Proof Brewing Region (Achievements) Round Two
John Thrasher’s performance in the Level 8 region is a hard one to live up to, but if there is one thing this school year was full of, it was achievements. The “Proof Brewing Region” showcases a variety of achievements, from FSU Dance Marathon to the nationally recognized National High Magnetic Lab. This one is going to be a fun one to to break-down, so without further ado, let’s grab some Mango Wits, hit the astroturf, and shake this bad boy down.
(1) Dance Marathon vs. (8) FSU’s Great Give
This matchup is an interesting one, as both were probably littered up and down your social media feeds for a span a time. Dance Marathon – the Greek Life dominated event that takes place every year raised a record amount of money, raking in a whopping $2,152,382.19. This number eclipsed last year’s funds by nearly $300,000. Beginning in 1996, Dance Marathon has had their donations grow almost every year, and I am sure they hope to make
even more in 2019. Similarly, FSU’s Great Give is a fundraising event that takes place every year. Starting seven years ago, the Great Give also had their best year yet, lassoing in $413,147. What makes the Great Give campaign so impressive is that it’s a campaign constricted by a limited amount of time, as the organizations that participate only have 36 hours to fundraise as much as they can. This year’s Great Give took place on March 22-23 and drew support from 3,376 donors including 1,791 Florida State alumni. Although the Great Give directly supports several departments including the, FSU Marching Chiefs, The Students Veterans Center, and the College of Communication and Information it would be tough to give them the nod over Dance Marathon, since there is a pretty objective measuring tool to compare the two, money. As Dance Marathon so commonly does, it will continue to keep their feet moving in FSU’s 2017-2018 dance.
Winner: Dance Marathon
(4) Research vs. (5) FSU Admissions
Research has stamped its name all over FSU this year. In fact, some of the other seeds throughout this bracket fall under the broader umbrella that is research. But as a research institution, this is unabashedly the norm, so let’s 
go over some highlights from this school year. The FSU’s School of Medicine found that there is no evidence of a personality change before onset dementia, research found climate change as a major threat to bumble bees, FSU’s Center for Ocean-Atmospheric Studies received a grant of $2.8 million dollars to study the effects of the 2010 BP Oil spill, and most exciting of all, FSU alumni, Sarah Blakely – the founder of SPANX – was inducted to the Florida Inventors Hall of Fame. These are all fantastic accomplishments by researchers and former-researchers of Florida State, but the main weakness (when it comes to this bracket) lies in FSU’s incredible consistency as a research institution – meaning there wasn’t anything that stood out spectacularly, and if there was, it falls under another competitor, *cough cough* National High Magnetic Lab.
This is it. Its time has come. If there is one thing that quantifies the bizarre significance Florida State’s school year had on the outside world, it is the record number of applications it received for the class of 2022 throughout the year. I’ll dive into some possible reasons for the extraordinary number in later rounds, as FSU Admissions is rolling on. Watch out Proof Region, this is a dangerous 5-seed.
Winner: FSU Admissions
(3) Collegiate Rankings vs. (6) Efficiency
This is an intriguing matchup because without one the other one would not exist, and vice-versa. According to U.S. News & World Report, Florida State ranked among the most economically efficient Universities in the country for the 6th year in a row. On top of that, FSU was ranked number 2 this year, ahead of notable universities such as, Brigham Young University, Auburn University, Clemson University, and the College of William & Mary. 
Obviously, efficiency is a large part to what makes Florida State run like a well-oiled machine, but it isn’t the only thing to be proud of. The overall gain in collegiate rankings by Florida State this year was unprecedented. Although efficiency can be credited to be a factor of these rankings, it isn’t the sole reason, as the overall university climbed another five spots in the public university rankings, online graduate programs grabbed five spots in the top-20 and three spots in the top-10, and overall graduate programs shined as well, as multiple programs all made jumps in the rankings. Although efficiency may rank the higher in this weird comparison between the older brother and younger brother of rankings, it can’t match up with the slew of improvements FSU had over the year.
Winner: Collegiate Rankings
(2) National High Magnetic Lab vs. (7) FSU’s Art Therapy Program
No matter the second-lady’s political views, there is one thing FSU knows for certain: Karen Pence has a thing for Art Therapy. Mrs. Pence rightfully chose Florida State for the announcement of her new art therapy initiative, 
Art Therapy: Healing with the HeART, as FSU is one of only five Art Therapy programs in the nation that offers a doctoral degree program. Pence deemed FSU’s program as, “amazing,” saying, “It’s great that you have such an amazing program. I can’t believe the number of students you have in this program — that is just phenomenal. I think more people need to know that this is an option.” Unfortunately, the controversial Vice President’s wife is the only notable thing FSU’s Art Therapy Program has going for them this year. Although I will say during the summer of 2017, the Art Therapy program did some pretty cool stuff with the Autism Spectrum Disorder community, but that didn’t happen within the the confines of the 2017-2018 fall and spring semesters (something only the Film School can break out of – don’t worry, I’ll get to that later). As for the National High Magnetic Lab, it was granted $184 million dollars this year, and of course, magnets are arguably cooler than Karen Pence. We’ll learn more about the National High Magnetic Lab in the next round.
Winner: National High Magnetic Lab
Proof Brewing Region (Achievements) Round Two
(1) Dance Marathon vs. (5) FSU Admissions
It’s no doubt that FSU’s Dance Marathon’s $2,152,382.19 will benefit many children in need, as Dance Team Captain Shannon Glassner told the Tallahassee Democrat, “We’ve been working a year for this number and every single person in this room has been a part of this. It’s amazing when the Miracle Families look at that and know their kids and other kids are going to be helped by this.” Dance Marathon is so much more than what it sounds
like, as the fundraising takes place over countless hours by students who not only dance, but put their personal time to good use through one-on-one fundraising (we all see them on Landis, and we all try to avoid them, don’t lie), and fundraising events through bake sales, local restaurant participation, and much more. Dance Marathon is an event that persevered, as its main participators came together and outlived the Greek Life ban to raise a groundbreaking amount of money through the chaos that was riddled throughout the Greek Life community during Fall and Spring of 2017-2018. Want to know what else was groundbreaking? The number of applicants Florida State had for the class of 2020. I remember sitting at dinner with some friends of mine who were pretty involved with the Greek Life system at the time of the ban. Things like, “Applications are to for sure drop due to this ban,” were said, because, let me remind you that at the start of the ban, it was marked as indefinite. I embarrassingly bought into their propaganda, as it makes sense that there is a group of people out there who wouldn’t spend time to apply to a school that did not guarantee half of their time would be spent day-drinking with an assortment of greek letters stamped across their chests. It was just too much of a chunk of the culture Florida State offered. Then the numbers came in, and they did not slow down. After a final sixteen percent increase from applicants just a year ago, President Thrasher said, “The upward trend of applicants for admission to Florida State University reflects that more and more people in Florida, and across the country, know that FSU represents academic excellence.” Maybe Thrasher was right. The increase in applicants by such a large number, ESPECIALLY after the wildest semester (Fall 2017) in recent FSU history could be a testament to something outside of partying and football, but who am I to say. FSU Admissions puts a stop to the marathon of dance.
Winner: FSU Admissions
(2) National High Magnetic Lab vs. (3) Collegiate Rankings
The National High Magnetic Lab had an enormous year. Outside of the $184 million dollar grant, which is nearly a 10 percent increase in funding compared to the previous five-year award, the “MagLab’s” latest magnet destroyed another world record, on December 8th of 2017. The new magnet called, “32 T,” is 33 percent stronger than the world’s previous strongest magnet in the world, and 3,000 times stronger than a “regular Joe” refrigerator magnet. It doesn’t end there folks, as this new magnet will allow physicists to explore how electrons engage with an atomic environment – something that will allow the creation of devices that may reign in a new era of technology. So yeah, don’t sleep on the “MagLab.” Although the graduate programs of criminology, business, law, education, nursing, and engineering all made notable jumps in March 20th’s U.S. News & World Report’s “Best Graduate Schools” it just doesn’t matchup with the National High Magnetic Lab’s potential to be the gateway into the future. A gateway that could bring money, notoriety, and a massive and auspicious boost to FSU’s and Tallahassee’s scientific community. Proof Brewing has got a heated final on its hands. ADMISSIONS vs. MAGLAB.
Winner: National High Magnetic Lab
Proof Brewing Region (Achievements) Winner to the Final Four
(5) FSU Admissions vs. (2) National High Magnetic Lab
Can a bunch of high school seniors outlast the most powerful magnet in the world? Science says no, but this bracket begs to differ. Both these institutions and their achievements are out of this world, but just like the Level 8 region there is one thing that gives one of these the advantage within the context of the 2017-2018 school year: Football. Even if you don’t like it, football dominates this University in almost every single way, and this year the football team was dismal. Yet, a barely bowl eligible team was able to rake in more FSU applications than a 2013 National Championship winner who can be credited (in some part) to attracting just above 30,000 applicants – compared to the 48,000 applicants received this year. I don’t know what caused it, and I will devote the rest of this bracket to try and speculate as hard as I possibly can to figure it out. Leave me alone, speculation is fun.
As for the National High Magnetic Lab, it looked like it could have been their region to win but nonetheless the sheer amount of high school students who want to come here (for obvious reasons, it is an amazing school) continues to blow my my mind. Keep an eye on the MagLab though, they’re doing really really cool things, as the next big scientific discovery could happen right here in Tallahassee, but for now, 48,000 high schoolers head to the Final Four to face an oh so unfamiliar foe, in John Thrasher.
Winner: FSU Admissions
Need to catch up? Check out Round One, Round Three, Round Four, and the Final Four!
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