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New SGA officials elected amidst COVID-19

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The Student Government Association held their elections from Apr. 6 through Apr. 12, seeing a total voter turnout of 375. 

Rosie Red, Michael Foster and Stephen Chang have been elected SGA President, Vice President and Treasurer, respectively. 

Rosie Red is the newly elected SGA President, winning the position by nearly 79 percent. Photo// Sga_floridatech Instagram

None of the races were close, Red won by 230 votes, Foster by 162 and Chang by 249 votes. 

The SGA election saw a drop in voters from the previous year’s 592 cast votes. According to the student body election results, there were 375 votes from this election account which accounts for 8.6 percent of the possible students available to vote. Voting was open to undergraduate and graduate students at the Melbourne campus according to The Supervisor of Elections, Jacob Chesslo. Based on 2019 enrollment data from Florida Tech’s Office of Institutional Research, 4,349 students were eligible to vote in the 2020 SGA election. 

Despite her victory, Red called the current COVID-19 situation “detrimental” to the campaigning process.

“Running a campaign using an online platform has made it much more difficult for candidates to connect with students and vice-versa,” Red said. “Which I believe is also part of the reason the election turnout was so much lower this year than in previous years.”

Chesslo said the COVID-19 pandemic is the biggest reason why there were fewer votes this year.

Chang, Foster and current SGA President, Jace Petwroski, also attributed COVID-19 and Florida Tech’s transition to online classes as to why voting numbers decreased. 

Petrowski will hold the president position until the end of summer 2020. 

As Petrowski’s Vice President, Red has already laid the groundwork for projects she’d like to accomplish during her term, such as a renovation of Evans Hall and adding lights to the Southgate intramural fields.

Red added that due to the current circumstances it’s hard to say what physical projects will be accomplished.

Petrowski said he was “exceptionally pleased” with the results of the election and has come to see Red as family.

“In these uncertain times, Rosie is the President we need and the President who will march our university into a brighter, post-COVID era,” Petrowski said.

Red said one of the reasons she ran for SGA President was to carry out the goals of the current SGA.

Chang said he is confident in both Red and Foster in their newly elected positions.

Stephen Chang is the newly elected treasurer of SGA. He won the position with over 300 votes. Photo// Sga_floridatech Instagram

“As a team, we have good communication and are good friends both in and outside of school,” Chang said. 

One problem that Chang said drove his run for treasurer was that “there were many organizations that do not know how to request money from the Student Activities funding committee or know what is available to them.”

Foster said one of his main reasons for running for Vice President was because he believes in order to have a successful university structure, it is essential to have a well-run representation of the student body.

“I genuinely believe I can do the job very well,” Foster said. “And given the opportunity, I would work to the best of my ability to make my time in the position as productive as possible.”

20 senators were elected as well: 

  • Michaela Salazar
  • Sasha Anguiano
  • John Wu
  • Pearson Kerchner
  • Cody Cochran
  • Carolynne Garutti
  • Madison Ulvenes
  • Tanner Crampton
  • John O’Brien
  • Jack Dennis
  • Alexander Datillo
  • Trent Linville
  • Austin Sisinni
  • Morgan Gray
  • Eli Rines
  • Spenser Gorenflo
  • Luis Carlos Mantilla-Garcia
  • Nicholas Assante
  • Dylan Hammond
  • Reese Van Putten

An amendment to replace the former constitution of SGA with an updated one was also passed. According to Chesslo, more than half the people that participate in voting are needed to pass the amendment. Based on the 2020 student body election results, 91 percent of students that participated in voting were in favor of the amendment. Chesslo said that some of the major changes within the new constitution provide for greater documentation of processes and procedures, and more analysis as to how SGA should operate.

“This allows for the house of delegates, student organizations, to have more say in SGA,” Chesslo said. “It also allows for a constitution of the student body rather than that of just the Student Government Association.”

This story was updated on April 15 at 6:40 p.m. to provide updates about the newly ratified amendment.

Pass or fail petition created by Florida Tech student has over 2,200 signatures

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By Johnny O’Brien

A call to action for pass or fail classes at Florida Tech, that was created by an SGA senator, has over 2,200 signatures since the petition was posted on chang.org five days ago. 

Madison Ulvenes, a sophomore majoring in sustainability, created the petition on Wednesday, Mar. 25 to give a voice to those students who may be struggling during this time. 

“I’m hoping that this will help provide another option to those who need it and ultimately make this hard time less stressful,” Ulvenes said.

Madison Ulvenes created the pass or fail petition for Florida Tech on Mar. 25. Today at appromixately 1:45 p.m. it had 2,291 signatures. Photo//change.org

In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, many colleges nationwide have switched to online instruction only, and have had to deal with challenges such as examining the current grading system in place.

Based on an article published by the Los Angeles Times on Mar. 27, many schools such as Stanford University and Dartmouth College have already implemented a pass or fail system since moving to online class instruction only. The article went on to cite the pass or fail system as a way for students to receive passing grades without it being detrimental to their GPA. 

The new grading system would thus show grades as satisfactory or unsatisfactory. The article also stated that other colleges have debated switching to this system or utilizing the original grading system for students that need a tangible GPA.

Other schools such as University of California, Los Angeles and Yale University have chosen not to impose mandatory pass or fail grades, rather to give students the option to choose between letter grades to receive a GPA or the pass or fail system.

Ulvenes explained that the petition she created calls for students to have an option between the pass or fail system and receiving a GPA based on letter grades.

“It should be the students choice to decide how they want their courses to be graded during this unusual time,” Ulvenes said

As of Mar. 30, the Florida Tech pass or fail petition on change.org has received over 2,200 signatures.

Ulvenes said she hopes that the Florida Tech administration will take the petition into consideration and recognize the benefits the system could bring to students.

“I was always hoping for a few thousand signatures,” Ulvenes said, “but I was and still am shocked by the overwhelming support.”

Senior Buse Dayioglu, the press secretary for the Student Government Association at Florida Tech, has been following the amount of signatures since the petition was created. Dayioglu realizes nothing is set in stone, but feels the petition is valuable for students.

“My only concern for us students is to be able finish this semester successfully,” Dayioglu said. “Many of us already suffered from losing the ability to present projects, have internships and walk across the stage.”

Another reason Ulvenes created this petition was because she believes the learning curve going from traditional instruction to online instruction will be difficult for all students.

“We’ve grown up learning face to face and that’s really how most of us are efficient in learning,” Ulvenes said. “Online instruction is efficient for those who are used to it, but that isn’t the case for most students here and we’ve been thrown into it instantly.”

To Ulvenes, adaptability in change of the mode of instruction mid semester is an aspect not every student can cope with and still achieve the same learning curve. 

“A big part of our learning experience has also been helping our friends and learning through them, going to support centers, working in groups,” Ulvenes said. “This kind of learning just isn’t possible through online instruction.”

Brett Twery, a senior majoring in biomedical engineering was one of many students who signed the petition.

“This situation of online classes may be a blessing to some students and their GPAs if they haven’t performed well in the past,” Twery said. 

While Twery believes online instruction might make homework assignments, tests and lectures easier for some, he has other concerns that could negatively affect students and their grades with these curriculum structure changes. 

Referencing the numerous locations at Florida tech where students can learn, study, collaborate, and do homework; Twery is concerned with students’ productivity now that some of these locations are closed or have limited hours of operation. 

“When one is trapped inside all day, or forced to only work by themselves, the primary human instinct is to be lazy and procrastinate,” Twery said. 

While Twery hopes this petition gets passed for the students sake, he is doubtful that it will because there is “nearly one month of school left.”

“I think administration would like the grading system to remain the same, so it would follow suit with the typical school accreditation criteria, which is understandable,” Twery said.

According to Florida Tech’s Provost, Korhan Oyman, Florida Tech’s institutional regional accreditation would not be affected if a pass or fail option was implemented this term. 

Oyman said that Florida Tech’s regional accreditation body, The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges, has encouraged institutions to consider a pass or fail option for the remainder of this semester.

“We should be mindful of the need to inform students of the implications of selecting pass or fail instead of a grade,” Oyman said. “Such as the understanding of how it would or would not impact GPA, financial aid, or athletic requirements.

On Mar. 31, The registrars office stated in an email to the Florida Tech community that the university “is reviewing a pass or fail option.”

Given the current circumstances and changes that have been made on campus because of Coronavirus concerns, Dayioglu  believes we should all follow guidelines provided by authorities and focus on our own well being for the time being. 

“Many things are closed, not just on our campus but worldwide and it is affecting all of us one way or another,” Dayioglu said. 

Click here to view the change.org petition for pass or fail classes at Florida Tech.

Corrections were made to this article on Mar. 30 at 7:15 p.m. regarding uncertainty of the amount of enrolled Florida Tech students signing the petition.

Updates to this story regarding how a pass or fail option would affect Florida Tech’s accreditation according to Provost Oyman were made on April 3 at 12:15 p.m.

McCay states Clery data inaccuracies “not discovered in time” to correct 2019 report

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By Emily Walker, Olivia McKelvey, Kevin Boodoosingh

Soon after The Crimson published two pieces regarding violations of the Clery Act involving rape and stalking, T. Dwayne McCay, Florida Tech’s president, released a statement in response to how the university has been handling the matter.

In an email to The Crimson, McCay stated, “Florida Tech takes very seriously all issues related to campus and student safety. Accuracy matters. Several months ago, the university became concerned that some crime data was being improperly interpreted and recorded. A new position of compliance and risk manager was created in part to address this concern. A comprehensive internal review of all crime data for the past three years is ongoing, and when complete, the university will pursue the mechanisms available under the Clery Act to report corrected data.”

According to the Clery Act, federally funded universities must release a report regarding statistics of crime on and around campuses for the past three years. This report is to be released on Oct. 1 of every year. 

On Sept. 27, Barry Cobb, assistant director for Security, distributed Florida Tech’s 2019 Annual Security Fire and Safety Reports via email to students, staff and faculty. 

Two anonymous students have come forward since the report came out and said they were raped in 2017 and 2018 and reported through Title IX and Security. Under the sexual offenses category of Florida Tech’s 2019 Annual Security and Fire Safety Reports, there were zero instances of rape cited for the past three years. 

An instance of stalking was also found on a 2018 crime log. This particular report of stalking was also not cited within Florida Tech’s 2019 Annual Security and Fire Safety Reports, as the category of stalking was marked zero from 2016 through 2018.

When asked if the university knew about the inaccuracy of the 2019 Clery data prior to the release of the 2019 Annual Security and Fire Safety Reports, McCay stated in an email, “It was not ‘discovered’ in time to modify the Sept. 27 report, which was for 2018. We began immediately to try to understand the disconnect and work backwards through all the data. We thought reporting was being done correctly. It was apparently not enough time to get the 2018 data reviewed.”

According to the U.S. Department of Education, reporting inaccurate numbers on a Clery report goes in violation of the Clery Act. As of February 2019, the National Association of Clery Compliance officers and professional stated that the U.S. Department of Education can impose $57,317 per Clery Act violation.

Such inaccuracies that have been found include two cases of rape and one case of stalking, all of which occurred between 2017 and 2018. These incidents were all cited as zero within Florida Tech’s 2019 Annual Security and Fire Safety Reports.

McCay stated that the university is going to partner with an outside consultant to “ensure the review is comprehensive and transparent.” He went on to say that when the review is complete, the university will “pursue the mechanisms available under the Clery Act to report corrected data.”

At this time, it is unknown who the outside consultant is that is expected to partner with the university to investigate this subject matter. 

The press secretary for the Student Government Association, Buse Dayioglu, released a statement that emphasized the importance of student voices and the protection of their rights. 

“We would like to take this time to remind the students who have been affected, either during these unreported events or for future events, that you are not alone in this process, and as the voice of the students we will do our best to protect your rights and well-being,” Dayioglu wrote in SGA’s press release. 

Jace Petrowski, the president of SGA, said that SGA was unaware of the inaccurate data prior to The Crimson’s article.

McCay stated that the university’s internal investigation is “active and far from complete.” 

The president declined to directly address certain follow-up questions, citing that the investigation is “ongoing.” He agreed to meet with The Crimson next week after Thanksgiving break to discuss the details further. 

Please continue to check The Crimson’s website, Facebook and Instagram to stay updated. This story is ongoing.

Student service fees increase for SGA

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The Student Government Association has made a resolution to increase student service fees by $75, resulting in a now $200 student service fee.

The fee increase was discussed and approved by the Board of Trustees.

This now allows SGA to have roughly a $500,000 initiative fund to only be used for large-scale initiatives to improve the quality of life on campus.

“This is a major step in the right direction for our student experience,” said Jace Petrowski, president of SGA.

He said that SGA is excited to start projects on campus in the spring when they receive their first round of funding.

Some of the things they will work on include adding lights on the intramural fields, supplementing funding toward esports, adding solar chargers on campus and replacing the equipment in the Clemente Center.

“We can now do all the things we couldn’t have done previously because of how low our student fees were,” Petrowski said.

With this initiative fund increase, the money cannot be used without senate approval.

Petrowski explained that Bino Campanini, the senior vice president of Student Life and Alumni Affairs, would essentially have to present any project Campanini wants to use the money for to the senate.

Petrowski also said that Florida Tech’s student service fee is low compared to other schools such as Nova Southeastern University, whose student service fees are currently $500 a semester.

Another service SGA is working on is a bike station with an outside company. SGA announced during their scheduled meeting on Wednesday, Nov. 6 that the bike rental program is no longer available due to a number of bikes being stolen.

They stated that they are looking into more feasible ways to provide benefits to students.

Extending library hours is another topic of concern that the SGA senate committee is looking into after hearing many complaints from students.

A Giving Tree fundraising event will be hosted by SGA on Friday, Dec. 6 from 3-5 p.m.

Furthermore, a website will be available for donations for the event, which aims to raise funds for the Orlando Toys-For-Tots charity program.

In addition, this year’s Day of Giving will involve all Student Life organizations.

Any club or organization may partake in different challenges that are related to the theme “superpower” in order to raise funds and earn points.

The winners will receive a $200 VISA gift card.

During the senate meeting, Marc Kanneh, a senior from Trinidad and Tobago, was nominated as the new justice of SGA.

Before the nomination, Kanneh gave a speech about his past experience as a justice and ensured that he will support the offices.

“I would say it is challenging to run a government, specifically the judicial branch,” Kanneh said. “There is really no playbook on how to do this, but I hope my past experience as a justice back in 2017 and 2018 will help me support and represent the offices of SGA.”

Organization presidents attempt to schedule riot

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“We’ve finally had enough,” Veri Upsette posted in the “Presidents for Change” forum March 24.

As the third president in the past year for the student organization Un-Adulting, Upsette said she “can’t even with this school anymore.”

“It’s like we shout and they don’t listen, you know?” Upsette said.

Upsette said organizations have been “shouting from the rooftops” about change, but their cries have gone unheard by administration.

Upsette said once she realized the administration wasn’t listening to their metaphorical cries, she decided to create the “Presidents for Change” forum, a website dedicated to posting ideas for change and complaints about the school, in the fall 2018 semester.

“I hadn’t heard about the Presidents for Change until last week, when they tried to organize a riot,” Hahn Deman, a junior in construction management, said. “Campus security was freaking out about it and sent out emails with screenshots.”

Deman said the only reason he saw the email was because he had accidentally sent his Domino’s verification email to his school gmail account.

Deman said that while he “believes the intentions were good,” somebody should have pointed out that “riot” was not the proper word to use.

“It was supposed to be ‘protest’,” Bill Fates, president of Future Business Billionaires, said. “Veri likes to make a hype around things and I guess her exec board said riot would get more attention.”

Fates joined “Presidents for Change” in February, despite knowing about the forum since the beginning of last semester.

“Veri is the longest president Un-Adulting has had, so I wanted to make sure that she was legit before joining,” Fates said.

The first president of Un-Adulting didn’t show up for the first two meetings; the second president said it was “too much for comfort” on Facebook and tagged Upsette as the new president.

Kale Ships, president of Food Fighters, said this isn’t the first problem Un-Adulting has caused for the presidents.

“They make a lot of noise online and tag other presidents so administration will think it’s a group effort,” Ships said. “I never said I wanted a live panther for the mascot. That was a lot to unpack when it came out.”

Ships and Fates said the riot scheduling has caused grief for their organizations and they won’t be signing up for any other Un-Adulting initiatives.

The post they had signed up for said “in order to help raise awareness of issues our organizations have on campus, sign up to volunteer.”

“It was short and simple so all of us thought it would be like a meeting or something with the administration,” Fates said. “Even SGA signed it. We were all put on the posters that Veri sent out saying “Presidents for Change is organizing a riot for April 1st.” Yeah, we thought it was a joke too.”

SGA declined to comment on their participation in the event but an emailed statement on their latest Panther Release addressed the issue.

“SGA stands behind organizations and their issues. However, we do not condone organization. We will not be attending the riot Presidents for Change is scheduling.”

Security also released an email stating “Organized riots will not be tolerated on campus,” along with the guidelines of unorganized chaos on campus and the procedures for these events.

If any student or organization has future plans for protests, riots or organization, they can refer to the guidelines on handybook.fit.edu.

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.