In  1979, the tower was burned down by unknown arsonists and since then has sat in desolation on the banks of the Hillsborough River. However, many residents have recently taken it upon themselves to try and restore this once cherished landmark. 

  The bat tower was built to house the native bats of Temple Terrace to try and quell the problem of rampant mosquitos, which caused malaria. The tower was built by developers in the city and was modeled after the plans of Dr. Charles Campbell. Dr. Campbell was well known as an early pioneer in the study of bats.

  It is unknown whether or not the bat tower was home to the native bats, mainly because of the condition of the tower was so poor. Further research has been hindered since the tower succumbed to a devastating fire.

  There are three other bat towers in America, one in Sugarloaf Key, Florida and two in Texas. Those towers are also based on the designs of Dr. Campbell.  The Sugarloaf Key Bat Tower also has no evidence of bats roosting inside. However, the Texas towers have been reconfigured and now house thousands of bats.

  The current reconstruction cost of the Temple Terrace Bat Tower is estimated at $65,000 and the project has been off and on for years. Advocates for the reconstruction agree that it will restore city pride and reduce the use of pesticides by the city. The new tower would also provide a home for many native bats and possibly attract tourism. However, some residents think it to be a waste of time and money, mainly because there was no evidence bats ever lived in the original tower.

  Usefulness aside, the Temple Terrace bat tower stood as a pillar of pride for residents for over 50 years. The restoration of the tower is on many people’s minds and it is evident as you drive through Temple Terrace. Many houses have signs in their yard supporting the cause. Donations can be made to the city of Temple Terrace.

   This is not a case of people who are constantly trying to “scam the system” and live off the state. These people have been affected by recent economic challenges, and are forced to struggle to find their way in a world where steady employment and affordable housing opportunities are scarce. This situation is not going to get better on its own. One person can make a difference in the lives of countless others by getting involved with non-profit organizations in the community.

   So this is not a case of people who are constantly trying to “scam the system” and live off the state Metropolitan Ministries is one of these organizations. They have helped over half a million families since the organization’s inception in 1972. A scant 6% of the funding required to run operations comes from government grants. The remaining 94% is a result of monetary donations. Only 5% of the institution’s budget goes towards administration funding, 11% to program development and the remaining 84% goes directly to operating the programs and services they offer.

   The programs and services include: temporary housing, nutrition, health care, education programs, substance abuse recovery programs, vocational training and permanent affordable housing to name a few. Metropolitan Ministries helps people to obtain the tools they need to get off the streets and back on their feet. It does not take much to help them. Each meal they are providing for this Thanksgiving will cost $1.76.

   However, they are anticipating serving over 500,000 meals this season. Most of the community is struggling in one way or another, but even donating time to help an organization such as this makes a huge difference. Metropolitan Ministries saves $2.5 million a year in labor costs because of volunteers. Habitat for Humanity in Hillsborough County is a similar organization. They provide affordable housing to persons who would not otherwise be able to afford a home.

   This is not given free of cost. If an applicant is approved, they will end up with a home for which they are responsible for the mortgage, which is calculated at cost with no interest. The cost of the house excludes volunteer hours and donated materials. The applicant must be capable of maintaining legal employment that will allow them to pay for their house. The applicant is also required to put in 500 “sweat equity” hours before receiving his or her house. This includes building other Habitat houses, as well as their own. Habitat for Humanity in Hillsborough County accepts monetary donations but is also in need of new or gently used appliances and other items to help furnish the homes.

   They also welcome both skilled and unskilled volunteers to help build the homes. Ultimately, the homeless issue is one that affects the whole state and the burden should not be solely that of non-profit organizations. Although it is not always evident, the matter has not escaped the attention of the government. As it is, Florida spends over $300 million a year in providing shelter for the homeless in our state. Homelessness often leads to other problems such as mental and physical health decline and unemployment. The cost to the state increases as it tries to deal with these consequences.

   The legislature is working to decrease the growing number of homeless persons in the state, but it has proven to be a long and arduous task. There is no denying that there are a few individuals that choose to live off the hard work of others, but there are those who wish to be self-sufficient once more and cease to be an emotional and financial burden to those around them. In the latter’s case, there is something that individuals can do to speed up the process while the government comes up with a solution.

   It would be rude to wake up your professor or a classmate at two in the morning, and surely no tutor is available now –or is there? That’s where Smarthinking comes to the rescue. Smarthinking, based in Washington, DC, provides people, technology and training to help students excel.

   Smarthinking connects you to qualified online tutors, referred to as “e-structors,” anytime, from any Internet connection at no cost to you, the Hillsborough Community College student. Once logged in, you are able to gain assistance in a number of different ways: immediate, live chatting with an e-structor; scheduled, personal sessions with an e-structor; or by submitting an essay or draft for review or submitting a specific question that can be answered by an e-structor at a later date.

   These options are available 24/7, and can be accessed from any computer with an internet connection – just log in and go (SmarThinking). Live chatting is the easiest way to quickly get the assistance you need. Select the subject of interest from the drop-down list and ask your question. Within moments, an e-structor will respond back and be there with you every step of the way until you understand. Submitting a specific question, also known as “Asynchronous tutoring”, is an alternative to live, drop-in tutoring that can be used when you do not have time for a live session and are able to wait for a response.

   To use this option, select the subject you want from the drop-down list. As with live tutoring, the whiteboard will open. Write your question on the whiteboard, and click “Submit Question”. A response will be provided within about 24 hours. Scheduled sessions are more useful if you are having continuous problems with a subject and want the same e-structor that helped you before, or want to receive live help in Spanish (at this current time, scheduled sessions are the only way to do so.)

   To arrange a session, follow the online instructions to schedule your session, and you will receive an email confirmation once the session is scheduled. At the time of your session, log on to Smarthinking and click on the highlighted session date in the calendar that appears at the bottom of the screen. A pop-up screen will appear which contains information about your session. Click on “join the session” to proceed. You may only join your scheduled session up to ten minutes before or ten minutes after its scheduled start time.

   A gong noise will sound when the e-structor arrives. Submitting an essay is just as easy, and the personalized response you receive from a Smarthinking e-structor can be used to guide the revisions you make to your work. Select the subject that reflects the type of writing you are submitting; most academic writing will be submitted to the Essay Center (use the Career Writing Center for business writing, or the Spanish Essay Center if your assignment is written in Spanish).

   Complete the provided information form, upload your essay or draft, and choose the type of tutor you want to review your writing; choices include “First Available,” “ESL Specialist,” “Business/Technical Writing Specialist,” and “Creative Writing Specialist”. If your writing falls into a category supported by a specialist, it is best to choose that tutor group. The time required to review your essay is the same for each of these tutor groups; responses are typically provided in about 24 hours.

   So the next time you need help, you can find some comfort in knowing that you are not alone, and that help is a weblink away, no matter how late it is. To access the website, go to www.smarthinking.hccfl.edu/index.php. For more information about Smarthinking, refer to your student handbook. Fast, friendly, and free for you–now that’s smart thinking.

Play 98.7 Presents “That Guy” Kramer’s Bitter Ball 2012 Tampa, FL- Tuesday, February 14 Updated information on Bitter Ball can be found at Play987.com/Bitter.

   Arianna Peguero, a close friend and USF graduate, has been struggling for months trying to get a job.  “It makes no sense that such a high demanding job is so hard to obtain,” says Arianna. “If it is this hard for a college student to find jobs in nursing, you know something is wrong.” This statement couldn’t be further from the truth.

   Even nurses who have been working for years have noticed some unemployment. It’s time to find out what’s going on. Walking into Barns and Noble, I sit down and greet my neighbor and close friend, Jeanette Held, a nurse of 15 years. Over the past few years, she has noticed some that many of her co-workers have been working full-time, living little to no space for new applicants.

   Earlier in the week we bumped into each other on the neighborhood trail, it was then that I knew we could have a great conversation dealing with the current crises. Jeannette is aware of the current state of nursing, and provides a great explanation of what is going on.

   “Over the past two years, I’ve noticed that older nurses want to keep their jobs while nurses who use to work part time, now work full-time,” said Jeanette.  “This could very well be the reason that college graduates aren’t getting the jobs they deserved,” says Jeanette, “Older nurses aren’t leaving the field as much as they use to.”  If this is the case, nursing will become yet another job which will become hard to obtain by college graduates.

   Over the past few years, college students have been struggling to find jobs in this current economy, and things are only getting worse.  The only thing we can do is take things one step at a time.  Not only is the economy affecting businesses and families, but is now reaching out to college students.  The only they can do is sit back, and watch the unemployment rate skyrocket.

February Schedule Basketball

   According to Michael Cunningham, a hat is never just a hat; it’s a life story. A hat speaks long before its wearer utters a word, and the many church hats currently on display and framed in pictures on the walls of HCC Dale Mabry’s Art Gallery are noisier than ever.

    Michael Cunningham’s Crowns Exhibit, currently on display until February 29th, showcases not just the hats, but the women under the hats, and the deep, cultural roots connecting them.

   Cunningham compares the exhibit to “sitting on the edge of a bed of a woman who is preparing for Sunday service… as you’re sitting there with her, she pulls out this old hat from a hatbox and she begins to tell you a story. Look at her face.

   Listen to her wisdom“. Maryland born photographer Michael Cunningham has enjoyed photography all of his life. As a young boy, Cunningham got to go to church with his evangelist mother “more often than [he] wanted to”, and can remember hats that would “stop a preacher in the middle of a sermon.”

   While working as a corporate photographer, Cunningham began working on Crowns as a personal project. Over the next few years, Cunningham photographed over fifty different women, cataloging and recording their experiences and wisdom as they came and went.

   The current exhibition at HCC is truly a sight to behold. The solemn, yet powerful, portraits are able to capture the eye and stir the mind in vivid black and white.

“Professor Darryl Myles presents his copy of “Crowns: Portraits of Black Women in Church Hats” signed by author/photographer Michael Cunningham.”

   Cunningham chose to shoot in black and white because he felt “color would take away from the woman and the hat together”; his aim was not the hat itself, but the woman underneath: her life, her thoughts, and the reason she wears her hat like a crown. For some, it is a shield; protecting her from the world around her.

    For others, it is a status symbol or a sign of freedom. Whatever the reason, be it a connection to roots or religion or an escape from the routine, every woman is a queen with a crown. Each queen wears her crown and follows her own rules. Each queen has her “hattitude” and the hat she wears does not stylize her, she stylizes the hat.

   Michael Cunningham’s published photography book of the same name has sold over 120 thousand copies worldwide; has been featured on the Today Show, CBS’ Sunday Morning, and NPR; and has been adapted into a stage play that became the number one produced musical play in America in 2005.

   The book is available wherever books are sold. The exhibit at HCC Dale Mabry exhibit is located mid-campus, in the second floor of the Learning Resource Center – north of the Social Science Building and will show until February 29th.

On New Year’s Day, the St. Petersburg Times officially changed its name to the Tampa Bay Times, so on New Year’s Eve Tampa Bay Lightning fans helped their team christen the newly renamed Tampa Bay Times Forum in a 5 to 2 win over the Carolina Hurricanes.

   The renamed forum had new look logos throughout the stadium. It also marked another historical night for the Lightning faithful when the Hall of Fame inductee, Phil Esposito statue was unveiled.  Phil Esposito, the co-founder of the Tampa Bay Lightning, Hall of Fame skater, and current play by play color commentator was honored with a brilliant introduction.

   The night was full of memories for many of the players as well. Steve Stamkos delivered his fifth overall hat trick, while Marty St. Louis delivered three assists to reach his 500th for his career.