River Jean-Noel | Assistant News Director
It’s been a busy semester. We’ve had visits from state government, anti-Semitism review committees in light of the Israel-Palestine conflict, Board of Trustees decisions that will affect classrooms going forward, and tragically, the passing of two members of our FIU community.
We touched on about what shenanigans the BoT have been getting up to. Recently, they plan to build a new aquatic center, right where the Stocker AstroScience Center is.
The director of the observatory, Dr. James Webb, mourned the loss of the space near the observatory, citing how “light pollution from the pool and the thermal currents emitting from the chlorine water would obscure the sensitive optical equipment of the Astro Tower.”
The Board of Trustees had other site options that would have been more suitable and non-disruptive toward students and astronomy equipment, namely Sites 7 and 24, which would only take up parking lot space.
Despite the failings of the Board to listen to the opinions of students and staff, surely campus has been doing well in other ways, right?
Investigative reporters discovered nearly a dozen elevators around campus with expired certificates. After surveying the student body, PantherNOW heard first-hand accounts of elevators around campus being unsafe, rickety, and at a constant risk of breaking down.
Despite these accounts, FIU maintains that the elevators remain inspected routinely and are safe to use – regardless of expired certificates.
In a shocking twist of events, RonDeSantis, two-time governor of Florida and one-time failed presidential nominee, visited FIU for a press conference.
Aside from the local FIU unrest, there are global reasons students are upset. On October 15, dozens of students organized outside of GC lawns to protest the year-long Israel-Hamas war.
While it may seem like this semester was rife with bad news, FIU did manage to secure a better public transit situation for its many commuter students with the approval of a new transit station at the BBC campus.
Another event was the “Fight For Our Freedoms” panel discussion, featuring Laura Loomer, Ryan Fournier, and Alex Stein. The MAGA roundtable, hosted by 19-year old accounting major Jacob Giron, touched on important topics such as DEI, “woke culture” and even religion, citing how a disbelief in God will allow “them to control you.”
On a more serious note, there were several deaths this semester. 22-year old alumnus Anjali Persaud was struck by a passing bus and killed.
Similarly, beloved Japanese Literature and Cinema professor Toshimi Abe-Janiga passed away at 62 after being hit by a car on her morning run. The perp fled the scene after running Abe-Janiga over, only to be caught just hours later. FIU mourns the loss of a colleague and the Miami community mourns the loss of an accomplished woman.
This semester certainly gave student news multiple top stories. Keep an eye out on PantherNOW’s spring semester reporting as we tackle new developments.
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