The Anchor - April 22 2019 by The Anchor

Volume 92/Issue 20

THE

April 22th, 2019

ANCHOR Rhode Island College’s Independent Student Newspaper Since 1928

Faculty and administrators advocate for RIC’s future

Catherine Enos and Lucille DiNaro Opinions Editor and Business Manager

The legislative session is well under way, and so are the efforts of faculty, administrators and Rhode Islanders working towards the expansion of the Rhode Island Promise Scholarship. On April 10, an array of people testified in favor of the Promise Scholarship’s achievements and possible expansion to RIC students as proposed in the Governor’s budget bill. The testimony of two RIC professors suggested that RIC played a unique role in the legislative process. And, indeed, for a large part of the spring semester, a group of RIC faculty have met weekly and stayed in communication with representatives from the Governor’s office to dis-

cuss the Promise and the concerns they had with its accompanying administrative provisions. “The Governor’s office reached out to RIC… to get us to support the Promise Scholarship, which probably almost uniformly everybody thinks is absolutely fabulous.” Dr. Schmeling, chair of the Committee on Political Education, said. “We all get that our students struggle financially.” However, the new requirements of the Post-Secondary Council that accompany the expansion of the Promise Scholarship were somewhat “concerning,” according to Dr. Schmeling. The areas of the bill that were cause for concern included performance-based funding initiatives, a common

course numbering system and major revisions to the transfer credit articulation policies. In his verbal testimony on April 10, Dr. Schmeling pointed to ample research and institutional knowledge that suggests that the provisions would have been detrimental to the college and students. Governor Raimondo’s Education Policy Advisor,

Art Nevins, worked directly with faculty members to develop a revised version of the budget request, while honoring “the goal to make it easier for students to transfer in between institutions and navigate the higher education system.” A key motivator behind the new reporting requirements was the Governor’s desire to evaluate the Post-Secondary council’s ability to monitor and assess learning outcomes. “If you are going to RIC and going into the workforce, we want to make sure that you are getting a degree that will give you a good job and a good place in Rhode Island. We want to make sure that colleges do their part to make sure students are successful.” “The way to achieve those goals really threatened in-

stitutional autonomy,” Dr. Bohlinger, chair of the RIC faculty commented. Dr. Pearlmutter, Interim Provost, agrees that “We could have some more serious thoughts about our capacity at looking at learning outcomes. That had been looked at when we did our change to general education programs about six years ago, and they decided to stay with themes.” While CCRI and URI develop curriculum based on learning outcomes, RIC curriculum is developed thematically. Discrepancies between the three institutions’ general education programs complicates the ease of transfer between CCRI, RIC and URI. See “RIC’s future”, page 5

Title IX and what it means for safety on campus Abigail Nilsson Anchor Staff Back in early February, RIC students received an email from President Sanchez informing the community that obscenities were yelled at a female walking across the campus. Following this episode, campus police and security were increased. No more emails have been sent out regarding similar occurrences on campus, but that is not to say that there has not been other discrimination issues going on which have been handled privately.

Title IX is a federal law that states, “No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.” This means that any school who accepts federal funds must comply with this law, including Rhode Island College. Anybody employed by RIC is considered to be “responsible employees,” including, but not limited to, professors, coaches, and advisers with the exception to the Student

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Health Center as they are covered under Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996. “Responsible employees” are required by law to report discrimination of any type or if a student does not feel safe. A discrimination issue or concern does not have to be public and wide spread. “There is never any pressure from this office to file a complaint,” said Margaret “Peggy” Lynch-Gadaleta, Director of Institutional Equity. RIC Health Services advises that if you feel that you are in danger, make sure you are in a safe

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place. Contact someone you trust. If you are in danger and need immediate assistance on campus contact Campus Police 401456-8888 or call 9-1-1. RIC has a new director of safety and security/chief of police, Colonel James Mendonca, starting on April 29. In an email sent out by Stephen J. Nedder, Interim Vice President for Admin. and Finance, welcoming Col. Mendonca to the RIC community, says, “he has pledged to hit the ground running, bringing his expertise in law enforcement and leadership to the department and institute and envi-

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ronment of community policing on our campus.” There are several on and off campus resources and counselors available. Any concerns regarding discrimination or inequality can be addressed to the Title IX Coordinator, Margaret Lynch-Gadaleta, she is located in Roberts Hall 301, or you can email at mlynchgadaleta@ric.edu or call her 401-456-8387. To view the annual Security Report at RIC visit http:// www.ric.edu/studentlife/ documents/RIC2018AnnualSecurityReport.pdf.

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Organizational Information Editorial Board EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Samantha Scetta | editorinchief@anchorweb.org

MANAGING EDITOR

Jessica Gauthier | managing@anchorweb.org

BUSINESS MANAGER

Lucille DiNaro | business@anchorweb.org

ART DIRECTOR

Samantha Malley | artdirector@anchorweb.org

NEWS EDITOR

Tim Caplan | news@anchorweb.org

ASST. NEWS EDITOR

Erica Clark | asst_news@anchorweb.org

A&L EDITOR

Alec Ematrudo | lifestyles@anchorweb.org

ASST. A&L EDITOR

Jonathan Weaver | asst_lifestyles@anchorweb.org

OPINIONS EDITOR

Catherine Enos | opinions@anchorweb.org

ASST. OPINIONS EDITOR

Alison Macbeth| asst_opinions@anchorweb.org

SPORTS EDITOR

Jake Elmslie | sports@anchorweb.org

ASST. SPORTS EDITOR

Joseph A. Griswold | asst_sports@anchorweb.org

PHOTO EDITOR

Britt Donahue | photo@anchorweb.org

ASST. PHOTO EDITOR

Thomas Crudale | asst_photo@anchorweb.org

GRAPHICS EDITOR

Wiley Sadowski | graphics@anchorweb.org

ASST. GRAPHICS EDITOR

NOW HIRING | asst_graphics@anchorweb.org

SENIOR COPY EDITOR

Charlotte Abotsi | senior_copy@anchorweb.org

ASST. COPY EDITOR

Angela DaSilva | copy@anchorweb.org

SENIOR LAYOUT EDITOR

Enrique Castaneda-Pineda | layout@anchorweb.org

ASST. LAYOUT EDITOR

Ralston Najarro | asst_layout@anchorweb.org

ADS MANAGER

Lily Gallo | ads@anchorweb.org

TECHNOLOGY DIRECTOR

Victor Martelle | technology@anchorweb.org

Anchor Staff Aaron Isaac Derek Sharlock Thomas Yakey Jr. Alison Darmetko Jake Deblois Sophia Guerrier Kaitlin Dobson Sean Richer Kennedy Ryan Alexis Rapoza Abigail Nilsson Sh-Ron Almeida Esther Watrous

(401) 456-8790 editorinchief@anchorweb.org

Advertising Lily Gallo

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ONLINE MEDIA MANAGER Marisa Lenardson | web@anchorweb.org CIRCULATION MANAGER

Janelle Gomez | circulation@anchorweb.org

Professional Advisor Jim Hummel The Hummel Report

Faculty Advisor Michael Michaud mmichaud@ric.edu

The Anchor is student-run and published weekly during the academic year. Editorial decisions for The Anchor are made by a majority vote of its student editorial board. No form of censorship will be imposed by the college. Any material found to be unsuitable or unacceptable in the board’s opinion will not be published. The views expressed in The Anchor, unless otherwise noted, are those of the individual authors and do not necessarily represent those of The Anchor or of Rhode Island College’s faculty, administration or student body. The Anchor is not funded by and is independent from Rhode Island College. The first copy is free. Each additional copy is $2.25. Newspaper racks on the Rhode Island College campus are the property of The Anchor Newspaper. Only The Anchor Newspaper publication will be permitted on these racks. Any other publication or advertisement that is placed on the racks will be given one (1) warning for violating this policy. After two (2) violations, the business/publication will be billed at the rate of a full page advertisement. Copyright © 2016 The Anchor. All rights reserved.

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News

RIC community mourns and remembers Dr. Daniel M. Scott

Erica Clark Asst. News Editor

On Friday, April 12, Rhode Island College received the unexpected news that Daniel M. Scott, who was head of the RIC English Department, passed away due to an ongoing battle of multiple myeloma for two years. Dr. Scott was part of the RIC community for 25 years and had two degrees from Georgia State University in Atlanta and from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (M.A. and Ph.D.). Dr. Scott was a professor of the English Department and studied various literature including African American, Western, Non-Western, and postcolonial texts. He published work on multiple novelists, including Harlem Renaissance figures Wallace Thurman and Zora Neale Hurston. He was an active member of the Preparatory Enrollment Program (PEP) and the Dialogue on Diversity.

Dr. Scott was also an officer and served as Treasurer of the Rhode Island branch of the ACLU, and additionally a board member of Youth Pride. RIC released a memoriam describing what they called the passion, and compassion Dr. Scott shared with the educational community: “To describe Dr. Scott as much beloved by his family, students, friends, and colleagues is a woeful understatement. He was a genuinely good person who inspired respect and affection in everyone he met. No other person could be as witty, wry, and brilliant while still being so incredibly kind and humble. He never dominated a room, but his presence always sustained and enhanced the conversation.” Dr. Stephen Brown, Assistant Chair of the English Department, described his experience with Dr. Scott as less of a specific memory, but as a man and professional he will always carry with him.

“I have never known anyone in a professional setting who could do such fine work with students and colleagues in so kind a way,” said Brown. “It was a kindness more than felt--it had being and meaning. Within and beyond the professional setting, I have never met his like, and I never will.” Administrative Assistant to the English department, Armande Aywas described the sincere approach Dr. Scott had towards his advisees and fellow colleagues.“Dr. Scott was a man that understood people and would never hurt anyone, he appreciated people,” she said. “Every student leaving his office felt at ease and happy to have been advised by him, they felt a sense of comfort saying he is the best when it comes to putting their schedule together or guided them to what to take next. He never once not listened to what you have to say to him.” “He never forgot my birthday in 6 years,”

last Wednesday to discuss their cause with the student community as well as advocate for “Save a Child’s Heart” an Israeli non-profit focused on providing cardiac care for children in developing countries. “Some of the main issues that we’re concerned about is just the peace of Israel...We want there to be peace agreements, we want rockets to stop being fired at Israel, we want to stop innocent people being killed, and we want to protect the children on both sides,” said Tiodor. Save a Child’s Heart

(SACH) is operated through Wolfson Medical Center in Tel Aviv, Israel, where children from third world countries are brought to be given cardiological treatment. SACH also trains doctors from these different countries across the world and shows them how to perform some of these complex heart surgeries so that they may bring that knowledge and skills back with Graphic courtesy of CUFI them to their countries. When asked about what some of the goals for their an event one day where maybe our pastor or some survivors.” group are, Tiodor stat- we have some speakers holocaust come in and talk about it, ed, “Our goal is to have

Graphic courtesy of ric.edu

said Aywas. “He was a life of Dr. Daniel M. Scott great human and I will and the positive mark he never forget Dr. Scott.” left on the RIC community. There was a celebration held on April 19 at 2 p.m. in Alger Hall to celebrate the

CUFI: A new group on campus Tim Caplan News Editor Christians United for Israel (CUFI) established a new chapter at Rhode Island College this semester, and after having their constitution approved by Student Community Government (SCG), opened a booth at Donovan Dining Center last Wednesday to engage students on their advocacy of the state of Israel. Delta Ayres, Genesis Jiminez, and Caitlyn Tiodor set up a booth in Donovan Dining Center

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News

Publick Occurrences hosts climate change panel Abigail Nilsson Anchor Staff Publick Occurrences, sponsored by Rhode Island College, the Providence Journal and Leadership Rhode Island, held a panel last Monday evening to discuss climate change and how it relates to Rhode Islanders. 102 of the 375 audience members were randomly given clickers to vote on climate change related questions. 98 percent of the voters believed that climate change is real and 82 percent agreed that humans are to blame. Rhode Island has 420 miles of iconic coastlines which are constantly changing due to beach erosion, floods and rising sea levels. Nicole Hernandez Hammer, a climate-change and environmental justice consultant and panelist at Publick Occurrences stated, “We’ve got about a decade to avoid catastrophic climate change.” Audience members wanted to know what is being done about climate change. Lauren Maunus, 21, asked, “why are we not talking about a Green New

Deal?” She was standing with a group of younger audience member’s holding a banner that read, “WE DEMAND A GREEN NEW DEAL.” The Green New Deal (GND) is a proposed program created by New York Democratic representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to address climate change and economic inequality. Panelist Monica Huertas, a founding member of Providence’s Racial and Environmental Justice Committee and activist for Direct Action for Rights and Equality (DARE),

could not emphasize enough that families living in low income housing are at a great disadvantage by living in areas where flooding is common and that they are likely to have an extraordinary financial setback after a flood. Several panelists agreed that minorities often live next to toxic facilities or flood zones and are often not disclosed this information when they move in. This tied in with the agreement among panelists that communication is one of the greatest setbacks related to climate

change. They believe that it is difficult to reach many people to convey and emphasize the severity of this issue. The panelists were in agreement that scaring people about climate change is not the best method for communication. Sunshine Menezes, director of the University of Rhode Island’s Metcalf Institute of Marine and Environmental Reporting, feels that we need to hold politicians accountable for promises made about environmental protection. Other panelists agree that everyone needs to be in-

Photos by Thomas Crudale

volved, especially influencers on different media platforms including musicians and other artists. “Getting complete involvement in these issues is a crucial part of the future,” said Barnaby Evans, artistic and executive director of WaterFire Providence. There is little doubt that climate change is real according to audience members, but they wanted to know what is being done about it in Rhode Island, or even on a federal level. It was mentioned among panelists that it is difficult for officials on both state and federal levels to agree on one single solution. President Sanchez was proud to announce that Rhode Island College is taking steps in a green initiative with the recent renovations and has changed all of the light bulbs in the school to LED in an effort to conserve energy. Communicating the urgency and taking steps to protect communities infrastructure, and fuel efficiency were some of the points that panelists focused on making to audience members to help protect against climate change.

Rhode Island College’s Independent Student Newspaper Since 1928

News

Sexual assault advocates share stories at RIC Erica Clark Asst. News Editor Suzanne Alden and Erin Cheschi shed a light last Wednesday for Sexual Assault Awareness Month by speaking about their personal experiences. Alden and Cheschi spoke to a small class in Adams Library 405 last Wednesday to a group of upcoming student therapists. Both women, who are survivors of sexual assault, shared two different

stories on their experiences of having to live with trauma after their assaults. One of the largest issues both women faced in their fight for justice is dealing with the criminal justice system. “I felt like I was in the darkest tunnel, I couldn’t see the light,” Cheschi stated after discovering the justice system was not going to help her. She then had to become her own advocate. Cheschi described experiencing a sexual assault as

a loss of power and a loss of self. Through losing herself in such a wounding situation, Cheschi described how important it is to find yourself again through creativity. Her output was writing. Alden, who is currently raising a son who is about to be a teenager, described raising him in a #MeToo culture. She makes sure to set her own boundaries with him, rather than boundaries which are sometimes taught to females in today’s society. “I want to teach him to respect her

wearing a skirt, not that she can’t wear the skirt.” One of Alden’s largest dilemmas when facing her perpetrator was being afraid if she told someone, no one would believe her. “If you get a positive response from abuse, you heal much faster,” Alden described to an upcoming therapist when dealing with patients who confide in them with personal information, especially mandate reporters. When working with children, the fear of dis-

“RIC’s future” Continued from cover The administration of the college played a role in this process, too. “While this was largely a faculty initiative, the administration has been totally on board with this…” Dr. Arthur, an executive board member of the AFT, said, “they have other angles of involvement that we don’t have, so it’s been useful.” Dr. Pearlmutter was adamant that should the Promise Scholarship pass, RIC will remain in control of curriculum related decisions and will maintain its institutional autonomy. Should these changes take effect, a committee of educators and administrators at the three post secondary institutions will be responsible

for implementation of these new requirements. Ultimately, the coalition of faculty and administrators agreed upon new provisions that were presented to the Senate

Committee on Education on April 10. Despite disagreement and bargaining between the Governor’s office, RIC faculty and college administrators, they unanimously stress

closure is real. Having a negative response, Alden described, makes it harder for anyone else to disclose personal information without feeling neglected, or guilty. Experiencing such a traumatic situation, one of the key elements to healing, Alden said, was forgiveness. “When you get to the point of forgiveness, you really know you moved along. If you don’t cope with it, there’s no way to go beyond it.”

Graphic Courtesy of NSVRC.org

the importance of student involvement to pass this legislation. “Students don’t realize how much of a voice they can have” Dr. Arthur said. Dr. Bohlinger added that he

hopes that “students become advocates and get in touch with their particular representatives… it’s really crucial that students become engaged.”

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News

Mueller report finally released, gets mixed reactions

Tim Caplan News Editor

After two years of investigation, Special Counsel for the United States Department of Justice Robert Mueller III released the redacted final version of the “Report On The Investigation Into Russian Interference In The 2016 Presidential Election. The report has two volumes, the first concerning the events that took place involving the Russian intelligence agencies GRU (The Russian Military Intelligence Service) and the IRA (Internet Research Association). The report details how these agencies created fake social media accounts in an attempt to influence American voters. Together, these social media accounts received millions of views, with names like “Secured Borders,” “Black Matters” and “United Muslims of America,” they were created to evoke political engagement among followers. They even organized rallies in several different states under these fake accounts. The report also describes how the GRU hacked into the servers of The Democratic National Committee and Democratic

Congressional Campaign Committee to take emails and disseminate them to the public through Julian Assange at WikiLeaks by way of an undercover GRU agent using the persona “Guccifer 2.0.” The website “dcleaks.com” was also used to release information hacked from these two organizations. The report details how members and former members of President Trump’s campaign had contact with Russian state entities, including attempts to establish meetings between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin and providing polling information to Russian authorities. However, no direct line of contact between Trump and these entities or knowledge of in-

terference in the election has been established, and as a result the president will not be prosecuted for conspiracy to commit crimes against the United States with a foreign actor. The second volume has to do with alleged obstruction of justice by Trump and his allies to interfere with the investigation itself. A series of events were examined by the Mueller team to look into whether the Trump team did so. Many of these episodes had to do with Trump attempting to do something that could potentially be considered attempting to delay, obstruct, or prevent the process of investigating a criminal violation, however his staff would often go against his orders, averting that type of situation. Some of these exam-

ples include White House counsel Don McGhan refusing to fire Mueller after being told to do so by Trump, and suggesting that Attorney General Jeff Sessions take back his recusal on the investigation to try to have it stopped. In the end, the president was charged with no crimes, but received a mixed reaction from the American political class. Democrat Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi tweeted “The #MuellerReport paints a disturbing picture of a president who has been weaving a web of deceit, lies and improper behavior and acting as if the law doesn’t apply to him,” while Republican Congressman Jim Jordan of Ohio released a statement saying “Democrat Members of Congress should

$325 per semester. This controversial decision has raised the ire of many people on campus, and they are asking why. The President of SCG, Joshua Percy, shared his frustrations with this new tuition hike saying, “Why impose this increase if it’s not allocated to some of the programs the students are asking for? We need to find out why.” Many of the proposed changes during last week’s

meeting were focused on infrastructure and services at the college. Among them was the possibility of hiring a new crossing guard on the east side of campus, as well as rejuvenated maintenance of the intersection at the east entrance. However, both of these changes would fall under the jurisdiction of the state, not the college. Therefore, a motion would have to be brought to the North Providence City Council.

Other proposed changes included expanding the hours of operation at the bookstore, and the re-opening of the campus convenience store. The staff representative, Arthur Patrie, resisted this proposal saying, “The last convenience store could not break even, the fact of the matter is, if we want it, we have to use it.” These motions were left aside for later

Graphic courtesy of NBC News

take a deep breath and read the Special Counsel’s report before jumping to conclusions. The Attorney General already confirmed what we long suspected. No collusion. No obstruction. It would be a miscarriage of justice to use cherry-picked bits of information from the report to sow further divisiveness and spread conspiracies that serve only to undermine our democratic institutions. One thing, however, is clear with the release of the report today: this sad chapter of American history is behind us.” Robert Mueller has been subpoenaed to appear in front of the House Committee on Judiciary by chairman Jerrold Nadler no later than May 23.

SCG discusses upcoming changes to RIC Sean Richer Anchor Staff

As the Academic Year at Rhode Island College begins to draw to a close, the Student Community Government (SCG) is beginning to lay the groundwork for next year. The first discussion was centered around the impending increase in tuition at RIC. Starting next year, tuition will increase by

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discussion, but Vice President Monk Cain finished by saying, “I will not stop with this initiative.” The student body at large has been clamoring for many of these changes for a long time. One example of these changes is the new garden and upgraded ingredients at Donovan Dining center. This includes the expansion of menu options, including vegan and gluten free alternatives.

Rhode Island College’s Independent Student Newspaper Since 1928

Arts&Entertainment

An Interview with viral karaoke star Mary Halsey

Esther Watrous Anchor Staff West Warwick resident Mary Halsey is known for her karaoke video that went viral in summer 2018. The video reached over seven million views in only two days. Fans of the video reached out to Ellen Degeneres, asking her to have Halsey on her show. Halsey became known as “Missy’s funky white sister,” after Missy Elliot tweeted a response to Halsey’s song choice, a 2002 hit called “Work It.” The Anchor: When did you become interested in karaoke? Mary Halsey: The first time I ever sang karaoke was probably in 1989 and I was at a local lesbian bar that’s no longer around, and I got up and I chose to sing “The Rose,” by Bette Midler. My knees were shaking, and I was so nervous, but as I looked around and saw all the love and support I was getting from everyone in that place. It was like I got a karaoke bug. The Anchor: So what made you start singing fun songs like “Work It?” Mary Halsey: It was probably 2003, and I was living in Pawtucket at the time and a young woman named, Susie B, was the karaoke DJ and she was having a contest. So I decided to sing “Work It.” The reason I did that song was because of the reaction I got, it was so positive. It touched people. The Anchor: How did you react when Missy Elliot gave you a shoutout on Twitter for your video? Mary Halsey: That’s funny, see, I did not have Twitter or Instagram at that point. I had just Facebook. A complete stranger sent me a message on messenger and said, “Yo Mary, Missy Saw you.” And I was like, Missy saw me? What does that mean? I went and I looked at my views on that video and it was up to a million. Literally within minutes I would go and look at the views and it would be 200,000 more. The Anchor: What was it like meeting Ellen on her show? Was it how you imagined?

Graphic Courtesy of TheEllenShow/NBC

Mary Halsey: Well, I didn’t meet her until I walked onto the stage. As I walked out, everybody was in standing ovation and I put my arms out like I was on the cross. I felt my butterflies and nerves just drain through me. I looked over to Ellen and I smirked at her and she smirked at me and shook her head like she couldn’t believe it. The Anchor: Did you talk to Missy Elliot after she sang on stage with you during the show? Mary Halsey: Well, when I got back to the dressing room, someone knocked at the door and they said, “Missy would like to see you in her dressing room,” and I was like, I’ll be right there. I asked Missy if I could show her what I call “Magic Mary,” which is this thing that I’ve been doing since I was around 13, this therapeutic touch or blessing. I had no idea that she was actually filming it, and she posted the tweet of me giving her the blessing. That was cool as heck. The Anchor: When did you start using the shofar? And how did it become an element of your karaoke? Mary Halsey: In 2008 I started to attend a small Messianic congregation, which is Christians and Jews together. The shofar was an element of the worship and because I used to play the trumpet and the French horn, I’m very good at it. I use it to bless people and to bring people together in unity and oneness. The Anchor: Viral videos often get lost within the fast pace of the internet. What would you like people to remember from watching you sing? In other words, how do you want your passion to ultimately affect your viewers? Mary Halsey: I believe that what really touched people was, it made people laugh. It brought laughter into people’s world. It just seems like a silly little video. A lot of people are like, what the heck is the big deal about this song? But I don’t think it’s really the song. I think it was them seeing me just be me. The universality of the language of laughter is the thing I want people to unite around.

Rhode Island College’s Independent Student Newspaper Since 1928 |

Arts&Entertainment

An A&E Adventure: Too Many Zooz Alec Ematrudo A&E Editor Around a month ago, my assistant Jonathan Weaver brought to my attention that a band called Too Many Zooz was coming to perform at the Fete Music Hall in Providence. I had no clue who they were, but he assured me that they were awesome and that I had definitely seen their viral video that made them a global sensation. I was hooked and we immediately fell down a very enjoyable YouTube hole of their music videos. Weirdly enough, three days later I received an email from someone involved with the band or the venue, asking if the paper wanted to do a preview piece for the show and get some press passes. Long story short, we agreed and were able to interview one of the members of Too Many Zooz, Leo Pellegrino. The phone interview was a lot of fun and you can find that in our April 8 issue. Finally, this past Thursday, after listening to their music, we were able to see Too Many Zooz in person,

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Photos by Alec Ematrudo and Jonathan Weaver

as well as a similar band called Moonhooch. I haven’t been to many concerts, but I have been fortunate enough to see bands such as Green Day and U2 live. I have a bold statement to make: the nearly four hour set performed by both Too Many Zooz and Moon Hooch was one of if not the best performances I’ve seen in person. Weaver and I were fortunate enough to be as close

as we could possibly get to the stage and the guys from both bands really left everything out on the stage. The bass that emitted from the speakers on the stage and around the room, was the kind that you really feel throughout your body. That, coupled with an extremely well done lightshow, amazing performances, and a really good energy in the crowd, added up to be an amazing time.

Moonhooch opened up the night with an hour and twenty five minute set that was high energy the whole time and really set the mood for the rest of the night. Then after a short break, Too Many Zooz came out and played for another hour and a half with some amazing solos from each member. The night ended with both bands playing together in what can only be described as a symphony of

awesome. I highly recommend that if you haven’t listened to the music from either band, you definitely should. It’s such a unique sound and energy that there really isn’t anything else like it. Music from Too Many Zooz and Moonhooch is available now on iTunes, Spotify, and Bandcamp.

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Arts&Entertainment

Graduate Spotlight: Tracy Soe Alison Macbeth

Asst. Opinions Editor Determined, resilient and empowering. These are three words that describe Tracy Soe, a member of Rhode Island College’s 2019 graduating class, because not many graduates can say they founded a school. Tracy was born in Liberia, but fled with her parents as a three year old to Côte d’Ivoire due to the civil war that erupted in 1990. Tracy lived in Côte d’Ivoire, where her mother was from, until 2005. Then, at the age of eighteen, Tracy moved to the U.S. and graduated from CCRI in 2016 before transferring to RIC. Tracy is graduating from

RIC with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology. In addition to her undergraduate degree, Tracy will also have certificates in Non-profit Organization studies and International Nongovernmental Organization studies. Despite her persistence, Tracy admits that her education journey has been hard at times. “It has been a little challenging at RIC because I work two jobs and am a single mother of two,” she said. “It hasn’t been easy. But I’m grateful that I will be completing this coming May.” In the midst of her full life, Tracy founded a school called Ghenyonnon Memorial Foundation in Monrovia, the capital of Liberia. The school was

founded a few months after her mother’s death in 2013. “It was a dream I had because one of her greatest regrets was education. She wasn’t educated and most people took advantage of her, so she struggled throughout her life to educate her kids. I built the school in remembrance of her.” Currently, the school has 101 children in attendance and fifteen hard working teachers. It took Tracy five years to complete the elementary school. She is currently working to add on junior and senior high school. But Tracy’s dream doesn’t stop there. “I’m also planning on building another’s school by next year, if God permits me.”

Photos provided by Tracy Soe

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Rhode Island College’s Independent Student Newspaper Since 1928

Arts&Entertainment Marisa Lenardson Online Media Manager

Thursday Apr. 25

Friday Apr. 26

Saturday Apr. 27

Food Truck Friday

7th Annual Providence Earth Day Spring Cleaning

The Book Of Mormon A musical comedy about Mormon beliefs that ultimately endorses the positive power of love and service. Providence Performing Arts Center $30-$120 // 7:30 p.m.-10:30 p.m.

NEON Synthwave Night Play arcade games set to free play while enjoying 80s inspired electronic tunes. Freeplay Bar & Arcade $5 // 7-1 a.m.

A Midsummer Night's Musical

Eat from a wide variety of food trucks, listen to live music, and enjoy the spring weather. Roger Williams Park Zoo & Carousel Village FREE // 5-8:30 p.m.

Providence Book Festival Participate in panel discussions, workshops, conversations, and Q&A sessions with over 75 best selling authors attending. Renaissance Providence $19 // ALL DAY

Sunday Apr. 28 Get Gored for Good

In a "running of the bulls" fashion, women of the Volunteer to help clean Providence Roller Derby, decked out in horns and wielding red Neutaconkanut Park and paint—will run you down, while India Point Park, in the good navigating an obstacle fun run spirit of Earth Day. course. A fundraiser for Amos House. India Point Park

FREE // 9-12 p.m.

Action Bronson See rapper Action Bronson touring his album, "The White Bronco." The Strand Ballroom & Theatre $30 // 8:30-2 a.m.

Movement Festival

RI Convention Center $40 // 8:30-3:30 p.m.

Game Of Thrones Viewing Party Watch Game of Thrones in surround sound with some drinks and free popcorn. The Hot Club FREE // 9-12 a.m. PVD Flea Spring Pop-ups

A dance festival showcasing Make 2 Take: Stress Balls Shop from local vintage a variety of dance styles vendors, artisans and through performances and a Create your own stress ball to makers. There will also be A musical adaptation of workshop called William Shakespeare’s A use while studying for finals! live music, food vendors, and food trucks. Midsummer Night’s Dream. "Strengthening the Cultural Capital of Dance." Student Union Lobby Hope High School Southside Cultural Center FREE // 12-2 p.m. 95 Empire Street FREE // 10-4 p.m. $5 // 7-9:30 p.m. $15 // 2-10 p.m.

Block Party Carnival Enjoy games, food, a dunk tank, wax hands, music, and more, as part of RIC Week. The Quad FREE // 3:30-7:30 p.m.

Eat Drink RI

Nothing But An Attitude

Flip the Script Film Festival 2019

Nika Z is an up and coming A taste of everything RI has stand up comedian who finds A film festival screening the humor in the "gritty and raw." top 5 short films from the to offer from local mobile She discusses mental illness, "Flip the Script" competition, food vendors and a being a trans woman, and attempting to rewrite outdated fundraising event for the RI being an unapologetic mess. Hollywood rhetoric on mental Community Food Bank. health. AS220 RI Community Food Bank $12 // 7-8:30 p.m. Avon Cinema $85 // 5:30-8:00 p.m. $11 // 6-8:30 p.m.

Rhode Island College’s Independent Student Newspaper Since 1928 |

Arts&Entertainment

Game of Thrones is back!

Graphics courtesy of HBO

Alec Ematrudo A&E Editor Last Sunday, “Game of Thrones” returned for its eighth and final season. It had nearly been a two year wait for this final season and for some fans such as myself, it did not fly by. The show had enjoyed ten episode seasons up until its seventh season, which ended with seven episodes

and now this final season only has six episodes. By the time this review is published, there will only be four short weeks left until we are all left happy and broken or maybe just broken, by the series finale. The season premiere of season eight was, in my opinion, a solid episode. It didn’t blow me away by any means, but was satis-

fying to watch. This episode was largely a catchup episode, but not for viewers; for the characters. We got to watch several long awaited reunions between characters and got several very important conversations between characters. That might all sound a bit boring, but I do think it was rather smart to get most of these interactions

done immediately, so that when things hit the fan in an episode or two, things won’t need to slow down again. Without spoiling anything, I will say that the episode does have a certain feeling of dread lurking in the background. As a result, each character interaction is given more depth because as viewers,

we know most of these characters will die in the coming weeks. We don’t know if any of these conversations will be their last. All in all, I did really enjoy “Throne’s” latest offering and I am very excited for the weeks to come and to finally learn who will win the Game of Thrones.

| Rhode Island College’s Independent Student Newspaper Since 1928

Opinions

I’m glad I chose RIC Catherine Enos Opinions Editor Three years ago, I transferred to RIC from CCRI. In high school and in my first two years of college, I was never an involved student and I didn’t know what I wanted to pursue. This changed the semester I came to RIC. Coming here, I didn’t know anyone and didn’t know what to expect. I’ll admit, the first semester was miserable and I was in a field of study that I wasn’t enjoying. RIC presented me with so many opportunities to change this. The first thing I did was change my major to political science. Before I changed to political science, it was always something I had been interested in but I didn’t think it was suitable for me-- this couldn’t be further from the truth. In my three

Graphic courtesy of FOX

years in the department, I’ve met some of my favorite people and have been interested in everything the department had to offer. RIC has afforded me a lot of other opportunities, too. I’ve been able to work with The Anchor as the opinions editor for the past two years. For almost the same amount of time, I’ve been a member of Student

Community Government, Inc. In both of these organizations, I’ve learned a lot of useful information, even if it’s unrelated to the career I want to pursue later in life. I know that RIC isn’t perfect. In fact, it’s far from it. But RIC has an illustrious history (which I’ve been able to study more deeply with the help

The finals marathon

Alison Macbeth Asst. Opinions Editor

It’s that time of the year - anxiety, breakouts and stress-eating to get through the end of the semester pileup. No matter how much coffee you drink, it feels like you will never have enough time to finish every project, paper and assignment. Surviving finals is like running a marathon. It takes persistence, determination and pluck. But that grit doesn’t start the last week of the semester. Succeeding in finals is very similar to finishing a marathon. Runners must train, practice and prepare. However, many students treat finals like a sprint. They don’t pre-

pare for the 26 mile grueling run, but rather for a hundred meter dash. This looks like long nights of cramming for the next exam and crossing fingers when submitting the paper. However, if more students saw finals season as finishing a marathon they would have a vision throughout the semester. What I mean by vision is as nerdy as this: start studying for your finals at the beginning of the semester. Now, what I don’t mean is literally start studying for your finals after your first class, but rather listen in class, take notes and of course - be there! This is the training part of the marathon process. The next thing marathoners do is practice. Professors often give readings,

of Professor Lopes in the special collections of the library). It’s the oldest of all the public schools and it’s been through a rapid transformation, from being a teaching school to becoming a school that offers so much more. RIC is unlike any other school in Rhode Island. Every day, there are people that I meet that I’m

in awe of. I’d argue that most people I’ve met here are the hardest working individuals I’ve ever met. When I graduate on May 11, I’ll be proud to say that I graduated from Rhode Island College. I know that I made the right choice in choosing RIC.

Graphic courtesy of Nichole Rustad

quizzes and study guides that culminate in a final exam. Completing homework as a way of preparing for the final will relieve the burden of learning material while you’re trying to cram for an exam. Lastly, marathoners finish the marathon. They eat well the day of the race,

sleep and continue healthy habits so that they are in tip top shape for the race. Students need to do the same by taking walking breaks and filling up on good snacks. Stay strong, dear student. Now if you have not practiced these techniques this semester, don’t fret!

You can still excel! Simply don’t wait until the last minute to start your project or paper. No matter how much you prepare, finals will always be challenging. Remember there are a lot of people on the sidelines cheering for you.

The views expressed in The Anchor, unless otherwise noted, are those of the individual authors and do not necessarily represent those of The

Anchor or of Rhode Island College’s faculty, administration or student body.

| 13

Sports

Mistakes can catch up with you

Graphics courtesy of New York Post

Jake Elmslie Sports Editor April is not the time to panic in Major League Baseball and yet the Boston Red Sox after a less than auspicious start to their season have opted to put emotion over reason. On Tuesday, the Red Sox designated long time enigma Blake Swihart for assignment to the minor leagues, a decision that opens the door to and almost ensures that a different team will claim Swihart for their own roster at the cost of absolutely nothing. The team has made this move in order to bring Sandy Leon a former mainstay of the major league back onto the big league team after opting to have him open the season with the Triple A Pawtucket Red Sox. The notion of choosing to carry Leon over Swihart

is in itself a walk back from a decision the team made barely a month ago at the conclusion of spring training. President of Baseball Operations Dave Dumbroski made it clear from the onset of spring training that the team was only planning on carrying two catchers as opposed to the three they had carried during the 2018-2019 world series season. The team of course wound up airing on the side of the versatility and upside at the plate offered by Swihart over the defensive acumen of Leon. The issue with the move to walk away from Swihart has very little to do with either him or Leon as players but rather the optics of the decision. Firstly it is very easy to look at a Red Sox team that has clearly not had the start to the season

they envisioned and characterize any early mulligans on preseason roster moves as a byproduct of panic. Secondly one has to wonder if this move is almost exclusively being made in an attempt to placate the pitching staff. It is no secret to anyone who understands numbers that the Red Sox starting rotation has fallen biblically short of expectations. The team that intended to build itself around its starting pitching currently boasts four starters with an earned run average over six and two exceeding even that mark with ERAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s well over eight. It is also no secret that the pitchers on this teams staff love having Leon behind the plate, with many of them having sung his praise in the past. One can easily extrapolate from this information that Dumbrowski made

the decision to bring up Leon in an attempt to make the pitching staff more comfortable. In the process of this pursuit though he has lost the team an asset in the 27 year old Swihart. It is not absurd to suggest that a team that has invested over 100 million dollars in their starting pitching for this season alone should not need to hemorrhage assets to effectively add five grown menâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s blankey to the ros-

ter or if this reality is unavoidable it is not unfair to question if that money could have been spent better in the first place. Blake Swihart was not destined to be some essential member of the Red Sox core however his career in the Boston system stands as a clinic in mismanaging an asset. From development to designation the Red Sox failed with this player and now can only hope to learn from their mistakes.

Rhode Island Collegeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Independent Student Newspaper Since 1928

Sports

Sometimes lightning doesn’t even strike once

Joseph A. Griswold Assistant Sports Editor This year the Tampa Bay Lightning had as many post-season wins as the Atlanta Thrashers. The only problem is, the Atlanta Thrashers have not been in the NHL since 2011. After a historic regular season, which saw the Lightning tie the 19951996 Detroit Red Wings for all time wins in the regular season (62); The Lightning fell flat on their face getting swept out of the playoffs by the eighthseed Columbus Blue Jackets. So, what happened and what is next. Simply put, the Lightning got outplayed, out-

Graphics courtesy of 1st Ohio Battery

coached and outworked across the board. Game one serves as the perfect exemplar as the Lightning held a 3-0 lead in the first period, but failed to close the game out and ended up losing game one 4-3. Throughout the series there seemed to be a complete lack of urgency, especially from the top players of the Lightning. Nikita Kucherov, Steven Stamkos, Brayden Point and Tyler Johnson, who accounted for 156 goals in the regular season, only accounted for a combined two goals in the four game sweep. Another major issue for the Lightning was their

special teams play. Despite leading the league in power play goals in the regular season the Lightning were just 1-for-6 while the Blue Jackets went 5-for-10 with the man advantage. Perhaps the most surprising aspect of the series was the lack-luster play of Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy, and the dominant play of Blue Jackets goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky. Coming into the series, Vasilevskiy was clearly seen as the goaltender with the edge as Bobrovsky has been known to struggle during the post-season. However, when the series ended it was Bobrovsky who

led his team to a series with an impressive .932 save percentage and a 2.01 goals-against-average. Vasilevskiy, on the other hand struggled mightily with a .856 save percentage and a 3.82 goals-against-average. The last major advantage came in coaching. Columbus Blue Jackets head coach John Tortorella, with his fiery, energetic coaching style pushed his team and made on-the-fly adjustments that smothered Tampa Bay’s top ranked offense. Tortorella, and the Blue Jackets clearly learned form the previous year where they took

a 2-0 series lead against the Washington Capitals only to lose four straight to the eventual Stanley Cup Champions. On the other side, Lightning head coach Jon Cooper never seemed to realize his team was down in the series and made almost no adjustments throughout the series. Cooper is often known for his cool-demeanor, but this time it seems to have led to lackadaisical play for his team. For the Lightning this season will forever be looked back upon as what could have been; however, for the Blue Jackets the road may just be beginning.

Rhode Island College’s Independent Student Newspaper Since 1928

Rhode Island Collegeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Independent Student Newspaper Since 1928