THE GATEPOST Framingham State’s independent student newspaper
Volume 86 • Issue 12
FSUgatepost.com
December 15, 2017
Hate crimes continue Additional security cameras installed in residence halls By Shanleigh Reardon News Editor
President Cevallos speaks to local news outlets at the healing service on Dec. 13.
News
Corey McFeeley / THE GATEPOST
A hate crime was reported to FSUPD by a resident assistant from Corinne Hall Towers at approximately 12:20 a.m. on Dec. 8, said Sgt. Martin Laughlin. This is the fifth hate crime being investigated this semester and the second to target this student, said President F. Javier Cevallos. All the hate crimes have targeted black students with racially-charged notes that have been placed near their dorm rooms. The most recent note read, “Still a n-word! Ha.” Laughlin said each of the crimes are being investigated individually and in the same manner. Cevallos announced the hate crime in a campus-wide email on Dec. 8. “I’m saddened to share that we received a report of racism on campus overnight targeting one of our students of color,” read the email. Carlos Barbosa, Jr., a first-year student and resident in Towers, was the target of the two hate crimes that have occurred in that building.
See HATE CRIME page 6
Student fee increases linked to union contracts
Teach-in changes perspectives on work/family dynamics
By Jillian Poland News Editor
By Andrew Willoughby Arts & Features Editor
The portions of the 2014-17 union contracts unfunded by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts account for 80 percent of student fee increases across the state university system, said Vincent Pedone, executive director of the Council of Presidents (COP). There are three unions for state university employees: The Massachusetts State College Association (MSCA) for faculty and librarians; The Association of Professional Administrators (APA) for staff; and The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), which includes maintainers and some campus police officers. All of the unions bargain separately with the Board of Higher Education (BHE), an executive department that reports to the governor, to create a collective bargaining agreement (CBA), a document that determines the terms of employment. The terms include guidelines for salary increases, benefits and workloads. The collective bargaining agreements are typically valid for a three-year period before they expire and must be renegotiated. All three unions are currently in the process of bargaining new contracts, as the 201417 contracts have expired. Salary increases have become a point of tension between the BHE and the three unions as months have passed without any final agreements. MSCA members have pointed to the BHE and COP’s reluctance to provide what they feel is an adequate financial offer as a reason for the slow negotiation process. In a statement prepared for a BHE meeting on Oct. 31, Chair of the Council of Presidents Fred Clark said
By Tessa Jillson Asst. Arts & Features Editor
RETENTION pg. 7 HEALING SERVICE pg. 3
Opinions “DRY CAMPUS” COMIC pg. 10 BEWARE OF BOTS pg. 11
Arts & Features TASTE OF FRAMINGHAM STATE pg. 12 Into the Woods pg. 13
Sports WOMEN’S BASKETBALL WINS TWO OF THREE pg. 21 HOCKEY CONTINUES TO STRUGGLE pg. 20
See UNION CONTRACTS page 4
Approximately 70 classes at FSU participated in a campus-wide teach-in from Nov. 7 to Dec. 15 discussing themes of family diversity and change based on the photography exhibition, Showing (work x family). The foundation Working Assumptions debuted its 28foot, six-screen photography exhibition in the Mazmanian Gallery, opening the FSU community to participate in an active discussion about the interplay of private and public responsibilities centered around workforce and family life. The teach-in was choreographed in part by Framingham State Sociology Professor Virginia Rutter and History Professor Bridget Sheridan, who worked closely with Jane Gottesman, the director of Working Assumptions, to coordinate a multidisciplinary six-week series of events at the University. Sheridan said she and Rutter have been working on and organizing both the Mazmanian Gallery event and the teachin for approximately 18 months. Sheridan said Rutter had “seen a prototype of the exhibit in Washington, D.C.” in the summer of 2016. She brought the idea back to Framingham and the two immediately started “talks” with Working Assumptions about bringing the exhibition to FSU. According to Rutter, the teach-in cost the university around $5,000, which is relatively cheap compared to its “high impact.” The University paid for the travel of Working Assumptions experts, poster printing and catering. The installation was fully funded by the foundation. Rutter said her goal is “to help people notice that their
See SHOWING page 16 INSIDE: OP/ED 10 • ARTS & FEATURES 12 • SPORTS 20
2 | NEWS
THE GATEPOST
Gatepost Interview
Editorial Board Editor-in-Chief Cesareo Contreras Associate Editors Bailey Morrison Kayllan Olicio News Editors Jillian Poland Shanleigh Reardon Asst. News Editor Nadira Wicaksana Arts & Features Editor Andrew Willoughby Asst. Arts & Features Editors Zach Colten Cameron Grieves Tessa Jillson Allison Wharton Sports Editors Jose Carrasquillo Matt Ferris Asst. Sports Editors Liam Gambon Richard Tranfaglia Camille McKenzie Photos Editors Allie Gath Amanda Martin Asst. Photos Editors Corey McFeeley Madison Rosbach Design Editors Shayna Yacyshyn Staff Designer Cass Doherty Opinions Editor Lizzy Stocks Staff Writers Brennan Atkins Noah Barnes Stephanie Bennett Aaliyah Colon Christina Fazio Dan Flahive Caitlin Frias Thomas Maye Nick Murphy Staff Photographers Oscairy Tavarez Staff Illustrator Raysam Donkoh-Halm Advisor Dr. Desmond McCarthy Assistant Advisor Elizabeth Banks Administrative Assistant Gwenyth Swain 100 State Street McCarthy Center Room 410 Framingham, MA 01701-9101 Phone: (508) 626-4605 Fax: (508) 626-4097 gatepost@framingham.edu
DECEMBER 15, 2017
Rita Colucci
Chief of Staff, General Counsel and Secretary to the Board By Nadira Wicaksana Asst. News Editor What’s your educational background and career history? I’ve been at Framingham State for 10 years. I came in as the Human Resources director, and then became the chief of staff and general counsel and secretary to the board after about four years. I started out my career as a labor lawyer working for the MBTA - my legal career, I should say - and from there, my jobs kind of built on that as that basic foundation of being a labor lawyer, so I went into human resources. I’ve always worked in the public sector, and then I got into higher ed when I came here. I’ve always loved it. … I went to Southern Connecticut State University. I graduated with a degree in political science - a major in political science and a minor in English. Then I went to law school at the New England School of Law, which is in Boston. What has been your greatest accomplishment at FSU? There’s a lot of things I’ve worked on that I’ve really, really enjoyed. One of the things I’ve been involved with that I’m really glad I was able to work on and proud of how far the University has come is our efforts in diversity and inclusion. When I came to Framingham State in 2007, the campus was very different. We had a much less diverse student body and a much less diverse faculty and staff. Our numbers have really changed, but what has also really changed is the kind of programming we have around diversity issues. How do you think you’ve contributed to diversity on campus? Early, back in 2008, we had what we called then the Diversity Committee, and I was always an active member. We later changed our name to the Committee on Diversity and Inclusion, and that’s actually changed again to the Council on Diversity and Inclusion. So, I’ve always been active on that front, but also since I became the University’s attorney, I’ve been really lucky to have been involved with a lot of different matters. That’s actually one of the really nice things about being a lawyer - particularly in
Police Logs Friday, December 8 00:20 Hate Crime Corinne Hall Towers Report Taken
higher ed where you’re the only one. You’re very much a generalist, so I’ve had exposure to so many different things going on on campus. In addition to my role as general counsel and also chief of staff, for instance, last year, I worked on the State Committe along with Judy Otto, who’s a professor in our geography department. We worked with the committee. We worked with task forces. We also worked with an outside consultant. We were able to write a new strategic plan for the University. That was really fun to work on, really exciting to be a part of. … The University has grown so much, but not only in the areas of diversity and inclusion. I feel like when I came in ’07, we were this sleepy little college. We weren’t really that little, but we were a little bit sleepy. And now, I feel like there’s so much going on. Is there anything you hope your successor accomplishes that you weren’t able to during your time here? So much. I envy my replacement because they will be walking into a situation where they will have really great colleagues and into a university that’s really well run and that has just really great people. One of the nice things about my job is that it was so varied. But that was also its challenge, because I never felt like I could really be a really good lawyer for the school because I was juggling these other responsibilities. I never felt like I was a really good secretary to the board because I was trying to sneak the legal stuff in. Same with the chief of staff, like, “Oh, I wish I could have time to do more work on that front.” I’m hoping that my successor is able to manage it all, and maybe be more proactive, particularly on some legal matters where I was not able to be as proactive as I would’ve liked, but maybe they will be. We’ll see.
Friday, December 8 03:08 Follow-up Investigation Corinne Hall Towers Report Taken
What advice would you give to your successor? You really want to be aware of the culture of the organization. Things are done differently in higher ed. If my successor doesn’t come out of higher ed, I think there’s going to be a little bit of a learning curve for them, just them acclimating to how things work at a university. That may take some getting used to. I would just say take your time and don’t feel like you have to have all the answers. People here are very kind. If you say “I don’t know, I need to figure it out,” or “I need to talk about it,” people are always willing to work with you to come to the answer. Do you have any advice for students? It does help to be smart, but what’s going to make the difference for you in your lives and your careers is how hard you work and how much of an effort you put toward things. So, I would encourage students to work really hard and to do something they like to do. Study what you like to study. Study what you’re good at, because if you’re going to make it into a career, you might as well really like it. Don’t get discouraged by setbacks everyone has setbacks. Just keep your eye on your goal. I honestly believe if a student works really hard toward getting something, it will pan out for them. What will you miss about FSU? Hands down, I will miss all its wonderful people. … That includes all my colleagues, but also the students. I’ve taught Foundations for the past seven years, and I also have students that work in my office. I’ve been fortunate enough to really get to know some of our students. ... I have students that keep in touch with me, and I’m so glad when I get an email from them. … I’ve just plain old made a lot of good friends here, so it’s hard to leave my friends.
Tuesday, December 12 09:20 Medical Hemenway Hall Transport
FRAMINGHAM STATE UNIVERSITY’S INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER SINCE 1932 | FSUGATEPOST.COM
DECEMBER 15, 2017
THE GATEPOST
NEWS | 3
Promotional value of T-shirts questioned at SGA
By Bailey Morrison Associate Editor
Senators questioned the value of funding clubs for T-shirts again during SGA’s meeting on Dec. 12. SUAB requested and received $19,475 for a “surprise” event to be held during the spring semester. Approximately $4,000 of this funding would pay for 450 T-shirts. SGA held an executive session that The Gatepost could not attend during the meeting to discuss specifics of the event with SUAB president Kayleigh MacMaster. MacMaster said giving away T-shirts at the end of the event was a way to “incentivize” students to stay throughout all the activities being held. Karl Bryan, student trustee, said even when T-shirts are given out at the end of events, they aren’t worn around campus and the “theoretical incentive” isn’t enough to justify spending money on the shirts. “SUAB is an established club on campus and yet they need T-shirts to bring people to an event. It just doesn’t make sense,” he said. “We haven’t seen people going to events this semester … and T-shirts are still being given out.” Senator Olivia Beverlie said, “I think it would be awesome to have more T-shirts on campus because I haven’t seen a ton. … I feel like if peo-
ple are going to this event just to get a T-shirt, they’re going to be the ones actually wearing it.” During the Student Trustee’s Report, Bryan said, “I wanted to express my disappointment in senators this semester. We don’t think critically about anything. We don’t do anything outside office hours or required things.” He added SGA represents the student body as a whole and senators should be doing more. Bryan also said he attended the Student Advisory Council at MassBay, which addressed ways to help homeless and food-insecure students on campus. He said these practices will be brought to campus next semester. During open forum, Senator Valerie Paradise addressed a new policy regarding students who receive an “incomplete” in their classes at the end of the semester. “There’s a lot more steps to get an incomplete at the end of the year. … It’s an already stressful situation that’s being made harder.” SGA President Kyle Rosa said the process for receiving an incomplete was changed because in the past, receiving an incomplete would impact a student’s GPA as if they had failed the course, which could then affect their scholarship and financial aid eligibility. Rosa did not say how the new in-
Allie Gath / THE GATEPOST SGA discusses whether T-shirts actually encourage students to attend events.
complete process would affect students’ GPAs. Also during the meeting, Community Service Club received $4,700 for its local alternative spring break trip to a Habitat for Humanity build site. The cost includes $3,100 for hotel rooms for 11 students. Community Service Club received the full amount after Senator Seth Signa moved for the club to be given the money pending the club attempt to find free housing in the area. In other news: •Black Student Union was allocated $1,125 for a screening of “Selma” and a paint night. •Ski and Snowboard Club was allocated $23,895 for six ski trips. The money will go toward equipment and bus rentals. The club was also allo-
cated $4,241 for promotional items, including joggers and beanies. •Art Club was allocated $13,634 for its annual Armory trip to New York City. •SGA was allocated $1,831.98 for a new couch for Club Room 1. During the SGA meeting on Dec. 5: •SGA allocated $6,438.72 to The Gatepost for its College Media Association New York City trip. •BSU received $14,094 for its Philadelphia Overnight Trip. Senator Amanda Taylor was awarded Senator of the Month. Paradise passed the U-Rock Award to Social Events Coordinator Hailey Small. CONNECT WITH BAILEY MORRISON bmorrison1@student.framingham.edu
Few students attend healing service By Nadira Wicaksana Asst. News Editor A nondenominational healing service was held at Memorial Grove outside Larned Hall on Dec. 13 in response to the series of hate crimes on campus. The service was planned in the wake of the fifth hate crime reported on campus this semester. The most recent hate crime took place in Corinne Hall Towers. All five of the hate crimes have targeted black students. President F. Javier Cevallos opened the service by saying hate is not part of the University’s values. In an email to the FSU community, Cevallos said, “To the person(s) responsible for the acts of racism that have occurred this semester, I want you to know that you do not share our community’s values. You do not belong at FSU.” At the service, Cevallos said he hopes to “continue the conversation on racism and all other-isms in an honest and transparent way.” University chaplains Thomas Chestnut and Kristelle Angelli, as well as Imam Asadur Rahman from a local mosque, Masjid-E-Basheer, were invited to
give short sermons. Chestnut said, “Diversity is a miracle of God.” Rahman spoke about civil rights leader Malcolm X and recited Arabic passages from the Qur’an. Millie González, interim chief officer of diversity, inclusion and community engagement, along with Emmanuella Gibson, cochair of the Council on Diversity and Inclusion, performed Maya Angelou’s poem “Still I Rise.” About 20-25 staff and faculty members attended the service. Although the invitation was extended to the entire FSU community, fewer than 10 students attended. Towards the end of the service, junior Iyla Driggs, organizer of the campus-wide protest in October, briefly came to observe. “It was pointless,” Driggs said. “How are we supposed to feel united when it was healing for faculty and staff, not the students?” Driggs spoke about the impact the incidents hadon students, especially students of color, and said the service was only about “making the president look good.” There were several news stations present at the event, including Boston 25 News and WCVB-
Corey McFeeley / THE GATEPOST Millie González spoke to a crowd at the Memorial Grove on Dec. 13.
TV. They later took comments from Cevallos, Driggs and others present. González apologized for the heavier-than-expected media presence, saying she “didn’t know they would all be here.” Both González and Cevallos said they were pleased with the turnout given the chilly temperatures. González said she thinks
it was important the service was held outside “in the open” because of the significance of Memorial Grove. “A little cold is not going to stop us,” González added. CONNECT WITH NADIRA WICAKSANA nwicaksana@student.framingham.edu
@TheGatepost | FSUgatepost.com
4 | NEWS
THE GATEPOST
DECEMBER 15, 2017
Union contracts Continued from pg. 1 the “unfunded liability” of the 2014-17 CBAs - the portion of the cost increases not covered by funding from the commonwealth - is nearly $33 million across the state university system. There is also an additional $10 million in “fringe benefits,” which includes portions of employees’ health and life insurance, that commonwealth funding does not account for, said Clark. The universities are required to pay the salary increases the BHE negotiates in bargaining whether the state provides additional funding or not. In order to cover the costs, the individual universities are “forced” to use a combination of operating budget cuts, one-time revenues, campus reserves, foundation funds and student fees, said Clark. He added, “No matter how much our campuses maximize efficiencies, reduce costs and enter into collaborative agreements, we could never make up this $33 million shortfall realistically without impacting student fees.” Pedone said while the commonwealth was legally required to fund the first year of the previous CBAs, it was not required to add this funding to the base amount appropriated to the state universities or to fund the following years. As a result, by the second year of the 2014-17 contracts, the state universities had to account for
the cost of the first year of salary increases in addition to the salary increases of the second year without any additional funding from the state. The trend continued in the third year of the contracts, compounding the issue, Pedone said. “In effect, the administration negotiates these labor agreements and tells the campuses to figure out a way to fund them,” Pedone said. He added, “Like any other business, employees’ salaries make up a significant portion of an operating budget, and if the campuses are obligated to honor the contracts - which we should be and we do - then those contracts have to be paid by somebody - either the state or some other resource.” Since the state universities do not have the capacity to get other types of governmental funding, such as workforce and labor grants, they are “specifically handcuffed” in regards to their operating budgets, Pedone said. He added, “The commonwealth has to understand that they’re partners in this, and at this point, the state is only about a 30 percent partner in our operations.” Dale Hamel, executive vice president, said while the new CBAs have not been finalized and percentage increases in salaries are not yet determined, based on the assumptions used to create the Fiscal Year 2018 budget for FSU, the anticipated cost to FSU of CBA increases is $636,000.
“In effect, the administration negotiates these labor agreements and tells the campuses to figure out a way to fund them.” - Vincent Pedone, executive director of the Council of Presidents
Net revenues from student fee increases at FSU will be approximately $900,000. So, the cost increases for non-state-supported personnel is “a bit over” 70 percent of revenue generated by additional student fees, said Hamel. Robert Donohue, MSCA vice president and president of the Framingham State MSCA chapter, said he does not think linking student fee increases directly to the CBAs is an “intellectually honest argument.” He added, “The reason for that is that if you track state funding going back for the last several decades, the state has decreased its per-student funding - adjusted for inflation - about 33 percent. So, if the state were keeping up with what the state used to contribute, that would take care of the student fees in a big way.” Massachusetts has “historically been almost at the bottom” of funding for public higher education when compared to the rest of the nation, said Donohue. In 2015, Massachusetts ranked 30th in the nation for capital spending per student for public higher education, according to the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center. “That, I believe, is a much more coherent explanation for the extremely high fees that students in Massachusetts face,” said Donohue. He added, “The last time we ran into an impasse with the [CBA], the union made public an awful lot of expenditures from the state universities that we thought were questionable. So, if the administration wants to point to the union contracts as driving up student fees, the union has any number of expenditures that the administration has made at its own discretion that we would point to as perhaps not being particularly justifiable when you think about its impact on student fees.” Pedone said he agrees with Donohue that this is a problem of funding from the commonwealth. “This is not the blame game. Management is not blaming our employees for pay increases,” Pedone added. “It’s not the fault of the union members at all - it’s that it seems that the state is divesting from funding public higher education.”
Pedone said the salary increases are the “well-deserved” result of the university employees’ “continued hard work.” He added, “However, not recognizing that the cost of contracts adds to the bottom line is silly.” The CBAs are not the sole reason the commonwealth is not adequately funding public higher education, but they do add to the operating costs of all the universities, said Pedone. “No matter how efficient we become, it’s hard to absorb $8 million a year compounded over the course of three years without impacting student fees,” he said. Mark Powers, FSU’s registrar and APA chapter president, said overall salaries are always a significant amount of any budget, but the CBA increases only account for the employees in the three unions. He said in an email, “The Non-Unit Professionals or NUPs (meaning not part of any of the three unions), which includes the University president down to associate deans, also receive annual increases that only come from the institutions’ operational budgets.” Hamel said the BHE has approved salary increases for NUPs that are equal to or below the rates granted through the CBAs. “So, it is accurate to note that they are essentially comparable to the effect of the CBA cost increases.” According to numbers provided by Erin Nechipurenko, assistant vice president of Human Resources, 94 percent of FSU employees are union employees and 6 percent are NUPs. Pedone said everyone, from the union members to the administrators, is “speaking up” to ask the commonwealth to support the public colleges and universities. The Public Higher Education Network of Massachusetts (PHENOM) is an organization comprised of students, alumni, faculty, staff and community members from the 29 public colleges and universities in Massachusetts. PHENOM is leading a number of initiatives to lobby for more affordable public higher education in Massachusetts. Pedone said, “As 29 public college campuses - UMass, state
FRAMINGHAM STATE UNIVERSITY’S INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER SINCE 1932 | FSUGATEPOST.COM
DECEMBER 15, 2017
THE GATEPOST
NEWS | 5
Union contracts universities and community colleges - all working together, we work really hard to push an agenda which would win more money back to the campuses.” He added, “Funding our contracts is a significant cost to the universities, and it’s something that we can absolutely point to when we’re speaking with lawmakers who are writing budgets and show them directly the cost impact of our salaried employees.” Pedone, who was a state representative for 20 years, is working to get legislative support for an act that would provide funding for the CBAs. He said the act is still in committee and isn’t progressing very quickly. Students from the public colleges and universities need to make their concerns heard if they hope to see any change in state funding, said Pedone. If there was ever a “hint” that the commonwealth was considering cutting or even level-funding K-12 education, there would be “massive protests” at the State House and every school-committee member, teacher, mayor and parent would be calling, said Pe-
MSCA members met with BHE and COP representatives at a bargaining session in September.
done. “And we essentially cut public higher education funding in half, and there was no outcry.” This is not just a Massachusetts problem. According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, state spending on public colleges
and universities across the nation is well below historic levels, Pedone said, “We have 72,000 people going through our schools. What if they all called the governor and said, ‘We know you’re putting together your budget governor. Public higher education
Allie Gath / THE GATEPOST
has to be funded. It is our priority. We will consider our vote based on your commitment to higher ed.’? That would be very impactful.” CONNECT WITH JILLIAN POLAND jpoland@student.framingham.edu
@TheGatepost | FSUgatepost.com
6 | NEWS
THE GATEPOST
DECEMBER 15, 2017
Hate Crime Continued from pg. 1 On Sunday, Dec. 10, Barbosa shared on Facebook an email he sent to Cevallos on Oct. 29 after three similar hate crimes had occurred in Larned Hall. Barbosa’s post was shared over 300 times and has since been deleted. In the email, Barbosa called for all members of the FSU community to complete mandatory racism and anti-bias training and asked if administrators would meet with him and members of Black Student Union and Brother to Brother. Barbosa does not currently belong to either club, but he said he plans to join. “Institutional changes are influenced and sparked by interpersonal dialogue about the issue,” said Barbosa. In the Facebook post, he also shared Cevallos’ response to his email, which did not directly address Barbosa’s request for a conversation. Barbosa said in his post, “The big missing piece hasn’t been done. Here we are, still waiting for the proposal to be met.” When contacted by The Gatepost, Cevallos apologized and said his email to Barbosa was “misunderstood.” He said, “I had been out of town and just trying to reply to all emails. I hope all students know my door is always open! I did reach out to the BSU leadership trying to schedule a meeting in October, but class and other schedules have not worked out.” Destinee Morris, BSU president, said the group will be meeting with administrators after break. Millie González, interim chief officer of diversity, inclusion and community engagement, said it’s important for students to understand that it’s “not us against them. It’s really how do we get through this together?” Many members of the faculty and staff, including all FSUPD officers, are completing anti-bias training on Dec. 18 and 19 with the Racial Intelligence Training and Engagement academy. As a result of the hate crimes, the school has offered all students access to an online anti-bias training course. A mandatory training course will be implemented for incoming students next year. According to González, a Board of Trustees member is contributing an
Corey McFeeley / THE GATEPOST Religious leaders led prayers during the healing service held on Dec. 13 in response to the hate crimes.
additional $1,000 to the reward already being offered for information regarding the hate crimes. In addition to training courses and community events, such as a non-denominational healing service and the Unity Workshop, four additional security cameras were installed inside of Larned Hall because of the hate crimes that occurred in the building this semester. In Cevallos’ email on Dec. 5, he said, “We are continuing to install additional security cameras in and around our residence halls. Police and Residence Life staff are also increasing patrols in the areas targeted by these hateful acts.” Laughlin said adding these cameras inside of Larned means FSUPD can now capture video of anyone who enters and exits the building, as well as what floors they access while in the building. Before these installations, Larned was equipped with cameras in the lobby and the elevators. According to Glenn Cochran, director of Residence Life, student opinion on additional video surveillance in residence halls varies - some feel their privacy is being invaded with added cameras and some feel that video monitoring should be more widespread. “We want to be in concert with our community and our community may not be unified around this,”
“The discussion of adding more cameras to residence halls is important and should include students.” - Millie González, interim chief officer of diversity, inclusion and community engagement
said Cochran. “It may stop recurrences, but it doesn’t necessarily get to the root of the problem. A camera is not going to change somebody’s mind and heart if there is hate in it,” he added. Cochran said reinforcing our mission and values with existing and incoming residential students will hopefully deter anyone who doesn’t share these values from coming to or living at the University. Laughlin said the cameras act as a deterrent as well as a good resource for footage that can be recalled if anything is brought to the department’s attention. Barbosa said, “I believe the cameras will deter people from taking part in these hate crimes from fear of being caught, but that still [is] not addressing the issue of racism and accepting that racism still exists.” He added some people may see the cameras as “invasive,” so students should be consulted about camera installations. The cameras placed in Larned were positioned so they capture activity in the stairwells, but do not record activity in resident hallways. González said, “The discussion of adding more cameras to residence halls is important and should include students.” Senior Vanessa Cefalo said she believed the University did not respond quickly or aggressively enough after the initial hate crimes were reported. She added she is a commuter student and if she lived in a residence hall, she would have expected cameras to be installed after the first or second hate crime. “How is it fair to people that they’re paying thousands of dollars to go and live somewhere they don’t even feel safe at? I think that cameras in the halls are long overdue at
this point,” said Cefalo. SGA President Kyle Rosa said added security for students is always an “improvement. “These acts of hate are despicable, but there is no ‘How-To’ guide on how to stop it. I think the administrators have been open about what actions they are taking by emailing the student body information and offering different open discussions,” he said. SGA, Psychology Club and other groups on campus have started campaigns and addressed the hate crimes during meetings, Rosa said. He added despite the “disgrace” these crimes have brought to the FSU community, they have forced students to “stand up for what is right and work harder to bring equality to our campus.” Junior Iyla Driggs, who helped organize the student walk-out in October, said she believes the hate crimes need to be taken “more seriously” by administrators. “It’s our school and we the students are the ones who make up the campus and make the University what it is. So, they need to put our needs first and do what is best for us, not what is best for them,” she said. González said the hate crimes have “affected everyone” on campus and the campus “definitely has a few bad apples. “I really prefer not to dwell on them, just to say that those types of individuals don’t realize that what we’re doing is treating this as a hate crime, and they might not realize that is a serious issue - that they will suffer serious repercussions,” she said. CONNECT WITH SHANLEIGH REARDON sreardon1@student.framingham.edu
FRAMINGHAM STATE UNIVERSITY’S INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER SINCE 1932 | FSUGATEPOST.COM
DECEMBER 15, 2017
THE GATEPOST
NEWS | 7
Retention rate rises to 76 percent By Bailey Morrison Associate Editor The retention rate for the 201617 academic year at FSU has risen to 76 percent, two points higher than FSU’s retention rate for 2015-16, according to Ann Caso, associate director of institutional research. According to Linda VadenGoad, provost and vice president of academic affairs, this retention rate is the highest the University has ever achieved. According to Caso, retention is the rate at which students return for consecutive semesters. “For example, in fall 2016, 738 students began at the University as first-time, full-time students of which 560 students returned to FSU in fall 2017, resulting in a retention rate of 76 percent.” The graduation rate as of 2017 is 54 percent. The graduation rate is determined by groups of students who entered the University as first-year students and continued through college at FSU. The graduation rate is then calculated by how many students completed their graduation requirements in six years at the University, Caso said. Based on the six-year window, of the 919 students who entered FSU in 2011, 495 of them graduated, she added. The rate of students who entered in 2010 and graduated by 2016 was 55 percent, according to the Framingham State website. Vaden-Goad said there is no clear reason as to why the graduation rate dropped, but some students choose to “stop out” and finish college later on. She added the University has started a new program called “Return to the Herd,” which is aimed at getting students who left the University to return and finish their graduation requirements. “Our hope is that our students are getting what they need, however, so we are glad they are doing well, regardless of where they finish. It is important for students to finish their degrees, and we are here to help them when they return,” she said. Lorretta Holloway, vice president of enrollment and student development, said, “All universities are evaluated by the state. Retention isn’t just how many students you graduate. … The frustrating thing about retention is that we frequently graduate more people than we take in in any given year. Transfer students, for example, don’t count toward the graduation rate.” The 2016-17 data for retention
and graduation rates at other Massachusetts state universities is not available. Holloway said the graduation rate may “seem low,” but it doesn’t account for students who transfer to other universities and graduate from them. She said as a parent of two college students, she knows how important it is for first-year students to feel a sense of community. “College is very expensive in cost and in time. We want students to come and stay and feel like they’re supported and feel like this is a place they can find who they’re going to be and how they’re going to be citizens of the planet.” She said she always likes to ask parents of incoming college students, “What do we want the future of our country to look like?” She added, “We want to have people who are able to fulfill their potential. We want people coming out who are widely read and interested in what they’ve studied. … We want them to be the people who are going to be good bosses, good colleagues, engaged in their community.” Vaden-Goad said, “I think many students may not realize how important the first year really is to their ultimate success. It sets the stage for the rest of the college career in many ways. And for those students who didn’t do as well as they wish they had done, making it to the second year gives them that opportunity to rethink and do better.” Lauren Keville, coordinator of student retention and graduation success, said, “It’s very complicated to give you one answer about graduation rates. The basics of it are students apply to a school, decide to attend a school, find out it isn’t a good fit and transfer to a different school.” Keville said at FSU, there are a lot of first-generation students, who may or may not have someone at home who understands the demands or expense of college. Without the proper support or direction, some of these students might not graduate in four years. Keville added, “Some of them will transfer out. … That’s normal. It’s something we try to get them to understand - that you don’t have to know what you want to do with the rest of your life.” Holloway said, “Sometimes, people come to college and college isn’t for them. … For me, what’s important is that post-secondary education. Maybe college isn’t for you, but continuing your education in some way is.”
“College is very expensive in cost and in time. We want students to come and stay and feel like they’re supported and feel like this is a place they can find who they’re going to be and how they’re going to be citizens of the planet.,” - Lorretta Holloway, vice president of enrollment and student development Holloway said retention isn’t just about numbers but is a social justice and community issue as well. She said the University wants to “evolve” the model of advising because it will help improve retention. She doesn’t want students to look at advising as one stop where they receive their PIN for class registration. She added she wants advising to be like a mentoring program. Tasia Clemons is a senior and administrative resident assistant. She has been a resident assistant for three years. She said, “I became a resident assistant because I am very involved in social justice. I wanted to see more of that in the residence halls. … I was a supplemetal instructor before I was a resident assistant, so I liked working with students on their academics and I thought I’d also like working with them in their personal lives. “I feel like when there’s someone in the building who is living your life in your building, residents can feel like they have someone who knows w h a t they’re going through. … You’re the first point of contact when someone is feeling like Framingham State isn’t their place. … You can help them find their passion,” Clemons added.
how to improve professors’ jobs. “What would it take to make your job easier so you can focus more on students?” She said one example of “simplifying communication” at FSU is creating online appointments for the Career Services Office. Starfish gives professors the ability to “flag” students of concern regarding absences or low grades. Keville said this is a way to help each first-year student adjust to “being an adult” and being monitored less than they were in high school. She said this is a “success tool” for students so no student falls “between the cracks” when they begin to struggle in their classes. Keville acknowledged that for upperclassmen, the software may not be useful, but for the freshman class, “We can still be proactive. Help students understand they need to communicate with their faculty.” She said in four years, the software hopefully will be fully integrated into most classrooms. “It takes time for the culture,” Keville said. “You don’t train 5,000 students. You put s t u something there dents want and eventually the culture will change.” Keville said the software has approximately a 50 percent adoption rate, “which is a big deal.”
Software implementation: a way to communicate with students Keville said one aspect of retention success is utilizing the software Starfish. Starfish is sold as retention software designed to “harness the power of the campus community in order to engage, motivate and graduate more students,” according to the Starfish website. Keville said the software isn’t just for retention, but for communication as well. She said her job is outreach and software implementation. She said she wants to find out
Student involvement: firstyear programs connecting students with the community Ben Trapanick, director of first-year programs, coordinates the Wet Feet Retreat weekend, orientation sessions and Foundations, which are all geared toward “helping first-year students succeed.” Trapanick said, “We start off with orientation and that’s the first-time students are really interacting with the University in a meaningful way. … That’s when they’re really starting to feel like they’re Framingham State University students.”
Continued on pg. 8 @TheGatepost | FSUgatepost.com
8 | NEWS
THE GATEPOST
DECEMBER 15, 2017
Retention Continued from pg. 7 He said orientation is important so new students can explore the campus and have a better understanding of what will be expected of them as college students. “We want them to find out what life is really like at Framingham State.” Hailee McDonald, junior and recently appointed head orientation leader (OL), said she became an orientation leader because she wanted to help students in the stressful transition to college. “I felt motivated to become an OL because it’s getting to be a part of so many peoples’ day one - a
positive day one can really affect your outlook of school.” She said orientation leaders are in charge of getting the students around campus, making students feel welcome and introducing them to FSU. Jace Williams, senior and orientation leader, said, “I wanted to make sure that incoming first years, freshmen and transfers knew that there was support at this school for the LGBT community. Being a face up on stage stating that my pronouns are they/them, I think can be huge for a first year who is nervous
“We want them to find out what life is really like at Framingham State.” - Ben Trapanick, director of first-year programs
about coming to a new place and not knowing if they’d be accepted or even safe.” Re-Imagining the First Year The Re-imagining the First Year (RFY) project is “aimed at ensuring success for all students, particularly those who have historically been underserved by higher education: low income, first generation and students of color,” according to the RFY website. Vaden-Goad said FSU is one of 44 schools nationally to be selected to participate in the project. She said, “Our focus and determination to join together and rethink the first year has made a big difference for us here. We did join together as one team on behalf of our students and community and it mattered. We all are excited about the positive outcomes and look forward to more change in that same positive direction.” Elaine Beilin, director of CELTSS and English professor, said FSU recently received a grant
of $15,000 to fund “high-impact practices” in courses that are primarily for first-year students. She added, “I think this grant gives us a great opportunity to bring faculty dedicated to teaching first-year students together to develop the pedagogy for specific courses.” She said, “A liberal arts education can be transformative: it can empower students to develop the ways they think, read, write, speak, feel and act.” Beilin added, “Idealistically, I want that for every student who enrolls here, and when obstacles intervene, I want professors, administrators and staff to work together to make every effort to keep that student in our community.”
CONNECT WITH BAILEY MORRISON bmorrison1@student.framingham.edu
FRAMINGHAM STATE UNIVERSITY’S INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER SINCE 1932 | FSUGATEPOST.COM
DECEMBER 15, 2017
THE GATEPOST
NEWS | 9
Administrators: Many factors to blame for recruitment challenges By Andrew Willoughby Editorial Staff This fall semester, Framingham State admitted an incoming freshman class of 764 students, 15 more than fall 2016’s freshman class of 749. The freshman class in the fall of 2015 was 855. In fall 2014, it was 808. In fall 2013, it was 809. In fall 2012, it was 826. In the fall of 2016, the freshman class size decreased by 106 students from the previous year’s. University administrators have linked the decline from 2015’s incoming first-year class size to many factors, including a decrease in high school graduates. At an All University Meeting in November 2016, Lorretta Holloway, vice president for enrollment and student development, said the high school graduation rates “just keep going down.” At the time, she projected a decline of 9 to 16 percent in high school graduates over the next five years. However, according to the Massachusetts Department of Education, there has not yet been a precipitous drop in high school graduation rates. According to Jeremy Spencer, dean of enrollment management, the statistics many administrators have been referencing are based on a Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE) study that projected a drop in Massachusetts’ high school graduation rates. According to the Massachusetts Department of Education (DOE), 72,474 students graduated from Massachusetts high schools in 2015. In 2016, that number was 74,045. The incoming first-year class of 2016-17 was the first to be admitted after Framingham State began utilizing the Common Application. The number of incoming first-year students declined significantly from the previous year in 2016-17. The Common Application is a system that allows students to apply to over 700 colleges and universities through one application form. Administrators disagree about whether the switch to the Common Application was a cause of the significant decrease in the number of incoming first-year students for the 2016-17 academic year. The change to the Common Application caused a “significant increase
in freshman applications,” a 20 percent increase from 2015, said Spencer. He added, “I do not believe that the switch to the Common Application has a causal relationship to the enrollment decline.” However, Executive Vice President Dale Hamel said the drop in first-year class sizes was partially due to the transition to the Common Application. “There are some external forces and internal responses. The first time [FSU used] the Common App, we saw a significant increase in the number of applications that we received, and I don’t think we knew well which of those increases were high probability [to accept an offer of admission] and which were applications to us as a ‘safety school.’” Hamel said, “We’re seeing fewer students graduating high school within Massachusetts. That is causing additional competition for a smaller number of students. “It made the enrollment funnel more difficult to ascertain what percentage of those applications would actually turn into acceptances,” Hamel added. Hamel also attributed the decline of FSU’s freshman class size from fall 2015 to fall 2016 to the economy. “When the economy is doing well, some people elect to go and work.” As a result, Framingham State’s acceptance rate has gone down “because we’ve had to accept more students that are actually probably less likely to come here. We’re getting much more applications from less committed students,” he added. However, Spencer said the switch to the Common Application “resulted in an significant increase in the percentage of underrepresented students enrolled in Fall 2016. … The freshmen underrepresented enrollment percentage in Fall 2017 was 41%, so our decision to join the Common Application appears to be helping to diversify our freshman applicant pool and enrolled freshman class.” At the November 2016 All University Meeting, Holloway said other nearby states such as New Hampshire and Vermont are also experiencing drops in high school graduates, which makes it harder for FSU to recruit outof-state students. At that same meeting, Holloway said low enrollment will become “the
“We’re getting much more applications from less committed students.” - Dale Hamel, executive vice president
new normal.” She said other Massachusetts public universities would also not see a rise in first-year admissions. Holloway addressed how the decline in the first-year class size has affected the school’s budget. “It’s basically $10,000 out of the budget for every student that we don’t have.” She added the University would need to accept an additional 40 to 45 more students in 2017 to counteract the deficit created by last year’s class size. The University fell 25-30 students short of attainting that goal this academic year. Freshman Catherine Quigley applied to FSU along with six other schools through the Common Application. “It was a really easy process,” she said. It took her about two hours to complete. She applied to one other school, Worcester State, through the school’s own application process, which she described as “confusing” and “long.” It took her about four hours to complete. However, freshman Mikayla Seavey described the Common Application process as “long and exhausting,” but admitted it was better than filling out individual applications for the two other schools to which she applied. Senior Audrey Ensor transferred to Framingham State in the spring of 2017. She applied using the Common Application and said she decided to attend FSU because she “had a friend that went here and the communication arts website made it sound really great.” Hamel said another factor influencing Framingham State’s decline in first-year class size is the “strategic initiative of the UMass system to increase enrollment across the board.” According to the Board of Higher Education (BHE), the UMass system admitted 9,016 first-year students in 2012, 9,262 in 2013, 9,415 in 2014, 9,445 in 2015, 9,444 in 2016 and 9,998 in 2017. According to Spencer, other than the UMass system, FSU’s biggest competitors are Bridgewater, Westfield, Salem, Worcester and Fitchburg state universities. The BHE reported Bridgewater State enrolled freshman classes of 1,454 in the fall of 2012, 1,474 in 2013, 1,540 in 2014, 1,528 in 2015, 1,420 in 2016 and 1,506 in 2017. The BHE reported Westfield State enrolled freshman classes of 997 in fall 2012, 1,287 in 2013, 1,224 in 2014, 1,293 in 2015, 1,068 in 2016 and 1,015 in 2017. The same BHE report found Salem State enrolled freshman classes of 1,095 in fall 2012, 1,087 in 2013, 1,148 in 2014, 1,093 in 2015, 1,145 in 2016 and 1,102 in 2017. The BHE reported Fitchburg State enrolled 759 first-year students in
2012, 801 in 2013, 727 in 2014, 790 in 2015, 763 in 2016 and 756 in 2017. Worcester State had a freshman class of 784 in fall 2012, 780 in 2013, 794 in 2014, 814 in 2015, 789 in 2016 and 909 in 2017. In addition to Framingham State, Westfield and Bridgewater state universities saw a significant decline in first-year students between 2015 and 2016. Worcester State saw a decrease in first-year class size between 2015 and 2016 of just 25 students. However, this year, the freshman class size is 909 - the largest incoming class in 10 years. The BHE reported a total of 6,883 freshmen in all state universities excluding UMass schools in fall 2012, 7,212 in 2013, 7,241 in 2014, 7,322 in 2015, 7,037 in 2016 and 7,159 in 2017. According to Hamel, Framingham State has “expanded [its] recruitment area.” The University has made a push for a larger presence in the Boston area. Hamel said FSU also “developed new marketing materials” in an attempt to bring in more first-year students, including a TV advertisement. The SAT is still a requirement for FSU applicants. “I know some schools have gone to ‘SAT Optional.’ We haven’t done that as of yet, but we are certainly willing to consider it in the admissions process,” said Hamel. Senior Marina Coppola said past marketing materials influenced her decision to attend Framingham State over Westfield State and Siena College. “There were some print ads that made the school seem inclusive and student-oriented and those definitely influenced me,” she said. The small size of FSU’s campus and its affordability also played a role in her decision. Freshman Brianna Hurley said she chose FSU because she had family memberswho are alum ni. She also liked the size of the campus. “Everything was so close together and I wanted a small campus,” she said. Freshman Natalie Cooney said her decision to attend FSU was “all about the money.” Her first choice was Lyndon State in Vermont, “but Framingham was about $1,000 less per year.” Freshman Kyla Mucciarone said when she toured FSU, “It was fall and I really liked the atmosphere of the campus. “Everything was really quaint and nice,” she said. “The tour really emphasized how close people on the campus are.”
CONNECT WITH ANDREW WILLOUGHBY awilloughby@student.framingham.edu
@TheGatepost | FSUgatepost.com
10 | OP/ED
THE GATEPOST EDITORIAL
A watershed moment
THE GATEPOST
OP/ED
OCTOBER 20, 2017
The cover of the December issue of Time Magazine featured five stoic-faced women all dressed in black. Who are they? The Silence Breakers. These five women - Ashley Judd, Taylor Swift, Susan Fowler, Adama Iwu and Isabel Pascual are representitives of the hundreds of courageous men and women who have come forward with allegations of sexual harassment committed by celebrities and lawmakers. The men and women who have come forward represent a courageous and awe-inspiring percentage of survivors of sexual assault, but there are still thousands of stories that remain untold. While waking up every morning to headlines of new sexual assault allegations can be disheartening, we are at a watershed moment where people in positions of power are finally being held accountable for their salacious actions. While watching people finally be held accountable for their despicable actions in the workplace is important, the fight for equality and respect for women in the workplace continues. The Associated Press recently published an article with the headline “Will misconduct scandals make men wary of women at work?” The article detailed how [Editor’s note: Dry Campus is a bi-weekly satirical comic strip some men are now “terrified” to work alone with women because, in the wake of the Silence Breakers, some by Staff Illustrator Raysam Donkoh-Halm. Dry Campus takes men are afraid their actions will be misinterpreted as sexual harassment. place on the most dry, depressing and draining campus in the Some men are refusing to be alone with a woman in the world. We will follow Eric, Stuart and Sabina on their subpar an office. Some men are refusing to speak to women one-onmisadventures.] one in the workplace. Some men, like our vice president, refuse to be alone with a woman and refuse to speak to women without their wives present - as if women are luring men into a trap, like sirens to sailors on the open ocean. With millions of young women in school, working at internships or just starting out in the business world, What are your plans over winter break? what kind of message does it send if men are afraid to speak to them? By Lizzy Stocks and Amanda Martin It’s asinine to assume being alone with a woman implicates inappropriate behaviors. Children in a kindergarten classroom understand what harassing another student looks like, men should know what it looks like when their making another person uncomfortable with their actions. The excuse that men are concerned that their actions could be misconstrued as sexual harassment is, in a word, ridiculous. Men who respond like this are part of a larger systemic problem. This wariness, as the article puts it, undermines the courage of the Silence Breakers and oth- “Absolutely nothing and looking “I’m excited about not having class. “I’ve legit worked this whole forward to it.” semester and I’m ready for a break.” I’ll get to see my family and work a ers who have spoken out. lot.” While this is a national problem, it is important for -Ross Burkis-Oelerich, senior -Olivia Warila, junior -Jamie Weaver, senior students to understand the implications of an issue like this as well. It is imperative FSU students understand they are responsible for helping to change a culture in which someone believes “innocent” actions could be misconstrued as sexual harassment. The Ram Student Handbook defines sexual harassment as sexual behavior that is “made either explicitly or implicitly a term or condition of an individual’s employment or education,” or “conduct by an individual is used as a basis for academic or employment decisions affecting that individual.” “I’m watching Star Wars multiple “I’m just mainly trying to catch up Examples of sexual harassment provided in the “I’m going to Miami, I’ll probably times.” with family and friends I haven’t party and go to the beach.” Handbook are sexist remarks, unsolicited and “unnecseen in a while.” -Joey Coraccio, sophomore essary” touching, pinching or patting of another per-Fraz Ikram, junior -Hannah Busker, freshman son and sexual assault. As college students, we are the next generation to enter the workforce. It is up to us to change the culture of that workforce. Rejecting the behavior of past generations and creating a new, healthy environment for young men and Op/Ed submissions reflect the opinions of their authors only women to work in is imperative. Following in the footand do not necessarily reflect those of The Gatepost or its staff. steps of the Silence Breakers, use your voice to affect change.
Campus Conversations
FRAMINGHAM STATE UNIVERSITY’S INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPER SINCE 1932 | FSUGATEPOST.COM
OCTOBER 20, 2017
11 | OP/ED
THE GATEPOST
Beware of bots By Lizzy Stocks Interim Op/Ed Editor Living in the Age of Technology, one would like to think that means the vast amount of information available to vulnerable and impressionable internet users is verified and fact checked. But that isn’t the case. Social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram allow for the expansive and inevitable spread of misinformation as millions of users post and share content ranging from tweets to video-streams. The mere ability to share across multiple platforms is dangerous when one considers the fact that false information posted to one particular website can be shared and streamed to several other sites and platforms in just a matter of seconds. Though search engines and platforms such as Google and Facebook are initiating efforts to detect and prevent the spread of misinformation, identifying and terminating fake news and fake accounts is much easier said than done. Not only is the internet accessible by millions of humans worldwide, it’s also accessible by millions of software programs known as bots. Bots are data-collecting programs that gather and spread information about websites and web searches to advertisers, marketers, and programmers. While bots have the potential for goodness
and are often used to benefit advertisers and users, many people are not aware of the capabilities and malintentions of automated bots such as social and political bots. Social bots are used across social media platforms and are programmed to collect information pertaining to certain interests and groups, and in many cases, they can automatically produce content and interact with human users. Bots that mimic and emulate human-user behaviors are harmful because they are used to infiltrate specific networks of social media users in order to create information bubbles. These information bubbles target specific internet users as bots cherry-pick and string together information across various platforms and browsers. The gathered information is then distributed to targeted users, whether it’s accurate or not. Information bubbles is dangerous because the data collected and shared appears to reflect the views of a vast majority, but in reality it only reflects particular, small-scale views and beliefs. Political bots differ in motivation, but operate all the same. They are used to increase support for a specific candidate by producing content that promotes one candidate and disparages another candidate of an opposing party. According to the article “How Twitter Bots Are Shaping the Election” political bots played a large role in the 2016 presidential election because “the illusion of online support for a candidate can spur actual support through a band-
wagon effect.” As social media expands and progresses with each passing day, it’s not only important for the average internet user to understand the technology at work, but it’s integral for users stay wary of programmers and bots with the sole intent to distribute false information and disrupt the public. With tremendous technology and immeasurable information at our fingertips, the responsibility to verify and fact-check information lies in the hands of individual internet users.
CREATIVE COMMONS Graphic Design by Cass Doherty / THE GATEPOST
@TheGatepost | FSUgatepost.com
12 | ARTS & FEATURES
THE GATEPOST
DECEMBER 15, 2017
ARTS & FEATURES Food around the world
History students host potluck in support of Syrian refugees By Cesareo Contreras Editor-in-Chief In an effort to support Syrian refugee families who live in the MetroWest area, a group of FSU history majors have decided to give back. On Thursday, Dec. 14 in the Forum, students from history professor Lori Bihler’s History of the Holocaust and Genocide class, hosted the “Taste of Framingham State” - a potluck benefit comprised of dishes made both by students and restaurants in the MetroWest area. Although the event was free and open to the public, the group encouraged attendees to offer lightly used winter clothing and give monetary donations to the Jewish Family Service of MetroWest (JFS), a non-profit organization that is supporting six Syrian refugee families living in the Framingham area. As of press time, approximately $700 was raised during the event, according to Bihler, but the group is still calculating online donations. With the collected proceeds, the class plans to buy the families laptops loaded up with English-learning software. Senior Kieran Shakeshaft, one of the three student leaders spearheading the project, said, “We were really concerned with having a long-term benefit for the Syrian families, versus just, ‘Here’s a fun event. Framingham State loves you. Welcome to Framingham, and goodbye. We are never going to see you again.’” At its inception, the “Taste of Framingham State” potluck was a civic-engagement class project three students developed for one of course’s bigger group assignments. All the students in the Holocaust class were tasked with devising a proposal that would aid Syrian refugees who live in the area. Before the start of the semester, Bihler was awarded a $1,000 grant from the Center for Diversity and Inclusion to fund the class project that was most feasible, both economically and logistically. Bihler said many students often feel dejected after completing the class, due to course’s serious and somber subject matter. “So, I thought, ‘Why don’t I get the students to do something positive for people who have just escaped mass atrocities?’ They would leave the class with a sense of agency or accomplishment,’” she said In October, Bihler asked the directors of JFS to come one of her
Amanda Martin / THE GATEPOST Thursday's event was planned by students of Lori Bihler's History of the Holocaust course.
classes to discuss the resources the refugee families are lacking and to see how the class could provide support. One group, comprised of Shakeshaft and seniors Alyssa Campbell and Mike Thomas, took note of the refugees’ love of food. “[JFS] mentioned that a lot of their socializing is around food, and cooking is something they are proud of,” Bihler said. The group started planning out their project shortly after the directors came to campus - scribbling out their ideas on the classroom’s chalkboard on a day class had been canceled. “All three of us were on campus that day anyway,” said Thomas. “It was just the three of us in that room and we were like, ‘OK, so what are we going to do?’ And we literally were there for the two hours.” Shakeshaft said the group decided to offer free food early on in the planning process, as it would be a good motivator to get people to come out and donate. The group settled on the idea of offering a potluck comprised of dishes that represented Framingham State’s diverse population. “My idea going into this is that students of the Framingham State campus come from all sorts of walks of life,” said Campbell. “We come from all around the world, so it’s a chance to show that even if we are part of this one centralized community at FSU, and of the greater MetroWest area, we are embodying the cultures of the world.” After the group presented their idea to Bihler, the whole class rallied together to make it a reality -
Corey McFeeley / THE GATEPOST Food was provided by FSU students, CJ's Pizza, Roche Brothers, Fridays, Chipotle and Sodexo.
each student playing a part in planning the event. “‘The Taste of Framingham State really encompassed everything everyone wanted to do,” said Bihler. “It allowed people to bring their own food from their home countries. It allowed everyone in the class to be involved. … [It] had the longest lasting impact with this money.” During the event, President F. Javier Cevallos commended both the students putting on the potluck and JFS for their hard work in the Syrian Humanitarian Project - a joint coalition comprised of seventeen Boston Jewish organizations, according to the JFS website. “Tonight, we are here together because we want to help,” he said. “We want to make sure these fam-
FRAMINGHAM STATE UNIVERSITY'S INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER SINCE 1932 | FSUGATEPOST.COM
ilies succeed - that they are part of the American Dream. I really have no words to express how proud I am of this community and our campus and our students today.” Executive Director of JFS Marc Jacobs said through the Syrian Humanitarian Project, the organization has been able to develop “an inclusive experience” for the eight families in the MetroWest area, six of which live in Framingham. He thanked FSU for “embracing the program. “I’m just honored to be with you tonight,” he said, “Thank you for all you’ve done.”
CONNECT WITH CESAREO CONTRERAS
ccontreras@student.framingham.edu
DECEMBER 15, 2017
THE GATEPOST
ARTS & FEATURES | 13
“Into the woods and out of the woods and home before dark” By Zach Colten Asst. Arts & Features Editor
While a winter wonderland descended over campus last weekend, FSU’s Hilltop Players were busy in DPAC putting on a fantastical display of their own, with their production of Stephen Sondheim’s acclaimed musical, “Into the Woods.” Thursday was the show’s first of a four-night run, and the audience consisted of over 100 eager patrons. At just past 7:30 p.m., the lights dimmed, the curtain was lifted, and the small but strong musical pit initiated the show with a bright chime, as the Narrator, played by Kyle Hicks, delivered the appropriate opening line: “Once upon a time…” The first song set the scene for the show’s plot, which becomes almost equally as complex as the demanding musical score. “Into the Woods” follows the tale of four fantasy heroes: Cinderella, Jack (from Jack and the Beanstalk), Little Red Riding Hood and the Baker, as they all journey through the perilous wood for various motives. Sondheim’s musical required tight synchronization from the actors, who often gave overlapping lines, which had to be timed perfectly to land on tempo with the pit’s rapid pace. The ensemble’s achievement of this goal is a testament to the actors’ hard work in rehearsal, but perhaps even more of a credit to the show’s student director, sophomore Danielle Umanita. In her director’s note, Umanita writes, “If you told me last year I would be directing a show as huge and musically challenging as ‘Into the Woods’, I would’ve called you crazy. … I had no idea what I was doing. What I did have, however, was a passion for theater.” Any Sondheim musical would be no easy undertaking for even a professional director, so Umanita’s ability to assemble a fully realized pro-
duction was impressive. The first act consisted of 19 songs, most featuring multiple ensemble members, but with a few powerful solos and duets, including Jack’s song, reveling at the discovery of a giant’s castle at the top of the beanstalk, “Giants in The Sky.” One of the funnier moments in the show came in the song “Agony,” a hysterically ironic duet by the two Princes, wallowing in the frustrating perpetual chase they must undergo to win their beloveds. One of the most interesting features of “Into the Woods” is its story structure, which fools you into thinking everything is resolved and happy by the end of act one. While this is partially true, and many audience members had looks of confusion as they exited for the 15-minute intermission, thinking the characters should surely be living happily ever after already, the tale is far from over. They still have a giant problem - a Lady Giant, that is. Act two ran much quicker than act one, with only about half as many songs to get through. This gives the musical an even more chaotic feel, as plot elements are literally being thrown together onstage, with characters running back and forth, singing and speaking almost as fast as they are moving. The rush is pleasantly broken up with periodic moments of tranquility, such as when the Baker’s Wife wanders off, trying to find Jack, and finds herself face to face with one of the lovesick Princes. Their song, “Any Moment,” performed by juniors Marielle Sciore and Mike Terra, finds Cinderella’s Prince attempting to seduce the Baker’s Wife, who, baffled, sings, “I’m in the wrong story!” Several more of these “Moments in the Woods” lead the show to its final song, “No One is Alone,” which explains the musical’s moral. Everything ends up happily, but still remaining somewhat ambiguous and
Dulce
Leche
Gelato Coffee Pastry Chocolate ◊
◊
in the IHOP plaza
◊
Allie Gath / THE GATEPOST
Corey McFeeley /THE GATEPOST Director Danielle Umanita's production of "Into the Woods" ran from Dec. 7 to Dec. 9.
with unexpected contrasts from the neat ending Sondheim lures his audience with in the first act. Regardless, the emotional authenticity the entire ensemble performed with on opening night clearly im-
pacted the audience, who, by the end of the curtain call, gave the company a rightfully earned standing ovation. CONNECT WITH ZACH COLTON
zcolton@student.framingham.edu
Holiday Gifts for every budget @TheGatepost | FSUgatepost.com
THE GATEPOST
14 | ARTS & FEATURES
DECEMBER 15, 2017
The best of 2017 Best TV Drama
Mr. Robot Season 3
rk
etwo USA N
Tess Jillson Asst. Arts & Features Editor The viewer is immersed into the mind of Elliot Alderson, a programmer who works at E Corp, a multinational conglomerate. Elliot struggles with split personalities as he fights back his second self, Mr. Robot, lead-
Best Sitcom
The Good Place
NBC
Nadira Wicaksana Editorial Staff In a splendid fantastical comedy, Michael Schur of “The Office,” “Parks and Recreation” and “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” fame brings “The Good Place” to viewers who appreciate dry witticisms and thought-provoking satire.
Best Thriller
ures
t os. Pic rner Br
Wa
Dunkirk
Brennan Atkins Staff Writer If you want a movie that forces you to the edge of your seat and gives you nail-biting suspense, then look no further than “Dunkirk” directed by Christopher Nolan. The film takes place on the war-torn beaches of Dunkirk,
tures
t Pic rchligh Fox Sea
Best Indie Film
3 Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri Noah Barnes Staff Writer It has been a great year for cinema. Not just for the big Hollywood blockbusters, but also for the the low-budget indie films. “Lady Bird,” “Get Out,” “A Ghost Story” and more are indie
s
ture os. Pic r B r e n r
Wa
Best Superhero Movie
Wonderwoman Madison Rosbach Editorial Staff
“Wonder Woman” has set a new standard for superhero films. Director Patty Jenkins crafted the perfect superheroine, and Gal Gadot brings her to life with warmth. Diana of Themyscira longs to save mankind from Ares, but
er of hacker group fsociety. The character’s dynamic parallels the story “The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” as Elliot’s personality is constantly overshadowed by Mr. Robot’s aggressive pursuit for economic justice. The show surprisingly depicts sensitive topics such as mental illness and drug addiction considerably well without over-dramatizing or offending the viewer. The show overtly displays Elliot’s mental illness
and addiction without making it into the centralized focus. Rami Malek’s portrayal of straightfaced, anxiety-driven Elliot is chillingly beautiful as he entertains us with his dry humor about stupid societal stereotypes and standards.
Kristen Bell, the beloved voice of “Frozen’s” Anna, stars as the protagonist, Eleanor Shellstrop. She’s a woman with questionable morals who after waking up in the “Good Place,” a heaven-like utopia, is told she is now dead. However, Eleanor believes she has been mistakenly put there, and tries with the help of her friends to learn how to become a morally upstanding person in order to blend in with the rest of the Good Place residents. France during WWII. The film has multiple storylines that show the audience all different aspects of the battle for survival. The movie does a really good job of showing the grueling and terrifying aspects of war. From drowning to trying to dodge bomb on an open beach, Christopher Nolan knows how to take advantage of the audience’s anxieties and uses it to move the plot along. He is able to drive home the feeling of terror that the sol-
The show presents a fresh, funny take on the issues of morals, ethics, humanity and compassion. With memorable and well-developed characters played by a hilarious and incredibly diverse cast, “The Good Place” is a must-watch. The show started its second season this year and is currently on hiatus until the beginning of 2018, making winter break the perfect binge time.
films that will surely be remembered as cult classics. One that sticks out most to me is “3 Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri,” a crime/drama film made by Martin McDonagh. The film stars Frances McDormand as Mildred Hayes, a single mother who’s become almost completely cold and emotionless after the loss of her daughter, who was murdered. This is all I want to say about the film’s story, as it’s best to walk in with little knowledge. her sheltered upbringing has left her rather naïve to the reality of war and humanity. What makes this iteration of Diana so compelling is her depth as a character. Wonder Woman is a warrior, swift and strong. But unlike many female action figures today, she is not callous or hardened. This Diana is a refreshing change of pace for the genre. The characters are this film’s greatest strength. Chris Pine plays Steve Trevor, an earnest
FRAMINGHAM STATE UNIVERSITY'S INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER SINCE 1932 | FSUGATEPOST.COM
diers have to go through perfectly, to the point where this film at time feels more like an experience. A good deal of this suspense is caused by the music in the movie, which is equally as impressive as the visuals. While it is unsettling, it can be enjoyed by someone who may be put off from war movies due to the usual gore, as it does not contain any.
What grips audiences into the movie is its compelling characters and phenomenal actors. This film’s characters all feel like genuine people. They all have stories and layers to them, some are told, some are left to interpretation. There are moments of humor, and moments of despair, but there’s always care. The power of this movie, to put it simply, is how real it feels. WWI pilot who serves as Diana’s guide to humanity. Other important players to the mission include Steve’s delightful assistant Etta Candy, a Moroccan spy named Sameer, a sniper and talented musician named Charlie and “Chief,” an intelligent Blackfoot smuggler. With nuanced writing, fantastic settings and clever humor, Wonder Woman has enraptured audiences, and has raised the bar for the superhero genre going into 2018.
DECEMBER 15, 2017
THE GATEPOST
ARTS & FEATURES | 15
The best of 2017 Best Album
Xiu Xiu - Forget Andrew Willoughby Arts & Features Editor This has been a great year for music, and it’s been hard to pick one album to call the best. However, artpop band Xiu Xiu’s, 13th album, “Forget” has earned that title. Xiu Xiu returns to a more accessible pop sound from 2015’s
Best Single
Clipping. - The Deep Andrew Willoughby Asst. Arts & Features Editor In conjunction with “This American Life’s” episode on Afrofuturism, experimental hip-hop group, Clipping, released its latest single “The Deep.” The track describes the lives of a group of subaquatic people
Best Video Game
Horizon Zero Dawn
Cesareo Contreras Editor-in-Chief
Set in a post-apocalyptic Earth a thousand years in the future, “Horizon: Zero Dawn” tells the story of Aloy - an 18year old outcast who has spent her life training to be accepted into the community she was banished from as a baby.
Best RPG
Persona 5 Cass Doherty Staff Writer Persona 5, the latest installment of the Persona series, came out in April of 2017. The game focuses on a group of masked vigilantes “The Phantom Thieves of Hearts,” who travel through an alternate universe called the Metaverse,
Best Beauty Product
Just Peachy Mattes Bailey Morrison Associate Editor Too Faced’s “Just Peachy Mattes” palette quickly became one of my favorite palettes ever. The great thing about this palette is its versatility. As a college student, most of my makeup is casual, every
ambient “Unclouded Sky” and the dark and chaotic “Angel Guts.” “Forget” is full of unforgettable choruses (“Wondering” and “Jenny GoGo”), heart-wrenching moments of emotional clarity from frontman Jamie Stewart (“Petite” and “Faith, Torn Apart”) and wonderfully catchy electronic instrumentals (“Queen of the Losers” and “Get Up”). Stewart has been known for
his quiet, whisper-like vocalizations in the past. On “Forget,” he ditches that style for a more traditional singing voice not far off from the late David Bowie. Any fan of eccentric pop will surely find a handful of songs off this record that would grow to be their favorites of 2017.
born from “pregnant African women thrown overboard while crossing the Atlantic Ocean on slave ships.” The story continues to describe the ensuing war between these water-dwellers and humans, sparked by invasive offshore oil drilling. With their previous record “Splendor and Misery,” Clipping proved that they are masters of storytelling, through both lyricism and production, but “The Deep” blows that out of the waMassive animalistic robots have seized control. Humanity has reverted back to living in small tribal communities, seldom venturing out into the wilderness filled with technology driven by an intent to kill. The game’s setting mirrors a luddite’s nightmare. What ensues in its 20-hour story is a captivating experience that rivals movies of the same technological and dystopic ilk, narratively and visually.
ter - no pun intended. The track starts with a bubbly, aquatic synth bassline, but with each passing verse, the production, lyrics and vocal delivery rise in urgency before a noisy climax of a tidal wave crashing onto the shore. For anyone interested in storytelling, Afrofuturism or innovative and experimental production, Clipping’s “The Deep” is a must-listen. “Horizon: Zero Dawn” is by far the Playstation 4’s prettiest game. Maxed out on the Playstation 4 Pro, the game runs at 4K resolution at 30 frames per second. Moreover, the game’s smart combat system promotes quick tactical thinking to take down the insatiable and varied beasts scattered throughout the game’s large open world. It’s a must-own for all Playstation 4 gamers.
changing the hearts of criminals. Since it was my first experience of the game, I didn’t know what to expect going in. I knew the basis since I hadn’t actively avoided spoilers. However, I found myself immediately sucked into the story, which acts at times like an anime and also a turn-based fighting game. On its own, the story is a good enough reason to continue playing the game - it is layered, and as you delve further
into the story you uncover more and more of the plot, with a few twists. The popularity of Persona 5 is right up there with the rest of the series, and has many fans excited for the next story-based installment of the series.
day. I like to be able to slap on a face of makeup but I want my eye makeup to stand out a bit. This palette does that perfectly. The 12 matte shades are unique and you can create tons of different looks with just this palette. The buttery consistency of the shades makes it a dream to apply. It blends out quickly and smoothly. It’s perfect for you if you want to take a creative twist on a traditional smoky-eye makeup look.
Star of the palette: the shade Peach Sangria. The unique rose-colored shadow brings a pop to any makeup look and the pigmentation is insane.
Polyvin y
l
Sub-Po
p
Sony In
terractiv e Enter
tainmen
t
Atlus
Too Fac e
d
@TheGatepost | FSUgatepost.com
16 | ARTS & FEATURES
THE GATEPOST
DECEMBER 15, 2017
Showing Continued from page 1
struggles are connected to overarching social structures” and not just them personally. On Dec. 6 FSU hosted a #ThisIsHumanities inaugural and culminating event for the Family Diversity and Change teach-in, giving faculty, staff and students the opportunity to share their research and reveal what they have learned about work and family diversity. Professors from many disciplinary fields presented the findings of their research that coincided with the topic of the teach-in. As a mother of twin 3-yearolds, Chemistry Professor Ishara Mills-Henry focused on “doing science while doing family.” She also studied the importance of gender diversity within STEM fields. She said the presence of women in STEM is on the rise, as women make up over 60 percent of all undergrad biomed students. She said the initial absence of women in STEM was caused by three factors - gender-based stereotypes, biases and workplace environments. Mills-Henry said it’s important to “get girls involved in STEM early” and praised programs such as The Girl Scouts coding badges. “When I looked at this exhibit, I thought ‘this is my life.’ It made me realize that what is often realized from these conversations is on how to improve work/life balance is our own narratives,” said Mills-Henry. Psychology professor Robert Donohue discussed how life experiences can change our DNA and the way people are genetically disposed to react to stress. He related how stress caused by the workplace in conjunction with family and homelife can be passed down genetically. Donohue is also president of the Framingham chapter of the MSCA. He related the stress caused by working a non-union job to these genetic changes as he led a “new rallying call for increasing the percentage of U.S. workers who are in unions: 'What do we want?' 'A reduction in stress-induced epigenetic changes that alter the brain’s chemistry.' 'When do we want it?' 'Now.'” Economics professor Luis D. Rosero immigrated to the U.S. 20 years ago and based his research for the teach-in on how immigrant families are affected by the work/family dynamic. He said the family is “under attack by the marketplace.” According to Rosero, the average woman is makes 79 cents for every $1 the average man makes. On the other hand, the average “immigrant woman” makes 65 cents for every $1 the average “native man” makes. He added, the poverty rate for immigrant families with children is 23.3 percent while the poverty rate for “native families” with children is 16.6 percent.
Sheridan’s research focused on Louise Bourgeois, a midwife who served Henry IV and his wife. She was also responsible for the care of Henry IV’s son, Louis XIII, all while caring for her own child. Sheridan called this situation a “strikingly modern notion” of “work/ life struggles.” Many students at the event were concerned about financial debt and how their debt can influence the way they make family decisions. Rutter said, financial debt influences what careers students choose and the way they think about work in general. “In no way shape or form is your financial debt about you personally and yet you feel it personally.” Senior Abigail MacDonald said she has to re-evaluate grad school because of her student debt. “I feel like my dreams just kind of got chucked out the window.” She added, “I feel like that is a situation a lot of people in my generation have now. … We've been told from a very young age be whatever you want, do whatever you want to do, but the reality of the situation is, that we can’t.” Senior and Council on Contemporary Families intern Eunice Owusu said people go to school to make money with family goals in mind. “You’re doing these things to have children, pass on your wealth and stuff like that, but what wealth am I going to pass on if I don’t have it in the first place?” Hedda Monaghan, FSU’s parttime reference librarian, said she is concerned about elder care and is worried that one day she will not be able to support children because of her student debt. “Between student debt and worrying about taking care of my parents, how am I going to have children?” she asked. Senior and Council on Contemporary Families intern Luigi Gonzalez said, “We see college as a mouse trap. It shows you cheese, and once you try to get that cheese, the trap snaps and you can't get out, and it keeps going and going and going.” Rutter said it is important to recognize work and family together in order to “recognize our shared humanity.” Over the past six weeks, professors from diverse departments have incorporated the Showing (work x family) exhibition into their courses, discussing different topics surrounding family stereotypes, economic life, work structures and socialization theories. Physics professor Vandana Singh implemented the teach-in topic in her course, Physics, Nature and Society. Singh said she had her students visit the exhibition and respond to what they saw in writing. Then they studied climate change's con-
Tessa Jillson / THE GATEPOST Assignments from professor Starobin's Basic Photography class highlighted students' families.
tribution to "recent extreme weather events, with the focus on Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria. Students investigated the impact of the disaster on everyday life.” She said her students primarily focused on three aspects - “the extent of the devastation, the resilience of the people despite inadequate help, and the global and long-term context.” The class created a large banner presenting its findings and observations, which was displayed at the Dec. 6 culminating event. Education professor James Cressey partnered with families that are part of the special education parent advisory council (SAPAC) and local public school districts to create a webinar, or an online panel discussion, about the special education process in Massachusetts schools, through BlackBoard Collaborate Ultra. Webinar participants included Cressey’s Early Childhood Curriculum with Field Study III (Special Needs) class, six panelists, parents, educators, future educators and anyone interested who had questions about special needs education. Participants, panelists and students were scattered into three separate rooms and interacted through an online chat. Some of Cressey’s Field Study III students, including senior Julia Downey and senior Victoria Gibbs worked one-on-one with the panelists. Gibbs said the goal of the webinar was for educators and teachers to “relay their personal experiences, because no two experiences are the same.” Downey said the webinar allowed her to see first-hand different parent perspectives about disabilities. She said it’s important to understand families and their everyday ex-
FRAMINGHAM STATE UNIVERSITY'S INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER SINCE 1932 | FSUGATEPOST.COM
periences because it makes teachers more “empathetic” and “knowledgeable on what [students with disabilities] go through.” Cressey hopes to develop a family and educator resource center on campus, supporting the educational pathways of children with different abilities. “We hope to do many more webinars as well as traditional panel discussions on campus, professional development for teachers and support for families,” he said. Art Professor Tim McDonald thought the teach-in was a nice opportunity for his drawing fundamental students to “not only engage with a notion of a portrait, but to also engage in the ideas around a portrait. “We had lots of conversations about what’s the nature of a portrait, what does it tell us, what does it reveal and what's its purpose for the viewer but also for the maker,” he said. To get his students used to drawing a face, McDonald instructed his students to take a photo of a close family member or friend and then draw a grid on the photograph to manipulate the photo into a drawing, Chuck Close style. After, the students were to draw a portrait of whomever they photographed onto a 20-25 feet by 3-feet high scroll using charcoal, pencil, markers, etc. The scroll drawings took the students over two full class periods or about six hours to complete. McDonald said, “I think what [the teach-in] shows me is oftentimes we don’t bring content into the foundation classes, as far as ideas and stuff like that, because there's so much of the skills we have to teach, but I think that this [teach-in] shows that we can bring the content in along with the skills.” Chinese Professor Fei Yu imple-
DECEMBER 15, 2017 mented the teach-in in her class, Through the Dragon’s Eyes: Modern China’s Cultures and Traditions. Yu said, “Family is the home where a group of family members live together in a relationship of interdependence. The choices and actions of one family member often influence the other family members.” She used this definition of family in relation to a unit of her class on the Chinese Spring Festival which includes a “family reunion dinner.” Yu had her class examine the traditional Chinese family and compare it to the “concept [of family] in their own culture.” “Through the teach-in, students … realized the differences between Chinese family values and the family values in their own culture,” said Yu. Criminology Professor Xavier Guadalupe-Diaz asked his Intimate Partner Violence and Criminological Theory classes to examine the exhibit. Each class discussed different aspects of family life and dynamics based on theories and social issues related to the course. “It adds a new perspective in looking at everyday life as exemplifying our theories and our topics,” he said. Guadalupe-Diaz said his Criminological Theory class interpreted the photographs within the context of gender-based theories, family socialization and patriarchal family structures to show “critical aspects of our culture that might facilitate patterns of aggression or violent behavior or crime.” In Guadalupe-Diaz’s Intimate Partner Violence class, students examined the photos and drew par-
THE GATEPOST allels to patterns discussed in class such as intimacy issues, partner violence and privacy problems. Students in this course looked at the exhibit as a public display of intimate and private life which, according to Guadalupe-Diaz, is “very much in the same way we think about partner violence as both this kind of personal and intimate experience.” Intimate Partner Violence student and senior Emmett Prescott defined intimate partner violence as violence between partners, he said it
said his class will often come across an image and “reconnect a current topic with something that they saw in the exhibit. “So in that way,” he said, “it's been kind of this constant thing in the background.” Rutter said she found the teachin to be “more of an ongoing conversation” than she expected. She said people will walk up to her and start conversations about the function of photography, the function of position space and even converse
“We see college as a mouse trap. It shows you cheese, and once you try to get that cheese, the trap snaps. And it keeps going and going and going.” - Luigi Gonzalez, senior looks “deeply” at family and household dynamics. “We looked at different types of abusers and some people are ‘family-only’ abusers, so they only express their violent and abusive tendencies within the household and not to the general public,” he said. He added, “We also saw that pregnancy was a big theme. … Children was a topic we kept coming back to, because when there are children involved, things tend to get muddier because now the best interest of the child can cloud over the best interest of the victim.” Since incorporating the teach-in into his courses, Guadalupe-Diaz
about “the ways in which their own families are subject to policies like DACA.” Rutter often finds her students connecting personally to the big ideas presented during the teach-in. “Connecting personally doesn't mean that it’s anecdotal. … Personal stories connect to big ideas or experiences in ways that can advance the arguments,” she said. Rutter has integrated the teach-in into two of her classes - Sociological Theory and Sociology of Families. In Rutter’s Sociological Theory class, students read texts from Marx about economic hegemony, contemporary work from John Schmitt and
ARTS & FEATURES | 17 articles studying family inequality. Rutter said discussion focused on how families are presented and how Marx and Schmitt would view this presentation of families. The Sociology of Families, an online course, focused on how families were constructed, epistemology and normativity, said Rutter. Communication Arts professor Leslie Starobin had her Basic Photography students take photos of family members for the teach-in. “I would do this assignment again even without the exhibition,” she said. “I may do it next semester because there's a major exhibition about the family opening at the Museum of Fine Arts. I might continue this exercise and tie it in with the MFA show.” Senior Jennie Kush said she takes her grandmother who has dementia to Dunkin’ Donuts once a week. She was inspired to photograph their outings. She said, she “had to ask my family members about my grandmother, and I got to learn a lot of things that after 21 years I didn't know about her.” She said, “The class in general and that specific assignment made me realize to ask more questions. “You know its just funny how you can see one image or see something going on and not really know the whole background story on things. So, I think our class got really close with these sorts of assignments.” CONNECT WITH TESSA JILLSON
tjillson@student.framingham.edu
CONNECT WITH ANDREW WILLOUGHBY
awilloughby@student.framingham.edu
In the face of hate By Cameron Grieves Asst. Arts & Features Editor
The Center for Inclusive Excellence hosted a discussion on Dec. 13, concerning the recent spree of hate crimes targeting black students on campus. The talk, titled, “In My Shoes,” was hosted by junior Iyla Driggs, with the aim of reflecting on the reality of being a student of color at FSU. Driggs urged students to reach out beyond usual boundaries and unite our divided community through respectful, informed sharing of local racial history. Her hope is to not just change the minds of those who may perpetuate or condone such attacks but to change their hearts as well. However, the most immediate concern for those in attendance was safety. “Raise your hand if you feel unsafe on this campus,” Driggs said to the room of around 30 to 40 students and faculty. Nearly every hand shot up immediately. “What we need to think about is safety. … What makes these at-
tacks different here than on other campuses? It is a form of hazing - a constant recurring attack. You hear about these sorts of things happening at other schools but they are isolated incidents,” Driggs said. Many students felt that if they were to increase their visibility on campus, there would be a risk they could be targeted as well. “My day-to-day interactions with people have changed - I took my name off my door. I shouldn’t have to live with this fear,” Driggs said. One student expressed anger at the fact that the perpetrators have yet to be caught and the student body hasn’t heard any new developments since the middle of November. Lorretta Holloway, vice president of Enrollment and Student Development, also expressed frustration at the slow response to the attacks. “I’m exhausted every day, waiting for phone calls from the police, from the administration. … It’s an ugly world, and it’s hard not to feel ugly in it, but you are all beautiful to me. What they want is for all of us to go away, but we can’t let them have that. We can’t give in,” Holloway said.
Madison Rosbach / THE GATEPOST Junior Iyla Driggs urged students to speak out against hate crimes.
Holloway also expressed the need for students to be bold and speak up about the incidents, to let the attackers know that their behavior will not be tolerated. “From my perspective, it’s hard. Sometimes you can’t change people. You have to let them know they are in the wrong. You have to make them feel outnumbered - that they’re the ones that need to back away,” Holloway said.
There is also a need for more advocates for students of color at FSU, according to Driggs. “We students have to rely on each other, to comfort one another, when it shouldn’t even be like that. We can’t be everywhere at once.” CONNECT WITH CAMERON GRIEVES
cgrieves@student.framingham.edu
@TheGatepost | FSUgatepost.com
18 | ARTS & FEATURES
THE GATEPOST
DECEMBER 15, 2017
Offering a helping hand
FSU students share volunteer opportunities By Allison Wharton Asst. Arts & Features Editor Around the holidays, many people choose to give back to their communities - whether is it volunteering time at a soup kitchen or donating money to buy Christmas presents for children. This spirit exists in the FSU community but not just during the holiday season. Throughout the semester, clubs have collaborated with organizations to donate their time and money to different charities. There are so many chances for students to help the community both on and off campus. From Alternative Spring Break (ASB) to Community Service Club, students can volunteer for a day or a week. Off-campus opportunities include mentorship for children in Framingham, from housing developments, to a sixth-grade class. At the start of the school year, Dean of Social and Behavioral Sciences Susan Dargan, along with friend and Cameron Middle School teacher Caroline Wynn, sent out an email asking students to volunteer to be “e-pals” with her sixth-grade class. Dargan said the program is a “great way to get involved in the community.” She advocated for many different volunteer opportunities for both students and faculty. This included 100 members of the FSU community helping refugees in Framingham over the summer. “It’s the current political environment. People want to help others,” she said. “An engaged student learns the most.” According to Dargan, there are plans to launch a civic engagement center on campus. It would be a designated center where students and faculty can go to find suitable volunteer opportunities as well as trans-
portation to volunteer events. The plans are part of the University’s five-year plan and will be worked into the strategic plan. Wynn began the e-pals program with a former student over 20 years ago at Colby College and moved the program to FSU five years later. She matched over 100 sixth-graders with their FSU counterparts. They will communicate via email for the duration of the academic year and then meet in person in April at FSU. Wynn said the purpose of this program is to help the younger students improve their writing skills and hopefully start thinking about college at “an earlier age so they can make it a goal for their own futures.” Junior Brianne Barrett said this is her first year participating. Barrett said participating in e-pals is a fun way to communicate to students about her college life. “I tell her about my classes and what it is like to live in a dorm and she has shared stories about school and her favorite activities.” she said. Sophomore Amanda Landry said the pen pal program appealed to her for some time and she really enjoyed the age group she was assigned to. She said, “I'm an English major, but my favorite is children's and young adult literature, and sixth grade is such a transition period for that. “I love kids, so the more I work with them, the more I get out of it. They really get me to enjoy life, and hearing what they have to say is really enjoyable for me,” she added. Students are also welcome to sign up for Pelham Pals, which is a mentoring program for children who live in the Pelham Apartments in Framingham. Brianna Araya, interim coordinator for the PLUS program, which is the mentor program for first-years students who are Pell Grant recipi-
“I think students shoult participate in volunteering because of the effect it can have on communities around campus.” - Brianna Araya, interim coordinator for the PLUS program
Courtesy of Emily Robinson ASB volunteers spent a portion of a trip re-roofing a house damaged in a tornado.
ents, also helps coordinate Pelham Pals. Araya also works with AmeriCorps VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America) which helps organize off-campus volunteer opportunities. AmeriCorps prides itself in helping those in poverty. According to Araya, Pelham Pals was created in 2013 and consisted of four mentees and four FSU mentors working in a classroom on campus for a six-week pilot program. The program has now grown to seven FSU mentors and 10-12 students who live in the Pelham Apartments. Like e-pals, the goal of Pelham Pals is to inspire young students to consider college as a future goal. “I think students should participate in volunteering because of the effect it can have on communities around campus. Dedicating even the smallest amount of time can make such a huge difference, even if you aren't able to see the immediate effects,” said Araya. Aymee Beaudoin, community outreach specialist for AmeriCorps VISTA, co-organizes programs with Araya, such as Musterfield Mentors and Bethany Hill Reading Buddies, along with Pelham Pals. Musterfield Mentors is an afterschool mentoring program with the Framingham Housing Authority. The program recruits first-generation, work-study eligible FSU students to be mentors to the children living in the Musterfield Place complex, Beaudoin said. Bethany Hill Reading Buddies recruits FSU students to act as academic role models for the children
of Bethany Hill Place, which is a “safe, affordable, educational house to more than 150 people every year, many of whom have experienced homelessness, addiction, violence and loss in Framingham,” she said. “This program places an emphasis on making reading a fun, enjoyable experience for the children involved,” she said. According to Beaudoin, five FSU students are Musterfield Mentors and four are involved with Reading Buddies. Aside from the off-campus mentoring programs, FSU clubs and departments, such as ASB and Community Service Club, offer volunteer opportunities. Tom Kelley, athletic director and head football coach, said the athletic department works with Team IMPACT from time to time. The program pairs terminally ill children with collegiate teams. These children become honorary members. They go to games, get a jersey and follow the team to games from the start of training to the final game. Community Service Club offers volunteer day trips for students who are free on the weekends. Vice President of Community Service Club, Rachel Davis, said the club undertakes multiple volunteer trips a semester to food banks and Big Brother Big Sister. “I think it is important to think of what you can offer others through the experience as the leading reason of why you volunteer, because you’ll have the mindset that you are doing it to help another individual or group of individuals in a way that they
FRAMINGHAM STATE UNIVERSITY'S INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER SINCE 1932 | FSUGATEPOST.COM
DECEMBER 15, 2017
THE GATEPOST
Courtesy of Emily Robinson
ASB volunteers posed with the owner of the house they were rebuilding.
greatly appreciate. This perspective is how to be motivated to continue to help others and even encourage those around you to serve others.” She added, “It has been a humble feeling to make even the smallest difference in someone else’s life that brings them happiness. Spreading positivity in this way is what seems to be greatly needed and to be generous in an impactful way.” President of the Community Service Club Kyle Hurley, a senior, said the club “has been the place where I feel connected the most to campus. “College students should volunteer, because it allows them to acquire knowledge about the communities around them, while feeling good about it at the same time. When you volunteer, you feel like you are making a difference in the world no matter how much you volunteer or where you do it, which is empowering,” he added. Hurley’s favorite volunteer trips are the Habitat for Humanity spring break trips. He has been a part of the trip for three years. “I was the trip leader last year, but my first year was truly an amazing experience. I helped build a house for Habitat for Humanity which I never thought I could do. Also, I made some friends along the way which was great,” he said. ASB is another option for volunteering. It is a week-long trip during FSU’s spring break. A group of students travel to a different American city in need of volunteers. Af-
ter starting in 2009, ASB has gone to New Orleans, Pittsburgh, Detroit and Oklahoma City. In 2018, a team of 27 students will travel to Nashville, Tennessee. This year’s team leader, Kristen Hoey, senior, said ASB “is the service initiative on campus that is very near and dear to my heart. It has opened my eyes to so many things and has given me a love for helping others. … After experiencing ASB for the first time my sophomore year and seeing how the trip has impacted others, I know that the power of service is strong. “I believe that getting involved in volunteerism on campus can help students learn more about the world around them as well as learn more about themselves. … I would love to see more people get involved in service because I believe it is beneficial for the mind, body and soul,” she added. Emily Robinson, a senior, reflected on her experience in New Orleans last year. She said the team worked on repairing a woman’s house. Caryl lost her home during Hurricane Katrina 10 years ago and was homeless. “When we first arrived at her home, there were no walls or rooms. You could see the back of the house from the front. By the end of the week, the entire first floor had walls again. Walking through that house and realizing that we were able to give this woman her home back was one of the most rewarding feelings I have ever experienced,” she said.
ARTS & FEATURES | 19
Shannon Fitzgerald, a junior, said, “I’m not religious, but Caryl is and her faith was inspiring. Before we left on the last day, Caryl told us that she asked God for a miracle and she believes He sent her us.” If students are unable to donate time, there is always toy and food drives taking place for those in need. This October, there was a food drive for the victims of Hurricane Maria. According to SGA secretary Bridget Green, a senior, the organization is accepting clothing donations all semester for the Purple Ribbon Campaign, which helps those who are homeless. There is another clothing drive going on this season. SGA is collecting coats for Coats For Kids, which gives winter clothing to children in need. They are accepting everything from coats to pajamas. Green said, “If our drive doesn’t accept it, we will find another place.” SGA has already received three bags worth of clothing. The items can be dropped off in the SGA office in McCarthy 404. Green said, “Volunteering for college students allows us to get a perspective of the world outside of their own. Many times, students get caught up in work and school. They will often forget that others don't have it as good as some of us.” Multiple clubs, faculty, and staff participated in the Giving Tree Project, which gave 180 gifts to over 60 children.
On Dec. 14, history professor Lori Bihler’s Holocaust and Genocide course hosted a banquet to support Syrian refugee families in the MetroWest area. Kieran Shakeshaft, a senior, said ,“Either students donate food or outside restaurants such as Chipotle or Framingham Baking Company. The event is free. It is meant to entice people to come in and make monetary donations.” Rachel Lucking, assistant dean of campus engagement, said student involvement corrdinates the ASB program and hosts Special Olympics annually. Additionally, the office and FSU clubs participates in local volunteer programs and fundraisers throughout the region. Some of those initiatives include a book drive for Houston Public School libraries, and an upcoming trip to the Milford Boys and Girls Club organized by the Community Service Club. She added, “Volunteerism is an excellent way for college students to not only meet other students, but also learn more about themselves and others. It truly gives an expanded view of your world, contributes to skill development and can lead to careers.
CONNECT WITH ALLISON WHARTON
awharton@student.framingham.edu
@TheGatepost | FSUgatepost.com
DECEMBER 15, 2017
THE GATEPOST
20 | SPORTS
SPORTS Hockey ends first half of season on a skid
Corey McFeeley / THE GATEPOST Matt Siegel (12) stickhandles through defenders in the neutral zone for the Rams.
By Richard Tranfaglia Asst. Sports Editor Framingham dropped its matchup against Plymouth State by a score of 6-1. The Rams struck first as Jack Pierson stole the puck in the neutral zone and beat the Panthers’ goalie on a break-away. Christian La Croix answered two minutes later for the Panthers, when he poked in the puck off a deflected shot from Victor Bergstrom. The game remained tied going into the second. In the 6th minute of the second, Brandon Hamner got called for roughing the goalie, putting Plymouth on the power play. Drake Longaker converted on the man advantage on a slap shot. Immediately after killing a five-minute power play by Framingham, Plymouth took a two-goal lead when Peter Laviolette scored from the right circle. Just 30 seconds later, J.R. Barone extended the Panthers’ lead by three. In the third period, the Panthers added two more goals. Bergstrom scored the fifth goal midway through the period. In the final minute on a Rams’ power play, Matt Volonnino stole the puck and scored short-handed to reach the final margin. The Panthers outshot the Rams 42-16. Longaker led with six shots for Plymouth and Tyler Colacchio led the Rams with five shots. Greg Harney made 36 saves for the Rams in the loss and Andreas Pettersson made 15 stops for the Panthers. The Rams move to 2-7-2 on the season and 1-4 in the MASCAC.
PLYMOUTH STATE 6 FRAMINGHAM STATE 1 The Rams ended the first half of their season with a 9-4 loss to Salem State. The Vikings started off fast as they scored three goals in the first six minutes of play.
Brody Heleno got credit for the first, Aleksi Mustaniemi got the tally for the second and Mackenzie Cook scored the third. Jake McKinnon got the Rams on the board at the 16:32 mark. At the end of the first, it was a 3-1 game. Cook scored his second goal of the game in the 7th minute of the period. Jack Sheehan responded on a wrist shot about six minutes later to pull the Rams within two. A minute later, Cook converted off the feed from Casey Miller for a hat trick on the day. Sheehan answered again for the Rams off an assist from Hamner. Right before the end of the second, Ryan Wilkinson extended the lead back to three for the Vikings. Miller scored the seventh goal for Salem at the 1:10 mark of the third. Matt Siegal beat Vikings’ goalie Jason Pucciarelli glove side for the Rams’ final goal of the game. Salem added two more insurance goals before the period ended. Cook got his fourth of the day in the 11th minute and Michael Casale reached the final margin with just over a minute left in the game. Salem outshot Framingham 40-32. Cook led the Vikings with six shots on net and Hamner led the Rams with seven shots. Brendan Cytulik got the start in net for Framingham and made 14 saves before giving way to Adam Calabrese at the start of the third, who saved 17. Pucciarelli made 28 saves in the win. The Rams fall to 2-8-2 on the season and 1-5 in the MASCAC.
SALEM STATE 9 FRAMINGHAM STATE 4
CONNECT WITH RICHARD TRANFAGLIA rtranfaglia@student.framingham.edu
FRAMINGHAM STATE UNIVERSITY’S INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER SINCE 1932 | FSUGATEPOST.COM
DECEMBER 15, 2017
Ferr or Foul: The new look Yankees By Matt Ferris Sports Editor The New York Yankees have had a very active offseason so far in 2017. After parting ways with former manager Joe Girardi, New York started its search for a new manager. Several names surfaced in the job search, including Eric Wedge, Rob Thomson, Chris Woodward and Hensley Meulens. But the Yankees eventually went with Aaron Boone, a former Yankees player. Still not satisfied, Yankees general manager, Brian Cashman set his sights on improving the team even more. Cashman focused his efforts toward reigning NL MVP Giancarlo Stanton. He was made available by the Marlins, but because of his no-trade clause, he had the ultimate say on where he was going. Stanton made a list of possible teams he would play for, and the Yankees made that list. After several rumors that included Stanton going to the Cardinals or the Giants surfaced, Yankees’ fans thought they had no shot at the slugger. But on Saturday morning, out of nowhere, it was revealed that a deal was in place to send Stanton to New York. The deal included Starlin Castro and two single A prospects. The deal was eventually approved by the MLB, making Stanton the newest member of the Bronx Bombers. Stanton, who led the MLB in home runs last season with 59, will join the already dangerous lineup that hit the most home runs as a team in 2017. Considering the talent of Stanton, the Yankees hardly gave up anything in exchange. New York barely dipped into their extremely talented farm system, not touching any of the top 30 prospects. On top of keeping their best prospects, the Yankees were able to deal Castro, an infielder, making room for the Yankees’ best prospect, Gleyber Torres, to get a chance. The only downside to the trade is the contract of Stanton. He was signed by the Marlins to a 13 year, $325,000,000 deal, the largest in MLB history. The Yankees will have to pay a good portion of this contract, which will lock Stanton up until he is 38, and considering the history of the MLB, it will be very unlikely that Stanton will be worth the money at that age. However, the immediate future is very bright for the Yankees. With Stanton, Aaron Judge, and Gary Sanchez all in the lineup for many years to come, the Yankees will be nightmare for many pitchers. New York was just one win away from reaching the World Series in 2017, and they just got significantly better. But the scariest part is, with all of their top prospects still intact, the Yankees have a lot of other trade options, and can get even better than they already are. CONNECT WITH MATT FERRIS mferris2@student.framingham.edu
THE GATEPOST
SPORTS | 21
Women’s Basketball dominant against Anna Maria By Liam Gambon Asst. Sports Editor The Framingham State Rams hosted Anna Maria in a matchup on Dec 7. The Rams outscored Anna Maria heavily in the first quarter, outscoring them by 20 points as they finished the quarter up 31-11. Raegan Mulherin was a big reason why with her 10 points and 100 percent shooting from the field. Lauren Donahue and Abbey Battaini contributed six points each in the quarter. The second quarter was much of the same, as the Rams outscored Anna Maria by 22 this time, and went into the half up 64-22. Bryanna Santos came off the bench to lead the way in this quarter, coming away with nine points and six rebounds. Camille Desrochers also came off the bench and scored six. For the next two quarters, Anna Maria showed some life, but it was mainly because the Rams didn’t play their starters at all for either quarter. Framingham blew out Anna Maria 93-65. The leading scorers for the Rams were Santos and Battaini who both came off the bench to score 13. Santos scored 13 points in just 18 minutes and also pulled down eight rebounds. Desrochers had 12 points, and Mulherin had 10 in just 13 minutes. The Rams shot well over 50 percent from beyond the arc in this matchup.
FRAMINGHAM STATE 93 ANNA MARIA 65 Framingham’s next game came against Suffolk at home. The Rams were outscored by Suffolk in both of the first two quarters, but Framingham, led by Mary Kate O’Day, came out playing harder in the second half. O’Day scored 15 points in just 10 minutes in the third quarter as Framingham inched closer to Suffolk, outscoring them 25-23. Framingham was lights out in the final
quarter, as they shot 69.2 percent from the field. Tiphani Harris scored the most important bucket in the quarter. She tied the game up with a layup with 23 seconds left to force overtime. In overtime it was tight again, until Suffolk went on a late 7-0 run to seal the 90-87 victory. O’Day continued her stellar season by scoring a career-high and game-high 34 points, while shooting 13-of-25 from the field, and 6-of-12 from the 3-point line. O’Day also added seven rebounds, a block and a steal. Harris contributed 16 points on 8-of-12 shooting, and had another double-double by grabbing 11 rebounds. Mallory DeFeo had 15 points and nine rebounds. Donahue had a game-high 12 assists.
SUFFOLK 90 FRAMINGHAM STATE 87 The next game for the Rams came against MIT on the road. MIT was in cruise control all game long as they dominated the Rams. The Engineers led by 21 at the end of the first quarter. MIT led 57-26 going into the half. The Engineers never surrended the lead and won by 29. The final score was 78-49. O’Day led the Rams for the second straight game in scoring as she came away with 10 points, while also grabbing four rebounds. Harris almost recorded another double-double, as she came away with seven points and a game-high 12 rebounds. Santos came off the bench to score nine.
MIT 78 FRAMINGHAM STATE 49 CONNECT WITH LIAM GAMBON lgambon1@student.framingham.edu
Amanda Martin / THE GATEPOST Camille Desrochers (5) gets ready to fire a 3-pointer for Framingham.
@TheGatepost | FSUgatepost.com
DECEMBER 15, 2017
THE GATEPOST
22 | SPORTS
Jaquan Harris was named a Division III First-Team All-American on defense. He had 35 tackles, one fumble recovery and a school-record nine interceptions on the season.
Accomplishment of the week
Agree to Disagree Matt Ferris
Question
Jose Carrasquillo
Oklahoma
Who will win the College Football Playoff?
Clemson
Bryce Love
Who should have won the Heisman Trophey?
Lamar Jackson
Yes
Are the Yankees the favorite to win the World Series?
No
Toronto Raptors
What team will Marc Gasol be on at the end of the year?
Boston Celtics
FRAMINGHAM STATE UNIVERSITY’S INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER SINCE 1932 | FSUGATEPOST.COM
Players of the week
Men’s Basketball wins two of three By Camille McKenzie Asst. Sports Editor
fsurams.com
Jack Sheehan scored two goals and had an assist in Hockey’s loss to Salem State.
The Framingham State Rams hosted the Lesley College Lynx on Thursday, Dec. 7, in a non-conference matchup. It was a close back-and-forth game with 10 lead changes. The Rams finished with a lead of 59-53 to improve to 3-6 on the season. The loss for Lesley drops them to 4-4 on the season. Tyri Hampton led the Rams in scoring with a game-high 20 points. Hampton also led in rebounds, grabbing eight of the team’s 35. Benjamin Roache and Steve Vayda followed in scoring with 12 and 10, respectively. Marquise Johnson led the Lynx in scoring with 18 points. Charlie Reznikoff followed with 16 points and Xeo Golding had eight. Joey Martin led the Lynx in rebounds with eight of the team’s 28. Framingham was strong on the defensive end, only giving up four free throws to Lesley. The Lynx allowed 27 free-throw attempts to the Rams. The Rams went 18-of-42 on field goals, 5-of-13 on 3-pointers and 18-of-27 on free throws. The Lynx went 23-of-59 on field goals, 5-of22 on 3-pointers and 2-of-4 from the free-throw line.
FRAMINGHAM STATE 59 LESLEY 53
fsurams.com
Mary Kate O’Day scored 34 points with seven rebounds and an assist in Women’s Basketball’s loss to Suffolk.
23 | SPORTS
THE GATEPOST
DECEMBER 15, 2017
The Rams hosted the Wheelock College Wildcats in a non-conference matchup on Saturday, Dec. 9. The Rams kept up a strong lead throughout the first half. The Wildcats’ comeback came up just short in the second half as they almost took the lead multiple times, coming as close as one point behind, but could never gain the lead. The Rams ended up winning their second game in a row, 56-50. This win improves Framingham to 4-6 on the season. Vayda led the Rams in scoring with 16 points. Valburn and Manny Payton followed in scoring with 14 and 12, respectively.
Valburn led the Rams in rebounds with nine of the team’s 38. Kiwane Crowder led in scoring with 19 points for the Wildcats. Erick Hernandez, Tylur Passmore and Brendan Miller followed, all scoring eight points. Framingham went 23-of-49 on field goals, 0-of12 for 3-pointers, and 10-of-13 for free throws. Wheelock went 21-of-72 on field goals, 6-of-29 for 3-pointers and 2-of-3 for free throws.
FRAMINGHAM STATE 56 WHEELOCK 50 On Tuesday, Dec. 12, the Rams traveled to Medford to take on Tufts in a non-conference game. The Rams kept it close with the Jumbos for about the first quarter of the game. After that, the Jumbos took the lead and didn’t give it up the rest of the way, winning 92-60. Payton and Valburn carried Framingham in scoring. Payton led with 34 points and Valburn followed with 18 points. Payton and Valburn also led in rebounds, both grabbing four boards for the Rams. Patrick Racy led in scoring for the Jumbos with 18 points. Vincent Pace, Will Brady and Eric Savage followed in scoring with 16, 11 and 10 points, respectively. Pace led in rebounds with nine of the Jumbos’ 52. Framingham went 21-of-60 on field goals, 7-of22 for 3-pointers and 11-of-17 for free throws. Tufts went 38-of-66 on field goals, 9-of-18 for 3-pointers and 7-of-12 for free throws. The loss for the Rams ends their two-game winning streak and drops them to 4-7.
TUFTS 92 FRAMINGHAM STATE 60
CONNECT WITH CAMILLE MCKENZIE cmckenzie@student.framingham.edu
fsurams.com
Manny Payton scored 34 points with four rebounds and an assist in Men’s Basketball’s loss to Tufts.
Corey McFeeley / THE GATEPOST Manny Payton dribbles by a defender. He is averaging 17.5 points per game to go along with 5.5 rebounds.
@TheGatepost | FSUgatepost.com
24 | PHOTOS
THE GATEPOST
DECEMBER 15, 2017 Corey McFeeley/ THE GATEPOST
THE FSU DANCE TEAM PRESENTS....
FAME Allie Gath/ THE GATEPOST
The FSU Dance Team held the opening performance of their first semester dance show “Fame” on Thursday, Dec 14. Their second show is on Saturday, Dec 16.
Allie Gath/ THE GATEPOST
Corey McFeeley/ THE GATEPOST
Allie Gath/ THE GATEPOST
Corey McFeeley/ THE GATEPOST
Allie Gath/ THE GATEPOST
@TheGatepost | FSUgatepost.com