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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.

Crawford Elevators Redux – Students disgruntled by Crawford elevators

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Another semester at Florida Tech and still no fully operational elevators.

While the student body was informed by Dewey Yeatts, director of facilities management, last summer that both Crawford elevators would be fixed by mid-October, as of this issue, only one elevator is up and running; the other still in repair.

While elevator failure has been a concern for some students, new concerns have arisen.

58.93% of the responses say Yes for those that are concerned about their personal space Photo // SurveyMonkey

Personal and physical safety is now a concern for some.

The Crimson sent out a survey last Saturday in hopes of gathering information about how comfortable people feel in the Crawford elevators.

Due to only one elevator working, more than 85 percent of those who took the survey think that the elevators are overfilled and most feel uncomfortable in a cramped space.

Additionally, the survey featured an option for students to express their thoughts through comments and free-written responses about their elevator experience.

“I am packed in like sardines and fear for my life,” said one response.

Furthermore, almost 58 percent of respondents said they feel at risk of the elevator failing due to its overcrowded capacity.

Despite the newly replaced elevator, some students feel it is being put under too much strain.

Stephanie Perrier, a senior in psychology with a concentration in animal behavior, said she worries about the safety of the elevator with how crowded it is.

69.64% of responses say that they use the elevators more than once a week. Photo // SurveyMonkey

“There’s definitely a fear it’s going to break since so often it seems to break,” Perrier said.

Others shared their disgruntled unsatisfactory experiences with the frequent dilemma of, “Do I wait an eternity for this elevator or do I take a gamble with my laziness and climb the stairs?” Samantha Bischoff, a senior in civil engineering expressed her dissatisfaction about the elevator situation that she’s been dealing with for the past four years.

“Five out my six classes are in Crawford this semester, and it’s very frustrating to have only one functioning elevator,” Bischoff said. “There are times when instead of waiting for the elevator, I simply give up and take the stairs.”

Multiple students like Bischoff can testify to being late to classes simply due to time spent waiting for the elevator.

“There are instances where I’m even late to class because of the elevator, especially Spanish which is on the sixth floor,” Bischoff said.

Another issue raised in the survey was whether or not students worry for their personal safety in a crowded elevator.

Approximately 58 percent said they are concerned about their personal space or a “potential negative encounter.”

“[I’m] very uncomfortable, overwhelmed and stressed,” one respondent said. The crowded elevator not only possess what some students see as a personal safety issue, but also adds to many occupants’ stress. “Sometimes if it’s too full, it’s super uncomfortable if you get easily claustrophobic,” Perrier said.

58.93% of responses say that they feel at risk of the elevator failing because of it being over the capacity. Photo // SurveyMonkey

It’s not only students that have opinions on the Crawford elevator situation.

Dzmitry Yuran, an assistant professorin the School of Arts and Communication, said that he tends to time his arrival to campus during class periods.

“That way I don’t have to deal with stuffed elevators too much,” Yuran said.

Another elevator user frustrated with the service of the elevators in Crawford is Birgitt O’Connor, a senior in ocean engineering.

“Right now my only classes in Crawford are at 8 and 9 a.m., so there is usually not a lot of traffic then,” O’Connor said. “However, last year when I had afternoon classes in Crawford, you could find me standing there for five minutes or more just trying to cram into the elevator to get to my class on time.”

In the newly upgraded elevator, a temporary certificate was put in place before the actual license was renewed.

However, that has since expired in late August.

The second elevator is scheduled to be functional by mid-October, according to Dewey Yeatts.

NASA launches research programs for students

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NASA announced new resources and funding available to students as the program will be increasing its prevalence of small satellites, and has opened new lines of research for both graduate and undergraduate students.

Last Wednesday, a crowd of students gathered in the Hartley room to enjoy pizza and drinks before embarking on an insightful space exploration lecture led by top leading experts in the field.

Jose Nunez, the former chief of flight technologies branch at Kennedy Space Center, and the current Florida Tech liaison to KSC, presented to hundreds of young space enthusiasts.

Nunez began by describing NASA’s new objective: return to the moon by 2024. After a thorough overview of the mission phases of the Artemis program, Nunez segued to the core of his speech—research opportunities.

According to Nunez, NASA selects research through the NASA Solicitation and Proposal Integrated Review and Evaluation System, NSPIRES.

With this system, NASA posts requests for research proposals to which anyone can make submissions. NSPIRES also includes Research Opportunities in Earth and Space Science, ROSES, which is a broad research request for anything not specifically requested elsewhere.

Furthermore, NASA is looking to use some of the ROSES funding for the CubeSat Launch Initiative.

Through this initiative, students and research organizations can work with NASA to develop cubesats or small satellites, which will conduct astrophysical science research.

The Cubesat Launch Initiative is a much larger program for the development and launch of cubesats on current NASA rockets.

It includes the NASA 2020 small satellite technology partnership.

This program specifically requires the development teams to work directly with NASA and have access to a block of funds set aside for this project.

During his presentation, Nunez outlined the NASA internships.

“Internships have two different flavors,” Nunez said. “One is called a NIFs, a NASA internship fellowship. That is just a one-shot deal. The other is called a pathway. That is the path to become a civil servant.”

Nunez highlighted the value in looking for students that are involved in extracurriculars that boost their skill base in reliance to a career field in aerospace.

Some students, such as Ajeé Watson, attended mostly for the internship information.

“My major is aerospace engineering, and I wanted to hear about good opportunities,” Watson said.

Other students, such as Wesley Howell, attended more for project information.

“We have been in contact with Nunez for senior design,” Howell said. “We wanted to see how we could continue. There are a lot of opportunities for students.” Howell echoed Nunez. “My whole goal is to make you aware of the opportunities. What you do with them is up to you guys.”

Residence communities make dreams come true

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Students chat in their LLC lounge with a plane of Gemini on the table.

Florida Tech students are making their dreams become reality as they now have the opportunity to be more immersed in the world of aeronautics and aerospace engineering.

“I was talking to somebody in the Residence Life department at the time, mentioning that I would like to stay involved in the department somehow even though I was moving over to the College of Aeronautics,” said Warren Pittorie, an instructor in the College of Aeronautics and a former resident director. “I didn’t hear from the department for a few weeks, then somebody came up with the idea to start another living-learning community.”

The aviation living community—Let’s Fly—was established on the second floor of Brownlie Hall and took in freshmen aviation and aerospace engineering students this fall.

Pittorie explained that an LLC is where students are placed together on a floor or within a building based on a common majors, common interests or common program affiliations.

The Let’s Fly LLC is the third LLC on campus, joining the Women in STEM and the Honors College LLC.

Keeping with the theme of aviation, Pittorie reached out to College of Aeronautics alumni and asked for donations to decorate the hall.

“Those that did reach out had a lot of stuff to donate,” Pittorie said. “We have a bookshelf with a couple aviation books, and we put a lot of study tables up there as well, rather than a lounge to hang out and watch tv.”

Both RA’s in Brownlie hall, Kerrington Witherspoon and Michaela Salazar, are aviation students.

Witherspoon, a sophomore, said, “I have the same responsibilities as other RA’s. We’re trying to plan trips to get students to Melbourne airport, down to Vero Beach to the Piper manufacturing facility, Cape Canaveral and guest speakers.”

Pittorie explained that although the events are targeted towards the LLC students, others would also be able to participate.

Witherspoon said that so far the residents are enjoying the LLC and utilizing the common area to hang out and study.

Thus, the newly added LLC on campus has connected more students in a comfortable living space where they can achieve success above and beyond.

Florida Tech hammock club sets high hopes for next semester

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A pair of freshmen have recently been attracting attention around campus by setting up hammocks in popular public areas.

The most noticeable location has been over the wooden bridge by the botanical garden between the SUB and dorm quad.

Kellen Sappington and Stephen Minnick have put forth efforts to make an official club out of “hanging-out and posting-up.”

They initially set up under the bridge leading toward the Columbia Village dorms, but their time was short lived as security expressed safety concerns and put a stop to their social gathering.

Kellen Sappington and Stephen Minnick hangout over the wooden bridge. Photo by Seamus Burns.

There are some spots on campus where hammocks can be set up, but the two freshmen said they believe that with more activity and popularity within the potential club, more areas will surface where students can gather for activities, like spikeball and slackline.

“We have caught a bit of attention,” Sappington said. “It’s been mostly positive and supportive. A lot of people like to hammock, but getting enough people for a club to get started has been a bit difficult.”

Starting a club on Florida Tech requires 10 members, and gaining students commitment has been the largest roadblock.

Junior Ashley Letendre is president of the public relations club and said she understands what it is like managing a club in order to stay afloat.

“I can see how a club such as hammocking might be hard to manage,” Letendre said. “You would need to find somebody who is a part of school staff to help and support.”

Minnick said they haven’t gotten enough members yet to start trying to find a club advisor.

“Honestly, gaining publicity, enjoying the day and people watching is all we want to do for this semester,” Minnick said.

They have no plans on moving away from the main wooden bridge near the botanical garden.

“I wasn’t nervous or worried, but I can see how some students might be concerned or confused while walking under them,” Tyler Donahue, a freshman, said.

The two freshman plan to continue their tree-high antics into the fall semester and will also look further into becoming a club.

CAPS – The Triumph of the Overworked Panther

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Here we are again… Exam Season.

Right when we start to make plans for our wonderful summer break, we face one last hurdle for the semester.

Multiple choice, essays, fill-in-theblank…we know the drill.

It can be difficult to plan, especially when the very idea of a final exam may be anxiety provoking.

We all begin to get out our calculators to find the number that gives us that 89.5 %.

But there are other things we can do!

We can learn techniques and strategies to triumph over that test and get ready for the summer that awaits.

Some of the most common of these strategies can be remembered by using the following acronyms before, during, and after exams:

BEFORE – E.M.B.E.D. the material

EVALUATE

Manage your time so that you study areas you are less familiar with. Finding time specifically for studying will also help with procrastination and distractions.

MEMORIZE

There are many different ways to memorize material you’ve learned during the semester. Besides acronyms, you can use writing and repetition, flash cards, or using your imagination to create a link between the material and a particular visualized image.

BELIEVE

“Whether you think you can or you think you can’t, you’re probably right.” Perhaps use a morale-boosting mantra like “I can do this” or “I worked hard and deserve this” to recite while you’re studying and before the test begins.

EAT

Even during intense study sessions, it is important to consider your health. Eat a nutritious breakfast before the test and pack smart snacks for ongoing energy. Look for foods that offer complex carbohydrates, rather than simple sugars that will lead to a crash.

DREAM

Get a good night’s rest! You will retain more information with a full night’s sleep as opposed to staying up and cramming all night.

DURING – Push A.H.E.A.D.

ANALYZE

Don’t rush through! Read the directions thoroughly and read all answers before making a choice or beginning the essay. There is nothing worse than putting time into a question and realizing you are not solving for x, or the essay is off target. Slowing down can help you stay focused.

HAPPY PLACE

If you find yourself becoming frustrated, take a breath and relax. Repeat your mantra or picture yourself in an environment where you feel very relaxed and happy.

EARLY

Arrive early to your testing location! Feeling rushed will only amp up the anxiety. Pack everything you need for the exam the night before and set the alarm so you can leave on time.

ARTICULATE

Again, there’s no rush! Just because you see that first person turn their test in, doesn’t mean there’s need to panic. There’s no bonus for finishing first, so take your time to articulate your answers on an essay or make notes to help answer a multiple choice question.

DETERMINE

Just because the test starts with #1 does not mean that has to be your starting point. Familiarize yourself with the test content after you receive it, and don’t be afraid to skip questions and come back to them later. Determining your best strategy can help you not only manage your allotted time, but it may even help jog your memory for previous questions!

AFTER – Go to B.E.D.

BREATHE

Take time to relax! The test is over! Specifically, you may want to use our previously introduced method of: “5 second inhale, 5 second hold, 5 second exhale.” You can repeat this as many times as you need to feel calm and relaxed.

ENVISION

Even after the test is over, it is important to keep an optimistic outlook and envision success over failure. Many students can get anxious about certain responses they did or did not write, but remember that you studied and tried your best. Now it’s time to envision the grade you hoped for!

DEBRIEF

After receiving your grade, it may be helpful to debrief and consider what sections of the test you excelled on, and which you may need to work on in the future. This is also a good time to reflect on the effectiveness of your strategies while you were taking the test.

To get some more tips and learn about coping with exams and test anxiety, please join us at our “How to Prepare Like a Panther” event taking place on Wednesday, April 17th from 7:00-8:30pm in Evans Hall, Room 202.

Test anxiety is a common experience, and sometimes it can seem like your whole semester of work comes down to a single exam.

Remember, when you study and prepare, test taking is putting to paper what you already know.

We hope this article guides you Panthers in your studying endeavors and helps you triumph over this final trial!

Students form club to promote College of Business

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Students formed a club to run social media for Florida Tech’s Nathan M. Bisk College of Business this spring.

According to Kollin Upton, a senior studying business administration, the College of Business Social Media Team consists of about 10 students aiming to increase outreach and engagement to current and potential students.

Upton started the club and now serves as its administrator, meaning that he performs secretarial tasks and other “behind-the-scenes” work.

Upton said the group meets once a week to think of ways to promote the College of Business. The discussion and schedule revolves around events happening that week.

“We do things like student spotlights, or event spotlights, where we recognize events going on around campus,” Upton said.

He said that the student spotlights help appeal to prospective students by showing what current students are accomplishing.

Since the club’s formation, the members have created an Instagram account for the College of Business, floridatech_cob.

“It’s been about a month and a half,” Upton said. “Our Instagram presence has grown notably.”

He explained that the group began with a mass email to seek members. Interested students volunteered to participate, and Upton said the students continued with it because they enjoyed it.

The group includes international students and at least one nontraditional student, according to Upton.

He said that having members from different backgrounds helps provide different perspectives in their planning.

Upton says the group being mostly student-run allows for the content to be more relatable the student audience, since they are their own “target market.”

“Students know what students want,” he said.

The club is led by two student leaders. Upton said that having two leaders provides more than one “point of contact” for leadership duties.

Drew Bastian, a senior studying global management, is one of the club’s student leaders.

He said the club provides the students with marketing experience and a chance to use what they are learning, while giving them a say in how the College of Business is seen by others.

The group is working to gain followers on the College’s Facebook and LinkedIn.

According to Upton, the group has limited access to these pages, unlike the full access to the Instagram account.

Bastian said the club would like to improve the timeliness and accuracy of posts across these pages.

“The future plans for the group, currently, are to grow the social media presence of the [College of Business], and to eventually hand the group off to other students that are as interested in learning about social media and how it can help in business,” Bastian said in an emailed response.

He explained that the group does not currently have any other specific plans, but that he is “excited for the future.”

“With all the different backgrounds we have working on getting information and content made, I feel like anything can happen,” Bastian said.

According to Bastian, the club will be seeking new members in the fall semester.

Community mosque holds memorial for New Zealand shooting

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More than 300 people of various faiths gathered inside the Islam Society of Brevard County (ISBC) on March 23.

Buddhists, Catholics, Jews, Baptists, Muslims and others gathered to honor the 50 lives lost in the mosque shootings that took place in Christchurch, New Zealand on March 15.

Many leaders from the community such as a rabbi from Viera, a retired Brevard County judge and others attended to lead prayers and speak at the service.

Two community members holding signs in support. Picture from ISBC Facebook page.

Amongst those attending were Florida Tech juniors Natalie Tria, a forensic psychology major, and Bayan Saleh, a biomedical engineering major.

Both Tria and Saleh are members of the ISBC.

“It was truly a ceremony of cultural inclusion to demonstrate that the community can come together for a greater cause despite our differences,” Tria said.

After numerous prayers were said, the mosque invited people from the crowd to come forward and share their thoughts. Tria was one voice that stepped forward.

“I spoke because I wanted to let people know that I study offenders and criminals when they’re at their worst,” Tria said. “I stand by the motto ‘by the people, for the people,’ and I wanted them to know that there is hope, and there are others like me that want to make a change to try and prevent these tragedies from happening.”

The Atlantic reported that this was the worst terrorist attack to take place in New Zealand’s history, leading New Zealand’s prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, to react immediately.

Within six days of the shooting, Ardern was backed by legislative support from her country in banning all assault rifles within New Zealand.

In a live television announcement addressed to the nation, Ardern said, “The guns used in this attack had the power to shoot continuously. The times for the easy availability of these weapons must end. And today, they will.”

In addition to changing gun laws, Arden has also helped pay for the funeral costs of the victims and honor the cultural traditions in which people of Islam faith be buried immediately.

Ardern and investigators returned all the victims’ bodies immediately after autopsies were completed just five days after the shooting happened so their families could hold funeral services.

When asked about how they thought the prime minister of New Zealand was handling the aftermath of the shooting, both Tria and Saleh strongly agreed that Ardern has been responding swiftly and respectfully.

“She compares to no other world leaders who have also faced mass shootings within their own country,” Saleh said. “Almost six months ago the U.S. dealt with a similar shooting at a synagogue in Pittsburg. Yet, why is it that New Zealand was able to change laws within six days while this nation has not been able to do so in six months?”

Saleh, like Tria, said she was also in awe of the amount of support outpouring from the community.

“I think the terrorist wanted us to be broken and hate each other, but what I saw was quite the opposite,” Saleh said. “At the memorial, you couldn’t tell the difference between a Muslim woman wearing a hijab or a Jewish woman wearing a hijab as a sign of respect, and that was something that I thought was really beautiful.”

It has been nearly four weeks since the shooting, and people everywhere are still showing support, even in Brevard County.

A week after the memorial service was held at ISBC, Saleh described a husband and wife that came in during Friday prayer with whiteboards that read, “We will keep watch while you pray.”

Saleh said that her heart was touched, and knowing that this support was felt here within the community was something that left her speechless.

Crawford elevators continue to break down

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Students often have to wait several minutes for the one working elevator to arrive with any available space. Picture by David Thompson.

Both elevators in the Crawford building have recently been out of service, with the one on the left being out of order for more than a week and the one on the right periodically breaking.

The elevators are “completely worn out,” according to an emailed response from Dewey Yeatts, the director of facilities management.

Despite the expiration date being Aug. 8, 2018 on the Florida Certificate of Operation inside the elevator on the right, Yeatts stated, “There is no safety issue. All elevators are inspected by a third party inspection service. All are up to date.”

Kyle Owens, a freshman aerospace engineering major, said he sees an elevator broken down “almost every day,” and he didn’t expect that when he came to Florida Tech.

“When touring, I was never brought into the building,” Owens said. “But if I was, and I was told that the elevators break easily, then it would’ve allowed me to question the safety of the building.”

Pauline Cosson, a junior studying sports management, said she usually ends up taking the stairs because “it takes a lot of time for the elevator to come” and that there is always a crowd waiting for it.

“I usually try to get to Crawford a bit early so I am not late [to class] if the elevator takes a long time to come,” Cosson said.

Yeatts stated that he is not aware of any current issues regarding students and faculty that cannot physically go up the stairs but will “appropriately address any issue.”

Owens said he doesn’t “feel the safest” when using the elevators because they break “all the time.”

He mentioned once when he had to take the stairs because one of the elevators was not working.

“I was running late to class, and I wanted to use the elevator to get to the sixth floor as quick as I could,” Owens said. “The only elevator working was already filled with students, so I had to run up the stairs.”

Yeatts stated the new elevators that are set to replace the “worn out” pair in service right now have been in “design and fabrication for months” and should be delivered sometime in April.

Owens said he thinks it is great that the Crawford elevators are being replaced.

“It allows us to have new elevators in place to allow the building to be much safer when traveling in them,” Owens said. “I just don’t know why this wasn’t happening earlier when they first knew it was a problem.”

According to Yeatts, the new ThyssenKrupp elevators will cost Florida Tech at least $336,000.

Yeatts did not give an exact date for when the elevators will be installed.

Professors suspected in Crawford’s hamster infestation

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Recently, students, staff and faculty have noticed an infestation of hamsters in Crawford, cause of which is still under investigation.

While facilities claimed the hamsters were likely coming from the atomic toilet, some students have the suspicion their professors are smuggling them into class.

A hamster peeks out of a professor’s pocket during a lecture. Picture by a traumatized student.

“My professor proudly shows off his hamster,” one student said.

The student added that her professor keeps his hamster in his pocket and feeds it nuts throughout class.

Another student said the hamsters may be there for emotional support.

“Before, my professor seemed so lonely,” she said. “Having a hamster really seems to help him. Whenever we’re doing work and he’s at his desk, his hamster is there for him to pet.”

While many find the furry creatures adorable, some students said they’ve become a distraction.

A graduate student said it wouldn’t be a big deal if professors were better at controlling their hamsters.

“Lots of people have hamsters, and that’s fine,” he said. “But I don’t want them out and about in class. Keep them in their cages.”

It isn’t just students that have a problem with the hamsters. Some professors are bothered by their presence as well.

One professor in communications said the daily sight of her coworkers’ hamsters is upsetting. “It’s disgusting,” she said. “I can’t have a hamster, and to see them flaunting theirs around the school? I’m ready to quit.”

Another professor said seeing the hamsters everyday is a sad reminder that she can’t have one.

“I’ve always liked them,” she said. “I wish I had one, and seeing them every day just reminds me I’ll never have one.”

Facilities is working to get to the bottom of the infestation and stop it from spreading further.

“Our biggest concern is containment, both of the hamsters and professors,” one staff member said. “If it is professors bringing the hamsters in, we have a bigger issue than we thought. Everyone will want to try it. As they say, monkey see, monkey do.”

While there are several courses of action being considered, the staff member said they’re leaning toward shutting down Crawford for several days.

“There are a couple reasons to shut it down,” the staff member said. “We’d like to exterminate any remaining hamsters in the building. But the biggest issue is that most of our professors probably need a break. If they had some time off, they might not feel the need to bring their hamsters onto school property.”

One professor, who wished to remain anonymous, is horrified at the idea of not being able to bring his hamster to class any longer.

“He’s my best friend,” he said. “He’s basically a part of me.”

The professor added that his hamster is like a security blanket, and when he has to spend the entire day without his pet, he feels tense, agitated and unfulfilled in life.

Some of the program chairs in Crawford are also looking into the problem.

They want to keep the building clean while also keeping their professors happy.

They’re considering adding rules about allowing certain pets, as long as professors follow specific protocol for cleaning up after their furry friends.

“I don’t know what we’re going to do, but I do know it’s something a lot of students have complained about,” one program chair said. “No one wants to see a hamster sticking out of their professor’s pocket at eight in the morning.”