficult to read.

He also said they’re costly for the general consumer who may not understand the technical writing.

These factors lead to an over reliance on someone to interpret the information for the general public.

However, Eckert believes social media platforms play a big role in the spread of misinformation.

He said that most things that are shared are those which have polarizing opinions in the titles and is typically not based on either the content of the article or whether the article has evidence for it.

Most people decide whether they agree or disagree with shared articles from the title and share it without properly reading.

“If it supports your worldview, you’re going to share it with everybody else,” Eckert said. “And then your social media circle becomes an echo chamber of everybody who agrees with you.”

Eckert said memes– humorous images, videos or pieces of text that are copied and spread rapidly by internet users–may be helpful in dispelling misinformation.

He believes the simplicity and relatable nature of memes can easily be shared than an article explaining complicated science.

“They’re more likely to be able to permeate certain circles,” Eckert said. “And it can get some of the more centrist people to rethink their ideas.”

Yuran believes that society has a very long way to go in it’s relationship with science, but personal research and cognitive understanding on an individual level is a huge step in the right direction.

Students work for a “more inclusive” campus

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A student raised the possibility of creating a LGBTQ+ center at Florida Tech during the student leader luncheon on March 13.

Rodney Bowers, the dean of students, reportedly responded that the campus is small and is already inclusive.

Jacob Chesslo, a junior in physics and the president of Spectrum, Florida Tech’s LGBTQ+ student organization, submitted the question about an LGBTQ+ center for consideration at the student leader luncheon.

Chesslo said other universities have LGBTQ+ centers that offer resources such as safe sex information, hormone therapy information and clothing swaps.

“Basically, an LGBTQ+ center— it’s not only a resource for students who don’t know what they necessarily want or who they are, but it also provides a safe space for students facing challenges, whether they’re transitioning or just getting out of a relationship,” Chesslo said.

While Bowers said there are no current plans for an LGBTQ+ center for Florida Tech, he said the creation of one could be a possibility for the future, depending on funding.

For now, a group of faculty, staff and students meets every two weeks to discuss LGBTQ+ issues, according to Bowers.

“It’s called the gender identity group, and we’re trying to look at things to be a little bit more inclusive,” Bowers said. “For instance, allowing faculty, staff and students to use a preferred name in any internal communication. We’re looking at gender-neutral bathrooms, gender-neutral housing and the use of pronouns and how we can get that going like some schools have. Anything that has been brought up to our attention that doesn’t appear to be inclusive, we try to change.”

Currently, Bowers said they are looking into the possibility of installing a gender-neutral bathroom in Harris Commons.

Gender of bathroom
Florida Tech is looking into creating more gender neutral bathroom. Photo by Emily Walker // Crimson

Gender-neutral bathrooms are an area Evangeline Archer, a senior in aerospace engineering, believes Florida Tech needs to improve on.

“I keep getting told there are a bunch of gender-neutral bathrooms on campus, but I’ve only seen two,” Archer, who goes by Evie, said. “The dean said it’s a small campus. If it’s so small, start working. It would benefit everyone if they just demolished the wall in between [two bathrooms] and they became unisex bathrooms.”

Archer has experienced a mix of support and discrimination on campus.

In 2017, her roommates at the time sent an email to the entire school outing her as transgender. “Overnight, I was just outed,” Archer said. “I had calls from friends that next morning that said, ‘Hey, did you check fitforum? There was a nasty email about you.’”

According to Archer, she read the email and took a day to think about what she wanted to say.

When she wrote a response that night, she said she was surprised with students’ reactions.

“That’s when I started seeing actually that a lot of people—even people that I don’t know—were just really supportive,” Archer said.

Archer said students sent her texts and emails in support, some using the hashtag #SupportEvie.

“I thought it was cute and a thing that kind of empowered me to be more myself,” Archer said. “I basically just answered the email, and at the very end, where my signature was automatically put in by Gmail, I crossed it out and put in ‘Evangeline’ instead.”

Chesslo said while he doesn’t know of any hate crimes committed on campus recently, that doesn’t mean there hasn’t been discrimination and that those on campus are trying to actively include LGBTQ+ students, staff and faculty.

“There are definitely some areas in which faculty and students could improve,” Chesslo said. “I know that, especially for those who are transgender on campus, there’s no clear, set way to get your given name off of documents and your preferred name onto them. I know that a lot of faculty and staff sometimes don’t know how to approach certain students with that.”

According to Bowers, this is something administrators are currently working on with IT.

Their goal is to allow PAWS users to select a preferred name, which will affect their email addresses, usernames and class rosters.

Caroline-Willow Mctigue, a freshman in electrical engineering, said not having her chosen name used in her email is a source of discomfort for her.

“The email is quite annoying,” Mctigue said. “Every time I type my email in, it kind of has a small blow to have to type in the first letter of my first name.”

Mctigue said if there was an option for students and faculty to put their prefered name in PAWS, it would help a lot.

The gender identity group and its goals are a “work in progress,” according to Bowers.

“None of us are experts in this field, and we’re trying to address issues as we become aware of the issues,” Bowers said. “It’s all based on what we can get done in a reasonable timeframe.”

Students with concerns related to how LGBTQ+ issues are handled on campus can contact Bowers at rbowers@ fit.edu.

According to Bowers, he will bring up students’ concerns to the gender identity group.

Captain Marvel Review – A great way to spend International Women’s Day

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Official movie poster by Marvel.

Captain Marvel delivered action, humor and heartfelt storytelling that can be enjoyed by hardcore Marvel fans, as well as people new to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Something Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, Captain Marvel’s directors and screenwriters, achieved better than previous Marvel creators was the balance between humor and seriousness.

While this certainly wasn’t the most serious Marvel movie ever created, it also wasn’t as lighthearted as movies such as Ant-Man or Thor: Ragnarok.

The balance of tension and humor made it a funny and emotional watch without it feeling too heavy.

Additionally, the events in Captain Marvel tied in perfectly with last spring’s blockbuster, Avengers: Infinity War, filling in some of the gaps and setting things up for the next Avengers movie.

However, it never felt like the movie was made just to explain Infinity War or the upcoming movie, Avengers: Endgame; it could stand on its own as a great movie.

As the movie was set in 1995, directors brought in a mix of new and old characters.

Brie Larson played Carol Danvers, otherwise known throughout the film as Vers and Captain Marvel.

As both a no-nonsense and quick-witted character, Larson’s character was a refreshing take on superheros and was more balanced than others have been in the past.

Her training taught her to be tough and efficient during fights, but her sarcastic personality came through in everyday situations.

While Larson’s character was definitely the central focus, the supporting characters were dynamic and added both humor and emotion.

Samuel L. Jackson reprised his role as a Shield Agent, Nick Fury.

There was a younger, dorky quality to his character that made him more relatable than in previous movies and broke the tension in serious moments.

His relationship with Goose, a cat that joins him and Danvers for most of the movie, was unexpected and hilarious.

Maria Rambeau (Lashana Lynch), Danvers’ best friend from the Air Force, added emotional interest to Danvers’ backstory and stood on her own as a dynamic character.

The bond she shared with Danvers was strong and connected the viewer to her immediately.

Additionally, Rambeau’s relationship with her daughter was sweet and help round out her character.

A character with an interesting arc was Talos (Ben Mendelsohn), the leader of a group of aliens called Skrulls who invaded Earth.

His character development was unexpected and a refreshing twist on typical villains. Yon-Rogg (Jude Law) was a tough mentor for Danvers.

While his character arc wasn’t particularly original, it fit the story well and led to an exciting conclusion.

The music throughout the film added to the story.

The score, composed by Pinar Toprak, helped add tension and emotion without becoming a distraction.

Additionally, the use of songs from the 90’s helped make the movie feel more realistic and added a fun element to certain scenes.

The visuals were fairly good.

Most of the movie takes place on Earth, although a portion of it takes place in outer space and on another planet.

There weren’t any moments where the CGI was glaringly obvious, though if you paid attention, you might have noticed it a few times.

The costuming for the Skrulls could have been slightly more well-polished; there were several times when the costume was distracting when it should have fitted seamlessly with the character.

Overall, Captain Marvel was a fresh spin on typical Marvel tropes and created a great original movie with the MCU’s first female lead.

A Casual Review – Devil May Cry 5: The sequel worth waiting 11 years for

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Official game poster by Capcom.

Capcom has unleashed yet another great work of art into the world.

Just two months after the release of Resident Evil 2 remastered, Devil May Cry 5 has arrived and brought joy to fans of the series.

For people who aren’t familiar with the DMC franchise, it is an action game developed and published by Capcom, which tells the story of Dante the devil hunter and his companions.

The story of DMC 5 takes place a few years after the events of DMC 4, Nero, one of the protagonist of the game encounters a mysterious demon who rips off his demonic arm “Devil Bringer” and escaped with it.

A few days later, a mysterious man named “V” comes to Dante’s office and hired him and his companions to kill a certain returning demon, who happens to be the one that took Nero’s arm.

The plot of DMC 5 is a bit hard to understand without information from the previous games, luckily the game has included a video that quickly summarizes the history of the DMC universe.

However, it is recommended for the player to watch other related videos online or actually play the previous games, the experience of playing Devil May Cry 5 afterwards would be much better.

The gameplay of the franchise primarily focuses on fast-paced, stylish combat and is mostly well-known for this reason.

Visually, the game looks good, the character designs looked absolutely stunning, but there wasn’t anything else worth noting or mentioning.

The game’s soundtracks are probably one of the most memorable parts of the game, especially the character battle songs.

Not only are they great to listen to while hacking down demons, but they are also catchy and get stuck in your head.

In DMC 5, the player gets the chance to play three different characters within the story: Dante, the legendary devil hunter who focuses on multiple combat styles; Nero, who is outfitted with different types of “Devil Breaker” prosthetic arm; and V, a mysterious man who summons demons to aid him during fights.

Each playable character has a very distinctive style of combat and characteristics, which are all very fun to play.

The weapons that the game has to offer are crazy fun, from Dante’s motorcycle power-saw and akimbo rocket launcher to Nero’s prosthetic arm that acts as a homing missile fist.

The developers were very creative with the weapon designs of the game; there is even a DLC item in the game that gives Nero a spinning pasta fork for his prosthetic arm.

Gameplay-wise, Devil May Cry 5 feels just like its prequels: It is over-the-top, flashy and amazing.

Almost every aspect of the game is cool to look at.

The cutscenes have the same style of direction as the previous games, but they just never get old.

Even the simplest things such as calling the van (which serves as the in-game shop) have ridiculously actionpacked cutscenes, and each of them are very different from each other.

Like the previous games within the series, Devil May Cry 5 focuses a lot on stylish combat.

While constant button mashing is completely viable, the game encourages players to try out new combos and weapons by showing Stylish Rankings ranging from D to SSS during every battle.

It’s very satisfying to hear the in-game announcer go from saying “Dismal” to shouting out “Smokin’ Sexy Style!” when the player has reached SSS ranking.

The difficulty of the game is pretty balanced.

It took me around 10 hours to finish my first play through on Devil Hunter Mode (regular difficulty).

The level design is pretty straightforward with hidden secrets here and there, and the enemy variety and design were very interesting.

The boss fights of the game are quite memorable as well.

There aren’t any “filler” bosses in the game: Each boss encounter is unique and pretty challenging.

While Devil May Cry 5 is a fairly linear game, it has decent replayability.

After beating the game on normal, the player will unlock New Game Plus and a harder difficulty for a skilled player to play through.

If the player managed to beat that as well, an even harder difficulty will be unlocked until all the regular and special difficulty levels have been unlocked.

The game will also be receiving an update for Bloody Palace in April, which will give the players the opportunity to fight against endless waves of enemies and bosses and earn rewards.

To conclude, Devil May Cry 5 is probably the best action-hack and slash-style game that’s been released in recent years, and very much like it’s prequels, the game’s stylish actions and energizing music have created an extremely enjoyable experience for its players.

The game is currently available on PC, Xbox One and PS4.

New Gleason policy “aims for fairness” across campus

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A year ago, Florida Tech implemented a policy that requires all groups on campus to pay for use of the Gleason Performing Arts Center auditorium.

According to Jeffrey Richardson, the assistant manager of Gleason, the payment is used to compensate workers.

“It isn’t a charge for the building,” Richardson said. “It’s a charge for our student workers, or our workers in general, to be present to take care of the equipment and to take care of the building for whatever that may need.”

During regular Gleason operating hours, Richardson said the use of the auditorium is free.

After hours, those using the auditorium are required to pay $20 per worker per hour.

William O’Steen, the manager of Gleason, said the cost is dependent on how many workers are needed for an event.

Some events will cost groups far less than others.

For example, an event where one person is giving a speech takes fewer workers than a concert.

“Depending on the event is how many support staff we’ll have in the building at the time, which will fluctuate the cost,” O’Steen said.

Both O’Steen and Richardson began working at Gleason a little more than six months ago.

William “Billy” O’Steen and Jeffery Richardson are the managers of the Gleason Performing Arts Center. Photo by Emily Walker.

The policy was implemented about six months prior to their arrival, Richardson said.

However, he said at a student-leader luncheon soon after he began working at Gleason, President McKay brought up the policy.

“The president himself stood up and said, ‘This is how it is, period,’” Richardson said.

As time has passed since the policy was put into place, Richardson said he has noticed a misconception surrounding it during his time at Gleason.

“There’s a lot of kind of gray area where people talk behind people’s backs and say, ‘Oh, we have to rent the Gleason now,’” Richardson said. “And that’s kind of a weird misnomer that isn’t true. It’s not renting the building, it’s just paying for the students’ time after hours.”

While off-campus groups or companies requesting the use of the Gleason auditorium are required to rent it, Richardson said all groups on campus simply pay for the workers’ time.

One group that uses Gleason on a regular basis is College Players, Florida Tech’s student-run performing arts group.

According to Richardson, they use Gleason multiple nights a week and are Gleason’s number-one patron.

Harris Halabi, a junior in civil engineering, was the treasurer for College Players last year.

He is still a member of the organization, as well as an audio-visual technician at Gleason.

According to Halabi, College Players heard about the policy through the Conference Services Bureau.

“We heard about it pretty quickly because we had spaced lined up, and then we got some emails about it,” Halabi said.

According to Halabi, the Conference Services Bureau told College Players they had to pay for Gleason technicians when they held events, and the technicians could not be members of College Players.

These rules, according to Halabi, are not specific to College Players.

All organizations must pay for technicians to be present during events, and the technicians working cannot be a part of the organization using the auditorium.

However, Richardson said College Players has adapted to the policy change well.

Additionally, the Gleason team has worked with them to make the change as smooth as possible.

“They were very understanding of the policy once it was explained to them what the policy was,” Richardson said. “One of the things that is so nice about College Players is they’re very self-managed, so we don’t need to support their events very much other than having a student representative here in case there are any issues.”

According to O’Steen, people have been concerned about how the policy affects College Players, but he said it aims to be fairer to every group on campus than past policies.

“It wasn’t anything against College Players,” O’Steen said. “From what we were told, we were charging every group on campus to use our space as far as support tech goes, and it just became an issue of other groups not understanding why not all groups were paying.”

As College Players has worked with the changes, Halabi said it has been a learning curve.

“It’s been tricky, but we’ve made it work,” Halabi said. “I think personally there might be more work to be done, but that’s no longer up to me.”

Shelley Mitchell, the president of College Players, declined for an interview.

She stated in an email, “We have been working with this situation for a year now and have moved past any difficulties that came with it.”

College Players isn’t the only group Gleason works with.

O’Steen said he and the other staff members at Gleason work with every group to keep costs to a minimum.

“We cut costs as much as we can,” O’Steen said. “We have an event tonight—it’s a lacrosse documentary viewing. We’re doing all our setup while we’re all still in the building on the clock so they don’t have to pay for setup later. It cuts their costs down.”

While a lot of work is done during the time a group is using the auditorium, prep is done before a group arrives, and cleanup is done after they leave.

O’Steen said the staff at Gleason does what they can to get that work done during regular operating hours to help keep costs low for groups using the auditorium.

He said their main concern is working in a way that is beneficial to clubs with limited resources and helping make events great.

Halabi said despite the challenges College Players have faced, Richardson and O’Steen have worked with them to make the process less difficult.

“They have been super supportive in not just supporting College Players, but also all organizations and all events,” Halabi said. “They really want to make Gleason a central hub on campus, which is pretty great.”

New bike rack location receives criticism

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A bike rack was recently installed in the lower level of the Colombia Village parking garage, taking up two parking spaces.

The new bike racks have taken up two parking spaces at the Columbia Village parking garage. Photo by Marc Kenneh.

“We’re going to have to tear those out of the ground, I mean, it’s just dumb,” SGA president, Jace Petrowski said.

Mitchell Spalding, the chairman in charge of the Signature Programs Committee, said there was no consultation or discussion with students before the racks were placed.

Vinai Balroop, a freshman that lives in Roberts Hall, said, “It’s stupid, there’s already I high demand for parking in the garage and a lot of the freshmen that live around there have cars so I don’t know why they would take way two spaces.”

The only communication came in the form of a PSA from SGA Vice President Baylee Keener after the installation.

In the email PSA, Keener stated, “We have received many questions about the new bike racks in the lower level of the Columbia Village parking garage. Those bike racks are where the new bikes will be kept in order to keep them looking new and safe from any rust so that we can continue our bike program without having to keep buying new bikes.”

Petrowski, said that he is trying to see where the miscommunication was and that the racks weren’t supposed to be in a parking spot.

Spalding was responsible for the bike rental program.

“I didn’t advertise enough to students about the placement of the bike racks and I apologize,” Spalding said. “Hopefully in the future, should they be moved or should there be a petition for them to be moved, I’ll be willing to hear ideas from students about where to move them.”

Spalding said that it was cheaper and easier on the SGA’s budget to put the new bikes under the garage, rather than buy an awning for the old uncovered racks.

Rayne Parker, a transfer student also living in Colombia Village, said, “I feel like they were unnecessary. They could have definitely found better placement.”

Aside from the controversial placement of the bike rack, the program seems to be doing well otherwise.

“They are available for students to rent for free. We’ve actually rented out about half already in the first two days of its creation,” Spalding said. “In our agreement with Infinity Bike Shop, the bike shop will come out and maintain the bikes and give us discounts on replacement parts.”

The bikes are available to rent for free through a form on Panther Prowl.

Venezuela Asylum: Escaping Maduro

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Nicolos Maduro (above) has served as Venezuala’s 46th president since 2013. Juan Guaido is now recognized as the interim president of Venezuala by multiple countries. Photo from Flickr.

In the fall semester of 2014, 18 Florida Tech undergraduate students claimed Venezuelan citizenship.

As of 2018, only one remains. Numerous organizations, such as the Council on Foreign Affairs, have declared the South American country’s economic and political landscape as rapidly deteriorating.

As a result Florida Tech has taken a heavy hit in regards to Venezuelan enrollments.

Current president of Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro, has been in power for six years, and his reign has been criticized by many.

Amnesty International, a London based human rights organization, has labeled Maduro’s actions as destructive towards the economy, and marked his military legitimacy as abusive wrongdoings against the opposition lead by Juan Guaido.

In early January Guaido officially became head of the opposition-held parliament, the National Assembly.

Since then, the U.S., Brazil, Canada, Chile, Peru, Colombia and several European countries have all recognized Guaido as interim president of Venezuela.

With no food, no money and no definite sign of improvement under Maduro’s regime, Venezuela has currently been deemed as the worst humanitarian crisis in the western hemisphere according to the U.N.

In 2017, The New York Times interviewed 21 Venezuelan doctors who encountered nearly 2,800 cases of child malnutrition due to the food shortage and hunger crisis in the nation.

By the end of the year, The International Monetary Fund IMF has projected Venezuela’s inflation rate to reach 10 million percent, forecasting one of the worst hyperinflationary crises in modern history.

Jose Coiman, a junior in chemical engineering, is a native from Caracas, Venezuela.

He describes Maduro as a force that has lead his home country into complete ruin.

Coiman came to Florida Tech in the fall of 2016 while his father left Venezuela nearly four months later.

His mother and sister soon followed in the summer of 2018, fleeing the nation in hopes of a better life in Manaus, Brazil.

In 2015, during his third year of high school, Coiman started to notice just how bad the situation had gotten.

“I didn’t go to school for almost three months,” Coilman said. “I couldn’t even get to school because of the protests, it was so dangerous to leave home. The national guard and protesters were constantly occupying the streets.”

Coiman believes that with support from the U.S. and other European countries, Guaido and the opposition offer a sign of hope for the people of Venezuela.

However, he does not think the country will reach stability for the next 10-15 years.

Freshman Antonella Merola is studying chemical engineering as well, but her journey from Venezuela to Florida Tech is a bit different than Coiman’s.

Merola was born and raised in Caracas until her family relocated to Panama just under two years ago.

When she found herself in the process of applying to colleges in the U.S., Merola worried it would be very challenging to obtain a Venezuelan student Visa.

Merola took advantage of her dual Italian nationality and is attending Florida Tech under an Italian student visa.

Marivi Walker, the assistant director for International Admissions at Florida Tech, said that she has had plenty of experience working with students like Coiman and Merola.

“Four to five years ago it was very different with the Venezuelan students,” Walker said.

Four to five years ago, the Venezuelan government had an agency that administered legal currency exchange in the country called Comisión de Administración de Divisas (CADIVI).

CADIVI essentially determined what money got to leave the country and at what exchange rate you could buy U.S. dollars.

Therefore, they were also in charge of granting or denying applications for students to send tuition payments abroad to the U.S.

“I started to notice two years ago [during fall 2016 applications] little by little, that CADIVI had started to disappear,” Walker said. “The agency simply ran out of money.”

Towards the end of CADIVI’s downfall, the situation reached a turning point for Venezuelan undergraduate seniors in the spring of 2017 as they were trying to finish their degree programs.

“During the collapse of CADIVI, we had Venezuelan students who were graduating but could not get funds from Venezuelan banks to pay for their remaining spring semester,” Walker said. “The university literally had to grant them emergency funds stating that those individuals could graduate, but must eventually pay their tuition back.”

With students no longer able to pay their tuition using money from Venezuelan banks, it put a significant taint on being able to attend a college in the U.S. at all.

All Venezuelan students now have to rely on money they have already managed to send over to the U.S.

Moving forward, Walker has faith that the opposition led by Guaido could turn things around for the country which in return could boost Venezuelan enrollment at Florida Tech to what they once used to be.

“I truly think that we are at a make-or-break point,” Walker said. “When you hear Guaido speak, it will bring tears to your eyes because you will think, ‘Where did this man come from?’ He shows more of a genuine concern for finding peace within the country rather than trying to seize its leadership, and that is what signifies hope for the people of Venezuela.”

Merola, as well, vocalized her opinion in regards to Guaido’s intentions as leader of the opposition.

“When people hear about what is happening in my country I don’t want them to think the opposition is an invading power-hungry force,” she said. “Their sole purpose is to put the countries best interests before corruption and self-interest.”

A universal theme amongst Merola, Walker and Coiman is that the people of Venezuela are not going down without a fight and they will receive the justice and humanitarian rights they deserve one day.