neil hilborn • clarkie of the week • people on the street • and more
volume xcvi, no. 13 • feb. 17, 2017 | thescarlet.org | the.clark.scarlet | @Clark_Scarlet
Sodexo, Lend me Your Ear Student Campaign Hopes to Influence Clark’s Upcoming Food Provider Contract By Kate Summers southern africa correspondent
Sodexo’s current contract with Clark will expire in 2018. A student group, Listen Up, Sodexo (LUS), has launched a campaign to demand changes in the new contract. Listen Up, Sodexo, has four main demands: accountability, transparency, real food, and fair labor. “Clark spends so much money on its food that if we want to change our food system, we can change where that money is going,” said Io Brooks (‘19), an organizer with LUS. The current contract began in 2012. Most food services contracts are five years, but an extra year was added because of the Bistro renovations. “Sodexo funded that, so because of the high costs associated with that we extended the contract for another year,” said Paul Wykes, who is the business manager and oversees the contract with Sodexo. It is too early to determine if Clark will renew the contract with Sodexo; this decision will be made within the next six months. If the university de-
cides to change food providers, it would need to do a formal search process. This search would take a year to complete. Wykes describes a contract as a framework for the way the university works with its providers. “It’s not intended for a contract to specify every single thing that Sodexo can do and can’t do. It’s a foundation that you build your relationship on… A lot of the progress we’ve made throughout the years has come from working as partners,” he said. If Clark was to renegotiate with Sodexo, they are not looking to make significant changes. “If it’s not broken, don’t fix it,” Wykes said. He believes that Sodexo is responsive to the needs of both the university and students. “Running a food service is a big endeavor. There are a lot of costs and it’s a big financial operation. It’s not one of our areas of expertise, so it makes a lot of sense to outsource that,” Wykes said. Sodexo has many accounts with universities and companies throughout the country, so they can negotiate better rates with food producers. When the university has large events, such as commencement weekend, Sodexo is able to bring in staff from their other accounts
to assist when there is not enough staff. “We would not be able to do that if we were self-operating… It gives a lot of flexibility,” Wykes said. Michael Newmark, General Manager of Dining Services, noted that Sodexo has expertise in food service. “It’s our passion to deliver quality services and serve the communities that we’re in… We really want to exceed our customer’s expectation, our client’s expectation. We are on top of a lot of trends. We have nutritionists, dieticians, marketing folks, regional chefs. We’re all working together, so it’s a big group that is delivering expertise and services to our clients,” he said. A longer term goal of LUS is for Dining Services to be self-operating. If this were the case, Clark would not go through an outside company to provide services. Instead, the university would hire a purchaser to buy all the food. This would allow them to buy food from wherever they would like. However, the organizers understand that it takes a lot of infrastructure to make that change. continued on page 3
Divest Clark Holds Fossil Fuel Teach-In By Scott Levine sports editor
Divest Clark was started last school year when a few students, including Rose Goldberg (‘19) and Maddy Buchman (‘19), took interest in a graduate student report from 2014 that showed Clark was losing money from investing 12 percent of their endowment in fossil fuel companies. As the name of the club suggests, they seek to convince Clark to divest that money, and reinvest it in renewable sources of energy less harmful to the environment. Divest Clark held a teach-in on Friday, Feb. 10 in The Grind at noon. Clark’s Board of Trustees met in the University Center on the same day. This was not a coincidence. “That’s on their lunch break, from 12-1, so we [were] hoping some of them [would] come to the teachin,” said Divest Clark member Emmye Vernet (‘19). The teach-in, hosted by Heather Riesenberg (‘19), featured Visiting Assistant Professor Amber Murrey, who teaches in Clark’s International Development and Social Change de-
partment, Ph.D. student Dylan Harris, and Clark Geography Professor Anthony Bebbington. About fifty students attended the event. Murrey shared her research on the Chad – Cameroon pipeline. She stressed that climate change affects areas unequally, and the ones who experience the worst of it are often impoverished groups who are not responsible for it. “If we’re thinking in terms of environmental injustice, it’s important to think about who bears the costs of oil extraction, and who reaps the benefit,” said Murrey. She explained how all the steps for creating the pipeline have hurt communities in Chad and Cameroon, from the construction of the pipeline, to the refining of the oil, to the consumption of the oil. Harris, who obtained his master’s degree at London School of Economics (LSE), talked about his experiences in helping lead a divest movement while there. He was encouraged to see how many students seemed interested in the movement continued on page 3
2 | news
The Scarlet
feb. 17, 2017
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Correction In the previous issue of the Scarlet, we misspelled the name of our Clarkie of the Week, Nia Slater-Bookhart. We are deeply embarrassed and apologize for the error, and her name was spelled correctly online.
The Scarlet
feb. 17, 2017
news | 3
The Scarlet/News Listen Up, Sodexo Cont. continued from page 1
The goal of the campaign is not to oust Sodexo. Sodexo has had a history of working towards sustainability at Clark. They signed on to the Real Food Challenge and have won multiple awards from the Environmental Protection Agency. The campaign believes that signing with Aramark or Compass, the other big food services providers in the United States, could be worse. Sodexo already has a relationship with environment groups on campus and they would like to continue growing with them. However, the goal of the campaign is not about the provider itself. “The ultimate goal of the campaign should be about the contract and making sure the language of the contract represents our values,” said Brooks. Clark does not publicize or share their contracts broadly. The group wants the contract to be accessible to students. “As students, who are stakeholders in our food systems and therefore stakeholders in these contracts, it’s really important for us to have access to the information about the inner-workings of the contract.” said Brooks. They also want to have access to the contract process itself. In addition, the campaign wants to know where the food that Sodexo purchases is coming from. LUS wants Clark’s administration to be accountable to their values. “Clark has a lot of values about respecting students, hearing students’ voices, and we want to make sure that Clark as a whole is accountable to us being able to have a say in what is happening,” said Samantha Flanagan (‘18), another organizer of the campaign. LUS wants students to be able to walk into an administrator’s office and get respect for their ideas.
“We really have a long history of working closely with students and especially in areas of sustainability,” Wykes said. Sodexo has signed onto the Real Food Challenge and is committed to having twenty percent of “real food” by 2020. However, this commitment is not binding, so Clark or Sodexo could back out and nothing would happen if they did not meet the goal. LUS would like the challenge to be contractually obligated so all the players follow through. Newmark is confident they will reach the goal by 2020. “Everyone’s working towards that goal and we would actually like to surpass that goal,” he said. “[We are] also for going after 2020 as well, so that we have an institutionalized aspect of real food…There is mention of it already, but making it concrete will allow us to continue increasing our real food,” said Talia Gallagher (‘17), who is part of LUS and co-chair of the Real Food Calculator. The Real Food Calculator is an adducting tool that measures how much real food Dining Services is brought. “We go through all the invoices and one of the issues we have is that we need to institutionalize the calculator and have a home for it, so we’re always shifting and we don’t really know where it’s going to go,” said Gallagher. At the moment, students receive course credit to do the calculation. The hope is that there will be a paid position for the calculator to ensure that someone will always do it. Wykes agrees that tracking the Real Food Challenge is difficult and changes could be made in this area. “I don’t know if it requires something in the contract to get that done. I can’t remember any time, in the time that I’ve been here, where I went to Sodexo and said we’d like to do something and they said they will not because it’s not in the contract… They know what is important to Clark and they help to try and deliver that,” he said. Their final demand is fair labor.
The campaign wants to make improvements to Clark’s current labor policies in the areas of minimum wage and job security. In addition, they are demanding “a revised worker’s rights component to the contract that includes the right to report work-related incidents (as well as provides safe places to do so), the ability to unionize without repercussions… and to feel confident in their job security despite the possibility of a food service provider change. We are also mandating that any Sanctuary Campus commitment made at Clark be extended to food service workers,” their Change.org petition reads. Clark’s current labor policy is called “Workplace Principals.” These principals apply to any company, like Sodexo, that works with the university on a regular basis. As of 2016, the minimum wage, for those who qualified, was $11.70 an hour. “Qualifying employees are all full-time, non-student employees of the university who have worked on the Clark university campus on a continuing basis for a minimum of two years and who are in good standing with regard to work performance,” the Workplace Principals read. The university’s minimum wage is adjusted every year and is based off the federal poverty standard for a family of four. LUS is demanding that the minimum wage be raised to $15 an hour. This platform grew out of demands that were made at university of Maine and university of Vermont, who had success in making changes to their contract. university of Vermont was able to see their parts of their contract, shorten their contract time, and allow for more local buying. “We’ve had some powerful people and some powerful documents that have been swimming around from other schools that led us in the right direction in a lot areas,” said Flanagan. However, Wykes does not believe you can take what happened at another institution and apply it at Clark. “We don’t really feel there would need to be significant changes [to the upcoming
Divest Clark Cont. continued from page 1
relative to LSE. “Something I’m inspired about the work you’ve done here is that there are so many of you who are interested. Our group at LSE had seven, eight people tops,” he said. Bebbington delved into the complications that stem from divesting from coal on a macro level. He brought up three case studies: the coal miner’s strike in the United Kingdom from 1984 to 1985, the impact of mining industries on a region of South Africa called Mpumalanga, and the stake that Indonesia has put on coal for their sustenance as a country. Bebbington said that since the lives of people in these communities revolve around coal, they “make thinking through strategy of how to handle coal, how to work on coal, and how to resist coal in ways that don’t put people’s lives at risk, a not straight-forward question.” Because of this, he stressed the importance of having an alternative plan. “The argument about divestment has to also be an argument about investment…and alternative sources of employment,” he said. Members of Divest Clark were pleased with the panelists’ insight. “I think it went really well. I think the three panelists had different but beneficial points of view on climate
contract],” Wykes said. LUS is currently meeting with members of the administration and gaining student support in hopes of getting their demands met. “I believe in a food system that is not about corporate consolidation, but instead in one that really values workers and people and
change,” said Riesenberg. However, Riesenberg and Buchman agreed that it was disappointing that no trustees came down to the teach-in. “Using The Grind as the venue was maybe not the best choice,” said Buchman. “But we had someone getting signatures on the way to the caf, and we had a poster up. I think that had more of an impact than the teachin because the board members ate with students in the caf.” Despite their absence from the teach-in, the trustees have been cooperative with the club. Members of Divest Clark are on phase two of their petition to get the Board of Trustees to divest from fossil fuels. Divest Clark completed phase one this past fall, during which they presented to the Committee Affairs and Social Responsibility, a subgroup of Clark’s Board of Trustees. Phase two involves presenting a thorough written report to the entire board. Divest Clark will hopefully be ready by this spring or fall. “They seem willing to consider it,” said Riesenberg, “They haven’t tried to shut us down in any way.” While Divest Clark primarily focuses on the moral and ecological reasons for divesting, Buchman said that the board has been more focused on the monetary aspects, for which there is also a good argument to divest. “Fossil fuels are a finite resource, so they have to divest eventually, and at some point those assets will go down because there will be no more,” said Buchman. “They should do it now before they start losing more money.”
communities: from farm workers to cafeteria workers and from us as students to our national and global community. [I believe in a food system] that is not about exploitation, but instead is about love and nourishment and sustainability,” said Brooks.
The Scarlet
feb. 17, 2017
CLARKIE of the WEEK know more than a kid, you’re all good. Scarlet: What’s your favorite thing about Clark? Where’s your favorite place to be? Eric: My favorite thing about Clark is probably the people, but I wish that the system itself was a little more liberal; I feel like there’s a separation between the student body and the administration. My favorite place on campus is probably my room. I love the people, but I also love my room. Scarlet: What are you interested in doing with your major? Eric: I’m doing history because I really like the idea of getting into the political arena, but I could also get into education, so it gives me more choices. I’m doing geography because I really like science and I could go into NASA or do Geographic Information Science (GIS), so I have a different array of skills. Scarlet: Do you have any shoutouts? Eric: Well, I love my mom, so shoutout to my mom.
Thanks for the interview, Eric!
photo by celine manneville
Eric Barrese Eric Barrese (‘19) is double majoring in history and geography. Scarlet: Let’s start with some basics, where are you from? Eric: I’m from Attleboro, Mass. It’s about an hour away. Scarlet: Are you involved in any sports or activities at Clark? Eric: I do Student Council and SPLASH. Scarlet: Tell me a little about SPLASH. Eric: SPLASH is a Clark event that other schools do too, and kids from all over Worcester can come to learn from a student teacher. Scarlet: Can you teach anything you want? Eric: You can teach anything you want. This year, I taught about tigers. You can know very little about it too, but as long as you
Email scarlet@clarku.edu if you have a suggestion for Clarkie of the Week!
news | 5
by Anna Schaeffer
opinions | 5
The Scarlet
feb. 17, 2017
The Scarlet/Opinions The opinions enumerated in this section represent those of the author and the author alone. They do not reflect the opinions of the editorial board, The Scarlet, or Clark University.
Protecting Local Economy or an Attack on Innovation? Indiana’s Car Sales Bill
By Celine Manneville photo editor
By Joe Mogel contributing writer
Indiana’s State Legislature is currently considering legislation that could have serious effects on the future of Tesla sales within that state. House Bill 1592 was introduced by Representative Ed Soliday (R), and alters existing regulations on the sales of electric cars. Specifically, the bill states that all electric car sales must go through a dealership or franchise. Currently, Tesla is the only electric car company to use direct sales and skip franchises or dealerships. Specifically, the bill states that an electric car company must stop selling in the state after six years from the date the sellers license is granted, or when total cars sales exceed 1,000 per year, whichever comes first. Many who back the bill claim protection of Indiana’s economy from international competition as the reason for its introduction. However, there is currently no international competition for the electric car market in Indiana, which is likely playing on current fears of companies in India and China entering America’s market. Critics have said that the bill’s regulations fly in the face of the free market approach Indiana has
recently taken to boost its economy and bring in corporate investments. Nonetheless, Soliday and the bill’s supporters stoodd by their claim that the intention is to protect consumers. Tesla is the only company with potential to be directly impacted by the bill. It is still uncertain what the bill will look like when voted on, as its authors are in the process of rewriting it, following severe criticism. This is only the most recent exchange over Tesla’s business model, and HB 1592 isn’t the first piece of legislation to seemingly target Tesla. An earlier bill, introduced by Representative Kevin Mahan (R), reduced the period in which manufacturers’ sales licenses are valid to 30 months, which would put additional pressure on Tesla due to its direct sales approach. Additionally, Representative Mahan’s bill would require Tesla to set up dealerships and/or franchises after the 30 month period. Tesla has claimed that this piece of legislation is a result of General Motors’ undue influence on Indiana’s State House of Representatives. The argument for HB 1592 and Mahan’s earlier legislation comes down to whether or not a buyer can test drive a car and/or talk to a knowledgeable dealer. Both Soliday and
Mahan have said that they don’t want to push Tesla out of Indiana’s market, but that they want the company to use a standard franchise/dealership model. Soliday said, “This [bill] makes certain that we are only allowing this kind of sales with people who have demonstrated consumer service and accountability.” Indiana is not the first state to consider laws to protect franchise sales of cars. Laws protecting automobile dealerships are on the books in Virginia, Texas, Maryland, and Arizona. Much of the concern over HB 1592 is not directed at the current situation with Tesla, but at how it could discourage more innovative companies and sales approaches from entering Indiana’s market. In our global market, it is innovation that marks the difference between success and failure. For a state to introduce regulations that would undermine a fast growing company, especially regulations suspected of influence from competing companies, its legislators would have to put the interests of corporations before constituents. For a state such as Indiana, which has been actively trying to bring in investments from fast growing companies, this bill is irresponsible at best.
Please do not include me in your Public Displays of Affection (PDA). Let me explain. It happened last semester, during Thanksgiving in the Café (also known as Cafes-giving). This meal is by far the best dinner served by the café all year, and as I am an off-the-meal-plan senior, my friend offered to swipe me in. We arrived and grabbed the first table we could find, which was coincidentally the first table, closest to the popcorn machine. We put down our bags, with me sitting on the side facing the pizza, grabbed food, and began to eat. At this point, all was well. About halfway through our dinner, a couple sat at the booth next to us. I recognized the guy, as I had a class with him sophomore year. I remembered that he was a senior as well, so I figured that this couple was here for cafes-giving, just as we were. Enough time went by for my friend and me to finish eating. Strangely, I realized that this couple had not gotten up to get food. This was the first issue. Why would you go to the café during cafes-giving -the busiest meal in the café all year -- and take up a booth with only you and your girlfriend (I assume) that can fit six or seven people if you try hard enough, and then just sit there and not even eat? I wondered this, but didn’t dwell on it. My friend and I got up for dessert and went back to our table. As I was eating my slice of peanut butter pie, something started to happen. This guy started kissing his girlfriend. First on the mouth, then on the cheek, then on the forehead, and more. Interesting venue, but whatever. Then it got weird. His eyes were open as he was kissing his girlfriend. Now, there are a few issues with this. First of all, why are your eyes open while you’re kissing your girlfriend? That’s a pretty big red flag in my opinion. But what was really unsettling was that he was staring at me, making direct eye contact as he was kissing his girlfriend. I tried to look away, but he was directly in my line of vision, so it was kind of difficult and awkward to be looking anywhere else. Each time I looked back, we made direct eye contact. Let me remind you, I know this person fairly well. The moral of this story is PLEASE don’t involve me in your PDA. It’s kind of haunting and slightly traumatizing. Also, to couples in general, why are you so in the way all the time? Is it more romantic by the forks in the café or in the middle of the AC? Please move three feet to either side. I do not wish to be personally involved with your love life.
The Scarlet
6 | opinions
feb. 17, 2017
Commemorating The Wrong Man: Reagan Day Established in California
By Max Elias scarlet staff
Recently, the governor of California, Jerry Brown, declared that Feb. 6 would be officially recognized as Ronald Reagan Day in the state. California is new to the party; as of now, 40 governors have declared Reagan Day a holiday. Never before has a President been so universally admired, it seems—since not all of the states that have declared it are red states. Before considering whether or not Reagan is worthy of this honor, it is important to note that no President has ever been awarded a personal commemorative holiday. There is President’s Day and Week in February, but they are non-specific celebrations of the office of President of the United States. The concept of honoring Reagan above other presidents in implies a political bias towards conservatism that is out of place in a democracy. The United States was founded on the idea that all people have an opportunity to express their voices, and all viewpoints receive consideration. This is difficult to believe when a monument to the father of the far right is the only presidential acknowledgement around. This is not to say that honoring Ronald Reagan is wrong (although there is plenty of evidence to support that viewpoint), but rather to say that only honoring one president by name, and having that honor spread across to over 75 percent of the United States, undermines equitable democracy. For example, it would make sense to honor Franklin Roosevelt as well, a figure as instantly recognizable as Reagan and certainly as influential in American history. It is imperative to either privilege no ideologies or acknowledge that all are welcome. It’s the same reason the Supreme Court prohibits massive crosses from being erected on public land. Governor Brown said his reasons for declaring the holiday in California were to “remember...his most celebrated achievements—his successful diplomacy
with Mikhail Gorbachev and the economic recovery that occurred under his presidency.” These justifications are nebulous at best. Mikhail Gorbachev was not exactly difficult to negotiate with; he was certainly not as dictatorial as Stalin or Khrushchev, and was less interested in maintaining the iron fist of control than his predecessors were. He’s known for policies of openness and restructuring, which made dealing with Russia much easier than it was for previous administrations. Essentially, the brokering of peace between the United States and the Soviet Union had less to do with Reagan’s efforts than Gorbachev’s radical departure from past Soviet leaders. Even if Gorbachev had remained uninterested in diplomacy with the U.S, the Soviet Union was winding down by the time he took power—an inevitable consequence of over-ambitious five-year plans, spreading itself too thin, and making uninformed decisions, such as invading Afghanistan. Speaking of Afghanistan, not only was it an ill-advised war from the Soviet perspective, but through Reagan-initiated funding of Mujahideen guerilla fighters —which was unnecessary because the invasion had no chance of affecting any change—we wound up arming and training Osama Bin Laden. He also embroiled himself in the Iran-Contra scandal later on, securing the release of seven American prisoners for the low price of destabilizing the Middle East for decades. Even moving away from foreign policy issues, Reagan’s presidential actions tended towards disregarding long-term implications. He is famous for the concept of “trickle-down economics,” which involved deregulating the government as much as legally possible. This was most likely a reaction to the stagflation of the Carter presidency, but it was a short-term solution; the economy was moving again, but between the Reagan presidency and 2017 the
wage gap has widened astronomically. For example, in the service of his economic philosophy, Reagan once ended a labor strike by passing a law that allowed companies to hire temporary workers if their employees went on strike. This ended up undermining workers’ rights and giving even more privilege to the rich over the middle and lower classes. Workers now had no choice but to accept whatever wages or benefits their employers set for them, keeping them beholden to corporate executives. Reagan’s social policies were the ancestors of the Trump administration’s vision for the United States. He refused to fund AIDS research and cut off state funding for mental institutions, resulting in the release of people who were not yet adjusted to the outside world, increasing the homeless population. He also slashed federal housing programs, making it more difficult for people to find affordable housing and increasing the homeless population in a different manner. A charitable view of Reagan maintains that his decisions were motivated by fear of economic stagnation rather than a result of outright reckless. Reagan was only short-sighted and unable to anticipate the resulting nearstagnant social mobility. But in the context of a proposed Ronald Reagan Day, neither view is especially comforting. At best, by declaring Ronald Reagan Day, especially across such a broad spectrum of states, we place ourselves in alignment with short-sighted decision-making motivated heavily by fear, when we should be learning from the consequences of such things. And at worst, the celebration of Ronald Reagan denotes an embracing of the intolerant social politics, tied together with religion and corporate pandering that sprung forth from the policies of his administration.
The Scarlet
feb. 17, 2017
living arts | 7
The Scarlet/Living Arts Guess Who’s Back Neil Hilborn Performs For Students on Valentines Day
by Eddie McCluskey
I’ve achieved my dream! Pulled an all-day marathon Chillin’ in the caf
By Alika Gillard living arts editor
Students chattered in the dimly lit auditorium as Neil Hilborn paced and prepared to speak. Hilborn, a renowned slam poet from Houston, shared some words with the Clark students. The event was sponsored by Diversability and featured students from Clark Writes. Before Hilborn took the stage, Clark students Kate McNicholas (‘19), F. Sebastian Baker (‘20), Ruth Fuller (‘20), Khalil Power (18), Lital Dolan (20), Bruno Lieto (‘19), Alyssa Pelletier (‘19), Maddie Thomas (‘20), Raechel Segal (‘17), and Kaitlyn Lindtvedt (‘17) performed some original pieces for the crowd. The pieces contained heavy subjects, funny moments, and intimate truths, all adding to an emotion-laden evening. McNicholas told stories of living with depression and romantic relationships. “I’m cheating on you,” she read, “her name is depression.” Her second poem highlighted the anxious mystery of falling in love. “My love. You freak me the fuck out,” she said. Lieto read his poems regarding heartbreak, as well as emotionally and physically abusive romantic relation-
Candles and crayons Are less waxy than your smile; Where did I go wrong? Valentine’s Day was Made for love, affection, and Consumerism (2014) photo by celine manneville
ships, titled “Oxford English Dictionary” and “Purple Kisses.” Baker read poems addressing depression and the adaptation of escapism as a way to cope. “Give me dragons instead of depression,” he began. “I wish I could face my demons on the battlefield, instead of in my mind.” Thomas also spoke of the strong, deep-seated nature of depression, and the emotions and actions that ensue. “This is the recovery. It is messy,” she said. “If you ask for help, people will listen.” Finally, Segal, the host of the evening presented her piece “Kurt Cobain With Guac,” a light-hearted,
optimistic piece. “I can’t find Nirvana, but at least I found Chipotle,” she said. Several of the Clark poems that were presented will appear in CUPS’ play “In Sanity,” showing April 6-8. The play will focus on mental illness and its diverse effects on the individual and their relationships. After a short break, Hilborn took the stage with zealous energy and readiness. “Happy Valentine’s Day. Love’s not real,” he started. Hilborn shared dozens of poems
continued on page 8
Since then, I’ve become A lot less pessimistic About Valentine’s Is Steve Bannon a Nazi? Find out next week on “Who Wants To Be Prez?” Russian spies, Trump’s lies, Conflicts of interest pile high No impeachment… why?
8 | living arts
The Scarlet
feb. 17, 2017
Hilborn cont. continued from page 1
with the crowd. They were happy, sad, and everything that lies in between. “Me, But Happy,” was one of his most popular poems, serving as an updated version of his earlier poem “Static Electricity.” He described the infatuous, obsessive relationship with a significant other. “If you were a cereal, you’d be ‘Reason to Wake UpOh’s’,” he said. In the spirit of Valentine’s Day, he shared with the crowd some of his “rejected Tinder bios” to lighten the mood, along with jokes about friendships, farts, and laughing at his own jokes. Hilborn also told stories of his time living in Texas, and the stark contrast of living in the midwest while he was in college, where hair froze off of his “emo bangs.” Through his inspiration, he wrote “Unsolicited Advice to Minnesota Children” and “King Sadboy,” a poem about Aaron Rodgers and the unappreciative nature of depression. “There doesn’t have to be a reason,” he said as he ended. He spoke about the crippling depression that many artists face, and the gratefulness he experiences now. “I’m so lucky we lived through who we were to be who we are.” At the end, Hilborn encouraged students to ask him questions. Hands shot up instantly, and for nearly half an hour he answered students’ questions, and reflected on giving a TED talk and growing as an artist in general. One student was eager to ask, “What’s your favorite color?” “Deep forest hunter green,” he replied. “The Future,” Hilborn’s new book, will be released this Spring, with a release date to be announced soon.
Photos by Celine Manneville
The Scarlet
feb. 17, 2017
People on the Street
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living arts | 9
Photos and Captions by Amanda Quiñones & Krithi Vachaspati
If you could take a bath in any substance, what would it be?
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photo by krithi vachaspati
Water
- Kubahan Kumar (‘19)
photo by amanda quiñones
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Any substance? That’s a hard question, but if I could bathe in anything... money, men, and molasses...the three ‘M’s’
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- Sury Thapa (‘20)
photo by amanda quiñones
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Chocolate, because I love chocolate. It’s my favorite food. You can’t ever go wrong with chocolate.
- Maddie Letendre (‘20)
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photo by krithi vachaspati
Hummus
- Hannah J. Smith (‘19)
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photo by amanda quiñones
Water
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- Kofi Akyeampong (‘20)
The Scarlet
feb. 17, 2017
sports | 13
The Scarlet/Sports Men’s Basketball To Fight For Postseason Life at WPI Saturday By Scott Levine sports editor
As Clark Men’s Basketball travelled to Springfield College on Wednesday, they knew they had to win both that night, and on Saturday night against WPI, to guarantee a spot in the playoffs. The Springfield game went to overtime, but Clark guard John Pisacreta (’18) was called for travelling in the backcourt, and guard Brendan Kittredge (’19) saw his floater in the lane get blocked as the Cougars tried to claw back after a Springfield run. Clark lost 86-81. The Cougars still have a chance to overtake Wheaton for the fifth playoff spot. Clark needs to beat WPI on the road on Saturday and for Wheaton to lose to Emerson in order to advance to the NEWMAC tournament. Clark lost 82-62 to WPI on Jan. 18 at home, but the Cougars have made strides in the month since that game. The team rose to a new level in conference play in their first game against Springfield College on Jan. 21. They beat the Pride 82-68, and played a strong
second half after being down four points at halftime. “I thought we played excellent defense,” said Clark Head Coach Paul Phillips. Co-captain forward David Mercier (’17) also had one of his best offensive games to date. He scored 19 points in the second half, constantly attacked Springfield’s front court, and went 8-8 from the free throw line during that half. Mercier said this strategy stemmed from trying to get Springfield’s big man, 6’8” sophomore Kevin Durkin, to foul out of the game. “Getting him out was a focus of ours, and I just took it upon myself to drive at him when I could, and get him in foul trouble,” said Mercier. According to Mercier, this game emboldened him to play more aggressively on offense. “It’s something that I definitely look for now in the games after that,” said Mercier, “But it all just depends on how the flow of the game is going.” The following weekend against MIT, it was Pisacreta’s turn. The junior guard went 6-10 from behind the arc and made all nine of his free throws. He finished with 29 points as the Cougars held on to beat MIT, the second ranked team in the conference.
“When he’s shooting the ball well, we’re all really energized, and we come together more,” said cocaptain guard Joe Atkinson (’17) of his teammate. Clark followed the MIT win with an 82-64 victory over Coast Guard, and improved to 5-4 in conference play. The team has since endured a four-game losing streak, dropping nail biters to Emerson, Wheaton, and Springfield, and losing 77-50 to top conference team Babson. Atkinson said the team did not talk as much on defense in games against Emerson, Wheaton, and Babson. “There were too many times those games where they just had layups or wide open shots because of lack of talking,” said Atkinson. Their offensive efficiency has also dipped slightly in this skid. The team has shot 39.6 percent from the field in the last four games, below their conference average of 42.6 percent. “We’ve kind of sputtered in our last couple games in terms of offense,” said Mercier, “We’re almost forcing shots sometimes. We were lucky enough to hit them before, but it seems they’re not going our way sometimes.” Despite this, Clark has stayed positive and focused on the next
game. “I don’t think we’ve dwelled on our losses for too long,” said Atkinson. The team feels confident about its chances against WPI on Saturday. “If we play team defense, and really talk, I think we’re in good shape,” said Mercier. Clark was hurt in their first game against WPI by not rotating out to contest shooters. The team also struggled to contain drives made by WPI junior guard Chris Rodgers. Clark will also look to play more aggressive offense. WPI’s defense stymied Clark and held them to 34.6 percent from the field in the
All photos and statistics courtesy of Clark Athletics
first matchup. Clark also turned the ball over 18 times. “They play unbelievable defense,” said Phillips. “WPI is in your face, denying the ball. We’re going to run things where you got to get open. You’ve got to be able to come off screens and be creative once on ball.” Clark will face off against the Engineers on Saturday at 3 p.m. If they win, they will eagerly await the result of Wheaton’s game against Emerson at 6 p.m., which will decide whether or not Clark makes the tournament.
10 | sports
The Scarlet
feb. 17, 2017
COUGAR of the WEEK Scarlet: How did you become the manager? Evan: I [ended up] living with Joe Atkinson (‘17) and David Mercier (‘17) sophomore year. They asked me if I wanted to be manager and I said, ‘Sure, why not?’ It’s a paid job and I got free stuff too. Scarlet: Why did you stick with it? Evan: Well I do get paid, that’s one of the biggest parts. Also, I get all the gear. It’s a pretty good gig. And I feel like if I ever quit, Coach Phillips would murder me, so I’m kind of stuck here. Scarlet: What are your responsibilities as manager? Evan: During practice, I usually run the clock. I keep score during practice games and scrimmages. I just get everything set up for practice. During games I do the same thing. I set up the bench in a certain way or else Coach Phillips will get mad. I’ll get water for them too, so basically I’m just a fancy water boy. Scarlet: How are the chairs set up on game day? Evan: Since Coach Oroszko passed away we have one seat for him, and then we have four other seats, and then we take two seats out of the middle. One seat goes at the end and the other seat is mine, so I sit between the coaches and the players.
photo by celine manneville
Evan Hanson men’s basketball team
Evan Hanson (‘17) is a psychology major and is in his third year managing the basketball team. He sat down with The Scarlet to discuss the team, Coach Phillips, and Broadway.
Scarlet: What’s your favorite part of the job? Evan: Getting to work on my jump shot. I’ve never played basketball my entire life, I played in fifth grade once. So coming in I had the worst shot ever, and now I have a pretty decent shot. I just work on it every day. Scarlet: What is your least favorite part? Evan: Getting yelled at for things I should not be yelled at for by Coach Phillips. Scarlet: Do you have an example? Evan: An example? Oh there’s so many I can’t even think of one. It’s more just nitpicky things, like say there is one towel on the ground that is not in place, he will just be like, ‘what are you doing? Pick the towel up!’ Or like he will assume that I know everything about basketball, and will be like ‘why did you do this or that?’ and I’ll just be like, ‘Coach I’ve never played before in my life, I’m clueless over here.’ He assumes I know everything, just like everything there is in his mind. I am not in his mind, so I have to remind him about that. Scarlet: Who on the team has the sweatiest socks? Evan: Probably gotta be David since he has the worst smelling feet. Scarlet: Who has the best music taste on the team? Evan: I don’t know, that’s a hard one. Everyone likes so many different styles of music. Matt Woods (‘17) likes the classic music, Josh St. Fort (‘17) likes the DJ and hip-hop music, Coach Phil-
by Ethan Giles
lips loves the Motown, and Coach Manguso loves Bruce Springsteen. Coach Phillips also loves the Beach Boys. I can’t really point out one person, it’s just a mix of everybody. Scarlet: Who is the funniest person on team? Evan: I’m gonna say myself. Coach says I’m the glue to everything. Scarlet: Who is the best looking on team? Evan: [Laughs] Do we even have one? Definitely not Coach Phillips, he’s out of the category. I’ll go Matt Woods, definitely Matt Woods. Scarlet: What is your best Coach Phillips moment? Evan: Damn. I’ve had so many. This is the hardest question I’ve ever been asked in my life. So at the recent game against Wheaton, I was behind the bench in my spot, and there was a water bottle between me and Coach Phillips. We lost the game, which we shouldn’t have. He turns around, boots the water bottle as hard as he can, and it explodes all over me and my suit. I was livid. Scarlet: Did he apologize? Evan: Yeah, later that night he texted me, ‘I’m sorry I got you wet.’ I didn’t respond. Scarlet: Do you have one phrase to describe Coach Phillips during games? Evan: Oh my goodness. One? I can think of like fifty-thousand. I just need one good one to sum up his whole entire game. I should have done research before I came. Let’s go with ‘A ball of rage.’ Scarlet: Would you recommend being manager to anyone else once you are gone? Evan: No. Don’t do it. No way. Scarlet: I’m not sure if you are aware, but there is a broadway play titled “Dear Evan Hansen.” Have you seen it? Evan: [Laughs] No. Scarlet: Do you get any royalties from it? Evan: No, it’s actually spelled incorrectly. But I’ve gotten so many Snapchat, Instagram, and Facebook notifications being like, ‘Hey is this a play about you?’ And I’m like ‘No.’ This started last year and has gone up until now. Scarlet: Are you tired of the joke by now? Evan: Uh, no. Not really. Yeah, kind of. Thanks for the interview, Evan!
12 | extras
The Scarlet
Police Logs Compiled by Sheila Ford
Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2017 07:16 - Party called reporting someone sleeping in parked car. Person was spoken to and is fine. 07:32 - Help requested for a “squatter” in the quiet area. Was spoken to and removed. Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2017 08:51 - Party called reporting a ticking noise from their refrigerator. Physical Plant notified. 22:17 - Biohazard reported in the first stall of the 3rd floor men’s bathroom. Thursday, Feb. 9, 2017 22:44 - Party reported biohazards in all three bathrooms on all three floors of building. Physical Plant notified to bleach all restrooms. Friday, Feb. 10, 2017 01:04 - Party reported threats from an individual they believe owns a gun. Individual was spoken to, reported being upset due to stolen cake. No threats or weapons confirmed. 15:45 - Four youths in men’s restroom possibly using marijuana. Call canceled; party stated that it was now unclear if it was the students previously described. 16:19 - Party called to request removal of two parties sitting on each other’s laps and making out. Party asked them to stop behavior but they refused. Parties located, spoken to, and removed. 16:50 - Party stated the heat is on but not hot enough. Physical Plant notified.
feb. 17, 2017
What happens in The Scarlet office stays in The Scarlet office... sort of “That just made everything more awkward.” - Amanda “Yup, that’s what I do.” - Giles “Do we want to shoot them with a nerf gun?” - Jess, as she pulls out a nerf gun “My cousin dated an actual circus dude.” Andrew “I am Alika.” - Jess “Do an Alika impression.” - Giles “I’m not that cool.” - Jess “They’re thins and they’re mint, so they meet all of the the criteria of Thin Mints, but they’re not Thin Mints. So close, yet so far.” - Jeremy “It’s not like anyone’s job is ‘history.’” Giles “You can be history if you want to be.” Jess “I don’t like the word fallacy because it’s too close to phallic.” - Alika