Volume 90 • Issue 11
FSUgatepost.com
December 3, 2021
Dance Team lifts spirits in latest performance
Dance Team members performing “You Lift Me Up” during the dress rehearsal for their fall semester showcase, “Power,” Dec. 1.
News RUBEN QUESADA pg. 4 JACOBO NEGRON pg. 5
Opinions
MY LETTER TO YOU pg. 7 HALEY’S COMIC pg. 8
Sports
Chief of police finalist John Santoro stresses importance of community outreach
By Sophia Harris Interim Asst. News Editor
Interim Police Chief John Santoro was the second candidate interviewed as part of the police chief search Nov. 22. He answered questions about the perception of the police department and what he would change if he were chosen. Santoro opened the meeting talking about his career and experience. He is currently interim chief at Framingham State. Sontoro is in his 33rd year of policing and has worked the past 10 years as deputy chief of police and associate director of the
department. Dr. Jerusha Nelson-Peterman, chair of the food and nutrition department, asked about a blue lives matter picture that was posted on the department’s Twitter page for two days. She said she heard from a number of students of color who said they don’t “feel safe on campus.” Nelson-Peterman asked Santoro if he was aware of the tweet when it was posted and what the department is doing to “mitigate that and help black and brown students feel safe on this campus.” Santoro said he “could not recall when [he] was made aware of the tweet going up,” but when he was
made aware of the tweet, the department “addressed it immediately and had it removed.” He said after the tweet was taken down, they “scrubbed through all of our other social media sites,” adding they “remove[d] anything else that we could find that depicted that type of symbol or flag.” Nelson-Peterman asked what Santoro will do in the future so officers are aware of the implications of this image to students of color. Santoro noted the officers “who oversee the social media accounts, a patrolman and a supervisor,” were off-duty at the time the image was
See JOHN SANTORO page 4
The Hilltop Players find light in dark times in upcoming cabaret By Emily Rosenberg, Arts & Features Editor
With Suit Jacket Posse Performances and fall play “Clue,” the semester has been packed for members of the Hilltop Players. Gatepost Archives On Dec. 2,3, and 4 they’ll also showWOMEN’S BASKETBALL pg. 9 case a series of songs in the performance Dark vs. Light Cabaret. Senior biology major Lauren Mercer is Hilltop’s fundraising chair and she is directing her first show, the ark vs. CLUE pg. 11 Light Cabaret. Prior to stepping up as a director, she was in the cast of past shows, “Legally Blonde” and “9 to 5” HOUSE OF GUCCI REVIEW pg. 14
Arts & Features
Emma Lyons / THE GATEPOST
which was cancelled due to COVID-19. Mercer said she chose the theme for the cabaret from her favorite musical “Next to Normal.” “One of the biggest themes in the show is that even though the world is full of darkness, you can fight against it and find the light,” she said. “This idea of finding hope and happiness even during the most difficult times was really beautiful to me and I decided I wanted to base the cabaret off of the idea.” The first act of the show revolves around the theme of darkness and includes “comical villain songs” along
with serious songs about unrequited love, loneliness, and abuse. The second act of the show focuses on the theme of light and features songs about love, hope and overcoming difficult times. Some of the songs featured are “You Will Be Found” from “Dear Evan Hansen,” “Mother Knows Best” from “Tangled,” and “On my Own” from “Les Miserables.” Mercer said, regarding the challenges of directing, there were a lot of small tasks and responsibilities
See DARK VS. LIGHT CABARET page 13
INSIDE: OP/ED 7 • SPORTS 9 • ARTS & FEATURES 10