Best of Florida Schools 2005
Web-Only Categories—Page 10

Best Alcohol Awareness Week
Incoming: Golf Cart
Manatee Community College pulled out all the stops for this one. They let their students drive golf carts while “under the influence,” brought in a car that spun on hydraulics, and had local firefighters tear apart another car. As part of their Alcohol Awareness Week program last October, MCC brought in as many activities and demonstrations as they could to educate students. In one activity, students put on goggles that simulated different blood alcohol levels, got in a golf cart, and attempted to maneuver their vehicle through a safety-cone obstacle course. “They have the security officer sit in the golf cart with them in case they happen to be going way off course,” says Timothy Hill, student activities advisor. “That way they make sure they’re not running over anybody.”

Once students had managed through the obstacle course with the goggles, they’re offered other challenges. With the goggles on, they must attempt to write their initials in a designated area on a dry erase board and get a basketball into a trash can. Most students had difficulty doing all these activities. Hill says this experiment really showed students how alcohol affects your body, since having the goggles on only simulated how vision is altered.

The Florida Highway Patrol also brought a roll-over simulator. Here, students got to see the effects on the human body in a roll-over crash. A car was suspended from a truck and was spun around with hydraulics, while the dummies inside the car bounced around and, on occasion, flopped out of the car. “We hope with the roll-over simulator that they’re going to wear their seatbelts,” Hill says. “They didn’t realize your body gets thrown around quite that much.”

Also, the Cedar Hammock Fire Department performed a jaws-of-life demonstration on a car as the battalion chief explained to on-lookers exactly what they were doing and why they were tearing up the car the way they did.

Along with these demonstrations, MCC brought out the Sarasota Sheriff’s Office to explain how their blood alcohol testing unit works; created a game show based on alcohol-awareness issues where students played for $300; installed software called Alcohol 101 on the school’s computers; invited a few speakers; and provided free Pepsi and music.

The event is held in the middle of campus to attract students walking by, but many professors brought their classes out, as well. The activities usually coincides with Alcohol Awareness Week, but they also bring it back before spring break. Hill says they have as many as 100 people turn out. “Our goal is to create awareness of the dangers of drinking and driving,” Hill says. “It’s a good event.”—JW

Contact Hill at hillt1@mccfl.edu.

Most Diverse Team
You Got Served
Manatee Community College’s woman’s volleyball team is singing “We Are the World.” And they really mean it. The Lady Lancer volleyball team has key members from Belgium, Hungary, Greece, Croatia, and Brazil. Despite the huge cultural differences, Coach Ken Deterding says few problems are caused by the diversity. “I think girls are girls, and they pretty much interact the same,” he says. “I don’t find it that much different.”

Deterding says that while the cultural differences aren’t a barrier, the language gap tends to be a little difficult. “The first year, the Greek girl that we had just said ‘yes’ to everything I said, which I liked, but I’m not sure she understood most of it,” he says. “But with a little patience, it’s just like anything.”

However, it seems like nothing will hinder the girls’ game. The Lady Lancers went through their regular season undefeated with a 23-0 record and were ranked No. 6 in the nation before losing in the state finals.

All the diversity may actually aid the girls, Deterding says. “I think it helps them because we basically find out that we’re not that much different, no matter who we are or where we came from.”—JW

Contact Deterding at gcjbb@tampabay.rr.com

Best Halloween Party
MDC Gets Spooky
What happened to the good ol’ days when parents could take their kids trick-or-treating without worrying about them receiving poisonous Halloween candy or being the victims of dangerous criminals or high-school pranksters?

Thanks to Miami Dade College—Kendall Campus’ “Spooky Night,” parents don’t have to worry about their kids’ safety while trick-or-treating. Minerva Vasquez, Student Government Association advisor, says Spooky Night provides the perfect venue for elementary school students to have a safe place to trick-or-treat. “At the time, SGA was also looking for a community service project to collect food for the needy as well as trying to find a way to involve the other clubs and organizations on campus,” she says.

The public gained entrance by bringing a can of food for the Salvation Army or a monetary donation to the United Way of any amount. More than 900 people attended Spooky Night, and by the end of the night, students collected more than $200 and hundreds of canned goods. “This event was a huge success because 90 percent of the participants were children from the neighboring elementary schools, which was the group the students were targeting,” Vasquez says.

Students got wet dunking for apples, used their imaginations to carve pumpkins, and had a blast playing toss games, fish games, and guessing games. Some activities weren’t for the faint of heart including a haunted house, a screaming contest, and two creepy-costume contests.

“The response from the neighborhood was wonderful and the support from the faculty, staff, and administrators was very generous,” Vasquez says. “This truly became a community event.” –RG

Contact Vasquez at minnie.vasquez@mdc.edu.

Best Artist Series
Music to NFCC's Ears
What's more than 40 years old and knows how to please a college crowd? Every year, from September to March, one of the oldest artist-series entertains crowds at North Florida Community College for a scandalously cheap fare.

The Artist Series has brought such acts as Keep on the Sunny Side: The Songs and Story of the Carter Family, Hotlanta Dixieland Jazz, and Dance Alive to the otherwise rural town. Trying to provide variety for the audience, the NFCC Department of College Advancement hosts performances as diverse as they come. "We have everything from the Chamber Orchestra Kremlin to ballet to opera to a Beatles Review to a Patsy Cline Review," says Patricia Hinton, chair of the artist series. "We have an eclectic audience."

A wide array of performances leads to an even wider variety of patrons. Students, retirees, and community members attend the shows while children from local area schools attend the Children's Theatre. Students and the general public typically comprise about 300 to 350 seats in the Van H. Priest Auditorium.

For the students, variety couldn't come cheaper—they pay a mere $6 per performance. General admission tickets are $11 for a single show and $40 for a season pass. Such a low price for such quality entertainment is a hard deal to pass up. "We're inundated every year with people who want to come here," Hinton says. —LH

Contact Hinton at artistseries@nfcc.edu.

Best Club Expo
I Scream, You Scream
I scream, you scream, we all scream for…recruiting? The Inter-Club Council at North Florida Community College figures that everyone has a sweet tooth. That's why they held an ice cream social to attract students at their last club expo, which occurs once in spring and fall.

Clubs from all over campus set up tables, lay out literature, and meet with faculty sponsors to recruit students for the coming year. Students usually are lured by the ice cream, says Bobby Scott, coordinator of student activities. "We trick them," he says, laughing. Enticed by the free ice cream and candy, students come in, look around, and join a variety of clubs such as the African American Student Union, Brain Bowl, the Jazz Ensemble, the American Sign Language Club, Save Our Animal Resources, and the Sentinel Rocketeers, a rocket-and missile-building club that operates under the guidance of the National Rocket Club.

Ice cream may attract students like bees to honey, but it takes more substance to keep their interest. For example, SOAR draws members by exploring ecological issues. "We've actually built little houses for endangered bluebirds," says Kelly Renfroe, Student Government Association president. "It's a lot of fun."

Typically, SGA and the African American Student Union are popular with the students, Renfroe says. "Some clubs you have to be invited to, but like with the African American Student Union, anyone can join," she says. —LH

Contact Scott at scottb@nfcc.edu.

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