UP15_23 by University Press

UNIVERSITY PRESS FAU’S FINEST NEWS SOURCE APRIL 22, 2014 | VOL. 15 # 23

Behind Closed Doors The people in charge of Student Government Elections are holding secret meetings that may break the law and prolong appointing a student body president. p. 20

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THE STAFF:

TUESDAY

April 22, 2014

MANAGING EDITOR - Michelle Friswell CREATIVE DIRECTOR - Brendon Lies ASSISTANT CREATIVE DIRECTOR - Laura May Jockers BUSINESS MANAGER - Ryan Murphy COPY DESK CHIEF - Carissa Giard ASSISTANT COPY DESK CHIEF - Cristina Solorzano FEATURES EDITOR - Jamie Vaughn

Photo courtesy of Media Relations

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF - Lulu Ramadan

The graduation rate for the football program is in peril, and some of those who do graduate end up with degrees that are useless in the job force. By Wesley Wright

Brian Sirmans

REVIEWS EDITOR - Maddy Mesa

SCIENCE EDITOR - Andrew Fraieli

An FAU club builds a race car to compete at an international competition.

PHOTO EDITORS - Max Jackson, Kiki Baxter NEWS EDITOR - Miranda Schumes SOCIAL MEDIA COORDINATOR - Cealia

By Miranda Schumes

Brannan

SENIOR EDITORS - Emily Bloch, Austen Erblat COPY EDITOR - Lynette Perez

Photo courtesy of Owl Racing

SPORTS EDITOR - Wesley Wright

DISTRIBUTION MANAGER - Jake Stuart ADVISERS Dan Sweeney Michael Koretzky COVER - Student Government Advisor Ryan Frierson, Associate Dean of Student Terry Mena and Elections Board Chair Michael Brown held private meetings to discuss the SG elections. Illustration by Brendon Lies.

777 Glades Road Student Union, Room 214 Boca Raton, FL 33431 561.297.2960

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DESIGNERS - Sabrina Martinez, Jonathan Giger

The semester is almost over, we still donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have a new Student Body President and the people in charge of the election host secret meetings that break state laws.

By Miranda Schumes

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An FAU alumnus is using his business degree to open a school to cultivate medical marijuana. By Kiki Baxter

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PUBLISHER FAU Student Government The opinions expressed by the UP are not necessarily those of the student body, Student Government or FAU.

April 22, 2014

Upressonline.com

Sports

Football

By Wesley Wright Sports Editor

The NCAA reports said that FAU football yielded the ninth lowest graduation rates in the country. FAU is working to improve the issue, but first they need to address that there is one.

s low as the graduation rate is at Florida Atlantic, an even scarier statistic may exist within one FAU athletic program. The latest reports from the NCAA say that FAU football yielded a graduation success rate of 54 — meaning 54 percent of players that enrolled in the fall of 2006 have graduated within the last six years (NCAA measures graduation on a six-year scale). That mark is one of the worst in the nation — only nine programs generated a lower percentage out of 128. Director of Academics for Athletics Marlon Dechausay is in his first year on the job. The woman who preceded him, Michelle Brown, now has the same position at the University of North Carolina. Earlier this year, a scandal was uncovered: A UNC tutor revealed that many football and basketball players were steered into fake classes and given

Photo by Michelle Friswell

Upressonline.com

April 22, 2014

illegitimate grades for very little academic work. Brown did not respond to repeated requests for comment. Former Athletic Director Craig Angelos worked at FAU from 2003 to 2012, meaning his tenure spanned the time period (2006-2011) of the NCAA’s latest findings. After being fired, Angelos took a job working in the Athletic Department at the University of South Florida. He, too, did not respond to requests for comment. The graduation success rate, or GSR, of all FAU athletes enrolled during the spring of 2006 is 66 percent. According to Dechausay, the overall athletics graduation rate for FAU was much better in past years and they are trying to return to its previous levels. “If you look back historically at FAU, the [graduation success rate] was actually pretty high for a while, around 70-some-odd percent. Right now, as a department, we are in the 60s, so obviously that’s some place where we want to get that up,” Dechausay said. “If we’re 75 [percent] and above, or 80, that’s really where we’d like to be for the GSR. Our goal is to graduate them within four years.” Dechausay is incorrect in his assumption that FAU was once a place that graduated its

student athletes with regularity. The NCAA information on the subject goes as far back as 1998, and the overall athletics graduation rate for FAU has been in the low to mid-60s during that entire time. In fact, the most recent GSR for all athletes (66 percent) is as high as it has ever been, with the exception of one period — the school graduated 67 percent of the athletes who arrived in the fall of 2005. Football is the biggest athletics program on campus in terms of scholarship allocations. The NCAA allows Division 1 (also referred to as FBS) football programs to have 85 scholarship players at any one time — meaning football players on scholarship account for one-sixth of the total number of athletes at this school. Because of those sheer numbers, the overall graduation rate for FAU athletes is affected when a significant portion of football players do not graduate. The GSR for the football program specifically has been between 48 and 54 percent for its entire existence. Dechausay has an idea of why the GSR for football in particular has been so low. He attributed the bulk of it to players who pursue the NFL instead of coming back to finish their degree. “The problem is, you get a lot of guys that play for four years and they don’t graduate in that fall

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Sports | Football

when I got here, and that I told coach Partridge when he got here, is that we need our football players to be on a three and a half year cycle,” Dechausay said. “ If we’re doing a good job and our players are doing a good job, they should, in theory, play their last game — hopefully a bowl game — and graduate in the same semester.” Former running back DiIvory Edgecomb graduated in 2008 with a degree Dechausay explained in criminal justice. He now works as a realtor, police officer and the owner that his method of making of an investment company. Photo Courtesy of Media Relations sure that players graduate early, if at all possible, will save FAU the burden of finding players who make a run at the NFL and imploring them to come back and complete a degree. He understands that getting football players a diploma will make the overall GSR for the school look a bit more favorable. “That way we would ensure that they would all be done [with classes],” he said. “Then we don’t have to worry about chasing them down, trying to make sure they go back and finish their degrees. That will actually help increase our graduation rate, especially in the sport of football.” In addition, a significant portion of the kids who graduated in past years have a degree in general studies, which does not school.” Dechausay believes that hastening the academic provide expertise in any one area since there is no track that football players are on will result in specific track for its classes. According to the FAU more men walking across the stage and grabbing sports website, 20 of the 105 men on the 2014 spring roster are listed as general studies majors. a diploma. Athletics Media Relations Director Katrina “One of the biggest things that I told my staff semester,” he said. “Well, in the spring semester, when they probably should graduate, a lot of them are now trying to chase that NFL dream. Now, you chase the NFL dream, maybe you get an opportunity to play in Canada, or you try and fail, and unfortunately they don’t come back to

McCormack says that the bios seen on the website are not to be trusted. “What we have on our bios may or may not be current. Don’t necessarily go by what’s there. We get those when they are freshmen, and sometimes they get updated, sometimes they don’t.” According to Dechausay, the general studies major actually preceded the football program. To his knowledge, there are no football players majoring in general studies or interdisciplinary studies (a very similar degree to general studies). He did, however, indicate that there may be a similar academic program in the works. “We don’t have any student athletes, especially any football players, that are in interdisciplinary studies. I know there is talk of bringing a major like that back here to campus, but the one we have right now really isn’t attractive or conducive to student athletes.” Three of the men who should be graduating this spring are listed as interdisciplinary studies majors: Josh Orsino, Randell Johnson and Cory Henry. Former players who majored in interdisciplinary studies or general studies are adamantly against anyone else doing so. Troy Niblack is a former offensive lineman who graduated in 2011 with a Bachelor of Arts in interdisciplinary studies and regrets his decision to this day. “Now that I am in the real world, I do regret not majoring in something else due to the fact that I have come across numerous job opportunities that I have been passionate about,” he said. “Had I studied another field, I would’ve been better qualified for the position I was pursuing.” A semester or two of poor grades led to an indecisive Niblack deciding to delve into the general studies major. He claims an adviser led him there after his performance in some business classes went awry. “I had a really good freshman year, then I hit my sophomore slump after I tried to take a lot of business courses that year,” Niblack said. “After that, my adviser kind of pushed me to the general

Starting Year

Ending Year

Graduation Rate

Fall 2006

Spring 2011

54%

Fall 2005

Spring 2010

51%

Fall 2004

Spring 2009

48%

Fall 2003

Spring 2008

54%

Fall 2002

Spring 2007

53%

Fall 2001

Spring 2006

51%

Source: NCAA

Upressonline.com

April 22, 2014

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Section

Subsection

Sports | Football

Continued from Page 6

studies major.” Niblack does not recall the name of the adviser who guided him. The UP asked to speak with advisers Eric Zeaman and Keva AndersonKonkser, but was told that only Dechausay would be available for an interview. Given the opportunity, Niblack would have handled his academic situation differently. He explained that once he chose general studies, he was reluctant to change his major, fearing that he would be ineligible to play football because NCAA rules state that players must be on track to graduate at all times if they are to compete. “It’s like a percentage thing where you have to have a certain percent of your major classes completed [or you] must be on track to graduate in a certain amount of time,” Niblack said. “In a nutshell, if I had changed my major and the classes didn’t crossover to the new major, and I dropped below that percentage, then I would become ineligible.” Niblack acknowledged that the situation he found himself in is one that happens frequently, not just on the football team, but within the athletics program as a whole. “I think that some student athletes stick to a major that they aren’t into because they don’t want to become ineligible if they switch.” As useless as the degree has been to Niblack, he was reluctant to suggest that FAU get rid of the general studies major altogether. He does know that the lack of expertise coming from his major made for a frustrating learning curve upon entering the workforce.

“[The degree] wasn’t very beneficial to me because I didn’t truly find out what I wanted to start a career in until after I had already graduated and that field is a polar opposite of what I studied.” These days, Niblack supports himself with two jobs — one at Jimmy John’s sandwich company and the other at a resort selling timeshares. He says that he would have loved to study computer animation or marketing if he had the chance. Niblack laments his degree, but another former football player, Brian Sirmans, does not even have a degree to lament over. Once a wide receiver in the FAU football program, the Jacksonville native did not graduate and to this day, he still has no idea why. When asked about the factors that contributed to him leaving, Sirmans candidly placed blame on the men who were responsible for placing him on the football team in the first place. Those same men pulled the rug out from under him years later. “I can only speak for my situation. It was the coaches, and I never was told why I couldn’t return to finish my last semester.” Sirman said that if the school taught athletes how to study, his experience as an FAU football player might have been vastly different. Dechausay spoke at length about the academic services offered to FAU athletes, football players and nonfootball players alike. “We have a very comprehensive academic support office. In-house tutors, an in-house mentoring program, we also collaborate with the class office to use their tutoring program, they’ve gone now to Skype tutoring, so that is an

THEN AND NOW

additional benefit to our athletes to now, while they’re traveling, be engaged with a tutor while on the road,” he said. Former running back Jeff Blanchard, who graduated in 2009 with a degree in general studies, claims that the responsibility of academic success for athletes is purely on the athletes themselves. He claims that he fully employed the resources that he was afforded during his time at FAU. “I took advantage of every resource we had, and spent extra time at the [Oxley Center] going to tutor sessions,” he said. Blanchard called the GSR for football “a little embarrassing, due to the fact that things such as tutors and study hall were put into place for us to succeed.” He suggests that the school isn’t the issue when athletes do not graduate — all of the blame should be placed on the athletes themselves. “Other than hold the athletes’ hands, there isn’t much more the school can do. There are definitely more resources for an athlete [to use] than for a student who goes to school and pays out of pocket,” Blanchard said. He realizes now that the influence of an adviser steered him into a degree that he had no real interest in. He referenced youth and naivete as reasons why he chose the major. “All I can say to young collegiate athletes is this: Never let an academic adviser tell you what degree to seek,” Blanchard said. “Stick to your plan, despite the talk about how hard it is.” Blanchard has just one class to complete before earning a second bachelor’s degree (criminal

Photo courtesy of Media Relations

Former offensive lineman Troy Niblack graduated from FAU in 2011 with a degree in general studies. He now works for Jimmy John’s.

Photo courtesy of Media Relations

Photo courtesy of Jeff Blanchard

Photo courtesy of Troy Niblack

Former running back Jeff Blanchard graduated in 2009 with a degree in general studies. He became a fireman and he is now is in the process of getting another degree from FAU in criminal justice.

Upressonline.com

April 22, 2014

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Sports | Football

justice) and says he would have considered medical school in hindsight. He is a firefighter and emergency medical technician, currently training to become a paramedic. Another former teammate of Blanchard, Di’Ivory Edgecomb, sees the issue of nongraduating Owls as a result of miscommunication between his alma mater and the NCAA. “Most issues I remember regarding ineligibility were due to the fact that the school and NCAA requirements are different, and if not caught could hurt the player. The NCAA only requires a percentage of degree completed for every eligible year towards your major track,” he said. “If a player takes a variety of classes but is not hitting that percentage required by the NCAA, he would be deemed ineligible. I think the school counselors and athletic counselors should work together so everyone is on the same page regarding the rules, and not just grades.” Edgecomb graduated in 2008 with a degree in criminal justice and made a point to disparage the general studies major and expressed disappointment with those associated with it.

“I feel a general or interdisciplinary studies major is just something to get you by, to graduate. It’s broad and doesn’t really hold any weight in the real world,” he said. “I see it more now, and feel sorry for those who graduated with it, but it was more common with those who just don’t know what they want to do after school.” Regardless of major, Edgecomb tried to strongly dispel the notion that athletes have everything academically laid out for them. To him, athletes are under guidelines much more stringent than that of the average student. “General students don’t realize that athletes are held to a much higher standard than they think, meaning pressure from the school and also rules from the NCAA,” he said. “That’s why there are two different sets of academic counselors. You have to be able to handle your course load, along with the added responsibilities of being an athlete.” Every player interviewed claimed that the school did nothing for players as far as post-graduation job placement. Edgecomb, who now works as as a police officer and realtor in the South Florida area, sees the low graduation rate and the

lack of job placement assistance as symptoms of a school with a young football program. In the next few years, he figures that both issues will correct themselves — and he plans on being there to help future players firsthand. “With all the ideas floating around the school, some of the important stuff gets lost like helping graduates transition to careers,” he said. “I’m establishing myself now to become a booster who gives back and make sure the next generation gets things like that and also to make sure graduation rates are high.” Dechausay realizes the importance of preparing athletes for life after graduation and also understands why he should make it a priority moving forward. “Part of what we try to do here is expose them to different opportunities,” he said. “We had a career event where we brought in 26 employers who just wanted to hire student athletes.” The event, which took place in November 2013, had representatives from both the FAU Police Department and from Palm Beach schools, among many other companies. “At the end of the day you actually

never know how you’re going to use your degree,” Dechausay said. “Most people, whatever they got their degree in is not what they’re doing for a full-time profession. What we’re trying to do is make sure they get the skill set to be well rounded into whatever their passion may be.” After graduating in 2013, former wide receiver Deandre Richardson began working for Enterprise, a car rental company. He came back and spoke to the team at the career event that Dechausay mentioned. Dechausay also claims that the Athletics Department is working with the Career Development Center to create an internship program, and to find methods of tracking where and with whom players gain full-time employment. He understands that the more efficient the school is at helping players into the workforce, the better the school looks to athletes looking to play any sport here, whether it is football or not. “We are in recruiting business, a competitive business,” he said. “For us to be able to say that 80 percent of students got full-time jobs upon graduation, that is an attractive stat for us.”

Brian Sirmans is a former wide receiver who failed to graduate for reasons he did not disclose. The Jacksonville, Fla. native majored in pre-med while at FAU and now works at Wal-Mart.

DiIvory Edgecomb is a realtor, police officer and the owner of an investment company. The former running back graduated in 2008 with a degree in criminal justice.

3 4

Photos courtesy of Media Relations graduating with a general studies degree, former 3 After running back Jeff Blanchard became a fireman and he is now is in the process of getting another degree in criminal justice.

4 general studies. These days, he works at Jimmy John’s and sells timeshares.

Troy Niblack is a former offensive lineman who graduated in 2011 with a Bachelor of Arts in

Upressonline.com

April 22, 2014

1 2

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The Race to

Michigan By Miranda Schumes News Editor

John Palmbach, president of Owls Racing 20112013, driving the 2011 car at Ed Morse Cadillac for a sponsrship demonstration. Photo courtesy of Owls Racing

Owls Racing designs and builds a race car to compete at an international competition in May. 16

Upressonline.com

April 22, 2014

News

Features

president of the club, John Palmbach, said that this is because the team consisted of mainly new members, leaving them unprepared for the business category of the competition and resulting in the car not being major Chris Caracci was driving to accelerate 75 meters last year. He built as well as it could have been due to inexperience. and his team were at the annual Formula Society of Automotives “Basically we designed something improperly, so it broke a lot,” competition, or SAE, held in Brooklyn, Mich. Acceleration is one Palmbach said. “[The car] didn’t break every time we drove it, but it of the seven categories in the annual competition, where over 100 broke at least once every event.” universities race cars that they build. This year, it’s up to Cusano to determine every detail of what went Caracci took part in the event as part of Owls Racing, a club that wrong. Cusano was elected president a week after the team returned designs and builds Formula SAE cars from Michigan. similar to cars used in the Indianapolis (Left) President of Owls Racing Emma Cusano laughs with her teammates while “I honestly didn’t want 500. The club began competing in 2006 taking a break. (Right) Chris Caracci works on the team’s car through dinner. to be president. It was and has built a new car every year — more of a necessity thing,” which they have raced in the three-day Cusano said. “Nobody else international competition in Michigan stepped up and I wanted a — with the exception of 2012 when the car, so I did it.” team wasn’t able to finish their car. Cusano is the first female With the smell of exhaust fuel filling her president in the history of nostrils, senior mechanical engineering Owls Racing and it hasn’t major Emma Cusano stepped into the been easy. According to 500-pound blue race car, which took Cusano, a few months the team two years to build. Just before ago two men came in and getting into the car, Cusano heard people wanted to work on the car, in the crowd murmur, “Is that a girl?” It but refused to work under was her first time driving the car and the a woman. petite brunette was wearing oversized “These two guys just men’s shoes and a uniform that was could not deal with that baggy around her waist and above her fact that there was a female shoulders. Cusano had to borrow a men’s running it,” Cusano said. Photo by Sabrina Martinez uniform because the club didn’t have Photo by Miranda Schumes “They would, like, go out enough funding to buy her a women’s of their way to ask anybody size. else’s directives except for When it was her turn to race, the green me.” flag waved for her to go and Cusano But despite all the issues pushed her foot against the gas pedal as that club has had, the hard as she could. The wheels spun in eighth place victory in place against the pavement just before Michigan was enough to gripping the ground and accelerating the secure a $30,000 donation car forward, going from zero to over 70 from FAU and an extra mph in less than five seconds. $18,500 from sponsors With her small, 5-foot-6 stature in a as of publication time. car built for someone about six feet tall Sponsors also donated and 180 pounds, Cusano found that she about $15,000 worth of couldn’t stop the car as she passed the parts and equipment. finish line. In a panic, she turned the In 2013, multiple team Photo by Miranda Schumes wheel as hard as she could to try to stop members donated their Owls Racing team members work on adjusting the same engine that has been herself, leaving her just two feet away used since 2006. own money for their car from the concrete wall surrounding due to the lack of sponsors. the race track — which separated the This left Palmbach in a audience from the bleachers. $7,000 debt. Cusano raced a time of 4.777 seconds, .633 seconds slower than her “Credit cards are easy to use. Pretty much the car is here, we need this, male teammate, Caracci. we don’t have money, what are we going to do? So, the card comes out The team had expected her to beat Caracci’s time because she was and the part shows up,” Palmbach said. lighter. But they didn’t properly account for her weight and it turned According to the team’s adviser Oren Masory — a mechanical out that she was too light for the car. engineering professor who has been the adviser of the club since it Caracci’s time placed the team in eighth for the acceleration category began in 2006 — some teams spend $300,000 to $400,000 on a car and — the highest place Owls Racing has ever scored in a category. The have sponsors such as Redbull, Porsche or Mercedes. team placed 92nd overall out of 124 teams. The former 2012 and 2013 Even with the donations this year, Cusano still puts her own money,

“4.144” flashed in green on a small black screen. It took that many seconds for the race car that senior mechanical engineering

Continued on Page 18

April 22, 2014

Upressonline.com

News

Features

Continued From Page 17 which she earns as a math tutor, into the car. Caracci works eight hours a week and Cusano works about 12 in addition to spending over 20 hours a week on the car and taking classes. With Cusano as the new president and Caracci as the vice president, the team began building the car less than a month after returning from the 2013 competition. This process began with designing the car and making test models on the computer. The team has about eight members (some teams have anywhere up to 70 members) that work on the car regularly. Their mechanics shop — typically blasting country music — is located behind the Engineering West building. Some of the members work on the car throughout the day, but the majority begins working at 9 p.m. and stays until after midnight every night (with the help of energy drinks), in addition to working on the weekends. “I love my crew. Honestly, I have the best crew that anyone could ask for,” Cusano, whose arms have burns from welding work, said. “They’re here because they want to be here and I couldn’t ask for more.” Masory expects the team to do better than previous years. “This year we have a little bit more money and a lot of dedication,” Masory said. With the debt, lack of sleep and hours spent in a garage at FAU, what makes students want to build a race car? “You get those three minutes of drive time after a years work and it makes it all worth it,” Caracci said.

What the teams are judged on: STATIC EVENTS

* Design Report: The teams are judged on their concept and design of the car as well as the engineering effort that went into it. * Cost Report: The teams present the amount that they spent on the car, including what they purchased and fabricated themselves.

PRESENTATION

* The teams are judged on their ability to present a comprehensive business case to executives of a mock manufacturing firm.

DYNAMIC EVENTS

* Acceleration: The cars are evaluated on how fast they can go in a 75 meter distance beginning at zero mph. * Autocross: The cars are evaluated on their ability to turn, accelerate, brake and corner on a tight course made up of cones. * Skid-Pad: The cars are tested on the ability to turn on a flat surface by driving around a figure-eight track. * Endurance: The cars are tested on their overall durability under long-term conditions by examining speed, handling, dynamics, fuel efficiency and reliability over a distance of 22 km.

Photo by Sabrina Martinez Owls Racing members John Palmbach and Chris Caracci discuss the next steps in the building process. They plan to enter into an international race in May.

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April 22, 2014

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News

Student Government

By Miranda Schumes Multimedia Editor

Behind Closed

Doors

The semester is almost over, we still don’t have a new student body president and the people in charge of elections hosted secret meetings that break state laws.

Assistent Dean of Students Terry Mena is one of the people who oversees the elections process and may have broken the law. Photo courtesy of Media Relations

Upressonline.com

April 22, 2014

Elections Board Chair Michael Brown, who assists the elections process, could also possibly be guilty of deviating from state law. Photo by Michelle Friswell

n February, Michael Cepeda won the most votes for student body president. Almost two months later, there is no official winner and the Elections Board — a four member board who oversees the presidential elections and ensures that Student Government presidential candidates do nothing illegal — may have violated state law. According to Barbara Petersen, president of the state’s First Amendment Foundation, the board may have broken Sunshine Law when they held private meetings about the elections. Sunshine Law requires the board to give 24 hour notice of their meetings, take detailed notes and make their meetings open to the public — none of which the Elections Board did. The first violation happened on Feb. 25, the first day that students were able to vote. The online voting system crashed and students were unable to cast their vote. The board scheduled an emergency meeting to reschedule the election (see timeline on page 22). However, the meeting was held privately, which may have violated the law. When told that the Elections Board failed to hold a public meeting to change the decision they made in the emergency meeting, Petersen said in a phone interview that the board violated the law. “There is no such thing in Florida law as a private meeting,” Peterson said. “All meetings at which public business is to be transacted or discussed — Board business in this case — must be open and noticed to the public.” But the possible violations didn’t stop there. On Feb. 27, the board members held a private meeting again, this time with Associate Dean

Continued on Page 22

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News

Student Government

The most contested SG election in FAU history Elections Timeline: Feb 25: The voting period starts. Feb. 25: Voting system isn’t allowing students to vote and the Elections Board calls an emergency meeting, changing the voting period from noon on Feb. 26 to noon on Feb. 28 . Feb 26: At 10:24 a.m. students receive an email stating that voting started at 10 a.m. Feb. 27: The Elections Board privately meets to discuss new election deadlines making complaint forms (forms that accuse their opponents of violating election rules) due on March 10. The Elections Board possibly breaks Sunshine Law.

Continued FROM PAGE 20

of Students Terry Mena, current Student Body President Patrick Callahan, Elections Board Chair Michael Brown and SG advisers Ryan Frierson, Bill Horstman and Elyse Chaplin. So said Mena and Brown. The meeting’s purpose was to change the deadlines for expense and complaint forms in which candidates state what they spent their campaign money on and accuse their opponents of violating election rules, respectively. Despite these private meetings, Mena said that they didn’t violate any laws. “There is no requirement that says that it has to be a voted-on meeting,” Mena said. While SG statute 306.400 states

that the board can “develop and approve elections timelines,” statute 305.510 states that “elections meetings are subject to Sunshine Law.” Therefore, holding meetings that don’t meet the requirements of the law are illegal, according to Petersen. “If they’re subject to the Sunshine Law — and it seems that their own bylaws say they are — and they held a meeting and they didn’t provide notice, that’s a violation of the law,” Petersen said. In order to legally determine if the Elections Board broke the law, someone would have to take them to court. If the court ruled that the board’s violations were intentional, FAU would have to defend them in

Feb. 28: Unofficial election results are announced — Michael Cepeda and Thomas DeMaio are the winners. March 6: The Elections Board Chair emails the candidates stating that the complaint deadline has changed again to March 11. The Elections Board possibly breaks Sunshine Law again. March 11: The Elections Board meets to review complaints, deciding which are valid. March 18: The Elections Board hears the complaints filed by Cepeda/DeMaio against Patrick Callahan and Katie Morris. March 28 and April 1: The Elections Board hears complaints filed by Callahan/Morris against Cepeda/DeMaio. Callahan will later appeal the board’s decisions. April 4: Student Court hears appeals to the Elections Board’s decisions. April 15: Callahan/Morris appeal to Senior Vice President of Student Affairs Charles Brown. [SOURCES: Sg.edu/election, Elections Board Meeting Minutes, Emails from SG officials obtained by the UP]

Upressonline.com

April 22, 2014

Current SG Vice President Katie Morris and President Patrick Callahan filed 21 complaints against the winning candidates. Photo by Max Jackson

Continued on PAGE 24

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Summer Session 2014 AT HILLSBOROUGH COMMUNITY COLLEGE MAKE YOUR SUMMER COUNT AT HCC! Registration for university (transient) students begins 4.14 and classes start 5.19. Apply now at hccfl.edu/registernow. HCC is an equal access/equal opportunity educational institution.

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Continued FROM PAGE 22 court. If found guilty, board members could spend up to 60 days in jail, be removed from their positions, pay all court fees and be fined up to $500, according to Sunshine Law. If found unintentionally guilty, the board members would not go to jail and could keep their positions, but would still be forced to pay a $500 fine and court fees. “If a court determines that there’s a violation of the Sunshine, then action would be void ab initio,” Petersen said. This means that the decisions made during the Elections Board’s private meetings, and anything resulting from them, do not count. The Elections Board would have to redo the whole election. Even if no one takes SG to court, students may still not know the winner for an extended period of time because the candidates had all of spring break to gather evidence and try to prove what rules their opponents broke. According to the Elections Chair Mike Brown, candidates typically only have 24 hours to do so. The unofficial results were announced the day before spring break; however, according to Mena, the board does not count those days as business days, even though SG officials can still get paid. According to SG adviser Ryan Frierson, more complaints have been filed now than in any previous election year — further prolonging the process of getting a president. Last year set the record for the most complaints filed with seven. This year, there are 28. Current Student Body President Patrick Callahan and Vice President Katie Morris filed 21 complaints. The board brought this down to 17 based on lack of evidence. Cepeda and DeMaio initially filed seven complaints, which was brought down to six for the same reason. The Elections Board decided that Cepeda and DeMaio didn’t break rules that could get them disqualified, so Callahan and Morris appealed the decision all the way up to Senior Vice President for Student Affairs Charles Brown (see timeline on page 22). The decision is up to Brown, unless the Elections Board is taken to court and found guilty of breaking Sunshine Law. The current presidential term ends May 2. As of publication time, Brown has not released a decision. Check Upressonline.com for regular updates. [Chris Massana contributed to the reporting of this story.]

Upressonline.com

April 22, 2014

Complaints Breakdown After the SG elections candidates are allowed to file complaints, and if candidates violated SG’s Constitution or Statutes, they could be disqualified. This year, more complaints were filed than ever before. The following complaints were considered either major or minor violations.

MAJOR VIOLATIONS: Could be punishable with a disqualification MINOR VIOLATIONS: A total of three could mean a major violation if students are found guilty by the Board Cepeda/DeMaio complaints against Callahan/Morris: SPR 14.09 - Accused Callahan/Morris of using a tent on an election day without proper paperwork being filed. SPR 14.10 - Accused Callahan/Morris of using the trademarked FAU logo in a campaign video. SPR 14.13 - Accused Callahan/Morris of campaigning at the HardHats for Education SG event, against Elections Board instructions saying that the event was off-limits to campaigning. The Elections Board charged Callahan/Morris with a minor violation, totalling three, which the Board ruled to be equal to a major violation. However, as with the previous violations, the Board ruled that there was no way to determine if these action had an effect on the outcome of the elections, and thus did not disqualify Callahan/Morris.

Callahan/Morris complaints against Cepeda/DeMaio: SPR 14.15, SPR 14.16, SPR 14.20 - Accused Cepeda/DeMaio of not listing their addresses on their campaign expense forms, saying that they were given donations and used an unapproved cooler. SPR 14.17 - Accused Cepeda/DeMaio of receiving unapproved lemonade as a campaign donation. SPR 14.21, SPR 14.22, SPR 14.23, SPR 14.24, SPR 14.25, SPR 14.29, SPR 14.33 - Accused Cepeda/DeMaio of using the official FAU logo on their campaign Twitter and Facebook page without authorization and using the logo in pictures taken with FAU sports teams on three different occasions. SPR 14.21, 14.25, 14.29, and 14.3 were all given minor violations, totalling six so far, which led the Elections Board to charge Cepeda/DeMaio with two major violations. However, the Elections Board said the violations had not directly affected the outcome of the voting and Cepeda/DeMaio was not disqualified.

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Higher Education An FAU alumnus is using his business degree to open a school that cultivates medical marijuana. By Kiki Baxter Photo Editor Sheridan Rafer wants to teach you how to grow marijuana — but not today. Rafer, an alumnus of the FAU College of Business, is opening Palm Beach County’s first medical marijuana school: the Institute of Medical Cannabis. “We wanted to give patients and their caregivers the knowledge and the skills to have the access to the highest quality and the most affordable medicine,” Rafer said. Registration is currently open and classes begin the first week of June. Rafer is one of two instructors and he has over ten years of experience in the medical marijuana industry, including growing and breeding cannabis. He has attended and completed many courses, seminars and lectures in medical marijuana states. The other instructor, John Gatti Jr., has a master’s degree in

Upressonline.com

April 22, 2014

plant pathology and over 30 years of experience working with greenhouse production of plants for laboratory, greenhouse and field research. Together, they will offer four courses (see sidebar on page 28), each costing around $400, with a primary focus on cultivation. Students will have the opportunity to receive hands-on training in fully-operational indoor grow rooms. “Cultivating cannabis is still illegal in the state of Florida and what we’re doing is teaching people about the medical cannabis industry while showing them how to grow herbs and legal vegetables,” Rafer said. Right now, only legal herbs and vegetables will be grown at IMC, and Rafer— a health-conscious personal trainer — emphasizes that everything will be grown organically and GMO free.

Continued on Page 28

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Courses Offered:

Continued from Page 26

Course 1: Foundations Course: Introduction to Medical Cannabis This is an introductory course designed to provide students with the initial information and skills needed to understand all facets of the medical cannabis industry. Course 2: Creating the Garden: All You Need to Grow This course is designed to teach students how to create and build their own gardens (Indoor, Greenhouse and Outdoor) and the time and costs associated with it. Course 3: Cannabis Life Cycle: Germination to Harvest This course is all about growing; the title says it best. From germination/ clone to harvest and everything in between, students will learn from both a practical and lecture format. Course 4: Post-Harvest: Process, Technique, & Final Product This course teaches students the appropriate time to harvest, methods/ techniques of harvesting, how to dry and cure the product, how to store, and final processing techniques (concentrates, oils, edibles, tinctures, salves). Course descriptions courtesy of www.imcflorida.org

UP photo

Cannabis Plants Sativa: Sativa-based marijuana leaves users feeling a more energetic and uplifting high that allows the them to go about their day while still “medicated.” Benefits: Feelings of well being; increases focus and creativity; stimulates and energizes; fights depression Indica: Indica-based marijuana leaves users feeling a strong physical body high that can give the them a “couch lock” sensation, while also aiding in relaxation and easing pain. Benefits: Relieves pain; relaxes muscles; reduces seizures; relieves headaches and stress Hybrid: Hybrids are crosses between two or more different strains to take the desirable traits of each and combine them. Benefits: This gives users the ability to receive the advantages of pain relief that sativas provide while not having the “couch lock” feeling that often come with indicas.

Upressonline.com

April 22, 2014

The students can take home the vegetables and herbs that they grow. It’s still unknown if they will be able to keep weed, even if it becomes legal. Completion of the courses offered at IMC does not give students the legal certification to grow — it simply gives them the skills to cultivate plants properly. If and when medical marijuana becomes legalized in Florida in November, people would have to obtain a license through the state. Rafer’s good friend and brotherin-law both battle multiple sclerosis — an inflammatory disease which attacks the nervous system. That was his motive behind opening IMC. “The people who suffer from diseases or certain medical conditions can have a choice to have an alternative to prescription medications that are sometimes not effective or cause more side effects than they actually cure,” Rafer said. Medical cannabis has been effective in many cases across the United States, including six-year-old Charlotte Fiji. Fiji’s story was covered in a documentary called “WEED” by CNN’s chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta. Like many people, including Fiji’s own parents, Gupta

was adamantly against marijuana and doubted the medical benefits it could offer. Fiji suffered for nearly her entire young life from Dravet syndrome — a rare form of epilepsy that can’t be controlled with medication — which caused her to have about 300 violent seizures per week. Before the diagnosis, doctors put her on several medications including ketamine, a horse tranquilizer. Fiji’s condition progressively got worse, leading to her cognitive and developmental regression. She had already suffered incredible brain damage and had been close to death many times. After a long process, her parents began to treat her with a specific strain of medical cannabis which produced immediate results in treating her epilepsy, reducing her seizures to about two or three times per month (these usually occurred while she was sleeping). This particular strain is known as “Charlotte’s Web” and is being used to treat many others who suffer from epilepsy and related diseases due to its low THC and high CBD levels. The amount of THC in this strain does not produce the euphoric “high” feeling and the higher levels of CBD provides a

Continued on Page 30

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Active Ingredients in Cannabis

Continued From Page 28

CBN: Cannabinoid; Any of the various chemical constituents (as THC or cannabinol) of cannabis or marijuana (Merriam-Webster).

“...what we’re doing is teaching people about the medical cannabis industry while showing them how to grow herbs and legal vegetables,”

THC: Delta-9-Tetrahydrocannabinol is the main active component in marijuana and is the chemical responsible for the psychoactive effect that gives users the “high” feeling. CBD: Cannabidiol is a nonpsychotropic phytocannabinoid, meaning that it does not give users the feeling of being “high,” but it is considered to have a wider scope of medical applications than THC.

Sheridan Rafer, Founder of the Institute of Medical Cannabis

Methods of Cannabis Consumption

Photo courtesy of Sheridan Rafer

natural medication. While Fiji’s parents were amazed by the results that medical cannabis have provided for their daughter, they were unsure of why doctors and researchers in the medical field didn’t discover this sooner. “Prohibition has set research back about 100 years and it’s just unfortunate,” said Rafer. The Charlotte’s Web bill, nicknamed after the strain, is being voted on by politicians. It will allow the particular strain to be legalized for medical purposes only. On Nov. 4 of this year, Floridians will be able to vote on Amendment 2 to allow the use of medical marijuana for other debilitating diseases and conditions not relieved by the particular Charlotte’s Web strain. These include AIDS, cancer, glaucoma, multiple sclerosis, dystonia and many other ailments. Amendment 2 needs a majority of 60 percent of votes to pass. According to United For Care, 70 percent of voters surveyed across all parties support medical marijuana in Florida. Right now 20 states plus the District of Columbia, have legalized the use of medical marijuana and two states — Colorado and Washington — have

Upressonline.com

April 22, 2014

approved recreational use. Rafer volunteers for United for Care, the organization that has brought Amendment 2 to the ballot in November. “I feel like [patients] should have a choice to use medical cannabis and that choice should be made between the patient and the doctor and not by the politicians,” he said. While Rafer believes cannabis alleviates many physical issues, he understands the economic benefits it has as well. “Besides helping the patients, the tax revenue that is generated for the states and for the county is unbelievable. [That revenue could be put toward] funding schools and improving construction.” As for IMC, Rafer hopes that the curriculum and facilities provided by the Institute of Medical Cannabis will offer information to those who are seriously interested in proper cultivation. “For over 10 years it’s been a dream of mine to do something on this level and, now that I’ve put in the time and put in the experience, it’s starting to become a little bit of a dream come true.” [Max Jackson contributed to the reporting of this story.]

Combustion: The most common form of use and a more sophisticated way of saying “smoked” oftentimes through a joint, blunt, bong or bowl. Vaporization: A vaporizer, “vape” for short, is used to heat up the marijuana buds to the point where their active chemicals are released. Because it does not combust the plant matter and doesn’t produce smoke, many believe this is a healthier way of ingestion. Concentrates: The active components of marijuana are stripped from the plant matter and condensed into a wax, liquid or goo. These concentrates are commonly referred to as “dabs” and they deliver potent effects with a minimal amount of material ingested. Edibles: The active chemicals in the desired strain are baked into food products, allowing the user to get the desired effects by eating foods such as brownies, cookies and even lollipops. While effects from edibles can take anywhere from 45 minutes to an hour to kick in, they can be stronger and last longer so users should be careful of their dosage. Tincture: The active components of marijuana are extracted into a liquid that can be placed under the tongue and the desired effects can be reached in about 15 minutes. This is the main method of delivery to children who need to use marijuana medically.

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