December 9, 2022

Accessibility concerns on campus being addressed

By Leighah Beausoleil Editor-in-Chief

All too often, Sabrina Beach, ’21, a volunteer at the Rams Resource Center, said she finds herself unable to enter buildings on campus, have a drink in the Dining Commons, or cross the street due to accessibility issues at Framingham State.

In the Dining Commons, Beach, who was diagnosed with cerebral palsy at two months old, said she struggles because straws are not available, which makes drinking a beverage impossible.

“I understand the concern,” she said, referring to the environmental movements such as “Save the Turtles” that have encouraged the removal of straws in public establishments.

She said, however, “People need to drink, and sometimes it is impossible for someone to drink without a straw. I carry straws, but sometimes I forget to refill them and I worry if I’m not with my friends, I won’t be able to get a drink.”

Beach uses an electric wheelchair, and as a result of faulty handicap push buttons and heavy doors, will sometimes be locked outside of buildings.

She said when she visits the Athletic Center, the doors will sometimes close too quickly and will slam shut.

She added the buttons that malfunction the most are in Hemenway Hall, but the button for the door to the Henry Whittemore Library is often stuck.

Additionally, Beach said there is a button to enter Sandella’s, but not one to exit.

Maureen Fowler, environmental health and safety coordinator, said the Facilities Department keeps a list of all the locations on campus that have push buttons and the ones that don’t.

A ‘Rewind’ to remember $1.5 million NSF grant awarded to Framingham State University

By Emma Lyons Arts & Features Editor

The National Science Foundation (NSF) awarded a $2.9 million grant to Framingham State University, Bridgewater State University, and Worcester State University, which went into effect at the start of Academic Year 2022-23.

The grant’s funds were split among the three universities, with FSU receiving $1.5 million, and WSU and BSU sharing the remaining $1.4 million, according to Reema Zeineldin, Associate Vice President of Academic Affairs.

This grant is a part of the Alliances for Graduate Education and the Profes-

soriate (AGEP). AGEP is a program run by NSF. The goals of the program are to increase the number of underrepresented scholars obtaining graduate degrees within STEM fields and to “enhance the preparation of underrepresented minorities for faculty positions in academia,” according to the NSFAGEP website.

The Mary Miles Bibb Postdoctoral Teaching Fellowship is named after Mary Miles Bibb, the first African American person to graduate from Framingham State and one of the first Black women to teach in North America, according to the Framingham State

Erin Gemme’s double rainbow shines across FSU

By Leighah Beausoleil Editor-in-Chief

In April of this year, Erin Gemme stood in front of a mirror examining their hair - shoulder-length and purple with an inch of natural blond shining through and growing longer with each passing day.

“I’m going to cut it off,” Erin told their roommate, Lauren Mazzarella.

“You’re going to cut it off?” Mazzarella asked in shock. “You’re going to be bald.”

But that did not stop Erin. With no reservations and dragging their room-

mate along, Erin walked into the Supercuts on Worcester Road with a mission. They were almost immediately seated and once again seeing themselves in front of a mirror, watched as the first stroke of the razor made its way from their hairline all the way to the back of their head.

“No going back now,” they said.

Erin said they thought the older woman who shaved their head would have questioned whether they were sure about the radical haircut, but that was not the case. The woman completed the shave with a setting of number two on top and a one on the sides - the

lower number representing a closer shave.

Seeing themselves following the haircut, Erin admitted they cried at that moment, describing it as “euphoric.

“I feel like hair holds a lot of symbolism and memories to me,” they said. “If I dyed my hair purple again, I would feel how I would when I had purple hair before. I had never had short hair in my life, so it felt like such a reset and I really liked it.

“The end of last year was an absolute mess, and I didn’t feel like myself anymore. So I needed to do something to

Adrien

Adrien Gobin / THE GATEPOST

(Front) Zophie Greenwald, (Middle) Shannon Ring, (Back from left) Jade Kay and Odilia Mendez performing in the “Candy Man” dance during the final dress rehearsal of “Rewind” Dec. 7.

Editorial Board

Gatepost Interview

Carl Hakansson

Environment, Society & Sustainability Professor

By Naidelly Coelho Interim Asst. News Editor

What is your educational and career background?

I actually went to Framingham State a long time ago. I was a biology major here, and I subsequently went to graduate school, and while I was in graduate school, I left graduate school and went to go to law school. I went to New England School of Law in Boston. I’ve been an attorney for 35 years. I started teaching here part time in 1994 and I started teaching full time in 2005.

Can you tell me about your job at FSU?

Last year, the geography department merged with the physics and earth science department. And so our new department is called the Department of Environment, Society & Sustainability. And I’m a professor in that department. I teach mostly environmental courses and a lot of the law courses that are involved in those programs. For about 10 years, I was asked to write the Climate Action Plan for Framingham State, and I did so and became the sustainable policies coordinator for the University, and then passed that on to someone else. But those are kind of in my major roles here.

Do you have any hobbies you like to do outside of your work?

I’m a musician as well. I’ve been a musician for a long time. I still play music with various bands. I also like horseback riding. … I’m on a Conservation Commission in my hometown, and so the Conservation Commission has a subcommittee called the Land Stewardship Committee, which is charged with taking care of the conservation land that we have care and custody of. And so I’m the chair of that and I spent a lot of time working in those conservation lands to keep them from being overrun with invasive plants and things like that.

How did you start working with Native Americans regarding environmental and land use issues?

I have always had an interest in environmental issues since I was a student at FSU and prior. I have always had an interest in Native issues that was exacerbated during my tenure as a student at FSU during the early ’70s in the Red Power movement. In 1993, I had the opportunity to visit the Plains Indian reservations and experience firsthand the myriad of issues confronting Native

people - environmental and land use issues being only a part of the problem. I then started to find a path where my background as an environmental lawyer could bring some relief to at least the issues that I had some expertise in.

Do you have any advice for students who want to be more environmentally involved?

It seems to me that one thing about being older is you’re able to reflect a little bit better than when you’re younger because you don’t have much to reflect on. But I hate to use this trite term, but to stay the course. The environment is something that always gives back and you can learn so much from just observing environmental things. As I said, I was a biology major when I went to Framingham State and I worked for 10 years in animal behavior, and I still love to do that. I’m in the woods now to watch wildlife and learn from wildlife, how they coexist with each other. How they are able to survive in difficult situations. … A lot of times, people become

discouraged going into the environmental field because oftentimes, there’s not an obvious job laid out in front of you, but people - whether they are interested in environmental issues do that for employment, or there are other ways that they can make a contribution either through their local boards, like conservation commissions or volunteering, and environmental groups - I guess maybe that’s probably the best advice. … If you’re in school, if you can volunteer or do an internship with an environmental group that gets you in the door, so that when these positions come up in those types of organizations, they already know you. And knowing somebody’s background is really instrumental sometimes in getting some kind of an appointment.

CONNECT

Courtesy of Carl Hakansson

SGA celebrates the end of the semester

By Ryan Schreiber Staff Writer

The Student Government Association held its last meeting of the semester Dec. 6.

Meg Nowak Borrego, dean of students, came by to show SGA her appreciation, noting that a student concern raised during the Administrators’ Forum Oct. 11 was that student leaders feel unappreciated.

She left gift bags and cookies for the senators.

“Thanks to all of you for meeting every single week - working in the service of our students and advising me and others on campus about how to best serve our students,” said Nowak Borrego.

The Open Forum began with SATF Treasurer Sam Houle expressing his concern that the Class of 2023 does not have a president or vice president, as no one was elected last year.

President Dara Barros said, “The current president and vice president haven’t been officially confirmed by the Senate.”

Barros read notes expressing anonymous concerns that were dropped off in a box outside the SGA office.

“Bring back the Juice Bar, please. We don’t need the Kiwibots,” read one of the notes.

“I don’t feel welcome here,’’ read another note.

Barros responded, “I am so sorry that you don’t feel welcome here. We all try so hard to make sure that every-

one on this campus is feeling welcome from the first time that they step on campus.”

Andrew Thompson, a senior hospitality and tourism management major who is vice president of Framingham State Activities Board (FSAB), was sworn in as a new senator.

Before he was unanimously voted in, Thompson said, “I’m interested in having involvement in not only my college experience, even though it’s coming to a quick close, but also everyone else’s experience.”

In her president’s report, Barros said a student is having a problem with Residence Life not using their preferred name, which came up during the Open Forum Nov. 22.

“I’m meeting with Stephanie Crane, who is a staff member of Residence Life, and they’re going to be discussing with me their process of using preferred names,” Barros said.

SGA Vice President Raffi Elkhoury reported the SGA Student Affairs Committee will meet to discuss constitution changes at the beginning of the spring semester.

Student Trustee McKenzie Ward reported, “The next Board [of Trustees] meeting will be Jan. 25, the day after the first student government meeting. It’s at 6:30 p.m. in the Alumni Room.”

In his SATF Treasurer’s report, Houle said, “The Financial Committee will be working with the SGA Student Affairs Committee to work on some constitution and bylaws changes regarding finance. Those need to be ap-

proved before the budget.”

Houle added the Finance and Student Affairs committees will be reviewing the constitution bylaws to potentially add a new funding group for student organizations and change how SGA funds conferences.

Houle announced the Big Budget meeting - the meeting at which funding for student organizations is allocated for next year - will be held on Feb. 10 at 5 p.m. in the Alumni Room.

Houle also listed 13 clubs that have not been funded for the next semester: Black Student Union, Outing Club, Pride Alliance, M.I.S.S., A.C.D.G., English Club, iGNITE, Student Veterans Association, The 508, Career Connections, Engineering Club, Political Science Club, and the Web and App Development Club.

“If you are involved or have friends that are involved, please direct them my way so we can fund them for next year, ‘’ Houle said.

Evelyn Campbell, outreach and events coordinator, reviewed the events for Kindness Week and upcoming plans for the remainder of the semester.

She said she and members of Christian Fellowship made gift bags for the final day of Kindness Week.

Campbell said SGA will be co-sponsoring PJ Palooza Dec. 9.

Campbell said a new parking enforcer was hired, but it doesn’t seem as if they started. She added that after the SGA Hot Table fundraiser, she came back to see Maynard Lot full, leaving no parking spaces for commuters in

the morning.

Erin Gemme, diversity and inclusion officer, said the “Accessibility Committee will be restarting next semester.”

Leah Mudd, SGA advisor and assistant director for orientation and student experience, reported that the school has a new student experience administrative assistant and encouraged SGA members to welcome her. “Her name is Emily Hendrickson. Stop by and say ‘Hey.’”

The meeting ended with expressions of appreciation.

Mudd said, “I’m very proud of all of you. I appreciate you all for all of the work you’ve done.”

Barros said, “Thank you all for being amazing members of SGA. I wanted to say that first and foremost, I think you all are doing an amazing job.”

Elkhoury said, “It’s been amazing to see all the growth and progress from the new people and old people in SGA this semester.”

The “U-Rock” award was presented to sophomore Billy Hubert by Campbell. She said Hubert was very helpful with all the water bottles for Kindness Week, and is very funny.

Weather

Sunday night Nov. 20

Mostly cloudy, with a low around 25. N wind around 5 mph. 30% chance of snow.

Monday Nov. 21

Mostly sunny, with a high near 36. N wind around 10 mph.

Monday night Nov. 21

Mostly clear, with a low around 23. N wind around 5 mph.

Tuesday Nov. 22

Sunny, with a high near 38. NW wind around 10 mph.

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

Tuesday night Nov. 22

Mostly clear, with a low around 24. NW wind around 10 mph.

Wednesday Nov. 23

Sunny, with a high near 40. NW wind around 10 mph, with gusts up to 21 mph.

Wednesday night Nov. 23

Partly cloudy, with a low around 27. NW wind around 5 mph.

Thursday Nov. 25

Mostly cloudy, with a high near 42. N wind around 10 mph. 50% chance of rain and snow.

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

CONNECT WITH RYAN SCHREIBER rschreiber@student.framingham.edu

Sophia Harris / THE GATEPOST Andrew Thompson, senior, sworn in as a senator at the Dec. 6 SGA meeting.

Sophia Harris / THE GATEPOST

Senator Billy Hubert was awarded the “U-Rock” at the Dec. 6 SGA meeting.

Massachusetts approves Bill to allow medication abortion access in public universities

By Sophia Harris News Editor

Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker signed Bill H.5090 in July 2022, making the state the second, after California, to ensure that students enrolled in public universities have access to medication abortion.

The bill also requires public university health centers to implement abortion readiness plans.

The bill is an act expanding protections for reproductive and gender-affirming care, according to the website for the Massachusetts legislature.

The bill was sponsored by Rep. Lindsay Sabadosa, a Democrat representing Massachusetts’ 1st Hampshire District.

Sabadosa said this bill ensures any student in Massachusetts who is attending a public higher education institution has access to an abortion readiness plan provided to them through their on-campus health center.

She said, “All of the legislation was really to expand access. That was the primary focus. That seems always to be my primary focus. We want to make sure that when people are seeking health care, they’re able to obtain that health care.”

She added by expanding access to safe and accessible abortion care, the result will be to reduce the stigma concerning abortion.

“Abortion is a topic that is often very stigmatized. And it has been for many decades. I think the important thing that we can do if we’re going to expand access is to reduce stigma - actually have conversations about abortion and what access looks like in different parts of the state,” she said.

Sabadosa said the bill created a requirement for health centers to have a plan in place to access abortion resources.

She said, “It’s required that there’s a plan but as to what that plan is, that is up to DPH Department of Public Health] and the school to come up with together.”

She said although it is not required for universities to stock medication abortion pills at their health centers, schools such as UMass Amherst have already started carrying the pill on campus as part of their abortion readiness plan.

She said some schools “may not ever provide the pills right on campus.

“It doesn’t necessarily have to require it is being provided on campus, so your doctor does not necessarily have to be a prescriber,” she said.

Sabadosa said the schools might instead “just provide abortion readiness plans,” adding that those plans might look different from campus to campus.

Some options for an abortion readiness plan include using telehealth, mail-in medication, and identifying a preferred doctor close to campus to whom the health center can refer students.

She said, “We want to make sure that each campus is doing what makes the most sense for them and their students in order to provide really good

access.”

Sabadosa said the Department of Public Health is the overseeing authority to ensure that public higher education adopts abortion readiness plans.

She said the only scrutinization the bill received, other than from anti-abortion advocates, was lobbying to ensure the bill provided the flexibility needed to allow each school to design its own abortion readiness plan.

Sabadosa said, “The only pushback that we received was really about making sure that this was right-sized to the schools, so that we weren’t just saying every school must offer medication abortion, end of story. That can work on a big campus.”

She added, “If your health services are only open a few days a week, and there are some schools where services are not open very often, then that’s not a realistic plan.”

Sabadosa said she would like to see health services improved across all campuses, and this bill is part of how the services will be bolstered.

“But until we’re fully there, we can’t possibly require things at schools that they are unable [to provide],” she said.

The idea for this bill was raised by a group of students at UMass Amherst in 2017 who were following similar legislation being passed in California.

She said the bill was first brought to the legislature in 2019 and eventually passed in 2022.

“I really fell in love with a bill that was a thing that I wanted to work on, and I really wanted it to pass, but it wouldn’t have come to me if students hadn’t brought the idea,” she said.

She emphasized, “It’s important for people who are reading your newspaper to understand that you can have an idea and bring it to a legislator or run for office yourself and effectuate that change because all of the best legislation comes from real people and real stories. It doesn’t come from people just thinking up things in the middle of the night.”

Sabadosa said the legislation covers additional needs as well, including providing protections for providers, making emergency contraceptives in vending machines accessible, and clarifying the regulations around that access.

She said the legislation also eliminates cost-sharing for abortion and abortion-related care.

Sabadosa added the “bill also provided funding for this to be set up” through the state.

“We made it very clear within the legislation that we just created a fund that’s managed by DPH and the Department of Higher Ed. We’re working to put money into that now so that when schools have expenses, we can help cover those. We don’t expect the expenses to be astronomical, but we want to make sure we’re not imposing unfunded mandates,” she said.

Sabadosa added, “In this last bill that we passed, we also eliminated all cost-sharing for abortion care, so there’s no deductible, no copay. So it makes it really inexpensive for stu-

dents.”

Currently, a position is open for a DPH liaison to work with colleges to implement the legislation.

“We have moved past the point of this just as being theoretical, and now, we’re trying to make sure that we’re doing something that’s smart, safe, and well thought out. And so we want to work very closely with college campuses,” she said.

Ilene Hofrenning, director of Framingham State’s Health Center, said the center currently provides pregnancy tests, options counseling for students in regard to abortion, and emergency contraceptives.

Hofrenning said, “If they [students] do decide that they want to have an abortion, then we give them information about where to get an abortion.”

She added there are three locations she refers students to and they are all “fairly close.”

She said the Health Center does not carry the abortion pill on campus.

Hofrenning said she is waiting to hear from the DPH about the rules and regulations they are setting up and what is expected from colleges and universities.

She added she thinks “it’s really good that Massachusetts is taking a stand and … removing barriers to access for college students. And we’re happy to do whatever we can to assist in that.”

Pamela Pereira, a senior with majors in sociology and biochemistry, is a member of the Massachusetts Student Advisory Board. The group is comprised of students from various public universities in Massachusetts, and the group’s goal is to “help ease the transition of medical abortion on campus.”

Pereira said she is meeting with other students across Massachusetts public universities to discuss plans for the medication abortion pill implementation.

She said at their last meeting Nov. 7, she met with students from UMass Boston, UMass Amherst, and Worcester State. She said students from all three schools learned about how medication abortion works and how beneficial it is to be carried on campus.

“We learned what students needwe heard stories of people who went through it [abortion] and what they needed from the institution,” she said.

Pereira said she also went to the Health Center and met with Hofrenning and Pam Lehmberg, coordinator of wellness education. She said she then got an insight into “how we function and what we need.”

She said her goal as part of the Massachusetts Student Advisory Board is “advocacy, prevention, and general knowledge about these resources that we have available if they need it. And making the Health Center more welcoming toward students, and students can go there and feel welcomed and talk about their issues and have a plan if they want to go forward without feeling judged.”

Pereira said this bill is an essential part of healthcare for students.

“I thought it was very important

because students are on campus and you’re away from home and you don’t know what your options are and how to get there. If something like that happens, you want to feel that you’re safe and have support from the administration - from the Health Center - and you’re not alone. That’s the biggest part. You don’t want to feel alone because it is a big decision. But making that decision, and having a plan, and having support at all angles - no matter if you go through with it or if you don’t - and making it [the decision] easy. I think it’s super important,” she said.

Pereira said an event will be held on Feb. 6 at 2:00 p.m. in the Alumni Room called Reproductive Justice. The goal of the event will be to educate students on reproductive rights and what support looks like.

Abby Kalinowski, a senior studio art major, said everyone should have the resources they need.

She added she thinks the medication abortion pill should be provided on campus.

“I think they should carry it for those who need it and if people don’t want it, then that’s their choice,” she said.

Laura Abreu, a junior elementary education major, said this bill’s timing is crucial due to Roe v. Wade being overturned in June 2022. “This is something that we definitely need. I feel like a lot of women were scared when things were happening in June and prior to that, and I think that this is what we need,” she said.

Abreu said it is important to carry the medication abortion pill on campus because “I think no matter if you’re pro-life or pro-choice - everyone should be able to make their own decisions.”

Rina Ponniah, a senior computer science major, said she is in full support of the bill.

“Students, especially when you’re in a high-stress environment, and so many other people of the same age, it is important to have that support and that option, when in reality, most people feel like they can’t go to doctors or health care professionals or seek health in general,” she said.

Ponniah added she would like to see the medication abortion pill available on FSU’s campus. “I think that it’s really important to have that safe option because I feel like if people don’t have the safe option, they always opt for something more dangerous.”

Patrick McGonagle, a senior psychology major, said he is also in support of the bill.

“I think that it’s greater access to abortion, which gives women a greater ability to choose when and where to have one because medicated-based abortion seems to be far less invasive ... And so I think having greater access to it is good. I’m glad to hear that Massachusetts is on the right side of history on this one,” he said.

CONNECT WITH SOPHIA HARRIS sharris9@student.framingham.edu

Rams Resource Center holds event to raise visibility

By Ryan Schreiber Staff Writer

The Rams Resource Center held an event Nov. 16 during National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week to introduce students to its services.

The Rams Resource Center (RRC) is located under West Hall on the ground level, and is accessible from Maynard Lot.

It is open from 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays. On Wednesdays, the hours are from 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and on Fridays, from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.

The purpose of the event was for students to become acquainted with the center. Two informational tables were set up - one hosted by the Student Government Association in the McCarthy Center lobby, and the other located next to the center.

Volunteers at the table in McCarthy offered donuts and candy to students. They also educated students about homelessness with a quiz.

“We’re partnering with the Rams Resource Center and the FSU dining hall to bring awareness to hunger and homelessness by doing trivia, and if you get a question right, you get a prize,” said Evelyn Campbell, SGA outreach and events coordinator.

The RRC also conducted a food drive - students, faculty members, or staff could donate canned goods or non-perishable items.

At the RRC, Sarah Ripton, coordinator of student support and advocacy, gave tours and told visitors more about what the RRC has to offer students who need help.

Kat Washburn, a Rams Engagement Ambassador, said, “The issue is not that we don’t have the resources - it’s that people don’t know about them. We have been trying to raise awareness of the RRC and make sure students know it’s available for anyone.”

According to the RRC website, “The Rams Resource Center (RRC) provides non-perishable food items, toiletries, and resource referral for FSU students, faculty, and staff.”

Ripton said, “They can fill one bag with food and the other with other items.” These bags are given out by the RRC.

The RRC posted flyers in the center with QR codes, which students were encouraged to use to share a story anonymously.

Ripton said, “Students, faculty, and staff are invited to share a story of food or housing insecurity. It is aimed to destigmatize the conversation surrounding basic-need insecurity. Also, just to start a conversation and shed light onto assistance programs.”

One student wrote, “Before I came to college, I was struggling with a place to live, a relationship with my family, and school. I didn’t know how I was going to pay for college or what money I was going to have to buy myself food. I managed to figure out how to pay for school and the resource center helped me with my limited supply source. It has helped me significantly, and I appreciate it being a part of our campus.”

Another student wrote, “My heart goes out to all the students who face this problem and I want to encourage you to discuss this with interested adults around you and not to be afraid or ashamed of not being capable of supplying yourself. I’m a commuter student but similar to many students who have struggled with basic needs and necessities, my family runs on welfare and food stamps. It is very saddening to be less fortunate than the people around you, but nevertheless, the help that people give … should be looked at in a positive light.”

The Rams Resource Center works with many organizations that supply most of the items that are available.

Ripton said, “Circle of Hope is able to fulfill orders that we reach out to them for, so I was able to request winter jackets, work clothing, and a handful of bedding items that were needed.”

According to the organization’s website, Circle of Hope is a nonprofit organization based in Needham, Massachusetts. The mission of Circle of Hope is to provide infants, children, and adults experiencing homelessness in Boston and MetroWest with clothing and necessities in order to preserve and enhance overall health and personal dignity.

Students thanked Circle of Hope by writing notes of appreciation and attaching them to a Circle of Hope board in the RRC pantry.

One note read, “Thank you for donating. You helped us a lot with providing us with helpful and valuable resources.”

Another note read, “Thank you for helping me in so many ways.”

Ripton said, “Dignity Matters provides us with feminine hygiene products.”

According to the organization’s website, Dignity Matters is a nonprofit organization that collects, purchases, and supplies feminine hygiene products, bras, and underwear to women and girls who are homeless or disadvantaged, in order to help them stay

healthy, regain self-confidence, and live with basic dignity.

“Family Promise helps students who are parents. If you have children under 18, they will help you,” Ripton said.

According to the organization’s website, Family Promise is an organization that delivers innovative solutions for family homelessness, including prevention, shelter, and stabilization services.

Bianca Hudson, a family coach for Family Promise, visited FSU to speak with students.

Hudson said, “We help families facing homelessness. We have two main programs - our shelter program and our L.I.F.E. program.”

The “shelter program” offers meals, clothing, and coaching for individualized families with resources and encouragement to find affordable housing and life skills to maintain stability, according to the organization’s pamphlet.

The acronym “L.I.F.E.” stands for local initiative for family empowerment. The organization supports and empowers families that are at risk of homelessness by offering assistance with security deposits, paying back rent, or moving expenses. It also offers educational scholarships, according to the organization’s pamphlet.

Food items are also available at the RRC. “All of the food purchased for the Rams Resource Center is through donations,” Ripton said.

According to Ripton, the RRC helps about 93 clients - a majority of them students.

Holding an RRC bag, Sasha Charmant, a sophomore psychology major, said, “It has helped me a lot. I got a lot of my resources there - my sanitary products for free - and that means a lot because they’re expensive.”

Melanie Wu, a junior biochemistry major, said, “I love the Rams Resource Center. I’m super grateful that people donate and it’s really helpful to have all the necessities that are needed for

students who can’t go off campus and get them.”

Djeila Barbosa, a junior early childhood education major, said, “It is very useful. It’s really good to have on campus - especially for students who can’t afford food.”

Barry Nangle, a junior criminology major, said, “I think any program that helps students who need products that they don’t have access to is a good thing.”

Aline Genovese, a sophomore English major, said, “I think it’s good that they are able to help students because a lot of us think going to college is something for people with a lot of money, but that’s changing. Some students need a little extra help to make it. It’s really great that we can help here.”

Hailey Sanders, a junior child and family studies major, said, “I think more people should know about itit’s a great resource.”

Alivia Smith, a freshman psychology major, said, “It’s great for students who can’t afford food. I’ve been in that situation where I can’t afford things, so I think it’s really important for schools to have it and I’m proud that Framingham State has it.”

Sabrina Beach ’22, a volunteer at the RRC, said she enjoys helping others in need. “I enjoy helping the students, faculty, and staff who come in and knowing that I’m contributing to the RRC mission of combating campus-wide basic needs insecurity. I also love that I can still be involved in the FSU community even post-graduation.”

According to Beach, “Needing stuff from the RRC should not be looked at as shameful. It should be thought of as just another support system to help you succeed at FSU, like what CASA or the Health Center or Counseling Center is there for.”

CONNECT WITH RYAN SCHREIBER rschreiber@student.framingham.edu

Ryan Schreiber / THE GATEPOST

Students posted sticky notes with thank you messages on a board in the Rams Resource Center Nov. 16.

University website.

“The Mary Miles Bibb Teaching Fellowship program is designed to honor her legacy as an abolitionist and a woman who dedicated her life to the safety and education of fugitive slaves,” according to the website.

Susan Dargan, dean of social and behavioral sciences, said the goal of the fellowship is to mentor faculty for two years to prepare them for their future careers as tenure-track professors.

“There are all sorts of struggles that we’ve had with it - also the current climate where enrollments are down and we don’t have any positions makes it challenging. But we’ve had some real successes with the program,” Dargan said.

She said she hopes the number of fellows in the coming years will not decrease as a result of the lack of open positions. Though there are not many tenure-track positions - positions for which an employee has an opportunity to earn tenure - many departments need full-time temporary positions, meaning there is no guarantee for that employee to permanently hold the position to be filled - which are the positions the fellowship would help fill.

“The FFT [full-time temporary] positions - since they’re two year positions for the Bibb fellows - those we’re more likely to have.”

Dargan said the grant and the fellowship fit well together, though not all of the positions available through the Mary Miles Bibb fellowship are eligible to be a part of the AGEP program - since AGEP is focused on STEM and the fellowship is open to applicants from every discipline.

Each of the AGEP faculty members commits to working at Framingham State for the two years of the fellowship. There is no guarantee that a permanent position will be available for them to stay at the University past that time, Kristen Porter-Utley, provost and academic vice president, said.

However, their participation in the grant provides support for them for the five years the grant is in effect. So, even if the AGEP faculty do not continue to work at FSU after the fellowship, they will still be supported by the grant, she said.

“The National Science Foundation and AGEP goal is for us to support the success of STEM faculty members of color. And we have committed to supporting them no matter where they go,” Porter-Utley added.

Zeineldin said if the fellows do not continue to work at one of the three institutions, they will be supported through continued invitations to AGEP alliance events, and they will be provided funds for travel and professional development that are “equal to the amount that the AGEP faculty received during their first year.”

Chantrell Frazier, a Bibb fellow supported by the AGEP grant, formerly participated in an AGEP program while attending Florida International University. She explained through the program, NSF is trying to “create this partnership amongst these different state universities and expose new faculty to all the opportunities that exist across these different institutions for professional development.”

Zeineldin said the grant is a collaborative effort among FSU, WSU, and

BSU - however, FSU is leading the initiative.

NSF sends out emails with general invitations for grant applications to several institutions, she added.

“We came across it and we thought, ‘Oh, this ties well with what we would like to do. It ties well with our commitment to anti-racism - to our commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion and supporting our faculty of color,’” Zeineldin said.

“Really, our goal is to counter the structural racism that exists in the systems of higher education,” she said.

She explained this goal is what pushed the grant faculty to pursue “cluster hiring” with the candidates for the grant. “Hiring as cohorts - as groups across these three institutions - creating shared programming to support them together.”

Porter-Utley said the “idea was that if we [FSU, BSU, and WSU] work together as a three-university alliance, we will be able to hire enough people to actually create a cohort to work together.”

Writing the grant was a team effort by all three institutions. Zeineldin said she and deans from FSU reached out to their colleagues from the other institutions to ask if they were interested in writing the grant with them.

Porter-Utley said she was involved with the grant while she was a dean at Bridgewater State University. She “immediately jumped on board” after hearing about the grant.

She said the three universities are collaborating in the hope of exchanging what is being learned through the grant and “coming up with common practices.”

Each university has a set of “alliance leaders” who assisted in the writing of the grant.

The alliance leaders at Worcester State are Linda Larrivee, dean of the School of Education, Health, and Natural Sciences, Daron Barnard, a professor, and Henry Theriault, associate vice president.

The alliance leaders at Bridgewater State are Martina Arndt, a physics professor,, Arnaa Alcon, dean of the college of humanities and social sciences, Sabrina Gentlewarrior, vice president of student success and diversity, and Nicole Glen, interim associate provost for academic and faculty affairs.

The alliance leaders at Framingham State are Zeineldin, Margaret Carroll, dean of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, Dargan, Porter-Utley, and Elizabeth Foss, NSF grant manager.

Four faculty members were hired at Framingham State this year as the first cohort for the grant: Cheng-Chiang Wu and Rachel Avard, biology professors; Chantrell Frazier, a chemistry professor; and Carol Gray, a political science professor. Each member of the cohort is also a part of the Mary Miles Bibb Postdoctoral Teaching Fellowship.

Porter-Utley said the faculty hired that are a part of the grant would still have been Mary Miles Bibb fellows if the grant was not put in place. “Because we got the grant we were able to say, [to the newly hired fellows] ‘Well, not only can we provide you with support through the Mary Miles Bibb program, but we also have this other grant - you all qualify.”

Zeineldin said the faculty within the first cohort are a “combination of faculty of color and their allies.”

Porter-Utley said the goal “is to hire and support as many faculty members of color as possible through the grant program, but of course, also strong allies who have documented evidence of work in their professional careers in moving the needle to support faculty members of color.”

Zeineldin said the primary goal of the grant is to increase AGEP faculty in higher education.

She said this grant is only the second alliance within the 24 years that AGEP has been in effect that supports faculty in the early parts of their careers.

“We are trying to create a national model for recruiting, retaining, and supporting the academic success of faculty of color,” Zeineldin said. The goal of the grant is to support the faculty in both tenure-track and temporary positions.

She explained there is a “shrinking percentage” of Black and Latinx students and faculty within higher education - Black and Latinx people only make up 33% of students within the U.S., 13% of students who earn doctoral degrees in a STEM field, and 6% of tenure-track faculty at higher-education institutions.

Zeineldin said the money for the grant goes into the support systems for the faculty hired.

She said about $300,000 from the grant budget is planned to be used for external evaluations of the program. FSU is planning on working with the University of Massachusetts Donahue Institute. They will generate surveys and conduct interviews throughout the five years of the grant.

Money will also be used to cover the travel expenses for the AGEP faculty to attend conferences and to provide professional development assistance, Zeineldin said.

Bibb Fellow Chantrell Frazier is a professor in the Chemistry Department. She earned a bachelor’s degree from Savannah State University, a historically black college, and immediately started her Ph.D. in biochemistry after graduating.

She said the grant and fellowship support her in different ways. “The Mary Miles Bibb Fellowship is helping me hone all my actual teaching pedagogy - so it’s allowing me to be a better professor. The focus of the AGEP grant is to better new faculty in the cycle of tenure-track positions. So, in the sense of being a faculty member, what does that look like to be a successful faculty member?

“They really kind of overlap. So, the Mary Miles Bibb Fellowship is the reason that I’m here, and I feel like the AGEP grant is going to allow me to expand my networking skills and really get information from faculty members that have been here to help me be a better academic professor,” she said.

Frazier said one goal she had for her time as a fellow is to potentially develop a forensic science course at FSU because it was the focus of her bachelor’s degree. If she is able to stay at Framingham State in a tenure-track position after her two years as a fellow, she would like to look into the potential of developing a concentration in forensic science on campus.

She said she is also interested in strengthening participation in the STEM of Color Affinity Group on campus by “figuring out different ways that we can appeal to the students of color who are in the STEM field and give them guidance and give them a safe space to maybe talk about how they feel or where they are and also allow them to note the different careers that exist for them.”

Frazier emphasized the importance of professors adjusting how they teach to assist in connecting with students, as well as having a diverse group of professors.

She said there have been times when she has been mistaken as a student because of her age. “A lot of students don’t know that I’m here because they’re used to a certain demographic of what a professor looks like. We don’t typically see faculty of color and young [faculty].”

The fellowship was the only thing Frazier applied to as she graduated from her Ph.D. program. She said after her first interview with the Chemistry and Biology departments, she was “dead set on coming up here just because the environment was so great.”

“A lot of times, coming out of a doctoral program, you get kind of thrown into these things, especially at the what we call ‘R1 institutions’ - where they are based in research,” Frazier said. “For me, Framingham State is not that. That research is still being done, but it’s more focused on the students.

“I’m very grateful that I can grow my pedagogy skills to be better for the students - because that’s who I care about,” she said.

Lillian Mayhew, a freshman food science major, is taking Frazier’s Principles of Chemistry class. “Dr. Frazier has been amazing this whole semester because it’s obvious she cares about her students and wants us to learn and understand what she is teaching.

“If FSU hires more faculty of the same caliber as Dr. Frazier, then that would really be a gift to students,” she said.

Bibb Fellow Cheng-Chiang Wu is a professor in the Biology Department. He received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in botany from National Taiwan University. He then earned his Ph.D. in organismic and evolutionary biology from Harvard University.

He said the AGEP grant provides additional support in career development, improvement of teaching, and mentorship in addition to the fellowship program.

He said he was a Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) of the Republic of China International Postdoctoral Scholar in the Department of Life Science at National Taiwan University. While there, he generated data he is continuing to evaluate at Framingham State with his students.

Wu said through this collaboration, his students will “learn how to do research and also learn how to analyze some genomic big data on state-ofthe-art, high-performance, computing clusters.” He also hopes to be able to publish manuscripts of the research with credit to FSU students who work on them.

He said when he read the job description for the fellowship, it “resonated with [his] heart” as a scientist of

color and a first-generation immigrant.

Wu added Massachusetts has been his home for over 19 years, but he had to leave his family as he worked in Taiwan through the pandemic. So, he wanted to come back to Massachusetts after that time.

He also addressed how the hiring process allowed him to feel the friendliness and inclusivity on campus. During his first interview with Aline Davis, chair of the Biology Department, she asked him how to pronounce his first name.

“I do appreciate that. I could feel the inclusivity and generosity and friendship from this very fine detail. It was very touching, and through this process, I could definitely feel that it was a correct decision to accept the offer to work here,” he said.

Bibb Fellow Rachel Avard is a professor in the Biology Department. She earned her bachelor’s degree in chemistry at Assumption College and earned her Ph.D. from Columbia University.

She said she has formerly been a tutor and a teaching assistant and attended graduate school with “the express goal of coming and teaching at a primary undergraduate institution.”

Avard said the grant does help her and the other members of the cohort to establish long-term positions in academia, but also gives them support systems to assist others with their goals to go into higher education.

Avard said the current problem in higher education is the “astonishing lack of diversity.” The solution is not only to increase the diversity of professors, but also to encourage people from “all walks of life - colors, ethnicities, whatever it may be … to pursue higher education.”

Avard said a part of the work she does as a fellow is meeting regularly with people in different academic departments to look at teaching methods from different angles.

“The Bibb fellowship has support coming from so many different angles, both in helping us to be professors and develop our skills, as well as helping us to learn all these new pedagogies on how to teach inclusively, how to move away from standardized testing, and how to actually teach students the material that they’re looking for,” she said.

She said the Bibb fellowship has provided funding that allows her to do research while at Framingham State. She tied the work she has done in her Ph.D. program to her current research and has started working with undergraduate students to use “computer modeling to monitor breast cancer cell migration, to give us a little bit more of an insight on how these mechanisms work.

“It’s helping me keep my foot in the world of research and doing the things that I enjoy doing. But it’s also given me the support system to bring undergraduates into the research realm - which is so, so important for anyone, especially in a STEM] field,” she said.

Avard said when she saw the job posting, she was “immediately drawn in” because the fellowship’s initiative is something she has been passionate about for a long time.

“The entire goal, not only of this fellowship, but on the campus entire-

ly, is to learn how we can better teach students of all backgrounds, regardless of anything. How can I reach all of my students? And how can I help make sure that they know they are seen, they are heard, and they’re needed in these fields?” she asked.

She said in her classroom, she still brings up topics related to ethnicity, diversity, and inclusion - even though the classes she teaches are not specifically focused on these areas.

She said it is important for students to know the history of racism within their fields.

She noted how many of her students are planning to go into the medical field and “they need to know that these are problems that are happening. And not only do they need to note the problem happening, but they need to be aware of these problems and that they need to pay attention to how they’re interacting with their patients.”

Avard said it is easy for an institution to say that it is anti-racist or anti-sexist, but “Framingham is impressive in the way that they’re actually doing things - not only to prove that they care, but to make things better

was the first African American woman to graduate from FSU, but she was also the first African American journalist in Canada,” she said.

She explained how Mary Miles Bibb moved to Canada with her husband after the passing of the Fugitive Slave Act in 1850, where they founded “The Voice of the Fugitive,” a newspaper that featured interviews with fugitive slaves.

Gray said she is interested in the archives of the newspaper and is hoping to apply for a grant to be able to include students in the work of mapping them, which she said has never been done before.

“Many people don’t know about all the good she did in the world, and how she really worked to promote social justice,” she said. “I’d like to recognize her work, and I’d like to ultimately publish an article about what’s the content of ‘The Voice of the Fugitive.’”

Gray said if she was able to continue working at FSU after the fellowship ends, she would enjoy developing courses that deal with different aspects of human rights.

She said though she is not a member of an underrepresented group, she

Powell said. “I’m a big believer that yes, we might not be offering doctoral degrees, but it doesn’t mean that we can’t really help people with their doctorates to set that foundation where they can be very, very successful.”

Steven Cok, chair of the Chemistry Department, said the program has been “a wonderful experience so far.

“This is an avenue for us to have access to new, recently graduated professors of color,” he said. Though there is no guarantee for the AGEP faculty hired to stay at FSU permanently, it allows them and their departments to have a pre-established relationship and for the University to know what they would bring to the department if a tenure-track position became available for them.

“It’s very apparent how students on campus respond to having a professor of color. There’s a certain level of instant bonding that occurs because you have a professor who looks like you and it’s very impactful,” Cok said.

Lara Daniels, a freshman psychology major, said she doesn’t think the current faculty represents the diversity of the student body. “I haven’t met a lot of the teachers here, but all of my

for the students and for the professors. So, I think that’s heartwarming to see - coming especially from the administration and people higher up in the hierarchy.”

Bibb Fellow Carol Gray is a professor in the Political Science Department. She earned her bachelor’s degree in African Studies from Wesleyan University, a law degree from Northeastern University, and a master’s of law degree from Georgetown University Law Center. She was a Rotary International Ambassadorial Scholar in Cairo, Egypt, and earned her Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Connecticut.

“I have had numerous jobs of different types and even before law school, I was an investigator with a federal defender office in Washington, D.C.,” she said. “Even though they seem like different careers, I see them as all connected.”

She said she is very interested in social justice issues and the intersectionality of law, human rights, and politics - as well as intersectionality as a whole. She added she is focused on the fellowship’s role in promoting racial justice.

“When I first learned about Mary Miles Bibb, I found her really inspiring, and she was someone who not only

is “grateful for the fellowship seeing that white allies are important to promoting racial justice.

“I’m thrilled to be part of something that, for five years, is going to be helping me on my journey, helping to educate me and collaborate with other people who are all invested in promoting anti-racism pedagogy,” she said.

Wardell Powell, interim chief diversity and inclusion officer, is a mentor for the AGEP faculty at Framingham State. He said his main role as a mentor is helping the fellows develop skills such as teaching, advising, and scholarship.

Powell said these skills will be needed for the scholars whether they remain at one of the three institutions WSU, BSU, and FSU], or find employment at an unaffiliated institution.

He said this grant is not only an opportunity to help train recently graduated BIPOC faculty, but also to help increase the diversity of the faculty at FSU.

Powell added it is also important that these AGEP faculty members bring in “a lot of knowledge, a lot of innovative ideas.” It helps to increase the diversity of the courses and programs being offered as well.

“It’s a win for FSU, but I also think that it’s a major win for students,”

teachers are white. I feel like the majority of students aren’t white.”

Tadiwa Chitongo, a senior biochemistry major, said they think initiatives like this grant are beneficial to students. “As a student of color myself, I feel like there are not a lot of people of color within my higher-level STEM classes. Nor are there professors of color, either, aside from a handful.”

Sarah Accardi, a senior education major with a natural science minor, also said this grant will be helpful for students. “A diverse group of educators brings more experiences to the classroom, and there are more opportunities for students to have shared experiences with their teachers.”

Christina Galvan Amado, a sophomore marketing major, said, “It would be beneficial because I just feel like I grew up in more of a predominantly black community, so when I’m struggling or something like that, I feel more comfortable going to someone who looks like me because they also understand certain society struggles.”

CONNECT WITH EMMA LYONS elyons3@student.framingham.edu

“It ties well with our commitment to antiracism - to our commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion and supporting our faculty of color.”

- Reema Zeineldin Associate Vice President of Academic Affairs

Accessibility

“Over the last few years, we’ve added a lot more and then we go around regularly and make sure they work. And if they don’t, we get them fixed,” Fowler said. “And then if they fail, we hope someone tells us if they fail if we’re not the ones finding it.”

She said no one from her department is assigned the task of testing these buttons, and there is no set schedule for when they are tested. “When our people are around, we push buttons to make sure they work.”

LaDonna Bridges, dean of Student Success and director of CASA, discussed a concern she had with the electronic doors to Hemenway Labs. When visiting one day, she decided to test the button for the doors facing Dwight Hall. However, when she did, the first door opened, but the second did not. When she hit the button as if she were leaving, both doors opened.

“So why is that?” she asked. “Imagine if you’re stuck in that vestibule unable to open the door.”

Referring to push buttons, she added, “It took forever to get ours in CASA.”

Bridges said she advocated for years to have a push button installed, and since then, one has been, but another door leading into the building does not have one, so there is a “doorbell with a placard that says, ‘Please ring for assistance.’”

Bridges said when it comes to knowing which doors are accessible on campus, the people who have disabilities and use them every day are familiar with where to go and what they need to do. However, the people who have injuries that temporarily affect their ability to open doors or use stairs will have a harder time navigating campus in an accessible way.

Beach said the University was able to provide her with a tour when she first attended that specifically pointed out the accessible routes on campus.

The Framingham State website features a map with the option to see where accessible parking, elevators, and wheelchair-accessible places are.

However, the map does not clarify how it defines wheelchair-accessible locations. For example, the front en-

trance of O’Connor Hall is labeled as such, and does have a ramp to its doors, but there is no handicap push button. Additionally, Beach said the doors are too heavy to open herself.

She added “ironically,” the same can be said for the doors to the Center for Inclusive Excellence.

Therefore, Beach said if she wants to go inside of O’Connor Hall, someone needs to open the door for her or she’ll need to enter through the back of the building, where a push button is located.

Beach added this electronic door at O’Connor Hall blocks the ramp when it opens and she has to wait for the door to close in order to leave. However, sometimes the door doesn’t close and she needs to push it in order for it to do so.

Fowler said the University follows the regulations set by the Architectural Accessibility Board (AAB), which does not require doors to have a handicap push button as long as they are “easy enough to open.” This means the door has to be under a certain weight

and height.

She said installing a push button on any door that does not already have one will come at a cost, and because there is a “want” for them on campus, Facilities has been trying to budget one to two installments a year.

Fowler added earlier in the semester, the push button on Miles Bibb Hall was not working and her department had to wait a while before the parts needed to fix it came in due to supply chain issues. Facilities staff were able to begin working on the electronic door a few weeks later on Nov. 4.

Regarding the push buttons, Bridges said, “It’s incredibly expensive, so I say keep advocating. Keep bringing it up. Keep adding it to the list.”

Mark Dempsey, ADA coordinator for the city of Framingham, said, “The state has been pushing to have them [handicap push buttons] as part of the building code for over 10 years.”

However, he said, “It’s stuck.”

ADA stands for the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990, which guarantees civil rights for individuals with disabilities in order to prevent and guard against discrimination.

Beach said not only does she have to deal with these accessibility issues, but people’s attitudes toward her as well.

“Sometimes, people will cross my personal boundaries because they feel like I need help even when I haven’t asked for help,” she said. “And sometimes, people will treat me like a kid,” especially at Sandella’s and the Rams’ Den Grille.

Beach added for her, “The biggest thing is to treat people with different abilities with respect and not younger than they are.”

Bridges said when people are treated that way, it “doesn’t feel inclusive.”

She added that as an educational institution, people should approach those behaviors from an advocacy and informational standpoint.

She emphasized the importance of showing “grace” and being respectful to everyone.

Bridges shared a story of when she was frustrated with a student who was late to a meeting with her at the Dan-

forth Art Museum.

“It was a day that was pouring rain,” she said. “Then I saw them, and I was like, ‘I have nothing to complain about.’ Like here they are in this chair having to cover everything with plastic and then show up to class soaking wet - even with a best effort not to be.

“And that’s what we need to remember - that grace,” Bridges added.

She said people should try to imagine what it is like for a door not to work, to get stuck outside of a building in the rain, or have to go all the way around a building just to use an elevator.

Bridges said another concern she has had is the reliability of elevators. A few years ago, classes had to be moved out of the library because the elevator was “down forever” and those classrooms were not accessible.

Bridges added the broken elevator was “no one’s fault,” and “everybody was seeking to get the parts … to fix it.”

In general, she said it is important to acknowledge the Framingham State campus as whole can be inaccessible for some individuals with disabilities.

“I think Facilities does an amazing job of trying to clear paths, and all of that,” Bridges said. However, “ just from a geographic standpoint, our campus is tough, and there’s a lot we can’t do anything about.”

Dempsey, who recently came into the position as city of Framingham’s ADA coordinator, said he is passionate about his work because of his rheumatoid arthritis.

He said the day after Christmas in 1983, he woke up and couldn’t get out of bed. Since then, he has had to undergo numerous surgeries, including hip and knee replacements.

Dempsey said he had not been to the Framingham State campus in years, but used to visit often to work with former Disabilities Service Coordinator Dennis Polselli, now the chair of the Fall River Disability Commission.

Initially starting out working in Residence Life, Polselli, who is blind, transitioned into the disabilities services position in 1994. Polselli said this

Leighah Beausoleil / THE GATEPOST

(Left) The start of the sidewalk into Maynard Parking Lot with a curb cut. (Right) The end of the sidewalk into Maynard Parking Lot as it wraps around toward West Hall.

Leighah Beausoleil / THE GATEPOST

The newly painted yellow lines on the stairs leading from State Street toward Crocker, Peirce, and Horace Mann halls.

Accessibility

position involved all aspects of accessibility on campus, including physical.

The president at the time, Paul Weller, had asked Polselli to establish this department on campus, which did not exist prior. There was an assistant ADA coordinator position, but the job responsibilities were limited, according to Polselli.

In his role as disability services coordinator, Polselli worked with colleagues to create a Disability Services Handbook for students with disabilities. He said some of his work also centered on supporting the rising number of deaf students who were attending FSU during that time period.

Polselli also worked with faculty and staff to address accessibility issues, including working with University Police regarding parking and with Facilities about physical accessibility.

During his time at FSU, Polselli said FSU worked with the Institute on Human Centered Design in Boston. “They did a complete self evaluation and transition plan for FSU,” he said.

Polselli said a lot of his work was advocacy.

“I don’t want to get into too much of the battles that I was fighting because a lot of it was getting the McCarthy Center - making sure that that was accessible to students with disabilities and usable because the restrooms weren’t at the time,” Polselli said.

He said one of the difficulties he faced was that his office was on the top floor of the McCarthy Center and the elevator would often break down, which was an issue because he wanted to employ students with disabilities, including those who used wheelchairs and students with hidden disabilities. As a result, he said he would often bring down all the paperwork he needed to what was then known as the “Pub,” so he could meet with those students.

The McCarthy Center would not be renovated until 2006, which addressed some of the accessibility concerns, he said. “They weren’t the easiest years - I have to be honest about that.”

Physical accessibility continues to be a prevalent concern at FSU. Beach said the Maynard Road sidewalk does not have a curb cut that would allow her to cross Adams Road despite there being a crosswalk there.

Student Trustee McKenzie Ward said concerns with curbs cuts have been a topic of discussion for SGA since their Campus Safety Walk this past March. Beach joined them for this overview of campus to provide insight on accessibility issues.

Ward said Beach attending the Safety Walk made the accessibility concerns more apparent as the path for the walk had to be adjusted due to many places on campus not being accessible for her.

Fowler said she has not heard of any concerns regarding curb cuts. “ It’s city streets, so if there’s a problem there, please bring it to our attention, because I don’t know where there’s a problem. But the city owns the streets and they maintain the curb cuts and traction devices.”

Dempsey came to campus Nov. 3 to check out the accessibility concerns on campus.

Walking down Maynard Road,

Dempsey pointed out how although there is a curb cut for crossing Church Street, the crack in it makes it dangerous.

He said, “If you are in a wheelchair and you hit this, you’re coming out of it [the wheelchair],” adding, “This whole thing should be covered up.”

Dempsey then pointed out how the sidewalk entering Maynard Parking Lot does have a curb cut, but as it wraps around toward the back of West Hall, the sidewalk suddenly stops with no way off for wheelchair users except to turn around, go back to the initial cut, and simply travel in the parking lot.

“They should have had curb cuts,” he said, adding there is “no excuse”

versity and inclusion officer, brought up a concern with the stairs leading up from State Street toward Crocker, Peirce, and Horace Mann halls. The yellow lines that once highlighted the edge of each step were almost completely faded.

Gemme said this is an accessibility issue because their friend has low depth perception, which affects the way a person’s eyes perceive the distance between objects, and therefore, they have trouble using the stairs.

They added these lines are an example of Universal Design as they could be helpful for everyone when it is rainy and dark.

The following day, the steps were painted by the Facilities staff.

McDonald chief of staff and general counsel] to begin looking for a company to come out and do an audit of campus so we can locate all the areas we need to fix because of accessibility issues.”

Fowler said when it comes to accessibility concerns on campus, students can speak with Bridges for academics and to Residence Life for anything related to the residence halls. However, any concerns with physical accessibility in other parts of campus are generally reported to Facilities - there is no point person.

During the Nov. 15 Safety Walk, Ward asked who the current ADA coordinator is for Framingham State.

Dale Hamel, executive vice president, confirmed there is currently no one performing this role, but concerns can be brought to Fowler or Human Resources.

Kim Dexter, assistant vice president of Human Resources and Equal Opportunity, said “There are a number of folks who have responsibilities aligned with the ADA. I have oversight within my office for employee workplace accommodations and administration of the Equal Opportunity Plan, which includes formal complaint processes if someone alleges discrimination or harassment on the basis of disability, including denial of reasonable accommodations.

“CASA is responsible for student accommodations, and there are many folks involved in infrastructure-related accessibility,” she added.

Polselli said he read in The Gatepost’s coverage of the safety walk that there was no ADA coordinator position.

given the sidewalk was added after ADA laws were already in effect.

He said he will add these curbs to his list, and though no changes are possible this year, he will sort out whose property it is and eventually, it will be addressed.

Dempsey added Framingham’s Department of Public Works is “very responsive,” and will be completing approximately 60-70 curb cuts and four miles of sidewalk this year.

There are four 15-minute parking spaces in front of West Hall. However, one of the parking spaces blocks a curb cut that would allow a wheelchair user to get on and off the sidewalk at the entrance of the residence hall.

Dempsey said, “That makes no sense.”

He said it should be a “simple fix” and the school should just swap the 15-minute parking sign with a no parking sign.

During SGA’s Nov. 15 Campus Safety Walk, concerns over this parking space were shared with administrators. Within the days that followed, the 15-minute parking sign for that space was removed and some lines were painted on the ground.

Ward said Danny Giard, executive director of Facilities, “has been so responsive and fast-acting on addressing those concerns.”

However, people continue to park in the space blocking the curb cut.

At the walk, Erin Gemme, SGA di-

“It was super fast,” Gemme said. “I was very excited.

“I felt accomplished because I felt like they actually were listening to us,” they said, regarding the administrators who attended the walk.

They added being a part of this change was “satisfying,” and they hope one day, these lines will be on all staircases on campus.

This semester, Gemme also worked with Library Dean Millie González to add signs providing a warning to hearing device users that when they pass through the library’s book sensors at its entrance, a painful, high-pitched sound may be heard.

Gemme said one of their friends walked through these sensors and “it hurt them so badly that they literally fell to the ground because that’s all that you can hear.”

Signs are now posted for patrons entering and exiting the library.

SGA has established an Ad Hoc Accessibility Committee for this academic year, which is led by Gemme.

This committee aims to “raise awareness because the first step to change is being aware of what needs to be changed,” they said, adding once these issues are acknowledged, the committee can begin to work toward solutions.

The committee will begin by doing an accessibility overview of campus in order to identify any issues.

Ward said, “I have worked with Ann

Though the title “ADA coordinator” was not used, Polselli said his role fulfilled the duties of what a coordinator’s position would entail. However, when he retired, no one replaced him.

“I’m never speaking on behalf of the University now because I’m not employed there anymore, but in the disability community, we feel that there should be a full-time ADA coordinator,” he said. “Preferably, it should be somebody with a disability. I mean, because of the day-to-day experiences that we have with our disability, whether it’s blindness or whether it’s a wheelchair user or hidden disabilities or deaf and hard of hearing.”

Polselli alleged colleges are required by law to have someone serving in this position.

He said, “There should be a separation between a service provider and the legal requirements of the ADA because that really requires a little more background knowledge of the Americans with Disabilities Act, its changes, and the legal requirements.”

Dempsey said Framingham State has “come a long way in the 20 plus years I’ve been in this community. They’ve done good work.”

He added he encourages students with disabilities to get involved on campus, adding their input is “very valuable.”

Dempsey said the city of Framingham completes an ADA report every three years, and the results are kept on file in order to address issues.

Fowler said she has never personally been a part of an accessibility

Leighah Beausoleil / THE GATEPOST

The curb cut at the intersection of Maynard Road and Church Street.

Accessibility

evaluation on campus. “We never have because no one’s ever said, ‘You must report on this.’”

She added prior to AAB, the University conducted a survey of ADA compliance on campus and worked to address the issues that were discovered.

“I will just say, I have compassion because when I was a student in college, I broke my leg in the winter,” Fowler said. “So I’ve always been a compassionate, concerned person to make sure that students can get around whenever they need to.”

Fowler said when a “major renovation” of a building takes place, the accessibility board will come to advise on the ADA aspects of the construction.

If the money spent on the renovation exceeds a certain amount, accessibility issues must be addressed, she said.

When Dwight Hall was renovated, “We put those different ramps in from both sides to get to Dwight Hall because we spent money in that building that triggered making it accessible,” Fowler said.

She said since she was interviewed on Oct. 19 by The Gatepost (for this article), she has “received a request for an update from the last report from 2014. So, we are working with the consultant and updating that report.”

Prior to this request, Fowler said the University had not “received information from consultants about our compliance with ADA … for years.”

McDonald said when it comes to ADA compliance at Framingham State for physical accessibility, the law states the accommodations made need to be “reasonable.”

As an example, she said in order to make the Lincoln Memorial accessible,

a ramp would not have been placed in front of the stairs, but rather on the side or even the back if that gave closer access to parking.

However, no matter what choice is made, “you must provide that access in some way,” she said, adding this is the case when it comes to public buildings, and most of those accessibility modifications are not made unless a renovation triggers them.

“Under the law, Commonwealth law, when you touch a building, and I’m using that word intentionally, when you modify a building up to a certain extent, it then triggers a requirement for accessibility,” McDonald said.

She added that is just the physical component, but within those parameters, there are code requirements that need to be met.

As an example, she described how at her past institution, a ramp was built at its theater, but was made of the wrong material and at the wrong elevation. The ramp had to be rebuilt and was once again constructed at the wrong elevation, and the architects had to repour the concrete in order for it to be compliant.

“So even when you make those accommodations of physical locations and buildings, those accommodations need to meet a particular code to af-

ford individuals the right kind of access - not just any access, but the right kind of access,” McDonald said.

Ward said, “These issues are important to address because I believe that each one of our students deserves to be able to navigate the entirety of campus without any hindrances along the way. Until then, we are not a truly inclusive campus.”

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

CONNECT WITH LEIGHAH BEAUSOLEIL lbeausoleil@student.framingham.edu

Leighah Beausoleil / THE GATEPOST

(Left) The 15-minute parking sign removed in front of West Hall that was at a curb cut. (Right) A car parked in front of the curb cut Nov. 8 after the sign was removed.

ASL major recognized as a top program for affordability

By Sophia Harris News Editor

The FSU American Sign Language major has been rated as one of the nation’s top affordable ASL bachelor’s programs by Affordable Schools, a leading higher education website that ranks college programs by quality and cost.

Of the 40 programs evaluated, Affordable Schools ranked the University’s ASL program ninth in the nation.

Affordable Schools “helps adults of all ages and backgrounds obtain a high-quality education while avoiding huge college costs (and in many cases, huge college debt) that can hover over their lives for years,” according to the organization’s website.

Some considerations that contributed to the ranking were affordability, class size, and student success, according to the website.

Marc Cote, dean of arts and humanities, said it’s a “great recognition.”

He said the ASL program at Framingham State is robust and comparable to the program at Northeastern University “but for a fraction of the price.”

The price of FSU’s ASL program “is a very competitive aspect,” Cote said.

There are two full-time instructors at FSU who teach ASL courses and “three or four” part-time instructors, Cote said.

He added some of the courses are taught by deaf professors, and although it is not a requirement for ASL classes to be taught by deaf instructors, it is important that students feel represented in their classes.

“We have honored the Deaf community’s desire for ASL language courses to be taught by deaf instructors,” he said.

He added that the program is “fairly new.” The ASL program started as a two-year completion program, but recently, became a four-year program.

Luce Aubry, chair of the World Languages Department and ASL professor, said it was a “pleasant surprise” being ranked by Affordable Schools.

“We actually had no idea that it was happening. We’re thrilled,” she said.

The ASL program offers two concentrations - one in ASL English Interpreting and the other in Deaf Studies, according to Aubry.

“So our program differentiates itself a little bit from many other ASL programs in that we require more levels of ASL than many programs do. So, stu-

dents have to complete all the way up to Advanced ASL IV,” Aubry said.

Aubry said the goal for the program is to receive accreditation from the Commission on Collegiate Interpreter Education (CCIE).

In order to apply for accreditation, the ASL program has to graduate five cohorts of students. Currently, the program has only graduated two cohorts.

Aubry said another major goal for the ASL program is “to expand the number of faculty of color because we’re getting so many more students of color in the program, which is fantastic.”

She added, “Historically, there have not been enough interpreters of color in the state of Massachusetts - one of the reasons being they don’t see themselves among the faculty and in interpreting programs.

“So trying to grow the pool of faculty of color, but it’s been very, very difficult because if you have not that many interpreters of color in the field, how many of them then move on to want to become teachers of interpreting, with the advanced degrees that requires, so that’s been a big challenge.”

Aubry said she is proud of how deaf-centric the program is. “We have

Deaf faculty teaching all language and Deaf Studies courses. The only faculty who aren’t Deaf are the faculty who teach the interpreting classes. We’re also proud of having a very active ASL Club.”

She added the ASL club had a very successful DeaFSU event last spring.

“Their DeaFSU event last spring brought in hundreds of people from the Deaf community to our campus for a vibrant event,” Aubry said.

Cote said the ASL club has become “increasingly popular.”

He said approximately 400 people attended the DeaFSU event. “I’m hoping we can do that again.”

Katie McCarthy, an ASL professor, communicated via an interpreter for her interview.

She said the ASL program at Framingham State “is more affordable. … A lot of them want to become an interpreter and we’re able to make sure that it’s an opportunity for them to come here and take the great courses here.”

Therapy dogs to visit campus monthly

By Emma Lyons Editorial Staff

The Office of Wellness Education and Framingham State Activity Board (FSAB) hosted the semi-annual Pause 4 Paws event in the Alumni Room Dec. 5 and 7.

Pamela Lehmberg, coordinator of Wellness Education, said the Office of Wellness Education has been running the Pause 4 Paws events during the last week of classes every semester for the past 15 years.

On Monday, 125 students attended the event and on Wednesday, 120 students attended. On each day, four therapy dogs were brought in for students, Lehmberg said.

She said next semester, her office is planning to bring a therapy dog to campus once a month to visit residence halls. Her office had tried out different places to bring the therapy dogs throughout the fall semester, but “of all the places we tried it, the best place was in a residence hall.”

She said her office continues to host these events because she and her staff can tell that students look forward to them, and they are well attended. “Just for that reason alone, we would keep doing it, but on top of that, there is good evidence that shows that being with pet therapy dogs really does help.”

Haley Hadge, a SEALS peer health mentor and junior English major, assisted in setting up a table for students to make “calm kits.” She said there is usually a high attendance at events like Pause 4 Paws. “There’s so much science around how petting an animal or a dog or a cat releases stress-reducing hormones.”

According to an article published in the National Library of Medicine,

research shows that 58.4% of college students have felt “overwhelming anxiety” and 65% “felt very sad.”

According to the American Kennel Club website, a study done by Emily Ward-Griffin and her colleagues at the University of British Columbia showed that “it seems that a single, drop-in session with a therapy dog can have a large and instant effect on the well-being of university students.”

Lehmberg said the event helps promote connection among students, which is important because “if we look at the data, over 50% of undergraduate students are lonely.”

She said the University has a “memorandum of understanding” with the Pets & People Foundation, and has been working through them to get therapy dogs for these events.

Lehmberg usually reaches out to Pets & People during the summer to request dogs for the dates of the events. She said each dog usually stays at the event for no longer than one hour.

In addition to having therapy dogs, SEALS held a table with information about stress reduction and general health promotion. FSAB hosted a table where students could make their own slime and stress balls and collect PlayDoh - along with tables set out with coloring sheets.

Annalisa Marzeotti, FSAB president and a senior criminology major, said FSAB has participated in the event for about three years.

Marzeotti said these events are “absolutely” helpful for students and make a difference. “Just as a mental health advocate, I really can see the difference among all of the students on campus. We might not have students that come to our regular events like Bingos, but I always see them at

this specific event.”

Avry Guilbert, a SEALS peer health mentor and sophomore psychology major, said the final-exam period is a stressful time for all students, and is “also a time that people may miss their own pets at home, since many students may be stuck on campus studying.”

She said she hopes students had fun at the events, and that they see the staff at the Health and Wellness Center cares about them.

Maya Brown, a freshman fashion design and retailing major, said events like Pause 4 Paws are helpful for students because they are able to release emotions they’ve been bottling up. “This is just a place to really just focus on you, and I feel like it’s really hard to do that in school.”

Nashani Swain, a sophomore psychology major, said she doesn’t think

mental health is a priority for college students. “As much as we would like to prioritize mental health, I think that it’s really hard to do that.”

Bridget Conceison, a junior early childhood education major, said she had attended Pause 4 Paws events in previous years and wanted to go to the event before her class. “I hadn’t met this dog yet, so it was fun to meet them.”

Laura Abreu, a junior elementary education major, said mental health is very important for college students and shouldn’t be “put on the back burner.

“Mental health comes first - then everything else,” she said.

CONNECT WITH EMMA LYONS elyons3@student.framingham.edu

CONNECT WITH SOPHIA HARRIS sharris9@student.framingham.edu

Emma Lyons / THE GATEPOST Students at the Paws 4 Paws event Dec. 5.

FSU recognized for being an environmentally responsible institution

By Naidelly Coelho Interim Asst. News Editor

Framingham State has been recognized for the 11th year by The Princeton Review for its sustainability efforts and Climate Action Plan.

In a press release on the FSU website, Rob Frene, editor-in-chief of The Princeton Review, said, “Framingham State demonstrates an exemplary commitment to sustainability and to green practices - and it offers excellent academic programs.”

President Nancy Niemi said she is very proud of the University for being recognized by The Princeton Review.

“The Plan and its 15 actions are very important to me as part of our work as an institution of higher education that is committed to the elimination of carbon emissions from higher education campuses and infusion of sustainability into the curriculum and operation

loss, changes in land system use, and rising social inequality and conflictthrough the natural and social sciences as well as considerations of justice and ethics,” according to the FSU website.

Carl Hakansson, environment, society & sustainability professor and a former University sustainability coordinator, said the CAP consists of different components, including the physical changes the University can make, policy, and curriculum.

The CAP also emphasizes reducing carbon dioxide emissions and energy use as well as new policies intended to create a sustainable and healthy environment for the campus community.

Hakansson said the CAP ensures policies are being put in place, such as “finding or at least trying to find ways to decrease the number of trips to the University for commuters to save on gas, or to find ways to save on water use, and to find ways to run food

ronmentally friendly schools in the country, and it has been ever since,” Hakansson said.

This year, one of the CAP goals is to continue maintaining the natural gas power plant and to explore additional energy savings projects.

“These policies and interventions might include converting the campus fleet to electric vehicles or to more efficient vehicles … and exploring ways to reduce emissions/support offsets for study abroad travel. Additional class scheduling and commuting solutions will be considered,” according to the CAP.

Mayer has been trying to get feedback from students through the sustainability survey, she said.

“We’re reaching out to a number of clubs that we think might have an interest in this topic to help us come up with new ideas,’’ Mayer said.

She is investigating how much stu-

cational events like the ‘Need To Grow’ documentary screening we had Dec. 2 and the garden clean-up on Oct. 20.”

The garden clean-up prepared the community garden beside The McCarthy Center for the winter, she said.

Behringer said the group has been working closely with Mayer to provide a student perspective on sustainability.

She said students can get involved with campus sustainability by joining the Green Initiative Club through RamLink.

“Our goals for the future are to grow our club and get FSU students more involved in sustainability both in habit and in ways to improve our environment on a larger scale,” Behringer said.

She said their mission statement is “to raise awareness about the effects of climate change on our world, and to encourage students to get involved in

- Megan Mayer Campus Sustainability Coordinator and Nutrition and Health Studies Professor

of the campus,” she said.

Megan Mayer, campus sustainability coordinator and professor of nutrition and health studies, said, “The Princeton Review looks at what the school is doing in the Dining Commons to make our dining operations more sustainable, and what kinds of research faculty are doing on campus that focus on sustainability.”

She said The Princeton Review uses this information and additional criteria to determine if the school earns a spot in the list.

Framingham State’s Climate Action Plan (CAP) is updated every year by a sustainability coordinator who comes up with ways to better the campus and the community, according to FSU’s website.

Mayer said the CAP was developed to make changes in certain aspects of the campus community in order to support sustainability and environmental conservation, educate members of the campus community about these issues, and promote climate justice.

This year’s Climate Action Plan was written by Mayer.

“We approach such problems - including the climate crisis, biodiversity

services more efficiently and more eco-friendly.”

The CAP ensures that changes such as adding solar panels are made, he added.

Mayer said, “Every year, we just sort of continue to work toward achieving those goals that are written in the current Climate Action Plan that’s posted online.”

She said a report about the progress the school has made over the last year can be found on the FSU website.

Mayer said that there are definitely “bigger initiatives,” but there is no funding for them.

“This year’s action plan has been focused more on educational opportunities for students and trying to build community and have discussion around these issues - to encourage people to practice smart, sustainable behaviors,” she said.

Hakansson said he wrote the first Climate Action Plan back in 2010 and updated it for 10 years.

“Back in the day, it was with the input of both faculty and administrators, and staff and students as well,” he said.

“Somewhere early on in the process, we were recognized by The Princeton Review as one of the most envi-

dents know and care about sustainability on campus.

“The Green Initiative Club is our sustainability focused club on campus that is a great place to get more involved and is one of the natural groups of students that I connect with when I have questions,” she said.

Ainslee Caton, president of the Green initiative Club, said, “The students on campus do have input in the Climate Action Plan. There was a survey sent out a couple of weeks ago on things to add to it.”

She added, “Students’ voices are heard in some cases of adding to the plan, but less in finding sustainable changes on campus.”

Caton said Sodexo and the company that collects and disposes of waste on campus “are separate entities, so it is harder to make a difference such as composting on campus since we have to put in a lot of work to try to make something happen that might not even get seen in your time at FSU.”

Maddison Behringer, treasurer and social media manager of the Green Initiative Club, said the goal of the club is to promote sustainability both on and off campus.

She said, “We do this through edu-

making our futures as bright as possible. We empower students to get involved, become advocates within the community, and to think big to create meaningful and impactful changes. We are committed to making sustainable choices both on and off campus.”

Niemi said, “Our work toward achieving the kinds of sustainability is ongoing, and so in many senses we are never done. … I am impressed that so many people at FSU are part of the plan.”

She said the best way for students to get involved is by reading the CAP itself and connecting with the Department of Environment, Society & Sustainability.

Niemi said, “I know it’s a cliché, but it does take all of us working together toward our goals to reach them.”

[Editor’s Note: Maddison Behringer is Design and Photo Editor for The Gatepost ]

CONNECT WITH NAIDELLY COELHO ncoelho3@student.framingham.edu

“This year’s action plan has been focused more on educational opportunities for students and trying to build community and have discussion around these issues - to encourage people to practice smart, sustainable behaviors.”

Faculty and students prefer in-person learning, find online courses flexible

By Emily Rosenberg Associate Editor

In fall 2020, students showed up in pajamas and slippers to class via Zoom due to social distancing practices set in place for the COVID-19 pandemic.

Some watched lectures, read textbooks, and completed exams on Blackboard Collaborate without ever meeting their professor.

Some eagerly awaited the day they could return to an in-person learning format, and some gauged the benefit of working and learning online.

The University held approximately 41% of its fall 2022 undergraduate day-division courses with an online component, according to statistics provided by Academic Affairs. The University conducted 702 classes, not including independent studies and internships.

There were 411 held entirely face to face.

Kristen Porter-Utley, provost and vice president of academic affairs, said she foresees the University continuing to offer courses in a variety of modalities based on what delivery is best for the course following feedback from fall 2022 course evaluations.

In fall 2022, 113 classes were classified as face-to-face (F2F) hybrid online asynchronous, meaning a portion of the class was taught in-person and the other half was class time when the students moved through online course material posted by instructor at their own pace.

There were 37 hybrid face-to-face remote synchronous courses. This is another hybrid option for which students meet at least once a week in a classroom as well as at least once a week remotely via an online video conferencing tool with an instructor.

Ninety-three courses were held in an online asynchronous format, for which there is no scheduled time or place for the course and students move through online course material posted by an instructor at their own pace.

There were 26 courses held in a Remote/Online asynchronous hybrid format. This modality includes a scheduled meeting time for students to meet with their instructor online via an online conferencing tool, as well as some time to work asynchronously.

Twenty-two courses were held in a remote synchronous format, for which there were online face-to-face meetings at scheduled times.

According to Registrar Mark Powers, full-time faculty are asked to teach at least two of their courses as either entirely face-to-face or hybrid with 50% of the class being face-to-face.

Porter-Utley said prior to the pandemic, people were more hesitant to work in an online format, but now the experience of working remotely during the COVID-19 lockdown has given people the realization that the technology and tools exist for online options that can help students “balance their obligations in life.”

Porter-Utley added another benefit of working in an online classroom is professors can more easily invite speakers to their classrooms from across the country due to the flexibil-

ity of using a digital conference tool.

She said on the other hand, online learning can also challenge people who are busy in their homelife and may become distracted by their environment.

She said a question she hopes chairs and deans are thinking about as they plan semester course offerings is, “How does the modality allow me to best deliver the material in a way that will be engaging and meaningful for students and help my students succeed?”

Porter-Utley added another point she hopes is considered during course scheduling is what modality best fits a professor’s pedagogy.

“You can have really great pedagogy in an online classroom and students will be successful. You can have really bad pedagogy in an in-person classroom and students will not be successful,” she said.

Susan Dargan, dean of social and behavioral sciences and education, said she has noticed that since the pandemic, seats in classes in the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences and Education offered asynchronously fill up more quickly than courses offered face-to-face.

She said when thinking about course scheduling, faculty and deans need to be mindful of how an online course has the potential to disengage first-year students from the campus.

Dargan added as students progress through their college career, their ability to do independent work improves and that determines their ability to succeed in an online course.

“I teach online and I see some students do really well. And then I see others just not be able to keep up with it if they don’t come to the class because they don’t have that accountability of being in the classroom,” she said.

She added while teaching online courses, she is seeing a higher percentage of students disengage and perform poorly in the course than when she taught courses face to face.

Dargan said that as she advised chairs through the most recent course scheduling process, she said she wanted to see “as many face-to-face options as possible.”

She said although courses with online components provide students and faculty with flexibility throughout their schedule, she “didn’t want to see people with a one-day schedule because that means they’re only going to be on campus one day and we’d really like to see people.”

Patricia Thomas, interim dean of the college of business, said that while advising department chairs about course scheduling, she recommends required courses that offer multiple sections such as Marketing Principles also offer differing modalities to provide flexibility for students as well as faculty.

“I have some students who come into my office and say, ‘I want my classes face to face.’ Then, I have had another student come in and say, ’I can do some of this on my own, so I prefer an online option,’” she said.

She said chairs in the college of business did a “great job” offering a variety of course modalities.

Thomas added this benefits Fram-

ingham State because “we have a diverse range of students with different abilities, for example, and depending on a student’s learning style, one option might fit better than another.”

She said faculty can also benefit from online teaching because from the feedback she has received, professors have more time for office hours and advising sessions, planning classes, and spending time on research.

Thomas added, “I think now leveraging technology, for the advantage of both faculty and students, is important.”

Bridgette Sheridan, a history professor and the interim faculty union president, said professors who were not familiar with teaching in an online format became “skilled at being able to transmit information in an entirely new way” during the pandemic.

She said she prefers face to face teaching because it builds community in the classroom.

Depending on the course material, Sheridan said online learning can make it possible for students to take courses while managing family and work responsibilities.

“But on the other hand, I sometimes worry that if we move to being more and more online, there’ll be less of a sense of what it means to actually be part of a university, community, and a learning community together,” she said.

Sheridan added the faculty union is “always concerned with ensuring that our students are getting the most out of the University experience and their coursework and learning as possible.” Part of making the best educational experience is considering what faculty learned about teaching during the pandemic, as well as all the skills they had prior to the pandemic, she said.

Michael Harrison, chair of the marketing department who teaches some of his courses in a hybrid format, said a “detriment” to teaching hybrid is that if students miss an in-person class, they miss an entire week of discussion and interaction.

He said prior to the pandemic, the marketing department offered a few hybrid sections of courses due to the style of the class, but the department is now offering a lot more hybrid courses.

He said he has adapted his teaching pedagogy to fit the hybrid format. For example, in a hybrid format, students only meet twice in person during the first two weeks of classes. Therefore, he dedicates more class time to discussion during the beginning weeks so students can become familiar with him and each other.

He said it is important to emphasize the value of the flexibility of modalities, but added, “My concern or my question is, with these new tools, is it a better fit for most of the students or are they benefiting from it and not just because it’s convenient. … Are they learning what they need to learn?”

Harrison said he did not want firstyear students choosing online courses because they need the in-person experience of engaging with their professor and their campus.

Latrell Williams, a freshman environmental science major, said he pre-

fers courses to be face to face because he learns better hands on, and he gets more easily distracted learning online.

He added he is capable of doing well in online courses, so he did not consider course modality when signing up for courses, but rather what the courses were about.

Teddy Gay, a freshman computer science major, said he enjoys face-toface classes more because “I feel more immersed in the lecture. I feel more inclined to ask the teacher questions. And it is easier to get into contact with the teacher because they’re right in front of me.”

He added that online lectures feel as though he is watching a video.

Gay said he thinks classes are not taken seriously when they are taught online. “Everyone is less likely to talk.”

He added, “You’re less likely to actually retain the knowledge because you’re not in a learning environment. You’re in your home.”

Gay said if there are classes he needs to take being offered in remote settings, he would still sign up for them, but he would prefer the classes be offered in a face-to-face format.

Emma DiGregorio, a senior psychology major, said she is taking two classes asynchronously this semester because she wanted to be on campus less often and will be taking all of her classes online next semester for the same reason.

She said a benefit of online courses is that she can work at her own pace. However, she sees the upside of faceto-face classes as well. “It’s definitely easier to learn in-person for me. And you get to see your friends.”

Jordan Newell, a junior communication, media, and performance major, said while choosing his semester schedule, one of his main priorities is avoiding online courses as well as filling college requirements.

He said online classes can be distracting, but in-person, students “feel obligated to pay attention,” adding the face-to-face component also helps with attendance.

Tiana Joseph, a freshman psychology major, said she feels more energized when the class is in person because there is a physical classroom to go to whereas in an online course, “You just open up your laptop.”

Kristen LeBlanc, a junior, said she is neurodivergent, so she sees the benefits of both online learning and in-person learning.

She said that being in person, having face-to-face contact, and being able to take notes as the professor lectures is helpful, but there are also professors who do not make visual components to their lectures, so having everything posted in an online format is helpful.

“Having that online basis does help. I think it really depends on what your learning style is,” she said.

LeBlanc added, “I know with the pandemic, online learning has been a little bit more useful, and I’m hoping that we can improve as we go along.”

CONNECT WITH EMILY ROSENBERG erosenberg@student.framingham.edu

THE GATEPOST EDITORIAL

Renew our commitment to accessibility

Framingham State is not a fully accessible environment for its community members with disabilities, and is therefore not a truly inclusive institution.

From absent curb cuts to faulty handicap push buttons, this University is often oblivious to the community’s accessibility concerns.

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 guarantees civil rights for individuals with disabilities in order to prevent and guard against discrimination.

As a result of this act, the University must provide “reasonable” accommodations to its students with disabilities, according to Ann McDonald, chief of staff and general counsel.

However, the University does not even have an employee whose sole purpose it is to address these issues.

Is it unreasonable to want equal access on this campus?

At the Nov. 15 Campus Safety Walk, which is held every semester by SGA, concerns were raised to administrators about the absence of an ADA coordinator as well as some specific issues students face on campus.

Some of those concerns included the faded yellow lines on the stairs leading up from State Street toward Crocker, Peirce, and Horace Mann halls, which are needed for people with visual impairments as well as the curb cut in front of West Hall, which is blocked by a parking spot.

Both of these concerns were addressed within the days following the walk by Danny Giard, executive director of Facilities. We thank him for his quick response.

However, this is not enough.

We cannot address accessibility issues at their core without someone who can dedicate their time to evaluating the physical campus on an ongoing basis.

The Facilities Department does not conduct any sort of self-evaluation regarding accessibility on campus. The best the department can do is check a handicap push button if they happen to be near one and think of it.

The way this University addresses accessibility concerns is absolutely ridiculous, and our students with disabilities deserve better.

Becoming aware of what is wrong on campus is the first step to fixing anything. SGA has acknowledged this and started its own Ad Hoc Accessibility Committee.

The Gatepost proposes the administration put together a University-wide accessibility committee at which accessibility concerns can be discussed and addressed.

The University should conduct an accessibility audit of its campus and make the results of this overview public. The community should then receive updates on a regular basis about what is being done to address the accessibility issues that have been discovered.

The city of Framingham does this every three years.

Our community deserves the same level of assessment, responsiveness, and transparency.

Though we understand the University may not have the money to address every accessibility issue immediately, it needs to prioritize resolving them within its budgeting process as well as working toward raising the necessary funds, such as by applying for grants.

These issues are worth the University’s time and money.

This summer, the White House issued a proclamation on the anniversary of the ADA’s signing. This proclamation states that the act “enshrines the idea - central to the spirit of our Nation - that all of us are deserving of equal dignity, respect, and opportunity.”

Furthermore, the proclamation states, “As we celebrate the legacy of the ADA, let us take this opportunity to reflect on the progress we have made and renew our commitment to achieving the ADA’s full promise of advancing disability equity, dignity, access, and inclusion.”

Just as we have renewed our commitment as a country, Framingham State needs to do so as an institution, and this means taking the necessary steps that will ensure this campus is accessible to and inclusive of everyone.

All of our community members deserve equal dignity, respect, and opportunity at Framingham State.

Hold Kanye accountable

By Izayah Morgan Staff Writer

Kanye West, better known by his rapper name Ye, made a slew of antisemitic comments earlier in the year.

On Twitter, he stated, “I’m a bit sleepy tonight but when I wake up I’m going death con 3 on JEWISH PEOPLE The funny thing is I actually can’t be Anti Semitic because black people are actually Jew also You guys have toyed with me and tried to black ball anyone whoever opposes your agenda.”

Last week he had dinner with former President Donald Trump and known white supremacist, Nazi, Holocaust denier, and pro-segregationist, Nick Fuentes. At the dinner, Kanye proposed the idea that Trump should run as his vice president in the 2024 election.

Kanye made national headlines once again for his antisemitic comments voiced on the Alex Jones show “Info Wars.” When Alex Jones said how he had no love for Nazis, Kanye interjected with “I like Hitler.” He continued to make later comments stating “Every human being has brought something of value, especially Hitler.” Which even stunned the controversial figure, Alex Jones.

As an African American male, who grew up on Kanye’s music such as “Graduation,” “808s & Heartbreaks,” “Ye,” and “Kids See Ghosts,” I am extremely disgusted by Kanye’s comments. Kanye has made music that has connected with millions of young Black Americans such as myself. However, this does not make him immune from criticism and cancellation for his comments.

Jewish people have a population of 14.8 million worldwide. Kanye has 32 million followers on Twitter, 49 million monthly listeners on Spotify, and 18.5 million followers on Instagram. His social media and streaming numbers pull in more eyes than the entire Jewish population worldwide.

What Kanye says on a public platform has a direct influence on how Jewish people are seen worldwide by the millions of people who listen to him. Kanye’s antisemitic comments may normalize antisemitism in others.

Some solutions to this issue are as follows.

Stop supporting his music, as you are supporting a man who has made countless anti-Black and antisemitic comments on his public social media and during interviews. For example, blocking his music on platforms such as Spotify, Apple Music, and Tidal will help from putting more money in his pocket and stop the songs from appearing in a playlist.

Stop buying his products. Adidas has already dropped him from his Yeezy deal. However, he owns 100% of Yeezy, which means eventually he will be back making shoes, just not under Adidas. It is important not to support this by not buying anything Yeezy branded.

Stop engaging with any of his public accounts, this includes stopping following his Instagram and Twitter. Although understanding his comments allows people to see the issue with them, for people to understand why his comments are dangerous, it requires others to explain them to show why they are problematic. To do this, post on your social media why these comments harm the Jewish community.

By supporting him, it continues to provide him a platform and audience that he can depend on to listen to these antisemitic and internalized racist comments which will continue tofuel hatred between minority communities.

It is important to hold these people in power accountable or the cycle of violence and hatred will continue to happen.

Courtsey of Southern Poverty Law Center

Campus Conversations

What are your tips for dealing with the stress of finals?

By Maddison Behringer, Editorial Staff

“I would say probably just worry about self-care and make sure you are comfortable enough to go to your classes. Just take care of yourself.”

-Leah Hanger, freshman

“Try to look over notes and make sure you are caught up with reading from class.”

-Zophie Greenwald, freshman

“Probably just to study, manage your time wisely, and get a good night’s sleep.”

-Joseph Tilton, freshman

“I would say honestly, listening to music is a big one for me and that kind of helps me study better. … Being a part of the Dance Team is also a stress reliever because I am with all my friends.”

-Angelina Guzzeeti, sophomore

“Knowing how much work I need to get done and using that to know how much time I have for myself and using that time wisely - both the time to do my work and for myself so I can have a balance for finals week.”

-Leticia Rita Santos, sophomore

“Just make sure you get enough sleep, so you are not dead when you are trying to do your homework.”

-Josh Dumay, graduate student

FSU women’s basketball soars past Curry 74-56

By Danielle Achin Sports Editor

The Framingham State women’s basketball team celebrated another victory with their win over the Curry College Colonels on home court Dec. 8.

The first quarter opened with both teams trading baskets, tying the score at 10-10. The Rams’ Flannery O’Connor broke the tie, adding six points of her own, and the Rams took a 16-10 lead.

The Colonels answered with six points of their own, but Framingham maintained the 20-16 lead heading into the second quarter.

After a slow start to the second quarter, Curry closed the gap to 11, but the Rams answered with a 15-3 run for a 35-19 lead.

The Rams’ Katty Haidul scored the last basket with a jump shot to reach a 37-24 margin at the half.

The third quarter opened with two free throw baskets made by the Colonels. The Rams responded with a 14-2 run over Curry and maintained a sizable lead throughout the remainder of the game.

In the final quarter, both teams traded baskets, with Framingham remaining at the advantage and for a brief moment, leading by 31 points.

In the final minutes of the game, the Colonels managed to add 14 points to the board, but it was not enough to outscore the Rams, and they ultimately fell to Framingham State 74-56.

O’Connor led all scorers with 25 points and 10 rebounds, while Haidul finished with 21 points and 11 rebounds.

With the victory and their overall record now at 7-2, O’Connor said the team is always looking to utilize everyone they have and play to their strengths.

She said, “We were hitting some shots on the outside, so then we were able to pound it inside.”

O’Connor said their next matchup is against Regis, and they will be a tough opponent.

To prepare for the game, O’Connor said the most important thing is to look at how the other team likes to play and to defend against them.

She said, “We just need to make sure we know who they are, their personnel, what they can do, and what kind of plays they like to run, and also make sure we know what we need to do on offense and really take control of the game.”

Framingham will travel to Regis College, where they will face off against the Pride in a non-conference matchup Dec. 10.

Men’s basketball celebrates compelling comeback

By Adam Levine Asst. Sports Editor

The Framingham State Rams defeated the Fisher College Falcons with a score of 73-70 Dec. 6.

The Rams’ Jahden Erold, Ivan Nyantenji, JD Okafor, and Aveon Woods all scored in the double digits.

Framingham head coach Donald Morris Jr. said, “We have good depth - the biggest problem we have is the consistency with the depth.

“It’s about staying consistent in your role,” Morris added.

The game began and Nyantenji scored a three-point field goal. This gave the Rams their first lead of the night.

The Falcons responded with a three-point shot and tied the score 3-3.

With 15:11 remaining in the first half, the Falcons took an 11-5 lead over the Rams.

Framingham continued to battle with Fisher and kept the game close.

Five minutes later, Erold scored a layup and then a three-point field goal. The score was tied 18-18.

Fisher broke away with a 9-0 scoring run over the next 3 minutes.

With 6:50 remaining in the first half, Okafor scored a dunk and stopped the Falcons’ scoring run, but the Falcons held a 27-20 lead.

The Falcons continued to outscore the Rams 16-9 to end the first half.

Fisher’s first-half efficiency gave them a 43-29 lead over Framingham.

The first half began and the Falcons’ Brandy Cross made a three-point shot, which increased their lead to 17 points.

Framingham responded by staging an 11-0 scoring run. This was the largest scoring run by either team throughout the game.

Regarding the team’s scoring run, Erold said, “It started on the defensive end.

“We had to get some stops to create that run and get some fast breaks,” added Erold.

The Rams’ scoring run reduced the Falcons’ lead to six points.

With 13:36 remaining in the second half, the Falcons’ Ke’Andre Penceal scored a free throw and increased Fisher’s lead to 12 points.

The Rams countered with 7 unanswered points, which brought the score to 53-48.

The Rams continued to outperform the Falcons.

With 8:12 remaining in the second half, Okafor made a layup, which brought the Rams within 3 points of the Falcons.

The Falcons’ Kyle Butler-Gaffney scored a free throw, but the Rams continued to score.

The Rams’ Erold made a three-point field goal, followed by a layup from Okafor.

With 6:49 remaining in the second half, Framingham took a lead of 60-59 over Fisher. This was the first time that Framingham held a lead since the game’s opening basket.

Framingham maintained a steady lead over Fisher in the final minutes of the game.

With seconds left, the Falcons’ Eric Benjamin missed a three-point attempt and the Rams secured their 73-70 second-half comeback win.

After the game, Morris said, “I’ll take a pretty ugly win, rather than a pretty loss.

“We know we did a good job coming out from halftime and adjusting to what we talked about,” Morris added.

The Rams now hold an overall season record of 3-6.

Framingham will travel to Salve Regina for a non-conference matchup on Dec. 11.

Adrien Gobin / THE GATEPOST

Ivan Nyantenji shooting from inside the paint.

Adrien Gobin / THE GATEPOST

Katty Haidul going for a layup during the game against Curry

ARTS & FEATURES

Banner signings build sense of pride and community

By Ryan O’Connell Arts & Features Editor

By Raena Doty Asst. Arts & Features Editor

Students might recall seeing a banner signing in the McCarthy Lobby this fall for first-generation students.

Or one for veteran students.

Or one for students who are just proud to be themselves.

Or ones for all three!

The Fall 2022 Semester has seen banner signings for students of several different backgrounds, and given them chances to see themselves represented on campus in a physical way.

Some of these banners focused on recognizing students of specific groups, such as first-generation or veteran students, and were open to be signed by everyone.

Erin Gemme, a sophomore liberal studies major, organized the public signing of a “Proud to Be” banner in association with Student Government Association (SGA) Oct. 6.

Gemme is the SGA diversity and inclusion officer - appointed this September - and is responsible for one of several student-focused banner signings held during the Fall 2022 Semester.

They said in their position, they’re responsible for advocating for students and their needs on campus. They added recently they were especially proud of the changes made due to their advocacy, such as repainting the stair ledges next to Horace Mann Hall.

Gemme said they were the primary organizer of the signing, and chose the wording “Proud to Be” due to its open-endedness.

“The reason I made it so vague is because it could be, ‘I am proud to be a student,’ but it could also be, ‘I’m proud to be religious’ of any kind, it could be applying to race, sexual orientation, so it could have been anything,” they said.

Gemme added they chose a banner signing because it was a physical, tangible activity “to display our differences. … Honestly, I think that the differences are what make us so unique.”

They said they enjoyed watching the banner fill up with signatures, and that they could tell students were happy when they contributed their identity, because it was “something they’re proud of.”

Gemme said there were a lot of unique and interesting attributes on the banner, such as being proud to be a foster child, autistic, disabled, an honors student, an athlete, or even a

Taylor Swift fan.

They added the hardest part was getting it started. “Actually, it was harder at the beginning than it was at the end,” they said. “I wrote a few things to get them started because it looked weird with nothing, but as it filled up, more people came.”

Gemme said their favorite part of the banner signing was seeing so many students they’d never met before at one time - and recruiting students to SGA.

They said they want to continue doing events that will support students, especially ones of specific identities.

Gemme added SGA’s “Kindness Week” was a great example of student support, but also they wanted to host an event to benefit LGBT+ students next semester.

They said they also want to have the banner up for signing again in the spring because there’s more to add. “I wanted to have that reminder to myself and everyone that even though we’re all different, we’re all here, and that’s so important.”

Gemme said they want students to know SGA is “here for every single student,” not just for hearing complaints, but also students’ successes.

“I want people to know that with my position specifically, I am always a place for anybody,” they said. “That’s my biggest thing.”

LaDonna Bridges, dean of Student Success and director of CASA, organized a banner signing for first-generation college students as part of National First-Generation College Celebration Nov. 8.

Two different banners were put out for signing: one for first generation students to declare their commitment to graduation, and one for professors to declare support of first-generation students.

Bridges said the banner signing was inspired by another school in a network called First-gen Forward, which “recognizes institutions that are committed to help first-generation college students succeed.

“I hope they took two things away. One, the organization supports them,” Bridges said. “Too often, we look at first-generation college students from a deficit standpoint or a deficit framework. ‘Oh, not prepared, don’t have this, don’t have that.’ And nothing could be further from the truth.

“And the other part was to kind of develop a sense of community among first-gen students to know that they’re not the only ones who are here,” she said.

Bridges said the day of the banner signing was “so much fun.

“Faculty and staff could submit pic-

tures of themselves when they were in college, and it was hysterical to have someone go, ‘Oh my gosh, your hair,’ or ‘Where did you get that outfit?’”

For the students, she said, “I just got this tremendous sense of appreciation from people, ‘Thank you for doing this. Thank you for acknowledging this group. Thank you for this opportunity.’

“There were light bulbs that you could see for some students. Like, ‘Oh my gosh, yeah, that’s what I am’ and ‘Can I have a T-shirt to wear?’” Bridges said.

Bridges said part of supporting first-generation college students is acknowledging “all identities, and all intersecting identities,” including the intersection of being a first-generation student and coming from low-income families.

“Not all first-generation students are low-income, nor do we want that to be the stereotype,” she said. But she said different parts of someone’s identity “all have to come together.

“They are no less qualified and no less able to be successful college students, but it can be exhausting to navigate all that you have to navigate on your own,” Bridges said.

“It is our responsibility as a state institution to educate Massachusetts residents and provide workforce for the commonwealth,” she said.

“We are trying to do more forward-facing things like [the banner signing],” Bridges said. “I know we can do more - we need to do more.”

She said students can help by becoming involved. “We would love to have them contact us and say, ‘I’d really love to be a part of this,’ and become part of an advisory group for us.”

She said the University will continue to support first-generation college students going into the future, and added FSU will start a chapter of a first-generation honors society called Alpha Alpha Alpha, which will be announced in the spring.

Philippe Raphael, a senior sociology major, helped facilitate an “I’m just me because…” banner signing Oct. 13 as an intern of the Chris Walsh Center for Educators and Families of

MetroWest.

Raphael said he spent time at the table giving away brochures as well as encouraging students to enter a raffle for a chance to win the book, “The Identity-Conscious Educator” by Liza Talusan, which the center will be hosting a book discussion for in the spring. In addition, the author will be coming to campus to speak.

He said he mainly focused on educating students about the internships the Chris Walsh Center offered, and trying to encourage them to get involved in the future.

He said the banner was a recognition of different students’ unique attributes and identities. “I … told them to write on the poster what’s special about them? What do they like about themselves? What makes them feel special?”

Raphael said he really enjoyed the process of meeting students who were proud of themselves, and that the overall experience was great.

“It was a great movement, I truly enjoyed doing it, too,” he said. “I hope they’ve seen that, and I don’t know how much I could thank them for participating and being positive.”

Raphael added the Chris Walsh Center has been a great environment to work in, and it has a very positive impact on the community. He said he thinks the center can do even more for students if they have further opportunities to interact with them such as the banner signing.

“It’s a great community. Everyone is supportive of each other. We do a lot of great and amazing and fun work,” he said.

Raphael said his favorite part of the signing was just watching people standing at the table, smiling, feeling happy, as well as learning what people find special about themselves.

“That was the most beautiful part of it,” he said.

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

CONNECT WITH RAENA DOTY rdoty@student.framingham.edu

Ryan O’Connell / THE GATEPOST The “Proud to Be“ banner organized by Erin Gemme with student signatures.

kind of snap me back into reality,” Erin added.

They said they were in between being afraid and not being afraid regarding people’s reactions to their shaved head because they did not want people to be “mean,” but said, “Ultimately, it’s my hair.

“It’s literally on my head [and not yours] for a reason,” they said.

A month prior to this haircut, Erin pushed themselves to better understand their gender identity.

“I’ve always known something was up,” they said with a smile.

In the first grade, Erin knew they hated wearing “girl” clothes. Upon getting their first “boy” shirt, they were “ecstatic.”

“Wow, look at me,” they remember their younger self thinking.

“I didn’t feel comfortable being a girl, but I didn’t want to be a boy,” Erin said. “I didn’t want to be anything and I still don’t want to be anything because I find it stupid.”

Erin described the process of trying to find the pronouns that best suited their identity and realized what they were feeling all this time had a name: non-binary. Starting with she/her, Erin progressed to she/they, to they/ them, and ultimately, to all pronouns. However, they said they feel obligated to tell others their pronouns are they/ them because otherwise, people will default to she/her, but they wish people would “switch it up.”

For clarity, Erin has given permission for their story to be told using they/them pronouns.

Terrified at the thought of what people they knew would say or think, Erin was worried about sharing that they had changed their pronouns. They added they thought they were inconveniencing people by making them “go out of their way to do this.” However, they came to realize, “It is not that deep.

“If they don’t like it, they can leave - easily,” Erin said, with a laugh.

They explained the difference between them identifying as non-binary rather than gender-fluid is that no matter how they are dressed or what they are feeling, their pronouns do not change. Along with being non-binary, Erin said they also identify as transgender.

Erin emphasized that the most hurtful misconception they face is when people believe they identify as non-binary because they want to be “different.”

They said, “If anything, I desperately want to be like other people because of the things that I experience.”

According to the National Center for Transgender Equality, being non-binary is neither new nor some fashionable new trend people are following. Throughout history, non-binary identities have been recognized around the world by different cultures

and societies.

According to a 2021 study conducted by the UCLA Williams Institute, 1.2 million people in the United States identify as non-binary.

Erin said since coming out as non-binary, they have had both good and bad experiences.

Some of the worst experiences happened this past summer when they would be asked, “What are you?”

Erin said this happened so often,

past these feelings because they knew they wanted to step outside of their comfort zone and to become more involved on campus.

“I started to lose the feeling of being human.”

In early March, Erin sat on their bed staring at the blinking cursor on their computer screen, hovering over a question on the 2022 Common Leadership Application. The application is for anyone interested in serving as a Foundations Peer Mentor, Admissions Tour Guide, SEALS Peer Health Educator, or a Black & Gold Orientation Leader.

They had decided they were going to apply to be a Black & Gold Orientation Leader because it was something that made them “uncomfortable.

“I like to do things that I know will make me uncomfortable because then afterward, I won’t be uncomfortable anymore,” they said.

Erin was stumped by the question, “What are your strengths and weaknesses?” They said they were unsure how to answer because they had never worked as a student leader and were unable to recognize their own strengths and weaknesses.

As the cursor blinked at Erin, taunting them, a single thought began to build in intensity: “I shouldn’t be doing this.

“I genuinely felt like I wasn’t right for it,” Erin said, adding they pushed

A few weeks later, a group interview for the position took place in the McCarthy Center Alumni Room with approximately 15 other students, Erin said. Working in small groups, each mini-team was given the task of creating a product with the materials they were given.

Using a bowl, a feather boa, tape, and a piece of string, Erin’s group was able to create their ingenious product - a wearable cereal bowl.

Erin said they forgot it was an interview because they had become so comfortable working with their group. The only reminders were Leah Mudd, assistant director for Orientation and Student Experience, and Dara Barros, Student Government Association (SGA) president and orientation leader, walking around to listen in on the conversations among group members and monitor the progress being made.

Mudd described her first impression of Erin during the group interview. “Initially, I just felt a sense of warmth and welcome.

“I think it was just the way they are and their personality and their vibe that they bring,” she added. “I felt that they were very interested in getting to know the other candidates at the group interview, regardless ofyou know, at that point they had no idea who might be on the team - if they would make it themselves.”

Mudd said this approach to meeting with new people would eventually help Erin be successful in the position.

Nevertheless, on the day of their individual interview, Erin nervously approached the room in O’Connor Hall where they would meet with Mudd and Barros. Hands shaking, they entered the room concerned they lacked the experience of the other applicants.

They said they were given the choice prior to the interview of who would be interviewing them: Mudd and Barros or Mudd and the graduate assistant. Erin said being able to choose Mudd and Barros helped them feel more at ease.

By the end of the interview, they believed it had gone well.

Mudd said as she got to know Erin during the individual interview, what stood out was “compassion and their drive to make other students feel heard.”

She added knowledge of resources and the campus are all dealt with in training and are subjects that can be taught. However, the “care” and “compassion” Erin had for incoming students was not something that could be, which allowed them to shine and stand out.

Sitting in the Dining Commons a week or so later, Erin received the email informing them they had been chosen as an orientation leader. Excited, Erin called their mom with the good news - they had secured a summer job.

Orientation leader training began in the heat of the summer.

Sitting most days on the lawn between Hemenway Annex and O’Connor Hall, the 2022 orientation leaders

Leighah Beausoleil / THE GATEPOST

Erin Gemme, SGA diversity and inclusion officer and orientation leader.

worked together to prepare themselves to welcome the incoming firstyear and transfer students, occasionally interrupted by the inopportune timing of the sprinklers.

As they ran in all directions from the water, Erin knew summer 2022 would be one to remember.

“I got to get close with these strangers I didn’t know last week,” Erin said. “I met so many people and I am much more social than I was before.”

They said being an orientation leader gave them the confidence to approach students who might be sitting alone. “I wanted to be someone who I needed last year.”

The group completed innumerable icebreakers in order to understand each other on a personal level, but one training session stood out among them all. The orientation leaders met in a conference room in O’Connor Hall and stood in a circle. Similar to a

ly heavy. And after that, I remember going to lunch and I was like, ‘Wow, I did not expect this from orientation leaders.

“Even though it was a tough conversation, the fact that we were able to have that conversation made me feel better,” Erin said, adding everyone worked to make it a safe environment.

Erin took many important lessons and skills away from the summer training, but perhaps the most surprising discovery was learning about the accommodations available through the Center for Academic Success and Achievement (CASA).

Due to missing their online orientation before their freshman year, Erin said they did not know they could receive the same accommodations in college they had received in high school.

Erin is neurodivergent, which means their brain functions different-

Though they appreciate the creativity and personality their neurodiversity gives them, there are aspects that can impact their life negatively, such as being “sensitive” to social situations and having sensory issues.

Certain sounds and textures can be overstimulating for Erin, such as velcro and spaghetti.

Too afraid to speak out about what bothered them growing up, Erin said they had always assumed everyone felt the same way, shared the same thoughts, and acted the same as they did. “But looking back, I’m like, ‘I don’t think everyone walked on their tippy toes for five years.’”

Having a friend on the spectrum who shared similar attributes, Erin went to the doctor to get tested and was clinically diagnosed with ASD at the age of 18. At the same time, they were also diagnosed with ADHD.

They said getting diagnosed at that age was “super late,” but is common for people assigned female at birth

In the United States, an estimated 5.4 million, or over 2%, of adults are diagnosed with ASD, according to Spectrum News.

According to the CDC, there are different variations of the ASD test as well as other assessment tools and often, more than one is used to diagnose the disorder.

Upon telling people they have ASD, Erin said they will often receive comments such as, “You don’t seem autistic,” or, “Oh, I could tell.” Though they said they find the latter amusing, the former is a “backhanded” compliment and bothers them “because then I think, ‘What do you see autistic as, then?’”

ASD is different for everyone, they said, adding they encourage people to refrain from engaging in stereotypes about the disorder.

Erin said those who believe they have ASD do not have to get diagnosed if they do not want to. “It’s completely understandable because a diagnosis comes with closure, but it also comes with a lot of negative things.”

Erin recalls being on an Individualized Education Program (IEP) as early as the third grade.

As the name suggests, an IEP is an individualized program that analyzes a student’s academics and behavior in order to design a “blueprint or plan for a child’s special education experience at school,” according to the California State Council on Developmental Disabilities (SCDD).

This education program derives from the 1975 Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).

Sitting in their elementary school classroom on their special cushion, Erin struggled with remaining still and would kick their legs at the rubber band underneath their desk that softened the noise of their blows.

“privilege walk,” when something was stated that related to them, they had to step in the circle.

“It got really deep, really fast,” Erin said. “And before I knew it, most of the people in the room were crying.”

Then, the group was asked to step in the circle if they had ever been afraid to introduce themselves with their identity. Stepping into the circle and seeing some of their peers do so as well, Erin began to cry. Realizing they were not alone in this struggle was validating for them.

“During Orientation, too, that feeling kept continuing like that,” they said. “I was not the only one experiencing this.”

They added, “That conversation - it was really moving, and it was real-

ly. In Erin’s case, they are diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) as well as Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).

Although the word “spectrum” is used in the name for ASD, this is not the linear spectrum most people assume it to be. According to a 2020 article from PSYCOM, ASD is more of a “three-dimensional pyramid with multiple intersecting points.” These points, or spectra, represent interaction, communication, and imagination, which can all range in the level of support needed.

Erin said they take pride in knowing their brain works differently than other people’s.

“I feel like a superhero sometimes,” they said.

as their symptoms or traits will present differently than males with ASD and/or ADHD. This, Erin said, was most likely the case for them as their younger brother was diagnosed with ADHD, so their parents had those specific symptoms in mind as representative of the disorder.

Erin said the test they took gave them a score that would indicate whether they had ASD and how severe theirs was. They recall a score as low as 30 would indicate ASD, with higher scores demonstrating the level. Because of this, people may have some traits or symptoms of ASD, but won’t necessarily be diagnosed.

“I like to say that everyone is on the spectrum - just not far enough to be diagnosed,” they added.

Erin had begun to receive the accommodations that were necessary for them to focus and succeed in school, but faced the jealousy and ignorance of their young classmates who did not understand what those items such as the rubber band and cushion were for. Because Erin did not fully understand, either, students would often take their cushion to use for themselves and cut the rubber band for fun.

Their accommodations also involved taking them out of the classroom in order to complete additional work because what they were learning wasn’t “sticking as well.”

However, when they reached middle school, their IEP transitioned into a 504 plan.

This second plan derives from Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.

While an IEP provides individualized special education and services, a 504 plan “provides services and

Courtesy of Ashlinn Collins

(Left) Erin Gemme and Ashlinn Collins strike a pose together in a bathroom mirror.

changes to the learning environment to meet the needs of the child as adequately as other students,” according to the SCDD.

Both an IEP and 504 plan require the student to have a disability - however, the requirements for a 504 plan are more broad. Though Erin did not receive a diagnosis for ASD or ADHD until they were 18, they believe the school’s staff most likely saw their struggles in the academic setting as well as a display of symptoms of the disorders.

Erin’s 504 plan allowed them additional time on tests and the ability to take them in a separate location. Places that may be noisier were best for them as they pay more attention to certain sounds in quieter locations, they said.

When a printer is making noises and people are talking, it is less noticeable for them, but when it’s quiet, those sounds become amplified, making it hard for them to focus, Erin said.

The jealous and ignorant responses to their accommodations from classmates continued into high school, when their 504 plan would give them the ability to take a short walk during class time, they said. Classmates would comment about how “lucky” Erin was to have this option, but this system was in place for them to address their need to move.

“Because if I was in that room all day, I’d probably be doing backflips in the back of the classroom,” Erin said.

Since elementary school, Erin had noticed they were often the only person who required accommodations who was not assigned male at birth.

In high school, Erin said the students who needed accommodations were all given the same course schedule.

“So for four years, I was in every single class with the same 10 people, and that was good and bad,” they said. “But I was the only girl and I would be treated differently than them, too, because they’d always be like, ‘Oh, you’re a girl - you behave.’”

They added, “Of course” they behaved, but the problem is the assumptions made based on the gender of the students. However, despite the gendered expectations of the individual students, “We’d always be known as the bad kids.

“Just because we need accommodations, we’re the bad kids?” they asked.

Erin explained accommodations are different for everyone, but are in place because they are necessary for those students. They described accommodations for them as making their learning experience more equitable.

“I might be able to do things that they can’t and then the opposite, but accommodations help me do at least as much as they can - [just] differently,” they added.

At the start of the Fall 2021 Semester, Erin attended classes at Framingham State for the first time.

“I didn’t know what to expect, and that scared me - especially because I hadn’t been in school for the longest time because I did my whole senior year remotely,” Erin said. “So I had not been in a classroom for over a year.”

Prepared with their Ticonderoga pencils and black notebooks, Erin immediately made a beeline for a seat in the back corner of every classroom

on the board.’”

Erin concluded many of their struggles in the classroom are due to difficulties they face with paying attention, adding they don’t know which disorder to blame - ASD or ADHD. They said the duality of having both can be challenging because sometimes, the disorders share similar symptoms.

And on top of this, they said they often find themselves struggling to take notes. “I either write nothing

let their professors know they may struggle in the class or simply that they learn differently.

For example, when they are paying attention, they may express that differently than other students. “I just don’t really like looking at people that much,” they said. So instead, they will focus their eyes on something outside the window so they can listen. They said they like to tell the professor this so they do not appear to be ignoring the lesson.

they entered. “I need to sit in the back,” Erin said. “I cannot sit anywhere in the middle. I can’t sit in the front. I need to sit in the back, and honestly, I’m still figuring out why. I think it’s the fact that I like to see everyone in the room.”

They added this is the case for any room they sit in - even the Dining Commons.

Once they find a seat to their liking, the next step is to focus on listening to the professor’s voice.

“I get distracted very easily,” they said.

If a pencil is tapping or there is any other ambient noise, Erin said, “I’ll hear that over the professor.”

One of their methods for getting themselves to focus on a specific sound is to slightly block their ears - not enough to drown out all the sound, but enough to cut out background noise, they said.

Throughout each of their classes, Erin finds themself persistently trying to refocus in order to get all of the information from the lesson. “I know this doesn’t actually happen, but it feels like my ears just go, ‘Boop!’ and turn off and I’m just looking around and then I come back and I’m like, ‘Oh, they just did like eight problems

down because I feel like nothing’s important enough, or the opposite and I write every single thing that the professor says,” they said.

“Then, I look at my notes and it’s just like eight pages of, ‘Professor looks to the left,’ or something like that, and I’m like, ‘Oh my God,’” they added, laughing.

Erin said they have been trying to look at notetaking differently and focus on what their future self may need to know.

Though lecture courses require a lot of focus, Erin said they appreciate not having to worry about what they will say in class - unlike more discussion-based courses. However, they recognize the benefits of discussions as well because they tend to have an easier time remembering the material if they talk about it.

Taking the classes that are broken into 50-minute time blocks also helps Erin as it takes less energy to focus for a shorter time period, they said.

“It’s a little difficult,” Erin added about being in the classroom. “If I’m having a bad day, how am I supposed to go to class and do all that? That’s what I struggle with a lot.”

Prior to receiving accommodations in the classroom, Erin said they would

Erin also asks their professors to “keep an eye out for me because I might sneakily fall behind,” adding they believe letting their professors know this ahead of time helps them out in the long run.

Erin’s dorm room door is festooned with three name tags from various occasions and a piece of crime scene tape. On the other side of this door is a space Erin and their friends have come to call “The Crypt.”

A mixture of white Christmas lights and the purple glow of a desk lamp illuminate the space, forming a lighting “that is just so good,” they said.

Sitting down at their desk to do homework in the circle of the purple light, Erin puts on their favorite study music - the “On Repeat” Spotify playlist. This playlist is compiled of 30 songs the user has recently played the most. Erin’s current top song is “Funeral Grey” by Waterparks - one of their favorite artists. Other recurring artists on the list include Yung Gravy, Machine Gun Kelly, and Blackbear.

Erin said they often struggle with getting started with assignments.

Courtesy of Ashlinn Collins

(Left) Ashlinn Collins and Erin Gemme spending time outside together in the summer.

“I’m very good at procrastinating.”

When they do get started, though, they sometimes struggle with focusing their mind enough to take in the information they are reading. “I read words and I don’t know where they go, but they don’t go in my head,” Erin said, adding they find listening to the audiobook while reading is often the best way to combat this.

They said sometimes, they will have “random bursts” of motivation that will allow them to get all their work done - though they don’t recommend it as a method of productivity.

Their productivity also depends a lot on their environment, Erin said.

Often, they will hear it is not good to study in their room - however, they find this is where they can get most of their work done. “I know that that’s my space and nobody can disrupt me there,” they said.

Erin added this space is the best for them as they can create their own perfect ambiance.

“If my room is bland, it just makes me sad,” they said, adding they are in no way a minimalist.

Accompanying Erin in their studying is an ever growing army of Squishmellows - some of which are housed on a shelf on the right side of the desk.

From a small Jack Skellington to a large bat Squishmellow, this shelf is where Erin keeps their “prized possessions,” including signed drumsticks from their favorite band, Palaye Royale. Also on Erin’s desk is a small bucket of fidgets for easy access while studying or when they’re on the go.

Erin’s walls are decorated with posters of their favorite bands and movies, including “The Nightmare Before Christmas,” “Beetlejuice,” and 21 Pilots. However, also featured are small cut-out bats that climb their way up the wall above Erin’s bed.

The bedding, matching their theme, features a quilt made up of old T-shirts such as a black Fall Out Boy shirt with white writing featuring a flower with a skull inside of it. And, of course, their bed would not be complete without two additional Squishmellows and a Build-a-Bear Jack Skellington.

Nervous about the transition from living at home to school, Erin said they bought a comforter a month before moving in for the first time and used it at home in order to adjust more easily.

Though their environment plays a major role in their productivity, having a routine schedule is also important to Erin.

They said they do not like when they have unexpected free time, and will plan out their day-to-day schedule.

Initially using a physical calendar, Erin switched to using Google Calendar. Having a calendar they can easily carry with them wherever they go has benefited them, they said. Erin

added they also love the calendar feature that displays a red line across the schedule indicating the time of day.

“That visual is really helpful to me.”

In managing their workload this year, they have found themselves having an easier time dealing with outside stressors right away, ensur-

upset.”

Following this frustration, Erin would meet with their professor the next day to try to work out what they were struggling with, they said.

Eventually, instead of failing the math course, they decided to withdraw, with the other courses being

professors.

“I felt so worthless on this campus,” they added.

Framingham State had not been what they expected.

“Then, I realized that can’t be it because people can’t like the school if it’s like that,” they said. And be-

ing they do not interfere with their coursework.

A helpful tool they have begun using this semester is an iPad they purchased with the money they made from being an orientation leader. Taking digital notes on the application GoodNotes has been helpful, they said.

“I don’t know why that was the key to my success, but it literally was,” Erin said, adding how fun it is to write notes now.

“That was the best investment I’ve ever made,” they said.

Reflecting on their year without accommodations, Erin said it was a “disaster.”

Erin started their freshman year with four classes: Composition I and a psychology, education, and math course.

As the semester picked up, they began to struggle a lot with their math course.

Erin’s eyes would often well with tears when working on math homework. When they reached a point when they could no longer make out the numbers through their tears, they knew they had reached “peak frustration.”

Erin said when doing math work, “I just close my eyes and just go right in, and it works sometimes, but other times, I don’t get it. And if I don’t get it, I usually just stop doing it because if I keep trying, it’s going to make me

completed “as best as they could be.

“I could have been better if I had my accommodations, but I survived,” Erin said.

Following their first-semester experience, they decided they would only take three courses a semester. They said though some students may consider this puts them at a disadvantage, it “levels the playing field” for them. “I’m still trying just as hard.”

The problem they said they face is being behind in course credits. This was only made worse when Erin had to take a week out of classes for health reasons during the Spring 2022 Semester.

Unable to make up the work they missed, Erin withdrew from two of their courses that semester, leaving them with only one course completed.

“So this year, I’m really trying to get back on that,” Erin added. “I’ve planned to take summer classes and I will graduate on time - at least for me, and I know that’s not a necessity, but that’s one of my goals.”

Erin said they are “surprised” neither their professors nor their advisor said anything about seeking help from CASA when they were struggling with and withdrawing from their courses.

After the many challenges they faced their freshman year, Erin felt defeated.

“I didn’t use what I had on campus,” Erin said. “I didn’t go to events. I didn’t use CASA. I didn’t talk to my

coming an orientation leader made them realize they were right. FSU is a welcoming place and one that offers accommodations through CASA to those who need them - this they discovered during one of their training sessions.

Initially, Erin thought CASA was designated for tutoring only.

Entering their second year at FSU, Erin was afraid it was too late to request accommodations and therefore overwhelmed at the thought of emailing CASA.

“I had just spent a whole year without it, and I didn’t want them to think I was just springing it on them,” they said.

With the help and support of a friend, Erin was able to send the email and gather all the necessary documentation to be approved.

Erin had their first CASA meeting with Tanya Milette, associate director of Disability Access Services.

“We kind of went through what accommodations were available and what would benefit me best,” they said, adding they created a plan that can be implemented in their classes when needed.

Erin said though CASA will inform their professors that a student in the class needs accommodations, they also still like to inform the professors themselves. “I want them to know who it is, and [why] I just disappear to

Courtesy of Erin Gemme

(Left) Lauren Mazzarella and Erin Gemme excited for their first day of sophomore year at Framingham State.

go take a test.”

Some of the accommodations Erin can use through CASA are taking a test or quiz in a separate location, obtaining a notetaker for class, and acquiring audiobooks to help with focused reading.

At the start of the semester, Erin said they were “so excited to go to class knowing that I could be more OK than I was last year.

“I feel a lot better,” they said. “I don’t feel as trapped as I did before, and knowing my resources, I feel a lot more comfortable with facing problems in the classroom.”

Erin added a part of this is just having the courage to reach out for help from professors when they may have been hesitant before.

Though they were not aware of the accommodations due to missing their orientation, there are still students who know of them and may have used them in high school, but are reluctant to do so in college.

Erin suggested a way to make CASA more visible as a resource could be “getting people to talk about it more because I feel like right now, it might be kind of a taboo thing.”

They added since learning about the accommodations themselves, they have tried their best to tell every person on campus about these services.

LaDonna Bridges, dean of Student Success and director of CASA, said the transition to college for neurodivergent students can be “seamless” for some and “really difficult” for others.

She said the “beauty” of neurodivergent students is how they are all different, and therefore have different experiences.

However, she said the transition can be “a tremendous struggle. There can be isolation that’s unexpected. There can be social situations that are unaccounted for,” adding there are experiences in the classroom and “around campus that are really hard to control.”

Bridges said some students who received accommodations in high school may want to try college without them. She said though this is “perfectly fine,” she advises students to register with her office, submit the necessary documents, and then they can choose when or if they want to use those accommodations.

She added the decision to use accommodations can also depend on the individual student’s needs. If a student has dysgraphia, a neurological disorder that affects a person’s ability to spell and write out thoughts on paper, they would have an accommodation that might allow them to use a computer for exams and notetaking.

“That would be something that we

would hope someone would choose to use rather than struggle through trying to figure out how a professor can read an exam that they’ve written,” she said. “It also just helps them get their thoughts down on paper easier.”

Bridges said no matter what the student chooses in the end, she encourages them to talk to CASA and have their documents on file “so that if the moment arises, we’re ready. They

Bridges said approximately 120 incoming students were identified as having a disability.

Bridges added if a student does not initially inform her office of their disability, they can reach out at any point in their time at FSU in order to set up accommodations.

She said a student’s academic performance will sometimes indicate they need accommodations, and the

Center for Excellence in Learning, Teaching, Scholarship and Service (CELTSS) webpage for a limited time.

“The first workshop was really more for faculty and people who work with neurodiverse students, and the second workshop was neurodiverse students who [spoke] about their own college experience,” Bridges said.

Sometimes, the misunderstanding of differences between neurotypical and neurodivergent students can lead to “a conduct issue in a classroom,” Bridges said. These workshops aimed to address that for faculty and provide ways to “de-escalate when things are seeming to be building up.”

She added, “The goal is to prevent the differences from being perceived as behavioral problems.”

Bridges said at times, faculty have asked her why she did not inform them a neurodivergent student was in their classroom, and in response, she explained disclosing that information is up to the student and unless they request her to do so, she won’t.

“I don’t want to set faculty up for a predisposed impression of a student,” she said.

When it comes to faculty teaching neurodivergent students, Bridges said, “I think they’re seeking to understand - obviously, some are better than others,” adding each professor’s background differs in their training in this area.

“I think that by and large, what I find is the faculty do want students to succeed, and so they do want to know how best to support a student,” she said.

may never, ever, ever use an accommodation, and they may never want to use something, but at least they’re in a position to be able to easily.”

During the admissions process, a neurodivergent student may have a high school exemption when it comes to the University’s requirements, such as not having a foreign language or four years of math, according to Bridges. In those cases, the student will submit documentation when applying.

Otherwise, when a student pays their deposit, they will have the opportunity to inform the University they have a disability and CASA will follow up with them, she said.

She added her office emphasizes to parents and families during orientation that documentation needs to be turned in to the University.

And if they do, Bridges said, “We’ll meet with them over the summer, and make sure they’re ready to go hit the ground running.

“High schools are fabulous at that because they do transition programming with all students and they make it known to the student” they need to disclose to the school they are applying to if they have a disability in order to receive accommodations, she said.

At the start of the fall semester,

University may find out during the academic standing process. Faculty may also refer a student they see struggling in the classroom to CASA.

Bridges said, “You can’t say to someone, ‘Do you have a disability that we need to know?’ But, it’s pretty easy to say, ‘Did you receive supplemental support in high school? Can you talk to me about that?’ Then, that usually can open up the door for them to share.

“I like to tell them that leveling the playing field through accommodations is the sign of a good student,” Bridges added. “It’s not that they’re getting cut slack for that. It’s because there’s a discrepancy in their learning profile that we can help compensate for - not a deficiency, but a difference in their learning profile.”

At the end of August, CASA, the Counseling Center, the Dean of Students Office, and the Student Assistance Team partnered with the Asperger/Autism Network to host two workshops focusing on neurodiversity.

The workshops, “Neurodiversity on Campus: Supporting Autistic College Students” and “In Our Own Words: A Panel Presentation,” were recorded and are available for viewing on the

Bridges said accommodation requests always have to be reasonable, and the standards are set by ADA. Therefore, it would be unreasonable for her to grant an accommodation that would “fundamentally alter the nature of the course,” adding faculty have academic freedom.

ADA stands for the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990, which guarantees civil rights for individuals with disabilities in order to prevent and guard against discrimination.

“They want to learn - they want to help, but they also want to protect the integrity of the course in the learning outcomes,” she said.

Therese Ajtum-Roberts is the director of Framingham State’s Chris Walsh Center for Educators and Families of MetroWest. This center aims to provide resources to educators and families whose children have unmet needs.

Ajtum-Roberts said those unmet needs include “students with disabilities who are gifted or twice exceptional and are underserved in the population, so students with neurodiversity would fit into those categories.”

She said the center provides consultations for parents, caregivers, and educators, which includes those in-

Courtesy of Ashlinn Collins

(Left) Erin Gemme and Ashlinn Collins at a concert on Erin’s 20th birthday.

terested in learning more about the transition process from high school to college.

The center also provides professional and educational development for families and educators, hosts events on topics that include neurodiversity, and shares resources on its website and social media, she added.

“We have a whole section on our website that has resources, and it has a lot for ADHD, learning disabilities, and autism,” Ajtum-Roberts said.

There are also resources available specifically for those interested in learning more about the transition from high school to college, she said.

As someone who is also neurodivergent with ADHD and dyslexia, a neurological disorder that makes reading difficult, Ajtum-Roberts said she understands what that transition to college is like.

Arriving at University of Massachusetts Amherst as an undergraduate in 1996, Ajtum-Roberts said she was “very lucky” as the university had recently opened its office for Learning Disability Services.

That office “was just geared toward the students who had learning disabilities, and, at that time, they were seeing a big influx of kids with learning disabilities coming to college because before, that was considered something not possible.”

She mentioned to her orientation leader that she had a learning disability, and they introduced her to the director of that new office. The director was able to look over her schedule and recommend changes to her courses “because sometimes, there’s professors that know how to work well with kids with learning disabilities, and professors that don’t.”

Advocating for herself and forming a network with other students with learning disabilities was important to her college transition, she said. Having those resources and connections allowed her to be successful and feel less alone on campus.

Ajtum-Roberts graduated cum laude with a bachelor’s in history and went on to get her master’s and Ph.D. at UMass Amherst.

Her advice to neurodivergent students is to “visit several colleges,” talk to students about the support services, and learn about the disability services available.

“A lot of kids don’t want to disclose during the process that they have an LD [learning disability] because they think it’s going to be used against them,” she said. However, “I think it’s important to disclose so that you can discuss these services.”

Disclosing in the beginning can be “easier” and allow neurodiverse students to build “a personal support network,” she added.

Ajtum-Roberts said looking back as a neurodiverse student, she wishes she understood when she entered col-

lege that she did not need to be perfect, and that there was still time for her skill set to improve.

She said jobs are now actively looking for neurodiverse people. Though people were “afraid” to talk about disabilities in the past, “more people are able to talk about it, but I think we still need to keep bringing it to the mainstream.

“So normalizing the experiences of people with neurodiversity as being normal, and not necessarily different - we need to continue to do that,” Ajtum-Roberts emphasized.

Erin’s intersectional identity has given them strengths and insights that the average student may not possess.

This has enhanced the role they play within the Framingham State community, including as an orientation leader and inevitably, when they became the diversity and inclusion officer for SGA this semester.

“I think a lot of it is connecting with certain types of people that others may not be able to connect to,” they said.

Erin said during orientation, they would notice students who were uninterested in the icebreakers or starting conversations with other students. Understanding that feeling, Erin would reach out to those students, acknowledge their discomfort, and spark a conversation with them.

They said they often found themself connecting with students the other orientation leaders could not, explaining they feel people who are neurodivergent have a shared “bond” given their similar experiences.

“So I think that’s a strength and a weakness,” Erin said, adding sometimes, they will struggle to make connections with people due to social anxiety. “An introverted orientation

During the summer as an orientation leader, Erin’s colleague, SGA President Dara Barros, was recruiting members for SGA.

Erin said they spoke to Barros about how important ADA regulations, accessibility, and Universal Design is to them.

Universal Design, short for Universal Design for Learning (UDL), is a “framework to improve and optimize teaching and learning for all people based on scientific insights into how humans learn,” according to the UDL Guidelines website.

According to the University of Washington’s Center for Universal Design in Education, Universal Design can also be incorporated into physical spaces by implementing a layout that would be accessible to everyone. This is made successful by following the seven basic principles of Universal Design: equitable use, flexibility in use, simple and intuitive use, perceptible information, tolerance for error, low physical effort, and size and space for approach and use.

After Erin shared their passion about these subjects and gave examples of ways FSU could improve, Barros asked them if they would be interested in being the next diversity and inclusion officer - Barros’ former position.

Barros said during the interview process for orientation leaders, they appreciated that Erin was non-binary because “we have a lot of non-binary students coming into FSU.

“For me, I love it when I see someone of color on a show or something or someone that looks like me or someone who represents the same values and the same things as me,” she said. “That’s what really stood out about Erin - that they are going to represent some of the students that we have on campus already as well as some of the students who are going to be coming to our campus.”

leader with social anxiety sounds like something that’s impossible, but it’s not.”

Though they can be afraid at times to talk to new people, they try to force themself to take that leap, and it sometimes works.

Erin said doing what makes them uncomfortable is “always worth it because if I find out I don’t like something, I don’t have to do it ever again.”

Another struggle Erin has in work and academic settings is the fear that their identity will limit opportunities.

“I live with that fear every single day,” Erin said, adding it is not so much their ADHD, but mostly their ASD that brings on this fear.

“Because I feel like I say things sometimes that aren’t perceived as normal and I know, also, the way I talk is a little strange,” they said. On occasion, their friends will point out how formal Erin’s speech is in casual conversation.

Barros added having someone who can relate to those students and connect with them on that level is important in making them feel welcome on campus.

When Erin was asked about the diversity and inclusion work they do during the individual interview, Barros said she believed Erin’s answer was the “best.”

She said, “Not that everyone else didn’t have the best answer or didn’t have a good answer, but they told us what they believe, what they do, and demonstrated the actions.

“I always talk about affirmative action, and they, from the get-go, really showed affirmative action - that they believe in diversity, inclusion, and equity for all, accessibility, as well as being a support system for BIPOC students as an ally and knowing their role as an ally,” Barros said.

She added when she was in the diversity and inclusion officer position

Courtsey of Erin Gemme

One of Erin Gemme’s digital art pieces.

last year, she focused on supporting BIPOC students. She said Erin shares a similar commitment to BIPOC students, but additionally, “They’re also about accessibility on campus because of what they have gone through in life.”

These accessibility issues on campus were problems “I would never even have noticed as diversity and inclusion officer last year,” Barros admitted, adding Erin has “embodied” what the position is supposed to be - advising SGA on diversity and inclusion.

Although Barros said she initially asked Erin to be a senator on SGA, the discussions she had with Erin made it clear what the right position was for them.

“I’m extremely happy with the decision of asking them to be the diversity and inclusion officer because I truly have seen them grow,” she said. They are “truly excelling in this role and to the best capability that they possibly can, so I just think that they’re doing a fantastic job.”

Erin entered this role already knowing their goals.

One of the first accessibility issues they addressed was that when individuals with hearing devices entered the Henry Whittemore Library through the main entrance, the book sensors would cause a painful, highpitched sound, Erin said.

One of Erin’s friends walked through these sensors and “it hurt them so badly that they literally fell to the ground because that’s all that you can hear,” they said.

Those wearing airpods can also hear the high-pitched noise, but on a quieter level, they added.

Since hearing of this issue, Erin has worked with Library Dean Millie González to add signs providing a warning to hearing device users. Signs are now posted for patrons entering and exiting the library.

Another accessibility issue Erin worked to address was a concern their friend who has low depth perception shared with them. According to Healthline, depth perception affects the way a person’s eyes perceive the distance between objects.

Therefore, having yellow lines on the edge of stairs is important for them to see each step, Erin said, adding these lines are an example of Universal Design as they could be helpful for everyone when it is rainy and dark.

On the staircase leading up from State Street toward Crocker, Peirce, and Horace Mann halls, the lines were almost completely faded away. However, when Erin highlighted this during SGA’s fall Campus Safety Walk, they were painted by Facilities Department staff the following day.

“It was super fast,” Erin said. “I was very excited.

“I felt accomplished because I felt

like they actually were listening to us,” they said, regarding the administrators who attended the walk.

They added being a part of this change was “satisfying,” and they hope to one day have these lines on all staircases across campus.

Erin said when attending their first SGA meeting, they were “nervous” be-

time as an orientation leader.

“I think she is absolutely amazing,” Erin said. “I am really sad, though, because I really like Sara [Gallegos, executive director of Student Experience and Careers],” who stepped down as SGA advisor Nov. 8.

a classroom down the hall or crossing a catwalk to one of the school’s connecting buildings.

cause this was the “most professional” meeting they had ever been to, adding they were initially intimidated by the use of Robert’s Rules of Order.

However, after being sworn in during this first meeting, Erin quickly became more acquainted with meeting procedures and the organization’s members.

Now, Erin has established their own Ad Hoc Accessibility Committee.

This committee aims to “raise awareness because the first step to change is being aware of what needs to be changed,” they said, adding once these issues are acknowledged, the committee can begin to work toward solutions.

Barros said the committee will begin by conducting an accessibility overview of campus in order to identify any issues.

She said before she graduates in May, she plans to establish a permanent Diversity and Inclusion Committee that will include accessibility and equity in its priorities.

In addition to Erin’s excitement about the accessibility work they are undertaking on SGA, Erin said they are happy Leah Mudd is the new SGA advisor because she and Ben Trapanick, executive director of Family Engagement, are their biggest supporters at Framingham State from their

They said change is difficult, but “I think this is the best type of change that there could have been.”

Mudd said she is excited to continue working with Erin and to learn more from them about accessibility issues, adding she believes Erin is “fantastic” for the diversity and inclusion officer position.

She said, “Them being willing to go outside of their comfort zone and apply for positions or address issues on campus,” such as those concerning accessibility and inequality, is important, “and I am proud of them for doing that.

“Openly identifying as [both non-binary and neurodivergent] is extremely important in the representation of our other students who might not be as comfortable or are kind of navigating that right now internally,” Mudd added.

“Seeing someone on campus who is a student leader, who can thrive, and has built a really great community around them, I hope would show other students who might identify similarly that they can do the same and that they have people here to support them if they need help,” she said.

Growing up in Sutton, Erin only attended one school prior to Framingham State.

From kindergarten to their senior year of high school, Erin’s transition to different grades was sometimes just

Erin was one of 74 students to graduate from Sutton High School in 2021. In such a small school system, Erin said they stuck with the same people throughout almost their entire schooling experience.

“I didn’t know that that wasn’t normal until I met other people that moved schools for high school,” they said.

Therefore, when it was time to go to college, Erin had to prepare for a major change.

“Having that experience of not ever moving schools made it scarier here because it was the first time I ever left that area,” Erin said.

One of Erin’s biggest fears coming to Framingham State was having a roommate.

Erin joked about how they “borderline harassed” Residence Life in order to get a single for the start of their freshman year.

“I have a hard time with changing my surroundings, so moving from a room that I’ve lived in for 18 yearscoming here - I thought it was going to be really bad,” Erin said, adding the smallest changes can have a negative impact on them. “Moving into a new space was the biggest thing that was scary to me.”

However, after starting out in a single, Erin made some friends and would eventually move in with Lauren Mazzarella after her roommate moved out.

They said rooming with Mazzarella was “good,” adding, “We had some really fun moments!”

Erin said the experiences they had growing up affected them socially as they were convinced a single group of friends had to do everything together and everyone had to be there. Now, Erin has friends all over campus who don’t all necessarily know each other and they have come to adjust to this new social dynamic.

They said in addition to coming from a small school, they believe their autism affects their ability to form friendships at times, adding they feel what they say is viewed as “weird” by other people and therefore, they sometimes have an overwhelming feeling that everyone hates them.

Erin said they sometimes compare this “disconnect” to a “language barrier.”

When first meeting someone, they said, “I’m scared because I don’t like eye contact,” which is a common trait for people with ASD.

“I hate looking at people,” they added. “I know that it’s perceived as rude, and I really wish it wasn’t because I really don’t want it to be, but I just have such a hard time.”

Erin said when they do not have to make eye contact, they feel they are able to “communicate better” and be

Maddison Behringer / THE GATEPOST

Erin Gemme dressed as Yung Gravy at Fashion Club’s Celebrity Look-a-Like Contest held in the McCarthy Center Forum Oct. 20.

an active listener.

Being an orientation leader has helped Erin work on their social skills and confidence when it comes to befriending people, they added.

One friend Erin has made at FSU is Jenny Roy, a sophomore American Sign Language major.

Roy said she knew of Erin her freshman year, but did not hang out with them until after their best friend left the University. Recognizing that she and Erin have a lot in common, she reached out and over the summer their friendship formed, especially when they went to a Blackbear concert together for her birthday. “We have just completely clicked and have become really great friends.”

She said their friendship consists of going for drives while blasting music and singing into her karaoke microphone, hanging out in the dorm watching movies, and hunting for Squishmellows, including the deaf Axolotl, at Target and Walgreens.

“They’re just always the person who’s down to do anything,” Roy added.

She said what makes Erin a good friend is their willingness to do whatever it takes to support a friend. “They literally will just always drop anything to just go help a friend.”

Roy said she values the friendship she and Erin have. “I can’t appreciate them enough for how caring and compassionate they are. It feels like Erin will always just put themself in someone else’s shoes and see other situations and do everything in their power just to be the most kind person ever.”

Erin said one aspect they love about FSU is how diverse the students are, adding the people they meet have an array of identities and the events held on campus allow for having discussions about identity.

They said their advice for neurodivergent students transitioning to college is to join a student organization. Neurodivergent individuals tend to have special interests, and becoming involved on campus can allow them to explore those interests with others who may feel the same way.

“For me, my special interest is music, but also horror as a genre,” Erin said. “I love horror so much and I could sit here for hours talking about different horror aspects, but if there was a horror club, I would be right on that.

“Don’t disregard your special interest if you have one - use it to your power,” they added.

Ashlinn Collins, a student at Quinsigamond Community College, and Erin have known each other almost their entire lives.

Meeting at the age of 5 in kindergarten, Collins recalls Erin asking her if she would like a tattoo. Using a cherub pin that their mother gave them, Erin began to “scratch” a design

into Collins’ skin.

“It was really bad,” she said, laughing. “We got in trouble for that.”

Growing up, discovering their identities, and becoming who they are today together has created a strong bond between the two.

Collins credits the honesty she and Erin have with one another as the key to their friendship.

Erin and Collins share the same musical tastes. Some of the bands and artists they now love, including YUNGBLUD, Waterparks, and Palaye Royale, were groups they met when they attended Warped Tour at the age of 15.

“That was the starting point of it, and we bond over that a lot,” she said, adding attending concerts has become one of their favorite activities to do together.

Collins said what she loves about Erin is they “think with their heart instead of their brain, and that can be a good and bad thing, but I think in their case, it’s a very good thing.”

She said when it comes to herself and Erin, she is usually the brain and Erin is the heart, allowing them to guide one another in the best way possible.

When it comes to Erin’s identity, Collins said she could always tell they were “a bit unhappy.” She added, however, “I was open to anything.” Collins encouraged Erin to start going to therapy and has been a major supporter of Erin’s mental health.

“I’m very, very proud of them on their journey,” she said. “I hope that it’s going to get better from here. I know it’s been really hard, and I hope that they’re getting the support they need on campus - they’ve been telling me that they have.”

Collins added, “Everything seems to be going really well, and I just hope that in the future, it keeps getting better and better for them.”

The relationship between Erin’s autism and their gender identity has become more clear this year. “All I know is that it’s actually very common for neurodivergent people to be like this,” Erin said.

And based on recent studies - they are right.

According to Spectrum News, “People who do not identify with the sex they were assigned at birth are three to six times as likely to be autistic as cisgender people are, according to the largest study yet to examine the connection.”

As this intersectional experience of being autistic and LGBTQ+ has received more recognition in recent years, it has acquired its own name within the community - living under a double rainbow.

In 2015, Louis Molnár, executive operations consultant, founded the non-profit organization “Twainbow,” with “twain” meaning “two” and “bow” referring to the “rainbow.” The organization advocates for and sup-

ports, those living under the double rainbow. Both the LGBTQ+ and ASD communities share similar experiences of discrimination, Molnár said in a 2016 OutSmart Magazine article by Barrett White. He calls this intersectional experience a “double challenge - a tale of two closets.”

LaDonna Bridges said though she has not done much research into the intersectionality of ASD and LGBTQ+ individuals, she has noticed that her neurodiverse students tend to struggle with identity.

“It’s just a part of the identity process anyway,” she said. “Many students have to figure out their identity, who they are independent of their families, who they are going to be as adults, and so part of that is sexuality. Part of that is gender identity. Part of that is just neurodiverse identity.

“I see it just as this bigger sort of ‘identity discovery’ picture for them,” she added. “I just think it makes sense because there’s so much identity development going on in this age.”

Erin said they cannot speak for everyone, but they believe their creativity lends itself to this exploration of gender identity.

“Creativity is my strongest smart point,” they said, adding this encourages them to be more expressive with their physical appearance.

“I have always had the spark to dress exactly how I wanted regardless of people,” Erin said. “You’ll see pictures of me in first grade, and I’m wearing the weirdest thing because I just didn’t want to wear what everyone else was.

“This sounds so cliché, but I honestly like to think of myself like a canvas because I can do anything I want, especially with makeup,” they said.

From glam to special effects, Erin said they love to get creative with makeup not only on themselves, but with others as well. “But that’s how I found out my brother’s allergic to latex,” they added, laughing. After they attempted to create a fake cut on their brother’s arm with special-effects makeup, his arm had a “really bad reaction.”

However, they said, “He lets me do his makeup sometimes - sometimesbut when he does, it is so funny because I do the most extravagant glam makeup on this 16-year-old boy, and it’s the best thing ever.”

One of their favorite creations was from high school when they did a half face of special-effects makeup based on Two-face from DC Comics’ “Batman” that included chemical burns and other “gross” features, and the other half was a glam look using coordinating colors.

Erin said though some days, they may feel more masculine or feminine, this only affects the way they dress on occasion.

“Every now and then, I’ll ask my friends, ‘Is the outfit giving girl?’” they said, smiling.

They said their appearance will sometimes affect the way their gender is perceived by others.

“For me, it’s my hair because I identified like this when I had long hair and never ever did I ever get someone to ask me my pronouns. Then, I shaved my head and people were suspicious,” they added.

Some non-binary individuals who were assigned female at birth opt to use a binder, which is a breast-binding garment that allows users to appear more flat-chested.

Erin said though they have considered this, they tend to wear “baggy” clothing, which they feel gives them the same effect.

“I usually just wear sweatshirts and stuff, and that just kind of helps so that I don’t even have to think about it,” they said.

Every day, Erin wakes up still discovering who they are.

“I always have the urge to do something new,” Erin said, adding this could be anything.

Erin has recently decided their next “something new” is to take four courses in the spring.

With their first college art course and an English class on monsters and ghosts, Erin said they are “excited” and feel comfortable about taking on this next challenge.

“I’m a very artistic person, and so I feel like taking an art class won’t stress me out as much,” they added.

Erin started out at FSU with a major in elementary education and a minor in American Sign Language. They said they hoped eventually to earn their master’s in special education. “Being neurodivergent, I feel like I can understand and be the teacher that I never had when I was younger.”

However, they recently changed their major to liberal studies in order to explore more career options, but they are still open to their initial dream of teaching children with disabilities.

“This campus is the best place for me to be right now,” they said.

Erin said they are grateful for the community they have at Framingham State. “I’m still figuring stuff out and I’d rather be in a place that is accepting regardless, than someplace that’s like, ‘You need to pick a label right now.’”

They said their identity is important to them “because it makes me feel authentic to myself. If I’m being what other people want me to be, it doesn’t feel as good.

“People are going to perceive you,” they added. “You can’t control how they perceive you, so why not just be yourself?”

CONNECT WITH LEIGHAH BEAUSOLEIL lbeausoleil@student.framingham.edu

By Jack McLaughlin Staff Writer

“The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special” is James Gunn’s continuation of the titular characters he turned into household names following their introduction to the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) in 2014.

The special centers around the intergalactic heroes who now reside on the planet Knowhere. Drax (Dave Bautista) and Mantis (Pom Klementieff) take it upon themselves to get the perfect Christmas present for Star Lord (Chris Pratt), who is not interested in partaking in the festivities of his home planet.

It is decided the best present for Star Lord is the actor Kevin Bacon, and a plan to go to Earth and kidnap him is agreed to be the best option to go about this.

After a series of comedic misfires from the MCU recently, it was relieving to find a lot of the humor on point, and in classic James Gunn fashion the writing perfectly blends these funny scenes with strong emotional beats.

It was great to finally be reunited with these characters in their own story. The Guardians have primarily been used as side characters for the last few appearances they’ve had, which worked in big ensembles like “Avengers: Infinity War,” but felt

forced in this year’s “Thor: Love and Thunder.”

Drax and Mantis get the most screen time here, being the duo that travel to Earth to find Kevin Bacon. Their dynamic is incredibly fun to watch, especially the sequence in which they break into Bacon’s home.

Kevin Bacon is a lot of fun in this as well. His interactions with everyone, particularly once he’s away from Earth and presented to Star Lord, are the funniest bits.

The other Guardians don’t get nearly as much attention as they probably should, which is disappointing given how fun it is to watch all of them on-screen together. Viewers will get plenty more time with them with a sequel a few months away, and given how short this is, it’s something that can be forgiven.

Another aspect that I think will be looked at favorably is the special isn’t trying to set up future installments, and is instead a self-contained story that trickles in new characters and ideas that will likely be explored more in upcoming releases.

This comes to the best aspect of this special - the directing.

James Gunn’s style is all over this. From his unique camera shots craning over a large setting of characters or the perfect use of music, his style has come to be strongly appreciated and

was a delight to see once again.

His ability to make strong emotional moments makes for a touching ending that will fill the viewer with a warm feeling you would come to expect from a holiday special.

Gunn also wrote the script for this special. It has the same humor and charm viewers will come to expect from his other MCU entries, but it’s a bit weaker than his other films.

The humor is reminiscent of the previous “Guardians” movies, so fans of the first two installments will find a lot of joy in that aspect, although it is not nearly as funny as the films are.

I think what makes the script a bit weaker than the films is how short the special is.

The 42-minute runtime is what hurts it the most, which is not nearly enough time for these characters. The biggest letdown of the MCU specials thus far has been their runtimes, as this was also an issue with “Werewolf By Night.”

The lack of time requires the story to move at a break-neck pace, which could sometimes work. However, traditional holiday specials work best when they are at a slightly slower pace that allows for more character growth.

Although it doesn’t have the same amount of polish as the “Guardians of the Galaxy” movies, this holiday spe-

cial is enough to satisfy fans of these characters as the May release of Vol. 3 draws closer.

By Owen Glancy Staff Writer

Netflix’s hit show “Wednesday” also happens to be legendary director Tim Burton’s latest project. The show’s style immediately stands out from its contemporaries. The gothic architecture contrasting with the town’s mundane look is visually appealing and easily one of the best parts of the show.

The titular Wednesday Addams, played by Jenna Ortega, starts the show as a rather uninteresting character. Ortega’s performance and the character’s development get far better as the show continues, with the latter half being carried by her performance.

The show is a mixed bag outside of the aesthetics and the main character.

Wednesday’s roommate Enid is a charming and entertaining character from start to finish. She plays the role of Wednesday’s foil well, and their personalities really prove that opposites do attract.

Tyler starts the show as a relatable straight man to all the chaos surrounding the main plot, but as the show continues, his character becomes less and less interesting. I won’t give away any spoilers but his relationship with Wednesday ends in such a bland and obvious way that it derails any attachment the audience

could have had with him.

Seeing as this is an “Addams Family” show, it would make sense that the other family members would show up. Morticia and Fester are highlights, with them both being incredibly entertaining and fun.

Gomez and Pugsley aren’t given much to do in the ways of character development, but they’re still fun to have around, and occasionally have good moments with Wednesday.

Ultimately what makes up the show’s strengths are how much of it is directly focusing on Wednesday. Thankfully, the plot is very interested in keeping Wednesday in the spotlight.

This obsession does come back to bite the writers however, as Wednesday will often stumble upon clues or major events by pure coincidence or thanks to her conveniently uncontrollable psychic powers.

Wednesday’s development initially is also very poor. Her constant complaining and haughty attitude are annoying, and it was clear they didn’t know how to make her likable yet.

The show’s best portions are when Wednesday is doing something weird in service of solving the central mystery. One early example of this is when she breaks into the local morgue. Her incredible skill at performing an autopsy is hilariously morbid, and her skilled deduction of what the body’s

injuries could imply make sense to the audience.

Her quick movements and split-second decision-making matched with the sheriff arriving at the morgue whilst Wednesday is there breaking in adds a layer of suspense to the scene. While this is basic, it helps give the scenario a bit of legitimacy. When she hides in one of the body-storing drawers and gets too comfy to leave is also a nice comedic touch to end a suspense-filled scene.

The central mystery of the show revolves around a prophecy and a monster on the loose. Any half-awake audience member will be able to guess the ending by the halfway mark, and this really kills any potential investment in the story.

The monster is well designed on paper, but in practice looks extremely goofy. One character constantly draws the monster, and his drawings look great. The horrifying features of the beast really come out in the black and white highly detailed sketches. Unfortunately, the show’s shoddy special effects mean the entirely CGI monster often looks ridiculous and fake.

Many of the show’s effects are very bad. While part of this could be due to the TV budget, there is a glaring example of great special effects that proves that the team can make a convincing creature if they really try.

Wednesday’s pet, a severed hand

named Thing looks fantastic. The mix of practical and digital effects give the hand a ton of personality and memorable scenes. Thing is often at the center of many of the most emotional scenes in the show, with one in episode seven being particularly strong.

The show has many strengths, however nearly all of them are locked behind the halfway point, which is also when all the negatives really start to get noticeable. Wednesday and Thing are a great central duo, but the inconsistent writing, poor special effects, and bland side characters make “Wednesday” a chore to get through.

CONNECT WITH JACK MCLAUGHLIN jmclaughlin7@student.framingham.edu

Courtesy of IMDb

Rewind Rewind Rewind

Spread by Design and Photo Editor Maddison Behringer and Asst. Photos Editor Adrien Gobin

Carly Paul / THE GATEPOST Dance Team posing at the end of the “Cooler Than Me” dance during the final dress rehearsal of “Rewind” Dec. 7.

Carly Paul / THE GATEPOST Maeve Costigan, Hannah Mace, and Shae Heggs-Szabo lifting Deanna Girard during the “Fusion Contemporary: Take Me To Church” dance during the “Rewind” final dress rehearsal Dec. 7.

Maddison Behringer/ THE GATEPOST Dance Team members performing the “Buttons” dance during the “Rewind” final dress rehearsal Dec. 7.

Maddison Behringer / THE GATEPOST Dance Team officers posing at the end of the “Officers” dance during the “Rewind” final dress rehearsal Dec. 7.

Maddison Behringer/ THE GATEPOST (Front) Alexa Gibson, (middle) Angelina Guzzetti, and (back) Maeve Costigan dancing to “Hound Dog” during the “Rewind” final dress rehearsal Dec. 7.

Adrien Gobin / THE GATEPOST Dance Team members performing the “Temperature” dance during the “Rewind” final dress rehearsal Dec. 7.