Author: Taylor Craig

Article: U.N. Representative gives ‘eye opening’ address on global sexual violence to FAU students and staff

Article, Feature, Quotes

A crowded room consisting of Florida Atlantic University students and faculty members gathered in the Live Oak Pavillion on Wednesday to hear Zainab Hawab Bangura speak on the sensitive issue of sexual violence in areas of conflict around the world.

Bangura was appointed as Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary General on Sexual Violence in Conflict in 2012 following a lifetime of activism in her home country of Sierra Leone, according to the U.N.’s website.

Being her first speech in 2016, Bangura spoke about raising awareness and increasing the number of influential female leaders in countries ravaged by sexual violence.

“Young girls cannot be what they don’t see,” Bangura said.

Secretary and ‘Her’storian of FAU’s Feminist Graduate Student Association, Selena Quiros found the keynote speaker effective at communicating a global message to a local audience.

“To see someone there, politically representing these issues was really eye opening,” Quiros said. “It’s just something that’s thrown at you because in this country we don’t really hear about global issues too much.”

FAU’s Provost and Vice President of Academic affairs, Gary Perry, explained that the University should feel privileged to have such a noteworthy person speaking on campus.

“This is just an incredible woman doing an incredible job,” Perry said. “It’s remarkable to me that even with the authority and power, if you will, of the United Nations that things don’t get done… if the member nations are not prepared to step up to the plate.”

Following the address, Perry had a chance to speak privately with the U.N. representative.

“I just said to her that it must be very frustrating to know all of this and realize you’re the United Nations and still, you can’t really… bring a resolution to all of these problems,” he said.

Also in attendance at the event was Boca Raton Mayor Susan Haynie, who fielded a question about the city’s Human Trafficking Awareness Month.

“We intend to have focus groups, continue the education and the awareness and make certain that our law enforcement are aware and are tuned into seeing the signs,” Haynie said. “I understand that a lot of our transit areas are putting up posters, giving awareness of human trafficking.”

Perry conceded that the best course of action, given the state of unsupportive governments in the cause, is to raise awareness.

“You heard the Mayor Susan Haynie,” he said. “Even here in Boca Raton, one of the most affluent parts of the country, trafficking goes on and who’s aware of it?”

Providing gruesome anecdotes of inhumanity against women in areas under the control of terrorist groups, Bangura admits the U.N. cannot keep track of all of the sexual assault taking place.

“The fact is we simply do not know the full extent of these crimes. It is estimated that 10 or 20 more go unreported,” Bangura said. “Many crimes go unpunished, completely hidden.”

Bima Nalerio, a Graduate student seeking her Master’s degree in Social Justice at FAU, is trained to help sex trafficking survivors.

“To see that we have these kinds of leaders that have led the path for human’s rights and women’s rights, it really gives me hope for the future,” Nalerio said. “Until we put human rights above profit margins, human rights will always be violated.”

Nalerio drew a mixed reaction of appall and laughter from the mostly female audience after stating her question to Bangura, asking why men are so destructive.

“I felt like ‘when else am I going to have the opportunity to ask this kind of question to someone with this much experience?’”

Bangura credited prayer and her spirituality in helping her remain strong against the atrocities she faces every day.

“I can’t answer your question,” Bangura said. “What I have learned is that it is man’s inhumanity against man.”
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Article: The Buzz With No Benefit

Studies

A recent study suggests that the consumption of energy drinks among college students may be related with poor academic performance and below-average problem-solving abilities.

Published in the Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, a recent study authored by Joseph J. Trunzo Ph.D. and other researchers analyzed nearly 500 undergraduate college students in the United States. These researchers examined the students’ energy drink consumption, as well as social problem-solving ability and academic performance.

“Social problem-solving ability was significantly correlated with energy drink use, indicating either that better problem-solvers consume fewer energy drinks, or those who consume more energy drinks are poorer problem-solvers,” the authors wrote.

A student in his sophomore year at Tallahassee Community College, Brayan Diaz equates other popular caffeinated drinks to the well-known energy drink Redbull.

“It might make it harder to study without Redbull. I like my sleep, so without it I might just be crashing,” Diaz said. “I drink Coca-cola too and it has the same amount of caffeine in it, so it’s all the same to me. If it keeps me up, I’m good.”

While the study claims the consumers are aware of the health-risks of using such energy drinks, the authors point out that these highly-caffeinated beverages fail to produce the few perceived benefits that attract so many college students.

“These products do not seem to serve the purpose for which they are frequently used: to enhance academic performance,” the authors wrote. “In fact, it appears their use leads to the opposite of their intended effect.”

A senior at Florida State University, Patrick Murray steers away from energy drinks, feeling that they aren’t as helpful as students think they are.

“It depends on how much studying they have to do, I guess,” Murray said. “I just think it keeps you awake. I don’t think it motivates you to study.”

The authors of this study concluded that energy drinks have more damaging effects on a student’s grade point average than recreational use of common drugs like marijuana and alcohol.

“Our results actually suggest that energy drink use is the single most significant negative predictor of academic performance in the model, even beyond that of overall drug use (e.g., alcohol, marijuana, other stimulant drugs),” the authors wrote.

Victoria Rountree works at Voltage Café on the TCC campus, selling coffee, food and energy drinks to students, while she feels regretful for being hooked on energy drinks since the age of fourteen.

“I’m trying to stop drinking them because they make me feel horrible. I crash in a really bad way,” Rountree said. “My heart won’t stop pumping at a hundred miles an hour. They keep me up and about, but as soon as I don’t need that energy anymore, I can’t expel it.”

Article: The Cookie Man

Business

Zach Zelner entered Florida State’s College of Entrepreneurship with the desire to learn fundamentals of business in lecture halls. Only two years later, now 20 years old, Zelner is getting on-the-job training as Founder and Owner of the thriving local business, Z Baked.

Zelner had launched The Cookieman in his first semester of college. It was a service that delivered a variety of baked goods for late-night free delivery. With The Cookieman’s early success, Zelner knew he would have to devote more of his time to his growing business.

When he was 18 years old, Zelner dropped out of the College of Entrepreneurship as advisers proved unhelpful in his desire to continue attending school.

“That first night, my girlfriend and I, alone in my apartment, we got like 45 orders,” Zelner said. “It was an absolute disaster.”

Without drivers, an appropriate oven and other kitchen necessities, Zelner found it stressful trying to keep up with the overwhelming number of orders.

After three weeks of working out of his small apartment, Zelner arranged to use Donut Kingdom’s kitchen through the late hours of the night.

“As we went into Donut Kingdom, sales increased eleven-fold,” Zelner said.

After seven months of saving, Zelner opened his own store on Pensacola Street and changed his company’s name from The Cookieman to Z Baked.

It was at Donut Kingdom that Zelner hired Juan Severini, one of Z Baked’s best customers, to drive for them. Severini is now a manager at Z Baked’s Tallahassee location.

“Before I started working here, I ordered Cookieman for a month straight, to the point that I went broke,” Severini said. “I was paying in like pennies and dimes. I knew I had to get a job.”

Severini sees Z Baked’s success as a result of catering to two large markets occupied by college students.

“One is the stoner market and the other one is the drunk market,” Severini said. “You’ve got your fried food that’s going to sober you up and you’ve got your munchies and sweets that are going to satisfy your cravings.”

More than a month ago, BITE was launched out of Z Baked’s Tallahassee location. With an entirely different menu featuring mozzarella sticks, chicken fingers, macaroni and cheese and more, BITE has shown promising results.

“I looked at it and knew this is what people want,” Zelner said. “We already had the infrastructure. We had the storefront, the drivers, the kitchen, and it became evident that it was something we were going to move forward with.”

Though the kitchen can be hectic at times, Zelner believes in fostering a relaxing, positive work environment for his employees.

“I’m not a very relaxed person. I’m pretty intense and driven for what I want,” Zelner said. “I try to redirect that drive into positive energy to ensure a happy and cohesive team. We want our employees to be positive, to be happy with the business, to support the business, and to feel comfortable being there.”

After successfully expanding to locations in Orlando and Tampa, Zelner hired Kolby Watson as Tallahassee’s general manager, who has a similar approach to the workplace atmosphere.

“From the beginning, we’ve tried to keep it positive and fun,” Watson said. “As a manager, I think the best dynamic is having staff that want to listen to you, and really care about doing well.”

At 20 years old, Zelner looks forward to the further growth of his business. While he admits he still makes mistakes, he appreciates the lessons learned.

“I’m not anything special,” Zelner said. “I’m a guy who won at something simply because I wasn’t going to take ‘no’ for an answer. I wasn’t going to stop.”

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Article: How do long-time smokers react when introduced to e-cigarettes?

Studies

A recent study of regular smokers resulted in the majority of participants making a switch to electronic cigarettes.

Carla J. Berg and researchers from the departments of Behavioral Sciences and Environmental Health at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia conducted an 8-week study of regular cigarette smokers by introducing them to e-cigarettes.

At the end of the 8-week study, researchers found that there was a significant change in the participants’ perspective, regarding the use of e-cigarettes.

“The majority believed that e-cigarettes versus regular cigarettes have fewer health risks (97.2%) and that e-cigarettes have been shown to help smokers quit (80.6%) and reduce cigarette consumption (97.2%),” the study said. “In addition, the majority intended to use e-cigarettes as a complete replacement for regular cigarettes (69.4%).”

Shawntelle Williams, a student in her second year at Tallahassee Community College has been smoking for fifteen years..

“I just feel some type of way about vapor,” Williams said, while puffing on a Black and Mild cigarette. “It hasn’t been around enough for me to want to try it. I don’t want to be a guinea pig.”

The author of the study admits in its conclusion that more research is necessary before the science community can officially support the practice of what many refer to as ‘vaping’.

“Future research is needed to document the long-term impact on smoking behavior and health among cigarette smokers who initiate use of e-cigarettes,” said the study.

Though the participants do not possess the needed scientific background to prove their claims, the majority believed that their health had improved after switching to electronic cigarettes for the study.

“At week 8, the majority reported improved health (65.4%), reduced smoker’s cough (57.7%), and improved sense of smell (53.8%) and taste (50.0%).”

Working at a local convenience store, Adrian Smith, a junior at TCC, sees a growing trend of popularity in e-cigarettes.

“I work at a convenience store and we have a lot of customers who come in and get the e-cigarettes because there’s some that have less nicotine in them,” Smith said. “They basically help wean them off of smoking actual cigarettes. I have a few customers that stopped smoking cigarettes period, because they went to the e-cigarettes.”

A graduate of TCC since 2005, Chris Houp has noticed positive changes in his friend’s physical health. A long time smoker, Houp’s friend recently made the switch from tobacco cigarettes to e-cigarettes.

“We play basketball together and he’s gotten a little bit of his wind back.”