February 10, 2023

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Corporate Readiness Academy 101 program prepares students of color for the corporate world

By Branden LaCroix News Editor

The College of Business began its orporate eadiness Academy Program for the spring semester.

The program is a series of workshops and one-on-one conferences that focus on coaching students of color in business management as well as educating them on how to navigate obstacles in corporate workplaces, such as microaggressions, racist incidents, and discrimination.

Patricia Thomas, dean of FSU’s College of Business, said, “One of the things that came to the forefront was

the fact that students of color were not getting good jobs.

She said, “It was important to have a space for students of color to start a network and have some shifts happening that allows them to be more successful going out so when they graduate, they re not in the same job that they were in while in college.”

Thomas said plans were in place to start the program during the Spring 2020 Semester, but the plans were upended by the pandemic. he added looking back, the upside of the plans needing to be pushed back was that she did not have the personnel to put them in motion.

She said over the previous summer, she and Erastus Ndinguri, a management and business & IT professor, recruited Professor Denise Brown to help the program get up and running.

The program is primarily designed and led by Sunni McCoy, a visiting lecturer and enterprise Lean leader at GE Healthcare.

McCoy explained the program is intended to “demystify” a lot about working in the corporate world as a person of color, addressing the issues people of color often face, and filling the “gaps” in corporate workplaces.

Explorer of the universe, Vandana Singh encourages global optimism

By Emily Rosenberg Associate Editor

As a young girl, Vandana Singh said she dreamed of being an explorer and traveling the world.

“I wanted to live with other species because non-humans really fascinated me. I was a shy kid,” she said.

hile ingh s official job title is not “explorer,” she does explore the depth of the world as she studies and presents on the global climate crisis and travels the Universe via a pen through her creative works of speculative fiction.

In 2023, Singh, who describes herself as an “earthling” on the “About” page of her website, continues to build

an impactful career as a physics and environment professor in the FSU Environment, Society, and Sustainability Department and an author.

After earning her Ph.D. in theoretical particle physics at Louisiana State University, Singh said she planned to move back to her home in New Delhi, ndia, where she lived the first years of her life.

But “life had other plans,” she said.

In 2003, Singh was hired as a visiting lecturer for the then Department of Physics at Framingham State College, which she described at the time as a “sleepier, quieter place.”

Singh now teaches a course she designed on climate justice for ams ,

a program which was implemented recently into the curriculum to acclimate first year students to college life. n the course, she teaches students about the crisis through a case study she built when she traveled to the North Slope of Arctic Alaska and interviewed native people and scientists.

he said she first became interested in taking her climate research to the next level after an event in 2007 in which she and a group led by English Professor Lisa Eck and Sociology Professor irginia utter organi ed to raise awareness.

At the event, nearly 500 people

A chalk-drawn smile on the Framingham State seal outside the Henry Whittemore Library.

Editorial Board

Editor-in-Chief

Leighah Beausoleil

Associate Editor

Emily Rosenberg

News Editors

Sophia Harris

Branden LaCroix

Asst. News Editor

Naidelly Coelho

Opinions Editor

McKenzie Ward

Sports Editor

Adam Levine

Arts & Features Editor

Ryan O’Connell

Asst. Arts & Features Editor

Raena Doty

Design & Photo Editor

Maddison Behringer

Asst. Photos Editor

Zachary Sorel

Adrien Gobin

Staff Writers

Owen Glancy

Mark Haskell

Ben Hurney

Jack McLaughlin

Izayah Morgan

Kate Norrish

Carly Paul

Wenchell Pierre

Ryan Schreiber

Lainey Morrison

Advisor

Desmond McCarthy

Asst. Advisor

Elizabeth Banks

Gatepost Interview

Stephanie Crane

Associate Director of Residence Life

By Naidelly Coelho Asst. News Editor

What is your educational and professional background?

I went to undergrad, where I got a degree in psychology. From there, I went to a master’s program at the University of Maine. I’m originally from Maine and I went out of state for undergrad - love that state tuition. But, I started out in a counselor education program to become a clinical counselor, and then decided that I didn’t really love that. I was an RA in college and I was doing an assistantship in grad school in Residence Life - I really liked that. So I ended up switching my major - by the way, that’s a bad idea. But, I ended up getting a master’s degree in higher education administration. And then, from there, I worked as a hall director. I worked as a hall director for three years at Brandeis University. I then went to Becker College in Worcester before they closed - they don’t exist anymore. And I worked there for about five years as the Associate irector, doing mostly housing operations stuff, like the housing application, the housing selection process, all of those background things. And then in February of 2019, I started here at Framingham tate as the Associate irector of esidence Life, doing most day-to-day stuff. From supervising the hall directors [to] I just got out of a meeting about RA selection because I oversee all of our major processes as far as RA selection, training, and that kind of thing.

What do you want the FSU community to know about your role?

The biggest thing to know about myself and anyone in Residence Life is that we’re kind of like on-the-ground generalists. So if you live in the residence halls, or not, or if you know who we are, you can always feel free to ask questions or seek advice because I do a lot of different things within Residence Life, but I also have connections to a lot of different departments on campus, especially in the student affairs and the student services world. We can really help a lot. And if we personally can’t help you or someone on my staff can’t help you, 99% of the time, we can make a connection for you between the person who can actually help so, whether it’s, “I don’t know how to fill out my A A, got you. We’ll get you to someone in Financial Aid. We really can help with a lot of things. It doesn’t just have to pertain to living in the residence halls.

How did you get involved in this line of work?

So, when I was in my sophomore year of college, I became an RA and I just really had a great time. I think it’s like this weird little community family thing within Residence Life, especially when I was an RA. That’s where I made most of my best friends in college. … You make these connections and it’s just such a cool way to make connections with people you wouldn’t make connections with before. And then also from a professional standpoint, my day is never the same. So there’s always some standing stuff, but each day, there’s usually something different whether it’s a new challenge or an issue or something’s going on. So it keeps you on your toes and keeps you engaged in what you’re doing. And I just have the most fun getting to know students.

Do you have any hobbies outside of your role at FSU?

I like to read and I like to cook. I like to experiment in the kitchen and sometimes, it goes really badly. And then I spent a lot of time, especially over the pandemic, I started baking a lot when we were all shut down. But I have a very needy five year old labradoodle named Murphy, who keeps going for walksdoing that kind of thing. I also bought a house three years ago. So I’m trying

to learn how to be a homeowner - from doing yard work to how to fi the leaky sink. So those things are not super-exciting hobbies, but they sort of take over a little bit of my time.

Do you have any advice for students?

I think my biggest advice for students and I think was really echoed in the Op/ Ed from The Gatepost from last week, is don’t be afraid to say something or to bring up an issue. And if you’re having an issue or if there’s something that you see that you don’t love or like, have a conversation with someone because I know, for me, getting feedback and understanding what the student perspective is - it’s super important. And we’re always willing to listen and do what we can to help correct the problem. … I can help guide you through it. So, I think that my biggest advice for anybody is always just to never be afraid to speak up. And to ask a question, or to get a better understanding of what’s going on. y office door is always open. f there s an issue you want to talk about, or you want to understand something more, I’m always willing to have those conversations. So never be afraid to ask.

CONNECT WITH NAIDELLY COELHO ncoelho3@student.framingham.edu

100 State Street McCarthy Center Room 410 Framingham, MA 01701-9101 Phone: (508) 626-4605

Fax: (508) 626-4097

gatepost@framingham.edu

Courtesy of Framingham State

SGA prepares for Big Budget

By Raena Doty Editorial Staff

Before the Big Budget meeting scheduled for Feb. 10, SGA held an emergency meeting eb. to finali e changes to the SGA by-laws.

The changes to the by-laws concerned the classification of organi ations and clarity of process for how they request funding from SGA. All changes were made under Article IV, “Funding Regulations for Campus Organi ations.

The changes they voted on were all under Article IV, Section 2 “Criteria for roups. This section defines different types of groups across campus, and the category a group belongs to dictates what rules and regulations the group must follow.

Previously, there were five groups. While Groups One, Two, and Three have gone untouched, Group Four has been altered to accommodate a new group being added, and what previously was Group Five has now been renamed Group Six.

In each subsection, the by-law document specifies funding is not the only factor considered when determining classification of an organi ation.

The emergency meeting comes a few days before the Big Budget meeting, which establishes the budgets of many organi ations across campus. The members of SGA will vote on how to allocate funds according to any given organi ation s needs for maintaining equipment, providing services to the community, and hosting events.

hile the classification of any given organi ation isn t dependent on how much money the organi ation will use, this is a factor.

The Big Budget meeting will allocate the money in the Student Activities Trust Fund.

At the beginning of the meeting, President Dara Barros brought up concerns about the availability of food on campus this past weekend, Feb. 4-5.

he said the closure of the am s Den Grille at approximately 6 p.m. on Saturday is particularly concerning for students considering it s the only on-campus restaurant open after 7:30 p.m. on weekends. She added students getting back from jobs late or who otherwise aren t on campus while the Dining Commons was open may not have had access to food.

Sections of the Dining Commons were closed Sunday, Feb. 5 and this was another concern for Barros. She said she used one of her meal swipes, but didn t end up taking any food because she didn t want to eat any of the

Weather

Sunday night Feb. 12

Mostly cloudy, with a low around 31. S wind about 10 mph. 40% chance of precipitation.

Monday Feb. 13

Cloudy, with a high near 42. N wind about 15 mph. 40% chance of precipitation.

limited options.

She then connected this to the recently announced temporary closure of unkin in the c arthy enter for the rest of the week.

While Barros was sympathetic about the reasons for all the closures regardless of whether those reasons were disclosed, she expressed frustration with the lack of explanation given to students about why these closures have been happening.

At the end of the meeting, SGA nominated three people for Senator of the onth for anuary en oyer, iv est, and Austin van ingen. All three were recogni ed for putting in e tra work when it hadn t been re uired of them.

Evelyn Campbell, outreach and events coordinator, also announced she made a TikTok account for SGA, which can be found @fsustudentgov, and discussed plans for keeping SGA on theme for alentine s ay. inally, eah udd, advisor of A, recogni ed the enator of the onth for ecember, iv est.

Monday night Feb. 13

Mostly cloudy, with a low around 28. N wind about 10 mph.

Tuesday Feb. 14

Mostly sunny, with a high near 47. NW wind about 10 mph.

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

Tuesday night Feb. 14

Mostly clear, with a low around 29. W wind about 10 mph.

Wednesday Feb. 15

Mostly cloudy, with a high near 51. S wind about 15 mph. 30% chance of precipitation.

Wednesday night Feb. 15

Mostly cloudy, with a low around 39. SW wind about 15 mph.

Thursday Feb. 16

Partly sunny, with a high near 58. W wind about 15 mph.

CONNECT WITH RAENA DOTY rdoty@student.framingham.edu

Gatepost Archives

Gatepost Archives

McCoy said, “If you just look at the senior leadership bands in corporate America, they’re typically not diverse.”

She added, “We as a society do a great job focusing on diversity and a lot of time,” but added businesses often focus more on filling uotas than focusing on inclusion.

McCoy gave an example of the difference between a white worker approaching a corporation’s human resources department versus a person of color.

“If I had to go to HR and you had to go to HR internally, I might be dying and afraid to go to HR, and you may just have a different level of confidence because your parents told you, where you heard at your table, ‘HR was on your side,’” she said. “I didn’t hear that at my table.

“So this is allowing us to shed some of what I would call ‘societal myths’ that are out there for societal challenges and understand how to show up to them,” she added.

McCoy said she focuses on teaching the Lean Six Sigma methodology, a combination of the Lean philosophy of manufacturing and the Six Sigma methodology.

According to The Robert C. Byrd Institute for Advanced Manufacturing at Marshall University, the Lean method, also known as the Toyota Production System, is a manufacturing philosophy that seeks to increase efficiency by “eliminating waste” of resources.

The Six Sigma methodology is a set of standards and tools to help refine manufacturing production, according

He said the ambassadors act as mediators between students and high-level employees at various companies. “Professional staff can tell you all day long about the x’s and o’s and everything like that, but you want to hear from somebody who was busy in your shoes, you know. Where you are right now, I was a year ago - so you want to hear from a first time e perience, rather than from a professional staff member who is always somewhat

they would like to see and the things that they would like to embrace,” she said.

he added the program is beneficial to the ambassadors as well as it helps them gain valuable experience.

There are currently 10 ambassadors who volunteer for the program.

McCoy explained the role of ambassador is voluntary, which is important for students to know that this person is volunteering their time to help nav-

Maya Brown said she started at FSU in 2020, but because of the COVID-19 pandemic and financial troubles, she had to take multiple leaves of absence.

“There were so many things that kept building more barriers for me and I felt like, ‘How can I do it?’” she said.

Maya Brown said she has been in work environments where she felt “really unprotected and unsafe,” experiencing threats of violence and racial slurs.

to American Society for Quality, an organization of industry and management professionals.

She explained when she recruits, she looks for people who have experience with Lean projects on their resumés. “Once you’ve completed your certification, you go into these fortune companies certified you have an advantage over someone graduating from BU that does not have that certification.

She said group workshops are held on the first ednesday of each month and she also holds one-on-one “direct coaching” sessions with students on Wednesdays and Fridays by appointment.

Brian Gerard, a senior management major, is an ambassador for the program.

rehearsed,” he said.

He added the ambassador role is also a way to get students “interested and enthusiastic” about the program.

Gerard said the program is “about individuals who are striving to find a way into the corporate workplace, but might not have had the complete guidance that they needed to throughout all different years of schooling.”

He said McCoy is doing “an amazing job” operating the program and has given students “a great opportunity to realize what the mindset is and what the criteria is to get into these fields.

Denise Brown, a professor of management and business & IT, said the ambassadors are a “founding cohort and they were with us at the beginning.

“They went through a process with us and gave us their ideas and what

igate the process of entering corporate jobs.

“I don’t think anybody here would have been comfortable just kicking off a relationship with the VP of claims at Aetna without that safe space being created first, she said. e made our ambassadors to recruit to the program one, because it s beneficial two, it s our way of giving back and three, it s voluntary.”

Maya Brown, a freshman fashion design and retailing major, said what she hopes to gain from the program is “to meet with Black people or people that look like me that have had a similar experience as me and that are successful.”

She added, “It is really helpful to see that because it lets me know that I can do that.”

She said, “There’s so many things as a Black woman that I have to think about and really think about how I do things, and I think I’m looking for advice on how to navigate those situations.

“I know that people are going to try to disregard my feelings of who I am and are trying to tell me who I should be. And I need to know how to navigate those situations and what to do in certain situations,” she said.

She added the program helped her find a community on campus, which was previously difficult for her. he said finding a community is important “because when you’re by yourself, it can be really alienating, and in a lot of my classes, I’m the only Black person

See CORPORATE READINESS page 5

Raena Doty / THE GATEPOST

Sunni McCoy (left) and Professor Erastus Ndinguri (right) at the Corporate Readiness meeting Jan. 25.

“It was important to have a space for students of color to start a network and have some shifts happening that allows them to be more successful going out so when they graduate, they’re not in the same job that they were in while in college.”

- Patricia Thomas Dean of the College of Business

Corporate Readiness

Continued from page 4

there.”

Maya Brown said she encountered similar obstacles at FSU where staff were “dismissive” of her grievances.

She said as much as the University “prides [itself] on that diversity chant, I don’t think it’s true.

“I don’t feel welcomed here. I don’t feel safe here. I don’t feel respected as a Black person here,” she added.

McCoy said the issues Brown described are similar to many of the issues people of color face in corporate environments. She said the program “takes you and teaches you skills and tools to react to those situations.”

Maya Brown said she wants to be a business owner and establish her own clothing brand. She said as a fashion designer, she wants to focus on making clothing that is “more inclusive and better for everyone.”

She said she has multiple family members who have arthritis, so she wants to design clothing that’s “easier for them to navigate,” as well as clothing for people with other disabilities that is “easier and accessible for them.”

Izzy Lucien, a freshman management major, is another student who is participating in the program.

She said, “I’m really excited about this - to have a space where there’s people who look like me. People who are in higher positions who look like me.”

Lucien explained throughout her years in school, she rarely saw other students of color or people of color who were teachers or counselors whom she could interact with.

“When it came down to racial things, or like anything that had to do with any type of race, it was always me

against the class,” she said.

She added, while in high school, it was difficult for students of color to take AP-level courses. She said the teachers would “not allow students of color to be in or they would suggest you go to the lower level first and then maybe possibly move up the next year.

“It was always a big, constant issue,” she said.

With the Corporate Readiness Academy 101 Program, she said she is excited to see what is possible for students of color.

“You think, ‘Are people even able to get to that point? Are they even allowed to be a teacher or be in a higher position like a CEO? Is that possible for Black people?’” she asked.

McCoy said there are also plans to host events on Thursdays. In February, the program will hold an event at which leaders across various industries will visit FSU for a panel discussion. A resumé feedback event is planned for March, and a “speed-dating” interview event will be held in April.

The program is open to all students who are interested, but the main focus is on students of color.

“You want to be successful,” McCoy said. “You want to graduate with a 4.0 - right now, you’ve got a 2.1. I’m going to help you figure out what got you the 2.1, and what is your plan to get it back up to 4.0 by the time you graduate.

“But I’m going to show you how to dig down under the ground and come back up the right way,” she said.

CONNECT WITH BRANDEN LACROIX blacroix@student.framingham.edu

Raena Doty / THE GATEPOST

Dean of College of Business Patricia Thomas at the Corporate Readiness Jan. 25.

Raena Doty / THE GATEPOST Students attending the Corporate Readiness meeting Jan. 25.

Residence Life to offer ‘premium singles’

By Emily Rosenberg Associate Editor

This upcoming room selection, Residence Life will offer a new dorm option to provide students who prefer a double-as-a-single room called “Premium Singles,” according to Glenn Cochran, associate dean of students and student life.

Premium singles are double-as-asingle rooms, with some of the furniture which would be there for a roommate removed to provide the student with more living space. They also add a cushioned sitting area with a couch or chair.

The cost of a premium single will be $1,500 more per semester than that of a current double room in a given residence hall. The cost of a room varies per residence hall.

Cochran said Residence Life is expecting to offer up to 300 premium singles in Miles Bibb, Towers, and West halls.

He added the option will be open to students on a first come, first serve basis regardless of their class standing.

Cochran said the idea to create the new premium singles is based on the increase of demand for doubles-as-singles in the past couple of years since the pandemic.

He added the plan for premium singles is also compatible with the decreasing number of residence students and lower enrollment.

“We don’t have the need for as many beds as we have on campus. … So instead of just having them and insisting that they stay exactly the same, what can we do with them that students would like better?” Cochran asked.

“That’s the idea that really drove us. So we’re excited. This is something really new for us,” he said.

Cochran said the program is “self sufficient and helps keep housing affordable for all students as Residence Life must cover all of its costs. “Our options are really increased costs across everybody or do some creative things. So this way, if there are people that want something premium and pay a little bit more for it, that helps us offset other revenue.”

He said premium singles have also been introduced at other colleges.

Cochran added Residence Life staff were hearing feedback from students that those with doubles-as-singles enjoyed the extra furniture and arranged it differently to their liking, but did not like certain aspects of the room.

For example, he said some students may push the two beds together, but don’t like the gap created in between the two beds. On the other hand, some prefer the extra wardrobes and desk drawers, but did not feel the need for the extra bed.

Residence Life is offering tours of four showrooms in Towers Hall open to all students with no appointment needed until Feb. 10.

One showroom displays a full-sized bed with two dressers, a cushioned chair, and a desk.

Another showroom offers a twin-XL bed with two wardrobes, a couch, and a desk.

There is also a showroom with a full-sized bed, two cabinets, two wardrobes, a desk, and a cushioned chair.

Then there is another showroom which offers a twin-XL-sized bed with a cabinet, a wardrobe, one cushioned chair, and desk.

Cochran said, in order to decide what will officially be included in the rooms, Residence Life is conducting a survey via Qualtrics which is offered at the end of the tour and also available through an email link sent by the Dean of Students in case students miss it at the end of their tour.

Cochran said after receiving feedback from the student survey, Residence ife will finali e a room layout for the premium singles to be used throughout all the buildings. For example, if the majority of students respond they prefer full-sized beds, all premium singles will offer full-sized beds.

He added Residence Life replaces a certain amount of beds and furniture every academic year, so there will not be an additional cost to transform the double rooms into premium singles.

On the other hand, he said if in the next few years, enrollment were to significantly increase and the number of residence students were to rise, the department would have no issue reverting premium singles back to double rooms.

Leticia Rita Santos, an American Sign Language major said, “I think it’s a great opportunity to start branching out and give the students different options for configuring their rooms, especially when people are rooming” on their own.

She added she liked the idea of being given the option of a chair or a couch as it is new and she thinks it is something incoming students will also find attractive.

Mike Rosso, a history major, said, “It’s a good idea because there’s some people who definitely like their own space. o it s definitely good for those people and for anyone who maybe had a poor roommate experience.”

e added he could definitely imagine himself looking into exploring the option of a premium single as he enjoys his personal space.

Andrew Thompson, a hospitality major, said regarding the differing room options that he prefers one with a full-sized bed. He said from the perspective of someone choosing the room, he could see one full-sized bed seeming more attractive than two twin-XL beds pushed together.

He added it makes sense for Residence Life to offer the rooms at the same price as a double-as-a-single because sometimes students might pick a double room hoping they don’t have a roommate, then end up with extra furniture. r, on the flip side, they pay extra for a double-as-a-single but do not want or need the extra furniture.

“It’s something cool. It’s something that I think offers a new setup,” Thompson said.

CONNECT WITH EMILY ROSENBERG erosenberg@student.framingham.edu

Emily Rosenberg / THE GATEPOST

Emily Rosenberg / THE GATEPOST

Emily Rosenberg / THE GATEPOST

OP/ED

THE GATEPOST EDITORIAL

Don’t give yourself a ‘heart’ time

The Dunkin’ doughnuts are coming out in heart shapes once again, adorning their classic coats of pink-strawberry frosting with sprinkles, and serving as a reminder to us all that Valentine’s Day is approaching.

For those in a relationship, Valentine’s Day can be exciting as it means another opportunity to shower their significant others with gifts or take them out on dates.

However, for those without a significant other, it can be an incredibly lonely time.

It’s hard enough at any other time of the year for a college student to be single, given that social media pressures people into feeling the need to showcase their relationships as “picture-perfect.”

Not having a relationship to broadcast online can make students feel as if they are outcasts.

If this is how you feel, The Gatepost would like to offer you some advice.

Forget about #couplegoals.

There are so many different types of love that can be celebrated every day and especially on Valentine’s Day.

In elementary school, we would give out Valentine’s cards to every single one of our classmates and teachers because we wanted to show love and care to all.

Why is now any different?

Love for your friends and family - or anyone - should not be limited to the commercialized ideals of this holiday.

It is not childish to love.

And let’s not forget the most important love of all: love for yourself.

It is often easy to feel unworthy during this holiday when it seems everyone is coupled up except for you. This can be very damaging to a

person’s mental health.

Loving yourself, especially on Valentine’s Day, is not shameful and should be normalized even for those who are in romantic relationships.

Take care of yourself.

Take time out of your schedule to do the things that make you feel good and happy.

A holiday with the sole purpose of encouraging demonstrations of passionate love should instead be focused on the celebration of all the relationships in our lives.

Additionally, it can be stressful for couples who already have their anniversaries, birthdays, and other holidays for which to buy gifts.

Between classes ramping up, managing internships and jobs, and taking care of other responsibilities, Valentine’s Day can be an added burden in college students’ lives.

Love shouldn’t be stressful.

Valentine’s Day should be about taking the time out of your day to share your appreciation of the people in your life and not about buying expensive gifts.

Know your and your circle’s love languages.

Showing your love could be as simple as spending quality time with one another or simply telling someone how you feel.

Friends host “Friendsgivings,” a Thanksgiving for friends to gather and feel thankful for each other. This concept should be carried over to Valentine’s Day.

Buy yourself a heart-shaped doughnut.

Or write a note to a family member sharing how you feel about them.

Valentine’s Day does not have to be lonely because none of us is ever truly alone - even when not in a relationship.

Love is everywhere you look.

African American history is American History

By Izayah Morgan Staff Writer

The latest controversy in Florida education policies began in January when the DeSantis administration stated that an Advanced Placement (AP) course on Black history would not be approved meaning that the state of Florida would no longer give the option of AP African American Studies to its students.

Gov. Ron DeSantis has since doubled down on his controversial decision, stating that teaching Black history is still required in Florida schools, but according to PBS, the AP course amounted to “indoctrination” in his opinion.

This course included controversial topics such as queer studies and abolishing the prison system. PBS stated further in their report that the DeSantis administration stated the reason for banning the course was that it “significantly lacks educational value.”

Teaching African American studies requires teaching all about the Black American experience throughout the history of America. This would include queer African Americans as they existed during the Civil Rights era and were just as important to the liberation of African Americans as their heterosexual counterparts.

Saying the reason for banning these classes is because the course “significantly lacks education value” is just flat-out wrong.

There were countless queer civil rights activists, leaders, dancers, and artists, including Bayard Rustin, Ernestine Eckstein, Alvin Ailey, Audre Lorde, Barbara Jordan, James Baldwin, and many others that do not get talked about in the classroom.

Some of these leaders worked with and were advisors of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. such as Bayard Rustin. He organized the 1963 March on Washington and received multiple medals and awards for his work. In his speeches and during his pardon from prison, he would often remark and bring attention to how he and the larger LGBTQ+ community were mistreated by the police for their sexuality.

Understanding how and why LGBTQ+ people were important to the culture of African Americans is valuable and deserves to be taught, not just in the Florida school system, but across the country.

This community helped create and break down barriers for people who look like me and their experiences deserve to be taught!

African American culture is vast in its creations.

Throughout history, African Americans created different forms of music, dance, politics, hair products, agriculture, medicine, etc. The Black queer community was a major part of these creations. Therefore, teaching an AP African American Studies class and learning how queer history was a part of that experience is important.

Banning AP African American Studies is just another step in the lack of education available to individuals in the United States school system. It first started with banning the teaching of Critical Race Theory and then led to this.

Lack of knowledge of history leads to us being doomed to repeat it. This could just be the domino effect of bigger and worse things happening to Black people in the future.

African American history is a part of American history and deserves to be taught.

Gatepost Editorial reflects the opinions of the newspaper’s Editorial Board. Signed Op/Eds reflect the opinions of individual writers.

Campus Conversations

What are you doing for Valentine’s Day?

By Raena Doty amd Sophia Harris, Editorial Staff

“I’m not going to lie because I’m single right now. I plan to spend my Valentine’s Day probably in my room, eating dinnervery sad.”

“Going to the movies.”

“Honestly, I really like just one-on-one time, and hanging out with friends, or if I were seeing someone, I’d probably just want to watch a movie or get dinner together.”

“I’m going to a tapas restaurant and then just kind of hanging out and enjoying Valentine’s Day. Nothing too crazy.”

“Going out to a Korean restaurant - I really wanted to try Hotpot. That’s what I’m doing with my boyfriend. I want to go out and just eat and then come back and watch TV.”

Bench: Another Snow Angel Gains its Wings

“I’m going to be doing a self-care day with my girlfriends. So that’s so nice.”

-David Hyer, senior

-Bella Caccavelli, junior

-Cas Barrett, sophomore

-Hunter Younie, junior

-Essozolim Aimee Takouda, sophomore

-Audley Brown, freshman

Ben Hurney /

SP RTS

Men’s basketball triumphant over MCLA

By Adam Levine Sports Editor

The Framingham State Rams beat the MCLA Trailblazers with a score of 6356 Feb. 8.

Framingham had four different players score in the double-digits and only gave up two shooting fouls throughout the entire game.

After a Rams’ layup, three different Rams each made a 3-point shot during the opening 3 minutes of the game. Their early 11-0 scoring run gave the Rams their largest lead of the game.

MCLA outscored Framingham 11-1 over the next 3 minutes. The Rams led by a score of 12-11.

ith remaining in the first half, the Trailbla ers took their first lead by a score of 15-14.

Framingham tied the game twice over the next 5 minutes, but MCLA broke away.

The Trailblazers outscored the Rams 14-3 and held an 11-point lead. n the remaining seconds of the first half, ams kafor scored a layup. The first half ended and the Trailbla ers led by a score of . A started the first half by scoring a point field goal. They led by points.

Framingham responded by outscoring MCLA 16-2 over the next 9 minutes. uring this run, ramingham s van yantenji made two point field goals. His second shot capped the Rams’ scoring run and gave them a lead over the Trailblazers.

yantenji said, They gave me too much space. know m a shooter that s what do, he added. yanteneji made another two 3-pointers during the rest of the game.

With 10:51 remaining in the game, MCLA tied the game by a score of 40-40. Both teams went back and forth over the next 8 minutes. Five lead changes and three ties occurred before Framingham pulled away.

ith minute remaining in the game, ams uran igonde scored a dunk and gave Framingham a 5-point lead.

In the remaining minute of the game, despite MCLA making two 3-point shots, Framingham held onto their lead.

With 7 seconds left of the game, Ligonde made two free throws to bring Framingham’s lead back to 5 points.

n the final seconds of the game, Rams’ Bryan Thompson secured Framingham’s 63-56 victory with a steal and a layup.

Thompson said, t felt good to fight back. e came out the second half good and just did what we had to do, he added.

yantenji said, e should have held the lead at the beginning and kept pushing.

The comeback was crazy, so it was really fun, he added.

Framingham now holds a conference record of 2-8 and an overall record of 5-18.

Framingham will travel to Salem State for another MASCAC matchup Feb. 15.

Women’s basketball coast past MCLA

By Adam Levine Sports Editor

The Framingham State Rams beat the MCLA Trailblazers with a score of 8649 Feb. 8.

Framingham’s bench outscored MCLA’s bench 33-0. Five different Framingham players - three starters and two bench players - propelled their team to a 37-point victory.

After a layup from Framingham’s Kelsey Yelle, MCLA made a successful 3-point shot and held a 1-point lead over Framingham. This was the Trailblazers’ only lead of the game.

ith remaining in the first uarter, the score was tied . This was the only tie of the game.

The Rams launched a 7-0 scoring run over the next 4 minutes. Framingham’s Gabriella Redford made a 3-point shot followed by back-to-back layups from teammate Katty Haidul.

MCLA made a 3-point shot of their own and kept the score within 4 points.

Framingham outscored MCLA 8-2 over the next 3 minutes.

ith seconds remaining in the first uarter, A made a layup.

The first uarter ended and ramingham led by a score of .

The ams began the second uarter with a scoring run. aidul led the scoring run with 8 points.

ramingham led by a score of after minutes of the second uarter. ith remaining in the second uarter, A scored their first basket of the uarter.

The ams gave up another points in the second uarter, but scored points of their own.

ramingham s lannery onnor scored points in the closing minutes.

The Rams led by a score of 44-22 at halftime.

ramingham began the third uarter with a scoring run. edford made three out of her four 3-point attempts, scoring 9 points during Framigham’s run.

ith remaining in the third uarter, A scored their first basket of the uarter.

Framingham led by a score of 64-24.

n the remaining minutes of the third uarter, ramingham outscored MCLA 12-4.

ramingham s enna Tavanese made both of her point attempts, scoring points to help close out the uarter.

The ams led by a score of at the end of the third uarter. A began the first minutes of the fourth uarter with an scoring run.

Framingham led by a score of 76-39.

uring the fourth uarter, A outscored ramingham .

espite the Trailblaers bla ing fourth uarter, Framingham secured a 37-point victory.

Redford led the game in scoring with 18 points. She said, t s a big win and we really played together. m just really proud of us as a team. I thought we played really well, she added.

Framimgham’s Katherine aselton said, t was definitely a team win. Everyone got in - everyone played their part.

Framingham now holds a conference record of 7-3 and an overall record of 15-5.

Framingham will travel to Salem State for another MASCAC matchup Feb. 15.

CONNECT WITH ADAM LEVINE alevine5@student.framingham.edu

CONNECT WITH ADAM LEVINE alevine5@student.framingham.edu

Adrien Gobin /THE GATEPOST Bryan Thomspn passing the ball during MCLA game Feb. 8.

Adrien Gobin /THE GATEPOST Gabriella Redford taking a free throw shot during MCLA game Feb. 8.

Meet the Players

By Adam Levine Sports Editor

Ice Hockey Ashton Collazo

Ashton Collazo, 22, began playing hockey when he was 3 years old in the Learn to Skate Program - a year earlier than its minimum requirement. Collazo said, “They couldn’t keep me off the ice, so they let me on the ice early.

“I’ve never really lost the passion for it,” he added. Collazo, an accounting major, is a member of the Rams’ Class of 2025. He said he wants to work remotely as an accountant while also playing minor league professional hockey in the U.S. or Europe.

Collazo said he chose Framingham State because of its location. He said, “Coach Bailey and the campus itself came highly recommended.”

Collazo said his favorite part of FSU is the campus. He said, The campus flows well and it s easy to find your way around.

He said that his favorite professional hockey player is Claude Giroux, a French Canadian player. “I try to mimic his game a lot on the ice,” said Collazo.

He said his favorite part of being on the hockey team are game days. He said, “You have all your best friends on the ice with you.

“Take notice of Framingham hockey because we’re getting better each year,” he added.

Men’s Basketball JD Okafor

JD Okafor, 21, did not start playing basketball until he was 13 years old on his middle school team. He said, “I didn’t play too much because I wasn’t that good at the time.”

Originally from Boston, Okafor is a math major and a member of the Rams’ Class of 2025.

Okafor said he decided on Framingham State because of the connection he formed here when he was recruited by the former head coach of the men’s basketball program, Bill Raynor.

Okafor’s favorite professional basketball player is the late Kobe Bryant. He loves watching videos of him and watching him speak. Okafor said, “He has a lot of wisdom, and knows what he’s talking about.”

Okafor said what he loves about campus is the friends he’s met as well as the culture. He added, “The teachers, toothey’re kind and understanding.”

Okafor said he loves the overall environment of the basketball team. He referred to his team as a “brotherhood.” He said, “We all got each other at the end of the day.

“I always love the energy - just how passionate everyone is.

“It becomes a family with basketball,” Okafor added. State, Jan. 26, and dropped to a conference record of 1-5 and an

Women’s Basketball Katty Haidul

Katty Haidul, 22, began playing basketball in second grade with her twin sister. Haidul said, “We both started playing basketball in our youth.

“We played all throughout high school together,” she added.

Haidul said she chose Framingham State because of how welcoming the team was. “I also really liked the campus and the size of it - how close everything was,” she added.

Haidul said she likes the friends that she has made on her team. She said, “I also really like our trainers and how they’re hilarious when we’re all together.”

On campus, she said she loves going to the Dining Commons with her friends. She said, “We are always excited for Wednesdays at dinner when the ice cream bar is out. That is the one thing that we look forward to.”

Haidul’s favorite player is Angel Reese on the women’s basketball team at Louisiana State University. She said, “I feel I relate to her and her skills.”

Haidul is a member of the Rams’ Class of 2023 and is majoring in psychology with a minor in biology. She said she wants to be a physician assistant and work in dermatology.

CONNECT WITH ADAM LEVINE alevine5@student.framingham.edu

Adam Levine /THE GATEPOST Ashton Collazo setting up for a faceoff during Salem State game Jan. 28.

Courtesy of FSURams

Adrien Gobin /THE GATEPOST Katty Haidul being announced for the starting lineup in game against Salem State Jan. 21.

Courtesy of FSURams

Wenchell Pierce /THE GATEPOST JD Okafor dunking during halftime warmups of game against Elms Colllge State Nov. 15.

Courtesy of FSURams

& ARTS FEATURES

FSU welcomes Chilean educators

By Raena Doty Asst. Arts & Features Editor

FSU has partnered with an organization called ChileMass for four years now, bringing Chilean educators to the University.

On Feb. 7, the people of FSU gave a warm welcome to the participants in the program this year in the Center for Inclusive Excellence.

The reception brought together the foreign educators, the team who made this program possible, and staff from FSU. The event started with snacks and mingling before shifting gears into introductions to the group.

“It’s such a powerful thing to be able to step out of your environment and be able to look back at your own culture and see it with different eyes. And it’s very powerful to visit another culture and view your own culture,” Rebecca Hawk, director of Academic English Language Programs said.

“This is what makes [ChileMass] so wonderful and we are so privileged to be a part of it. I am struck by how many people at Framingham State in this little spot in the world have ties to Chile,” she continued.

President Nancy Niemi attended the reception and said words of welcome to the visiting educators.

“I’m very, very proud to be the leader of an institution that is so committed to student-centered learning and committed to giving world-class education and to really working on the paradigm of education - not just as we do it but as it could be,” she said.

own days when she worked as a teacher to middle school-aged students. “I can tell you from a disciplinary standpoint, my whole life I’ve been thinking about how we help grow teachers and how teachers learn from each other and bring out the best practices in each other, so from that, my heart really belongs to the programs just like this,” she said.

Several classes and other opportunities were advertised for the Chilean educators to attend, including a seminar about the Spanish Civil War with Joanne Britland, a professor of Spanish; a class about the social impacts of sports with Ira Silver, a sociology professor; and a sheltered English immersion class with Anne Roberti, director of Community Education and Lifelong Learning.

Fernanda Soza, executive director of ChileMass, spoke at the reception as well.

“It’s such an amazing opportunity to have this collaboration with Framingham State University, a university that has such a long history in education,” she said. “It is our fourth year at Framingham that we have been working on this, our fourth cohort of teachers down here, and we hope to continue to grow this program.”

Soza said, “We work with a lot of universities around the area, but not only universities. We also work with corporations, with different centers, with startups a lot. So we really are in the innovation ecosystem. That’s our main goal - to connect innovation and bring innovation to Chile, and also

on … what the teachers are doing inside our classes,” Soza said.

Currently, ChileMass does not facilitate any travel for educators from Massachusetts to go to Chile, but they hope to expand to that in the future.

“The second part of this program is we want to have teachers from Massachusetts going back down to Chile to improve their Spanish skills,” she said.

awk opened the floor for the educators from Chile to introduce themselves and talk about why they came to Massachusetts.

The educators ranged from students who had not yet graduated from their universities to teachers who were looking to gain more hands-on experience they could take back to their own classrooms.

While all of them have different motivations for coming to Massachusetts, many highlighted the importance of gaining new experience. ritland reflected on her own e periences traveling abroad.

She said, “I know from experience lived many years in pain, first as a student and then working, and also in Brazil - and so I know the joys and how enriching it is to be in a different country, and also that it helps to know people and make friends and so I would be really happy to help facilitate that.”

learning and experiencing everything.”

Hawk’s role as director of Academic English Language Programs means she heads up programs where non-native and international English speakers can learn English in more depth, ranging from new speakers learning the very basics of the language to high-level speakers looking

“I also am hopeful in this program we can learn from each other interculturally, as we’ve been talking about. We all have things to learn, to get out of our own backyards, where we should be continuing to take from each other and grow each other,” Niemi added.

She connected the program to her

from Chile to the U.S.”

She said the educators who come to Massachusetts in this program not only benefit from the array of classes FSU offers over English and pedagogy, but also ChileMass’s own partnership with Framingham Public schools.

“[The educators] go to the public schools and learn really, very hands-

Kamila Poveda, one of the educators from hile, said, This is my first time in the United States and going out of my country, so as an English teacher I think it is really important to experience what it feels like to live in an English-speaking country - for us to learn about the culture and what are some differences here and there.”

he added, Today was our first day at school, and just with that, we already learned a lot, so I hope to keep

to develop skills for later on in life.

Four years ago, Framingham State was chosen over three other schools which submitted proposals.

Hawk said, “Ours was accepted because we targeted what their specific needs would be with language and graduate education. And then we just adapted the program to what they needed to advance,” the mission of ChileMass.

“I think that the participants in the program learn new ways of doing things. And I know that Massachusetts is a hub of educational skillswe understand how to do some things that help them improve themselves. But fundamentally, what both sides get is a change in perspective and to be able to look and analyze the programs according to what another group needs or what they do in another country and how we can adopt that,” Hawk said.

“I hope that they see, ‘Here’s some things that are better, maybe some things that aren’t so good, but here are things that are better than we do and how can we make those changes?’” she added. “It’s a really important part of this that the teachers become students. So they experience learning English, learning language, under us.”

CONNECT WITH RAENA DOTY rdoty@student.framingham.edu

Raena Doty / THE GATEPOST President Nancy Niemi speaking at the reception for Chilean educators Feb. 7.

Raena Doty / THE GATEPOST Attendees mingling after the group introductions with the Chilean educators Feb. 7.

Vandana Singh

Continued from page 1

gathered to watch movies and have discussions about the issue, she said.

Singh added growing up in India and witnessing rural feminist environmental movements, she always took an interest in the environment. That was a deep influence throughout my life, so it was like coming back to myself in a way to figure out how climate change was affecting the biosphere and humankind.”

She began to teach the science of climate change in her physics courses after learning the basics in an online course.

However, she soon realized that to teach climate change, she needed to learn about the interdisciplinary aspects such as justice issues and how economic and power systems were “entangled with the biophysical.”

Though she described what she learns about the climate crisis as “depressing,” and said it is easy to feel as though there is nothing beyond despair, she said she finds optimism in the courage of marginalized people.

Four years ago, Singh said she had a conversation with a woman in India who helped to regenerate a forest which had been destroyed for development. Singh said the people who have relied on the forest for millennia are being “displaced or impoverished.”

She said 20 years ago, the woman led a group to protect, nurture, replenish, and bring the remaining forest back to life.

“These are women with no formal education. They never took a course in ecology. Most of them can’t read and they regrew a forest and the microclimate has changed in the region.”

Singh said she is also inspired by “the courage and the clarity with which young people see through things.”

At a TED Conference in Edinburgh, Scotland in 2021, Singh said she’d witnessed a walkout to protest the CEO of Royal Dutch Shell. When the CEO was invited on stage, a group called him out in a dramatic intervention.

“It was the most ‘telling truth to power’ moment I’d witnessed in a long time,” she added.

While Singh took 10 years off from academia to help raise her family before coming to Framingham State, she started honing her writing skills and becoming curious about the publication process.

“During that time, my brain wanted to have something to work on intellectually interesting. So somehow my concerns about human beings and nature and, of course, my deep interest in science kind of came together, and started to write science fiction, she said.

aving written her first poem at 5 years old, Singh writes in both her native language Hindi and in English.

She said being surrounded by English now, she mainly writes in English, but writes in indi whenever she finds a chance.

ingh described speculative fiction as the cross section between fantasy and science fiction, saying science fiction is not always about technology, but about social arrangements as well. She added, “It’s about asking a

ty,” Singh said. “And that’s why I love speculative fiction because it s larger than reality. It’s almost like you can hold reality within it.”

Singh said Ursula K. Le Guin is her favorite American speculative fiction writer. Le Guin also wrote a cover blurb for Singh’s second book “Younguncle in the Himalayas.”

ingh has five published books

She said in the story she wrote with the fellowship, she tried to imagine how “newly minted” billionaires view the climate crisis as a power play to ensure they still control the stakes compared to how “so-called ordinary people” who are not isolated from the crisis interact with it.

She said her work with the Climate Imagination Fellowship will be published later this year, and is one of the stories she loved writing the most because she enjoyed researching the psychology of billionaires and aspects of the future such as animals and ecosystems being granted legal personhood.

Larry McKenna, chair of the Environment, Society, and Sustainability Department, said Singh is highly “intimidating” to work with because on the outside she is reserved and quiet, “but hidden below that nice exterior is amazingly intense intellect fueled by passion to improve the world.”

He added Singh is remarkable because she takes an interdisciplinary approach to all of her teaching, bringing aspects of her love for writing, climate studies, and physics expertise to create a “wild tapestry of a class that I could never do because I do not have the wealth of vision that she has to think globally about a problem.”

McKenna said Singh’s work is well known nationally and perhaps internationally in the scholarly community. He shared while at a convention in Falmouth, he described Singh’s professorship without using her name, and a person at the convention immediately recognized her because they use her books in their classes.

very revolutionary question which is, ‘What if things were different?’”

For example, she said with an issue such as right-wing governments, which undermine civil rights, in a speculative fiction piece, she would

“Younguncle Comes to Town,” “Younguncle in the Himalayas,” “Ambiguity Machines,” “The Woman Who Thought She Was the World,” and “Utopias of the Third Kind,” as well as many published short stories.

Pointing to a black diagram drawn with a temporary marker on the floor of a classroom, Singh explained that her favorite part of teaching is using stories and unique techniques to help students understand and love physics.

“I love to awaken their curiosity,” she said.

affi lkhoury, a junior biochemistry major taking her Physics II course, said Singh is unlike any professor he has had before as she is incredibly “student focused.

“She cares about what everybody individually is trying to do to get to their goal,” he said.

Singh said she particularly loves to awaken the potential of those who have been let down by society through broken school systems and feel as if they are incapable of understanding science and math.

“I really feel for young people because we’ve made a very harsh world for young people to grow up in,” she said. “And so young people come in not always having confidence in their own abilities. And so one of my greatest pleasures is to help restore that.”

imagine a future where governments outsource governing to corporations.

“In order to understand reality, we need something larger than reali-

Her most recent work is a collaboration with Arizona State University for the Climate Imagination Fellowship.

CONNECT WITH EMILY ROSENBERG erosenberg@student.framingham.edu

Courtesy of vandana-writes.com

“These are women with no formal education. They never took a course in ecology. Most of them can’t read and they regrew a forest and the microclimate has changed in the region.”

- Vandana Singh, Environment and Physics Professor

The unusual paths of 19th century FSU alumni

By Ryan O’Connell Arts & Features Editor

Alumni of Framingham State University and members of the wider community attended a presentation on the diverse history and travels of 19th century FSU graduates at the Independent Alumni House, Feb. 7.

The presentation, part of the Independent Association of Framingham State Alumni (IAFSA) Coffee and Conversation event series, taught attendees about prominent FSU graduates in the 1870s, and what their lives were like.

The research was performed by two volunteer archivists, both alumni, by analyzing several dozen primary sources stored in the Independent Alumni House’s attic involving early students.

The two archivists, Patricia Berlandi and Michael Conway, both graduated from FSU in 1970 and have backgrounds in public education.

The two presented letters from noteworthy graduates explaining snapshots of their lives, why they had written about them, and the global impact of FSU graduates in the 19th and 20th centuries.

Berlandi said many of the early graduates - all women who completed their training while the school was still called the Framingham Normal School - were innovators and pioneers

in education and social improvement.

he added the influence of these graduates was on a global scale, and that she and Conway learned of women’s involvement in South America, the then-new western United States, and in distant countries, as missionaries, through IAFSA records.

“The IAFSA archives are a treasure trove of information regarding these smart, assertive, and adventurous women who took the lessons that they learned in Framingham to the rest of the world,” she said.

Berlandi added that while many of Framingham Normal School’s attendees may have resembled the stereotypical “schoolmarm” in the late 19th century, some students were very adventurous.

Conway said several letters documented the “Biannual Meeting of 1886,” a meeting which focused on sharing the experiences alumni had while performing missionary work overseas.

Myra Proctor, an 1859 graduate of the Framingham Normal School, became a missionary in Turkey - quickly learning Turkish and later becoming the first principal of a girls seminary, he said.

Berlandi added Corinna Shattuck, who graduated in 1871, also spent time in Turkey establishing schools and work communities.

She said Shattuck was credited with

saving the lives of over 300 Armenian Christians from massacre in 1895 by providing shelter in both her home and local schoolhouses.

Conway said Susan Hatch, who graduated 1875, wrote to Amelia Davis in 1886, describing the state of work she was doing in South Africa as a missionary.

Conway read some of the letter aloud, which described the young girls as good students, helping teach others to read, as well as a distinction that they had chosen to teach only white students, due to it being not yet “practicable to help both” white and non-white students.

He added Framingham graduates also had significant involvement in Argentina, being hired by Argentinian educator-turned-president Domingo Faustino Sarmiento, a dedicated follower of Horace Mann and his educational model.

Conway said Horace Mann, who he had met before, had died by the time Sarmiento became president, leading to Sarmiento requesting teachers from Mary Peabody Mann. Several teachers negotiated contracts to teach for the Argentinian government, such as Elizabeth B. Coolidge.

Coolidge, Berlandi said, graduated in 1864 and later wrote negatively of her three years in Argentina. Berlandi said Coolidge criticized the pay, working conditions, and political influence

in all aspects of life.

Conway and Berlandi then read letters from women recounting their experiences at Framingham Normal School. One letter described the journey from Chelmsford in a stagecoach as well as the homesickness the writer felt, and another detailed a woman learning to spot Orion from a window on campus with a younger pupil.

The presentation then recapped several alumni of the 1886 Biannual Meeting who did not perform missionary work, sharing where they taught after their education and often their marital status.

Attendees then had opportunities to ask questions of the two archivists about what they discovered in the IAFSA archives, resulting in discussions of race, gender, and religion among the historical graduates.

An attendee asked about how they learned everything, which Berlandi said was done by looking through the IAFSA’s attic and coming upon boxes of historic primary sources.

She added there’s still a lot more to look through, and it’s something the IAFSA would like to spend more time doing.

“I have held in my hand things from 1845,” she said. “How cool is that?”

CONNECT WITH RYAN O’CONNELL roconnell1@student.framingham.edu

‘Chainsaw Man’ is a uniquely insane anime

By Owen Glancy Staff Writer

“Chainsaw Man” was perhaps the most anticipated new anime of 2022. The show is based off of Tatsuki Fujimoto’s hit Shonen Jump manga of the same name and was produced by Studio Mappa.

What is immediately noticeable right out of the gate is how pretty this show is. Every episode has movie-quality animation that makes simple talking scenes look immaculate.

This level of quality is especially apparent in the show’s insane action scenes. The wide array of creative monster designs and wacky powers make every fight unpredictable and fun.

The score by Kensuke Ushio is masterful and elevates every scene where it’s featured. It makes me wish that the score was used more often, as many scenes don’t have any music at all. While these scenes still work, Ushio does such a great job that I can’t help but want to hear more of his work.

The show’s characters are all excellent. The writers made liking these generally horrible people easy. Denji is almost solely motivated by greed and lust, but his tragic childhood and easy-going nature balance him out and make him very fun to watch.

The characters surrounding Den-

ji are all just as fun. Aki is a perfect straight man to the seemingly unending chaos, who has plenty of badass moments throughout the 12-episode run.

Power is hilarious, and her Eric Cartman inspirations are obvious, making for an incredibly funny character. Makima is an appropriately alluring and mysterious authority figure whose scenes toward the end of the season feel genuinely suspenseful and haunting.

Sadly, not all characters are given the same attention to detail as our main quadrilogy. Arai and many of the other devil hunters introduced about halfway through the season are very dull and extremely forgettable.

The villains are often not very interesting and bland. While the season s final villain, atana an or Samurai Sword in the English dub) is cool, he doesn’t make up for eight episodes of uninteresting prior villains.

The show’s greatest strength, and weakness, is the story and its pacing. The story starts off very generic and average. While the production value is excellent, everything else is par for the course in this action anime genre.

However, once Katana Man is introduced and his story arc begins, the pacing picks up. This is where the show really started to shine.

“Chainsaw Man’s” third act features plenty of chaotic action scenes,

more excellent music, fun new characters, and good animation that make the slow start worth it.

Another occasional flaw of the show is its use of CGI. While it isn’t quite as ugly as many other anime, the use of it alongside the breathtaking and detailed 2D animation is what makes it stand out. It isn’t always ugly, but it still does take the viewer out of the experience.

Typically, when choosing between watching any piece of foreign media there is a choice between the original language with English subtitles or an English dub of the original language. Normally, I prefer subbed anime, but “Chainsaw Man” has a pretty good English dub. Some characters sound off, with Aki being perhaps the most glaring example, but it’s exciting to see an English dub this good for a high profile show like this.

“Chainsaw Man” is proof that new original Shonen anime are still being made. The incredible animation and music make the production feel cinematic, like each new episode is an event that demands your full attention. Many characters are super entertaining and interesting, and the fast-paced story leads to an adrenaline rush unlike any other in anime.

However, the show is held back by a very slow start, generic early plot lines, boring villains, and inconsistent CGI. This seems like a long list of de-

tractors, but with a third act so good and with central characters this entertaining, they are minor complaints.

“Chainsaw Man” is an anime that not only meets but exceeds its lofty expectations.

Rating: B+

A wild ride, with a slow start

CONNECT WITH OWEN GLANCY oglancy@student.framingham.edu

Courtesy of IMDb

‘80 For Brady’ - a wicked wholesome watch

By Jack McLaughlin Staff Writer

Admittedly, “80 For Brady” was certainly not something that I was expecting to give a review like this but life is full of exciting curveballs.

Lou (Lily Tomlin), Maura (Rita Moreno), Betty (Sally Field), and Trish (Jane Fonda) are lifelong friends and Patriots fans who decide to spice up their tradition of watching the game every week to travel to Houston for Super Bowl LI.

With a lineup as powerful as this, it is no surprise that the best element of this comedy is the cast.

Through a series of delightful antics, this lovable group of friends will steal the hearts of viewers with enough excitement that even someone who doesn’t care to watch football will find themselves having a blast.

A necessary element for a film like this is a cast that has good chemistry. The first scene of the group partaking in superstitious activities in a charming effort to give good luck to the Pats will have viewers immediately engaged with their relationship.

The group’s energy never dies either. Even in the sequence where they are separated at the NFL Experience, which allows each character to have something interesting to do that may not progress the story further but lets

each person grow.

For viewers who only have surface-level knowledge of the Pats, like myself, you will still find the jokes about the team hysterical.

One of the best running gags in the film involves Trish, who writes romantic novels fantasizing about Rob Gronkowski. This bit has a fantastic payoff at the end, involving a hilarious cameo from the player.

The GOAT himself, Tom Brady, also makes an equally hilarious apperance toward the end. His scenes with Lou are a riot and left the theater in hysterics as they played out.

The cameos are a mix of unsurprising and completely out of left field. One of these is Guy Fieri’s appearance, who is responsible for the hot wing challenge that Betty participates in.

His scenes don’t add a lot to the overall story, and his inclusion here feels like it was forced in simply because they were able to fit him into the cast.

But the core of “80 For Brady” isn’t glorified cameos from Pats players or celebrities - its main focus is the central cast and this film packs a surprising amount of heart when focusing on them.

Something the characters bring up a lot is their age - they’re all over 80 - and this heavily factored into their decision to go to the game as a group.

This kind of internal conflict about your age is something that will resonate stronger with viewers older than I am, but it’s effective enough to be appreciated by a younger audience as well.

This mindset gives this trip the main characters are taking as a sendoff of sorts, the last chance for them to do something extravagant and exciting before old age takes a heavier toll on them.

Despite not having a lot of time to set up each character, the film effectively uses its runtime to do it as best as possible and the result allows for this trip to be emotionally resonant.

Setting up the main story with these emotional beats force the audience to desperately see everything work out for them in the end.

Their trip takes a series of unexpected and sometimes crushing turns, but they never give up and it’s endearing to see this kind of dedication for seeing their favorite team compete.

“80 For Brady” is absolutely something made with the mindset this is going to be seen by an audience primarily made up of New England viewers.

As someone who isn’t a Patriots fan, there was so much to love about this comedy and the bias of being from this region factored into that a lot.

Venture outside of your comfort

zone for movies and give “80 For Brady” a shot. It’s one of the best surprises in recent memory.

Rating: AA touchdown! Courtesy of IMDb

CONNECT WITH JACK MCLAUGHLIN jmclaughlin7@student.framingham.edu

Puzzles

DOWN

1. Canaveral or Cod

2. Shakespeare’s river

3. Ready for picking

4. Climbing aid for the Dark Knight

5. Romantic boo

6. Kindergarten lesson

7. Name hidden in “femaleonly gym”

8. In exible about rules

9. Request, as advice

10. Milan-based fashion house

11. “___, am America” (Langston Hughes)

12. Rights org.

16. Scorching

18. Call of the wild?

22. Marshmallow spread

24. Fruit served with tequila

26. “Stop it!”

27. Ly alternative

28. Recurring story element

29. Pen tip

30. Bouquet ___ (herb bundle)

ACROSS

1. Prep for a marathon, with “up”

5. Lightweight modeling wood

10. By way of

13. Nike rival

14. Helps at a heist

15. Engrave

17. *Open a champagne bottle

19. Caramel- lled candy

20. Spanish for “January”

21. Tracks down like a bloodhound

23. Hooting bird

25. Cuba libre mixer

26. *Roaming Asian food seller

32. Wind instrument in “Peter and the Wolf”

33. Hamm who helped the U.S. win two World Cups

34. Amazing achievements

37. It’s cut down at the end of March Madness

38. *Use few words

41. Call, in poker

42. Overused

44. A rmative action

45. Talk with a bot

46. *Notre Dame’s team

50. Hideout

51. Clean Air Act org.

52. Patent seekers

57. More than enough

61. Murmurs lovingly

62. Cold cut, or a hint to the word bookending each starred clue’s answer

64. “Como ___ usted?”

65. O ering site on Dia de los Muertos

66. She, in Colombia

67. Tree seen in “eyewitness”

68. Romanov rulers

69. “I agree to your terms!”

31. GOLEAN cereal brand

35. Black and green drinks

36. Meyers on NBC 38. Commenced 39. Physics particle 40. Border 43. Tool for cutting ceramic squares 45. Pulled an all-nighter, say

Swings for

Cyber troublemakers 49. Apple product since 2010

52. ___ skates 53. Overly curious 54. Election Day action

55. Dove with a Pulitzer 56. Lasting mark

58. Late Brazilian athlete hailed as “O Rei do Futebol” 59. “Ooh” or “tra” follower 60. Latin listender 63. Speech llers

Puzzle solutions are now exclusively online.

Maddison Behringer / The Gatepost

(Left) Jas Owusu and Lashea Joyner Posing with Valentine’s Day candy grams in Corinne Hall Towers Feb. 9.

Maddison Behringer / The Gatepost

(Left) Spencer McHale, Aidan Murray, and Alex Hebert posing near a table full of Valentine’s in West Hall Feb. 9.

Emily Rosenberg / The Gatepost

Members of the Dance Team selling flowers and candy bags for their “Sweets 4

Sweet” fundraiser