SRQ DAILY Jul 10, 2021
"This podcast is a reflection of New College, a reflection of our community, and I really feel like we're giving this really amazing human element to our problems."
There’s still reason to believe the hottest political contest in the region next year will be a Republican primary for Congress, where conservative activist Martin Hyde is challenging long-time Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Sarasota. But fundraising figures made available this week show Hyde needs to do much more to become competitive.
Despite holding a well-attended gathering at his home in June and cultivating a social media following, Hyde wrapped his first fundraising quarter with around $4,000 raised from two sources besides himself. He also put $30,000 in the race, showing a willingness to put his own skin in the game. After some serious startup costs, he wrapped the quarter with just over $6,000 in cash.
But in comparison, Rep. Vern Buchanan raised almost $600,000 in the three-month quarter, and he already had more than $330,000 in the bank. His team says he’s pulled in $1.1 million in fresh contributions for his reelection since winning an eighth term in November. He issued a statement this weekend that he was “humbled” by the support. His advisors, meanwhile, reminded that the last time a Republican challenged Buchanan in a primary, now-Manatee County Commissioner James Satcher’s little noticed bid in 2016, Buchanan won by more than 60 percentage points.
Toss in that Hyde has lost two Sarasota City Commission races and once earned national attention for shouting at Hispanic kids in town to “cut the grass” and it’s easy to see this contest becoming marginal.
Indeed, it may.
So why pay attention? The one thing I can’t shake is the similarities in political landscape this year to that in 2010, when the Tea Party became a political force. Two years after a Democratic president won election, conservatives delivered a midterm backlash for the record books.
The greatest consequence of that year came with Republicans retaking the House, putting Buchanan in the majority for the first time since his 2006 election. In many ways, the movement was good news. But don’t forget the conservative uprising came with a strong anti-establishment bent. It allowed then-relative unknown Marco Rubio to drive a sitting Republican Governor out of the party during an open Senate race that year. Other establishment-loved incumbents across the country also lost to populist challengers.
Could that happen this year? It would need to do so in spectacular, almost exaggerated fashion for Hyde to win. But one can imagine an environment where the fact Buchanan held two fundraisers at his home this year headlined by House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, while lucrative, becomes political kryptonite. Depending on the flavor of the pushback, one could even see some of Hyde’s strong negatives turned into positives. We’ve seen before when individuals criticized for racist statements suddenly end up repackaged as victims of woke sensitivity.
One would hope civically responsible votes like certifying Joe Biden’s legitimate victory last November won’t be used against Buchanan. But play tape of the crowd chanting “Trump won” at a rally here last week to find evidence a primary electorate may hold enough resentment of the sitting president that honoring election results becomes an albatross.
Hyde believes he can beat Buchanan by winning just north of 40,000 votes. That 2016 primary with Satcher seems to support that, as just over 66,000 voted in that intraparty contest. Still, the number feels shy to me. Winning means organizing a tremendous get-out-the-vote effort, one Buchanan absolutely has the resourced to respond to in kind. This could be a 100,000-vote race with less than half the Republicans in the district voting.
Hyde has limited time to built up the war chest he needs. And this may become moot if the Legislature simply draws Hyde into Greg Steube’s district and out of Buchanan’s; I promise the RINO-hunting electorate will not work on a Fox News spitfire incumbent like Steube, and I’m not sure Hyde can build anything if he leaves the district and his existing Sarasota supporters behind to move to Manatee.
But it's a race worth taking seriously. Buchanan’s people have their eye on Hyde. If I was them, I wouldn’t turn their attention away too soon.
Jacob Ogles is contributing senior editor for SRQ MEDIA. 
New College is a microcosm, and our on-campus efforts to move toward a more inclusive community are small reflections of what is happening in our society as a whole. What we do here is so much bigger than we are.
A perfect is example of this is our Making a Better [New] podcast—a project we launched as a platform for discussing topics related to diversity, equity and inclusion at New College.
This podcast actually received national exposure in June when a group of us from New College gave a presentation entitled Promoting Civic Discourse Using a Campus Climate Podcast at the 2021 Civic Learning and Democratic Engagement meeting. Our presenting group included 2021 New College graduate Steven Keshishian, the podcast’s co-producer, co-host and sound engineer, Kimberly Grainger, J.D., assistant vice president for academic administration; and me.
“It means a lot that a national organization felt that the podcast was an innovative tool for engaging in civil discourse,” Keshishian says. “I hope that we inspired people to create their own podcasts and tackle issues their campuses may face.”
New College’s Committee on Campus Climate and Culture (4C) introduced the idea of creating a podcast to make space for dialogue about inclusion issues and Making a Better [New] was first launched in August 2020. Today, the podcast is produced by the Office of Outreach and Inclusive Excellence. The ultimate goal? To give less-frequently heard community members a voice, while modeling respectful dialogue and engaging challenging topics of campus climate and culture.
Some podcast topics have included “Reimagining Campus Safety,” “Unintended Insults and Micro Inequities” and “Talking to Your Family About Social Justice.” Various members of the New College staff, faculty and student body are interviewed about their insights, or even asked to serve as the interviewers for their colleagues.
The OOIE has also extended its support to host other New College podcast productions oriented around issues of campus climate and inclusion. Latinx faculty and students have produced a podcast series called Gringolandia Chats, which focuses on the Latinx experience at New College and culture/climate issues as seen through a Hispanic/Latinx lens.
As we told the CLDE attendees, “At New College, it is our mission to educate intellectually curious students for lives of great achievement. We know we can best accomplish that mission by fostering a vibrant learning environment—one that is diverse, inclusive and characterized by openness, kindness and mutual respect. Outreach and community engagement must be leveraged as a multiplier of the value we create for Florida and the world.”
The CLDE Meeting is an annual event organized by the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators and the American Association of State Colleges and Universities American Democracy Project. The event is committed to “building the institutional culture, infrastructure and relationships needed to support learning that enables a thriving democracy,” and it brings together faculty, student affairs professionals, senior campus administrators, students and community partners.
“This conference was an excellent opportunity to showcase and celebrate the creativity and innovation happening right now at New College. Selection for the conference after peer-reviewed vetting reinforced that, nationally, our work was valuable in the civic engagement space,” Grainger says. “I’m especially proud that we were able to highlight Steven, a 2021 graduate, to share how integral student talent is to what makes New College unique.”
For Keshishian, the Making a Better [New] experience has been personally gratifying, as he has helped contribute to the betterment of New College culture during his last year on campus.
“This podcast is a reflection of New College, a reflection of our community, and I really feel like we’re giving this really amazing human element to our problems,” Keshishian says. “Dean Woodson and I get to talk about topics that aren’t only reflective of New College but reflective of our national environment and how we navigate that. I know we’re a community striving to better ourselves, and highlighting that is amazing.”
It certainly is. And it is something I look forward to continuing as we grow and thrive at New College.
All episodes of the Making a Better [New] podcast are available here, as well as on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts and PodBean.
Bill Woodson, Ph.D., is the dean of outreach at New College of Florida.
Regarded by many as Mozart’s opera seria masterpiece, La Clemenza di Tito was composed in the summer of 1791—a few months before Mozart’s death—as a commission for the coronation of Emperor Leopold II as King of Bohemia in Prague. He supposedly composed the opera in just 18 days. This production is from the Zürich Opera House, conducted by Frans Welser-Möst with stage direction by Jonathan Miller, starring Jonas Kaufmann, Eva Mei, Vesselina Kasarova, Malin Hartelius, Liliana Nikiteanu, and Günther Groissböck. Running time: 2 hours, 4 minutes. This film will show on Sunday, July 11 at 1:30pm. All seating is reserved at 50% capacity of the theater. Masks are required for those who are not vaccinated and recommended for all others. Tickets are $20, $18 for subscribers and buyers are encouraged to purchase tickets before arriving at the theater. Information and tickets can be found online at SarasotaOpera.org or by calling (941) 328-1300.
The Jazz Club of Sarasota is hosting a Scholarship Award Presentation at Bevardi Salute! Restaurant on Sunday, July 11. Join them and support the future of jazz. Music and presentation of the award will include First Annual Matt Bokulic Memorial Scholarship and the Blake Bennett Memorial Scholarship.
The Jazz Club of Sarasota , Bevardi Salute! Restaurant
Water conditions and the health of seagrass beds in the Sarasota Bay area have been changing rapidly, and there is a pressing need to gather more information about the amount of algae growing in our bays. Algae is a natural part of the ecosystem, but if changing conditions cause it to grow out of control, it can damage vital habitats. Volunteers will help monitor macroalgae by snorkeling in an assigned area, estimating the coverage of seagrass and macro algae, and collecting samples. Volunteers of all levels of experience are welcome. The Eyes on Seagrass survey will take place over a two week window from July 12 - July 24. Volunteers can pick any time during this window. The survey will take about one hour. Training and gear distribution will be held over three days. You Will Need: A team of 2 or more (Give your group a name), Transportation, Mask & Snorkel, Kayak, paddle board, or boat, and GPS or GPS capable phone. We Will Provide: Survey equipment, Dive flags, and Training. Training and Gear Distribution on June 28 at Blackburn Park 9am-1pm, June 29 at Ken Thompson Park 9am-1pm, and June 30 at South Coquina Boat Ramp 9am-1pm.
Operation Warrior Resolution has another session of Veterans Equine Therapy starting July 12th. It’s 6 sessions, running each Monday from 3pm-5pm, July 12-August 23 (break on August 9) at InStride Therapy, Inc. in Nokomis, FL. Those veterans who have been apart of this previously say it is an incredible experience! The program is specifically designed to address veteran specific issues through the use of horses. The horses provide a very unique experience to learn how to become more self-aware, regulate the nervous system response, be in the present moment, build trust, confidence, connection, and more. To join this upcoming session please email at info@operationwarriorresolution.org, 1629 Ranch Rd, Nokomis
Operation Warrior Resolution
Set to a score by Leonard Bernstein, the 1961 film “West Side Story” transports the classic tale of Romeo and Juliet to New York City in the 50s. The two feuding families are replaced by brawling street gangs, the Jets and the Sharks. Though they come from rival gangs, Maria and Tony meet at a dance, and no one can stop their love. Will their passion carry them through a battle that threatens to destroy the people they love? Directed by Jerome Robbins and Robert Wise, starring Natalie Wood, George Chakiris, and Richard Beymer. Running time: 2 hours, 30 minutes. This film will show on Saturday, July 10 at 7:30pm. All seating is reserved at 50% capacity of the theater. Masks are required for those who are not vaccinated and recommended for all others. Tickets are $10 and buyers are encouraged to purchase tickets before arriving at the theater. Information and tickets can be found online at SarasotaOpera.org or by calling (941) 328-1300.
Selby Gardens and the Duncan McClellan Gallery in St. Petersburg present the fourth annual summer glass show at Selby Gardens’ Downtown Sarasota campus from July 10 to September 26. This year’s exhibition, featuring nature-inspired glass work created exclusively by Duncan McClellan, will be displayed in the Tropical Conservatory and the Gardens against a backdrop of lush flowers and plants. All artworks are available for sale with a percentage of proceeds benefiting Selby Gardens.
Marie Selby Botanical Gardens , 1534 Mound St., Sarasota
Sarasota Contemporary Dance presents Christal Brown both in-person and virtually. In-Person on July 9 and 10, 2021 at 7pm. Masks are required. Seating is limited at half capacity. Please book in advance to secure a spot. Tickets are $20. Ticket purchases close 30 minutes before the show. Virtually on July 9, 2021 at 7pm LIVE Stream and July 10, 2021 at 7pm Broadcast Recording. Tickets are choose what you pay, $5, $10, $15. Ticket purchases close 30 minutes before the show. What We Ask of Flesh is a physical examination of the capacity of human life. Christal has been in dialogue with this idea for four years through a series of works entitled; What We Ask of Flesh: Endurance (Elon University 2019) What We Ask of Flesh: Journey (Keene State 2019) What We Ask of Flesh: Compassion (Middlebury College 2018) What We Ask of Flesh: Understanding (Boston Dance Complex 2018) What We Ask of Flesh: Survival (EMIA 2017). Christal Brown is the Founder of INSPIRIT and Project:BECOMING, the creator of the Liquid Strength training module for dance, an Associate Professor of Dance at Middlebury College and the CVO of Steps and Stages Coaching, LLC. Brown received a BFA in Dance and a minor in Business from UNCG and her MFA in New Media Art and Technology from LIU. Brown is a native of Kinston, NC where while serving as her mother’s sidekick, she learned the mechanisms of cultural organizing and the organic synthesis of art and activism. Her path of self-discovery has been influenced by trailblazers such as Chuck Davis, Bill T. Jones, Andrea E. Woods, Liz Lerman, Bebe Miller, and Jawole Willa Jo Zollar. Brown is a mover and a warrior of change and transformation. Brown combines her athleticism, creativity, love for people, and passion for teaching to create works that redefine the art of dance, the creation of identity and structures of power.
We Dream A World, African American Landscape Painters of Mid-Century Florida, The Highwaymen, explores the depth of art and business enterprise created by a unique set of landscape artists. Guest Curator Radiah Harper takes visitors through the experience of African Americans who, living in a hostile climate of racial injustice, were able to both learn their artistic craft through formal and informal education, and successfully break away from traditional field labor jobs to monetize their work. This exhibition will be presented in collaboration with the Sarasota African American Cultural Coalition from July 10 to September 26.
Marie Selby Botanical Gardens , 1534 Mound St., Sarasota
This year, The Sarasota Ballet has returned to an entirely in-person format for their sold-out, five-week Summer Intensive program, which started June 28th and culminates in four performances at the FSU Center for the Performing Arts. Fully booked, this represents the largest Summer Intensive participation on record at The Sarasota Ballet with over 120 students in attendance. The InMotion performances, which open July 29th and close July 31st, will feature extracts from beloved classical excerpts, as well as new works created specially for the students, including a world premiere by Resident Choreographer Ricardo Graziano. Tickets are available in two pricing tiers, $35 and $25, and are on sale now. Children's tickets are available through the Box Office for $10. Socially distanced seating is accessible in the Mezzanine and Balcony sections of the theater, and patrons who are not yet fully vaccinated against COVID-19 will be required to wear masks throughout these performances. For additional information, audience members can contact The Sarasota Ballet Box Office at 941-359-0099.
The Sarasota Ballet Summer Intensive , 5555 N Tamiami Trail, Sarasota
Free Beer! Yup, you heard right. What better way to celebrate National Hot Dog Day? Located in the courtyard of The Bazaar on Apricot & Lime, 821 Apricot Ave, Sarasota. Traditional and Vegan dogs cooked in J'Dub's Bell Cow Beer, available with a variety of toppings, and served with their award-winning hand-cut fries! Live Music with Zeena Brown & Sabrina McClenithan and FREE J'Dub's beer (while supplies last). For more information visit HamletsEatery.com or call 941-445-1938.
The Bazaar on Apricot & Lime, 821 Apricot Ave., Sarasota
SRQ DAILY is produced by SRQ | The Magazine. Note: The views and opinions expressed in the Saturday Perspectives Edition and in the Letters department of SRQ DAILY are those of the author(s) and do not imply endorsement by SRQ Media. Senior Editor Jacob Ogles edits the Saturday Perspective Edition, Letters and Guest Contributor columns.In the CocoTele department, SRQ DAILY is providing excerpts from news releases as a public service. Reference to any specific product or entity does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by SRQ DAILY. The views expressed by individuals are their own and their appearance in this section does not imply an endorsement of them or any entity they represent. For rates on SRQ DAILY banner advertising and sponsored content opportunities, please contact Ashley Ryan Cannon at 941-365-7702 x211 or via email |
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