December 2, 2022

Hilltop’s ‘royal’ production takes the stage

FSU looks beyond Native American Heritage Month

By Branden LaCroix News Editor

While many students and adminis trators are pleased with the events held over Native American Heritage Month, some members of the FSU community believe more can be done, and not just during November.

ric Nguyen, director of the enter for Inclusive Excellence (CIE), said the importance of Native American Her itage Month, like other months cen tered around identity and heritage, is it centers “the narratives and voices and experiences of people who have been historically marginalized and minori tized in our country.”

Nguyen said the recognition of Na tive heritage should not be exclusive to November. It is meant to sort of create this upswelling of sharing knowledge -

By Raena Doty Asst. Arts & Features Editor

The Hilltop Players, Framingham State’s theater group, will perform “Once Upon a Mattress,” a ’50s musi cal adaptation of “The Princess and the Pea” on the weekend of Dec. 2.

“Once Upon a Mattress” tells the story of Queen Aggravain who has de cided to set the highest of standards for any potential wife for her son Prince Dauntless, which most princesses are unable to meet - except Princess Win nifred, who is a bit different from the other princesses.

Elizabeth Walker, a senior English major, is directing the musical. She said

of raising awareness - that we can then carry that momentum for the rest of the year.

“Indigenous people inhabited this land before we were here. It’s a history that we largely ignore. When we do talk about the history, it’s largely abridgedinaccurate.”

Nguyen said throughout November, the CIE’s Instagram account created a series of posts asking people to “go be yond land acknowledgement.”

According to the FSU website, a land acknowledgement is “a formal state ment that recognizes and respects In digenous Peoples as traditional stew ards of this land and the enduring relationship that exists between In digenous Peoples and their traditional territories.”

The statement continues, “We would like to acknowledge that the land we

live, work, learn, and commune on is the original homelands of the Nipmuc tribal nations. We acknowledge the painful history of genocide and forced removal from this territory, and we honor and respect the many diverse Indigenous peoples still connected to this land on which we gather.”

FSU’s Land Acknowledgment State ment was adapted from the American College Personnel Association’s web site.

The land acknowledgement is also posted in various buildings across campus, including the McCarthy Cen ter and the Whittemore Library.

The CIE’s Instagram posts asked various uestions related to Native American rights and history, such as a Nov. 1 post which asked, Are you

- a fairy tale production

she’s been involved with The Hilltop Players since her freshman year but only ever as an actor, and this musical marks the first time she’s been on the production staff for a show.

She said last semester she was asked to create a proposal for this semes ter’s musical show because no one else stepped up to propose a musical.

“I’ve been doing theater since I was about 8 or so - just the acting side of it all,” Walker said. “I’m not exactly sure why I was [asked to propose a musical].

At first I was very much just like, No, no thank you, that is not something I am familiar with,’ and it’s very scary because it is very different than acting. You’re doing essentially everything else

as a director.

I was a little nervous at first but then I started thinking about it, and I was like, I would always think, What if?’ if I didn’t do it,” she said.

She said she thought the pandem ic likely affected The Hilltop Players’ trajectory because fewer people joined when the meetings were virtual and the group wasn’t able to do shows like they had in years prior. However, she added “Once Upon a Mattress” is a sign that The Hilltop Players will be successful since it has a large cast and it’s going well.

“We always tried our best to do the weekly meetings still and be engaged in

Adrien Gobin / THE GATEPOST

( eft) Amanda dme, hristina hinetti, and Alex eBlanc performing at the Hilltop Player’s dress rehearsal of Once pon a Mattress” Nov. 0.

Ryan O’Connell

Gerell Boyce

Naidelly Coelho

By Sophia Harris News Editor

Gatepost Interview Ilene Hofrenning

Director of the Health Center

How long have you worked at FSU?

Eighteen years.

What is your educational and pro fessional background?

I grew up in North Dakota, so I went to the niversity of North Dakota and got my bachelor’s in nursing. I worked as a camp nurse, so I worked in a small community hospital. … Then I lived in Norway for a couple of years and worked as a nurse at a hospital there, which was a fascinating experience. And then when I came back, I decided I didn’t want to work in a hospital anymore. So then I worked for the visiting nurses in Cambridge, which was really fun. Cam bridge is a very dense neighborhood. And there’s no parking, so we would ride our bikes and our baskets with our nurs ing bags to see patients. I had the area sort of around Harvard Square, north of Harvard Square. And based on that ex perience, I sort of decided I wanted to be a primary healthcare provider. So I went back to school. I went to UMass Low ell to get my master’s as a family nurse practitioner. And then once I graduated, I worked at a community health center in Worcester - Family Health Center, Worcester - and was a primary care pro vider for families of all kinds. … I live in Framingham, and this job became avail able - doing some administrative work and being in charge of a health center and still doing clinical [work]. It’d be a nice change. So I applied for the job and came here 1 years ago.

What career accomplishments are you most proud of?

I am really proud of the environment that we’ve created here at the Health Center to provide high quality, easily accessible, evidence-based healthcare. I work with a great team here. We strive to, and I hope that we’ve made this a very welcoming place for all students, no matter your gender, race, ethnici ty, health problems, economic status, health insurance, anything, that we want to make it a really welcoming, friendly, comfortable place for all students. And for the most part, I think we’ve succeed ed with that. I volunteer for a group called the MetroWest Free Medical Pro gram and we provide free health care for anybody who doesn’t have insurance or who has insurance that doesn’t pay for a whole lot. So we work a lot with im migrants. We had been working out of a synagogue in a church. And now we are just moving into our own space. And

we just got a grant for electronic med ical records. So that program has really grown and it’s really great. We serve a lot of people. ight now, we have 00 patients on the waiting list. So, that is probably where I will be spending a lot of my retirement time - continuing my commitment to that program. What initiatives or projects do you hope to see your successor continue? We started a vaping cessation pro gram here. We got a grant for that right as soon as the pandemic hit. And so we’ve developed this program for vap ing cessation and you know, had a few students participate in that, but I would really like to grow that and get that in formation out there. We’ve had a slow launch because of the pandemic. … An other program that I really hope contin ues and I’m sure it will is the SEALS. I think that Pamela Lehmberg has done such a terrific job growing our program. … I think that’s just a great program and then we know that students prefer to get information from fellow students rather than from us. So the more we can train SEALS, and maybe even grow that pro gram, I think the better for the Univer sity.

What advice do you have for FSU students?

I really would like to see students incorporate the concept of self-care in their daily lives and carry that on for the rest of their lives. … Really thinking about self-care - “What can I do to keep myself healthy?” - manage stress, man age my time, whether it be, getting good exercise or doing something like medi tation or yoga, or taking time out with

friends. … There are lots of people

Monday,

Monday, Nov. 28 09:13 Parking Complaint Oconnor Hall Lot Advised

Monday, Nov. 28 15:40

Medical Larned Hall Refused Transport

can help

Health Center, the Coun seling enter, A A, dean’s office - you know, there’s a lot of places you can go for help. But really, to look at that idea that self-care is important. So they can do their best and be productive and be able to help others.

What are you going to miss the most about FSU?

There are a lot of things. I’m feeling kind of sad right now. I will totally miss my Health Center team. We have a great group of professionals. We’ve worked together for quite a while. You know, all of us really want to provide the best care that we can for students. … Everybody in the team really cares deeply about the students - of providing really good health care. … I will miss the students. I really enjoyed working with the stu dents. I feel like the Framingham State students are really hard-working - they don’t take things for granted. They are like sponges - they want to learn new things and are open and honest. I’ve been so gratified and impressed with how open and willing to share many students have been, and I will really miss that.

What kind of message do you want to leave the FSU community?

I just want to say thank you for the opportunity to work with great students and great colleagues. I will miss every body here.

Wednesday, Nov. 30 07:25

Alarm (Trouble) McCarthy Center Referral filed

that

at the

Courtesy of Ilene Hofrenning

SGA discusses fundraising and issues with student preferred names

By Naidelly Coelho Staff Writer

SGA senators discussed activities they will be hosting in the upcoming week for fundraising purposes at their Nov. meeting.

SGA members were wearing tie-dye shirts to celebrate “Tie-dye Tuesday.”

President Nancy Niemi was invited to the meeting and was wearing tiedye as well.

Evelyn Campbell, outreach and events coordinator, said the Week of Kindness is starting on Dec. 5.

“We also have another fundraiser at Hot Table on Dec. 6 from 4-9 p.m.,” she said. She said she hopes everyone participates in order to help out.

During open forum, President Dara Barros raised concerns about the lack of healthy food options on campus. “Sandalla’s salads are usually old,” she said.

Barros said the fridge at Sandalla’s is not working, and the restaurant is not accessible to students on week ends.

“I brought this up two months ago. The grace period for dining [services] is over,” Barros said.

Barros also raised a concern about people not using preferred names on campus.

“There is a student who is not feeling comfortable on this campus and they are a resident. They said people are not using their preferred name when it comes to them receiving emails, or if you’re a resident, we all get the closing

notice and basically, they send that by having their name on a piece of paper and stick it on their doors - basically outing them,” she said.

Student Trustee McKenzie Ward said if it is a legal document, it needs a legal name.

Barros said she will be meeting with Residence Life soon to discuss this is sue.

Campbell also raised a concern about committee meetings not being student friendly.

“If they want student voices, they should embark on a separate commit

tee that is more time efficient for stu dents, because I know students can’t often sit for two-three hour meetings. They should also use student language and explain to students what’s actual ly the decision they are making,” she said.

Campbell said understanding bud gets can be very overwhelming for stu dents.

Barros said that if a senator has committed to a committee, they have to show up.

Ward said the Board of Trustees meeting was heavily focused on stu dent enrollment and different enroll ment strategies.

She wants students to email her and answer the question, “What made me come to FSU?”

“I want this to get a better idea of what makes us different from any oth er school so that we really can high light that to our prospective students,” Ward said.

Ward also emphasized that since last week’s Campus Safety Walk, Direc tor of Facilities Danny Giard has been responsive and fast-acting on a lot of concerns.

She said the major concern SGA had was about yellow paint that was wear ing off on the stairs in between Crock er and Horace Mann halls, which has already been repainted.

“The school is listening to our con cerns. … This was the best safety walk we had in years,” she said.

ice President affi lkhoury said

Weather

Sunday night Dec. 4

Partly cloudy, with a low around 27. Light south wind.

Monday Dec. 5

Sunny, with a high near 45. W wind around 5 mph.

Monday night Dec. 5

Mostly cloudy, with a low around 32. Calm wind. 40% chance of precipitation.

Tuesday Dec. 6

Mostly cloudy, with a high near 53. S wind around 10 mph. 70% chance of precipitation.

there was a student concern about the library hours.

“Basically, they’re saying that as a commuter student, they like a quiet place to study and the library being closed at earlier hours is affecting their ability to get work done,” he said.

In his officer report, am Houle, SATF treasurer, said only 24 organi zations have presented budgets at the finance committee, but 1 are still needed.

SGA Advisor Leah Mudd encour aged students to say goodbye to the director of the Health Center, Ilene Hofrenning, who is retiring in Decem ber.

“She has helped us a lot during COVID - making sure the campus is safe and up-to-date to CDC guide lines,” she said.

The eBoard member of the month was McKenzie Ward for represent ing students at the Board of Trustees meeting.

The senator of the month was Ben Boyer, for being an active member.

The “U-Rock” was presented to Ev elyn Cambell by Ben “Bench” Hurney. He said she has been helpful planning the senators’ retreat and the Week of Kindness.

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

CONNECT WITH NAIDELLY COELHO ncoelho3@student.framingham.edu

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

Tuesday night Dec. 6

Mostly cloudy, with a low around 44. S wind around 10 mph. 60% chance of precipitation.

Wednesday Dec. 7

Partly sunny, with a high near 52. NW wind around 10 mph. 40% chance of precipitation.

Wednesday night Dec. 7

Partly cloudy, with a low around 29. NW wind around 10 mph. 30% chance of precipitation.

Thursday Dec. 8

Mostly sunny, with a high near 38. NW wind around 10 mph, with gusts up to 20 mph.

Naidelly Coelho / THE GATEPOST President Nancy Niemi with members of SGA at their Nov. 22 meeting.

Naidelly Coelho / THE GATEPOST

SGA senators at the Nov. 22 meeting.

University deems Warren Center club a success

By Sophia Harris News Editor

The University Community Club, recently established on June 5 at the Warren Center, offers a wide range of amenities for its members, including watersport rentals, fitness classes, and social events.

The Warren Conference Center and Inn, located five-and-a-half miles away from Framingham State Univer sity’s campus, sits on over 100 acres of land in Ashland, according to the War ren Center website.

The Warren Center features a ho tel with 50 rooms, conference centers, and a newly added membership club now called the University Community Club (UCC).

The UCC is a membership opportu nity for faculty, staff, alumni, students, and residents of Ashland.

The membership costs 1 a year and provides access to kayaks and pad dle boards to enjoy the reservoir on the property, pickleball and tennis courts, fitness classes, and social events.

Joseph Magnani, UCC’s operation manager, said, “As of now, it’s just one membership. However, we are plan ning on expanding that - to what de gree, I’m not sure yet.”

The goal of the UCC is to build con nections between the Framingham State community and the Warren Cen ter and all that it offers.

Magnani said another goal is “to provide access to social and cultur al opportunities for the Framingham State community and local residents.”

According to Dale Hamel, execu tive vice president, the UCC has sold approximately 1 memberships, but with family members able to share a plan, there are over 400 members of the UCC.

“In total, we have well over 400 peo ple that are part of families that have a membership with the UCC. That’s ac tually higher than what we had antici pated for the first kickoff year of this,” Hamel said.

Magnani said the UCC is “a collab orative effort to bring together former FSU alumni, the community at large here in Ashland, and some surround ing towns as well to the Warren Cen ter to try to be able to do a bunch of classes, events, activities, and stuff like that.”

He said, “So we really hope to cap ture the local community, the alumni, faculty, and staff. I would love to see the faculty and staff over here.”

Magnani said along with access to the tennis, pickleball, and disc golf courses the Warren Center offers, the UCC provides lessons for these sports.

A UCC membership also grants ac cess to yoga, fitness, and tai chi classes.

The Warren Center hosts social and cultural events for members such as the Autumn Harvest Wine Dinner that was held in November.

“The Autumn Harvest Wine Din ner was super cool. There was a fourcourse meal that was paired with different wines. The pairings were explained by the Wine Empire here in town,” Magnani said.

Magnani said the UCC is still in the early stages of development.

He The University Community Club, recently established on June 5 at the Warren Center, offers a wide range of amenities for its members, including watersport rentals, fitness classes, and

social events.

The Warren Conference Center and Inn, located five-and-a-half miles away from Framingham State Univer sity’s campus, sits on over 100 acres of land in Ashland, according to the War ren Center website.

The Warren Center features a ho tel with 50 rooms, conference centers, and a newly added membership club now called the University Community Club (UCC).

The UCC is a membership opportu nity for faculty, staff, alumni, students, and residents of Ashland.

The membership costs 1 a year and provides access to kayaks and pad dle boards to enjoy the reservoir on the property, pickleball and tennis courts, fitness classes, and social events.

Joseph Magnani, UCC’s operation manager, said, “As of now, it’s just one membership. However, we are plan ning on expanding that - to what de gree, I’m not sure yet.”

The goal of the UCC is to build con nections between the Framingham State community and the Warren Cen ter and all that it offers.

Magnani said another goal is “to provide access to social and cultur al opportunities for the Framingham State community and local residents.”

According to Dale Hamel, execu tive vice president, the UCC has sold approximately 1 memberships, but with family members able to share a plan, there are over 400 members of the UCC.

“In total, we have well over 400 peo ple that are part of families that have a membership with the UCC. That’s ac tually higher than what we had antici pated for the first kickoff year of this,” Hamel said.

Magnani said the UCC is “a collab orative effort to bring together former FSU alumni, the community at large here in Ashland, and some surround ing towns as well to the Warren Cen ter to try to be able to do a bunch of classes, events, activities, and stuff like that.”

He said, “So we really hope to cap ture the local community, the alumni, faculty, and staff. I would love to see the faculty and staff over here.”

Magnani said along with access to the tennis, pickleball, and disc golf courses the Warren Center offers, the UCC provides lessons for these sports.

A UCC membership also grants ac cess to yoga, fitness, and tai chi classes.

The Warren Center hosts social and cultural events for members such as the Autumn Harvest Wine Dinner that was held in November.

“The Autumn Harvest Wine Din ner was super cool. There was a fourcourse meal that was paired with different wines. The pairings were explained by the Wine Empire here in town,” Magnani said.

Magnani said the UCC is still in the early stages of development.

He added, “I don’t even think we’re close to scratching the surface of things that we could do here, so we’re using year one as that real bumpy road, but let’s see how we make it.”

He said the UCC is open to feedback from its members.

“If we hear something from a UCC Club member, we’ll try it,” he said. “There are so many things we can do here.”

Magnani said, “This is such a baby

itself right now - we’re trying to really grow it. So we are doing our best to see things that we could have done better from year one - to go to year two.”

Hamel said in its first season of op eration, the UCC “has largely focused on the recreational activities available to members.”

He said, “We’ve done a lot of work creating those opportunities - working with the Division of Conservation and Recreation to do a beach reclamation project. So now there’s a beach there that is also utilized to launch the wa tercraft.”

Hamel added colder weather will begin to put the available indoor activ ities to the test.

He added one of the main focuses of the UCC program is to serve a wide range of club members of different ages.

He said the goal is to figure out pro gramming that suits each member.

To try to figure out the program ming of a wide variety of constituents is going to be a little bit of trial and er ror. I’m sure we’ll try some things that we won’t probably repeat, but as part of those, we’ll also find things that are attractive to members and continue to offer those,” Hamel said.

He agreed with Magnani, saying, “I think we’ll have to collect a lot of data and see what is most of interest to our members.”

The Warren enter is financially self-sustaining, Hamel said.

He said the Warren Center is an en terprise fund, “which means it’s not supported by the University. It does, in fact, support the University operations by subsidizing its use.

“If you want to have a conference out there, it’s reduced cost and we subsidize it through the income of the operations that are occurring and then hopefully, continue to expand its support for the hospitality program as well,” Hamel said.

He added there have also been a number of capital projects that have been developing at the Warren Center.

He said the Warren Center was “for tunate” to receive American Rescue Plan Act water and sewer funding, which provided $500,000 for a project to renovate the sewer.

He said the Center has also received 1. million in O ID-1 relief fund ing, which were used for “two root projects as well as two generator proj ects.”

The funding will also address con verting the Northern odge, which is currently a private guest room, into a clubhouse that will provide support for the conference center, inn, and the UCC, he said.

Hamel said the University is also building a new ballroom at the Warren enter, which received .1 million in funding from a “contract commit ment’’ with a program manager who is part of the Compass Group.

Hamel said, “We’re very excited about what’s happening out there, both in support of the University Com munity Club, but then the other activ ities that it supports for the University as well.”

The Warren Conference Center and Inn also provide opportunities for Framingham State students to partic ipate in internships and work-study programs, especially students in the hospitality major.

According to Hamel, there are also

opportunities for biology majors to learn about water sample testing by using the reservoir located on the property.

John Umit Palabiyik, program man ager of the hospitality and tourism management major, said the Warren Center is a great resource for students in the program to get work experience before being exposed to the job mar ket.

Palabiyik said after students in the hospitality and tourism management major take two hospitality classes, they are required to participate in 200 hours of field experience before they continue their course load.

He said the Warren Center is one of the options for the field experience. This field experience is paid and it is counted as two course credits.

Palabiyik said students can work “at the front desk as a receptionist, and they can work in restaurants as a host ess or they can work different events, like wedding events.”

He said students can also work with the sales and marketing team. He add ed on rare occasions, students can “also work with the general manager to learn general management skills.”

He said there are currently two stu dents completing their field experi ence at the Warren Center.

He said the program is still very new and they only opened the field experi ence opportunity at the Warren Center in 01 , taking into account the two years the Warren Center was not at full operation due to the O ID-1 pan demic.

Now and in the future, we should be able to take more than what we can do now. However, there are students that are coming from industry to the program so they already have the field experience,” he said.

Palabiyik added, “We are not limited to the Warren Conference Center, but it’s an option for them.”

He said a benefit for students who want to complete their field experi ence at the Warren Center other than its proximity to campus is that it is “very unique, which means it’s a com pletely different segment of the hos pitality field for many reasons. It’s a small hotel. It’s a boutique hotel.”

He added the center is also a “con ference hotel” where corporations can host events, as well as a social venue. “It’s very popular with weddings. It’s a really hot spot for weddings.”

Palabiyik said the field experience opportunity at the Warren Center is a “really good option for the students. I highly recommend it for all my stu dents if they want to stay in the hotel business.”

He said his vision for the major is “to see the whole program move into the Warren Conference Center” and for students to fully manage the cen ter.

When students graduate from the hospitality and tourism management program, “they are taking charge and running this place. That’s my vision,” he said.

Palabiyik added he would “love” to see Framingham State events taking place at the conference center.

He said, “We are not using it as much as we should.”

Taylor Johnson, a senior hospitality and tourism management major, said

Warren Center

the “Warren Conference Center is a great place for someone to start their journey.”

She added because the center is so close to FSU, it provides students with out vehicles a good resource to learn about the field.

Ingrid Barbosa, a sophomore sociol ogy major, said she thinks the Univer sity Community Club is a good way to build community off campus.

Nicole iera, a graduate student in English, said the University Commu nity Club “sounds pretty nice, espe cially if it’s going to let in people from Ashland and Framingham and faculty and students. I feel like that would probably be a good place for people to connect to their community and their University.”

Nicole Berry, a senior political sci ence major, said she thinks the Warren Center “brings a lot to the communi ty. I think there’s a lot of room for it to grow, and it’s kind of nice to see the University putting effort into increas ing community.”

added, “I don’t even think we’re close to scratching the surface of things that we could do here, so we’re using year one as that real bumpy road, but let’s see how we make it.”

He said the UCC is open to feedback from its members.

“If we hear something from a UCC Club member, we’ll try it,” he said. “There are so many things we can do here.”

Magnani said, “This is such a baby itself right now - we’re trying to really grow it. So we are doing our best to see things that we could have done better from year one - to go to year two.”

Hamel said in its first season of op eration, the UCC “has largely focused on the recreational activities available to members.”

He said, “We’ve done a lot of work creating those opportunities - working with the Division of Conservation and Recreation to do a beach reclamation project. So now there’s a beach there that is also utilized to launch the wa tercraft.”

Hamel added colder weather will begin to put the available indoor activ ities to the test.

He added one of the main focuses of the UCC program is to serve a wide range of club members of different ages.

He said the goal is to figure out pro gramming that suits each member.

To try to figure out the program ming of a wide variety of constituents is going to be a little bit of trial and er ror. I’m sure we’ll try some things that we won’t probably repeat, but as part of those, we’ll also find things that are attractive to members and continue to offer those,” Hamel said.

He agreed with Magnani, saying, “I think we’ll have to collect a lot of data and see what is most of interest to our members.”

The Warren enter is financially self-sustaining, Hamel said.

He said the Warren Center is an en terprise fund, “which means it’s not supported by the University. It does, in fact, support the University operations by subsidizing its use.

“If you want to have a conference out there, it’s reduced cost and we subsidize it through the income of the operations that are occurring and

then hopefully, continue to expand its support for the hospitality program as well,” Hamel said.

He added there have also been a number of capital projects that have been developing at the Warren Center.

He said the Warren Center was “for tunate” to receive American Rescue Plan Act water and sewer funding, which provided $500,000 for a project to renovate the sewer.

He said the Center has also received 1. million in O ID-1 relief fund ing, which were used for “two root projects as well as two generator proj ects.”

The funding will also address con verting the Northern odge, which is currently a private guest room, into a clubhouse that will provide support for the conference center, inn, and the UCC, he said.

Hamel said the University is also building a new ballroom at the Warren enter, which received .1 million in funding from a “contract commit ment’’ with a program manager who is part of the Compass Group.

Hamel said, “We’re very excited about what’s happening out there, both in support of the University Com munity Club, but then the other activ ities that it supports for the University as well.”

The Warren Conference Center and Inn also provide opportunities for Framingham State students to partic ipate in internships and work-study programs, especially students in the hospitality major.

According to Hamel, there are also opportunities for biology majors to learn about water sample testing by using the reservoir located on the property.

John Umit Palabiyik, program man ager of the hospitality and tourism management major, said the Warren Center is a great resource for students in the program to get work experience before being exposed to the job mar ket.

Palabiyik said after students in the

hospitality and tourism management major take two hospitality classes, they are required to participate in 200 hours of field experience before they continue their course load.

He said the Warren Center is one of the options for the field experience. This field experience is paid and it is counted as two course credits.

Palabiyik said students can work “at the front desk as a receptionist, and they can work in restaurants as a host ess or they can work different events, like wedding events.”

He said students can also work with the sales and marketing team. He add ed on rare occasions, students can “also work with the general manager to learn general management skills.”

He said there are currently two stu dents completing their field experi ence at the Warren Center.

He said the program is still very new and they only opened the field experi ence opportunity at the Warren Center in 01 , taking into account the two years the Warren Center was not at full operation due to the O ID-1 pan demic.

Now and in the future, we should be able to take more than what we can do now. However, there are students that are coming from industry to the program so they already have the field experience,” he said.

Palabiyik added, “We are not limited to the Warren Conference Center, but it’s an option for them.”

He said a benefit for students who want to complete their field experi ence at the Warren Center other than its proximity to campus is that it is “very unique, which means it’s a com pletely different segment of the hos pitality field for many reasons. It’s a small hotel. It’s a boutique hotel.”

He added the center is also a “con ference hotel” where corporations can host events, as well as a social venue. “It’s very popular with weddings. It’s a really hot spot for weddings.”

Palabiyik said the field experience opportunity at the Warren Center is a

“really good option for the students. I highly recommend it for all my stu dents if they want to stay in the hotel business.”

He said his vision for the major is “to see the whole program move into the Warren Conference Center” and for students to fully manage the cen ter.

When students graduate from the hospitality and tourism management program, “they are taking charge and running this place. That’s my vision,” he said.

Palabiyik added he would “love” to see Framingham State events taking place at the conference center.

He said, “We are not using it as much as we should.”

Taylor Johnson, a senior hospitality and tourism management major, said the “Warren Conference Center is a great place for someone to start their journey.”

She added because the center is so close to FSU, it provides students with out vehicles a good resource to learn about the field.

Ingrid Barbosa, a sophomore sociol ogy major, said she thinks the Univer sity Community Club is a good way to build community off campus.

Nicole iera, a graduate student in English, said the University Commu nity Club “sounds pretty nice, espe cially if it’s going to let in people from Ashland and Framingham and faculty and students. I feel like that would probably be a good place for people to connect to their community and their University.”

Nicole Berry, a senior political sci ence major, said she thinks the Warren Center “brings a lot to the communi ty. I think there’s a lot of room for it to grow, and it’s kind of nice to see the University putting effort into increas ing community.”

CONNECT WITH SOFIA HARRIS sharris9@student.framingham.edu

Courtesy of Facebook

Native American Heritage

voting against Native communi ties?” concerning whether the politi cians people vote for support policies that further marginalize Native com munities.

The final post for Native American Heritage Month was for “creating an action plan.”

The CIE’s own action plan includes holding at least three events concern ing indigenous culture, some of which will be held outside of Native Ameri can Heritage Month, supporting Na tive American creators on social me dia, “hiring Indigenous speakers from the community,” and ensuring “the FSU community is aware of Indigenous events taking place in the MetroWest area,” according to the CIE’s Instagram post.

Nguyen added the I will also ad vocate for more sustainable and en vironmentally conscious practices on campus and advocating for curriculum centered on Indigenous history.

How does our curriculum reflect our relationship to Indigenous com munities?” he asked. “How do we embed more Indigenous knowledge into those courses? How do we think about our land management practices on campus, and do those reflect Indig enous priorities and perspectives in terms of how we care for and manage the land?”

He added FSU should also keep In digenous students in mind through the University’s recruitment process, and look for ways to establish connections with local Indigenous communities.

“My goal is just to continue to raise that awareness and to get peo ple talking about it,” Nguyen said. A core part of our mission is to amplify narratives and voices and stories that we don’t typically hear in the main stream.”

This year, the CIE hosted several events for Native American Heritage Month. Two of those events were part of the “History in the Making” series of student-led discussions.

On Nov. 1 , the first discussion in the series focused on residential schools in the U.S. and Canada, and the lack of acknowledgement of the geno cide of Native Americans in education.

On Nov. 0, the I held another student-led discussion as part of the “History in the Making” series, “Miss ing and Murdered Indigenous Wom en,” about the epidemic of violence committed against Indigenous women in Canada and the United States, and the racism and sexism that hinders na tive communities’ search for justice.

Jonathan Ribiero, a senior history major, was one of the students who worked with the CIE to organize the discussions for “History in the Mak ing.”

He said, “We wanted to bring up these important issues, not just as his torians, but as concerned citizens of the world.”

He said the events planned for Na tive American Heritage Month were about “solidarity and responsibility.

“Something I’ve heard over and over again is that no one’s talking about what happened to the survivors of Indian residential schools and to the missing and murdered indigenous women, and we can’t just tell people to oogle it.’ They should discuss it,” he added.

Ribiero said, “I hope this series makes more active citizens and advo cates for human rights, especially for Native Americans.”

Abigayle Versackas, a senior history major, also helped organize the discus sions.

Versackas said they wanted the events to happen before and after Thanksgiving “to keep the conversa tion around the extremely traumatic holiday’ that was founded on coloni zation and genocide of Native folks.”

Rebecca Hawk, director of Academic English Language Programs and a de scendant of the Haudenosaunee, has worked on establishing a relationship with the local Nipmuc community in Framingham for over a decade.

Hawk said there is a lot of misun derstanding and misinformation sur rounding Native communities con cerning words such as “inclusive.”

he said, Being inclusive’ of tribes is kind of strange because tribes have existed on this continent long before any Euro-American people have come here.”

Hawk said, “The greatest thing that

relationship with local Native com munities involved the changing of FSU’s seal, which she said Dan Maga zu, director of communications, is now overseeing.

Magazu said the change of FSU’s seal is part of the University’s larger rebranding project.

He said the goal is to find a new seal that better represents Framing ham State University, while also con tinuing to educate the community on the history of our land and its ties to local indigenous tribes.”

Millie González, dean of the Whit temore Library, said the library holds events every year for Native American Heritage Month.

Last year, the library hosted several events for Native American Heritage Month using funds from the N A Big Read grant, including a book discus sion with Poet Laureate Joy Harjo and a presentation by Nipmuc poet arry “Spotted” Crow.

The N A Big ead is a grant given by the National ndowment for the Arts in collaboration with the non profit Arts Midwest, which annually

the Interior Deb Haaland, who is from the Laguna Pueblo people.

The library also has a selection of books about Native American culture and history, as well as literature by Na tive American authors.

Erin Gemme, SGA diversity and in clusion officer and a sophomore ear ly childhood education major, said Native American Heritage Month is extremely important to shed light on how important it is that those people are here.”

They added they would like to be involved in more discussions centered around Native American culture and history. “I love to talk to people - to hear other people’s opinions and sto ries.

“I think it’s important to celebrate all of our differences,” they said.

Gemme said FSU’s Land Acknowl edgment Statement is “a big step in the right direction,” but added the community should find other ways to honor Native American peoples.

Lydia DiGiovanni, a senior comput er science major, said Native American Heritage Month is important “because

- Rebecca Hawk Director of Academic English Language Programs

we can do for Native Americans is to change our way of thinking and under stand it’s not about including themit’s about recognition of them.”

She said, “We have to question our ethnocentric assumptions - our basis for thinking about things, because we think from within a dominant culture’s frame of reference. … It requires us to think outside that framework and think about who we are in relation to them instead of where they are in re lation to us.

“We’re really looking at it from a dominant culture perspective that we need to include’ them when in fact, they’ve been here long before us,” she said.

“It’s recognizing who we are in rela tion to the people who’ve always been here,” she added.

Concerning FSU’s relationship with local Native communities, Hawk said FSU’s perspective is “well meaning” but has left a “cultural gap between in stitutions” in failing to recognize the perspectives of the Native communi ties.

Hawk said, I think it will benefit ev eryone in this entire community - the niversity and beyond - if we can find a way to support and encourage under standing of tribal peoples in our local area.”

A part of her work establishing a

provides support to selected nonprofit organizations around the country to host dynamic community-wide read ing programs,” according to the N A website.

González said when preparing to set up last year’s events, she did a “deep dive” into Native American history. She said the one thing she learned is that she “didn’t know anything.

“I wasn’t taught anything like this in school. My knowledge was so inad equate. It was based off of things I had seen on TV, and things like that,” she said. “So, as a result, I made a com mitment to continue working towards educating and supporting and high lighting Native American culture and heritage and providing information about the history.”

To onz lez, the importance of Na tive American Heritage Month is that it is history that many people don’t know about but should.

This year, there is an “American In dian Reservation & Tribal Jurisdiction” map on display in the library’s foyer that details what native tribes reside in different areas of the United States.

There is also a display that de tails various Native American ame Changers,” such as Harjo and Crow, as well as Wailacki Astronaut Nicole A. Mann, Lakota actor Jana Schmeiding, and current United States Secretary of

racism is definitely still going on in America.”

She added some people “separate the past and now, but the past still af fects people.”

Kianna Bauer, a senior sociolo gy major, said she did not attend any of the on-campus events for Native American Heritage Month, but attend ed a Pow Wow with her grandmother at Bridgewater tate niversity Nov. 0.

She said the month is “all about reparations and ending generational trauma.”

Bauer said she is currently taking a class on Native American cultures, but said FSU should offer more classes centered on Native Americans. I feel like it’s something that everybody has the right to learn,” she said.

Vanessa Tannetta, a senior busi ness management major, said FSU can help support local tribal communities by holding more events about Native American culture and advertise them more.

“It’s really important to focus on everyone’s culture - to make sure that everyone feels included on campus,” she said.

CONNECT WITH BRANDEN LACROIX blacroix@student.framingham.edu

“The greatest thing that we can do for Native Americans is to change our way of thinking and understand it’s not about including them - it’s about recognition of them.”

THE GATEPOST EDITORIAL

Spring tuition deadline needs to be extended

Heading into finals season, students at Framingham State are faced with the ultimate test: can we pay our tuition bills on time.

Bills for the Spring 2023 Semester were re leased by Student Accounts this past Monday and as usual for the spring, we have only three weeks to figure out how we are going to pay.

Over the summer, we are given eight weeks to do something the University now expects from us in less than half that time.

And unlike the summer, we have less time to pick up hours at work or find additional ways to pay our bills once we know our totals.

We are completing final projects and major papers and studying for difficult, cumulative exams, leaving us hardly any time to sort out how we are going to pay our bills.

Besides, it is even more stressful when we would like to participate in gift giving for the holiday season and we cannot provide for our loved ones because we have spent the last of our money on a tuition bill.

As students, we can work throughout the semester to save for our upcoming bill, but there are so many variables at play. It is some times difficult to have clarity about what our bills will be.

Scholarships may still be processing, and we could try taking out additional loans, but not all families are eligible to cosign for them and some students may not even have some one to cosign at all.

And in general, students may just be strug gling financially - we are college students after all.

Sorting out how to pay thousands of dollars in tuition and fees within a three-week time frame is unreasonable.

The spring semester bill deadline should be extended in the interest of equity and fairness for Framingham State students.

First-generation and low-income students

often receive more financial aid and scholar ships, which often requires additional paper work. They may also be learning how to navi gate this aspect of college for the first time on their own.

These students often do not have the free time to understand and gather information or to find assistance that could be vital to pay ing their bill on time, and giving them such a small time frame to work with is inequitable.

The University wants to retain its students, but the way the bill is currently set up is just another barrier we have to face in order to re ceive our education.

Giving us the time to get together the mon ey necessary when we are not in the middle of classes, exams, or the holidays is simply the right thing to do.

Paying any bill is a heavy burden, especially a bill that pays for the path to our futures.

If we cannot pay our bill on time, a hold will be placed on our account, we could be with drawn from our courses, and we will be ineli gible for registration. If a senior needs to fill a requirement to graduate, they could risk los ing their seat in a course because of this.

It can be argued there are consequences for not paying any bill, but all of our other bills can be predicted and planned for ahead of time. The same could be said for our tuition bill if given the additional weeks to sort out our finances such as when we pay our fall bills in the summer.

If the University could extend the deadline to the week before we return from winter break or at least announce our bills earlier in the se mester, paying our tuition and fees could be more manageable.

In the season of giving, give us this addi tional time.

Ensuring the future of equality

By McKenzie Ward Opinions Editor

On Nov. 29, the United States Senate voted and passed the Respect for Marriage Act which ensures federal recognition of marriages regardless of gender, race, or ethnicity and requires all 50 states to recognize valid marriages that were conducted where they are legal, according to Axios.

The House of Representatives still needs to vote on this be fore it is sent to President Biden for his signature.

This act may serve as only a temporary fix as it doesn’t re quire states to keep same-sex marriage legalized if Obergefell v Hodges is overturned, but it is truly wonderful news to hear given the concerns many of us, including myself, have had in terms of the United States Supreme Court (SCOTUS).

For years, I heard people tell me, “Oh, the SCOTUS would never overturn Roe v Wade. Stop being dramatic.” So, when the SCOTUS voted to overturn Roe v Wade and allowed states to decide whether abortion was legal, I knew it was only the be ginning.

In the leaked Roe v Wade majority draft from the SCOTUS, Justice Samuel Alito stated that the reason why abortion isn’t protected under the Constitution is because “the Constitution makes no reference to abortion, and no such right is implicitly protected by any constitutional provision… .”

Since then, I have been deeply worried about the future of landmark cases such as Loving v Virginia, which ruled that banning interracial marriage would violate the Fourteenth Amendment and Obergefell v Hodges, which ruled that samesex marriage was protected under the Fourteenth Amendment.

If enough of the SCOTUS justices truly believe that just be cause the Constitution doesn’t directly state that the right to marry who you want is protected, then we need to be fast act ing on taking the necessary steps to protect rights not clearly mentioned in the Constitution.

And while the United States Congress is in the midst of passing this act, the biggest roadblock in this process has been the Republican Party.

The Senate’s vote for this act was 61 in favor and 36 opposed to the passing of it.

Out of those 61 votes in favor of the act, 12 of them were Re publicans, including Mitt Romney, Todd Young, and Lisa Mur kowski, according to The Washington Post.

To those 12 senators who voted in support of this bill, thank you for recognizing the importance of this act and using your vote to protect the rights of millions of people.

And while I am thankful for the 12 Republican senators who voted in favor of this act, I am disgusted and revolted by the 36 Republicans who voted against it.

However, I am sadly not surprised.

Time and time again, a majority of the members of the Re publican Party have voted against efforts to protect the rights of marginalized groups.

According to Gallup, 71% of Americans and 55% of Republi cans are in favor of same-sex marriage. Gallup has also report ed that 91% of Americans are in support of interracial marriage.

Despite receiving support from the majority of the country, a majority of the Republican members of Congress are not vot ing in a way that reflects what most of the country wants.

However, the Republican Party’s hypocrisy does not stop there when discussing votes on this act.

The Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell, who is a Re publican senator representing Kentucky, voted against this act despite the fact that he himself is in an interracial marriage.

The hypocrisy that plagues the Republican Party is beyond revolting and something needs to change.

The purpose of this act is to provide all United States cit izens with the same respect for their marriage and it is con cerning that 36 Republican senators cannot comprehend the importance of this.

No one should get to decide who one gets to marry because as Lin Manuel-Miranda once said, “And love is love is love is love is love is love is love is love cannot be killed or swept aside.”

Campus Conversations

By Ryan Schreiber, Staff Writer

“I don’t think they do. I think we should have a lot more time or at least be given knowledge of when the bill is going to be [due] in advance.”

“I wholeheartedly do not. The fact that we have to pay for the spring semester before the fall semester is over is asinine.”

William

“No, because this semester is not even over and you’re already getting a bill. If you’re not working during the semester and your bill is coming up, you have to find a way to pay the school. They do not give students enough time to pay off the bill.”

-Lola Mwilelo, junior

“There’s not enough time. I feel like we should have more time because some people don’t have enough time to make up the money.”

Jeanny

“No. It’s just that we get our student schedules and then a couple weeks after, we have to pay the bill. I feel like giving students more time to figure out their schedule so they can get all the missing pieces before requiring payment would be just beneficial.”

Georgianna

“If you don’t get it by that deadline, you still have time to pay it. I feel like there’s enough time.”

Do you think the University gives enough time for students to pay their semester bills?

“No, because a lot of people have financial issues that they need to work through to get the money.”

-Jacob Sargent, senior

Ainslee Caton, sophomore

Nee, senior

“There’s nothing wrong with having a little more time.”

-Karianna Rodrigues, freshman

Olivia Heafey, junior

Nelson, junior

Tara, senior

Men’s basketball hustles in exhibition loss to Bryant University

By Adam Levine Asst. Sports Editor

The Framingham State Rams were outmatched against the Bryant Uni versity Bulldogs in a 98-44 exhibition game loss Nov. 28.

The Rams struggled with shooting in the matchup, only making 25% of their field goal attempts and 1 . of their 1 three-point field goal at tempts. While the Bulldogs also strug gled with their three-point shooting, only making 28% of their three-point field goal attempts, they shot for an astounding from the field.

The game tipped off and the NCAA Division I Bulldogs attacked the Rams with full force.

After 5 minutes of play had passed, Bryant held an impressive 1 -0 lead, led by six points from Antwan Walk er and two steals each from Sherif Gross-Bullock and Charles Pride.

With 1 left in the first half, Framingham got on the scoreboard when the Rams’ Julius Goines scored a layup.

Bryant now led Framingham with a score of 1 - .

Bryant’s Pride and Framingham’s Jahden Erold made back-to-back three-point attempts, increasing the score to 1 - in favor of Bryant.

Another 4 minutes went by and the only point scored was a successful free throw attempt by Bryant’s Gross-Bull ock.

With 10 1 left in the first half, the Rams’ JD Okafor scored a layup and added two points to the Rams’ score.

The Rams’ Bryan Thompson stole

the ball from Gross-Bullock and scored another layup, which added two points to the Rams’ score.

Bryant now led the game with a score of 1 - .

For the next 9 minutes, Bryant con tinued to outscore Framingham and they increased their lead.

With 1 0 remaining in the first half, Bryant led the game -1 . The Bulldogs went on another scoring run, this time scoring eight unanswered points.

Thompson was able to score two free throws to end the first half of the game, but the Bulldogs still held an imposing - 0 lead over the ams.

Bryant started the second half with another momentous scoring run. They scored eight points in the first minute and 0 seconds of the second half.

The Rams responded by outscoring the Bulldogs - in the next minute.

During this run, Framingham’s Go ines dominated the court by piecing together a defensive rebound, a coastto-coast dunk, and a successful free throw attempt.

With 1 left in the second half, Bryant launched another scoring run. The Bulldogs’ Doug Edert scored backto-back three-point attempts, help ing the Bulldogs score 10 unanswered points.

Framingham’s Thompson was able to score another Rams’ layup before he fouled dert during a three-point field goal attempt. Edert made all three of his free throw attempts.

Another four points from the Bull dogs increased the score to - in favor of Bryant.

The final 1 minutes of the second half were not enough for the Rams to stage a comeback.

Bryant continued to outscore Fram ingham, but the Rams’ intermittent baskets prevented the Bulldogs from orchestrating any major scoring runs.

Bryant’s multiple scoring runs pro pelled them to a 98-44 victory over Framingham.

Thompson was the leading scor er for the Rams with ten points. He played for a team-high of minutes and was also the team’s assist leader with two assists.

Regarding his role on the team, Thompson said, “My role is just to put everyone in the right positions, keep running the right plays, and control the game.”

Despite the score, Framingham State did not add a loss to their record because of the nature of this game.

The Rams’ head coach, Donald Mor ris Jr., explained the condition of the exhibition matchup as “that it would be played like a real game but it would not count toward our record.”

This was the first matchup between

the Division III Framingham State Rams and the Division I Bryant Uni versity Bulldogs in the programs’ his tories.

Morris spoke about the logistics be hind the exhibition game. “Bryant had the need for an exhibition game for this season and we needed one more game as well.

“The process was very similar to when we schedule D-III programs,” added Morris.

“We did receive a small stipend from Bryant to play the game. That money goes to our program for fund raising,” Morris said.

This is the only Division I program that Framingham will face this regular season.

Morris commented on the Rams’ matchup with a D-I program. “I’ve played in numerous other D-I/D-III games at other universities, and it’s always been a great experience for the kids.

“We love the chance to have the op portunity to see what this level is like,” Morris added.

Morris also spoke about his play ers. “We have a bunch of kids whose dream was to maybe play Division I, so tonight, they got to live that dream.”

After the experience, Morris said,

“We had the opportunity to play in a large venue with a band and cheer leaders against a really good team. The game was also on ESPN+, which was really special to our student-athletes.”

Morris spoke about how the players conducted themselves and what they can learn. He said, “The energy on our bench, on the bus, and in the locker room was very positive and upbeat.

“Everyone stayed positive and saw the bigger picture of why we played the game,” Morris added.

Thompson also reflected on what the team can learn. “When we go into conference games, this game is going to help us.”

Morris spoke very highly of the Bry ant University Bulldogs. “I think this year, Bryant is going to make it out of the first round of the N AA tourna ment.

“I think they are going to compete with a lot of major D-I programs as well, and I think they are going to sur prise a lot of people,” Morris added.

Adam Levine/ THE GATEPOST Rams’ player celebrating making threepoint shot during Bryant Exhibition

Adam Levine/ THE GATEPOST Rams player attempting to dunk at the Bryant Exhibition match Nov. 28.

FSU hockey falls to the Plymouth State Panthers

By Danielle Achin Sports Editor

The ramingham tate niversity ice hockey team fell - to the Panthers despite coming back from a -0 deficit in the second period.

The game opened with the Panthers scoring in just under five minutes after Niks rollis finished an assist from ider Mc allum and found the back of the net.

The period continued with both teams racing all over the ice, sending the puck airborne, and tripping opponents, which almost led to a few fights be tween the players.

At , the Panthers tacked on another goal after olin Tracy snuck one past goalkeeper Blake arlson for the -0 lead.

Just over a minute later, the Panthers’ Will Redick sped down the ice and fired right to the back of the net, scoring the third goal of the night for Plym outh State.

After another handful of scuffles, both teams were able to fit in one last clash with three seconds left of the period, resulting in a double power play advantage for Plymouth State heading into the second.

Despite the second period opening with five men on three, arlson managed to block the flurry of shots for the remainder of the power play.

At 1 , ramingham made it on the board after ohnny Baker came from around the back of the net and spiked the puck in for the goal.

The body slamming and tripping continued, and with just over five minutes left in the second period, the ams’ Dylan Marty finished off an assist from ohnny Baker for the - score.

ess than three minutes later, the ams’ Tyler Westfall flicked a shot into the top corner to tie the game - .

The final frame proved to be the most intense, with both teams taking and throwing more hits.

Halfway through the third period, the Panthers’ onnor Tait broke thetie after he shot through a gap into the back of the net.

Plymouth scored their final goal of the night with just over three minutes left to play when Ethan Stuckless shot the puck and tipped it off the pole into the net for the - final score.

Although this was a frustrating loss for the team, the Rams’ Jake Conrad said even though it wasn’t the result they were hoping for, he is more than satisfied with his team’s performance.

“Overall, we played really well although they came back and scored the two goals, but the effort was really good,” he said. “It’s a team that for the past three years that I’ve been here has blown us out, so it’s much better to be out here and have a really good game with them.”

The Rams are back in action when they travel to Rivier for a non-league game on Dec. .

Men’s basketball loses in overtime to Lesley

By Adam Levine Asst. Sports Editor

The ramingham tate ams suffered a - overtime loss to the esley niversity ynx Dec. 1.

The ams’ D Okafor recorded a double-double, as he scored 1 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in the game.

As a team, esley recorded 0 steals and had four different players score in the double-digits.

esley’s bench outscored ramingham’s -1 , which helped them capture the win.

The game was close from start to finish. our minutes into the first half, the ams led - , all six of their points com ing from Okafor’s strong start.

esley outscored ramingham - and took a 1 - lead in under minutes. Framingham’s Tevin Charles responded by scoring two points off of a layup. Okafor followed harles by scoring another five points of his own.

With 10 left in the first half, ramingham took a 1 -1 lead over esley.

The Lynx outscored the Rams and took their own two-point lead.

With left in the first half, the ams’ eyshon aunders scored a layup, which was followed by a successful three-point field goal from teammate Ivan Nyantenji.

The ynx were not able to take the lead for the remainder of the first half, but the Rams were never able to break away, either.

As the second half began, ramingham held a - lead over esley.

There was little offensive action to begin the second half, but Framingham managed to score a layup and a free throw.

No matter what Lesley did, Framingham maintained a slim lead over the Lynx.

With 1 remaining in the second half, ramingham’s harles scored a layup to increase the Rams’ lead to seven points.

Leslesy was able to close the gap, but the Rams held their lead.

With 1 left in the second half, the ams’ Bryan Thompson scored a layup and Framingham held the biggest lead of the game.

ramingham led esley with a score of - . However, the ynx began to close the gap.

With 0 remaining in the second half, esley’s cott Barlow made a threepoint shot to tie the game with a score of 54-54.

The Lynx and Rams each scored another two points, but the game remained tied with a score of - as regulation time expired.

Five minutes of overtime were added to the clock.

Overtime began slowly until the ams went on a -0 scoring run, taking a 1- lead over the ynx.

With 1 1 left in overtime, esley’s histrain astro scored a three-point shot that sparked the Lynx’s victory.

The ynx outscored the ams 1 -1 to close out overtime. esley’s overtime scoring run earned them a - victory against raming ham.

The ams dropped to an overall record of - on the season.

Framingham’s assistant coach Brenton Caesar-Allen referred to this game as a “blip.” He said, “This seems like a little blip in the system. Hopefully, we can get back on track in our next game.”

Nyantenji is also looking toward his team’s next game, but learned from their loss to Lesley. He said, “Staying poised as a team, we need to work on holding each other more accountable, and ourselves accountable.”

Framingham will host Fisher college for a non-conference matchup Dec. .

Adrien Gobin/ THE GATEPOST Rams hockey getting the puck away from Plymouth State opponent Dec. 1.

Adam Levine THE GATEPOST Rams player making jump shot at home game against Lesley Dec. 1.

ARTS & FEATURES

History students raise awareness on missing and murdered Indigenous women

By Ryan O’Connell Arts & Features Editor

A student panel hosted a discus sion related to the disproportionate amount of violence against Indige nous women when compared to other groups, in collaboration with the Cen ter for Inclusive Excellence Nov. 30.

The discussion, titled “Missing and Murdered Indigenous Wom en (MMIW),” was the third and final event facilitated by the Center for Inclusive Excellence (CIE) for Native American Heritage Month.

The event was the third of three “History in the Making” discussions, all led by a student panel consisting of history majors Danni Marquez, a junior, and seniors Abigayle Versackas and Jon Ribeiro.

Marquez said many cases of miss ing Indigenous women are connect ed to police brutality, which is on the rise but not seeing more media atten tion or discussion. She added this is because of the lack of protection for Indigenous groups in both the United States and Canada.

“According to the CDC, homicide is the third leading cause of death [for] Indigenous women between the ages of 12 and 30 years old,” she said.

Marquez added the media coverage of cases involving missing Indigenous women is still disproportionate, and gives less focus to non-white women. She noted the death of Gabby Petito in 2021, and the media coverage she saw compared to the murders of In digenous women.

Ribeiro then shared some statistics related to violence against Indigenous women. “Indigenous women are mur dered at a 10 times higher rate than all other ethnicities,” he said.

“In 2016 there were over 5,700 reports of missing Indian and Alas kan Native women and girls, though the U.S. Department of Justice fed eral missing persons database - also known as NamUs - only logged 116 of these cases,” he said.

Ribeiro added the victims ranged from less than 1 year old to 83 years old.

He said since the U.S. legal system doesn’t record most cases of missing and murdered Indigenous women, it’s extremely hard to maintain statistics of their cases due to the reliance on individual reservations’ law enforce ment agencies to contribute.

He added there are a lot of factors as to why Indigenous women see in creased rates of violent crimes, and shared that the bureaucracy of juris diction often causes problems - since reservations are federally protected, the question of who investigates a crime is difficult to answer.

Ribeiro added Indigenous people have legitimate reasons to be skepti cal of cooperating with government

officials, due both to historical in stances and modern ones, and that language barriers might also make it difficult to assist law enforcement.

He said Indigenous women are of tentimes considered “the lesser dead” by law enforcement, or rationalized to have “just run away,” and were not worth expending resources on. Ribeiro added this contributes to the racism, sexism, and stereotyping of Indigenous people.

“Oftentimes, Indigenous people face a lot of barriers in terms of rac ism, stereotypes - that they are con sidered drunks or drug addicts and therefore they must be missing be cause they are pursuing an addiction,” he said.

Versackas then discussed some of the activism surrounding missing and murdered Indigenous women, such as the “red hand,” a red or black hand print painted over the mouth to sym bolize the stories of women whose voices have been oppressed and drowned out.

She added the handprint criticizes the silence of the U.S. and Canadi an governments, and the lack of ac knowledgement from them.

Versackas said the racism, sexism, and stereotypes against missing and murdered Indigenous women are a “direct legacy of colonization and co lonialism.”

She also discussed the ribbon skirt, a traditional Native American gar ment which has come back into pub lic focus alongside the rise in missing and murdered Indigenous women.

She added the ribbons skirts, often colored, represent different mean ings, such as yellow being associated with a “survival of suicide or remem brance of a loved one who committed suicide.”

Versackas said a rainbow stripe represents the LGBT+ Indigenous in Two-Spirit communities. She added Chevi Rabbit, an Indigenous journal ist, said residential schools taught a lot of Indigenous communities how to hate gender-diverse people.

Versackas said part of her role as a Two-Spirit advocate is to bring back Two-Spirit dignity and respect within communities.

She added while the title of the dis cussion was “Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women,” these crimes don’t only affect them. “They affect Two-Spirit folks, non-binary folks, trans folks, queer folks, and men as well.

“We did want to focus this discus sion on women, because it dispropor tionately affects women in particular, but I just want to emphasize that this isn’t just a women’s issue,” Versackas said. “It’s a queer issue, it’s an Indig enous issue, it’s a womens’ issue as well.”

Attendees then discussed their ini

tial thoughts and feelings about miss ing and murdered Indigenous women, and their exposure to the issue prior to the discussion.

Kaya Baptiste, a history major, said they remembered a kidnapping and murder of an Indigenous female peer in high school, and that the case re ceived little to no news coverage. She added Indigenous women need more recognition in public media.

An attendee then asked about the connection between domestic vio lence cases and missing or murdered Indigenous women, or if there was any significant relationship between missing women and abuse.

Ribeiro responded that the 5,700plus missing womens cases included ones involving domestic violence, and said abuse cases were also a conversa tion about poverty.

“Not to say if you are impoverished it means that you’re going to be vio lent in a relationship, but there’s cer tainly a correlation of stressors that bring about those factors in a rela tionship,” he said.

“And so a lot of these numbers do combine that, but we don’t want to at the same time potentially blame In digenous men for any of this, because that is not entirely the case,” said Ri beiro.

Versackas added 55.5% of Indig enous women have been physical ly abused by their partners at some point, according to nativewomenswil derness.org.

Kathleen Barnard, student engage ment coordinator of the Whittemore Library, asked if the barriers erected by the bureaucracy of who can inves tigate crimes involving reservations and their inhabitants was reflected in any statistics involving missing and murdered Indigenous women.

Ribeiro said a case can become a “bureaucratic nightmare” to try to determine who has the jurisdiction

when people living on a reservation commit a crime outside of it, or vice versa.

The discussion then gravitated to the mistreatment and bias against cases involving sex work. Eric Nguy en, director of the CIE, said that it was “a good reminder of intersectionality at play,” and how holding multiple marginalized identities can lead to a compounding sense of discrimina tion.

He added this contributes to a sense of dehumanizing missing and murdered Indigenous women whose cases are never followed up on, and the prevalence of victim blaming in situations involving sex workers.

Attendees discussed their thoughts on how to prevent Indigenous women from becoming victims of violence. Baptiste said she imagined it would never stop, while others discussed some of the actions which could com bat it.

They discussed practical contribu tions students could make, such as sharing missing and murdered Indig enous women’s stories and advocat ing for public transit in areas where Indigenous people don’t have access to safe and reliable transportation.

The panel reminded the audience that Indigenous people still exist to day, contrary to the way Native Amer icans are perceived in many history books, and how they could help advo cate for missing and murdered Indig enous women.

“We are actively living on Indig enous land. Indigenous people are a part of society today,” Versackas said. “It’s important to know that Indige nous people exist with and among us today, and right now as we’re talking, they’re not a community of the past.”

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

Ryan O’Connell / THE GATEPOST (Left) Seniors Abigayle Versackas and Jon Ribeiro facilitating a discussion Nov. 30.

Hilltop

from

that way when we couldn’t actual ly put on performances. But I’m very happy we can actually put on perfor mances and stuff again,” Walker said.

As director, she said it’s her job to coordinate the cast and crew members and delegate responsibilities, while simultaneously following the Hilltop constitution. Walker said she shapes the creative vision for the show, di recting what the actors will do and how the show will look.

The production team includes a producer, stage manager, music direc tor, and tech director.

Meeghan Bresnahan, a senior his tory major and the president of The Hilltop Players, is the music director, and an actor in the musical.

She said she works to make sure all the music sounds good and is bal anced. All the instrumental parts of the music will be played electronical ly, and she said she has to make sure they’re balanced correctly for the au dience to be able to hear.

She also helps the actors to hit the right notes when singing.

Bresnahan said her favorite part of working on the show is the communi ty and friendships made while doing it. “I’m really good friends with the director and other members of the [production] cast,” she said.

Abrianna Ouellette, a freshman psychology major, is the stage man ager for “Once Upon a Mattress.” Her duties include organizing the props, writing down blocking in the script, and controlling the curtains.

She said it’s unusual for a freshman to have a job on the production staff, but she has experience working back stage during productions at her high school.

Matt Donahoe, senior computer science major, is the tech director for the musical and technical chair of The Hilltop Players. His responsibilities include building and coordinating the set pieces.

“The most memorable part of the musical so far has been finishing the 6-foot-tall stack of mattresses. It is by far the largest and heaviest set piece I have had to make. Sitting on top of it once it was done was cathartic be cause I had been nervous about that set piece the entire semester,” Dona hoe said.

Ellie Lynch, a junior psychology major, is the producer for this produc tion.

“What I do as a producer is a little funky cause I’ve never done it before, but how I’ve been describing it is es sentially providing support to the di rector during rehearsals and during tech week I’ve been backstage orga nizing props and crew things,” they said.

“My most memorable moment during the process was strangely the auditions, even though they hap pened so long ago. I liked hearing ev erybody’s singing and acting talents. Obviously there are people who can

sing, but there were some surprises and I remember writing in my notes, ‘Wow, they sang really freaking good’ a few times,” Lynch said.

“I think with all [production] staff roles you need to be so communica tive, so open-minded, calm demeanor because it can sometimes get a little stressful,” Walker said.

Christina Chinetti, a junior child and family studies major, plays Prin cess Winnifred, the female lead of the play. She’s been involved with The Hilltop Players in the past and said part of why she wanted to be in “Once

ment, line, or contribution during the production that has made a positive impact on the show,” she said.

Walker said, “When I received [my Paper Plate Award] as a freshman in [‘The Great Gatsby’], it really made me feel a sense of belonging in the production, even if it was a silly little drawing on a paper plate! Most direc tors I’ve worked with have done them as well, and they’re just a lightheart ed reward for the director to give to the cast as a ‘thank you’ for all they’ve done, but they’ve turned into a really anticipated tradition towards the end

cause they were already friends.

They said they joined The Hilltop Players their freshman year. “It’s fun ny because I was looking at the Hill top meeting schedule and it just so happened that the exact time I was looking, there was a meeting going. And the rest is history,” they said.

Walker said, “We just got the cos tumes in and things are getting so lidified, and as someone who hasn’t even been on a production staff or has been a director before, there have been times where I have been inse cure about what I’m doing.

Upon a Mattress” is because “Little Women,” the musical scheduled for the Spring 2022 semester, was can celed at the last minute.

“I have been doing musicals since high school and have been a part of Hilltop Players [since] freshman year. It was never a question of whether I was going to audition or not,” she said.

Chinetti said the most memora ble moment from the production was when she found out she was cast as Princess Winnifred.

“I’ve never been the lead of any thing before and this has been a dream of mine since middle school, so it was a really surreal moment I’ll never forget,” she said.

Olivia Copeland, a junior English major and the secretary of The Hill top Players, plays Lady Larken and the Nightingale. She’s been involved with the club since the Spring 2021 se mester, when she auditioned for “The Nineteenth.”

She said her favorite memory working on the show was when they did the Paper Plate Awards.

“We have a tradition in Hilltop called the Paper Plate Awards, where the director or another production staff member of a show uses a paper plate to craft an award for each cast member that celebrates a specific mo

“Once

of each production.”

Tadiwa Chitongo, senior bio chemistry major, plays Sir Harry, Lady Larken’s love interest. Because COVID-19 hit during their freshman year, they said they wanted to go out with “one last hurrah.” They also were interested in working with Walker be

“Seeing the production come into life and come into fruition, maybe I cut myself some slack. I did an OK job,” she said. “Really seeing it come to life has been very rewarding.”

CONNECT WITH RAENA DOTY rdoty@student.framingham.edu

Adrien Gobin / THE GATEPOST

(Left) Senior Tadiwa Chitongo and junior Olivia Copeland performing in “Once Upon a Mattress” Nov. 30.

Adrien Gobin / THE GATEPOST (Left) Sophomore Emma Brosnan and junior Christina Chinetti performing in

Upon a Mattress” Nov. 30.

The Onyx launches their 2022-23 cover contest

By Emily Rosenberg Associate Editor

A student walking past the McCa rthy Center Forum on Tuesday night would’ve noticed purple and pink streamers creating a curtain teasing creative festivities behind it.

Behind the curtain, students were greeted by members of The Onyx who hosted a launch party for their 202223 issue cover contest.

With mustachioed balloons bounc ing around tables decorated with yel low tablecloths, students were of fered fruit punch and chips while they

relaxed and worked on writing, paint ing, and collage making.

Scattered across tables were the materials students were provided to work with: copies of The Gatepost, plastic bags, watercolor painting pal ettes, pencils, and a multitude of col ored papers.

Emily Monaco, art editor for The Onyx and a sophomore studio art major, led an activity where students created poetry by cutting up pieces of newspaper and magazine, shaking it up into a plastic bag, pulling out the pieces, and collaging the words into a poem.

She said this form of poetry is called “Dada,” which began as a tradi tion in Switzerland.

Monaco added the purpose of a Dada poem is that it is supposed to be provocative and make little sense.

Monaco said for students who were unsure if they should submit to the cover contest or their work for publi cation in The Onyx, “You miss 100% of the shots that you don’t take. And it’s definitely worth submitting some thing, because you never know, you might get published in a magazine, which is a really amazing accomplish ment, especially for a college stu dent.”

She said she is looking for art that is “shocking” and represents thinking “outside of the box” for cover-contest submissions.

This year, The Onyx is including the challenge that contestants must stick to a specific color palette for their art, Monaco said.

She said, while the color palette limits artists it “gives the opportu nity for students to work through a challenge, which is an important skill I think everyone should be able to have.”

Leticia Rita Santos, a sophomore American Sign Language major, said the launch party was a wonderful idea to bring people together who are in terested in art to destress during fi

nals week.

Olivia Themistocles, a sophomore English major and member of The Onyx, painted a yellow smiley face with crossed black eyes. She said she didn’t have much of a plan when be ginning the painting but it was just a silly piece to make while having fun hanging out.

Themistocles said her favorite part of being in The Onyx is having “cre ative freedom.” She said she did not submit to the literary magazine at her high school, and getting her work published in The Onyx is rewarding.

Sylvie Ficco, an Earth Science ma jor and member of The Onyx, created a blue collage from snippets of an old er edition of The New Yorker. She has been a member of The Onyx, submit ting poems since she was a freshman. She said the best part about working on The Onyx is getting to see the final product at the end of the year.

Emma Lyons, editor-in-chief of The Onyx, said she hopes people had fun at the event “expressing their creativity.”

[Editor’s Note: Emma Lyons is an Arts & Features Editor of The Gate post.]

CONNECT WITH EMILY ROSENBERG erosenberg@student.framingham.edu

By Jack McLaughlin Staff Writer

“Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mys tery” is Rian Johnson’s followup to his widely successful predecessor, “Knives Out.” The latest installment reunites viewers with world-class de tective Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) to once again uncover a murder mystery with a bizarre lineup of new charac ters.

The cozy autumn-in-Massachu setts setting established in the first film has been swapped for a beauti ful Greek island in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, where eccentric billionaire Miles Bron (Edward Nor ton) invites his longtime friends to his private estate for a long weekend with the promises of a brief moment of normalcy.

The drastic change in setting helps ease viewers into the new characters, which can be difficult considering how amazing the cast of the first film was.

The script was once again written by Johnson, who captures the same blend of suspense and humor that made his previous film so iconic. His ability to write strong humor is show cased in the first 10 minutes in an in tricate scene that quickly introduces each of the characters as they receive their invitations from Miles.

Without spoiling any story details, the script and cinematography keep

the viewer second guessing every lit tle detail presented on screen.

There are many moments where you will be paying close attention to what characters are doing in the back ground or what they say in quick dia logue scenes that will constantly keep your attention when trying to figure out the mystery.

The fast pace of the story makes these moments hard to catch, and once you think you figured everything out it continues to surprise you at ev ery turn.

The iconic cast established in the first film is completely thrown away in favor of an equally compelling en semble. While we still have Daniel Craig absolutely crushing in his role as Detective Blanc, the film takes the necessary step to make sure the view er will enjoy the new characters.

You’ll find it nearly impossible to pick a favorite character. Each has so many great moments and you will ap preciate each one for completely dif ferent reasons.

With that being said, the best new additions to the cast were Dave Bau tista and Janelle Monáe.

Bautista plays Duke Cody, an online influencer. The character is written and performed as a mockery of prob lematic influencers plaguing social media. The commentary on this as pect of social media being portrayed with the glowing charisma and humor that Bautista is known for will make

viewers gravitate their attention to him as his moments are terrific.

His introduction tells the viewer everything you have to know about the character without revealing too much. The dynamic between him and actress Jackie Hoffman is a comedic highlight while also being a perfect scene that establishes his personality.

Monáe plays a much different char acter than Bautista’s. Her presence on screen never fails to keep viewers cu rious, and audiences will find that her character has an incredibly satisfying payoff that will make them resonate with her that much more.

Another strong highlight is Kate Hudson, who plays a fashion model that can’t seem to grasp what’s ac ceptable to post on social media.

Her unawareness of what’s social ly acceptable to say or post online makes for some hilarious scenes that are clearly a commentary on how cer tain influential people use these plat forms.

Hudson and Bautista’s characters are similar in that they are both on line influencers who are viewed as controversial, though the film does wonders with making their situations feel completely different by giving them more than just these surface level traits.

If a constant rotation of actors becomes the norm for future install ments, it will be welcomed with open arms after how well it works here.

The music is not a real standout here unfortunately. There are a few interesting tracks especially toward the end, but it is mostly forgettable.

Fortunately, something like a lack ing score can be forgiven considering how well everything else was execut ed.

If it sounds like I’m being vague, it’s on purpose as this film is best ex perienced knowing as little as possi ble before watching. It’s also because this film will not be widely available until Dec. 23 when it releases on Net flix.

This is a rare sequel that can be watched on it’s own with no prior knowledge of the first installment and despite being another murder mystery, it manages to improve ev erything “Knives Out” excelled at and goes even further to be one of the best watches this year.

CONNECT WITH JACK MCLAUGHLIN jmclaughlin7@student.framingham.edu

Emily Rosenberg / THE GATEPOST

Emily Monaco, art editor of The Onyx, speaking at The Onyx’s cover contest event Nov. 29.

By Jack McLaughlin Staff Writer

By Owen Glancy Staff Writer

The novel “All Quiet on the Western Front” is an all-time classic, and one of the greatest war stories ever told. The brutal and nihilistic viewpoint of a German soldier during World War I is captivating and memorable.

We’re happy to say this year’s film adaptation of “All Quiet on the West

the film has little violence. Any gory scenes are mild compared to the film’s contemporaries, but what is shown is realistic and disturbing.

Seeing blood hit the camera as a man is killed by a shovel or hearing screams of agony as a man’s leg is amputated are incredibly effective at shaking the audience to their core.

While there aren’t as many mo ments of action normally expected in traditional war movies, the ones that are here are fantastically done.

A standout action scene is when

well, standing out from the rest of the already great cast.

The story focuses less on the war, rather using it as a backdrop to show the struggle of Paul experiencing this life-altering event. This use of screen time to focus primarily on Paul allows him to grow as a character the viewer will genuinely care for.

This works for viewers who aren’t entirely engaged in traditional war movies, and offers an alternative that ends up being one of the best entries this genre has seen in a long time.

One notable scene that shows this is when Paul is reading Kat’s letter to him that was sent by his wife. This moment of brevity allows the story to slow down and strengthen the bonds of these characters.

Had the film not taken the time to let these characters grow, viewers would not be nearly as interested in their own personal dilemmas.

The best scene in the film takes everything previously mentioned and combines them in a perfectly gut-wrenching moment. About half way through the film, Paul is fleeing from the French line after a failed at tempt to capture it.

He hides in a water-filled crater where he is attacked by a French sol dier. Paul fatally stabs the soldier and fills his mouth with dirt. This brutal violence is framed brilliantly, and the delivery from both actors really sells the pain of taking a life and losing it.

We then see Paul continue to hide in the crater with the enemy sol dier slowly dying nearby. Eventually, Paul’s conscience takes hold of him, and he realizes that the enemy he’s been fighting this whole time is a per son.

The four-note melody is used so often, that even the lighter scenes of brevity in the film cannot escape them. This causes scenes that would have been a good break from intense action to have a strange sense of dread, occasionally ruining the film’s otherwise well established tone.

As mentioned before, the film can feel lengthy at points. This causes some parts to feel slow and boring, especially when Paul or Kat aren’t in a scene.

The original novel focused entirely on Paul and his unit; however, the film regularly switches to the perspective of higher-ranking generals and the Kaiser. While these scenes aren’t bad on paper, they take the viewer out of what is supposed to be a very personal and relatable story.

It feels as if these scenes were add ed to make the story more digestible to a casual viewer, but they come off as bland and pointless and bring the story of our main characters to a grinding halt each time it cuts to them.

The addition of these scenes stretches the runtime close to two and a half hours, which, in a way, kills the momentum of the story.

The omission of the novel’s central theme of the German lost generation also feels strange, but it’s hard to no tice if you haven’t read the original source material.

Overall, the film is a masterful ad aptation of one of the greatest nov els of all time. The immaculate mood, writing, and acting make for a brutal and memorable story of loss and vi olence.

ern Front” (or “Im Westen nictus Neus” in German) is an excellent ad aptation of the classic novel.

It’s important to mention the film is a German production, meaning watching it in the original German language is obviously ideal. The En glish performances aren’t bad, but they don’t have the same energy as the original German version.

Immediately upon starting the film, the immaculate use of lighting is made apparently clear. Bombs and flares lighting up the night sky, the sunlight peeking through the canopy of evergreen trees, and the dim in firmaries lit by torches all create an overwhelmingly depressing mood.

The cinematography is also excel lent. The war scenes are expertly shot in a way that will grab the viewer’s attention and refuse to let go, forcing the horrors of war to be seen by the audience up close.

The long tracking shots through chaotic battle scenes are incredibly impressive and visceral. Surprisingly,

tanks are introduced to the battle. The tense energy that fills each of the characters as they slowly begin to re alize what is coming toward them is some of the best action viewers will see all year.

The many failed attempts to stop the tanks fill the scene with even more dread, and once it’s over, viewers will not only be relieved but left in horror at the carnage they just witnessed.

All this violence and mood are useless if the characters aren’t in teresting. Thankfully, the film’s pro tagonists Paul and Kat are incredibly charming and relatable.

Paul starts the film as an innocent optimist who joins the war with his friends to win glory for the father land. As the film marches through its admittedly far too long runtime, Paul gradually becomes a jaded machine for combat.

Despite Paul’s excellent character arc, Albrecht Schuch’s performance as Kat is unforgettable. He plays the role of a wise and resourceful mentor

Paul tries to save his life, applying pressure to the wounds and removing the dirt from his mouth. You can real ly feel his manic desperation and re gret as he tries everything in his pow er to save the man’s life.

The man cannot be saved however, as he dies in Paul’s arms. Paul then goes into the man’s jacket to find a picture of a wife and child. He vows to bring the man’s possessions back to his family as he sits in the crater con templating his decisions as the sun sets. It’s truly a brilliant scene.

Not everything in the film is perfect however. Many of the side characters are very one note and their deaths are obvious and often downplayed.

The score, composed by Volker Ber telmann, left a lot to be desired. Many of the songs in the soundtrack sound as though they’re pulled from a mod ern action movie. This unfortunately distracts from the World War I setting and can be an off-putting experience.

A repetition of four notes is also sprinkled throughout many scenes here. The constant use of them is once again distracting and it overall led to a rather disappointing soundtrack in an otherwise great story.

Despite the long runtime and strange changes to the original story, “All Quiet on the Western Front” is an excellent film and absolutely worth the inevitable tears it’s sure to cause.

Courtesy of IMDb

Once Upo n a M attress

Spread by Design and Photo Editor Maddison Behringer

Maddison Behringer / THE GATEPOST

The cast of “Once Upon a Mattress” preforming a scene during dress rehearsal Nov. 30.

Maddison Behringer / THE GATEPOST

(Left) Tadiwa Chitongo and Olivia Copeland rehearsing during the “Once Upon a Mattress” dress rehearsal Nov. 30.

Maddison Behringer / THE GATEPOST

(Front left) Meeghan Bresnahan, Emma Brosnan, Christina Chinetti and (Back left) Rileigh Kelley and Stefano Hernandez acting during dress rehearsal Nov. 30.

Maddison Behringer / THE GATEPOST

(Left) Olivia Copeland and Haley Hadge acting as Lady Laken and King Sextimus during the “Once Upon a Mattress” dress rehearsal Nov. 30.

Adrien Gobin / THE GATEPOST

(Left) Sonnet Shea, Meeghan Bresnahan and Joe Antonio rehearsing in “Once Upon a Mattress” Nov, 30.