CHILEMASS

NEWS FSU enters agreement with ChileMass to provide support for educators

By Dan Fuentes

Asst. News Editor

FSU and ChileMass are working together to create an educational program that will support and improve the linguistic and pedagogical skills of Chilean educators during the 2021 calendar year.

According to its mission statement, ChileMass is a non-profit organization dedicated to the sharing of technology and knowledge between the country of Chile and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to improve the quality of life of people in both areas.

Ten kindergarten through 12 Chilean educators were selected to take part in the educational program during the spring and fall semesters of 2021.

The educators began their online intensive English language instruction in January and will move to an on-campus session in the summer or fall, when travel allows it, according to Fernanda Soza, executive director of ChileMass.

The on-campus session will consist of three components: a graduate education course, an intercultural experience course, and classroom observations in local area schools, according to an FSU press release.

Soza said, “This program started two years ago. We started with a delegation from Chile - a lot of people from the Ministry of Education, some NGOs, some public and private universities - to visit Boston because we were thinking of creating a program to benefit teachers.”

She added, “We really liked the welcoming experience from the University, so that’s why we started the conversation with Framingham, and started developing the project.”

A pilot program ran at the beginning of 2020 for two months that allowed two Chilean educators to stay in the dorms at FSU, spend time with the community, and participate in those program’s educational initiatives to improve their linguistic and pedagogical skills, according to Soza.

According to the Director of Community Education and English Language Programs, Rebecca Hawk, the Chilean educators “were raving about the language instruction they received here at FSU.”

Soza said, “They had a really good experience, and they loved the University, the food, the professors, the whole community.”

The two educators in the pilot program took English language courses and shadowed classes at Framingham Public Schools, according to Soza.

The Chilean educators were placed in programs by Glenda Espinoza, department head of the secondary twoway bilingual program at Framingham Public Schools.

Espinoza said, “They either observe classes or they teach something from Chile - it’s a cultural exchange.

“The program is bilingual, and the students are learning Spanish,” she added. “It’s a great experience to have native speakers in the classroom.”

Soza said their experience at Framingham Public Schools was really good for them because they realized that here, teachers are doing things completely differently. “They learned a new way of creating or developing their classes.”

Espinoza said learning in Chile is more “rigid,” more European, but the American way is more focused on the student.

The pilot program ended and the educators returned to Chile on March 13, two days before Gov. Charlie Baker announced the temporary closing of schools in Massachusetts.

As a result of COVID-19, ChileMass and FSU made changes to the program, and decided to begin with the linguistic component and host it completely online, according to Hawk.

Also, the English language component of the program was adjusted down to only five weeks for the cohort of Chileans who participated during this past January, according to Soza.

She said the educators took intensive, synchronous English language courses for three hours a day with homework, and “it was very, very demanding.”

English department head of her school in Chile, Camila Ruz, was one of the 10 educators who participated in the program for the last five weeks.

Ruz said she took two courses during her time remote learning - one to develop written English academic skills and a public speaking course.

Hawk said, “They are taking what they learned to really encourage their country to make changes that are fostering better communication, better problem-solving skills, better education for their kids.”

Ruz said she’s been working on her digital literacy, and will be “bringing this digital literacy test for school teachers” back to her school in Chile with the goal of assessing “their digital competency” and identifying “gaps to make further decisions.”

The English language component of the program ended on Feb. 8, according to Soza.

According to both Soza and Ruz, these Chileans have given up five weeks of their summer holiday to improve their English language skills and bring back new knowledge to their school communities.

Ruz said it’s been a “pretty enriching” and “fruitful” five weeks.

“I’ve had the chance to meet the American education system, which is awesome,” she added. “Framingham State University has given us the attention and solutions for every problem we have faced. Awesome teachers. Wonderful lessons. So, I would say just keep on doing things in the way you are doing it right now.”

According to Soza, the in-person portion of the program has not been scheduled yet. They’re hoping for May, but depending on COVID-19, it may have to wait until September.

Espinoza said, “I only just came back to school. We don’t even have students in the classroom. September will be more realistic.”

Hawk believes the program has a global impact. “We need to be able to engage internationally in a really positive, constructive way. I feel like this is an important step toward that.”

Soza said, “A goal of the program is to create a collaborative project to improve the second language skills of teachers and students from both countries.”

She added the program is starting with Chilean teachers, but hopes “in the future we can also bring teachers from Massachusetts to learn Spanish in Chile.”

CONNECT WITH DANIEL FUENTES dfuentes@student.framingham.edu

Transfer initative

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The ETI program focuses on computer science, nursing, STEM, education, criminology/sociology, and management pathways, according to the program’s grant proposal.

The program grant proposal lists individual careers in high demand to help give MassBay and FSU the opportunity to direct students to pathways that will result in jobs with family-sustaining wages.

At MassBay, Black/African American students make up 12.2% of the population, the Hispanic population is 17.6%, and first-generation students are 19.1%, according to the proposal.

However, over the last four academic years, the percentage of African American, Hispanic, and first-generation students transferring from MassBay to a four-year college was only 1% to 2%, according to the proposal.

Constanza Cabello, vice president of diversity, inclusion, and community engagement, said now is the time to “ramp up” those efforts to support these students.

To promote recruitment and transfer of these underrepresented populations, MassBay will make announcements in academic classes regarding the new transfer initiative and staff will highlight the benefits of transferring to a four-year college at career fairs, according to the proposal.

FSU will send students and Admissions’ staff to MassBay for informational sessions with MassBay students about transfer policies and course equivalencies, according to the proposal.

The goal of the project is to recruit and enroll at least 100 students into the aligned transfer pathways by the end of Summer 2021 and at least 300 by the program’s second year, according to the proposal.

According to Parham, each of the institutions and partnerships selected for the ETI will be receiving a transfer coach. “Those coaches will help them kind of work through a process that we’ve developed. That really is an audit of their process, and they’ll determine the best ways to to beef up their transfer pathway.”

Richard Williams, associate dean for student success at MassBay Community College, said, “Once we get together with our coach - once we get our working groups together, we sit down with FSU folks and our team.”

He added, “Once we actually get down to the work that we’re going to be doing, I think a lot of the stuff is really fluid in terms of what we might be trying to achieve.

“Within the next month, though, we’ll probably have a much better idea of what our goals are going to be, and what our activities are going to be, and how we’re going to reach our goals,” said Williams.

Parham stated these coaches are experts in community college transfer, and will deliver one-on-one attention to those partnerships.

“Equity looks and is different in different places,” she added. “We’re really trying to provide tools so that people can identify where those gaps are, what they are, why they are, and then work toward eradicating them - that’s the ultimate goal.”

Williams said, “We’ve always been concerned around equity, but it has become a real focus for us in the last few years.”

Cabello said, “I think that this was also part of a larger conversation we’re having at the University around being committed to anti-racism. Part of that is just being able to get rid of the structural and systemic racism and inequities that exist and how we are creating a more equitable community.”

FSU started a campus-wide anti-racism initiative in 2020. According to the grant proposal, that initiative is currently having a positive impact on the transfer process.

COVID-19 by the numbers

February 12, 2020

By Donald Halsing

Associate Editor

By Leighah Beausoleil

News Editor

By Kathleen Moore

Design Editor

Active COVID-19 cases worldwide decreased by almost 80,000 since last week based on data from various sources taken Feb. 10.

The number of active cases in the United States decreased by 24,000. In Massachusetts, there were 14,000 fewer active cases since last week.

Framingham State University administered 1,106 tests within the past week, and 2,723 tests within the past 30 days, according to the COVID-19 data page on the FSU website.

Two positive tests were returned within the past week, according to the page. The 7-day negative test rate was 99.82%.

One individual was isolated off campus. No people were quarantined on or off campus.

A total of 2,656 negative, and eight positive results, were returned in the past 30 days. The 30-day negative test rate was 99.7%.

Cumulatively, 6,457 Framingham residents, 9.5%, tested positive for COVID-19. The City of Framingham reported 1,201 active cases.

There were 158 new infections, 96 new recoveries, and 13 new deaths reported since Feb. 4. The number of people infected increased by 49, or 0.78%, over the past week.

Approximately 19% of those who contracted the virus remain infected. Over 78% have recovered and approximately 3.4% have died.

The overall death rate from COVID-19 in Framingham is 0.32%.

Cumulatively, 521,045 Massachusetts residents, 7.6%, tested positive for COVID-19. The Massachusetts Department of Public Health estimates there are 50,344 active cases - 14,000 fewer than last week.

There were 16,481 new infections, 71,329 new recoveries, and 488 new deaths since Feb. 4. The number of people infected decreased by 55,336, or 11%, over the past week.

Just over 15% of those who contracted the virus remain infected. Over 81% have recovered, and approximately 2.9% have died.

The overall death rate from COVID-19 in Massachusetts is 0.22%.

The New York Times reported that cumulatively, 924,612 COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered in Massachusetts. According to the Times, 10% of the population has received at least one dose, and 3% has received two doses.

Cumulatively, 27,279,523 United States residents, 8.3%, tested positive for COVID-19. The New York Times reported 94,893 active cases - 24,000 fewer than last week.

There were 733,618 new infections, 576,820 new recoveries, and 20,911 new deaths since Feb. 4. The number of people infected grew by 135,887, or 0.5%, over the past week.

Just under 57% of those who contracted the virus remain infected. Approximately 42% of the population has recovered, and 1.7% have died.

The overall death rate from COVID-19 in the United States is 0.14%.

The New York Times reported that cumulatively, 46,390,270 COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered in the United States. According to the Times, 10% of the population has received at least one dose, and 3.4% has received two doses.

Cumulatively, 107,297,808 people globally, 1.39%, tested positive for COVID-19. The New York Times reported 442,450 active cases - almost 80,000 fewer than last week.

There were 2,963,930 new infections, 2,044,577 new recoveries, and 86,504 new deaths since Feb. 4. The number of people infected grew by 832,849, or 0.8%, over the past week.

Approximately 42% of the world’s population remains infected. Just under 56% of the population has recovered and 2.2% has died.

The overall death rate from COVID-19 globally is 0.03%.

The New York Times reported that cumulatively, 151,454,183 COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered globally.

Data sources:

Framingham State University

City of Framingham

Mass. population: U.S. Census Bureau – QuickFacts Massachusetts

U.S. and World population: U.S. Census Bureau – U.S. and World Population Clock

Mass. data: WCVB Channel 5 Boston, Mass. Dept. of Public Health

U.S. data: CDC, New York Times

World data: WHO, Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center

Recovery data: Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center

Vaccination Data: New York Times *Calculations for new infections, recoveries, deaths, and infected population size change are made using both data from this week and last week’s data published in The Gatepost. New data collected Wednesday before publication.

Kathleen Moore / THE GATEPOST

Framingham Massachusetts United States World

Kathleen Moore / THE GATEPOST

OP/ED

THE GATEPOST EDITORIAL Students deserve a break, too

This past Tuesday, University faculty and staff took part in the semester’s first of three “Quiet Days.”

Two additional Quiet Days are scheduled for March 9 and April 13.

According to an email sent Feb. 8 by President F. Javier Cevallos, faculty and staff were encouraged to participate in Quiet Day in order to reduce stress levels.

Cevallos’ email recommended those observing Quiet Day to respond only to high-priority emails, avoid scheduling meetings, and refrain from scheduling tests or large assignments.

However, these recommendations are only encouraged and are not something that can be enforced by the University.

According to the email, the University hopes these efforts will allow for individuals to “not feel the need to keep checking emails frequently throughout the day or be glued to a long series of Zoom meetings.”

Quiet Days, however, do not entail the cancellation of classes.

Without that, who is really benefiting from these Quiet Days?

Professors are still expected to participate in Zoom or in-person courses, which contradicts the intended purpose of the day.

Quiet Days in and of themselves do the opposite of their intended purpose. Although the day is supposed to help with relaxation, professors will still be staring at Zoom screens during their classes.

If they follow the recommendations, professors will now have to play catch-up on meetings and emails at another time.

Because students are exempt from these Quiet Days, not only do they not get a break, but neither do the professors who have to teach.

Administrators and staff are the only individuals truly getting some stress relief on Quiet Days as their meetings are rescheduled and non-urgent emails avoided.

Meanwhile, professors still need to teach, and students still need to attend classes.

If the University wants to be dedicated to relieving some of the overwhelming stress our community has been under during the pandemic, it needs to extend a Quiet Day to all of us - and that means cancelling classes.

In addition to not extending Quiet Days to students, the University never even told students they were happening, leaving room for confusion when professors don’t respond to student emails or reschedule non-urgent meetings.

Quiet Days result in professors - who are hired to help their students succeed - becoming less accessible.

They also result in the administration becoming less accessible.

It is the responsibility of the University’s faculty and staff to be accessible to students. When the University encourages its faculty and staff to “only respond to high-priority emails,” it does a disservice to the students of the University who depend on their professors’ and administrators’ timely responses.

If the University truly wants to give its employees and students a break, it needs to realize a break for select individuals on our campus is not really a break for everyone.

Rather, students, faculty, and staff alike should all be given a Quiet Day instead of excluding students.

Students deserve a break once a month, too.

Students deserve more than just the one Spring Day the University is providing.

We understand the University is under a lot of pressure and administrators are being overworked to keep it running smoothly in the midst of a health crisis.

However, we are supposed to be a FRAMily, and we are all experiencing pressures and stress.

Although we understand why spring break was canceled, we deserve more than what we are currently given.

With the lack of days off, students are going to be burnt out by the middle of March. Some of us are already frayed and we are doing our best to make it to the end of the semester.

What are students getting out of these Quiet Days?

The University needs to acknowledge the stress of its students and incorporate us into these days as well.

Instead of focusing almost exclusively on the stress of its administrators and staff, the University needs to take the concerns of its entire community seriously and stop leaving students out of these Quiet Days.

At the very least, students deserve to know when these Quiet Days occur.

It may be a Quiet Day for administrators, faculty, and staff, but the only thing you’re silencing is students’ shouts for help.

Have an opinion? Feel free to email it to: gatepost@framingham.edu Opinions should be about 750 words. Anyone can submit. Shouting ‘Fire’ in a movie theater

By Emily Rosenberg

Assistant Opinions Editor

On Jan. 7, one day after the Capitol siege, Democrats and leftists alike rejoiced as former President Donald Trump’s Twitter account was permanently suspended from the platform after years of abusive and questionable content, while Republicans and conservatives made claims of censorship and violations of the First Amendment.

Trump’s account was banned after his failure to denounce Capitol rioters along with a tweet stating he would skip the Inauguration. Twitter stated that Trump’s tweet about the Inauguration implied election fraud and that it might incite further violence.

Following that week, U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene was suspended for 12 hours for posting a conspiracy-based thread, suggesting election fraud in Georgia.

I, along with many others, found Twitter’s motivation for censoring Greene and Trump justified during a time when the United States was under a domestic terrorist attack. It can be debated that had Trump had a platform to encourage his supporters, Inauguration Day might have gone differently. However, I’m unsure that announcing one’s wishes not to attend an Inauguration is inciting violence.

Donald Trump should have been tried and removed by Congress long before the Capitol riots. His baseless and harmful claims of election fraud threatened American Democracy and it was ultimately Congress’ responsibility to hold Trump accountable to his oath before blood was shed.

Instead, a big tech company had to remove him for them, and we all had to pay for their lazy politics in response. Trump’s years of inflammatory tweeting and the trialless suspensions of the past month set a precedent: Americans are OK with big tech Companies limiting free speech if the speech being banned doesn’t align with their values.

If we put our trust in the hands of big tech companies to tear down misinformation without guidelines and ignore the First Amendment, what happens when leadership falls into the hands of wrong-intentioned people? Imagine tomorrow the CFO of Twitter turned Alt-Right Nazi and shut down AOC’s account for using fiery and critical language. The line between what is true and false will no longer be set by citizens, but rather by corporate business people with motives.

Democrats were quick to say that because Twitter and other social media platforms are private companies with their own guidelines, they have no obligation to uphold the First Amendment.

Yet as communication becomes arguably entirely virtual, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and other social media platforms need to be considered as valid playing grounds for activism and open speech - and government regulation. Had Trump not been the President of the United States, his account could have been suspended a long time ago. While his tweets were annoying and divisive, few brought legal issues to the table. I wonder how many accounts are suspended every day for posting similar content?

You can’t scream “Fire” in a movie theatre, but you can accidentally tell your friend in private that Barack Obama was never president.

Is Marjorie Taylor Greene tweeting baseless conspiracies theories to thousands of followers the online equivalent of screaming “Fire” in a movie theater? If she were giving a verbal speech at a rally in Georgia, no one would arrest her.

Is someone in the corner of the internet sharing misinformation the equivalent of telling your friend that Barack Obama was never president? Both have the opportunity to encourage someone to lead a false truth. The former can get you marked as a potential threat, whereas government protection would ensure this mistake passed.

Despite the desire to regulate communication, Americans and other tech users need the freedom to interpret or contest language without a third party, or one day it will come back to haunt us. It must be up to the reader to determine what they should follow unless the speaker has sat in front of a judge.

There need to be clearer guidelines as to how social media companies can block and monitor speech. Social media needs to be governed as a public entity, as it has been viewed as one for the past several years.

It’s time to enforce formal legislation acknowledging the responsibility of these companies to uphold the First Amendment.

Campus Conversations

Did you watch the Super Bowl? What did you think of the Super Bowl? By Donald Halsing, Associate Editor

“Yeah, kind of. It was good. It was interesting seeing Brady on a new team.”

-Kim Thorpe, senior

“Yes, I did watch the Super Bowl. I don’t watch a lot of football, but it was very entertaining. We watched for Tom Brady and Gronk - we’re big fans! The Super Bowl had good commercials - and the halftime show. There’s always good food for the Super Bowl - potato skins specifically.” -Kat LaCroix, freshman “No. I don’t watch football. It’s cool to watch the commercials and everything - they’re fun, they’re nice. But, I don’t really understand football and I’m not really a big fan.” -Nana Afiedzie, junior “I did watch the Super Bowl. It was a good game, I thought, for Tom Brady and them. The Chiefs were hurt, but you can’t bet against Tom Brady! That’s how I look at it. I think it’s deserved - rightfully deserved. I thought it was a good game.” -Jaylen Swan, freshman

“No I didn’t. I had too much homework.” -Kennedy Sawyer, senior “No, I did not. I was just doing homework - that was pretty much it. ” -Lucas Collins, senior