April 15, 2022

Volume 90 • Issue 22

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eam fi s

April 15, 2022

FSUgatepost.com

ime na ional c ampions

Courtesy of Courtney Doherty (Back row from left) Cheerleaders Alex Connor, Sophia Damore, Jonathan Dailey, Reymi Vargas, Juliana Therrien, Amanda DeAngelis, Julia Taliaferro, (Front row from left) Sophia Cameron, Kristina Giordano, Danielle Achin, Hayley Shulman posing on Daytona beach with the National Cheerleaders Association Small Coed Division III 2022 trophy. [Editor’s Note: Danielle Achin is a Sports Editor for The Gatepost.]

ea c fo ne and omm ni

By Steven Bonini News Editor

ice p esiden of i e si n a emen dela ed

Although a search committee was formed to select a new vice president for Diversity, Inclusion, and Community Engagement (DICE), in January of this year, the search has been delayed, according to University President F. Javier Cevallos.

The delay occurred due to the logistical difficulty of conducting this search and that for a new provost, said Cevallos.

When the search consultant, WittKieffer, was hired, Cevallos said they met with both search committees and their chairs - explaining that running the two searches at the same time was going to be “complicated.

“The search consultant recommended delaying the [vice president

i a

sa

By Ryan O’Connell Asst. Arts & Features Editor

of DICE] search until the beginning of the fall,” he said.

Cevallos said another reason for the delay in the search was his obligation to wait for incoming President Nancy Niemi’s appointment.

“We could have launched the search in the fall - have somebody appointed before the new president was appointed,” he said. “A vice president works directly with the president.

That is a part of the team. It is important that the next president has a say on who is going to be part of that team.”

Cevallos said he takes full responsibility for not having an interim vice president of DICE in place.

“I tried to recruit somebody to be an interim, but that conversation didn’t move forward, unfortunately.

That actually delayed, a little bit, my

e ec on

By Emma Lyons Design Editor The Henry Whittemore Library held a series of events for National Library Week from April 4 to April 8. This year’s theme encouraged communities to connect with their libraries.

National Library Week, usually the second week of April, is celebrated nationwide in support of libraries every year. This week is a celebration of the services libraries provide to their communities beyond books, according to Kathleen Barnard, student engagement

a ional i a

coordinator.

Millie González, dean of the library, said, “The mission of National Library Week is to celebrate libraries, the patrons that frequent our libraries, and the people that work in the libraries.”

González was appointed as dean of the Henry Whittemore Library this month. She has been working in the library at FSU since 2006.

She said the events of library week were geared toward student engagement. “April is an extremely busy time for students,” she said. “We don’t want it to be event heavy. We want it to be light, enjoyable - not intrusive.”

With that in mind, the staff decided to begin the week by handing out cake to students and staff who entered the

ncl sion

work in this area.”

He said if he were to appoint an interim, the person selected would have to be somebody who understands the position and is committed to anti-racism work.

“If we are lucky enough to find somebody over the next few months … I would be delighted to appoint that person, but at the moment, we don’t have any potential candidates, so we will keep looking,” he added.

Ann McDonald, chief of staff and general counsel, said the WittKieffer firm informed her and the search committees that finding a candidate for provost would be faster given a wider pool of candidates for the position and a “tight” pool of candidates for the vice president of DICE position.

See DICE SEARCH page 6

News ‘HOLA FSU’ pg. 3 FULBRIGHT SCHOLAR PROGRAMS pg. 5

Opinions

SEARCH FOR A VP OF DICE pg. 7 HALEY’S COMIC pg. 9

Sports

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library. On Thursday, the library also hosted its annual cake decorating contest.

“It was just really sweet seeing students pass by and giving them slices of cake and things like that. We’re very thankful, even though they’re really very busy,” she said.

The Gatepost Archives González said her favorite event from the week was when the children BASEBALL pg. 12 from the Child Development Lab on campus visited the library. They were read to by Samatha Westall, one of the curriculum librarians.

“Seeing the little kids come up the FRESH CHECK pg. 15 stairs and up to the curriculum library - just sitting there and listening to Sam EGG HUNT pg. 17

Arts & Features

See LIBRARY page 14

INSIDE: OP/ED 7 • SPORTS 10• ARTS & FEATURES 13

NEWS

2 | APRIL 15, 2022

Editorial Board

a epos n e ie

Editor-in-Chief Leighah Beausoleil

a id

Associate Editors Donald Halsing Kathleen Moore

Pastor and Evangelical Chaplain

News Editors Steven Bonini Haley Hadge Ashlyn Kelly

By Steven Bonini News Editor

Asst. News Editor Sophia Harris Opinions Editor McKenzie Ward Sports Editors Danielle Achin Tyler Wahl Arts & Features Editors Caroline Gordon Emily Rosenberg Asst. Arts & Features Editor Ryan O’Connell Design Editors Maddison Behringer Emma Lyons Copy Editor Patrick Brady Staff Writers James Barraford Jackson Clyde Dan Fuentes Dallas Gagnon Mark Haskell Stefano Hernandez Branden LaCroix Abby Petrucci Lydia Staber Kyle Walker Multimedia Critics Sean Cabot Jack McLaughlin Ryan Schreiber Advisor Desmond McCarthy

@

TH E GA T E

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Asst. Advisor Elizabeth Banks

N PE

oi

What is your role at Framingham State and what does your job entail?

Well, I was called to be a minister the evangelical minister. … There was no specific job description. However, I’ve been pastoring for almost 10 years. I was a software engineer before I was called to be a pastor. I served at the church in Quincy - The First Baptist Church of Wollaston. And then I retired from the church last June and I was searching for a chance - opportunity to serve other congregations or students and it happened to be that I was called, and I sent my resumé to Francesca [Cerutti-Harris] at the [Independent Association of Framingham State Alumni], and I think she referred me to one of your FSU managers, and then they contacted me to come in. So, my role here is providing a mentoring service - whoever needs some spiritual guidance, and especially if anyone, any Christians, needs some guidance while they attend FSU. What is your professional and educational background?

I have a computer science degree from Wentworth Institute of Technology in Boston. … I graduated college in 1985. Since then, I worked as a software engineer. Especially, I was in programming - something called object-oriented programming.

How did you become involved in the religion you currently practice?

I was a Buddhist until I graduated college in Korea, South Korea. And then after I graduated, I actually had the chance to go visit a church in Korea. And at that time … I listened to the message, and I was curious about knowing more about Christianity, and since then, I attended church, and then I came to [the] states, which was 1980. And then, while I’m here, I continued to attend church and I know the salvation in Christ. … I became a Christian - committed Christian. They call it Born Again Christian.

I was working as a software engineer until 2010, and then I believe God called me. … I went to the seminary, and then I became a Pastor of American Baptist Church, USA. What@would TH youPsay STyour goals are ATE Oministers? as one of theEG campus I like to help and serve the students at FSU. And if anyone needs any kind of mentoring, or guidance or some brotherhood, I’d be more than happy to support them. … I’m going to present a sem-

T TH EGATEPOS

100 State Street McCarthy Center Room 410 Framingham, MA 01701-9101 Phone: (508) 626-4605 Fax: (508) 626-4097 gatepost@framingham.edu @TheGatepost | FSUgatepost.com

Courtesy of David Choi inar called technology and religion, and we haven’t got the room yet, but it is going to be April 21st, and I’m going to talk about technology and religion. The reason is that, in these days, technology has been way advanced, compared to when I studied computer science. ... As a Christian, I realized that human beings have two main basic parts. One is the physical body, and another part is the spiritual body, which is the soul and spirit. … And people just follow and live with the technology and this convenience and then pleasure. But those things cannot make a wholesome life, which needs some spiritual care, too. … My children already graduated college, but when they went to college, they just disregarded their spiritual life. … So, I like to help them [students] out and remind them that while they are working hard on their job or studying things … they need to take care of the spiritual part of their life, which will fulfill their future life and happiness, too. So, that’s what my goal is. I like to help them out. But I cannot go and tell them … “You need to take care of your spiritual life.” I can’t do that. But I like to provide some kind of opportunity for them to think and to check in. So that’s what I’ve been thinking and praying about . … I’ve been coming to the University almost more than two months or so - three months - and I [haven’t] seen many students yet. I’m kind of frustrated. One day, I was praying in the Ecumenical Center that – “Oh

God, I don’t want to waste my life here for nothing. I really want to support students,” and somehow, I came up with this thought that, well, God sent me to pray for the safety and success and health of the students at FSU and FSU community. So since then, I’m happy, as you can see. That’s my immediate goal and immediate mission - that I have to pray even though no one looks for me, but I will come in and then pray for the FSU community.

Do you have any hobbies that you enjoy?

I like hiking. I live in Framingham near Nobscot. So, I do hike there at least two or three times a week. I also like having fellowship with people - [other] Christians. And I also am planning to do some YouTube meditation. I should say - Christian meditations. I’m working on it. And I’m close to releasing the broadcast soon.

Do you have any advice for campus students?

Well again, if you are looking for the wholesome life, then please don’t ignore your spiritual life, too. You need to take care of the spiritual part of your life [while] you continue to work on your success. … That’s my simple advice that you have to have a balance for your career goals and your spiritual life.

CONNECT WITH STEVEN BONINI sbonini@student.framingham.edu

olice o s Tuesday, April 12 14:00 State Parking Enforcement O’Connor Hall Citation Issued

Wednesday, April 13 09:19 Panic Alarm Foster Hall Checks OK

Wednesday, April 13 13:51 Roommate Problem West Hall Report Taken

Thursday, April 14 09:00 Annoying Phone Calls Dwight Hall Report Taken

NEWS

ola

a panis lan

By Sophia Harris Asst. News Editor This semester, Framingham State welcomed Hola FSU - a Spanish podcast to get students involved in the Hispanic community.

Professor Beatriz Alvarado, a visiting lecturer, noticed many students in her class listen to and enjoy podcasts.

She wanted to implement this in the classroom.

“I came up with a way to connect with my students using what they are using nowadays,” she said.

Hola FSU was originally created as a platform for students to post their homework for a Latin American literature class.

Students were able to post their responses and reflect on atin American authors and Latin American literature.

Hola FSU then blossomed into a platform to connect with the Hispanic community at FSU and the City of Framingham.

She said she is “very proud of the student work” that went into creating this podcast.

a e podcas

MaKenna Mancuso, a senior Communication Arts major, edits and promotes the podcast through her internship.

She said she was recruited onto the podcast after a recommendation

by Niall Stephens, department chair of communication media and performance.

Mancuso said, “Originally, it was supposed to only last a few weeks, and then it turned into an internship for me. It was a win-win for both of us.”

She said she is in charge of “helping edit the podcast, combining the audios together, managing the progress of it, and promoting it.”

Mancuso said the podcast is a platform to showcase students’ work from Latin American literature and to connect with people within the Hispanic community.

She said it is a great project to work on because it gives “people in this community a voice.”

She said she really enjoyed working with Alvarado and the creation of the podcast inspired her to begin to learn Spanish.

“[The podcast will bring] different languages, other perspectives, people, other minorities - just sharing their stories, their perspectives.”

-MaKenna Mancuso, Senior Communications Arts Major

Interviews with people of Hispanic heritage, including President F. Javier Cevallos and Professor Nilza Gonzalez-Pedemonte, are showcased on this platform.

Alvarado said the goal of this podcast is for “people of Hispanic origin to listen to this podcast and feel engaged and connected with other Hispanics working and studying at FSU.” She said she was looking to “connect Hispanics with other Hispanics” in the creation of this podcast.

Alvarado said FSU is “about to be a Hispanic-serving institution,” and because the University is welcoming more Hispanic students and teachers, it’s important for them to have a platform on which to connect.

APRIL 15, 2022 | 3

Owen Thornton, a sophomore history major, said he often listens to podcasts.

He said a Spanish podcast enhances the FSU community because FSU has “a really good Spanish program, and drawing more people into that and letting them see what the Spanish program is all about here would be really valuable.”

He said he is looking forward to listening to Hola FSU. Nicolle Fernandes, a sophomore psychology major, said she thinks the podcast will “knock down barriers where people think everything has to be in English.”

She said she thinks the podcast will “pull in all different types of people.”

ea e

Courtesy of MaKenna Mancuso Fernandes said she is “definitely” looking forward to listening to the podcast.

Lainey Morrison, an undeclared freshman, said she listens to podcasts occasionally but is excited to check out Hola FSU. She said having a Spanish-language podcast at FSU is a “really good way to be inclusive.”

Morrison said it’s a beneficial way to connect with different communities and “open up that conversation.”

Alvarado said she hopes the World Languages Department or another department will continue this podcast once the semester is over.

Mancuso said she hopes the future of the podcast will bring “different languages, other perspectives, people, other minorities - just sharing their stories, their perspectives.”

Hola FSU can be streamed on Spotify, Google Podcasts, and Anchor.

CONNECT WITH SOPHIA HARRIS sharris9@student.framingham.edu

inin e ices anno nces asso e p ions

By Ashlyn Kelly News Editor

In an April 12 community-wide email from Rachel Lucking, University Dining Services announced food options for those who observe Passover will be available to order.

Passover begins Friday, April 15 and ends on Saturday, April 23.

Fish, chicken, roast turkey, salisbury steak, and pot roast are all available as “fully prepared pre-packaged meals,” along with boiled eggs, grape juice, apple juice, gefilte fish, borscht, and

horseradish, according to the email.

To order the meals, contact the Dining Services ffice by phone at or visit the office on the second floor of the McCarthy Center, which is above University Police.

Dining Services requests all orders be placed on the morning of the day of pickup.

CONNECT WITH ASHLYN KELLY akelly8@student.framingham.edu

Forecast provided by the National Weather Service www.weather.gov

Sunday night April 17 Mostly clear, with a low around 35. Wind around 10 mph.

Monday night April 18 Cloudy, with a low around 35. Wind around 5 mph.

Chance of precipitation is 60%.

Tuesday night April 19 Partly cloudy, with a low around 40. Wind around 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%.

Wednesday night April 20 Partly cloudy, with a low around 40. Wind around 5 mph.

Monday April 18 Mostly sunny, with a high near 58. Wind around 5 mph.

Tuesday April 19 Mostly cloudy, with a high near 50. Wind around 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%.

Wednesday April 20 Sunny, with a high near 60. Wind around 10 mph.

Thursday April 21 Partly sunny, with a high near 60. Wind around 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%.

FRAMINGHAM STATE UNIVERSITY’S INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER SINCE 1932 | FSUGATEPOST.COM

4 | APRIL 15, 2022

NEWS

a o eno a ion and ene al p o ec s sla ed fo s mme

By Branden LaCroix Staff Writer

Several major renovation and renewal projects are scheduled to take place over summer 2022.

The projects to take place include repairs to the McCarthy Center roof, replacement of the rubber flooring in May Hall’s stairways, installation of A C units on Dwight Hall’s third floor, and replacement of the CASA building’s windows.

Projects were selected through a “ranking exercise” given to FSU executive staff, faculty, SGA, and the Budget and Planning Committee to determine which were prioritized for funding.

Dale Hamel, executive vice president, said the results of the “ranking exercises” are provided to the University’s executive staff, who make the final decisions for funding, and can make changes to project prioritization. However, he added, “In most cases, [they] go with the rankings.

“There’s times when a project just won’t rank high because it’s not very exciting, but it needs to get done,” he said.

According to Hamel, the University has a “tentative budget” of $220,000, but reductions had to be made, which decreased the budget to $200,000.

He said low enrollment is a factor in the decrease in the capital-planning budget, which is “obviously less than we’ve had budgeted for in prior years.”

FSU receives funding from the state through the Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance for its capital-planning budget, but the Uni-

versity can also receive funding from other sources, including grants from the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021.

Hamel said FSU has also applied for funding through FEMA’s Disaster Relief Program. He added, although FSU and “other campuses” have applied for funding through FEMA, “Nobody’s seen any funding yet,” but the University has extra projects lined up for funding if the funds are received.

“can be a little disruptive.”

The roof repairs were not included in the “ranking exercise” as it was funded with the current year’s budget.

Whitney said the A/C project for Dwight Hall’s third floor classrooms will start during the summer, but might run into the start of the fall 2022 semester due to requiring a “longer lead time” for the project’s design.

The rubber flooring in May Hall’s

may continue into the fall 2022 semester due to supply issues caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Extra repairs to the Henry Whittemore Library’s ceilings will be performed over the summer.

Whitney said although there is no hazardous material, the ceilings are “decaying.” She added the repairs have been an ongoing project.

“We’ve done about $150,000 of ceil-

“There’s times when a project just won’t rank high because it’s not very exciting, but it needs to get done.”

-Dale Hamel

Executive Vice President Patricia Whitney, assistant vice president of Facilities and Capital Planning, said funding for projects runs on a yearly cycle starting July 1 to June 30 of the following year.

Repairs to the McCarthy Center roof above the Student Services Center, which has “on-again off-again leaks,” were prioritized, according to Whitney.

She said there have been several previous attempts to try to fix the leaks, but the problem has persisted, so a designer was brought in to “put together a larger repair project.”

She added the repairs will begin after finals because such a large project

stairwells will also be replaced during the summer.

Whitney said the current flooring “is long since past its useful life,” adding there are areas with asbestos under the flooring.

She said, “It would be nice to get those spruced up a bit.”

Another project is the replacement of the windows in the CASA building.

“Those windows are just very old,” Whitney said. “They’re drafty and we really want to get a better environment over there for the students who go to CASA and the staff who work there.”

She said this is another project that

ing replacements in the last couple of years, and we just want to continue that to help the environment over there,” she said.

Whitney added there are other maintenance projects that take place every summer, including work and upgrades to FSU’s power plant facility, and other “maintenance-only projects we do that are kind of invisible to [students] but keep things rolling.”

CONNECT WITH BRANDEN LACROIX blacroix@student.framingham.edu

My Way

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to Get Ahead this Summer

Make the most of your summer!

Register now for online summer classes.

• 5-week, 8-week & 12-week sessions • Over 200 courses offered entirely online • Undergraduate and graduate courses*

*Students may take up to 2 graduate courses before matriculation

Classes start May 23, 2022 @TheGatepost | FSUgatepost.com

For more information, visit Framingham.edu/summer

framingham.edu

NEWS

APRIL 15, 2022 | 5

an s na ionall fo fac l l i c ola o ams

By Haley Hadge News Editor

FSU ranks nationally for faculty accepted to the Fulbright Scholar Program, which offers invaluable interpersonal and cultural understanding for FSU students and faculty, according to the University’s website.

According to the Fulbright Program’s website, Fulbright awards provide opportunities for “project-based exchanges at host institutions across the globe” to academics and professionals.

Director of Grants and Sponsored Programs Patricia Bossange said when the “pandemic was raging” last year, no students from FSU applied to any of the Fulbright Programs. She said she believes travel restrictions were the main cause of the lack of student applicants.

Though student numbers are low, she said, “Framingham State is on the leaderboard for faculty Fulbright [Scholars] nationally.”

She cited last year’s numbers of faculty Fulbright Scholars, and said the most “Fulbrighters” from one institution was four, “and Framingham State had two. So that’s good as far as that goes.”

Bossange added that the ffice of Grants and Sponsored Programs recently received a congratulatory letter for their Fulbright Scholar Program participation and success from the Massachusetts Secretary of State, William Francis Galvin.

She said her office is working on increasing their social media outreach

to spread awareness of the program across campus in an effort to revive its previous success.

The legislation that established the program was introduced by then-Senator J. William Fulbright of Arkansas, and was approved by President Harry

accep ed o

Bossange said there’s no reason why FSU can’t be higher in the ranks, adding, “If Bridgewater State can have six, we can, too. So that’s my goal, just to have more people.”

She said as someone who studied abroad when she was an undergrad-

“I think it really puts your own existence into perspective.”

-Patricia Bossange,

Director of Grants and Sponsored Programs Truman.

The Council for International Exchange of Scholars administers the program, and according to the FSU website, the council has “placed to date over 50,000 U.S. faculty and professionals to travel to 140 countries to research, teach, and lecture.”

Bossange said her office helps FS student and faculty applicants by looking over their applications to the program.

Though there were no applicants last year, Bossange said she had approximately 10 interested students meet with her. “I was just so excited that so many students were interested.

None of them applied.”

Nationally, Bowdoin College had the highest number of student Fulbrighters last year with 14.

COVID-19 by the numbers

uate, it is “amazing” to go to another country and study.

“I think it really puts your own existence into perspective,” she said.

Bossange said she studied in Ireland her junior year as an English major.

She said she entered the experience expecting to “fit right in” since she spoke the language. However, she said it was through her travel that she realized the fullness of being American in another country.

She felt like an “other,” adding, “It’s so good for you to feel like an ‘other,’ like somebody who’s from somewhere else, because it really helps you treat people with more respect, but also puts you in your place in the world.”

President F. Javier Cevallos was a recipient of an award from Fulbright’s International Education Administra-

tors Program in 2021.

“I had a wonderful experience,” said Cevallos.

Bossange and her colleague, Dr. Erika Schneider, professor of Art History, worked with Cevallos on his application to the program.

He spent two weeks in France with a group of fellow recipients, where he said they visited other institutions to observe and learn from their teaching practices.

Cevallos explained the French system of higher education has two tracks.

They are the “Grandes Ecoles” and “universities,” as they are known in the U.S. Grandes Ecoles are “specialized universities” for students to partake in more intense study in a specific field.

He said he had the opportunity to talk with researchers about the work they were completing, and he was learning “non-stop.

“We have been fortunate to have Fulbright Scholars visiting us and staying with us in the past. Hopefully, we’ll have Fulbright Scholars coming to be with us in the future.”

Cevallos said the program “brings collaboration and cooperation between the United States and the rest of the world.

“It’s been going strong for a long time and hopefully will continue to be a strong program for many, many years to come.”

CONNECT WITH HALEY HADGE hhadge@student.framingham.edu

By Kathleen Moore Associate Editor

Data collected April 9

­ ­

Data collected April 13

Data sources: U.S. Census Bureau, CDC COVID-19 Data Tracker, Johns Hopkins

[Editor’s Note: The Framingham Public Health Department is no longer reporting the number of COVID-19 cases in the city as of Feb. 2, 2022.]

­

[Editor’s Note: The number of tests administered does not indicate an outbreak of COVID-19.]

­

­

­

­

­

­

Data source: Framingham State

Data collected April 13

Data sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Worldometer, City of Framingham

FRAMINGHAM STATE UNIVERSITY’S INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER SINCE 1932 | FSUGATEPOST.COM

6 | APRIL 15, 2022

sea c

Continued from page 1

“Their recommendation was to launch immediately with the provost search,” she said, “but take a slower start with the vice president for DICE search.

“If we tried to do them concurrently … we would come up against the end of our semester, and all of a sudden, we might be prepared to look at candidates, but our students would be gone, our faculty would be gone, and we wouldn’t want to bring candidates to campus without a full campus and without full campus participation,” she added.

McDonald said there were other options presented by WittKieffer to conduct a quick search, but the administration wasn’t interested in rushing the process as they didn’t want to exclude community voices.

“We wanted to make sure that we crossed all the t’s - dotted all the i’s to get us to where we need to be,” she said. This way, “people didn’t say at the end, ‘Hey, we didn’t get any input on this.’”

Catherine Dignam, chair of the Chemistry and Food Science department, is the chair of the vice president of DICE search committee.

She said the committee will soon be preparing “a number of listening sessions” at which community members will have the opportunity to offer their opinions about what type of leader they would like to see selected for the position.

Additionally, she said looking at the strengths of the community as a whole is also going to be important in selecting a candidate as applicants will be looking at the community atmosphere.

“As much as we are going to be screening applicants, those applicants - if they’re successful - are going to be screening us,” she said.

Dignam said it’s important the University has a “good story to encourage applicants to apply,” and that involves understanding community strengths.

In terms of the pace at which the search has been moving to select a new vice president of DICE, Dignam said she doesn’t believe the search should be seen as being suspended, but instead that it is “going at a much slower pace” than the current provost search committee.

“Suspension to me would mean progress has ceased,” she said, “like there’s no activity going on, and activity is going on.”

Dignam said WittKieffer “will be recruiting and screening applicants” over the summer, and then in the fall, interviews will be conducted.

While the University has gone nearly nine months without a vice president of DICE, Cevallos said the position is still important and adaptations have been made without the position filled - highlighting many of the responsibilities the vice president of DICE is accountable for.

“The position works very closely with faculty and in a number of different ways,” he said. “Working with the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee. Working with the faculty of color. Working with affinity groups. Working with faculty and staff groups, and just overall, looking at the development and the maintaining of diversity, equity, and inclusion on the campus.”

@TheGatepost | FSUgatepost.com

NEWS He said this year, many of the responsibilities the vice president of DICE would normally be responsible for have been carried out by Director of the Center for Inclusive Excellence Eric Nguyen as well as Vice President for Enrollment and Student Development Lorretta Holloway.

“Vice President Holloway - she has been doing an awful lot of things above and beyond what her job description and job responsibilities are to make sure that we continue to provide the services for all the community in terms of all the activities that DICE organizes,” said Cevallos.

Holloway said she doesn’t have a direct relationship with the search committee itself, but her current role is to “supervise the staff in DICE.” “Eric reports to me and so will the new Executive Assistant to DICE as soon as that person is hired,” she added.

Additionally, Holloway said she is responsible for the budget review and submission request for the vice president of DICE office and final approval of the CIE budget.

Nguyen said without a vice president of DICE, there are important aspects that have been lost around diversity, equity, and inclusion work.

He said among those aspects is a “high-level strategic process to how we approach DEI [Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion] work here at Framingham State.”

He also said the University lacks “somebody who can unite the efforts that are happening across campus.”

Nguyen highlighted committees the vice president of DICE would normally sit on, including the Hispanic Serving Institution Task Force and a committee he said provides funding for DEI initiatives.

“We have a number of different committees, and in general, the DICE vice president is the chair of each of those committees and can offer cohesion right across the different committees,” he said - “help them see the ways in which their work connects to a more united vision for what DEI can look like here at Framingham.”

He said this is something that has been lost, especially because each committee is now chaired by a different person, adding, “We don’t have the same level of organization that we might see if there was one person who’s connecting all of these different efforts.”

There are two committees he said he chairs - the Bias Education Response Team and the Inclusive Excellence Funding Committee.

Nguyen also highlighted the many other individuals who have stepped up and taken on more work in the absence of a vice president of DICE. “They include Dr. Cara Pina, who has served as faculty co-chair of the Council on Diversity and Inclusion; Dr. May Hara and Dr. Lissa Bollettino, who are Director and Assistant Director of the Center for Excellence in Learning, Teaching, Scholarship and Service; Dr. Yumi Park [Huntington], Chair of Arts and Ideas; and numerous others who have stepped into visible and behind-the-scenes leadership roles to ensure that we maintain our commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion at FSU,” he said.

Coming out of 2020, FSU “put a lot of time and energy and effort” into

defining what it means to be an anti-racist institution,” said Nguyen.

“It’s not that the work hasn’t continued,” he said. “It’s just, it’s not moving at the same pace.”

Without a vice president of DICE, Nguyen said there’s no leading figure saying, “Here’s where we’ve been, here’s where we are, here’s where we need to be going,” adding the “urgency” for diversity, equity, and inclusion has been somewhat lost.

Part of the “trepidation” of selecting a vice president of DICE, Nguyen said, might have come from the fact that Niemi will be taking over as president fairly soon and may look at the current diversity agenda and make her own suggestions or changes.

“Someone new might come in and change the priorities,” he said. “Maybe it’s because of their own experiences. Maybe it’s because they bring a fresh perspective and see new opportunities.”

Nguyen said while he would normally report to a vice president of DICE if one were in place, being able to report to Holloway is “ideal.

“A lot of the work I do relates to these other functional areas that she already oversees,” he said. “There is this connection to student development.

“A lot of the work I do is about how we talk about students belonging and inclusivity on campus, which then becomes like a marketing and communications and admissions enrollment recruiting endeavor,” he added.

“So, a lot of the work I do touches on the things that she is working on.”

Nguyen called this a “natural synergy” and said reporting to her has allowed him to have conversations about what’s happening at the CIE level, which then leads to the “bigger picture” agenda he believes a vice president of DICE would typically be thinking about.

Eventually having a vice president of DICE in place, he said, would give him an opportunity to attend to other areas of need within his position.

“It would free up a lot of my time to focus on doing more direct student support, to do more programming, to think a little bit more about what this role in this center looks like and what we provide to our campus, especially as we emerge from this pandemic,” he said.

Nguyen said as the University begins to search for a new vice president of DICE, he hopes the institution thinks about what DICE looks like as a whole.

The office of DICE consists of the vice president, the director of the CIE, a part-time coordinator for the CIE, and an executive assistant, said Nguyen, adding, “It’s a very slim department that is expected to oversee a lot of work across the entire University and with community partners out in Framingham and MetroWest.”

Thinking about how the new vice president of DICE will be supported is important, he added, saying the “reimagining of how we structure DICE” and how DEI work is “intentionally” infused on campus will be crucial.

Cevallos said he is grateful to Nguyen for the workload he has taken on, adding the most important aspect of Nguyen’s job is “maintaining all the activities and all the events for the student groups. And that’s

the focus on his position. That is so important for him to do.

“Certainly, it wouldn’t be fair to ask him to do any more than he’s already doing,” he said. “He has a tremendous amount of energy and a great commitment, and I think that we have been fortunate to have him with us during this time.”

Malik Martin, the student representative on the Vice President for DICE Search Committee, said he is “grateful to represent the student body in looking for a talented and eclectic VP for DICE. “It’s important that we have someone in this position that will not only assist and take charge in creating a more diverse atmosphere, but help to foster new relationships across campus within various disciplines and cultures,” he added.

“Finding the perfect candidate for this position will take time, but we as a committee seek to only hire the best of the best, whose values align with that of Framingham State University, ‘Live to the Truth,’” said Martin.

SGA President McKenzie Ward said she is upset about the delay in the search.

“The University at large was not made aware of this delay,” she said. “Others were only made aware through reading The Gatepost.”

Ward said if the University is going to commit itself to being an anti-racist institution, “filling this position should be seen as a priority.”

She also raised concerns about how long it will take to complete the search, adding, “By the time I graduate in May of 2023, who knows if we’ll even have a new VP of DICE or if half my undergraduate career, we’ll have had no one serving in this role.”

Ward said prioritizing “inclusivity” and “diversity” is crucial.

Dara Barros, SGA diversity and inclusion officer, said because Framingham State has gone almost a year without a vice president of DICE, she is concerned about the University’s commitment to anti-racism.

Barros said the University also prides itself on “transparent communication,” but the student body wasn’t informed of this delay.

“Students had to read about the delay of the search in The Gatepost, which is unacceptable,” she said.

“Everyone has been tremendously hard at work trying to fill in the void that the University is missing and there is only so much we can do without someone in this important role,” she added.

Selena Sheehy, vice president of Motivation. Intersectionality. Solidarity. Sisterhood. (M.I.S.S.), said she is disappointed with the delay and emphasized the importance of having a vice president of DICE. “DICE VP is a very important role that is needed to support our students, but most importantly, our students of color,” she said.

“DICE and the CIE are the outlets for our students of color and when we continue to delay the search for an adequate VP, the school makes it seem less important to them,” she added. “I cannot say I am surprised, though.”

[Editor’s Note: McKenzie Ward is Opinions Editor for The Gatepost.]

CONNECT WITH STEVEN BONINI sbonini@student.framingham.edu

O P / ED

OP/ED

THE GATEPOST EDITORIAL

Vacant position, missing mission Former Vice President of Diversity, Inclusion, and Community Engagement (DICE) Constanza Cabello left Framingham State in August 2021 and as of this month, a new job description for the position has yet to be written.

In a June 2020 community-wide email, President F. Javier Cevallos declared Framingham State’s commitment to becoming an anti-racist institution.

However, the University’s failure to make leeway in filling a position that is vital to this mission demonstrates that a full commitment to this pledge has not been made.

Without a leader for this mission in place, how does the University expect progress to be made?

The administration has put all the responsibilities of this position on a select few who already have jobs of their own, risking their burnout and further delaying progress toward becoming a fully anti-racist institution.

For example, in the March 8 SGA Administrators’ Forum, SGA Diversity and Inclusion Officer Dara Barros voiced students’ disappointment in the lack of events held in honor of Black History Month, adding students of color don’t feel supported.

Lorretta Holloway, vice president of enrollment and student development, said this was due to the absence of a vice president of DICE. It appears there was a hope student organizations would fill in for the vice presidential role in supporting and celebrating our community members of color.

At the time, Cevallos said the search for this vice president position had been delayed and the candidates won’t come to campus until at least September, with the position possibly being filled by October or November.

This is unacceptable.

Students, faculty, and staff deserve the support they were promised and for the University’s commitment to anti-racism to be sustained.

We at The Gatepost understand and support the initial decision to delay the searches for this position as well as the provost and vice president of Academic Affairs until the Spring 2022 Semester because that would allow the new president to choose the final candidates.

We acknowledge the difficulty of efficiently conducting two vice president searches simultaneously.

According to an article published in this

week’s issue of The Gatepost, the firm hired to conduct the searches, WittKieffer, suggested delaying the search for a vice president of DICE to fall because it would be “too complicated” to undertake both.

However, this is exactly what was accomplished in the past at FSU - most recently, in the spring of 2019, when a search for a provost and vice president of Academic Affairs and vice president of DICE simultaneously took place.

The University’s administration should never have publicly announced the start of both searches if they were not certain the newly hired search firm could support both of them.

We also by no means wish to rush someone into the position who may not be the best fit to successfully carry out the responsibilities of the job.

However, delaying this search to the fall semester is unreasonable.

It is also mystifying that the University did not try to fill this position on an interim basis either with someone currently employed at Framingham State or through the Registry for College and University Presidents, an organization of retired, experienced college executives available to fill key administrative positions on a temporary basis.

The vice president of Academic Affairs position was ably filled by Ellen Zimmerman on an interim basis, which has allowed for the work of that office to continue. Not doing the same for DICE makes the position appear unimportant to the University.

An interim appointment should have been made to avoid the difficulties the community now faces in trying to keep the University’s anti-racism mission evolving.

We thank Holloway and especially Eric Nguyen, director of the Center for Inclusive Excellence and a first-year employee at FSU, for taking on much of what this job entails.

The failure to fill this vice presidential position is not only unfair to them, but to those who have tried to continue diversity and inclusion work while no progress has been made in the search.

This search should be a priority for the University, but clearly, that has not been the case.

With such a vital position vacant, the University is failing to fully uphold its commitment to anti-racism.

The community deserves better than this.

Have an opinion?

Feel free to email it to: gatepost@framingham.edu Opinions should be about 500 words.

Anyone can submit.

We look forward to hearing from you!

APRIL 15, 2022 | 7

Save our future

By McKenzie Ward Opinions Editor Each day, we get closer and closer to making Margaret Atwood’s “A Handmaid’s Tale” reality, and it is beyond terrifying.

On April 7, 2022, 26-year-old Lizelle Herrera was arrested by police for performing a “self-induced abortion,” according to Texas Public Radio. In a statement, the Starr County Sherriff’s department announced that Herrera was charged with murder for “intentionally and knowingly” causing “the death of an individual by self-induced abortion.”

Police held Herrera in custody on a $500,000 bond and on April 9, she was released from custody after an abortion rights advocacy group posted bail on her behalf, according to Texas Public Radio.

Thankfully, the District Attorney, Gocha Allen Ramirez, announced on April 10 that he had filed a motion to dismiss the charges against Herrera.

While Texas does have the most restrictive abortion laws in the country as of Sept. 2021, there is no law covering what Herrera is alleged to have done and Texas state law prohibits her from being charged with homicide for aborting her own pregnancy, according to the Associated Press.

And while the charges against Herrera were eventually dropped, her case is an example of the scary reality of abortion laws and the ability to access abortions in states controlled by Republicans.

On April 14, Florida’s Governor Ron DeSantis banned abortions after 15 weeks and just two days prior, Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt signed a bill that would make performing an abortion a felony in most cases, according to NPR. In Oklahoma, one may serve up to 10 years in prison for performing an abortion, according to The New York Times.

And while Massachusetts continues to have some of the widest access to abortion in the country, it is still terrifying to hear of states implementing laws to ban or restrict access to abortion.

At the federal level, there has been chatter among Republicans that the Supreme Court may overturn Roe v. Wade, a landmark Supreme Court case from 1973 that constitutionally protects an individual’s liberty to choose to have an abortion without excessive government restriction.

Roe v. Wade’s fate will be decided in June.

Overturning Roe v. Wade would result in at least 13 states outlawing abortion outright, and many others would likely follow suit, according to Axios.

We cannot let our country rewind the clock 50 years.

We must demand change.

Last October, President Joe Biden’s administration released the National Strategy on Gender Equity and Equality, which outlines the administration’s policies and goals in these areas, according to The White House.

The administration vowed to protect the constitutional right that those with uteruses have in terms of access to abortion because of Roe v. Wade while also promoting access to reproductive health and rights, both in the United States and abroad.

However, during the president’s State of the Union address on March 1, 2022, Biden only briefly mentioned the topic, and according to Time Magazine, he has yet to say the word “abortion” in any of his speeches as if he is afraid to despite it becoming a central campaign issue as we approach the midterm elections.

Biden needs to be more vocal about his support for preserving the right to an abortion and protecting an individual’s reproductive freedoms because what is happening across our country is terrifying.

Although Biden promised to protect the constitutional right to abortion access, I have yet to see enough from his administration and I am disappointed to say the least.

This November, we will be having midterm elections and abortion will be on the ballot in terms of candidates. Who you vote for will determine whether individuals will have control over their own reproductive destinies.

Your vote is more than just a fill-in box.

Your vote can determine whether others like myself will have the final say over what happens to their bodies.

FRAMINGHAM STATE UNIVERSITY’S INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPER SINCE 1932 | FSUGATEPOST.COM

8| APRIL 15, 2022

OP/ED

April 15: Tax Day FY2022 State Subsidy per Framingham State University Student:

State Operating Subsidy Aggregate Annual Funding

$50 Million

State Operating Subsidy per Day Program Student

$18,000

This operating subsidy essentially represents an $18K scholarship for every student as it is a discount to charged tuition and fees.

Thank a Taxpayer!

@TheGatepost | FSUgatepost.com

OP/ED

Campus Conversations

APRIL 15, 2022 | 9

What’s your favorite warm weather activity?

By Kathleen Moore, Associate Editor and Emma Lyons, Editorial Staff

“I love hiking. I love taking pictures of where I go.”

-PJ Pharmer, junior

“Hiking, definitely!”

-Hayley Gaskin, sophomore

“I like going to the beach.”

-Leah Green, freshman

“Swimming or hiking.”

-Malia Shields, sophomore

“I like to go hiking.”

-Olivia Colling, freshman

“Sitting outside, tanning, relaxing.”

-McKenna Boleng, freshman

Sam the Ram and The Candy Conundrum

Haley Hadge / THE GATEPOST

FRAMINGHAM STATE UNIVERSITY’S INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPER SINCE 1932 | FSUGATEPOST.COM

10 | APRIL 15, 2022

SPORTS

SP O RTS

A fi s fo amin am ee leadin eam ins na ional c ampions ip

By Caroline Gordon Editorial Staff On a sweltering Florida afternoon, prior to making history by winning the national championship, the FSU cheerleading team huddled together to listen to their coach, David Lombardi, preach words of wisdom.

“I believe in me. I believe in you. I believe in us. Together, there is nothing we can’t do - Rams on three!”

The team won the national championship with zero deductions and three points more than runner-up Montclair State University.

The road to the national championship was not smooth after not competing for a year due to the pandemic and a few cheerleaders contracting COVID-19 a week before the compe-

was that much sweeter,” he said.

Lombardi said cheerleading camp and the Bryant send-off competition were bonding experiences for the team, which set the tone for the championship.

“They could not have been closer.

They believed in what they needed to do, what they wanted to do, and they came motivated. The kids work very well together - they are such a tightknit group,” Lombardi said.

He added that the “veterans” of the team “welcomed the new members with open arms” and helped them adjust to cheering in college.

Lombardi said winning nationals was a team effort as “everyone had their moment.”

Although the team does not have captains, Lombardi said he relies on

started cheering for FSU under Coach Lombardi.

She said Lombardi has a “very traditional and straightforward coaching style,” which helped the team win the national championship.

Heckler added Lombardi has “been in the cheer world” for a long time, knows what works, and understands the athletes well.

She said when they won, she was “speechless” as the team has wanted to win the national championship for a long time.

“To see this group of athletes be able to accomplish what they have this year has been a miracle. They pulled together when they needed to pull together - it is just amazing,” Heckler said.

She noted Lombardi’s dedication

jor, said this is her third year on the team and that she “couldn’t ask for better teammates.”

She said Lombardi and Heckler gave the team lots of tips on how to improve for nationals, which led the team to victory.

Giordano added that through the cheer team, she was able to “make a whole second family.”

She said winning the national championship was “one of the best moments” of her life and that as a senior, winning means a lot to her.

Vargas, a junior criminology major, said a few years ago, he was the only man on the team. He only performed during football games, and as he was the sole man, the team was still classified as a women’s team during competitions.

“I believe in me. I believe in you. I believe in us. Together, there is nothing we can’t do - Rams on three!”

David Lombardi, Framingham State Cheerleading Head Coach tition.

According to Lombardi, the journey to the championship began last summer at a cheerleading camp the team attended in Taunton, which secured them a spot at nationals.

He said the camp allowed the team to master advanced skills, such as learning complex pyramid routines, which helped the new team members adjust from performing high school skills to competing at a collegiate level.

Lombardi added cheer camp allowed him to learn the newcomers’ skill levels, their ability to work under pressure, and their compatibility with the returning cheerleaders during performances.

Throughout the school year, the team cheered at football games, honed their skills, and completed cardio workouts in order to keep in shape.

The Sunday before leaving for Daytona, Florida, the team attended a “send-off” performance at Bryant College, which was “one of the team’s worst performances,” because a few of the cheerleaders were recovering from COVID-19, according to Lombardi.

“It stopped us in our tracks, but that was the beauty of it. We used it as motivation to keep going, and the victory

@TheGatepost | FSUgatepost.com

Kristina Giordano, Reymi Vargas, and Dani Achin as his “right-arm extensions” because they are older and they know what to expect from him.

Lombardi said he believes lack of competition these past few years due to the pandemic increased the team’s desire to win the championship title.

“The pandemic gave them that motivation to come back stronger than they were before. They needed to work harder to get to where they wanted to be,” said Lombardi. “As a team, we looked at it as a new start, a fresh perspective.”

Lombardi added, “I have always said to them that they have the ability to do something that no other team at Framingham has ever been able to do since Framingham started going to nationals in 1997.”

He explained that during his time coaching FSU Cheerleading, the team has always faced deductions during the national championship competition.

Lombardi said his goal for the national championship was for the team to have zero deductions and to “hit a full routine.”

Gretchen Heckler, assistant coach, began her journey with the cheerleading team in the fall of 2008, when she

Leighah Beausoleil / THE GATEPOST to the program and how winning the championship “means the world” to him and the team.

Heckler explained that a tradition for the college cheer national championship victors is to run into the ocean after being crowned winners.

“We’ve got top three a couple times, so watching them finally run into the ocean was a great moment,” she said.

Giordano, a senior liberal arts ma-

This time at the national championship, the team was classified as coed because the rule is there must be two or more men on the team in order for it to qualify as co-ed - and a male cheerleader from Vargas’ past joined.

Vargas described his relationship with FSU cheerleading teammate and former high school rival Jon Dailey.

“Jon went to Greater Lowell and I

See CHEERLEADING Page 11

SPORTS

APRIL 15, 2022 | 11

Cheerleading 2:23 PM Continued4/14/22, from Page 10

“Coach Heckler told meFB_IMG_1649959136815.jpg that every ance, they coined the term “Davetona” Therrien added she has been cheerperson on this team will always be part because winning the championship ing since the age of 7 and kicking off of this legacy, no matter where life was for him. her college cheerleading career with takes us. I am so blessed to be a part of Sophia Cameron, a junior fashion a national championship win was an this team,” she said. design and retailing major, said, “To amazing experience. me, winning is all of the hard work we Sophia Damore, a freshman eledid that paid off.” mentary education major, said winAmanda DeAngelis, a junior ele- ning the national championship made mentary education major, said win- her first year at Framingham “perfect.” ning is an “indescribable feeling” and She added, “The team is always that she has not been able to “wipe the pushing for more - we really love each smile” off her face. other.”

“We brought motivation into this In an email sent to the FSU commuseason. We have a strong bond and a nity, President F. Javier Cevallos said, common goal that we were willing to “Please join me in congratulating the sacrifice anything for in the end,” she members of the team for their hard said. work and dedication! You’ve made us Julia Taliaferro, a sophomore politi- proud!” cal science major, said although this is Kathy Lynch, assistant atheltic diher second year at FSU, due to the pan- rector, said on behalf of herself, Tom demic, this is her first year performing Kelley, who is the athletic director, and with the team.

Carey Eggen, who is the deputy direc“To know that all of the work we tor of the Athletic Department and Tihave put into this team has paid off is tle IX coordinator, that watching the a truly amazing experience,” she said. cheerleading team fulfull their goal of Alex Connor, a freshman criminolo- winning the national championship gy major, said, “Winning nationals was was “exciting.”

Courtesy of Courtney Doherty so special because of the challenges She added, “We are thrilled with Hayley Shulman, a junior early I have faced personally and with the Coach Lombardi and his team’s succhildhood education major, described team.” cess at nationals this year. It is a testawinning nationals as one of the best She added, “We would not be where ment to the hard work and dedication experiences of her life. we are and I would not be the athlete that the coaches and athletes put into “Winning made all of the 4/14/22, sweat, I am now without Coach Dave andFB_IMG_1649959116505.jpg the program.”

2:24 PM tears, and injuries worth it. I never Coach Gretchen.”

“We know that the future of the prothought I would be able to say, ‘I am a Juliana Therrien, a freshman ele- gram is bright, and we look forward to champion.’ It still does not feel real. I mentary education major, explained seeing them on the sidelines next fall.” will forever remember the moment of that as this is her first year on the hearing our name being called for first team, winning the national champion[Editor’s Note: Danielle Achin is a place,” she said. ship was “a crazy experience.”

SPorts Editor for The Gatepost.]

Shulman added the support Lom“Honestly, I had no words. I called bardi has for the team “on and off the my mom and I started crying. She was mat” is “insane” and since the team confused and thought we lost because CONNECT WITH CAROLINE GORDON cgordon4@student.framingham.edu could not have won without his guid- of how much I was crying,” she said.

went to Greater Lawrence. In the cheer world, us going against each other was a big rivalry, but on this team, being the veteran for him and the other rookies allowed me to be a better leader for the team,” he said.

Vargas said winning the championship was a “different type of win” because he won with Jon. “With on by my side, we were finally able to bring the trophy home,” he said.

Vargas added although he has been cheering for 11 years, he has never been part of a team with a bond as strong as the FSU Cheerleading Team.

“We are a family. We treat each other like brothers and sisters,” he said.

Dailey, a sophomore fashion design and retailing major, said, “Winning nationals was the best feeling. We all knew we wanted to win since camp in August. We all clicked during the first few practices back in July and since then, we have grown closer each day.”

Dailey added he and Vargas became friends “very fast.

“Reymi knows so much about the mechanics of cheerleading. I grow so much just from watching him. Being the first two boys on the FS competition team was also something very special that brought us together,” he said.

Achin, a senior English major, said when FSU was crowned champions, she realized that every struggle the team pushed through was “meant to be.”

She added that she grabbed Heckler and cried as the bittersweet moment was the end of her cheer career.

https://drive.google.com/drive/my-drive

1/1

https://drive.google.com/drive/my-drive

The FSU cheerleading team celebrating their win April 8 2022.

1/1

Courtesy of Courtney Doherty

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12 | APRIL 15, 2022

SPORTS

ams ase all falls o asell af e innin s

By Danielle Achin Sports Editor The Framingham State baseball team battled a 10-inning game against Lasell, eventually falling to the Lasers by a run.

The game started with a scoreless inning from each team. Lasell grabbed the early lead with a single run in the bottom of the second after Jordan Martinez singled to right field, sending Tyler DiNezza home for the - lead.

The Rams were trailing the Lasers with three scoreless innings until they plated three in the top of the fourth after yan Boyle doubled down the right field line and a Jeremy Kelly double to left center. Kennedy Wilson scored the third run after capitalizing on a fielding error by asell. asell managed to keep the ams off the bases and tally single runs in the fifth and sixth inning to knot the score 3-3.

Both teams sparked with energy in the seventh inning after plating three runs each, keeping the score knotted, 6-6.

Lasell managed to break the tie score in the bottom of the eighth after capitalizing on another scoreless inning from the Rams and a number of throwing errors to plate the single run.

The Rams answered at the top of the ninth after Lucas Basile homered in one run for the Rams, resulting in a tie score once again at 7-7.

The final tenth inning left both teams determined to plate the leading run.

FSU took to bat and Ram Cam Gilroy singled through the right side and ran off with second and third for the steal. Evan Kirkpatrick then capitalized on the third-base runner advantage, singling to center field and sending Gilroy in for the run.

It wasn’t long before the Lacers got three outs and took to the plate.

After the ams pitcher walked two players, DiNezza reached first on a fielding error, sending in Audet for the tying - run. Griffin Ferreira then singled to center field, advancing Matthew aharik to home and securing the - victory.

Despite the aggravating loss, the team played with perseverance and energy.

Infielder Steven Burbank said having those few “explosive moments” such as Gilroy’s and Basile’s home runs helped keep the energy in the dugout high and hope alive.

“Dealing with a loss in the first place is never fun - never mind a walkoff. It really hurts but it provides us with motivation on its own for our next game,” he said. “We are a young team and have plenty of areas for improvement, but the fight and passion we have makes us want to get better.”

The Rams look to take on their next few games against the MCLA Bears in MASCAC action starting April 14.

Gatepost Archives

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LASELL UNIVERSITY FRAMINGHAM STATE CONNECT WITH DANIELLE ACHIN dachin@student.framingham.edu

@TheGatepost | FSUgatepost.com

9 8

ARTS & FEATURES

APRIL 15, 2022 | 13

ARTS & FEATURES

Kristelle Angelli - A beacon of hope for Campus Ministry

By Steven Bonini Editorial Staff Kristelle Angelli is known to many people as the Catholic chaplain for the University, but what they may not know is Angelli wasn’t always a follower of the Lord.

At one point in her life, Angelli considered herself an atheist and was a stark challenger of the belief in God. Growing up, she was raised a non-practicing Catholic and said she had a limited faith in God, but aside from her grandparents and a few friends, there were not many heavily religious figures in her life.

It was when Angelli was 11 years old that she began to examine her faith after listening to a vinyl record of the musical, “Jesus Christ Superstar.”

“It’s [the musical] completely theologically incorrect,” she said. “But the music’s really good.

“I listened to that and something in my 11-year-old brain said, ‘I need to figure out, do I believe in God? If I do, I should probably take it seriously.

If I don’t, then it doesn’t matter,’” she added.

Angelli said she decided to believe in God. Soon she began walking to her local church to attend Mass regularly.

It was during her sophomore year of high school that Angelli’s faith began to fall apart once again, she said.

“I just had a lot of questions and a lot of my world sort of became chaos, and I just didn’t feel like God could really exist,” she said.

With the feeling of loneliness and a lack of order in the world, Angelli said she saw God as a “crutch” for people to “lean on,” and rejected the Catholic Church and the idea of a higher power altogether.

Even so, her faith wouldn’t be gone for long.

It was during her junior year at Saint Michael’s College in Vermont where she was a journalism major, that her fascination with God would be revitalized.

Angelli said she took a feature writing class in which the professor asked the students to write in a journal every night.

“I was at the end of the semester, and I hadn’t kept up with it,” she said.

“So, I started backdating all these entries, and I needed some creative things to write about, so I decided to write a letter to God telling him all the reasons why I didn’t believe He existed.

“That’s sort of the moment where it feels like things started to change,” she added.

During her second semester junior year, Angelli said she studied abroad in the city of Aix-en-Provence, France, and joined a “young adult Catholic

Courtesy of Kristelle Angelli group.”

Joining the group was meant to be a fun way for her to meet people, she said, but it also gave her the opportunity to go on a retreat to the island of Lérins, off the coast of Cannes.

On the island was a monastery with a chapel inside, she said, and while kneeling in the chapel, she “felt God,” but not in an “intellectual” way - an “experiential” way.

“It was a powerful experience,” she added.

From there, Angelli said she started “rethinking” her faith, praying regularly, and asked God for signs of his existence, which she said He provided.

A lot of people’s experience with God is intellectual as opposed to experiential, she said. Angelli offered an example of a student she knew while working as a campus minister at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) who read the Catholic Catechism cover to cover and said, “‘It makes perfect sense - I want to be Catholic!’”

Angelli said for her, “It was very much at the heart,” adding, “I had to know I wasn’t alone - that God was with me, and that just because my world got chaotic when I was a kid - and it didn’t seem like the adults knew what they were doing - didn’t mean that there was no God who didn’t know what He was doing.”

Coming out of college, Angelli said her faith only continued to grow and she decided to combine journalism

and Catholicism, starting a job at an ecumenical Christian news publication on the North Shore.

Eventually, she left her position with the publication and got her master’s in ministry from St. John’s Seminary in Brighton - dedicating her life to helping others - especially young students - find their faith in the Catholic Church.

On the bookshelf of Angelli’s FSU office, a plaque sits engraved with the aphorism - “Live in such a way that those who know you, but don’t know God will come to know God because they know you.”

From Emerson College to MIT, and eventually to FSU, she worked as a Catholic minister for the archdiocese and presented herself to different universities in need of a chaplain.

The best part of being a minister, she said, is “seeing students take their faith and make it their own during college.

“That’s always really rewarding,” she added.

Angelli said taking students on their own faithful journey is really important, adding, “Obviously, it looks different for every person, but also, there’s the idea of sort of stepping back and watching what God does in someone’s life. That’s a really interesting thing!”

A big part of her role, she said, is helping students open their faith in a way they hadn’t been able to do before in their lives.

Angelli said, oftentimes, when stu-

dents are in middle school or high school, they may be taught about their faith in a simpler way, but when they get to college, their minds are developing much faster - allowing her to open up the “mysteries of the church” to those who seek her knowledge.

In terms of her own faith, Angelli said there are many aspects of being Catholic she enjoys, especially “the depth of the faith.

“God is eternal,” she said. “And we’re finite,” adding, “There’s always more with God. There’s always a deeper understanding. There’s always more of His love to receive.”

Additionally, Angelli said one of the best parts of being Catholic is journeying through the faith and healing along the way.

She said, “especially in our time now,” during this period of uncertainty, God “heals you and then you can understand more, and you can see more, and you can feel more and receive more of His love. It’s what we’re made for.”

Outside of her role as a religious leader, Angelli does independent writing and has one book published under her name and 14 books published under a pen name.

Under her own name, she said she writes religious fiction stories and under her pen name, she writes “cozy mysteries.”

Her books are a Hallmark mystery, she said, appealing to “women who are older.”

She said after leaving the journalism field, authoring books was her way to “get back to writing.”

One of the books she authored is “Agnes’ Gift,” which is “about a teenager who is going through a faith crisis and encounters her guardian angel who takes her back in time to go through all the mysteries of the Rosary. She sees the mysteries of God’s life in light of her own struggles,” said Angelli.

There are many other passions in Angelli’s life as well - one of them being Taekwondo, in which she holds a third-degree black belt.

Outdoor activities are also enjoyable, she said, including skiing, kayaking, paddleboarding, and snowshoeing.

All these things aside, Angelli said she prays to God about when the best time to retire from campus ministry might be.

“I don’t usually think that far ahead,” she said. “When I first started out, I sort of felt like the older sister of the students, and then it hit a point now where I could very easily be their mom.

“The dynamics do change a little bit,” she added. “You know, each stage See KRISTELLE ANGELLI page 14

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ARTS & FEATURES

14 | APRIL 15, 2022

Library Continued from page 1 read a book … the fact that we’re promoting literacy at such a young age, and the students had a really great time - for me, that was just really special,” she said.

González explained library week was to show the important role libraries play within their communities. The week was used to honor and thank the library staff who work to support the campus community.

“It’s nice to celebrate at least for a week once a year,” she said.

González said she enjoyed interacting with students as they passed through the library and giving back to the campus community.

“I love National Library Week because it’s always really cool things - really engaging surroundings,” González said.

Sandra Rothenberg, coordinator of library instruction, helped assemble

FSU in particular, so we wanted to do something to honor this and bring focus to the library.”

She said she helped to organize a staff and student centered art exhibition for the celebration this year, with the help of her coworkers Colleen Previte and Nancy Hanley. She added the exhibition was chosen this year since it hadn’t been included in recent National Library Weeks, but was included before.

“We had done an art exhibition years ago, and we hadn’t done it for a long time,” she said. “I think it was great we arrived at it. We hadn’t done that for a while, because you don’t want to do something too often. We want it to be fresh.”

Rothenberg said she hopes students recognize the library as a resource on campus for more than physical texts, such as the RAMS Renew Space, and that they are always willing to help.

“We … really encourage people to

Several cakes from the cake decorating contest on display April 7. this year’s art exhibition for the celebration of National Library Week, alongside contributing to some of the other events provided.

Rothenberg shared her thoughts on the role of libraries in their communities. “The library is an important place on academic campuses, and

come here and take advantage of our multitudes of services, be it research help, our collections - both databases and books - our new RAMS Renew Space, which is a relaxation space,” she said.

Kathleen Barnard is the library’s student engagement coordinator.

Kristelle Angelli Continued from page 13

in life, you have something that you can offer that you couldn’t before, so you just readapt.”

She said the timing of her retirement will depend on God and His plans, adding that’s something she tries to “discern” every year.

Still, it is Angelli’s time spent with students where she believes she makes her greatest impact.

Jeff Merisier, a senior biology major and member of the Catholic student group, said he met Angelli in 2019 after transferring from Fitchburg State University.

He said her leadership has played a big role in helping him grow his faith

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in the Catholic Church.

“Over these past liturgical years, she has guided us through a wide selection of spiritual exercises from different religious orders ranging from Biblical Lectio Divina to the Ignatian Examen. I have benefited greatly from all of these gems,” he said.

Merisier said there are many words he could use to describe Angelli, but ultimately the qualities that come to mind are caring, dedicated, and inspirational.

It is because of Angelli’s leadership and her knowledge of the faith - Mersier said he has decided to become a faith leader himself.

In addition to their faith meetings, Merisier said he enjoys being with An-

This is her first year celebrating National Library Week alongside the

done,” she said. “Things like that and then just what new things were out

“The library is an important place on academic campuses, and FSU in particular, so we wanted to do something to honor this and bring focus to the library.”

- Sandra Rothenberg Coordinator of Library Instruction staff of FSU since joining the community in January.

Barnard said the preparations for the week began with a group of li-

Christy Howland / THE GATEPOST

brary staff who assess what had been done in previous years. She added the group includes a mixture of old events and new ideas to help bring attention to the role of the library during the week.

“Our cake decorating contest, for instance, was the 12th one that we’ve

gelli and the Catholic student group because of the leisurely activities they engage in together.

Activities have included Kahoot games, apple picking, and their monthly pizza and prayers meetings, he said.

“The monthly pizza and prayer meetings are always very nourishing to both the body and soul,” he added.

What he enjoys the most, though, is “having had priest friends come and celebrate Mass” with them throughout the year and “imposing ashes” on Ash Wednesdays.

Merisier said Angelli allows the students to initiate a lot of what the group does, and that to him is very important.

there.”

Barnard added she hoped the students’ main take away from the events is that the library is a fun place. “I hope they see the library as both a place to study and get information, but also a place to unwind, relax have a little bit of fun,” she said.

She spoke about the RAMS Renew Space within the library, how it is open for students to take a break in between classes and relax. On April 6, the library welcomed Reiki Master Susan Clark to host reiki sessions for students within the renew space.

Barnard said she was happy to bring her past experience as a librarian to FSU when planning with her coworkers, and added it was nice to be a part of the events.

She stressed her hope for the week was to promote students engaging with the library for more than researching papers or coursework.

“Remember that we’re here to help and we’re here for you guys. The library exists for the students and to help the students just find resources, be a place to relax. Any way that we can help you guys, that’s what we’re here for,” Barnard said.

CONNECT WITH RYAN O’CONNELL

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CONNECT WITH EMMA LYONS

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“Kristelle is always open to our ideas and our suggestions,” he said.

“The events for the semester are decided through surveys and these decisions are then finalized in planning meetings to which every member of the group is welcome to attend.”

Ultimately, Merisier said, “Catholic Campus Ministry has always served as a beacon of hope,” adding, “I speak for myself in expressing my gratitude for Kristelle’s presence on campus, and I know that these sentiments are shared by all the members of the group.”

CONNECT WITH STEVEN BONINI

sbonini@student.framingham.edu

ARTS & FEATURES

APRIL 15, 2022 | 15

The gym’s lights burn bright in his memory FSU’s gym named in memory of Alumni and Trustee Richard Logan

By Leighah Beausoleil Editor-in-Chief Emotions ran high on April 8 as community members looked up at the sign hanging above the new gym with tears in their eyes.

A ceremony was held to name the new gym “The Richard C. Logan Gymnasium” in memory of the late Richard “Dick” Logan, ’70, a dedicated member of the FSU community, according to President F. Javier Cevallos.

As a member of Framingham State’s first varsity men’s basketball team formed in 1967, the University saw it was fitting for the gym to be named in his memory, according to Cevallos.

Logan served as chair of the Board of Trustees in 2017 and then Alumni Trustee until his death December 10, 2021 after eight years with pulmonary fibrosis, according to his obituary in The MetroWest Daily News.

Along with his role on the Board of Trustees, Cevallos said Logan also served on the University’s Foundation Board, attended Alumni Association

Board meetings, and could often be seen at community events with his wife Mary Logan, ’71.

He and his wife often donated to Framingham State, supporting funds and scholarships for students, Cevallos said.

He added Logan was also the chair of the presidential search committee that hired him.

“He was one of the most involved people with the institution that you can imagine,” Cevallos said. “He was a pleasure to know.”

Cevallos said approximately 100 people were in attendance at the naming ceremony, including Logan’s family, friends, fellow trustees, and members of his basketball team.

“He was certainly an extremely devoted person to the institution,” he said. “His wife, Mary, always said that his blood was black and gold - [the colors] run through him.”

Eric Gustafson, vice president of Development and Alumni Relations, said in an email, “He took those roles seriously and was a strong advocate for students and controlling tuition

Leighah Beausoleil / THE GATEPOST The new dedication to Richard Logan was presented April 8. and fees to keep an FSU education affordable and accessible.”

Gustafson added, “He was thoughtful, kind, and caring, but also had a wonderful sense of humor. His passion for FSU was genuine and infectious. Everybody who knew Dick and worked with him loved him.”

In a Dec. 13 community-wide email, Cevallos said, “As one of Dick’s fellow trustees wrote in an email last week

upon receiving the news of Dick’s passing, ‘the lights in the Dwight gym dimmed a bit last week,’ but Dick’s impact on Framingham State University will forever burn bright for everyone in the University community whose lives his work touched in a permanent and positive way.”

CONNECT WITH LEIGHAH BEAUSOLEIL

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Fresh Check!

By Leighah Beausoleil Editor-in-Chief The McCarthy Center forum was flooded with FSU community members, eager to learn more about mental health and participate in the “Fresh Check” event’s activities April 13.

This was the Health Center’s fourth time hosting the event at FSU, according to Pam Lehmberg, coordinator of wellness education.

This event is part of the Jordan Porco Foundation, a nonprofit aimed at promoting suicide awareness and prevention. The foundation’s “Check In” events offer a “fresh” solution to discussing mental health on college and university campuses, according to its website.

Each booth stationed in the forum shared a method and message of suicide awareness and prevention.

Many student and community organizations hosted a table, including Dance Team, SEALS Peer Health Educators, FSAB, the Center for Inclusive Excellence, and Voices Against Violence.

Therapy dogs were also available for students to sit with and pet.

Lehmberg said the most important booth of all was the nine out of 10 table.

She said statistics have shown out of 10 college students, “nine of them are not contemplating suicide - maybe one is. So this group is all about educating the nine who aren’t, to know the warning signs, how to help someone, what resources to call, and how to ask that question.”

During the event, students visit five tables and have a card stamped, according to Lehmberg. The nine out of 10 booth is a requirement.

“I’m really excited that we’re doing this again,” she added.

CONNECT WITH LEIGHAH BEAUSOLEIL

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Students participating in Fresh Check activities April 13.

[Editor’s Note: Haley Hadge is a News Editor for The Gatepost.]

Leighah Beausoleil / THE GATEPOST

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ARTS & FEATURES

STUDENTS INITIATE SPRING

Christopher Bretti, Green Initiative treasurer and community garden manager, with the marigolds for students.

Freshman environmental science major Tahnyia Black and her marigold.

Freshman political science and economics major Nathan Noel painting his marigold pot.

Freshmen Kaityln Monroe and Vienne Peltier with their marigolds.

Green Initative hosted a flower giveaway of marigolds they grew from seeds.

[Editor’s Note: Maddison Behringer is a Design Editor for The Gatepost.]

Photos and Spread by Editor-in-Chief Leighah Beausoleil

(Left) Green Iniative members Dan Prefontaine, Christopher Bretti, Ainslee Caton, Leticia Rita Santos, and Maddison Behringer painting pots at their flower giveaway. @TheGatepost | FSUgatepost.com

See A MERRY TIME WITH MARIGOLDS Page 17

ARTS & FEATURES

APRIL 15, 2022 | 17

A merry time with marigolds

Green Initiative hosts pot painting event

By Leighah Beausoleil Editor-in-Chief On a warm, sunny day in front of the McCarthy Center, students gathered to paint pots for their blooming marigolds during an event hosted by Green Initiative April 11.

Christopher Bretti, treasurer and community garden manager for Green Initiative, said they grew the plants from seeds in their greenhouse located on the sixth floor of Hemenway.

“I’m trying to get used to planning ahead of time when it comes to plants just because that sort of planning can be very difficult, especially as a novice gardener myself,” Bretti said. “But you know, I’m just trying to spread a little bit of joy - a little bit

of sustainability.” done the succulent one before and I Students were able to keep any still have my succulent in my room marigolds they wanted for their and I really like it.” painted pots. The remaining mariShe added, “I like having plants in golds will stay in the greenhouse un- my room.” til they are ready to be planted in the Maya Haywood-Hicks, a freshman organization’s community garden early childhood education major, located on the side of the McCarthy said she is not typically a plant perCenter, according to Bretti. son, but she had attended a previous He said with the organization be- event with smaller plants and wanting “revamped,” he hoped this event ed a bigger one for her room. would help promote awareness Tahnyia Black, a freshman enviof them and “create a community ronmental science major, said she around sustainability and steward- decided to do the event because it ship for the Earth.” was “really cool and I like how it’s Kaitlyn Monroe, a freshman fash- a nice day out, so it just makes me ion design and retailing major, said, want to do it.”

“I was really excited to paint the pot myself and all that and then have the plant in my room.”

Vienne Peltier, a freshman bio- CONNECT WITH LEIGHAH BEAUSOLEIL chemistry major, said, “I’ve actually lbeausoleil@student.framingham.edu

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Christian Fellowship Easter Egg Hunt cracks open childhood memories

By Patrick Brady Editorial Staff Framingham State University’s Christian Fellowship hosted an Easter egg hunt April 13. The event began in the Heineman Ecumenical Center.

McKaela Davies, a senior business management major and president of Christian Fellowship, explained the event was divided into two parts.

She described the first half as being a free-for-all egg hunt, but didn’t initially elaborate on what the second half would entail.

She said the event would be a fun way to bring the community together and make new friends. Even though her family didn’t do Easter egg hunts, she and her three sisters would “interweave” a giant “yarn mess.”

Emma Vogler, a sophomore early education major, said she was very excited to go Easter egg hunting because she “likes a challenge.” In addition, she works at a daycare in Natick.

“I work with kids, so they do this too at my work,” she added. “It brings me back to being a little kid.”

Nana-yaw Afiedzie, a junior psychology major, said he participated because he wanted to relive past childhood memories. When he was a kid, he and his grandmother dyed eggs on Easter.

“Different cousins and sometimes kids from the neighborhood would [decorate eggs],” he said. “It was a really fun experience in my life.”

Alex Szarka, a junior history major, said he looked forward to meeting new people, finding good candy, and being in the sunshine. “I can’t remember too many Easter memories

Patrick Brady/ THE GATEPOST Students gather in the Heineman Ecumenical Center for the Easter Egg Hunt. to be honest.” of Christian Fellowship, said she loved Lily Borst, a junior business major Easter egg hunting with her cousins and treasurer of Christian Fellowship, when she was young, although they said her fondest memory of Easter was were very competitive with each othfinding eggs filled with jelly beans. er.

Kelsey Behrikis, a senior psycholoAfter a brief explanation of the gy major and marketing coordinator rules, everyone made their way up to

Members of Christian Fellowship explain the rules of the egg hunt to attendees.

the campus green and began hunting for the 42 eggs that were scattered around the area. Once the eggs were all collected, Davies explained that everyone would be divided into two groups for the second activity.

Both groups were then given an egg with a clue inside. Each clue gave hints as to where the next egg was located.

Once all four eggs were found, everyone headed back to the Ecumenical Center. Upon entering, they were greeted with even more free candy.

Szarka said he really enjoyed the event because he got to connect with many people while collecting eggs.

“This was my greatest Easter memory.”

CONNECT WITH PATRICK BRADY

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Patrick Brady/ THE GATEPOST

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ARTS & FEATURES SEAN’S MEDIA MAYHEM Car Seat

18 | APRIL 15, 2022

Headrest makes ‘Kaguya-Sama: Love is War’ – an outstanding appearance A madcap minefield of passion at House Of Blues Boston

By Sean Cabot Multimedia Critic Aka Akasaka’s “Kaguya-Sama: Love is War,” is an award-winning romantic comedy comic that has sold over 15 million copies. Garnering praise for its art, humor, and surprisingly rich characters, the series soon found itself adapted for television.

Directed by Shinichi Omata, who is also responsible for the superb “Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinju,” the animated adaptation of “Kaguya-Sama” is almost a perfect show. Everything that is right with the original comic is right with it, and everything unique to its production – acting, music, and visuals, is right on the money.

The story centers around two teenage prodigies at a highly exclusive private school – Kaguya Shinomiya (Aoi Koga), an heiress to an absurdly rich conglomerate, and Miyuki Shirogane (Makoto Furukawa), whose working class background hasn’t held him back from becoming the student council president.

These two highly intelligent individuals are not just among the most popular students at the academy, they’re also convinced that the other is infatuated with them, and are slowly realizing the faintest hints of affection they themselves hold.

There’s only one problem – they’re both under the impression that admitting to any degree of non-platonic affection is a sign of weakness. So they proceed to do the only logical thing - participate in a battle of wits to force a confession out of one another.

That might be a hard concept to wrap your head around at first. How many ways can there be to trick someone into admitting their love for someone else?

To demonstrate, this necessitates an explanation of an average “Kaguya-Sama” battle.

Miyuki buys a smartphone and notices that Kaguya isn’t asking for his contact information. He assumes that this is because she wants him to ask first, which would make him the loser in their battle of love.

Naturally, he’s entirely correct about this - it was even Kaguya’s plan to indirectly pressure him into buying a cell phone. What ensues is a back and forth of passive-aggressive prodding, needlessly overcomplicated strategizing, and inevitable embarrassment when it ends up not actually meaning that much in the grand scheme of things.

Stuck in the middle of these escapades are Chika Fujiwara (Konomi Kohara) - the student council’s upbeat secretary who often inadvertently ruins both her friends’ plans, and Yu Ishigami (Ryota Suzuki) - the

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introverted treasurer who is convinced that Kaguya is trying to murder him. Funnily enough, he might not actually be wrong.

Rinse and repeat a few times, with a few different scenario templates thrown into the mix for good measure. A great recurring bit is the two main characters giving relationship advice to other students despite their utter lack of experience in the matter.

All in all, the comedy is excellent, bolstered by stellar vocal performances from Koga and Furukawa.

And the overly dramatic delivery of the narrator - played by Yutaka Aoyama, highlights the absurdity of the proceedings perfectly.

F u r t h e r m o r e ,“ K a g u y a - S a m a ” looks bizarrely good for a show that’s really just about two stupid teenagers who can’t work up the guts to just flirt. Bombastic visual metaphors and sudden spikes in animation quality are not in short supply.

And despite the series’ main joke being that the “war” between the two leads is pointless and they would be better served just being honest with each other, their relationship ends up making progress over time such that their chemistry shines through even more than it did when they were at each other’s throats.

And to top it off, it has some of the most unskippable intro sequences in television history.

“Kaguya-Sama,” manages to keep things light hearted enough to make the romance between its two leads both believable and heartwarming, while also injecting the trappings and tenseness of a psychological thriller into the cracks for added flavor.

I’d struggle to think of another romantic comedy whose leads walk the line between being confrontational and intimate as expertly as they do here.

Rating: A+

A lovely victory.

CONNECT WITH SEAN CABOT

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By Kyle Walker Staff Writer

Car Seat Headrest consists of frontman genius behind the music Will Toledo, guitarist Ethan Ives, drummer Andrew Katz, and bassist Seth Dalby.

Ben Roth appears on this tour on keyboards to support the band.

This is their 2022 North American tour, “The Masquerade Tour,” to support the release of the “Making a Door Less Open” (2020) album. Originally, this tour was meant to occur in early 2020 but COVID-19 has delayed it until now.

Hundreds of people waited in line to get the best possible spot, myself included who waited six hours before doors opened. Waiting wasn’t a problem, until it started raining.

A few hours into the wait, the band released a statement on their social media accounts saying that their opening act, Bartees Strange, would not be performing due to testing positive for COVID-19 from their show on March 26. They ensured that in lieu of an opening act, each member would play a few songs and perform acts themselves.

It only took about an hour for the band to hit the stage. Andrew came out on stage and began painting on a canvas, joking he had learned a lot from playing at MASS MoCA the night before.

Andrew continued to paint as Ethan came up on stage and played a few Toy Bastard (his solo band) songs. He even played an untitled and unreleased track he made prior to the show.

Will then came out and performed some very special songs. He played a few songs from his project, “Nervous Young Men” including “The Bell Jar” and “Pomegranate Trees In July.” He then played a heavily requested Car Seat Headrest song, “Sober to Death.”

Andrew then switched places with Will and played a few “1 Trait Danger” songs while Will painted in the background. “1 Trait Danger” is Car Seat Headrest’s comedy and EDM project.

He performed “Unique” and “Back Up (He’s The Man).”

This opening segment felt very intimate and special. Though Bartees Strange couldn’t make it, Car Seat Headrest definitely made up for the loss of the opening band and created such an exclusive experience for everyone.

As the main act began, the lights dimmed and everyone in the band got into their places as the crowd roared.

Will took the form of his character, Trait. Trait sports a mask that looks like a gas mask with LED lights in the eyes, rabbit ears, and a reflective orange, gray, and black suit.

Throughout the show, the eyes in his suit matched up with the lights and music they played. They blinked,

became wavy, turned into hearts, and flashed depending on what song they were playing. This added a unique touch to the performance.

They mostly played songs off of “Making a Door Less Open” since this tour supports the album, but that didn’t stop them from playing fan favorites from their past albums.

The band began with “Crows,” which has a slow build to a high-energy section. I think it is a perfect introduction to this show because it excites the audience while showing them what is to come.

A special moment was when they played “Beach Life-In-Death,” a personal favorite. It is almost 14 minutes long and fluctuates between slow and fast sections. Will paused the song and had the crowd sing the line “this is my brother” a few times, building it louder each time. They then resumed the song. It was exciting to hear a whole room of people participate and unite in this way.

Car Seat Headrest never lost the audience’s attention. All performances were packed with emotion and energy which I have never seen to this level, especially during songs like “Destroyed By Hippie Powers” and “Drunk Drivers/Killer Whales.”

Rating: A+ A phenomenal performance, and an experience I will never forget.

CONNECT WITH KYLE WALKER

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Kyle Walker / THE GATEPOST Lead Will Toledo performing March 26.

Puzzles

ARTS & FEATURES

ACROSS 1. Group of plotters 6. Browser bookmarks 10. Social position 14. Like a 14-degree angle 15. Look for 16. Orchestra tuner 17. Competition winner 20. ___ Field (Mets’ ballpark) 21. What gets you a hand?

22. Credits as a source 23. Record for later 25. River that starts in the Swiss Alps 27. Temporary retailers 31. Diet soda discontinued in 2020 34. Sidestep 35. Address that’s genderneutral in “Battlestar Galactica” 36. State with caucuses 37. Give a darn 38. Looking shocked 40. Good bargain 41. Liberal ___ degree 42. Kind or type 43. Gem that may be milky 44. Empire State team, on the scoreboard 45. Trances 48. Partner of “fast” 50. Black Lives Matter co-founder Tometi 51. Piece of pizza 53. Musical ending 55. Revered figure 59. Region for Bismarck and Montgomery, and a hint to the middle three letters of 17-, 27- and 45-Across 62. “Go Hang a Salami! I’m a Lasagna Hog!” palindromist Jon 63. Steak, in a rhyming dish’s name 64. Word before “march” or “sign” 65. Not quite all 66. “Buy It Now” site

APRIL 15, 2022 | 19

67. Did nothing DOWN 1. AP math subject 2. Superfruit from a palm 3. Get 22 in blackjack, say 4. Teens stereotypically have them 5. A fire sign Puzzle solutions are now 6. Early online forum exclusively online.

7. Take a breather 8. “Go for it!”

9. Genre that calypso influenced 10. “The Thinker” sculptor 11. What you may legally grab at the mall 12. Zilch 13. They’re “stood on” at frat parties 18. Gets a little shut-eye 19. CBS police procedural 24. Certain primate 26. “Catch!”

27. ___ sandies (nutty cookies) 28. Eggproducing organ 29. Many senators toe them 30. Tennis champion Naomi 32. In the know 33. Fancy dances 36. Painted a rosy picture of 38. Runs on TV 39. Singing group 43. After-school grp. with no kids 45. Not one to sit around 46. Alter 47. Folder for annoying emails 49. Band of eight 51. ___ Likely (annoying caller ID) 52. Toy brick 54. ___ vez (again, in Spanish) 56. Nonrenewable source of energy 57. Back in the day 58. Must-have 60. Enjoyed Froot Loops 61. Lead-in to “Pen”

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20 | APRIL 15, 2022 Photos by Design Editor Maddison Behringer

PHOTOS

Rams Rising

Spread by Design Editors Maddison Behringer and Emma Lyons

Green Initiative members promoting their organization at the State Street Fair April 2.

FSAB member promoting their organization at the State Street Fair April 2.

Dance Team members promoting their organization at the State Street Fair April 2.

Aspiring Health Professional club members promoting their organization at the State Street Fair April 2.

@The Gatepost | FSUgatepost.com

Black Student Union members promoting their organization at the State Street Fair April 2.

Comic Book Club members promoting their organization at the State Street Fair April 2.

Hilltop Players members promoting their organization at the State Street Fair April 2.