Settling the score with ACT and SAT: Testing and college enrollment in 2023
A student taking a multiple-choice test. Credit: Andy Barbour

Settling the score with ACT and SAT: Testing and college enrollment in 2023

At any point in a prospective student’s application process up until the COVID-19 outbreak, they have been required to contend with the placement test. For folks in Florida, the two historic heavyweights have been the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) and American College Testing (ACT) exams.…

0 Comments
Green New Meal Deal: Metz battles increased student food waste
"Weigh the Waste" board located in Hamilton Center. (Taken by Mark McDermott.)

Green New Meal Deal: Metz battles increased student food waste

Though Palm Court has precedent to the esteemed “Center of the Universe” title, the second closest candidate for such a prestigious position is the Hamilton “Ham” Center—a staple in student life and on-campus dining. In spite of its importance, upwards of 120 lbs. of Metz…

0 Comments
Holiday hotspots in Sarasota
UTC celebrating the holiday season. (Taken by Aria Lockmann.)

Holiday hotspots in Sarasota

Earlier this semester, the Catalyst covered a trifecta of locally-owned businesses where one could get a good cup of coffee. Assuming the campus has been caffeinated—coupled with so many students being cooped up during the dreaded finals week—the best course of action would be to…

0 Comments
A culture of combat: taking the gloves off of Fight Club
First-year Chris Rodriguez (left) and Fight Club Instructor and thesis student Barbara "Babs" Monteiro (right) practicing a combo of kickboxing strikes. (Credit: Mark McDermott)

A culture of combat: taking the gloves off of Fight Club

If one needs proof that every inch of the Novo is blessed with venom, they need to look no further than Fight Club. Beginning life as a Muay Thai kickboxing and Shotokan karate club in Fall 2021, Fight Club has given way to a constructive…

0 Comments
Peeking behind the curtain of the 2022 Dance Collective Showcase
The Dance Collective Showcase flyer. (Courtesy of Gaby Batista, illustrated by a member of the Art Club.)

Peeking behind the curtain of the 2022 Dance Collective Showcase

Among the oldest forms of artistic expression is dancing, and 6,000 years of human history have found a home in the Mildred Sainer Auditorium. Over the course of each semester, the Dance Collective club on campus carefully coordinates their namesake, Dance Collective Showcase—an eclectic assembly…

0 Comments
Previewing Stupid F*cking Bird: Chekhov’s “The Seagull” Twice Removed
Second-year Mars Frambles rocking out during rehearsal. Photo taken by Sophia Brown.

Previewing Stupid F*cking Bird: Chekhov’s “The Seagull” Twice Removed

Provided one pardons the French of an old Russian play in new clothes, there’s something to be said of thesis student and director KC Casey’s rendition of Aaron Posner’s Stupid Fucking Bird—a triumph two-and-a-half years in the making—that’s managed to capture the Novo imagination. Perhaps…

0 Comments
An uncharted future for NCF eSports
A desktop gaming setup with a monitor, RGB keyboard, and gaming chair Photo credit: Evgeniy Parilov at Dreamstime.com

An uncharted future for NCF eSports

As with all things New College, the campus’ past involvement in the college sports ecosystem has been unorthodox. New College’s stake in the competitive sports space is the burgeoning battlefield of competitive gaming (also known as eSports), but NCF eSports’ greatest opponent in the present…

0 Comments
Pillars of sand: investigating the perpetually out-of-order emergency telephone poles
One of the emergency telephone poles (ETCs) ironically dismembered, with its conical head strung limply and swinging by remaining wires. Located on the west side of campus on a circular path near the College Hall and the bay. Photo courtesy of Bliss Jennings, caption courtesy of Nickolas Steinig.

Pillars of sand: investigating the perpetually out-of-order emergency telephone poles

Of the myriad abstract pillars that uphold an academic community, safety is an essential component. Unfortunately, the actual, corporeal pillars that uphold this value on campus—the cyan-smeared emergency telephone poles (ETCs)—have been out of commission for as long as any currently-enrolled students can recall, and…

0 Comments