Volume 89 • Issue 15
FSUgatepost.com
February 19, 2021
Snow day with Sam the Ram
Leighah Beausoleil / THE GATEPOST
Sam the Ram enjoys the snow Feb. 18.
News EDUCATION PROGRAMS pg. 3 COVID-19 BY THE NUMBERS pg. 5
Opinions
PROTECT YOUR COUNTRY pg. 7 INVESTING IN YOURSELF pg. 7
Sports
A virtual tassel solves the COVID-19 hassle
By Soren Colstrup Staff Writer
Due to the continued uncertainty of COVID-19, FSU will now host a virtual commencement ceremony for both the Class of 2020 and Class of 2021 on Sunday, May 23, 2021. The event will not only celebrate the graduating Class of 2021, but also the Class of 2020, which had its commencement ceremony postponed last spring. FSU President F. Javier Cevallos said, “Ideally, my initial hope was to have Commencement in person this May. Unfortunately, restrictions by the state have made us unable to do
Arts & Features BLACK HISTORY MONTH pg. 10 JUDAS AND THE BLACK MESSIAH pg. 11
as having an in-person commencement,” said Cevallos. On Jan. 11, 2021, students received an email from FSU notifying them of the decision to move both commencements to a virtual platform. Dean of Students Meg Nowak Borrego said, “The reason that we waited as long as we did to make a decision was that we were waiting to see what impact the vaccines had. “Our University population doesn’t look like it will receive a vaccination until maybe June at the earliest,” she added.
See VIRTUAL GRADUATION page 4
English department introduces interdisciplinary digital humanities minor By Cara McCarthy Associate Editor
TRACK pg. 9
that at this time. “What we are trying to do is have a ceremony in the spring, and then in the summer our plan is to have smaller ceremonies for each college department,” he added. “At the same time, we do not want to keep delaying the event.” Students from the Class of 2020 received a virtual toast last spring. However, they are still awaiting an official send-off from the University. “Last year, we had a toast on Facebook where we sent students a champagne glass with the FSU logo on it and we had the toast virtually. We had a number of people participate in it. However, I know it is not the same
Framingham State University’s English Department has developed an interdisciplinary digital humanities minor that will be listed starting in the 2021-22 University catalog. The minor consists of five courses, including Introduction to Digital Humanities, a computer programming course, and an internship. Desmond McCarthy, former chair of the English department, brought together several professors from the English and history departments last spring in order to create the mi-
nor, including Kristen Abbott Bennett and Bartholomew Brinkman of the English department, and Joseph Adelman and Sarah Mulhall-Adelman of the history department. McCarthy said, “I’m particularly proud that it’s a minor that serves every department in the humanities and that it provides a wide array of opportunities for students to work independently with faculty on research projects.” The minor also received support from the Dean of the College of Arts & Humanities, Marc Cote. “I think it’s an important and engaging new direction for those [hu-
manities] departments. I think it does give the students some good competencies as they graduate from Framingham State - interesting ones, too, that they can really talk about in a job interview and add to their CVs,” Cote said. McCarthy, Abbott Bennett, and Adelman said there are many definitions for digital humanities, but it boils down to humanities research and technology. McCarthy said, “Digital humanities brings the power of technology and computational analysis to bear
See DIGITAL HUMANITIES page 6
INSIDE: OP/ED 7 • SPORTS 9 • ARTS & FEATURES 10
NEWS
2 | FEBRUARY 19, 2021
Editorial Board
Gatepost Interview Amy Johnston
Editor-in-Chief Ashley Wall Associate Editors Donald Halsing Cara McCarthy News Editor Leighah Beausoleil Asst. News Editors Dan Fuentes Ashlyn Kelly Arts & Features Editors Brennan Atkins Jared Graf Opinions Editor McKenzie Ward Asst. Opinions Editor Emily Rosenberg Design Editor Kathleen Moore Photos Editor Caroline Gordon Sports Editor Danielle Achin Staff Writers Maia Almeida James Barraford Patrick Brady Steven Bonini Soren Colstrup Haley Hadge Branden LaCroix Caroline Lanni Lydia Staber Advisor Dr. Desmond McCarthy Asst. Advisor Elizabeth Banks
Professor of Earth and Environmental Sciences By Haley Hadge Staff Writer What is your role at FSU and what does your job entail? y o ficial title is assistant pro essor of Earth and Environmental Sciences. So, even though I’m in the physics and science department, I primarily teach various environmental or earth science-related classes. This semester, I’m teaching two sections of a class called Conversations with the Earth, which is like an introduction to a science class. A lot of people take it as a gen ed for science or it’s one o the first classes that you have to take if you’re going to be a major in our department. I’m also teaching Introduction to Meteorology, a weather and climate class. But my interest is environmental sciences and environmental geology. What is your professional and educational background? I graduated undergrad with a biology degree. After graduating, I coached college swimming for a couple of years while I was looking at grad schools. And then I ended up at the University of Massachusetts Boston. They have a grad school for the environment, so I was there for about seven years, where I got my master’s, and then I actually just finished up my h. . last year, and that is in en ironmental science. Specifically, my research focus was on geochemistry. I looked at paleoclimate reconstruction in the Gulf of Maine. You can look at archaeological samples from sites in Massachusetts and Maine, and at the sites, you can examine the geochemical content of archaeological bivalve shells like clams and oysters, as a way to reconstruct past environmental conditions. So, things like seawater temperature, salinity - various environmental conditions like that - and then using that information as a way to reconstruct climate change over the last 5,000 years or so. That was the primary goal of my graduate school research as was finishing up grad school last year. It was also my first year teaching at ramingham, so this is my first ob right out o school. What do you like most about working with students? I think my favorite thing about working with students is the ability to learn from them. Especially at Framingham, everyone’s coming from such diverse backgrounds, which is really refresh-
Courtesy of Framingham State ing. In terms of making a difference in everyone’s educational experience, I want everyone to learn something from my classes, and especially with the intro classes where they’re not necessarily going to be science majors. If they’re just taking it for a gen ed, I want them to leave my class with some sort of knowledge that they can use in the real world, especially in relation to climate change and environmental sciences, which I think impacts everyone. It’s really nice to interact with and learn from students of all different disciplines and have somewhat of a small impact on their educational life. What’s something that students might be surprised to learn about you? I do share sometimes that I’ve coached college swimming, and I think they are surprised with that at times just because when you think of professors, you think that they have a job before being a professor, but not necessarily. I’ve always liked education. So, coaching swimming was a cool thing that I did, and it did give me a chance to interact and work with college students in a different setting. Another cool factor is that I have a twin sister, and she’s a fisheries biologist, so she also does environmental science stuff. So as a whole family, we’re pretty sciency, which is a nice thing to be able to talk about and
interact with and learn about my sister’s research as well. What are some of your hobbies? I do really love swimming. In general, I try to swim a lot and work out. I really love to cook. So, that’s something I’ve always enjoyed doing in the summers and when it’s nice weather. I’m from Maine originally and so I do enjoy going up to Maine to visit my family and I do a lot of hiking and camping. How has COVID-19 impacted your job? It’s made it a challenge, but I’ll say it’s a good challenge. Having only taught at Framingham two years, COVID has been half of the time I’ve been teaching. And so, it really made me rethink how to teach classes and become better at adapting to various challenges like that, especially in regard to using more online resources, online tools, remote teaching Zoom - all that stuff. I am glad that I’ve been able to learn a lot of those new skills as a result of COVID, especially so early on in my teaching career. What advice do you have for FSU students? I think my advice would be to not be afraid to take classes that they’re inter-
See GATEPOST INTERVIEW page 3
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Tuesday, Feb. 16 16:07 Fire Alarm Corinne Hall Towers False Alarm
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NEWS
FEBRUARY 19, 2021 | 3
Ten FSU education licensure programs receive national recognition By Ashlyn Kelly Asst. News Editor Ten of FSU’s education licensure programs have earned full national recognition from their specialized professional associations (SPA). Full national recognition requires meeting all of the SPA’s standards. The overall accreditation process is overseen by the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP). According to the CAEP website, accreditation helps assure quality in career preparation and push programs to self-assess the effectiveness. Kelly Kolodny, professor and coordinator of the post-baccalaureate teacher licensure program, oversaw the process of accreditation. Each department then had a professor write the ma or specific reports. The process requires creating assessments based on content and the approach to teaching, connecting these assessments to standards, and then analyzing the data after collecting it, according to Kolodny. “Three cycles of data are required for a SPA review,” she said. Lori Bihler, a history professor, said, “It was a lot of work and putting together reports and collecting data. And that meant looking for areas that were needed for the program like reviewing what areas needed more work or more emphasis.” According to Kolodny, FSU had previously achieved national accreditation in 2014. “The SPA review process demonstrates that candidates in initial licensure programs successfully apply content and pedagogical skills, including with their [pre-K through 12] pre-practicum and practicum teaching experiences,” said Kolodny. For students, employers can see that the programs are nationally accredited and recognize them, according to Bihler.
Kelly Matthews, associate professor of English and coordinator of liberal studies, said, “Our student teachers … can be confident that they are highly prepared according to a national set of standards that has been developed over multiple years by experts in our field.” Kolodny said, “The University currently is preparing to engage in an accreditation site visit with the CAEP in March 2021. In preparation of this visit, initial licensure programs went through a SPA review process.” According to the CAEP website, SPA review reports are due three years before the site visit. “The assessments utilized in the SPA review process include units of study, teacher work samples, the Massachusetts Candidate Assessment of Performance, and others that are specific to each licensure program,” Kolodny said. “The results from these assessments demonstrate that candidates have mastered the SPA standards.” FSU started the process of accreditation in the spring of 2018, according to Kolodny. Matthews said, “It’s a high-stakes process, with stringent requirements or resubmission i our first attempt had not been successful, so I was happy to learn that our English program achieved full national recognition.” Bihler said, “I’m glad that we have it. In the effort of putting together these data collections and reports about student progress, they did help make the program better.” The following education programs received full national recognition: The early childhood education baccalaureate and PBTL programs received full national recognition from the National Association for the Education of Young Children. The elementary education baccalaureate and PBTL programs received full national recognition from the As-
Courtesy of Framingham State
Kelly Kolodny, professor and coordinator of the PBTL program. sociation for Childhood Education International. The English baccalaureate and PBTL/M.Ed. programs received full national recognition from the National Council of Teachers of English. The history baccalaureate and PBTL/M.Ed. programs received full national recognition from the National Council for the Social Studies. The mathematics middle-level baccalaureate and PBTL/M.Ed. programs received full national recognition from the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. The mathematics high-school level baccalaureate and PBTL/M.Ed. programs received full national recognition from the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. The reading specialist M.Ed. pro-
gram received full national recognition from the International Literacy Association. The special education M.Ed. program received full national recognition from the Council for Exceptional Children. The teaching English as a second language M.Ed. program received full national recognition from the Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages. The world languages baccalaureate and PBTL programs received full national recognition from the American Council on the Teaching of a Foreign Language. CONNECT WITH ASHLYN KELLY akelly8@student.framingham.edu
Gatepost Interview continued from page 2 ested or passionate in, especially when it comes to science classes. I know they can be a little daunting, but if it’s something that they’re genuinely interested
Weather
in, I think it’s worth the challenge. I know it can be a little tricky in terms of graduating on time and getting all your credits and classes in. But as part of the liberal arts education, it’s nice to dabble and experience those other sub-
Sunday night Feb. 21 Partly cloudy. Low near 20. Light and variable wind.
Monday night Feb. 22 30% chance of precipitation. Mostly cloudy. Low near 30. S winds around 5 mph.
Monday Feb. 22 50% chance of precipitation. Cloudy. High near 35. S winds around 5 mph.
Tuesday Feb. 23 Partly sunny. High near 40. W winds around 5 mph.
jects, not just the one that you’re going to major in. And so, with that in mind, not being afraid to ask for extra help, and isit their pro essors during o fice hours. Get to know their classmates and professors, so that they have a lit-
tle class community.
CONNECT WITH HALEY HADGE hhadge@student.framingham.edu
Forecast provided by the National Weather Service www.weather.gov Tuesday night Feb. 23 Wednesday night Feb. 24 Mostly cloudy. Low Mostly cloudy. Low near near 30. W winds 30. W winds around 5 around 5 mph. mph. Wednesday Feb. 24 Mostly sunny. High near 40. W winds around 10 mph.
Thursday Feb. 25 Partly sunny. High near 40.
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4 | FEBRUARY 19, 2021
NEWS
Virtual graduation continued from page 1 Under current restrictions set by Gov. Charlie Baker, outdoor gatherings are limited to 25 people. The gatherings limit applies to private homes, event venues, and public spaces. In previous years, the number of students who attended commencement is between 900 to 1,000, not including their guests, faculty, staff, and volunteers. Executive Assistant to the President Katie Hebert said, “This makes formal commitments and planning for an in-person event nearly impossible as we have no guidance as to when capacity limits will be increased. “Our Commencement Task Force is actively investigating all options for celebrating our graduates and their accomplishments in person when it is safe to do so,” she added. Fortunately, this year, the University was given more time to prepare for the possibility of a virtual commencement, which was not the case in the spring of 2020. Nowak Borrego said, “Last year, we were hopeful that we would have an in-person ceremony, and we also did not have the systems in place to do a well-done virtual commencement, so we decided to postpone it. “The DCU Center, where we normally have commencement, is also currently a medical facility and I would imagine it will be a vaccine site soon,” she added. “We simply don’t know when our site will be available. “We discussed doing Commencement outdoors as we have done in the past. However, everyone would still be quite close to each other underneath a tent,” Nowak Borrego said. “Whenever you do anything outside, you are trusting that there will be nice weather, which isn’t always the case in the spring.” Students are likely curious what the “high-quality” ceremony will look like this spring. Due to the high expectations from both the Class of 2020 and the Class of 2021, FSU has been working with a number of companies to provide a well-run ceremony for its students, according to Nowak Borrego. She explained, “We are working with one company to develop slides for each student which will take the place of when the students normally would walk across the stage. “We have also hired a photographer to take pictures of students on campus so that they can include a photo of themselves in their slides that will be shown at commencement,” she said. “We also have another company that we are working with, which will focus on allowing students to provide a recording of the pronunciation of their first and last name which will be given to the professional orator, who will then read the name accurately at Commencement,” said Nowak Borrego. Despite the University’s efforts, students still have concerns about
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the potential for technical difficulties during a virtual commencement. Student Trustee McKenzie Ward said, “I am concerned for students who do not have reliable Wi-Fi, which would make it difficult to watch the Commencement. My biggest worry would be if a student’s Wi-Fi were to
states would be able to now attend the ceremony, where they would have otherwise been unable to,” she added. Although many changes have occurred due to COVID-19, the event will closely resemble aspects of what has taken place in previous years, ac-
“Aside from the technical concerns from students, I know in one of the focus groups we did, many students mentioned how happy they were that their guests who reside in different states would be able to now attend the ceremony, where they would have otherwise been unable to.” -Meg Nowak Borrego, Dean of Students go out during the ceremony. “I am hoping that the University is thinking of technology problems which may occur, and brainstorming ideas to handle them and help students,” she added. Currently, FSU is working with a company that will help mitigate any Wi-Fi trouble during the ceremony. Nowak Borrego explained, “The third-party vendor which is hosting the ceremony will have backups within their system should something happen on our campus the day of the ceremony. They have done vir-
cording to an email from Hebert. The two virtual ceremonies in May will be nearly identical to past ceremonies. The event will have welcomes from the President, Provost, Board of Trustees, and the Class President. There will be a variety of recognitions and awards, including the Commencement speaker, their address, and presentation of their honorary degree. The Distinguished Faculty will also be presented with their awards, and the student Class Marshals will be recognized.
“We are delighted that Congresswoman Clark has agreed to be our speaker. She represents Massachusetts in Washington. She is the third highest ranking member of the House of Representatives and she is the assistant speaker. She is also local, which is great.” -F. Javier Cevallos, FSU President tual ceremonies in the past for other universities, so we are confident in their abilities. “Aside from the technical concerns from students, I know in one of the focus groups we did, many students mentioned how happy they were that their guests who reside in different
There will also be the conferral of degrees, which will contain a slideshow of each graduating student - both master’s and bachelor’s - and lastly a closing address from the Alumni Board chair and a performance of the alma mater by a student singer.
Commencement speakers for both the Class of 2020 and the Class of 2021 will deliver addresses during the virtual Commencement. Lydia Downie, resident and executive director of the Boston homeless shelter Pine Street Inn, will deliver the Commencement address for the Class of 2020. She was selected as the speaker in the spring of 2020. Congresswoman Katherine Clark will deliver this year’s Commencement address to the graduating Class of 2021. Cevallos said, “We are delighted that she has agreed to be our speaker. She represents Massachusetts in Washington. She is the third-highest ranking member of the House of Representatives and she is the assistant speaker. She is also local, which is great.” Despite all the high-quality technology that students have been promised will be provided at the virtual ceremony, Student Trustee Ward is still concerned about how seniors’ time at FSU will be celebrated. Ward said, “One concern I have heard from students is that they do not feel a virtual commencement is enough to celebrate their accomplishments. “For many students, they are the first person to graduate from their family, so it is upsetting that instead of getting to walk across the stage to receive their diploma, they are sitting in their living room and opening up a package with their diploma,” she added. A number of seniors voiced their disappointment in the decision to move the commencement to a virtual setting. With many spaces at FSU still up and running, students still believe an in-person commencement is do-able. Emily Fosberg, a senior communication arts major, said, “I think if they’re still having people in dorms, in classrooms, and in the dining hall, then they can easily space the graduates out safely on Bowditch field.” Emma Howes, a senior marketing major, said, “We could have it outside and whoever isn’t comfortable attending could attend virtually.” Andrew Tiernan, a senior English major, said, “It’s unfortunate that there won’t be an in-person graduation. Both of my siblings attended FSU, so it’ll be a bit weird not going through the same graduation ceremony that they had. I wish there was some way that the school could make an in-person event safe.” Jack Pierson, a senior business management major, said, “A lot of my friends who graduated last year were pretty bummed out that their commencement was canceled. “I’m glad that FSU is at least planning to recognize both classes even if the format is not how everyone wants. Graduating college is a major accomplishment for most people,” he added. CONNECT WITH SOREN COLSTRUP scolstrup@student.framingham.edu
NEWS
FEBRUARY 19, 2021 | 5
COVID-19 by the numbers February 19, 2020
By Donald Halsing Associate Editor
By Leighah Beausoleil News Editor By Kathleen Moore Design Editor The number of people with COVID-19 worldwide and in the United States increased by less than 1% since last week based on data from various sources taken Feb. 17. Framingham State University administered 746 tests within the past week, and 3,294 tests within the past 30 days, according to the COVID-19 data page on the FSU website. One positive test was returned within the past week, according to the page. The 7-day negative test rate was 99.86%. One individual was isolated off campus. No people were quarantined on or off campus. A total of 3,217 negative, and seven positive results, were returned in the past 30 days. The 30-day negative test rate was 99.78%. Cumulatively, 6,596 Framingham residents, 9.7%, have tested positive for COVID-19. + The City of Framingham reported 1,914 active cases. There were 139 new infections, 146 new recoveries, and no new deaths reported since Feb. 11. The number of people infected decreased by seven, or 0.11%, over the past week. Approximately 18% of those who have tested positive remain infected. Over 78% have recovered and approximately 3.3% have died. The overall death rate from COVID-19 in Framingham is 0.32%. Cumulatively, 5,533,024 Massachusetts residents, 7.7%, have tested positive for COVID-19. The Massachusetts Department of Public Health estimates there are 38,666 active cases. There were 11,979 new infections, 28,023 new recoveries, and 409 new deaths since Feb. 11. The number of people infected decreased by 16,453, or 3.2%, over the past week. Approximately 12% of those who
Framingham
have tested positive remain infected. Over 85% 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, 1,170,398 COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered in Massachusetts. According to the Times, 13% of the population has received at least one dose, and 4.2% has received two doses. Cumulatively, 27,824,608 United States residents, 8.4%, have tested positive for COVID-19. The New York Times reported 70,176 active cases. There were 545,085 new infections, 412,310 new recoveries, and 19,260 new deaths since Feb. 11. The number of people infected grew by 113,515, or 0.4%, over the past week. Just under 56% of those who have tested positive remain infected. Approximately 43% of the population has recovered, and 1.8% have died. The overall death rate from COVID-19 in the United States is
0.15%. The New York Times reported that cumulatively, 56,281,827 COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered in the United States. According to the Times, 12% of the population has received at least one dose, and 4.7% has received two doses. Cumulatively, 109,872,348 people globally, 1.4%, have tested positive for COVID-19. The New York Times reported 430,138 active cases. There were 2,574,540 new infections, 1,865,732 new recoveries, and 76,429 new deaths since Feb. 11. The number of people infected grew by 632,379, or 0.6%, over the past week. Approximately 42% of the world’s population that has tested positive remain infected. Just over 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, 185,412,174 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 Active Cases: New York Times 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.
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Massachusetts
United States
World
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Digital Humanities
continued from page 1
on literary and historical texts to unearth startling new information about our cultural history.” Abbott Bennett said while digital humanities is a “computational approach to knowledge making,” it’s also “so much more than that. “Yes, it’s computational. That’s what’s under the hood. But if we’re thinking about it, we’re using technology to see texts in new ways and images and asking questions that we couldn’t [previously] address,” she added. Adelman said, “At a really basic level, [digital humanities] is doing humanities research - thinking about human life, and the ways in which we interact with each other in society and culture.” An example of digital humanities research for an historian would be looking into and digitizing census records, according to Adelman. Digital humanities can also include more creative aspects, such as designing video games and interactive learning, Adelman said. “I’m teaching a book right now on the Boston Massacre and the historian who wrote it also worked on a game version of the Boston Massacre,” Adelman said. “That’s an iteration of digital humanities that is thinking about presenting and producing research and teaching tools in different ways, rather than just writing an article or a book.” Abbott Bennett, the founder of the Kit Marlowe Project, an international online digital humanities site focused on Elizabethan playwright Christopher Marlowe, said, “What digital humanities does and what the minor does and will do for people is to teach them how to be intellectually flexible - how to adapt their learning. To learn how to learn.” Abbott Bennett is currently teaching the first Introduction to Digital Humanities course. In the introductory course, Abbott Bennett’s students are working with computers and learning about metadata. “We’re working with Heda Monahan in the library to input the metadata and they’re generating metadata about these projects, to describe the project, and also to learn about what metadata is and about how that works underneath the project,” Abbott Bennett said. “When we’re using images, that’s a form of metadata,” she added. Kelsey Rhodes, a junior English major, is currently enrolled in Abbott Bennett’s Introduction to Digital Humanities course. “I was recommended this course by my advisor due to my desire to become a librarian. Since librarians work closely with digitizing humanistic material, we thought it would be a great class to take,” Rhodes said. Additionally, Rhodes said the class is currently learning about how texts can be analyzed and “mined” for information, including adding metadata to create a website about digital humanities projects that currently
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exist. “Dr. Bennett has been wonderful to learn from. She is very enthusiastic and clearly very invested in digital humanities which helps interest students,” she said. “She also includes a wide range of materials which demonstrate how important digital humanities is to us as a society, to marginalized people, and to those with disabilities which make accessing digitized and non-digitized texts difficult.” While the Introduction to Digital Humanities course is the introductory course for the minor, the class can
Abbott Bennett said while she may be the director and founder of the Kit Marlowe Project, the site is “what students want to bring to the table.” She added there are several aspects of the site that students came up with that she had never thought of before. “I love the story of the family tree, because I was like, ‘This is not interesting to me as a scholar.’ But it’s really interesting to students, and people gravitate towards that family tree time and time again,” Abbott Bennett said. She added all of her interns can
“What digital humanities does and what the minor does and will do for people is to teach them how to e intellect all e ible - how to adapt their learning. To learn how to learn.” -Abbott Bennett, English Professor also fulfill a student’s General Education requirement under Domain II-A: Analysis, Modeling, & Problem Solving, according to Cote. Cote said, “That particular subdomain involves computational methods and quite a bit of quantitative study and a lot of that is what happens in that [Introduction to Digital Humanities] class. Students gather, model, quantify, and visualize humanities data in ways that are appropriate for that.” Aside from the courses a minor in Digital Humanities requires, students need to complete an internship for their final course. In previous years, Brinkman has sponsored an intern at the Modern American Poetry Site (MAPS), a digital humanities site which he directs. MAPS is one of the largest academic sites devoted to the teaching and study of 20th and 21st century American poetry and receives between 50,000 and 60,000 visitors monthly. Adelman said in the past, students have interned at various historical sites, and those options will be open for those minoring in digital humanities. A student has interned at the Kit Marlowe Project site since Abbott Bennett started teaching at Framingham State - an internship she said will be open to those who minor in Digital Humanities as their capstone course. The Kit Marlowe Project is “a student-generated digital repository of material related to Christopher Marlowe’s life and times,” Abbott Bennett said. The project began when Abbott Bennett was a professor at Stonehill College after she sent her students on a scavenger hunt for information on Marlowe and realized there was not a lot of reliable material on him.
“play to their strengths or interests.” Graduate student in English Andrew Jeromski served as an intern at the Kit Marlowe Project in spring 2020. Jeromski said, “The experience has helped me academically in several ways. It [The Kit Marlowe Project internship] really gave me a lot of experience using diverse databases and an increased confidence in moving outside of my go-to search tools to broaden my horizons in terms of research, and it gave me some experience in working with primary source materials in an indirect way. “The coolest thing I did was probably transcribing, editing and encoding the prefatory epistles to the 1591 edition of ‘Astrophel and Stella’ by Thomas Newman and Thomas Nashe,” he said. “That allowed me to learn TEI [Text Encoding Initiatives] encoding, which is something I am very happy to have gotten some experience with. “I think it is impossible to do any writing with, or for her [Abbott Bennett] and not come away a better writer than when you went in. While it wasn’t necessarily related to The Kit Marlowe Project, I had the opportunity to co-write a piece on Queen Elizabeth I with Dr. Bennett for an exhibition on a website run out of Northeastern, and that experience has done wonders for my confidence and taught me a lot about working with early modern sources,” Jeromski added. Junior English major and current Kit Marlowe Project intern, Eli Pare, wants to dedicate her semester at the project to making the site more interactive. She said, “I’ve been rearranging and adding to the content of the posts in the mini-archive just to spruce up the look of them. I’m also trying to take on the ‘Games and Quizzes’ sec-
tion as part of my internship since that page is lacking in posts and I have some ideas.” Pare added, “It’s very inspiring to work with her [Abbott Bennett] on something she’s so passionate about because that passion is very contagious and it makes the projects I’m working on feel much more fulfilling because it’s just so enjoyable. While current Kit Marlowe Project interns focus primarily on research and professional writing, Abbott Bennett said she would like to see her digital humanities interns “take more of a digital humanities approach to text analysis to create networks.” Both Adelman and Abbott Bennett stressed there are many reasons students should consider minoring in digital humanities. “I think it gives students a fantastic toolset to take with them,” Adelman said. “The English department and the history department do a great job teaching students traditional forms of writing and research. Digital humanities just adds new layers of ways to get at research and ways to present and use knowledge and things that you’ve picked up,” he added. Abbott Bennett said, “It’s proof that you can sustain your focus on a topic and look at it from multiple perspectives, and think critically and be creatively engaged with the material.” Additionally, Abbott Bennett said, “It’s [digital humanities] always going to be cutting-edge technology. It’s always going to have to change, so we have to be prepared to grow with the field.” McCarthy said, “The skills gained from digital humanities are eminently applicable to a wide range of 21st-century information technology jobs - including data analysis and search engine optimization, just to name a few.” Cote said, “I think they’re [Abbott Bennett, Brinkman, Adelman, and Mulhall-Adelman] going to be giving their students a lot of great information - useful information that will help put them on a pathway toward better understanding a lot of highly applicable skills that will put them in good positions for jobs that haven’t been invented yet.” As for the future of the digital humanities minor, Cote said it opens many “threads of possibilities” for Framingham State students. “I look at some of the work Dr. Bennett’s doing with the Kit Marlowe Project, and with Rams Write, even. Also, Dr. Brinkman and his work in data mining. Dr. Adelman and Dr. Mulhall-Adelman are both doing work that is relative to digital humanities, and I think they’re imagining some great possibilities as well.” [Editor’s Note: Desmond McCarthy is the advisor for The Gatepost.]
CONNECT WITH CARA MCCARTHY cmccarthy8@student.framingham.edu
OP/ED
OP/ ED THE GATEPOST EDITORIAL
Protect the country, not your seat Last weekend, America watched as former President Donald J. Trump was acquitted on the charge of inciting the Jan. 6 insurrection at the nation’s Capitol. Senate Democrats were unable to convince the 17 senators needed for a two-thirds majority needed to convict. Only 57 senators - including only seven Republicans - voted to convict the former president. Despite an overwhelming amount of evidence and personal testimony from the lawmakers who were in the Capitol that day, 43 senators - all Republican - still voted to acquit the former president on the charge of inciting an insurrection. What is particularly disturbing is that several minutes after voting to acquit former President Trump, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said, “There’s no question - none - that President Trump is practically, and morally, responsible for provoking the events of the day.” McConnell, despite voting to acquit Trump, still admits that he was responsible. The utter hypocrisy shown in the five seconds it took McConnell to say that in his speech not only speaks to his character, but to the cowardice of 42 other Senate Republicans. These Senate Republicans displayed a skewed view of what their job as elected officials represents. While they may argue that the Constitution does not give the House the power to impeach a president who is no longer in office, that mindset has the potential to set a very dangerous precedent for the future of the country. Not only that, but Trump was still the sitting President on Jan. 6, and should have been held responsible for his role in the events of that day. As Maryland Congressman and Lead House Impeachment Manager Jamie Raskin warned in his opening testimony for the prosecution, a Trump acquittal would have serious consequences for the Constitution itself. Raskin said, “Conduct that would be a high crime and misdemeanor in your first year as president and your second year as president and your third year as president and for the vast majority of your fourth year as president you
can suddenly do in your last few weeks in office without facing any constitutional accountability at all. This would create a brand new January exception to the Constitution of the United States of America.” Rep. Raskin even went as far as to say a Trump acquittal would open the door for a January exception for all future presidents and that it would be “an invitation to our founders’ worst nightmare.” If Senate Republicans are so protective over the words of the Constitution, why did they help a former president let such a dangerous precedent come from his acquittal? While McConnell acknowledged Trump can still be held criminally liable for his part in the insurrection of Jan 6, why did he, along with 42 Republican senators, refuse to hold him accountable in their positions as lawmakers? If a President is impeached - and convicted - of a high-crime and misdemeanor, they are taken out of office. The Constitution says nothing of an outgoing president not being allowed to be impeached and disqualified from holding public office in the future. All senators, regardless of party, take the same oath of office: “I do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic.” If McConnell truly believes Trump is responsible for the events that threatened the foundation of our country, Trump is therefore a domestic enemy. Forty-three senators neglected to fulfill their oath by not holding the former President accountable. Forty-three senators need to be held accountable for the precedent they helped create following the second Trump impeachment. Forty-three senators need to realize their job is to protect their constituents and the Constitution of the United States of America - not help an insurrectionist toward a potential 2024 presidential bid.
FEBRUARY 19, 2021 | 7
Investing in yourself McKenzie Ward Opinions Editor So 2020 was my year of “What else could possibly go wrong?” and I swear God gave me another six traumatic events and simply told me, “Deal with it.” By October, I was mentally drained. For the first time in my life, I felt physically empty. It felt like someone had removed any of the happiness inside me and just left my body to be filled with emptiness. I could feel myself slowly lose any passion and love I had for life. I was constantly asking myself, “What’s the point?” It was then that I decided I couldn’t handle my sadness alone anymore and decided to reach out to the Framingham State Counseling Center. Within a few hours, I had my first appointment booked. After I received my confirmation email for my first appointment, I was filled with dread. What was so wrong with me that I needed to seek counseling? I’m not going to lie - I was so nervous for my first appointment I was physically ill. I logged onto the Zoom call 10 minutes before my appointment contemplating whether to stay signed on. When my counselor logged on and introduced themselves, I kept saying to myself, “Click ‘Leave.’ You don’t deserve or need help.” I am so grateful that I did not let those intrusive thoughts tear me away from helping me find myself again. For the past four months, I have continued to see a counselor - now on a bi-weekly basis. The hour I spend with my counselor provides me with the support I need in order to properly process the trauma I experienced not only during 2020, but throughout my life. I had spent years of my life prior to seeking counseling writing off therapy as something that I would never need. I thought that if I needed to seek therapy, there must be something wrong with me. In society, there is a dangerous stigma that therapy is only for those who are weak and cannot handle things independently. In some families, talk of mental health and counseling are often only mentioned in hushed tones and sometimes not even talked about at all. But in all honesty, I think everyone needs to seek a counselor even if you don’t think you need to. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, one in five U.S. adults lives with mental illness, and young adults aged 18 to 25 had the highest presence of mental illness in 2019. This stigma - that therapy is only for those who are weak - could not be further from the truth. In fact, therapy provides people with knowledge on how to process prior trauma while also teaching them how to handle the future curve balls life will throw at them. As a society, we must normalize going to therapy. We need to stop acting as if asking for help is a bad thing when we all could use a shoulder to lean on at the end of the day - especially after 2020. Four months later, and I am done apologizing for needing to seek counseling. I no longer treat the words “therapy” or “counseling” as dirty words. I refuse to apologize for using a service that has made me a happier and more stable individual. And I refuse to be ashamed of needing support. We all need to start prioritizing ourselves and showing our mind and body self-love. Seeking counseling is an investment that everyone should make. If you are interested in seeking counseling, it is easy to email or call the Framingham State Counseling Center to schedule an appointment. Services provided by the Counseling Center are free to all matriculated FSU students.
Have an opinion? Feel free to email it to: gatepost@framingham.edu Opinions should be about 750 words. Anyone can submit. FRAMINGHAM STATE UNIVERSITY’S INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPER SINCE 1932 | FSUGATEPOST.COM
OP/ED
8 | FEBRUARY 19, 2021
Offensive tweets and genocide By James Barraford Staff Writer
Gina Carano has been fired from the Disney+ series “The Mandalorian.” She posted a black-and-white photograph of a battered Jewish woman running in her undergarments from a mob of Nazis. The caption above the photo explains there was a process of indoctrination that made Nazis hate their Jewish neighbors. She compared the plight of European Jewry in WWII to being an American conservative today. “How is that any different from hating someone of their political views?” Carano’s tweet asked. On Feb. 9, a LucasFilm spokesperson announced she would no longer be a cast member of “The Mandalorian.” “Nevertheless, her social media posts denigrating people based on their cultural and religious identities are abhorrent and unacceptable.” The spokesperson said. Carano had also posted a tweet in the past mocking mandatory COVID-19 mask policies and questioned the results of the recent Presidential election. This is the problem with Twitter. It allows us to project our impulsive
thoughts and perpetuate feelings into “fact.” I find Carano’s tweet mind-numbingly stupid. Hatred in this country must be treated as a social crisis. Her tweet added absolutely nothing of value to that conversation. Anyone who tweets making fun of those who wear masks during a pandemic is naïve or unintelligent. However, her tweet hurt no one physically. Has her tweet enabled the genocide Uighurs face under the Chinese Communist Party’s regime? No. Has Disney+ worked closely with the government that is leading a systemic genocide of China’s inconvenient minority? Yes. With the release of Disney+’s “Mulan,” it was revealed part of the movie was filmed in Xinxiang. This is the region where Uighurs are being held in internment camps. Disney+ also thanked eight CCP offices in the movie’s closing credits. The Chinese government is undertaking measures against the Uighurs, such as forced sterilization and IUDs, according to the AP. “The campaign over the past four years in the far west region of Xinji-
ang is leading to what some experts are calling a form of ‘demographic genocide,’” according to the AP. Even Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said the actions of the CCP, “speak to an effort to commit genocide.” If history tells us anything, the genocide of the Uighurs will only become more aggressive. On July 3, 2020, New York federal agents seized 13 tons of hair to be sold as weaves. It was not synthetic hair. It was hair from Uighurs detained in China. Let that sink in. Thirteen tons of human hair. What is occurring in Xinjiang, under the authority of the Chinese Communist Party, is evil. The genocidal impulse of President Xi Xinping will only grow. LucasFilms made a choice to align itself with Disney+. Disney+ made a choice to work with government agencies within the CCP that are leading a systemic genocide of the Uighur minority. Their business model is based on platitudes. Their dream machine is not concerned with actually making the world a better place.
As a liberal, I uphold Carano’s right to free speech. I don’t agree with her grotesque tweets. But social media has supplanted face-to-face interaction. With so much communication done on social media, the potential for missteps grows. All the nuance of talking to a live person is lost on Twitter. We are reduced to a profile picture. We are reduced, as a human being, to whatever message we wrote in under 280 characters. While I understand the desire to hold people accountable for idiotic or hateful rhetoric, at some point we must ask ourselves if our desires for justice are based on pragmatism or perfectionism. LucasFilm has the right to fire her. But what happens if moral tastes change as they so often do? Will the righteous of today be the canceled of tomorrow? For those who called for her firing on Twitter, you are welcome to block her. You are also welcome to tweet about the genocide occurring in Xinjiang. We cannot be silent anymore.
Campus Conversations
What was your reaction to former President Donald Trump’s acquittal? By Leighah Beausoleil, Editoral Staff
“I was kind of surprised, but at the same time, I kind of expected it based on the first time.”
“Disappointment to say the least. Disappointment.” -Cori Lawson, freshman
“If I’m being honest, I don’t care anymore because he’s not president.” -Joe Siegel, freshman
-Sylvie Ficco, sophomore
“I don’t think it was justified. I don’t think he directly told them to do what they did. It’s the fact that he did not condemn it, and I don’t think that makes you any less applicable to the consequences that it caused.” -Cameron Smith-Beers, senior
“I was like, ‘What?’ That’s the only thing I can describe it as because there’s more people that are concerned with having their careers rather than doing the right thing, which is stupid because their career is to do the right thing.” -Sam Houle, sophomore
“I was so angry. People in our government keep putting their own desires before what’s best for the nation and justice. However, it honestly wasn’t completely unexpected due to how our politics have been in recent years.” -Meeghan Bresnahan, sophomore
Op/Ed submissions reflect the opinions of their authors only and do not necessarily reflect those of The Gatepost or its staff. @TheGatepost | FSUgatepost.com
SPORTS
FEBRUARY 19, 2021 | 9
SPORTS Women’s track won’t slow down By Caroline Gordon
Editorial Staff
Sophomores Mollie Pimental and Emily Newcomb desperately hope for a track meet - preferably not a virtual one. Pimental, a thrower, picked up her first shot put in the se enth grade. Newcomb, a cross country athlete, has yet to run at a track meet due to COVID-19. Newcomb said Coach Scott VanderMolen convinced her to run track. The 800-meter race is the event ewcomb said she is eager to compete in. She said the 800-meter run makes her eel li e she is “flying.” s a multi sport athlete in high school, Newcomb said she has both ast and slow twitch muscles, ma ing her physically fit to run the hal mile race. lthough ewcomb’s roo ie trac season was canceled last spring, she
said she is excited about this season. “ lo e the eeling o running ast. just want to be at a meet with the atmosphere o my teammates cheering each other on. would do anything to compete with my team right now,” Newcomb said. She said after practice, the team grabs ood in the ining ommons “red room,” and that the time spent together strengthens their bonds. Newcomb said they talk for hours and eat ood all night, describing those times as some of the best she has ever had. She added that the pandemic left her eeling isolated, and it elt good to reconnect with her teammates this season for practice. “ he team is so unny and energetic. lo e being around them. We are li e pu le pieces we all fit together per ectly,” ewcomb said. imental agreed saying she eels motivated by her teammates, particularly captains Ashley Bosch and Eliza
to 12 o us,” imental said. Weisse, both uniors. She described how the team breaks imental said Weisse is “always or happy” and positi e despite aspects up into smaller groups o si such as the weather or the kind of day stretching. Pimental said foam rollers were she is ha ing. She said Bosch “keeps everybody shared pre-COVID-19 but now everyone must use their own and if someon trac .” Newcomb said she is not inspired one wants to share, it needs to be disby any particular people, because the infected by one of the trainers. Both Pimental and Bosch said deteam has “camaraderie.” She said the team is diverse as spite canceling last season, there there are “runners o all capabilities,” have been positive outcomes because but everyone sees each other as equal. of COVID-19. Pimental said COVID-19 makes her Both athletes agree coaches anderMolen and Mark Johnson have want to work harder for this season as helped the team through the pan- last season she could not compete. “ loo at it now li e ha e to fit demic. Newcomb said the team calls Van- two seasons of track into one, so I der olen the “yin” and Johnson the ha e been training more,” she said. Pimental added, “I just cannot wait “yang” as ander olen is “sweet and encouraging” and Johnson tells peo- to attend a meet ” She said the team has coped well ple to “get on the horse.” Pimental said both coaches do a with the pandemic and they are “very great ob at ma ing sure the team optimistic about this season.” Newcomb discussed how COVID-19 knows techniques and that they are always available to answer the ath- has brought the team closer together. She said the pandemic has shown letes’ uestions. They discussed their student-ath- her that her teammates care about her off the track, as they still kept in lete schedules. Newcomb said virtual track meets contact during uarantine. “ can’t say ’ e e er had that close might be part o the routine this seaof a relationship with any of my teamson. She said virtual meets are when mates in the past,” ewcomb said. She discussed what running means coaches take videos of the athletes per orming on their home trac and to her and how it helped her through field, without a crowd. hen they the pandemic. ewcomb said running has been send the videos to coaches from other “an escape” or her and some teamschools to compare times. n regard to balancing academics mates, but for others, it can remind and trac during a pandemic, ew- them of the season they lost. Both Pimental and Newcomb ofcomb said she li es ha ing a rigorous schedule because COVID-19 took fered advice to FSU student-athletes who have been affected by COVID-19. away her routine last spring. imental said, “ on’t be upset. She said ha ing practice fi e days a on’t thin o it as a setbac . eel week between 4:30 p.m. and 6:20 p.m. has moti ated her to get her home- li e was really discouraged last year wor done and “go to bed at a reason- that my season got canceled and able hour” or the ne t day’s practice. know other athletes had to deal with “ t’s definitely been all about the that as well. You can take the months you had off to cry about it or you can routine,” ewcomb said. eep training to ma e yoursel ready Pimental also said track keeps her or when there is competition.” academically motivated, teaches her She added, “We can’t change the better time management s ills, and pandemic.” helps her uggle an on campus ob. Newcomb said, “Stay hopeful. Keep “ ma e sure get my wor done because i am not doing well in ac- loo ing orward to the ne t compeademics, can’t practice or go to tition because one day it’s going to come bac and when it’s all said and meets,” she said. n terms o the team’s wor - done it’s going to come down to who out schedule, Pimental said it has trained and who didn’t. “Stic with it ” she said. changed due to O 19. Pre-pandemic, she said there would be 15 to 20 trac athletes doing wor outs together such as stretching and li ting. “A lot of people did not return be- CONNECT WITH CAROLINE GORDON cause of COVID-19. Now there are 10- cgordon@student.framingham.edu
FRAMINGHAM STATE UNIVERSITY'S INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER SINCE 1932 | FSUGATEPOST.COM
10 | FEBRUARY 19, 2021
ARTS & FEATURES
ARTS & FEATURES Dr. Eddie Moore talks how to be Anti-Racist in a changing world By Caroline Gordon Editorial Staff Emily Rosenberg Editorial Staff Eddie Moore, an educator, discussed supremacy, anti-racism, and diversity as part of The Olivia A. Davidson Lecture Series by Arts and Ideas in collaboration with the Center of Inclusive Excellence Feb. 17 via Zoom. Moore is an experienced educator who founded America & Moore LLC, an initiative to provide diversity, pri ilege, and leadership training and workshops. He is also the director of the Privilege nstitute and the ational White ri ilege on erence. Before COVID-19, he traveled the country to gi e lectures. He discussed how his transition rom a primarily Blac neighborhood in Florida to a small town in Iowa where he had to face discrimantion he never dealt with before, is an important part of his framework. He said it prepared him for his work in social justice. oore said he “didn’t now how many white folks were in America until he got to owa.” o him, it was a major culture shock. ter this reali ation, he struggled or se eral years with a cocaine and crack addiction until a leader at Big Brother Big Sister helped him get bac to graduate school. Moore kicked off his presentation with some bac ground on Blac istory Month and noted how 100 years ago it was ust “ egro istory Wee .” e also highlighted how the courage and boldness o Shirley hisom, the first woman to run or president, has paved the way for Vice President Kamala Harris. “[Chisom] is truly one of my inspirations, ’m really glad get to share her with you,” oore said. He then discussed the importance of intersectionality, the interconnected nature o social categori ations, noting di ersity is more than ust Black people and white people.
Moore said, “No one should be allowed to say they are committed to diversity if when they say diversity, it’s not inclusi e. White issues, Blac issues, race issues are not the only problem when it comes to di ersity.” He said you need to have the skills to be open, and include everybody. Moore emphasized his point by reintroducing himsel with his pronouns as this practice is becoming common. “ merica is changing,” he said. Moore posed the question, “But are we changing ” He said when you are “down with di ersity” and people you now are also “down with di ersity” you reach a le el o higher e pectations. oore said there are superficial examples of people who think they are encouraging inclusi ity, such as nowing someone Blac or ta ing a trip to Mexico. e said we need to ta e a bigger kind of stand when it comes to anti racist intitiati es by particitpating in s ill building oursel es and encouraging others as well. “ you’re in my circle, rolling with r. ddy, you got to show e idence o your commitment,” oore said. e said he’s still trying to get the gender language down, but this is an example of how social constructs are always changing and we need to be onboard. When he started his wor in 199 , he said the definitions or di ersity were ague now it is “a lot more e pansi e.” Moore said the work of diversity administrators is di ficult. e then simplified definitions related to diversity with a list of words such as B O Blac , ndigenous, and eople o olor , GB , genderqueer, and Proud Boys. “ hese are words that your grandparents had no clue about,” oore said. He added, “The term BIPOC is relati ely brand new.” Moore said social justice is about e panding and e ol ing as a society, but to remember that it takes work. He said, “It has been proven by the
“People are dying, and we still have some people who can’t even define it or agree on a definition. There’s some real work that individuals, but organizations even, need to do.” - Eddie Moore @TheGatepost | FSUgatepost.com
“No one should be allowed to say they are committed to diversity if when they say diversity, it’s not inclusive. White issues, Black issues, race issues are not the only problem when it comes to diversity.” - Eddie Moore American Medical Association that racism can ill you.” Moore continued, “People are dying, and we still ha e some people who can’t e en define it or agree on a definition. here’s some real wor that indi iduals, but organi ations e en, need to do.” e said without ta ing time to learn and understand “the little stu ” then you ris sounding incompetent which can jeapordize your career. “You put yourself ahead of the line by understanding cross cultural dynamics,” oore said. He said older people he knew when growing up didn’t now anything about Black people. This is what he referred to as “the luxury of innocence.” He said we need to understand the difference between bias and unconscious bias. “I learn the most hate in my most innocent state,” he said. Moore said everybody has a bias and if someone says they treat everyone the same or “don’t see color,” research disagrees. He said research in neuroscience shows the ages between 0 to 5 determines the way in which one sees the world. Moore said that when it comes to issues with human rights, those years are especially crucial and i not taught properly, they can become “dangerous” to the de elopment o the child. e encouraged the audience by adding that i one didn’t learn correctly then, it doesn’t ma e one “bad or li e.” oore said, “We all ha e wor to do in our li etimes.” e touched upon how learning the difference between unconscious bias and conscious bias is deep work. Moore discussed how he believes people just memorize unconscious bias and conscious bias. He said he is not sure if they are actually doing the “deep wor it ta es” to understand the differences. oore shared his “ . . . .S.” approach to eliminating racism. e said “ ” stands or intentional as you need to be completely and
definitely mo ing in the direction o anti-racism. “ t needs to be a capital campaign where e erybody participates,” oore said. e said “ ” stands or declaration and that people need to proudly advocate for anti-racism. “ ” stands or e aluation and education. “Being anti racist is not a finish line that you will cross. If you want to intentionally declare being anti racist is the journey you want to take, you need to evaluate how far away you are,” oore e plained. “ ” stands or assessing oore said after you educate yourself you need to assess your progress. “S” stands or support. He said most people think they are more accepting o di ersity than they truly are. “ on’t claim you are anti racist i you are not willing to do the wor . Part of your journey includes coaches o support,” oore said. e ga e the audience a code with access to a 21 day challenge he developed on how to take action. “ his is a tool to get you started. you are in my circle and I ask you if you are down with diversity, you can re er to the 21 day action plan ” he said. Moore added, “This plan allows you to do something e ery day.” He recommended a list of books, encouraged the audience to attend conferences, and take care of mental health. oore closed by tal ing about the late John Lewis and his famous quote about “good trouble.” “ can inspire you to be anything, it’s to be good trouble. t’s to be necessary trouble. To be that voice when you see oppression, hatred, supremacy, and that you say something,” Moore said.
CONNECT WITH CAROLINE GORDON cgordon@student.framingham.edu CONNECT WITH EMILY ROSENBERG erosenberg@student.framingham.edu
ARTS & FEATURES
FEBRUARY 19, 2021 | 11
‘Judas and the Black Messiah’ The Savior of Hollywood Biopics By Patrick Brady Staff Writer rom the beginning, belie ed “Judas and the Blac essiah” would follow the same formula as other historical motion picture dramas. But around the 10-minute mark, I reali ed my perception was wrong. ot only did the film li e up to the hype surrounding it, but also ar surpassed my expectations. In all honesty, it beats Sor in’s “ he rial o the hicago ” in terms o acting and story my pre ious a orite film o the year. he film was directed by Sha a ing, who co wrote the script with Will Berson. lthough it was ing’s ma or directorial debut, he ga e the film an authentic tone, which is almost unheard o or big budget mo ies nowadays. i e many other films, Warner Bros. Pictures released the movie to HBO Max and theaters Feb. 12, due to O 19’s impact on mo iegoers. he film most notably stars aniel Kaluuya as Fred Hampton, LaKeith Stanfield as Bill O’ eal, Jesse lemons as oy itchell, and ominique Fishback as Deborah Johnson. ter attempting to hi ac a car while posing as a ederal o ficer, hicago police arrest O’ eal. But B special agent itchell o ers to ha e O’ eal’s charges dropped i he wor s underco er in order to gain access
to the Illinois Black Panther Party (BPP), and Hampton, the leader of the party. O’ eal grows close to ampton, who works to form alliances with rial gangs and militia groups through his persuasi e spea ing s ills. ll the while, Hampton falls in love with Johnson, a fellow BPP member. nli e many other biopic films, “Judas and the Blac essiah” wasn’t afraid to lash out at the BPP or the cops. n other words, ing wasn’t one sided about his negati e iews on the BPP and their violent practices, since he also took shots at the brutality inflicted by the cops. While there wasn’t a lot o iolence in the 126-minute runtime, when it did occur, it was brutal and bloody. But than ully, the film didn’t glamori e iolence or linger on the gory a termath. s ar as acting goes, the per ormances were flawless each ga e li e to the character they were portraying. here was no casting choice that seemed out of place. n particular, Stanfield shined in his role he portrayed O’ eil as being an awkward African American man who didn’t now his place in society. lthough his per ormance in Boots iley’s “Sorry to Bother ou” was ama ing, Stanfield outdid himsel as an actor yet again. long with Stanfield’s per ormance, Fishback, who also starred in
ACROSS 1. Rock bands’ boxes 5. Iron 10. Combustible heap 14. Sped 15. Yogurt-and-cucumber dip 16. “Ratatouille” rat 17. Where brownies bake 18. ___ tube (waterslide ride) 19. Trouble-free state 20. Girl/pooch duo in a 2002 film 23. Start of a self-help book title 24. Garlicky mayonnaise 27. Smack, as a skeeter 28. 2000 film about a boy and his pooch 32. Labor Day’s mo. 34. Assistance 35. Corn units 36. Regal sphere 39. Accept, as a special delivery 42. NBA legend Ming 43. Saints’ home, briefly 45. Sister with a rosary
etfli ’s “ ro ect ower,” ga e a near per ect rendition o ampton’s lo er. nstead o glossing o er the actress’s ability, the film ta es ull ad antage o her e ecution o a flawed character. arly on in the film, there were many natural conversations between the characters of Hampton and Johnson. uring my first iewing, it was clear why Fishback and Kaluuya were cast they had great chemistry. he acting certainly wasn’t the only top notch aspect o the film. or instance, the pacing was smooth and no scenes ever felt unneeded. Furthermore, every scene was relevant and expanded the plot. Even the scenes in which the Panthers tried to promote their party never felt tacked on. long with the e en pacing, the spo en dialogue was realistic and fluid. here was ne er a moment in which an actor said something that went against their character. While the film was tense or the most part, it was an enjoyable and in ormati e e perience. ather than pushing political boundaries or the sa e o doing so, the mo ie had a message to it. espite being distributed by a ma or mo ie studio, the film ne er came o as a cash grab. n act, “Judas and the Blac essiah” elt more li e ing’s personal passion pro ect, rather than aimed at mainstream au-
46. Knock sharply 48. Tightly united 51. Obama immigration policy, briefly 54. Wed secretly 55. Modern museum question 58. Fictional restaurateur played by Kate Winslet and Joan Crawford 62. Use a wooden spoon 64. Relation such as 20:21 65. Tilt 66. Window part 67. D.C.’s National Zoo has 163 of them 68. Give temporarily 69. Fruits used for chewy cookies 70. Parents of goslings 71. Greek god of war DOWN 1. It may surround a lagoon 2. Flicks 3. Like bench training? 4. Ladies of La Paz 5. Cursive alternative 6. Completely unpredictable 7. German for “one” 8. “Ignore that change,” in a proof 9. Wrapped Indian garment 10. Spot-on 11. “Sure, I guess” 12. B&B units 13. Hurricane center 21. Starts a poker pot 22. Game where someone is “it” 25. Former Italian currency 26. ___ facto 29. One-named Greek keyboardist 30. “What’s the ___?” (“So what?”) 31. Stinky cheese feature 33. Strawberry ice cream’s color 36. A single time 37. “Jelly” or “sausage” follower 38. Word that means “flourishing,” with or without its second letter
diences. “Judas and the Blac essiah” is not only the best biography o the year, but may very well be the best dramatic film since “ oonlight.” t deli ers an un orgettable story, stellar script, superb dialogue, and some o the best acting ’ e e er seen. he mo ie flew by, lea ing me no time to find flaws. nd while the film did gi e o the wrong impression during its first ew opening minutes, can’t ault it or showing real li e ootage o the B . Do believe the hype - “Judas and the Blac essiah” is a cinematic masterpiece.
ADMIT ONE
Grade: A+ his film is the “ ing” of cinema. ADMIT ONE
CONNECT WITH PATRICK BRADY pbrady@student.framingham.edu
40. Caulking implement 41. Diameter halves 44. Is ambitious 47. Kneecap 49. Jellied fish in a British dish 50. Spruces up 52. Life’s work 53. Far from general knowledge Puzzle solutions are now 56. Presume, informally exclusively online. 57. Watches, like a bar 59. With 60-Down, RuPaul’s competition 60. See 59-Down 61. To be, to Camus 62. Tanning letters 63. ___ chi
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12 | FEBRUARY 19, 2021
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