Volume 92 • Issue 11
December 1, 2023
FSUgatepost.com
FSU allocated $22 Say cheese! million in MASSGrant Plus aid By Emily Rosenberg Editor-in-Chief Governor Maura Healey announced a $62 million expansion to MASSGrant Plus on Nov. 16, the largest Massachusetts financial aid program in recent history. Framingham State received $22 million of this aid, which will be applied to students’ fall and spring semester bills for the 2023-24 academic year. The aid is intended to help students with tuition, fees, and supplies. It is retroactive, so therefore, students may receive a refund for their fall bills, and if they have an outstanding balance, it will be first applied to their balance. The expansion was made possible by funding from the Fair Share Amendment, which taxes Massachusetts residents who make more than $1 million an additional 4% on their income and allocates the taxes specifically to education and transportation. The legislature allocated $84 million to the MASSGrant financial aid expansion in its FY 24 budget. Therefore, there is an additional $22 million that may be allocated later in the fiscal year and a possibility that students may benefit from another round of awards. Director of Financial Aid Caitlin Laurie said the office is “running queries” to identify eligible students based on the new guidelines and “automatically awarding the funds to those who qualify.” She added, “Awarding is currently underway and we are working as quickly as possible.” Laurie said the awarding will continue to occur over the next few weeks. Once the Office has determined their eligibility, students will be emailed with their revised financial aid letter
Alejandro Gomez, a dining hall staff member, serving dinner at the Dining Commons. notifying them. Grants are automatically accepted, but if a student would like to reduce their loan borrowing after they receive additional grant aid, they may do so by emailing Financial Aid, Laurie added. According to the press release published by Healey’s office on Nov. 15, the aid will be distributed to Pell Grant-eligible students. The expansion will cover the full cost of tuition and fees for Pell Grant-eligible students, not including room and board. In addition, middle-income students - defined as those whose families earn between $73,000 and $100,000, will have their costs for tuition and mandatory instructional fees reduced
by up to half of their out-of-pocket expenses. Students are encouraged to complete the FAFSA so the Financial Aid Office can process their information and determine if they are eligible for this aid, Laurie said. Eighty-nine percent of FSU students currently receive financial aid. Laurie said the Financial Aid Office has already awarded 300 students with the additional aid and they are “nowhere near done.”
CONNECT WITH EMILY ROSENBERG erosenberg@student.framingham.edu
Dylan Pichnarcik / THE GATEPOST
News SGA pg. 4 FULL-TIME FACULTY pg.5
Opinions MISINFORMATION pg.6 EM’S GEMS pg.7
Sports
Deaf community shines at ASL Ball By Jack McLaughlin Arts & Features Editor The ASL Ball, which took place on the night of Nov. 17, was a successful event that brought the Framingham State community together while also having the opportunity to bring a shining light to the Deaf community. The event, which was put together by the ASL Club, was the first of its kind. This type of event is common at other colleges, including Boston University. Bruce Bucci, an ASL Professor and the advisor for the ASL Club, helped organize an event similar to this for BU in the past. He explained that the past event was a success, and talked about how it was designed with the intent of encouraging people to use American Sign Language to communicate.
“The music was pumping - to the point where you can really feel it and so it kind of forced everyone to communicate in sign language. Because, you know, verbal communication was too hard with how loud it was,” he said. It was from this past experience that inspired him to bring the idea to FSU, he said. ASL Club treasurer Hunter Younie talked about the process of putting the event together, a lot of which took place in their meetings. In these meetings, Younie said “This is where people would share ideas for guests and collaboration ideas.” During the meeting that took place before the event, Younie said that they “had everyone make signs and paper flowers, and it was a great time.” Planning for the event was not with-
out difficulty, he said. “There are always communications issues with bigger events like this, but Adam Levine /THE GATEPOST nothing we couldn’t handle.” One of the trickier challenges the MEET THE CAPTAINS pg. 8-9 club faced was finding a DJ to host the SPORTS RECAP pg. 10 event, he added. This was until Bucci was able to contact Deaf DJ Kazeem, a famous Deaf DJ that Younie described as “a pleasure to work with.” Bucci reflected on his experience with Kazeem at the event, citing his inclusion as one of the event’s many highlights. “He really knew how to move people. And, you know, there’s a lot of people who can’t get that to happen,” he said. “He just did something that no one else could do.” Dylan Pichnarcik/ THE GATEPOST See ASL page 12 CELTSS pg. 11 SCOTT PILGRIM pg. 14
Arts & Features
INSIDE: OP/ED 6 • SPORTS 8 • ARTS & FEATURES 10
NEWS
2 | DECEMBER 1, 2023
Gatepost Interview Virginia Noon
Editorial Board Editor-in-Chief Emily Rosenberg Associate Editors Ryan O’Connell Sophia Harris News Editor Naidelly Coelho Asst. News Editors Kaitilin Carman Adam Harrison Opinions Editor Izayah Morgan Sports Editor Adam Levine Asst. Sports Editor Riley Crowell Arts & Features Editors Raena Doty Jack McLaughlin Asst. Arts & Features Editors Bella Omar Owen Glancy
Fashion and Design Retailing Professor By Naidelly Coelho News Editor What is your educational and professional background? I’m a proud graduate of Framingham State University. I graduated in 1981. Then, I went on to graduate school at Kansas State University. At both places, I studied clothing and textiles. Then after that, I worked in the fashion industry for about 20 years. Then I was fortunate in 2009 to be hired as a full-time tenure track faculty. At that time, while I was teaching I went back to school to earn my doctoral degree, and that was at UMass Lowell. So, I’m a recent doctoral degree. I recently earned a doctorate in 2018.
Did you always want to teach? Well, it’s funny. I would say yes. Design & Photo Editors When I graduated from FramingMaddison Behringer ham State, I was like, wait a minAdrien Gobin ute, I’d like to teach, so that’s when I went to get my master’s degree. And Asst. Design & Photos Editors then I said to be a good teacher or inDylan Pichnarcik structor - let’s get some experience Alexis Schlesinger with the industry. So that’s what I did. I worked for a children’s wear compaIllustrations Editor ny and a ladies’ lingerie manufacturBen Hurney er. At that time, it was just when most Interim Asst. Illustrations Editors of the industry was going overseas. So I worked in garment and apparel Emily Monaco production, and things were shifting David Abe from domestic production in the United States to production in all regions Staff Writers of Asia. So I got some really good exJesse Burchill perience. I lived in Asia - Hong Kong Carly Paul and Korea - for eight years. And I was Liv Dunleavy Francisco Omar Fernandez Rodriguez fortunate that I was able to travel all Dante Curry over Southeast Asia - overseeing and Richard Gill monitoring productions. So my area of Andrea O’Brien specialization was working as a techPaul Harrington nical designer. A technical designer Dorcas Abe oversees the manufacturing process, Kyle Coley making sure products are made to a Marcus Falcão certain standard. So I would weekly go into China and the world of Southeast Advisor Asia visiting factories.
Desmond McCarthy Asst. Advisor Elizabeth Banks
What is your position at FSU? So I primarily teach in the merchandising concentration. Our program is fashion design and retailing and we have a fashion design major and a merchandising major. I teach and supervise our interns. I also teach the capstone course where students develop a business and buying plan for a sustainable fashion retailer in a concep-
Courtesy of Virgina Noon tual model and conceptual business plan, but I also teach the core courses that both our design students and merchandising students take. I teach Consumer Textiles, which is all about textile understanding, what is the textile - from fiber to yarn, to fabric, and then to finishing. That’s one of the courses I regularly teach. Can you tell me about the internship opportunity within the fashion design and retailing department? One of the main things that I supervise is the internship in fashion merchandising. And I think the students are well prepared once they’re at that senior level. We work with industries to place students. Our students are prepared to work in a range of positions as fashion merchandising graduates, and they might work in store management and operations at a retail store. They might work in a corporate office setting where they might be buying or assisting a buyer in the process of purchasing a product and might be working as an allocation analyst. And that is essentially deciding where the product goes - where it’s going to sell the best and to what store locations. … Our students are commonly placed at the TJ X corporate office - we’re very fortunate they’re right down the road. We also place our students at New Balance, Reebok, and The Paper Store. …
We have a small manufacturer that we work with called Top It Off Accessories in West Roxbury, and that’s overseeing the understanding of the manufacturing of their wholesaler, so it’s a different model. Students sometimes work with stylists and test stylists. … Often students are passionate about working in the retail environment, face-to-face with customers, and in any of the retail settings they are working in. Fashion, fashion promotion, visual merchandising and in visual merchandising within the store, so they’re creating the displays to help sell the product. We’re very proud of our internship program. Students do great work. Do you have any advice for students? I think the advice is just continue to do the good work that you’re doing here. You’ve decided to come and commit to doing a degree, so come to class, and do the work - you’re going to have great success. And I mean, that’s the joy of my work and I think about the future at FSU. I want to continue to mentor students. So just do the work. Don’t be afraid. Just keep going. You can do it and you will have great success. CONNECT WITH NAIDELLY COELHO ncoelho3@student.framingham.edu
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NEWS
DECEMBER 1, 2023 | 3
In memory of Nathan Noel “Chosen Family.” “He believed in [chosen family] very, very much” and wanted to adopt teenage kids because he did not want kids aging out of the foster care system
By Emily Rosenberg Editor-in-Chief Nathan Noel, a beloved son, brother, artist, and student, passed away unexpectedly on Nov. 22. He was born on May 16, 2003 and grew up in Ashland. He was the son of Ronald and Cheryl and the brother of Keilah, 19, and Evan, 18, Noel. Before transferring to the University of Rochester in January of 2023, he was a light to the Framingham State University community, excelling in his classes. Cheryl said upon transferring from FSU, he had a 4.0 GPA. She added as a high schooler, he was admitted to six out of seven of the schools he applied to. “He was a smart kid,” with an “Incredible work ethic.” Cheryl said at the University of Rochester, he studied economics and was particularly interested in finding a solution to ending gentrification. “He wanted to be able to be a cause for positive change and prevent these kinds of things from happening so that economics would play a role and maybe provide an alternate pathway to some other place” for people who are displaced by gentrification. She said Nathan would call her up and teach her the material he was learning in school because he believed if he could learn it, he could teach it. “He loved learning and definitely worked hard,” she said. Giuliano Espino, a political science professor who taught Nathan in an elective class, Race, Politics, and the Law, said Nathan was one of the most engaged and hardworking students he had the privilege of teaching during his five years at Framingham State. “I have amazingly fond memories of how he would spend a half hour with me after almost every class to talk about the day’s lecture material more in-depth,” he said. Espino added, “I learned an incredible amount from Nathan about my own field during these lively conversations, which I cannot say about many students. Even though my course was an elective, I was impressed by the ferocity through which he approached the subject matter. He was one of the most enriching students I ever had the privilege to teach.” Nathan was also a musician, visual artist, and actor. Cheryl said he had a large portfolio of artwork and one of her favorite drawings of his was a portrait of an interracial family titled
found playing the piano and creating new pieces on the spot, she added. Nathan also loved theater and enjoyed building sets and learning how to do everything possible in theater.
Courtesy of Cheryl Noel without a family, she added. She said the love of music was in the family and he won the Clocker Idol
One of Nathan Noel’s drawings. competition at Ashland High School for writing and performing an original piano piece. In between classes, he could be
Weather
Last fall, he performed as Matt in the Hilltop Player’s “Cul-De-Sac.” Noah Barnes ’23 who directed the
Courtesy of Cheryl Noel
formance and they even considered having him read for each part because of how well he was able to get into character. “I can’t remember the last time I was moved that much by a performance,” he said. He remembered that at the first rehearsal, he was already “so prepared. He already knew where to take that character in a way that I was nearly on the verge of tears.” Barnes added Nathan would always come up to him after rehearsals to ask him for notes, but he never had any suggestions or criticism because he was always “spot on.” Eric Qua ’23 who performed alongside Nathan in “Cul-De-Sac,” said the production would not have been the same without him. “He was exceptionally kind and talented.” He added, “They were always willing to help run lines and be a listening ear. They were just great to be around.” Along with being a talented and hardworking student and creative, he was also a compassionate and loving brother and son. Cheryl said although Nathan lived far away when he went to the University of Rochester, he still made it a point to call his brother and sister regularly. “He took being a brother very seriously.” She recalled how every year for 19 years, they would go to the beach, get ice cream, and eat seafood with their friend, Mary Ellen, and they would call it “Mary Ellen Day.” This year, they were unable to go, but Nathan insisted he take them to the Museum of Fine Arts to still make the day special. She added he adored Christmas. “He could be seen listening to Christmas music in August,” and as his last name was Noel, he wanted to make sure he had a pillow in his dorm that said “noel” but it couldn’t be green and red so that he could “get away” with using it all year round. “He was just a smiley, happy, cheery, boy,” Cheryl said. A funeral service will be held Sunday, Dec.10 at 9:30 a.m. in College Seventh-Day Adventist Church, 337 Main St., South Lancaster, Mass. Visiting hours will be held Saturday, Dec. 9 from 3:00-7:00 p.m. in the Matarese Funeral Home, 325 Main St. Ashland, Mass.
play, said when he first met Nathan at auditions, he was very “modest” and a bit shy, but as soon as he read, he blew CONNECT WITH EMILY ROSENBERG the production staff away with his per- erosenberg@student.framingham.edu
Forecast provided by the National Weather Service www.weather.gov
Sunday night Dec. 3 Mostly cloudy, with a low around 40. N wind around 10 mph.
Monday night Dec.4 Mostly cloudy, with a low around 30. NW wind around 14 mph.
Tuesday night Dec.5 Mostly cloudy, with a low around 25. NW wind around 10 mph.
Wednesday night Dec.6 Partly cloudy, with a low around 25. Northwest wind around 10 mph.
Monday Dec. 4 Mostly cloudy, with a high near 50. NW wind around 10 mph.
Tuesday Dec.5 Mostly sunny, with a high near 40. NW wind around 15 mph.
Wednesday Dec.6 Partly sunny, with a high near 35. NW around 10 mph.
Thursday Dec.7 Mostly sunny, with a high near 40. NW wind around 10 mph.
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NEWS Students urged to participate in University reaccreditation process 4 | DECEMBER 1, 2023
By Bella Omar Editorial Staff SGA’s Nov. 21 virtual meeting began with Mark Nicholas, Assistant Vice President for Assessment, Accreditation, and Strategic Planning delivering a presentation on how the University is currently being reaccredited [Editor’s Note: See “Framingham State’s 10year accreditation review scheduled for 2024” in the Oct. 27, 2022 Issue…]. “We go through this process every 10 years and every five years within those ten-year brackets,” Nicholas said. Framingham State is now approaching a comprehensive accreditation in 2024. NECHE stands for New England Commission for Higher Education, and it is Framingham State’s accrediting body. NECHE ensures institutions of higher education such as Framingham State meet the minimum quality standards in terms of facilities, space, location and “just about every aspect of the University,” Nicholas said. He added, “This is a very, very important process for the University because each one of you as students is only able to receive federal financial aid only as a result of our positive accreditation standing with NECHE.” In the spring, “We’re going to have a visiting team come in and verify on the ground whether we meet the quality standards,” said Nicholas. The chair of the evaluation team is expected to be on campus on Dec. 1 to meet with President Nancy Niemi, himself and several others, not includ-
ing any students, Nicholas said. Nicholas urged students to mark their calendars for April 7-10 because “somewhere between then we are going to have a student forum that will meet the visiting team,” he said. This meeting will consist of candid conversation with students about their experiences in order to verify whether the 100-page narrative put together by about 50 administrators and facul-
“We’re sending this out for what we’re calling the ‘NECHE Roadshow,’ where we ‘re taking it to governance, we’re taking it to the exec team, we’re taking it to faculty and staff. And the reason I’m here is to bring it to you as students,” Nicholas said. Then he reviewed the sections of the self-study narrative, which is organized into 9 separate parts. “This is our first draft, so we have
“We’re going to have a visiting team come in and verify on the ground whether we meet the quality standards.” Mark Nicholas Assistant Vice President for Assessment, Accreditation, and Strategic Planning ty members accurately represents the student body. Nicholas said, “They will ask you various questions about your experience, your sore touch points, the things that you’re happy about, things that you dislike, things that the institution can improve.” Nicholas then shared a link to the interface that was created for the self study which is currently about 110 pages long.
until February to make changes,” Nicholas said after encouraging students to go through the document and submit their feedback. Raffi Elkoury, SGA Vice President, then opened the floor to questions for Nicholas. Senator Megan Rokicki asked, “I was wondering if there was a guideline pertaining to specific credit requirements that schools need to have?” Nicholas explained how standard
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four discusses the academic program in depth. The meeting then moved into an open forum, where the current concern around damaged recreational area items in residence halls and how students will be charged for this was explained by Senator Megan Rokicki. “There have been a couple people coming up to me about broken pool sticks in a lot of the recreational areas throughout campus and saying that all of us are going to have to pay for it if no one fesses up. They’re wondering what can be done about that,” she said. SGA President Evelyn Campbell said that speaking with an RA would be appropriate for those students that are concerned. Elkoury closed the open forum and passed the floor to Campbell for the swearing in of new senators. Natalia Lopez, Warren Serunjogi and Shiba Nankya were all sworn in but will have a live ceremony at the next in-person meeting. In Campbell’s president’s report, she thanked everyone for attending the safety walk that SGA hosted the week prior. SGA had also pushed for a ramp to be built on the path outside of Peirce Hall where there were originally steps and Campbell announced that there is now a ramp being implemented. “So we’re creating change, that’s been really cool to see”, she added.
CONNECT WITH BELLA OMAR bomar@student.framingham.edu
NEWS
DECEMBER 1, 2023 | 5
Full-time faculty numbers steady despite enrollment decline By Kyle Coley Staff Writer
Despite the decline in student enrollment in recent years, Framingham State University has not reduced the number of full-time faculty. Vice President of Academic Affairs Reema Zeineldin said, “Over many years, we’ve had a drop in student enrollment, but we did not have a drop in faculty numbers that is similar to that of student enrollment. “We’re not impacting the numbers of faculty based on the enrollment of students, which is good that we’re able to maintain a good number of faculty in each major,” said Zeineldin. Referring to the decline in student enrollment, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Kristen Porter-Utley said, “The repercussions from COVID are significant. There’s some positive momentum in student enrollment in terms of new students this year.” Porter-Utley added that Framingham State University is looking to hire more tenure-track professors. “So currently this year, we have 156 tenure-track or already tenured faculty members,” she said. There are faculty searches happening, and she hopes to have five more tenure-track positions by next fall. Zeinelden said although the University has lost some faculty and staff members, it was not because of layoffs or firings. Instead, Porter-Utley said, “In terms of departments which have lost professors recently, we’ve had retirements or resignations in education, environment, society and sustainability, fashion design and retailing, history, nursing, nutrition and health studies, and political science.” She noted, “For the majority of these, we’re conducting searches this year.” The University has also not seen a large fluctuation in the number of part-time faculty hired. Porter-Utley said the percentage of visiting lecturers “varies from about 8 to 11 percent.” Regarding how Academic Affairs determines which departments are allowed to conduct tenure-track searches for the year, Porter-Utley said, “One of the big things that’s important to us is that we offer our programs, and that we’re able to offer our programs in the best way we can.” Porter-Utley and Zeineldin both work closely with the chairs of each academic department every October to determine which departments need new hires. She said regarding hiring, the University tends to actually hire earlier than most other universities and plans to hire even earlier. Last year, “I think we made final decisions in February or March, which was earlier than we ever have,” said Kristen Porter-Utley. Faculty Union President Kate Caffery, a Communication Media and Performance professor, believes the University does not have enough tenured and tenure-track faculty members. “We need more tenured and tenure-track faculty. Full-time faculty are retiring and resigning, and those positions are not being filled. More and more courses are being taught by contingent faculty who are not contract-
ed - and do not get paid - to do all of the extra things that tenured and tenure-track faculty do,” said Caffery. She added she thinks the University needs to focus not just on the enrollment of students, but also student retention. Caffery said, “What keeps students at a university? The relationships and connections that they make with their professors.” Caffery expressed concern that contingent faculty do not get paid to provide service and advising outside their classes as tenured members of the University. “They should not be expected to spend extra time outside of the class-
be more involved,” said Caffery. Joseph Coelho, the chair of the Political Science Department, said, “We are looking for a new member of the political science faculty to teach American politics and specifically in public administration and policy. “We’re looking for a candidate who has a good record of teaching, who has done cutting-edge research in public administration and policy, and we’re looking for a candidate who can cultivate a network of internships in the MetroWest region for our majors. Someone who can be representative of our student body and can work with our students and build good relationships to enhance their professional de-
Courtesy of Framingham State
Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Kristen Porter-Utley room to advise, tutor and give our students the support that many of them need. They are not getting paid to do that and they should not be expected to work for free,” she said. Caffery explained that many committee seats at the University cannot be filled because the University has so few tenured and tenure-track faculty. “Some departments do not have enough tenured and tenure-track faculty members to advise their students. Having an advisor who is a tenured or tenure-track faculty member in your major is very important,” said Caffery. “They get to know you, can help you make connections, can write recommendations for graduate school, can help you in many, many ways as you move into a career,” she said. Caffery added she personally believes the process by which faculty are selected for tenure-track positions is not fair. “I think there should be more input from faculty in departments - who are content and curriculum experts - in the process. No one knows the needs of a department better than the department,” she said. “Right now, the chairs try to persuade the deans and the deans try to persuade the provost and it is based on some kind of ‘data’ or ‘algorithm,’” Caffrey said. She clarified she doesn’t necessarily believe the union should be more involved in the decision-making process of hiring tenure-track faculty members. “I think the faculty should be more involved - which, by extension, means the union is more involved. The union is the faculty and librarians. I would not say that union leadership should
velopment,” said Coelho. Coelho believes the department should begin focusing more on teaching public policy and administration, as many people are retiring in that field, opening new opportunities for political science graduates. “I think we need as a department to focus on these fields that have a lot of potential for employment,” said Coelho. Karen Druffel, chair of the Management and Business & IT faculty Search Committee, confirmed the department is looking to hire a new faculty member. Druffel said, “We are searching for a faculty member to replace someone who retired a few years ago. The search process is underway this semester, but it usually takes longer than a semester to complete a search. “We look at the candidate’s educational background to confirm that they have studied how information technology is used in business, which is the breadth required,” said Druffel. “We also want to know what topics the candidate has examined in their research, as they could lead to new courses. The description suggests data analytics and cybersecurity as examples, but there are other topics that the department thinks would be good preparation for our students,” Druffel added. Druffel emphasized they will ensure the candidate they hire will have the proper qualifications. Druffel said, “As a teaching university, we look at the candidate’s experience teaching undergraduates in business programs. Later, during the interview process, we learn more about the candidate’s teaching philos-
ophy and teaching style.” The last stage of the hiring process, according to Druffel is the potential hire visits the campus and teaches a class. “We ask students to evaluate the teaching demonstrations and consider their comments in our recommendation,” Druffel said. Maria Bolletino, the chair of the History Department, said, “We are not conducting a search for a tenure-line faculty this year. “We have hired one visiting lecturer to teach gender history, and I am seeking to hire an additional visiting lecturer to teach Latin American history,” she added. Bolletino expressed interest in hiring another professor but did not know of the need until after the hiring deadline last year, which is why there is not an active search for a tenure-track history member. “I intend to put in a request for a tenure-line position this year whenever that request is made available to me,” she said. The history department has not yet determined what specialty they need, Bolletino said.“That is a conversation that we as a department would have to have. It is not a decision that I as a department head would make on my own. We’d meet together to discuss how best to meet the shifting needs of our students.” Bolletino elaborated on her desire to perform a faculty search and said the department would want a faculty member who is an active scholar, student-focused, enjoys teaching, and is passionate about discussing historical scholarship with students. She said, “I think we offer an excellent education to our history majors. But we can offer an even more, broadbased, comprehensive, and expansive education if we are able to hire an additional faculty member.” Anthony Grossi, a psychology major, who is also minoring in neuroscience and philosophy, said, “They could probably use more [classes]. There’s some core things they are missing out on. The neuroscience minor is lacking in classes. They have three, maybe four classes.” Jake Measmer, a fashion design major, said “I think the fashion department is doing a relatively good job. I will say you can’t really specialize in any field as things are pretty generalized.” He added, “They assume you don’t have a skill set coming in, so they build you up over the course of the four years,” but “I wish there were more specialized classes.” Katie Sharp, a fashion design major, said, “Personally, I wouldn’t mind more classes as there’s so much to learn. But they offer a good base of studies to branch out to different kinds of sewing.” Tim Reed, a history major said, “When we look at the core classes, they cover what’s needed. But I think it’d be more beneficial if we were able to expand upon gen eds and have more real-world applications for our classes.” Porter-Utley said, “I’m so excited about all the new people who are joining the campus right now.” CONNECT WITH KYLE COLEY kcoley@student.framingham.edu
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6 | DECEMBER 1, 2023
OP/ED THE GATEPOST EDITORIAL
Artificial, and nothing more This Thanksgiving, The Gatepost celebrated by publishing an editorial by our editorial staff about the aspects of campus for which we are thankful. The Walt Disney Company celebrated by posting an AI-generated illustration to their Instagram account. This illustration was a disgrace - a violation of everything the company used to stand for. It was created in bad faith and showed a lack of regard for artists. Not only does the post embarrass Disney, but it also represents the ironic state of the company - the shift from the laboriously hand-drawn animation that defined the company’s early days to its current unapologetic use of low-quality AI artwork. And Thanksgiving’s Instagram post is only the tip of the proverbial iceberg. One has to wonder - did their most recent project, “Wish,” use AI technology? Why would this multi-billion dollar company choose such an unpolished method of creation over artists who have the capacity to make something beautiful and authentic which it has done for over a century? The company is attempting to cheapen its service and cut out exactly what made them so successful and magical in the first place humans. All to increase the financial bottom line. Artificial intelligence creates material only by first drawing from its data sets. These data sets are typically huge collections of information scraped off the internet without any of the original creators’ permissions, most damagingly with AI image generators. If Disney, a top-50 United States company, can do this, the future of creative media looks bleak. But if the response to Disney’s Thanksgiving post is any measure of the general public’s attitude toward a top company turning to AI, it’s safe to say it isn’t a popular choice. And the backlash to these corner-cutting practices shows that consumers still care about a final product - and how it was created. Even though Bob Iger, who recently returned as Disney’s CEO after less than a year of retirement, makes considerably less than he did in 2020 according to Business Insider, he still takes home an annual paycheck in
the range of $27 million. With so much money going to the company’s CEO every year - what exactly is the excuse for electing to use AI-generated content over human employees? If it’s due Disney having a poor fiscal quarter - why doesn’t that loss come out of Iger’s paycheck? If it was a problem with employee efficiency, why hasn’t Disney - a global model for entertainment production companies put more effort into improving that efficiency? Disney, as a company, deliberately chose to cut artists out of the picture with their use of AI-generated content. And that sends the message that they are willing to cut out artists - the types of very talented people that were at the company’s foundation. People who created Disney’s first projects by using the extreme skill, precision, and attention to detail necessary in their craft. However, the response to their Thanksgiving Instagram post shows that their audience won’t let them get away with it. If anger and embarrassment is the response audiences give to a simple Instagram post, imagine the damage that may be inflicted on a corporation’s reputation if they attempt to create and sell whole movies, merchandise, and books using artificial intelligence. Consumers will not want to buy recycled, regurgitated content. The magic of watching a Disney movie - of watching any movie - is being able to watch the stories unfold and learn how they interconnect with your own life and the world. These stories are written by people who spend their whole life creating and dreaming of ideas in their heads, hoping that they will resonate with at least one person. This is why people pay so much to go to the movies, to visit their theme parks, and buy their merchandise. By cutting their employees out of the picture, Disney is also diminishing all of these charms. So they can try to cut expenses. But it will be cutting out exactly what makes them profitable.
Have an opinion? Feel free to email it to: gatepost@framingham.edu Opinions should be about 500 words. Anyone can submit. We look forward to hearing from you! The Gatepost Editorial reflects the opinions of the newspaper’s Editorial Board. Signed Op/Eds reflect the opinions of individual writers. @TheGatepost | FSUgatepost.com
The misinformation works By Izayah Morgan Opinions Editor As we approach the end of the semester, burnout is normal. And as we get closer to the “end,” social media can become an outlet for many people to distract from the stress. However, social media use can change our perception on what’s acceptable to say and the consequences that follow. For example, let’s dissect X, formally known as Twitter. AP News in November 2022 reported, “A racial epithet used to attack Black people was found more than 26,000 times, three times the average for 2022.” The hate didn’t just stop at Black people though - hateful words have seen an increase for many groups of people, which include trans people, homosexuals, Jewish people and Hispanics. The gut punch for me, though, was the following statistic cited further in the AP News report - within 12 hours of Elon Musk’s purchase being finalized, usage of the N-word shot up by 500%. It’s not just hate that got more prevalent, it’s also misinformation. A lot of these social media websites don’t care about the truth, but rather get you riled up about something that isn’t a big deal. For example, a social media outlet, Rap TV, posted that a museum is relabeling a Roman emperor as a trans woman. My question is how is this rap news, or anything to do with hip hop culture? My concern is that the agenda is being pushed on you without you knowing. Was this posted to bait a hot topic from people? To rage bait people into caring about something they wouldn’t normally even give a second glance? To create an echochamber of people to hate an already marginalized community? Or maybe make people question if it’s the LGBTQ+ community changing our history? As if there were no LGBTQ+ people who existed before us. There are many claims one could make for why they posted such a thing. My thought is to distract us from what really happens. That hate crimes happen, police brutality happens, shootings happen - against people who look like me and people who don’t. Posts like these distract from what is really happening. People are dying right now, wars are going on because of misinformation about the other side. That’s how it works, we attack someone who’s just trying to exist. Whether they be Black, brown, LGBTQ+, or just a poor person, we create an enemy so everyone can point the finger to this being the problem in society. When in reality the problem is propaganda and misinformation we feed ourselves every day, just to feel comfortable. The conversation of Roman emperor Elagabulus is a long one with much back and forth on both sides. With well intentioned historians and educators adding their perspective on the topic. My argument is not what the emperor’s pronouns should be or if they were trans or not. But why? Why do these online news sites post such hot button topics with little to no context? In my opinion it is to rage farm their viewers and push an echochamber of limited perspective on issues. I want people to have diverse perspectives, that’s how innovation and change are formed. But posts like this do not promote change or interesting discussion. What I want from you is to question what you read - does it have an agenda, where did it get its sources, is it reliable? I’m not saying don’t consume these media outlets, or engage with these posts. But I want you to remember one thing if nothing else, often it isn’t what the media tells you that’s important, but what the media intentionally leaves out.
OP/ED
DECEMBER 1, 2023 | 7
Em’s Gems: Funny Frustrations
Emily Monaco / THE GATEPOST
Campus Conversations Do you think it’s ethical for large corperations to use AI to create art? By Dylan Pichnarcik and Alexis Schlesinger, Editorial Staff
“AI learns from pre-existing art created by humans, so if large companies only use AI to create their art, there would be a severe lack of inspiration. … If everything was just AI, [it] would never learn anything new.”
“I think it is very stupid because people make art and others just ‘smoosh’ it together and make something else to call their own.” - Lauren Martinek, sophomore
“I don’t think it is ethical because it takes away the lovely human experience of people creating art. And it devalues what the art means.” - Alex LeBlanc, senior
- Nicholas Luna, freshman
“I feel like it’s good to an extent. I feel like they should mention that it is AI art because then some people might automatically accredit it to a specific artist.”
“I don’t think that it’s a great thing just because it’s taking away from a lot of actual artists. … Obviously, it’s taking a lot of jobs away from artists.”
- Ariel Morales, freshman
- Miles Clement, sophomore
“I’m not a fan of AI in general. … I feel like AI is the next thing that will ruin companies.” - Cory Murtath, freshman
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SPORTS
Meet the Captain - Men’s Cross-country By Adam Levine Sports Editor
CONNECT WITH ADAM LEVINE alevine5@student.framingham.edu
Patrick Walsh This article is shortened for print. Read the full version at fsugatepost. com.
Patrick Walsh, 21, was the top runner for the men’s cross-country team this season. Walsh, a business and information technology major, is a member of the Rams’ Class of 2024. Now a senior and a four-year member of the men’s cross-country team, Walsh said he began running in high school, at Lynnfield High. He said he ran track and field in the Spring as a way to stay in shape for his main sports - soccer and basketball. Walsh said, “I was not really good at [other sports] and I had a lot of friends who did track and cross-country. “I probably should have just been doing that the whole time,” Walsh said. Photo Credit / Frank Poulin Photography Walsh said his favorite memo-
ry on the cross-country team was during his first meet, which was during his sophomore year due to COVID-19 cancellations. “I have a fake tooth,” he said. “I lost my front tooth my senior year of high school, so I had never raced with my fake tooth.” Walsh said, “In the first 150 meters I’m really trying to get oxygen flow in my body - my tooth comes flying out. “I tried to grab the fake tooth but I couldn’t grab it. I start freaking out. “I was like, ‘Holy crap if I try to stop right now I’m gonna get trampled,’” he added. Walsh said he ran on “pure adrenaline” to get back to the starting line to find his tooth before the women’s race began. He found his tooth in time. “I smashed my own record. That’s the best race I’ve ever ran,” he added.
Adam Levine / THE GATEPOST Patrick Walsh blowing a kiss to spectators.
Meet the Coach - Cross-country By Adam Levine Sports Editor
This article is shortened for print. Read the full version at fsugatepost. com.
Mark Johnson Photo Credit / Frank Poulin Photography
Mark Johnson, 34, is the head men’s cross-country, women’s cross-country, and women’s outdoor track and field coach. Originally from Wellesley, Johnson said he began running track in sixth grade, but did not start running cross-country until his junior year at Wellesley High School. “I had an incredible coach there, who I look up to, to this day,” he said. “He just kept pushing my limits athletically.” He said his favorite memory as a runner was during a small marathon in Seattle, which he ran to try to qual-
ify for the Boston Marathon. Johnson said he crossed the finish line in 10th place at 2:51.02, which qualified him for the Boston Marathon by less than a minute. “Just crossing the line and having qualified for Boston is my biggest running memory and one of my happiest moments,” he said. Johnson said, “There was an announcer at the finish line and just hearing ‘Mark Johnson from Wellesley, Massachusetts qualifies Boston.’” Johnson graduated from Lasell University with a degree in sports management. After college, Johnson said he worked for the New England Revolution, a Major League Soccer team. He said his favorite part of being
CONNECT WITH ADAM LEVINE alevine5@student.framingham.edu a running coach is “watching all the incremental improvements that all the athletes make. “Just seeing the time and effort that all the athletes are putting in and watching those rewards is so incredible,” Johnson added. He said he sees himself as a “player’s coach.” Johnson said, “We’re one team. We need to be on the same page as much as we can. “I try to be as open as I can with the team and be there for them both as students and athletes. Because at the end of the day, student before athlete,” he added.
Meet the Coach - Volleyball By Adam Levine Sports Editor This article is shortened for print. Read the full version at fsugatepost. com. Richard Casali, 69, finished his 20th season as the head volleyball coach this season and is a member of the Rams’ Class of 1977. Casali said he became involved with volleyball as a student playing intramural volleyball at FSU. Originally from Framingham, Casali said he played baseball and football at Framingham South High School. He said he played baseball at FSU and every intramural sport they
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offered. Casali said intramural sports on campus were “very competitive” during his time as a student. Casali said his team won the volleyball intramural championship one year and was invited to play against Westfield’s varsity volleyball team. They “absolutely destroyed us,” he said. “But I figured out that this is exactly how I want to play the sport - the same way that the Westfield varsity does. So I’ve been working at it ever since - since I was here as a student.” Casali said he grew up close to campus and “always wanted to come to college here.” He said he graduated with a degree in sociology and a minor in history.
Casali said, “Well, my original plan was to teach history. “But as time went on, I didn’t want to do that anymore. “So, my original plan with that degree was to get the hell out of college and go get a job,” he added. Casali said, “I never would have left if they would have let me stay.” Casali said when fellow FSU classmate and current athletic director, Tom Kelley, asked him to coach Rams’ volleyball, “I said, ‘No.’ I didn’t want to do that. “And then a year later he called me and said, ‘Look, we’re still looking for a coach. Come out to talk to us.’ “Once I walked on campus - I knew in the interview - I knew I was going to come back,” he added.
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Richard Casali Photo Credit / Frank Poulin Photography
SPORTS
DECEMBER 1, 2023 | 9
Meet the Captains - Football By Adam Levine Sports Editor
Chase Buono This article is shortened for print. Read the full version at fsugatepost.com.
Photo Credit / Frank Poulin Photography
Chase Buono, 23, was a starting safety for the FSU football team. Buono, a criminology major, is a member of the Rams’ Class of 2024. He said his mom went to school for criminal justice and earned her master’s degree while taking care of him and his brothers. Buono, originally from Lynn, said he began playing football when he was 8 years old. Buono said he always played defense growing up. “I like the shadows - doing the dirty work. “I like it. It’s like having a best friend - you need to have one,” he said. Buono said his favorite memo-
ry playing football was during his time playing Pop Warner football when he was on the same team as Chance, his twin brother. “My mom said, ‘Do the brother tackle,’” he said. “We both came off the edge and we tackled the quarterback at the same time.” Buono said, “We looked at each other and hit our heads with our helmets. “We both turned around and flexed towards our mom. It was hilarious,” he added. Buono said he came to FSU after his plan to go to the University of St. Francis, in Fort Wayne, Indiana, fell through. Buono said he has been inspired as an athlete by former teammate Cully Curran ’23 and his older brother. “Everything is family-oriented,” he said.
CONNECT WITH ADAM LEVINE alevine5@student.framingham.edu
Adrien Gobin / THE GATEPOST Chase Buono rushing the quarterback.
Brian Callery This article is shortened for print. Read the full version at fsugatepost.com. Brian Callery, 23, Class of ’23, was a starting offensive lineman for the FSU football team. Callery finished his undergraduate degree in business management and is now in graduate school for organizational leadership, which he plans to finish in 2025. He said he plans to join the field of construction management, specifically becoming a superintendent of job sites. Callery said he originally only played baseball and basketball growing up, until his first Pop Warner football practice at 6 years old. “My parents were like, ‘Hey, Adam Levine / THE GATEPOST you want to try it out?’” he said. Brian Callery commanding the offensive line. “And I fell in love from the first
practice.” Callery said he was a two-way lineman in high school, playing on both the offensive and defensive lines. “I like playing offensive line a lot more,” he said. “There’s nothing better than blocking someone and then you look up and your running back is running down the sideline for a touchdown - there’s no better feeling.” He said he chose FSU because of the “family environment.“If I ever needed anything from the coaches, their doors are open, their phones are on. They’re here to take you forward in life, not bring you back,” Callery added. He said his favorite memory on the field is playing defensive lineman in high school and running an interception back for a touchdown - a ‘pick six.’
Photo Credit / Frank Poulin Photography
Devaun Ford This article is shortened for print. Read the full version at fsugatepost.com.
Photo Credit / Frank Poulin Photography
Devaun Ford, 23, was the starting running back for the FSU football team. Ford, a marketing major, is a member of the Rams’ Class of 2024. Ford said he began playing football at 7 years old. “I feel like I was born into it.” He said his dad, Willie Ford, played corner for Syracuse University and played in the National Football League. Ford said his father has been a big inspiration in his football career. “I just wanted to be better than him. It was kind of a competition within myself.” Ford said, “I could play corner, but it’s too much fun scoring touchdowns.”
He said the coaches at Framingham State “took me in like family. He said his favorite part of the University’s football program is the “brotherhood.” Ford said, “We all come from different backgrounds, but when we’re in the locker room, on the field, or off the field, they’re my brothers.” He said his favorite memory on the football field is from his freshman year at FSU, with teammate, and one of his best friends, EJ Nichols. During the game against Bridgewater State to win the MASCAC Championship, Nichols scored the game-tying touchdown and Ford scored the game-winning touchdown. “That was just really special,” Ford said.
Adam Levine / THE GATEPOST Devaun Ford celebrating a touchdown.
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SPORTS
Fall Sports Recap Men’s Soccer
Overall Record: 11-8-1 Conference Record: 4-3
Volleyball
Overall Record: 21-11 Conference Record: 4-3
Kunphel Sinha 2023 MASCAC Offensive Player of the Year
Football
MASCAC Tournament Champions
Overall Record: 5-4 Conference Record: 5-3
Natalie Reynolds 2023 MASCAC Rookie of the Year
Jared Martino 2023 MASCAC Defensive Player of the Year
MASCAC 1st Team: Hailey Sanders Anna Szymanski
MASCAC 1st Team Offense: Devaun Ford
2nd Team: Stella Bailey Natalie Reynolds
2nd Team: Gustav Hemmingsen Lachlan Forgan Kaio Santos Da Silva
2nd Team Offense: Tevin Cadet Brian Callery Matthew Farley MASCAC 1st Team Defense: Chase Buono Jared Martino Daniel Oloyede 2nd Team Defense: MoMo Nazaire
Field Hockey
MASCAC 1st Team: Kunphel Sinha
2023 New England Football Writers Division II/III All New England Team: Devaun Ford Jared Martino
Women’s Soccer
Overall Record: 1-12-2 Conference Record: 1-5-1 MASCAC 1st Team: Victoria Potter 2nd Team: Jetta Oskirko
Overall Record: 11-10 Conference Record: 5-5 Ashley Malmquist 2023 MASCAC Rookie of the Year Allie Lucenta BSN Coach of the Year
Cross-Country Kate Buban 2023 MASCAC Rookie of the Year
MASCAC 1st Team: Bella Kondi Cori Lawson Ashley Malmquist
MASCAC All-Conference
2nd Team: Brandi Core
Women’s Team: Kate Buban
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Men’s Team: Pat Walsh
Spread by Sports Editor Adam Levine
ARTS & FEATURES
DECEMBER 1, 2023 | 11
ARTS & FEATURES
‘The resilience of the human spirit’
Patricia Horvath’s ‘But Now Am Found’ recognized by CELTSS
By Raena Doty Arts & Features Editor
Every semester, the Center for Excellence in Learning, Teaching, Scholarship and Service (CELTSS) hosts an event for the Scholarly and Creative Showcase Series. The event for the Fall 2023 Semester, held on Nov. 30, was a Zoom discussion between authors Patricia Horvath and Marita Golden. May Hara, the director of CELTSS, introduced the speakers. “These events are hugely inspiring to me. I come away feeling like my bucket has been filled by all the creative work that is happening on our campus,” she said. Horvath, a professor of English at FSU, published a collection of short stories earlier this year titled “But Now Am Found.” This is her second book, following a memoir, “All the Difference.” Golden is the author of over 20 books, the Writer in Residence at the University of the District of Columbia, and the founder of the Hurston/ Wright Foundation. “And [she] has been a question on ‘Jeopardy!’” Hara added. “This is the 40th anniversary year of the publication of ‘Migrations of the Heart.’ So we’ve been friends, mentors, colleagues, buddies for 40 years,” Golden added. They started the conversation by talking about how a writer’s childhood is profoundly impactful to their creative work. “Everybody has a childhood that they never escape,” Golden said. “Particularly because you’ve written both memoir and fiction, and I’ve done the same, let’s talk about childhood and your childhood and how you’ve mined that for the two genres.” Horvath said, “Flannery O’Connor has said that anybody who survives childhood has a life’s worth of material to work with.” She added she knew adults were unreliable from a young age due to her father leaving her family without explanation and the knowledge that her grandparents left her mother to foster care, and this has deeply affected her writing. She said her physical disability, severe scoliosis, meant she didn’t go outside to play a lot, and she spent a lot of time in her room reading. “I read Dickens. I knew what happened to orphans - it terrified me,” she said. “My stories are about that - what happens when you have that moment of awareness - of, you know, ‘There are people around me, but I have to pay attention, and the adults in the world might not be able to save you.” Golden said writing memoirs
helped her make sense of her life. “It gave me an opportunity to look at my life as if it were lived by someone else,” she said. She added it also gave her a new appreciation for how “majestic and grand” her parents were. She said her parents, neither of whom was formally educated, were her first writing teachers and mentors, and they grew up teaching her about literature and history. She noted she wouldn’t have had so much to invest into her writing if they hadn’t raised her the way she did. “Isn’t it wonderful to be a writer?” Golden asked. “It’s agonizing. It’s hell, but it’s also wonderful.” Horvath said new writers tend to focus on what happens in their life when they begin to write, but “it’s not what happened. It’s what you make of it in retrospect.” Golden said, “I think we’re living in a very wonderful time for writing,”
written by women. Don’t call it ‘chick lit.’” Golden then turned the conversation to talking about “obsession and delusion,” and the way characters try to distance themselves from their reality in favor of “an idealized world.” Horvath said, “I became really interested in religious and moral certitude, because we live in a world where that’s so prevalent now, and we’re seeing what it does. We’re seeing the kind of dangers that exist when people are convinced of their own rightness. “I tell my students, I write about what I term ‘vexation and inquiry,’ which just means, ‘Something’s bothering me and I have to figure it out,’” she added. Golden said, “The beautiful thing about literature at its best is that it smashes certitude, and prioritizes and makes us comfortable with ambiguity.”
“I love not knowing where I’m going, because then I can go anywhere.” - Patricia Horvath English Professor adding when she was growing up, “The American writer was stereotypically a certain kind of person.” Horvath agreed, saying, “Not you not me.” Golden said, “We’re living in a time now where, when we think of writers, we think of all different persuasions.” Horvath said back when she started writing, Golden was the first person to call her a writer because the people around her didn’t know why she wanted to write after coming from a working-class background. She said when Golden’s book “Migrations of the Heart” came out when she was in school, she brought her mother to the launch to meet Golden. “My mother said, ‘Patti wants to be a writer.’ And you looked at her and said, ‘She is a writer.’ And that blew my mind,” Horvath said. They switched topics after that and began discussing the memoir as an art form. Golden said even though the memoir genre has become very popular, as recently as 10 years ago, her students would complain about other professors not taking it seriously. Horvath said this is because the memoir is “a female form,” and compared the criticism of it to the term “chick lit” - “What it means is fiction
Horvath said though she often writes from her own life, she also writes about stories people told her that she thought were interesting. She explained a colleague once told her about a girl with a disability who required a brace like her own, and she found someone willing to accept her “physical deformity,” words she said in air quotes, but she ended up leaving him because he was Jewish. Horvath added she found this interesting and wrote a story about it. “I originally wrote it from her point of view, but I disliked her so much,” she said, adding she rewrote the story because of it. After hearing this, Golden added, “I think all stories are true and all stories are fiction. “With the first sentence, we’re fictionalizing whether we know it or not,” she said. She said a good memoir should read like a novel, characters should “sound like they’re confessing,” and a memoirist should create a whole world. “We wouldn’t have them any other way. They couldn’t satisfy us any other way,” she added. Horvath said even though she agreed, she also thinks it’s important for a memoirist to tell the truth. “You don’t just make things up,” she said.
“It’s what you make of your own life that’s interesting.” After this, Horvath read the final two stories in “But Now Am Found,” titled “Accident” and “Sunrise.” She pointed out both stories are about dealing with grief and the relationship between a mother and a son, which she said wasn’t a coincidence. “So much of what I’m interested in is the last moment of innocence. And both of those stories are about the last moment of innocence - before the cops show up, before the phone rings, before the doctor walks in with the CAT scan results,” she said. Horvath also said much of “But Now Am Found” was inspired by the death of her husband from cancer. Golden added, “Loss is a powerful inspiration,” and related Horvath’s loss to the death of her mother and her father when she was 21 and 23 years old, respectively. Horvath also said her scoliosis was a major point of inspiration. “Resilience - the resilience of the human spirit, whether it’s loss, whether it’s the loss of a loved one, the loss of agency, the loss of health. I’m very interested in … ‘How do you go on as you go on?’ I don’t have an answer for that,” she said. They ended their discussion by talking about how writing fiction and nonfiction are different from each other. Golden and Horvath agreed writing in the two genres enriched their abilities in both. “I was writing a novel several years ago and got stuck and put the novel aside and wrote a nonfiction book. And then writing that nonfiction book gave me something that I needed to finish the novel,” Golden said. Both writers agreed if they had to choose between one or the other, they would both choose fiction, because it gives them the ability to write in the perspective of people who are different from themselves and about stories where they don’t know the ending. “I love not knowing where I’m going, because then I can go anywhere,” Horvath said. After a question-and-answer portion of the night, the authors finished the conversation by talking about how important it is to discuss books. “I think that this is such an important conversation to have in the current atmosphere, where reading has become in some quarters a fearful, dangerous act,” Golden said. “The best thing we could do now is read a book - buy a book for a young person,” she added.
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ARTS & FEATURES
ASL Continued from page 1 Younie also recollected a fond memory with Kazeem from the night. He had noticed ASL Club secretary Jessenia Kolaco singing along to a song he was performing and responded to this by bringing her on stage and she began interpreting the song in sign language. “She went into full interpreter mode, and it was amazing to see - it was amazing!” Younie said. The event was a big success for the club Younie said and described it as “packed” and that “Everyone was dancing, even the professors who came, which was very fun to see.” Bucci described the event as “beautifully done,” and added it “seemed like everyone had a good time. “All I saw was smiling faces, people using sign language. … It was a beautiful evening.” The success of the event has sparked interest in making the ASL Ball an annual occurrence, according to Younie. He explained that while nothing is official, it’s something that has been discussed. Although he is graduating this year, he said “if it were to happen again, I would definitely come.” Bucci has also expressed interest in making the ASL Ball a yearly event, saying “I think it would be a great annual event for sure.” With this event already wrapped up, ASL Club is already planning its next big event - DeaFSU, according to Younie. DeaFSU is planning to bring Deaf businesses and programs to the school for the community to be more aware of, he added. Younie described this event as a great opportunity to become more involved with the Deaf community,
Attendees performing the cupid shuffle at the ASL Ball Nov. 17. using his own experience at the last there over the summer - which was an amazing experience,” he said. DeaFSU as an example. At last year’s DeaFSU event, Younie The event was originally intended said he had the opportunity to meet people from the Learning Center for to take place last semester, but did the Deaf, and was able to make an im- not, with Younie citing “issues with portant networking connection with the planning process.” Bucci said he is also looking forthem because of that. “I think that [it] is a very import- ward to the upcoming DeaFSU, sharant [event] to have, because at the ing a similar sentiment to Younie on first DeaFSU, I chatted with people the importance of making strong conat that table and was able to get their nections at the event. When talking about the last DeaFcard and eventually get a job working
Alexis Schlesinger / THE GATEPOST Jamie Kuenzel (left), Ellie Lynch, Jenna Butch, Ashley Bunch, and Megan Rokicki attending the ASL Ball Nov. 17.
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Alexis Schlesinger / THE GATEPOST SU, Bucci said “There were 400 people that came to do community services. And it was a really good opportunity for the students to get involved with the Deaf people who are around the whole New England area.” Events like the ASL Ball and DeaFSU help bring people together casually and allow for valuable interactions with the Deaf community, Bucci and Younie said. Younie talked about the importance of being able to interact with the Deaf community at these types of events, and said “our program encourages ASL students to interact with the Deaf community and have as many opportunities for that as possible outside of the classroom.” Bucci said that events like the ASL Ball help give important exposure to Deaf culture. “There’s a lot of people that think that Deaf people don’t do music. But, really, it’s just that the ASL Ball makes it accessible for them,” he said. He said he hopes that people who went to the ball come out of it with a stronger appreciation of equality and communication. “Regardless of how loud the music is, ASL is such a good convention to use and it’s good for everybody to use as well,” he said. Younie hopes attendees of the event take away the fact that the Deaf community is able to have fun with events such as this. “Deaf people can have fun - they do listen to music and dance,” he said.
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jmclaughlin7@student.framingham.edu
ARTS & FEATURES
DECEMBER 1, 2023 | 13
Opening ‘knight’ Chess club hosts first community event By Raena Doty Arts & Features Editor
Brian Fintonis, sophomore communication arts major and social media manager for Chess Club, said they weren’t particularly interested in chess before Sims approached and asked them to join Chess Club’s eBoard. “And it sort of revitalized my joy for chess. I mean, I haven’t played it in a couple years so it’s really nice to be in a setting where there’s a lot of people who are interested in playing it,” they said. Fintonis said Chess Club is “crazy helpful” to the FSU community because for many people, it can help cultivate a community around a game that’s slowly getting “lost to time.” They added people come into the club and don’t know how to play chess, and teaching it keeps the culture alive. “But the fact that they’re here helps us cultivate this environment,” they said. They said their brother taught them to play chess, but “he taught me wrong when he played so he could cheat.” Christopher Jorgenson, sophomore computer science major and secretary of Chess Club, said he has “a history with chess. “I did chess club back in second grade. I was pretty infamous back then, because I taught myself the fool’s mate and second-graders don’t really know how to prevent the fool’s mate,” he said. “After that, I’ve played a lot with
By Liv Dunleavy Staff Writer Chess Club hosted their opening night in the McCarthy Forum Nov. 15. The night was full of pizza, soda, and chess boards, as one might expect from this event, but it also saw a challenge - any student who could win a game against the club’s vice president would win $100. The organization is newly formed and has the goal of uniting students with a love of chess and fostering interest in the sport for people who may not know about it. Tony Sims, junior English major and president of Chess Club, said he wanted to start the club because he had his own ambitions to host largescale events. “But not only that, I wanted to use it as an opportunity to improve my own game, because that is something that has long been on my bucket list,” he said. Sims said preparing for large events and making sure the club is organized has been a learning curve. “We would like to make sure that we are prepared to serve and be ready for the first person through those doors. That’s where we would like to be, that’s where we’re trying to get to, and that’s where we will be in the future,” he added.
Alexis Schlesinger / THE GATEPOST Attendees playing chess at the Chess Club opening night event Nov. 15. my dad, my grandfather, and my Uncle Ned because my family has a history with chess themselves,” he said. Lucy Forgit-Stringham, sophomore psychology major and Chess Club treasurer, said before coming to this club, she had little experience with the game. “I had a friend at church, a bunch of us went over to one o f my friend’s house and one of m y friends was like, ‘Hey do you want to play chess?’ So I played one game with him,” she said. “He got rid of his queen and played a game without his queen, and then we just played another game and that’s literally all the chess I’ve played before,” she added. Tyrell Staples-Santos, freshman sports management major and vice president of Chess Club, sat on the stage at the Forum all night for the challenge against him - any-o n e who could win a game against h i m would win $100 of his own money. Not only that, but any of the challengers would have 5 minutes of play time total, while he only had 1 minute
before automatically losing. Spoiler alert - he didn’t lose a game all night. He said his rating on chess.com is approximately 2,500, and chess grandmasters have scores of approximately 2,600-2,800. “My dad actually taught me how to play chess when I was 2 years old,” he said. “I fell in love with it. “I just devoted all my time into it, and then, you know, eventually I picked it up and started getting really good at it,” he added. “I feel like a lot of people get it twisted. The game of chess, they feel like you got to be very, very smart to play a game like chess. “But the reason why I started it here is because I feel that it could bring everyone together and it shows you don’t need to be a mad genius to play chess.”
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Laugh and learn with ‘Leo’! By Liv Dunleavy Staff Writer I think it is fair to say animated movies have become the new Hallmark Christmas of movie production. They are the new children’s movies trend, with enough produced and pumped out on all streaming platforms in the last five years to last for months of carbon copy, cringey binge watching. It’s hard to find a good one in the midst of all these releases every year. Netflix has had its fair share of these films over the years. These have been produced and directed by varying levels of notable sources, the most recent produced by Happy Madison Productions, a company founded by none other than the star of our review today, Adam Sandler. His newest animated film “Leo” tells the tale of a 74-year-old lizard (voiced by Adam Sandler) who has spent his whole life in a fifth-grade classroom, and has recently found out his lifespan is almost at its end. He dreams of escaping to a new life in the real world. Luck is on his side as the teacher this year is replaced with a stuck-up substitute named Ms. Malkin who’s a real grouch. She starts her year off
demanding the kids learn responsi- kids have growing up. bility by taking one of the two class The animation of the film is pretpets home - which is where he plans ty standard, although I LOVED the to make his escape. character design of the kindergartenThe children of the fifth-grade ers. They are portrayed as rabid, feral classroom play a large part in Leo’s beings with very minimalistic yet hicharacter development. From the larious looking faces. They have huge beginning of the movie we are intro- bulbous heads, wide insane-looking duced to each student’s quirks and eyes, and giant chomping mouths. personalities, made clear by Leo’s witThe physical attributes are so ridicty jabs at their obvious problems, such ulous and silly, everytime one showed as children who are self-centered, up I laughed until it hurt. They just over-protected, snoblook so stupid and they do an amazby, and introverted. ing job portraying exactly the vibes This beof real kindergarteners. They behave comes the like wild animals, screaming root of Leo’s and climbing all over everynew mission, thing and putting random which is to help things in their mouths these kids get classic toddler. through T h e their fifth-grade c raziest David Abe / THE GATEPOST year with their s h o c k new substitute teacher. He does so by came only one second into the movie, speaking to each kid in the class, and where you learn this movie is a musigifting them with the knowledge he’s cal! You’d think, “How is that a shock gained from his 74 years as a fifth- if it’s the first thing to happen in the grade class pet. movie?” Well, if you had watched the I really liked some of the messages “Leo” movie trailer, you might have he teaches the kids, and the fact that not been expecting this. they take his words to heart, that they The trailer gives absolutely no inlearn from him. It is a silly movie, but dication that this movie is a musical, it is heartwarming and shows some in the slightest - at all. So imagine messages that are classic problems my shock with every song that played
that solidified this was not a one-time song, that this movie is a musical. The songs are written and performed well, although a bit cringey, but I believe that is what they were going for. The humor in the movie, mostly coming from Leo, is mostly dry humor, but I think it works. His one-liners are funny and his singing parts in each song are silly, and I laughed consistently through the whole movie. I watched this movie with my parents, who are both extremely harsh critics of any animated film I show them, and they also laughed at most every joke throughout the film, so to me that is a great accomplishment. I genuinely recommend this movie to anyone who is looking for something silly to turn on, and turn their own brain off. This movie is perfect for a relaxing, fun night, and you might find yourself singing along!
Rating: B+ This lizard is smarter than a fifthgrader
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14 | DECEMBER 1, 2023
ARTS & FEATURES
‘Wish’ is a Disney disaster By Owen Glancy Asst. Arts & Features Editor “Wish” is the latest animated film from Walt Disney Animation Studio made for their 100-year anniversary. Seeing as this film was made to celebrate the studio’s illustrious 100-year lifespan, there is a lot riding on its shoulders. So, did it live up to expectations? Absolutely not. The film has a lot of problems, but it does boast one strength, Chris Pine. His performance as King Magnifico is surprisingly excellent. You can tell that he’s having a ton of fun in the recording booth really hamming up this villain. It’s a performance so good that it made me wish we got more Magnifico, despite him already being in a ton of the film. However, Pine’s performance couldn’t save the poor writing that plagues this film. Every character and story beat has been done before, and better. This feels like every Disney movie from the past 10 years poorly stitched together in an attempt to create a coherent film.
The biggest problems in the writing department come from the protagonist and antagonist. Asha is the most generic Disney protagonist I’ve seen in a while. It feels like they took all the things that made Moana and Mirabel unique and stripped away all the personality. Nothing she does or says is inherently bad, it’s just boring and safe. Sadly, the same goes for Magnifico. He starts the film as a pretty fascinating character, but slowly his interesting motivations fall into the background and after a certain point even Pine’s voice acting can’t make up for it.
pointing part of the film is the music. Disney’s last musical, “Encanto,” was one of the best films of 2021 and many of its songs became extremely popular. It makes sense that Disney would want to replicate that success, but the way they went about it was truly asinine. Instead of re-hiring Lin-Manuel Miranda or another musician with a background in musical theater, they instead hired people who wrote pop songs for artists such as Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez. Needless to say, this does not work at all. Instead of leaning into their strengths, these new writers and producers attempted to emulate Miranda’s musical Marcus Falcão / THE GATEPOST style and came up frightfully short. The animation is also Each single song is more forgetlackluster. In an effort to pay homage to their 2D animated films, table than the last, and due to the the animators attempted to make the aforementioned animation issues, 3D animation in this movie look sim- the visuals can’t even save the scenes ilar to a more traditional Disney proj- they’re in. ect. This makes the animation look While the quality of Disney aniextremely awkward and unfinished, mated films, with the exception of ruining what could be a potentially “Encanto,” has been low in the past five years, this is the first one to feel great looking film. Unfortunately, the most disap- like it was made by the Disney compa-
ny, not the Disney animation studio. This brings up a crucial question, was there AI used in the making of this film? While there is no concrete proof AI was used in the making of this film, the fact that it feels so much like the product of AI speaks volumes to the overall quality of “Wish.” Nothing in the film is outlandishly awful, but there’s nothing good about it either with only one exception. “Wish” is not a movie that will offend anyone. It isn’t a film that will make you regret seeing it, and you definitely won’t walk out of the theater halfway through due to how short it is. But it isn’t a movie that does anything new or interesting. It plays it extremely safe in every aspect and due to this, while it isn’t the worst film I’ve seen this year, it is undoubtedly the most boring.
Rating: D+ I wish this was better.
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‘Scott Pilgrim’ took off and shattered expectations By Jack McLaughlin Arts & Features Editor “Scott Pilgrim Takes Off” was not something I was gleaming with excitement for initially. The unimpressive trailers and looming threat of one of the best graphic novels series being adapted by Netflix had me convinced that this was going to be a flop and disappoint the inner fan in me. But - wow, it pays off to be wrong. The story of Scott Pilgrim defeating Ramona Flowers’ League of Evil Exes has a brand new reimagining that differentiates from the source material so much that it’s an entirely different story. For any Scott Pilgrim fan - it’s a perfect love letter to the series that offers a whole new experience. The most impressive part of the storytelling is simply that - the deviation from the books allows for an unpredictable story that will keep you guessing every step of the way. Every character has a much different arc and having the length of a show to flesh that out allowed for this change to work. The English voice cast consists of the cast from the 2010 film adaptation. Canada’s sweetheart Michael Cera steps back into the role as Scott Pilgrim effortlessly, as if it hasn’t been 13 years since the film was released. The cast is able to emulate the same energy that they had in the film - and characters who didn’t get much
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screen time in the film now get plenty they take his character is so random highlights being the skateboard chase of moments to shine throughout the but works so well that you’re willing that takes place in the fourth episode. Like its film counterpart, music to just accept it because of how abeight-episode run. plays a big role in the story and its use Ramona Flowers (Mary Elizabeth surd the show is. The show was worked on by the here is just as impactful. AnamanaguWinstead) is, for the most part, the main character of this show. The show graphic novel’s original author, Bry- chi did the score for the show and it focuses on her instead of Scott and an Lee O’Malley, but also considered accompanies the style and story perthat allows for her past with her exes creative input from the film’s director fectly. This is a standout TV score that to be explored with a unique angle not Edgar Wright. Wright’s creative influ- absolutely pops off. “Scott Pilgrim Takes Off” blasted ence is felt throughout but thankfully yet seen with these characters. Each of the seven exes get so much this feels more like the graphic novel far beyond the low bar I had set for it. The show is a quick binge that fans of time to shine - and that’s especially and not the movie. The many nods to the movie, and the source material will go nuts for. thanks to the story not being conIt’s not afraid to take sharp and undensed in a two-hour film. It’s nearly by extension Wright’s other films, impossible to pick a favorite ex in this are well-timed and don’t happen of- expected turns narratively - and the show, but the most noticeably amaz- ten which lets the story exist without vagueness in this review is intentionconstantly living in the ally keeping those surprises under ing is Matthew Patel Ben Hurney / THE GATEPOST shadow of the film’s wraps. (Satya Bhabha). The show keeps itself self-conpopularity. H i s a p A n i - tained, with a small crumb at the end p e a rm a t i o n which could lead into a second seaance in wise, this is son. the origWhatever they end up doing - I will inal film be watching. is downone r i g h t of the a m a z coolest looking - and ing shows here his that has character come out gets the recently. The style chance to Rating: A+ is reminiscent of be exthe graphic novels, plored A total K.O. with splashes of Edgar even furWright’s iconic visual ther than style sprinkled throughout. the five Action scenes look minutes he gets ridiculously in the movie. good, with CONNECT WITH JACK MCLAUGHLIN The direcone of the jmclaughlin7@student.framingham.edu tion that
ARTS & FEATURES
DECEMBER 1, 2023 | 15
‘The Marvels’ - a marvelous movie By Francisco Omar Fernandez Rodriguez Staff Writer “The Marvels” is the newest film addition to the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). It has mixed receptions and a low box office performance for an MCU film. Despite this, I found it to be an exciting and funny movie to watch. The film was directed by Nia DaCosta, who is the first African American woman to direct a Marvel film. The story follows three main protagonists - Carol Danvers, also known as Captain Marvel, who has been mostly in space since the events of “Avengers: Endgame,” Monica Rambeau, who has been working with S.A.B.E.R. alongside Nick Fury in their space station, and Kamala Khan, also known as Ms. Marvel, a kid who lives with her family in Jersey City. Due to some cosmic shenanigans, the three heroes start teleporting to each other’s spots. This continues to happen every time they use their powers at the same time. The Kree soldiers Carol happened to be fighting gets teleported as well, causing the fight to spread to the S.A.B.E.R. station and the Khan household as the heroes keep teleporting. Afterwards they discover that the teleporting is caused by quantum entanglement. The three heroes
Marcus Falcão / THE GATEPOST team up to figure out what is happening without accidently getting warped across the galaxy, and go to deep space to investigate the Kree. Brie Larson once again plays the role of Carol Danvers. Monica Rambeau is played by Teyonah Parris, who also played her in the Disney+ series “WandaVision.” Kamala Khan is played by Iman Vellani, who previously played her in the Disney+ series “Ms. Marvel.” This is actually her first role in her acting career. Samuel L. Jackson returns as Nick Fury, a fan-favorite side character who once again has some of the best moments. Also, Goose the Flerken - a catshaped alien - is played by cats Nemo and Tango, replacing the previous cat actors from “Captain Marvel.” This group of characters sets up an interesting and comedic cast that goes well together. The three heroes bounce off each other nicely. The story is full of hilarious moments, such as the Khan family’s re-
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actions to aliens and superheroes in their home, or Goose’s return. Although, the tone does get much heavier when the plot focuses on Carol and Monica’s history, as well as the Kree. There are times where the writing seems to favor being funny over common sense. It is not overly frequent and I was laughing at the comedic parts anyway, so I enjoyed it. But I understand that it can feel like a mess sometimes, especially for someone used to more serious MCU films like any of the “Avengers” movies, or a “Dr. Strange” movie. Some people are probably on the fence about watching “The Marvels” because it might be strongly related to “Ms. Marvel,” and many people skipped that show, including myself. But I still understood this film perfectly fine without watching the show, with maybe one or two small exceptions. If you didn’t watch “Captain Marvel,” it’s still all right because “The Marvels” summarizes most of what you need to know from that movie anyway. Of course “Captain Marvel” was Captain Marvel’s origin story so it wouldn’t be a bad idea to watch it too. Monica is from “WandaVision” but you’ll definitely be all right if you didn’t watch that either. Kamala’s fangirling can be an-
42 Blackjack request 43 Aquafina competitor 46 Sailing the ocean 47 Evian lids (... letters 3, 5 and 7) 51 Grasshopper’s partner in an Aesop title 52 Perched on 53 Made good on, as a loan 56 Glam rock? 57 Stretchy loop, and a theme hint 62 Inventor Whitney 63 It’s sometimes held at a deli 64 Be on the brink of toppling 65 Cousin of inc. 66 “Olly olly ___ free” 67 Crock-Pot concoctions
ACROSS 1 Goody bag goody 6 The ___ (those who “shall inherit the Earth”) 10 Air gun ammo 13 “Aha!” 15 “Jaws” boat 16 Bumped into 17 Landlord’s limitation (In this answer, note letters 4, 6, 8 and 10) 19 “Just as I thought!” 20 Childish comeback 21 At any point in history 22 Score such as 2-2 24 First openly gay man to hold public office in California (... letters 3, 5 and 7) 28 URL introduction for a “locked” web page 31 Pleased as punch 32 Be a brat 33 Teakettle output 35 Cry of disbelief (... letters 7, 9, 11, 13 and 15) 41 Super funny people
DOWN 1 Certain Christmas tree 2 Store in a cask, say 3 Blood feud 4 “A Man Called ___” (2022 Tom Hanks film) 5 Paella ingredient 6 Word before “mouth” or “boat” 7 Flub 8 Environmental prefix 9 ___-El (Superman’s birth name) 10 Schlocky film 11 Gazed upon 12 Baby bird? 14 Peter who sang with Bob Marley 18 Code crackers’ org. 21 911 responder, for short 22 Microwave option 23 Intense desire 25 Swerves 26 Zest 27 Motorcycle brand 29 “___ a lid on it!” 30 Well-tossed football 33 Unaffected by feelings, seemingly 34 37-Down for ___ 36 Highest number in Sudoku 37 ___ for 34-Down
noying to watch. I honestly gave up watching “Ms. Marvel” because of it. But she calms down over time, and in the meantime there are two other main characters to watch. Despite the issues, I found this movie to be fun. The relationship between Kamala and Carol is naturally funny. The fangirl gets to fight alongside her hero. The relationship between Monica and Carol, on the other hand, is much more serious and familial. It gets explored in more detail than it was hinted to in previous MCU entries. Still, the writing can be a little off sometimes. Some problems don’t feel fully resolved and some answers just leave more questions. But despite this, I really enjoyed watching “The Marvels.”
Rating: AWhat a Marvel!
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38 “See you then!” 39 Breaking a mirror, some say 40 Straight, at a bar 43 “Please continue ...” 44 ___ bomb (“Oppenheimer” subject) 45 Indy 500 sponsor 47 Roll with a hole 48 Fiery act of insurance fraud 49 Cat or dog 50 Barbecue bar 54 Scores 100% on 55 “Yeah, right” 57 Offshoot of punk 58 Lenient 59 Agreement with the captain 60 Right out of the box 61 J and Phil
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