Catalyst

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Volume Xlff, Issue 3 THJE now spellchecked for accurecy February 28, 200 1 College Drive treated as college speedway Driving on new road often a perilous experience by Anna Maria Diaz-Balart Want to play chicken with an SUV'? Try College Drive. However for those who just want to get to cla s s using College Drive can be a frightening expe rience. Beginning this semester, College Drive replaced Dort Drive a s the main road through the west si d e o f campus. Although the narrow stre tch of asphalt entices some drivers to push their cars to the limit, most people are merely con cerned with surviving encounters on the new road. SUVs and late model sedan s canno t s tay in j ust o n e la n e This b as posed prob l e m s for some drivers. Any car coming in the opposite direction has to drive partly otr the road or risk a head on collision. Q I Curv es oft e n send c ar s across lh e yellow lin e Thir d -year J esse Wiener said, I t defi nitely feels like the road is a bit to narrow, it has the potential to be frightening No peed bumps have been built, and driving at quadruple the speed limit easy. Being @EE ''SPEJ.WWAY" PAGE 7 \ that competed in the Sailing .... Cardboard Regatta. STORY, PAGE 4 Older people, treasured objects "Wisdom is attained through the ac cumulation and organization of material objects"so say the pamphlets distributed at former Catalyst photographer Heather Whitmore's thesis expo ilion. Inside, ee Whitmore's thoughts on identity, possession of objects and aging in modern America. STORY, PAGE 5 by Ben Ruby First years may not remember a time when the University Police were housed in the current location of Student Affairs. That also means first years don't recall how easy it used to be to check out keys from the University Police. Hpwever last summer the University Police moved to Viking and took key checkout with them. All of this meant that students who want to check out keys for facilities such as the computer labs and the fitness cen ter must travel to the northern part of campus, far away from the majority of residence halls. This was an issue of safety as well as convenience. Students who wanted to check out keys to the computer lab did not always feel safe traveling to Viking at night. The proposed solution to this location problem was a key-checkout T .. A. The position was to be funded jointly by the Housing department and the New College Student Alliance. That way stu dents would have been able to check out keys on the east side of campus and the key check out T.A. could be on call torespond to housing emergencies. The position would have cost $12 13,000 a year. The cost is one reason Director of Student Affairs Mark Blawciss has rec ommended that the position not be created. we will begin installing key pad systems in facilities around campu ," said Blaweiss, each student would be given a PIN number. Facilities like the computer labs would be accessible to all students. when this will happen depends on fund ing." Sergeant Eugene O'Casio of the University Police commented, "I've been to a couple of meeting relative to installing alarm systems. Those things that students need would be available to them." Although funding remains an issue for the planned electronic security sys tem, key-checkout would become obsolete by default. A key-checkout T.A. could be hired in the interim, but Blaweiss observed, "'I think students would rather see the money spent in an other way." The Catalyst will continue to report on this issue as it develops. There will be an extensive article on the elecIntroducing Catalyst restaurant reviews "'Tell me what you cat and I'll tell you who you are." So said Jean Anthleme Brillat-Savarin, French author, chef, and philosopher. There arc few greater truths in this world, particularly from the French. We Novo Collegians must stop and think as we shovel handful after handful of gooey candy bars and blue corn tortilla chips into our gaping maws and guzzle gallons of Mello Yello and rice milk; "Is this who 1 really am ... or who I want to be?" We at the Catalyst have taken it upon ourselves to provide for you reviews and summaries of the boards of fare of some of the finest holes-in-the-wall in Sarasota-Manatee's vast array of restau rants, eateries, and assorted calorie closets. Only because we care. We at the Catalyst want to make sure that all Novo Collegians know where to find the finest, cheapest food in town ... and further more, we want to make sure that you share some with us. Foon, PAGE 6

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2 The Cata t ew York polk t ader on drug charge Saturday, February 24, actor Michael ad r was arrested at the Barber Shop Club in ew Yor 'sEa. t Village. An un dercover agent work'ng or the. cw York Police Dcpartm nt's narcotic divi ion made the arr st when Nader, one of the club's patron attempted to ell him a 20 bag of cocaine. adcr ha. played Count Dimitri Markk on the popular ap opera A// My Childrc'll forth Ia. t 10 years. Thi i the ccond drug charge for the 56-year old actor, who was prcviou ly arre ted for brawling with Long Island police officers after they had pulled him over for drunk driving in August ol 1997. ader wa taken to the hospital due to an undisclo ed illnc: shortly after being ar rested. 2 0,000 home destroyed in hina earthquake An earthquake measuring 6.0 on the Richter scale levelled tens ot thou ands of homes at 8:09 A..\1 EST tbi pa t Sunday, February 25 in the Yajiang and Kangding counti of China' Sichuan province, a rural tern area in habited largely by ethnic Tibetan Three people were killed and 109 inJured. S ven are till missing, a authorities cont inue to dig through the rubble. China' X i nhu a n e w agen cy that the quak severely damaged tclccommu i n wa r me n r 11 way leading into tbe mountainou Sichuan province. CoU Powell pport Pale tinian de-mands Secretary of State Colin Powell i ucd plea for Israe l to lift economic l>anction on Pale tine following a two-hour meet in with Ya scr Arafat in Ramallah on Saturday. The sanction include the bar ring of Pale. tin ian worker from their jobs in I racl and the withholding of ta revenues from the area. Powell also met with bracli Prime Mini tcr Ariel Shawn and, while unable to per uade the I racli government to ca. e the pre ure on Pal tine, till delivered as.'iurances that the United States' commitment to defendNEWS OF THE WORLD ing the ccurity of Lrael wa .. rock hard." Powell professed that the situta and South Dakota, clo ing call come in. Rather, tbc firehouses arc highway and isolating entire neighborequipped with dot-matrix printer with h od. as snow fell too fast for the lead weights restin on the paper teeds. highway plows to keep up with. "We're The printers it on a table, and a string just lo ing ground all around," said tied to the lead weight tied to an alarm Renard Fritz, Minnesota State Patrol disswitch m the tation. When a 911 opera patchcr. tor ends an alarm to the tation, the ''Field of Superconductivity has been rocked" Said Robert Cava of Princeton University, following the startling di -covery that the magnc ium-horon compound, a fairly common metal, 1. ca pable of conducting electricity with virtually null resistance at tcmpewturcs as high as -388 degrees Celsius! Thi is a vast improvement over mo t metal printer automatkally come online and start producing the me. age. Thi acti vates the paper feed, moving it and di lodging the weight which et off the alarm. firefighters don't intend to change the y tern because 1t works so well. Information taken from Reuters, the As. ociated Press wire, and "News of tlte Weird. CATALYST The Cataly t i available on the World Wide Web at http://www. ar.usf.edu/-cataly t/ Ge neral Jt:ditor Max C mphcll Co p y Editor Zac K onkol Managing Editor Michael Sanderson Web Ed ito r Kathryn Dow S taff W rit rs Cry tal Frasier Ben Ruby, Darren Gu1ld, Ryan M cComtick Price, Esq., Zak Beck Anna Maria Dia t-B lart, DavidS varese, Jag D avies, Valerie Mojeiko, Henry Bel anger The Catalyst is an academic tutorial sponsored by P rofc. sor Maria Vesperi. It is developed in the New College Publications Office Adobe Photo hop and Quark Xpre for PowerMacin t o h and printed at the Bradenton Herald with money provided by the cw College Student Alliance. D irect s u bmi i o n s and inquiries t o: The Catalyst 5700 N. Tamiami Tr. Box #75 Sarasota, FL 34243 catalyst@virtu. ar.usf.edu The Catalyst re ervc the right to edit. ubmissions for space, grammar or style. Contribution may range in length from 250 to 500 word Letters to the Editor should be no more than 250 words. Submission should he labeled as either letLcrs to the Editor or contributions and include names and contact information. Submi ion may be saved to the Cataly t Contnbutions folder in the on the file crver, printed ubmi. sion may he placed in campu box 75, and all other contributions may be e-mailoo to catalyst@virru. ar.W>fedu .. No anonymous ions will be accepted. All ub m i ions mu t be received by 5:00 p.m. Saturday in order t o appear in the following week' i ue. I nformation about upcoming events i welcome throughout the week.

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The Catalyst NEWS February 28, 2001 Psychology candidate's presentation impresses Brain, others 3 by Gabriel Davies Mari Clements likes country music. She also likes playing with her pet Rottweiler. On weekends, she enjoys drag racing purpose-built race cars through obstacle courses in abandoned parking lot or airfields. And like any good race-car-driving, country-music-li,tening, hard working American, she enjoys performing clinical research ana lyzing the correlation between child development and marital relations. Clements was the second of three can didates to interview for a new position in the psychology department. Born and raised in Tennessee, Clements received her bachelor's degree in psychology from Ya_le University, and her doctorate from the University of Denver. She has been working as an Assistant Professor at Penn State University since 1994. Despite her diverse background, she still affection ately referred to the New College campus as "the most beautiful place I've ever cen." Clements presented a lecture Monday morning entitled "Marriage, Parenting, and Child Adjustment: Two Studies in Support of Aspects of the Model." "It's Psychology you have to have a long title with a colon in the middle," Clements later explained. Her research di covered that, among other things, chil dren are extremely perceptive of tension between their parents and that this strongly influences their psychological development. She also found that the sta tus or marital relations strongly influences the manner in which parents relate to their children. The staff of the Social Sciences divi sion will have the final say on who gets hired for the new position. Once all three candidates have visited, a committee con sisting of each psychology professor, Penny Rosel (professor of sociology) and Ann Fischer (director of the Counseling and Wellness Center) will issue a recom mendation to the Social Sciences Division. The faculty members of the Social Sciences division will then make the final vote on who gets the position. Both students and faculty received a good impression of Clements. First-year Gabriela Anic described her as "enthusi astic" and "bardcore." Second year Andrew Dunn said, "'she was down to earth and I would love to have her as a teacher." Even hard-to-impress sociology pro fessor David Brain spoke of Clements in glowing terms: "I thought she was very sharp, her presentation was really quite good ... she handled questions well and she actually interacted well with the divi sion, so my impression is that she is a very strong candidate." If Clements were to receive a po ition at New College, she said she would like to continue her research on marriage and child adjustment: "The secret to doing good research is to find a question you love, and my love is understanding why some children do well in the face of mar ital contlict, why some marriages fail and why some of them succeed, why some are happy and some are not." She said, "Within that broad spectrum of marriage and parenting and child ad justment, there's enough material to keep me busy for the rest of my life and the rest of my students' lives." Medieval Fair brings chain mai traffic cops, and clutter to campus by Kathryn Dow ter ie d o ff. It's that time of year again. Horses will be housed T hesis-student Ryan P helan echoed that con.. earhc r e aroun campu an rou t-y6 It w fmay prove less efficient than tftlvelling by three-toed etsJ? They want us to keep doing the same stuff, sloth-all for the sake of the Ringling Medieval Fair. giving us less and less." Despite Medieval Fatr The fair brings delicious overpriced soups, armories, being fun, Phelan said New College _students artisans and minstrels to the Ringling property beshould still be better compensated for the mconve tween Caples and College Hall, but it also brings nience to the campus. thousands of people to our campus over the course This inconvenience will include restricted trafof four days. From March 1 -4, our campus police fie access from 9 a.m. until after 6 p.m. daily. will endeavor to make parking possible for Fair paUniversity Parkway westbound from US 41 will be trans and students; just make sure you have a decal closed, as will Bay Shore Road northbound from and your tudent I.D. University. Turning left from US 41 northbound The Medieval Fair is a highly anticipated event onto General Spaatz westbound will be prohibited. for many New College students, wh_o enjoy Cro sing 41 on General Spaatz from east campus ing whole days listening to the mus1c an a mmng d d W.lll sti"ll be allowed, as wt"ll turning right onto expensive armor. Some will arrive at 9 a.m. when Spaatz from 41 southbound. The parking lot north gates open, and not leave until after 6 p.m., when se-of General Spaatz next to the Shell be curity personnel begin to herd the stragglers towar_d used for Medieval Fair parking, as wlll the tnangu the front gate. These students will return to theu tar lot north of Spaatz just west of 41. Some homes at the end of the day covered in a black layer sections of General Spaatz will be u ed for parking of dinge and grime, but smiling Some as well. To access campus by vehicle, a student ID students will arrive early on Thursday mornmg, hop-or USF decal will be needed. The bottom line? Feet ing to ecure weekend employment with one of the and bicycles are probably the best bet for campus vendors. For some, the event is a chance to catch up travel. with friends they only see for a few days or weekAnd the Fair itself? Expect a human chess match everyday at noon and p.m .. ends every year. General Editor Max Campbell advtsed early amval "I hope to meet some friends that work the c1r-. cuit," said fir t-year Dru Herring. She has not been to see the jou t. The vendors will have something to the Medieval Fair in Sarasota, but has been to the for nearly everybody-from realistic armor to tiny Fort Lauderdale Renaissance Fair, which features bottles of perfume, from double-heade? steel bath tleaxes to live bunny Upon arnval, grab a many of the same vendors and c aracters. W"ll" schedule of events, and probably a rna, its astonSecond-year Cheyanne Simon1 grew up in the area and has been attending the Medieval Fau isbing how unfamiliar can R F become when filled with a labynnthme array of since she was a kid. "Parking is heJl, but en au IS always fun she commented. She also advised that tents. Given the drought, and thousands of people h th d g kicking up dust, students may want to avoid dr_e_ssstudents walk around campus rat er an nvm Her only complaint? "It's unfortunate that we don't ing in their finest. As alumnus and Catalyst wntmg have more tickets." The 100 free tickets that New coach Graham Strou e quipped, "It's hot, sweaty, College received this year have already been lotmuggy and dirty. Very realistic." .2:> = 0 'tl = = 0 .c = 'S 0 I.IJ 58111 St i::i 0:: Q) ..... 0 .c I.IJ lXI otJonUSF Fair Pali
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4 The Catalyst SPORTS February 28, 2001 Sailing Club hopes to inaugurate tradition with cardboard regatta Left, tlus team may be looking at the namesake of their ship, the N.C.S.S. Roarty. The Roarty won the Best Design award. In et. Cody Hughes looks out from his ship, the Big Butt Bertha, which won Mosr Dramatrc Slllking. Below, Fourth-years Liz Collins and Kate Chandler, who organized the evem, stand nert ro their creation. u ....... VILC,, (photos by Anna Maria Diaz-Balort) by nna Maria Diaz-Balart The event began at 3 p.m. at Old Caple By 4 De. pile the threat of pirates. choppy water. and vip.m., when the regatta officially began. a crowd of cious hor c hoc crabs, the cont boarded their close to 100 people gathered around to watch the (un) caworthy crafts and prepared to race. The fir t ever races and enjoy the refre hment.. Although mo t cardboard regatta drew rna sivc crowds last Saturday, cntrie. sunk within minutes, some managed to February 24. Spon orcd by the ew College Sailing reach the buoy that marked the hallway point. The Club, the event wa. an overwhelming succe. s. crew. of several sunken vessel were seen attackThe event wa hosted by e ond-year Liz Collin. and ing others till left in the race. When m;ked about lourth-year Kate Chandler, Elizabeth Elia and Gabriel the. inking ol the Big Butt Bertha, the captain, for Pacyniak. Faculty includcd pro e ors David mer. tudent Cody Hu hes said, "the sinking of th. t every po sible hape and size. Some like the Big Butt Gabriel Pacyniak wa very happy with the out-Bertha, winner, Mo t Dramatic Sinking, were creative come of the event. "I want to thank everyone tor and off-beat. Others like the .C.S.S. Roarty, winner of coming out, we had a great time.'' He also wanted the Best Design award., were true marvel of cardboard to remind tudent that the Sailing Club meets engineering. And the First Place winner, the Reverend every Saturday at noon at Old Caples. Queen, was imply hard to ink. New College Bones: softball team and campus tradition by Henry Belanger "It's great to be a Bone," Brian Turk said as he strode out to the benche behind Dort residence hall and started putting on hi cleats for practice. Ao..; a member of the New College softball Bones, this reporter knows the feeling. With a philosopher al first, an economist on the mound, and a power-hitting psychologi t in the de. ig nated hitter spot, the Bone lead the league in PhD's again this year. Professors Dougla Langston, Rick Coe and Gordon Bauer, along with former ovo Collegian Andy E tes and former director of student affairs Mark John n lead the team that include 17 faculty, tudents, alumnae and staff. The Bones arc off to a 3-0 start and there is already talk on the bench about a perfect sea. on. It would be only tbe second in team hi tory. "Our first cason, we were 0-10," Team Manager and New College Economics professor Rick Coe said. That was in the summer of 1985, a that only three pre ent Bones experienced. The following winter the Bones recruited Mark Johnson and fini hed 10-0. "If you look at our record overall, I would expect we'd be somewhere around .550 or .600 [win percent agel," Lang ton said, "which is pretty good considering we are really out-gunned by most of the teams we play." The Bone overcome their conspicuou lack of power with smart hitting and cooperation. "We're very supportive of each other. You don't often ec that with the other teams." Unselfish team play i the Bones' top priority. "The few "hot-dogs' we've had on the team we got rid of in a hurry," Coe Said. "I have had several stu dents come back and tell me that the Bones was the highlight of their New College experience" If the team's leader are losing a step, they make up for it with experience. we have probably done a lot bet ter than we hould have if you look at raw physical talent" Lang ton said. Bauer agreed, "we're one of the smarter team in the league.'' With opponents like Wingate Tractor, Advanced Aluminum, and Dr. Hothersall's Jawbreakers on the chedule this sea on, they need to be if they want to remain undefeated. There is more to being a Bone than just softball. "The philosophy behind the team i to have communal interaction between tudents, faculty, and staff," Coe aid. Fourth year Scott Schwieger interrupted, 'don't forget the fans." He laughs because attendance rarely top 12orso. The Bone who represent New College every Sunday night at Sara ota 's 17th Street Park, have a rep utation for sportsmanship and team spirit. "Teams like to play us becau e they know we're not going to be jerks," Langston aid. -we have been a great benefit to the image of the college. I don't think a lot of people realize that, but I think it's important." Coe agreed, -we have earned the respect of the com munity." For students, playing for the Bones i an opportunity to know professors outside of a clas room setting ... It' nice to 1et to know profe. sor in a different context.," said fourth-year Phil Poekert. -You get to call them by their first names." Lang ton ( a.k.a. the Dougger) and Coe (the Ricker) agree that one of their aims is to provide an extra-cur ricular activity that allows students and faculty to relax and have fun together. "I have bad everal tudents come back and tell me that the Bone was the highlight of their New College experience," Coe aid, eliciting peals of laughter from Poekert, Schwieger, and veteran third baseman Mike Cosper. When the laughter dies down, Coe uggests, ''You might want to rephrase that."

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The Catalyst NEWS February 28, 2001 5 Alumnus returns at Genshaft inaugural to pass on what he learned By David Savare e New College alumnus Dr. Dennis Saver welcomed the newly inaugurated sixth president of the University of South Florida, Judy Gen haft, to our campus with words of wisdom in a speech titled "Everything I Needed to Know in Kindergarten I Learned at New College.'' Saver referenced diamond hidden in dung, bartending dogs, and the likenesses between politicians and diapers. Thi food, fun and festivity took place last Wednesday, February 21 in College Hall. Saver received hi bachelor's degree from ew College in 1972, and wrote a senior thesis in experimental embryology under the direction of retired biology pro-fe sor John Morrill. After spending a year working in inner city Philadelphia in 1973, he entered the Medical College of Pennsylvania in 1973, and received his medical degree in 1971. Recently, he received the 2000-2001 Family Physician of the Year award from the American Academy of Family Physicians. Savers background, his truggles to do good in the health care industry and his ability as a humorist inspired many of students in attendance. First-year Eric Nowak said, "It's good to know that someone got out of New College ... alive." Saver the importance of ac tivism, questioning,, initiative and volunteering. He illustrated his point with various anecdotes from his past, such as the time he delivered himself to the Vietnam draCt board in a coffin. "Run with scissors in your said Saver. "Philosophically, I am still banging at the gates, but I have begun to use a different hammer." Saver's presence was provided by the New College Air Force, two pilol<; that flew Saver from his home in Vero Beach. The pilot were given hats a a show of our administration'. gratitude. Genshaft and Dr. Saver explained their concern for New College in differ ent ways. Genshaft said that New College must be "responded to and nurtured." Genshaft offered thanks to the school and FEATURE repeated the importance of unity between distant USF campuses. She described New College as a "jewel" of USF. Genshaft said she is confident that New College is and can prove itself to be the finest, public liberal arts college in the country. After hearing Genshaft's pecch, First-year Alex Krieg said, "If I could take two people to a desert island it would be Napoleon and Judy Genshaft."' Saver said that we should continue to "throw in all the ingredients and turn on the heat." Heather Whitmore's thesis explores the aging and their objects The signijicance of objec1s lies in the memoties in which they bring. (Photo courtesy of Heather Whitmore) by ZakBeck The evening of Monday, February 26, the Sainer au ditorium hosted the debut of Heather Whitmore' the i project, You Will Be Me: A Photographic Sociology Exploration of Elder;s Objects of Identity and Wisdom. The project, which will be on display from 3 to 8 p.m. daily until Friday, March 2, is a serious creative en deavor; not only in its content, but also in the intere ting process used to collect data, called photo-elicitation. Whitmore's interest in senior citizens stems from personal experiences with her grandmother, who had Jived in a nur ing home, where Whitmore would visit her "Her possessi9ns were so important to her," Whitmore said, peaking of her earlier memories of her grandmother. Every time I came to visit, her things were laid out in a certain way on so attached to these things." She said she was "curi ous to find out" the significance of these objects. The method used by Whitmore to collect the data for her sociological ca e study is perhaps as inter esting as her actual subject matter. Whitmore used a technique referred to as photo-elicitation inter view" by Doug Harper, a process in which interview and discussion are guided by images. This method i extremely effective for conducting an objective interview; the images are left to the interviewee to interpret, eliminating the possibility of the data being mi interpreted by the interviewer's presupposition "The thing about ociology is that it's to be totally objective, but if you are interested in a subject, it can't be totally objective," said Whitmore when peaking on why this technique was so effective in her study. This methodology was well-complimented by Whitmore's penchant for photography. Her previou experience include several film made under the direction nf Professor Gail Mead. In speaking about the initial difficulties she encountered in working on her the is, Whitmore retlected that .. The whole notion photography scares professor around here .... [At fir t,] I'm not sure if people be lieved in me." Still, Whitmore said, her professors real ized that she was a "hard-core student." Not only did she complete her run at New College in four years, as opposed to orne students' six to twelve, she spent the past two years as a teaching assistant. And she was resolute in her desire to utilize this methodol ogy. I wanted to show my audience what I saw," Whitmore explained. Whitmore's study, which took over a year to com plete, focused on six elder who were interviewed on three different occasions. Her theory on aging states that, .. Wisdom is attained through the accumulation and organization of material objects.'' The posse sions of elders erve thi end in three ways: they pre crve a continuous ense of self through time, they aid in elf under tanding by defining material and ocial orientations and they allow elders a certain amount of control in their lives a death approaches. This would explain, among other things, why senior citizens part with many of their UU"\rii"'II\J tltJJ;>,l)..g!'ltl,gs, W One senior citizen who had a special possession was Alice, who had a copy of the New Testament in which she kept funeral programs and cards from friends, rela tive and co-workers who had passed away. Another elder, when asked what his one desire might be, replied that, "I wish I had learned to dance earlier," citing its im portance in certain social situations. Monday night' opening gathered a si7..able turnout of students interested in Whitmore's theories of aging and the significance of earthly possessions. Second-year transfer-student Michelle Conner appeared somewhat taken aback by the stories told by the photos and their adjoining captioned interviews. "I just can't relate to anything they ay, but I'm .very curious," said Conner, expressing the difficulty in understanding a generation that experienced the Great Depres. ion and the Second World War, from the per pective o( a generation more familiar with the Information Superhighway and the Monica Lewinsky scandaL [t's exciting to me," Conner added. First-year Catalyst staffer David Savares e wa thor oughly impressed by the exhibition: Jt was an emotionally revealing approach to a subject that i perti nent to each and everyone' road to oldness." As for Whitmore' departure from New College, she will be missed. Apart from being a retainer of the narrow scope of knowledge with which one might find what she called the" ecrcl dark room on [New College] campus," where she developed her final photo prints, Whitmore is a former Catalyst staff member and photographer. Now Whitmore is moving on to Cornell Univer ity, where he plan to tudy urban and regional sociology. She de scribed the social ituation there as bearing a very do e resemblance to that of New College-a testament to the truth that you can never really leave.

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6 The Catalyst FEATURES February 28, 2001 Biology professor teaches bugs, plans for plant and insect banquet VISiling Biology Professor Elzie McCord poses with his rooc/1. by Ben Ruby Inside Visiting Professor of Biology Elzie McCord JR's office are two-inch hissing cockroache This is hardly surprising as McCord specializes in entomology, one of many talents he has brought to the New College faculty this year. McCord's involvement with entomology goes back to his days as an undergraduate at Savannah State College, now Savannah State University. McCord ex plained, "I was a work-study tudent and I helped the professor. I worked with his collection. He didn't teach any cour cs in entomology, but before that, I hadn't known that the field existed." McCord went on to get his Master's degree and his Doctorate at the University of Florida. Although McCord taught at Lincoln University in Virginia. he has spent most of his career in the private sector. -I came to New College from industry," said McCord. "I worked for Dupont for 22 years, until1999. I've lived in Sarasota for six years though. I moved here in 1995 as a Senior Field Researcher. My area was Florida and Puerto Rico." So far McCord has enjoyed his time at New College. He explained, 'I found it very refreshing, coming here to find such motivated and enthusiastic students." Last semester McCord taught an entomology cour e. McCord said he was pleased with the reaction, explain ing, '"'There were more students in the class than anyone expected." For the class students had to collect, mount and catalogue 50 different insects. McCord said, "The FOOD tudents bad fun with it. So much so that some of the students didn't want to donate their collections to the school at the end of the course." This spring semester, McCord is teaching a class on Botany. Over the ISP period he sponsored a project on organic gardening which grew into a tutorial. He also taught a course about plant-insect interaction. McCord warmed immediately to the subject matter. He ex plained, "most people think that the insect<> control the plants, but actually it's the other way around." Some thesis students are also benefiting from McCord's presence on their committees. One notable the is involves determining the nutritional content of various insects. McCord said, "There i going to be an edible insect and plant meal at the end of the year. A lot of plants that people consider weeds are very close to the plants that we eat. We just consider them weeds be cau e they grow where we don't want them." McCord has warmed to another uniqne facet of New College life, the contract system. first it was very different than anything I had done before," explained McCord. "The disadvantage is that without grades it's hard for graduate schools to compare students. The ad vantage is that it isn't possible for a letter or number grade to explain to the student what areas they are strong in, what areas they need to work on, to give encourage ment and advice. ln fact, in the case of a letter grade, il that grade is below average, it may be discouraging if the student doesn't know why they got it." Rico's offers authentic Italian food, and that friendly atmosphere by Ryan McConnick Price, Esq. For today's adventure in restauranteering, we hit close to home, braving the roaring traffic of U.S. 41 for a five-minute walk down the pavement to Rico's Pizzeria, located just south of campu at 5131 N. Tamiami Trail in the Nordvik Plaza, next to Voorhees Framing (no relation, we assume, to Jason Voorhees, the chainsaw-wielding antagonist from the Friday the 13th movies). Rico' is an unassuming restaurant. Two small tables sit outside, under an awning, and red, white and green flags proclaim that both pizza and pasta are avail able within. Neon signs glow in a rainbow of dazzle to shine the message through the night that Rico's is not only open, but has Budweiser and Michelob Light on tap (available at $2.50 a mug or $6.99 a pitcher). The decor inside is best described as New World ltalianesque, the sort found in Italian restaurants all across the nation. Buttery tiles on the floors, dark wooden furniture, and red and white checked tablecloths dominate the landscape. A wall of authentic Italian liquor and wicker bottles of Chianti sits near the regis ter, beneath a glowing Budweiser blimp. The restaurant only holds about 20 people, providing for an intimate dining experience, and the lighting is kept muted so as not to blind diner's eyes to the subtle beauties of the many pizzas kept behind the counter on warming trays, ready to be sold by the slice. Rico's is largely family-owned, and the staff tends to recognize after you've come in a few times. This is al ways a nice touch, as some restaurants can be downright alienating. Rico's bas a wide variety of authentic and slightlyless-authentic Italian and Mediterranean foods avail able; the Greek Salad ($5.95) should be a favorite of olive lovers, but be careful of the Eggplant Parmesan The main attraction at Rico's, however, is the pizza. Buge, beautiful piz zas, tossed and prepared by hand and served piping hot ... the toppings are all good enough to make you want to go torch the nearest Pizza Hut. ($8.95) as the dish is prepared in a way that tends to ob scure the flavor of eggplant. Delicious sandwiches are available and come wrapped in foil for gourmands on the go. My favorite is the Meatball Parmesan Sub ($5.25), although the bouse special "Leave It To Us" (cappicola, provolone, ham and alami for $5.50 on Italian bread) is a popular item. The dessert are a treat, as well they should be. Particularly try to get the cannoli ($3.00) and take the time to reli h the sinfully creamy filling. The main attraction at Rico's, however, is the pizza. Huge, beautiful pizzas, tossed and prepared by hand and served piping hot The crusts are made from a flavorful dough with a thin crispy layer shielding the soft insides, the sauce is home-made, and the toppings are all good enough to make you want to go torch the nearest Pizza Hut. You pay for such quality, of course. The pizzas are not cheap, but they're certainly affordable. Large pizzas are $9.50 for twelve massive slices, and toppings cost between $1.35 and $1.85 each. Rico's heaps the top pings high, however, and you'll find yourself happily eating the extra costs. Pizzaphiles who wince as they choke down the reconstituted sausage scattered across a Domino's pizza will appreciate Rico's market-fresh top pings such as artichoke, spinach, pineapple and sliced home-made meatballs. Rico's Pizzeria offers authentic Italian-American cuisine and atmosphere, with a devotion to good cook ing backed up by a strong family tradition. They serve up food of such a rich timbre that one can only wonder why the place isn't mobbed by Novo Collegians clamoring for one more piece of that delightful hot-pepper-and-broccoli pizza, "oh, and a bottle of Zinfandel, while you're back there, and some tiramisu!' Rico's tiramisu is such a heavenly trifle that one is left with aught else to do but paraphrase the erudite food critic Homer J. Simpson: ''Mmmm. Tiramisu."

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The Catalyst NEWS February 28, 2001 7 Tomato pickers rally, accuse Taco Bell of pinching pennies by Darren Guild When 14-year old Rigob e rto Almanza immigrated to th e United States from Guamajuato, Mexico with his f ather to Jive and work, he rem e mb e r it being a dream. In the three years since, Almanza's dream has slowly transformed into a harsh reality He has little to eat, an unlivable hou s ing situation, and a job bordering on slavery. Almanza has not given up, however. He, along with other Mexican Farmworkers and supporters came together in Tampa on Sunday, February 18 to protest Taco Bell, which they see as their roadblock to the decent life in America they had dreamed of. Approximately one huhdred protest ers met at Eckerd College and at a nearby Taco Bell around 1 p.m. Farmworkers, students, and other supporters (the youngest were still in their teens) marched in a circle on the sidewalk in front of Taco Bell repeating the slogans of three or four people chanting slogans through megaphones. "No quiero Taco Bell!" "'No more slaves!" "Pay a living wage!" sounded in the street as passing motorists slowed down to tare or honk approvingly at the protesters. The protest lasted until just before 3 p.m. when the chanting and marching died off and various protesters spoke the last words to the crowd, thank ing them for the support and encouraging them to stay active The Coalition of Immokalee Farmworkers is concerned mainly with the payments of workers Most workers make minimum wage ($5 15 per hour), which amounts to approximately $40 per day and $7500 per year. For some work ers, including Almanza, that's barely enough to cover rent. Another ramifica tion for Almanza is that he has been unable to save money to send to his Mother and siblings who are still in Mexiw. Though Taco Bell does not directly pay Farmworkers, the company factors in because of its ties to the tomato farming industry of Florida. According to the protesters, Taco Bell has an agreement with the tomato farmers to buy a certain amount of tomatoes each year. This means they are buying the toma toes at a bulk-rate cost. The protesters say that if Taco Bell paid one penny more for each basket of tomatoes picked, the farming companies could pay the Farmworkers a decent, livable wage. Thus far Taco Bell has refused to even sit down and discuss this idea with the Farmworkers. Taco Bell Public Relations specialist Laurie Gannon, who was at Taco Bell during the rally, said she had .. no comment right now." Richard Bittman is a member of the Tampa Bay Action Group: an organiza tion dedicated to issues of social or political concern in the Tampa Bay area. "The public would probably pay 0.25 of a cent more for a chalupa or a burrito if they knew of the Farmworkers situation. Taco Bell made over $55 million last year, they can afford it," Bittman said. University of Florida Sophomore Dan Berger drove from Gainesville for the protest after hearing about it when the Farmworkers came to UF earlier in the school year. ..Because Taco Bell targets students, it is imperative for us to be involved in this campaign," Berger commented. Fifty-year-old Judith Nelson from College Drive designed for one-way traffic South St. Pete, had heard about the protest at church earlier that day. She de cided to go because "things seem to be going backwards." Lucas Benitez is a farm worker and one of the leaders and founding members of the Coalition of Immokalee Fannworkers. Last year Benitez was rec ognized for his role in helping form the coalition when be received the Brick Award for best young community leader in America. Rolling Stone magazine and MTV sponsor the award. "[I began the coal it ion) because there were so many injustices. This is why we started something that has grown into 1800 members, .. Benitez said. Benitez's goal for the Farmworkers in the future is to .. bring Taco Bell to the table to work out an offer and to have Taco Bell pressure other corporations to do the same." There were also several current and former New College students at hand for the protest. Alumni Andy Snyder, who graduated in 1996, commented, "At New College I became an activist and learned that not only could I make a difference, but that I had a responsibility." Contribution Guidelines \FROM "SPEEDWAY'' PAGE II late for class tive of drivers to become speed demons. Letter to The Editor: articles, letters and/or editori als, or an opinion that is intended to be shared with the student body. Letters to the Editor shoula be no more than 250 words, and are not a forum for free advertising. Fourth-year Kathryn Prosch, who nor mally considers herself a safe driver, said, "It's so smooth and buttery, it makes me feel like I'm in a car commercial." Bike riders, pedestrians and dogs risk their lives every time they go near the new road. Fourth-year Naomi Shvorin said, "The by the new science building is unsafe. I question the sanity of whoever planned that road, for not taking into con sideration the laws of physics and bad Florida drivers. I normally try to walk if I have to go to College Hall, but if I have to drive, I go five miles an hour. I'm scared to hit somebody. There is bound lo be an accident at some point; someone is going to wreck their car or somebody is going to get hurt." Since the construction of College Drive, the intersection with Bay Shore Drive has also become a problem. Right now it is a two-way stop. Drivers travel ing east on College Drive have enormous blind spots up and down Bay Shore Road because of the wrought iron fence. When asked about the inter ection, Fourth-year Chris Holleran said, "My life flashed be fore my eyes .... I've had more than one near miss there; it's the intersection that seems the most dangerous." The city of Sarasota has inspected the intersection, but it may be some time before anything is done about it. In the mean time, the Physical Plant was able to remove a large shrub that had also obscured the view. Sergeant J.D. Winthrow of the Sport utility vehicles go off-road on College Drive. Campus Police wnfirmed that there have been several speeding complaints on the new road. However, he said the police are making "efforts to reach the motoring public through education" rather than just giving tickets. Winthrow said that if the educational phase is successful, "there will be no need to transition into the citation phase." Winthrow also said that the existing traffic calming devices (stop signs) do slow down the speeds of drivers enough, but only when drivers actually them. As for the width of the road, Winthrow said that the road was "ade quate for vehicular travel." However, College Drive will eventually form a loop with 58th Street, which runs along the south edge of west campus, and become a very broad one-way street. The Campus Police have also rewmmended to the campus architect that the stop line be moved. As for the possibility of turning the in tersection into a four-way stop, the campus police have been working with local traffic engineers. Bay Shore Road is not campus property, and the police can not just put up stop signs. Wintbrow did say that a four-way stop at that intersec tion would not be a bad idea. Mark Blaweiss, Director of Student Affairs, strongly advised students to "use the temporary walkways and not interfere with the construction." He also urged stu dents and faculty to be cautious when walking on College Drive at night when visibility is poor. Contribution: A factual arti cle written by someone not on staff. Contributions should be informative and pertinent to the interests of New College students as a whofe. Contributions may range in length from 250-500 worCJ.s. Guest Column: A solicited opinion piece. Guest msts do not necessanly represent the views of the Catalyst, but rather opinions of which we feel the New College community should be made aware. Guest column range in length from 250-500 words. All submissions should be turned into box 75 or e-mailed to catalyst@virtu.sar.usf.edu, by Friday at 5pm.

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8 The Catalyst On Wednesday, February 28, at 3:30 p.m. in Sudakoff, Professor Maria Vesperi will present "A Cultural Encounter In Cuba: The Eleggua Project." Etiquette Dinner, Wednesday March 14, 6 p.m. Reservations must be made at the Career Center no later than Friday, March 2, 2001. Cost is $10, to be paid upon making your reservation. During academic year 1997-98, former Catalyst correspondent Joseph Good was trapped in a Pei bathroom for sev eral hours. By the time the door was sledgehammered out of its clinging frame, the poor fellow was unconscious. In his despair, he had imbibed enough alcohol to nearly put an end to his suf fering. Don't let this happen to you! Editor s note: due to its length and com mendable detail, the SAC marathon allocation minutes will be printed over two issues. ANNOUNCEMENTS From Mike Campbell: Pei residents should check the operation of their bath room doors. We've had orne people STUCK in their bathrooms for hour This is not a happy situation (for obvi ous reasons). The good news is that Rob and Jeff can fix any doors with problems. If you don t wish to be stuck, let the housing office know if you'd like repairs. There will be an Interdenominational Ash Wednesday Service at 6 p m., in Newman House (524 58th Street), on February 28, 2001. On Sundays there will be the following weekly religious services on campus: at 5:30p.m., Interdenominational Christian Worship on the Bay behind College Hall; at6:00 Roman Catholic Mass in Sudakoff. Careers in International Diplomacy, from the U.S. Department of State/Foreign Service Information ses sion to be held tonight, February 28, at 5 p.m. in Sudakoff Center. Representatives from the U.S. Department of State will discuss the ins and outs of career oppor tunities in the diplomatic corps. Within the past few weeks students have reported theft from a dormitory room where almost $1,000 was taken, as well as various credit cards. The dorm room had been unlocked. You are urged to LOCK YOUR RESIDENCE ROOM DOOl