March 30, 2018

THE GATEPOST Framingham State’s independent student newspaper

Volume 86 • Issue 20

FSUgatepost.com

March 30, 2018

Alumni discuss future of FSU academics

By Nadira Wicaksana Asst. News Editor Members of FSU’s Alumni Association Board and administration met to discuss recent and future developments in University programs during a bimonthly board meeting on March 22 in the 1839 Room.

Scott Greenberg, associate vice president for academic affairs and dean for continuing education, gave a presentation on the University’s continuing education program, as requested by the Board. It highlighted the importance of the program - especially for full-time working adults, senior citizens and people who speak English as a second language.

Greenberg said one problem the continuing education division faces is that the Commonwealth of Students participated in the “March For Our Lives” in Boston to call on legislators for gun law reform.

See ALUMNI page 5

Allie Gath / THE GATEPOST

Hemenway Hall’s liveliest residents:

Manikins used to teach nursing students patient care

By Bailey Morrison Associate Editor Nurse Caroline Ferzoko bustles into patient Carl Shapiro’s room where he lies in a hospital bed hooked up to an IV and a vital sign monitor. A blue blanket is wrapped around him and tucked beneath his chin.

Fluorescent light shines throughout the room and the only sounds

to be heard are the steady beeping of the monitor and the squeak of Ferzoko’s sneakers.

Ferzoko introduces herself to Shapiro and asks him to tell her his symptoms.

Shapiro complains of shortness of breath and chest pain. “Caroline, help me! My chest feels so tight! I feel like there’s a belt around my chest.”

Ferzoko looks at the vital moni-

tor. She then takes a stethoscope to listen to his heart and lungs.

Shapiro’s heart rate is at 99 bpm and dropping. His blood pressure is 120/67 and rapidly declining.

Shapiro yells, “Caroline! I can’t breathe!”

Suddenly Shapiro is unconscious. Ferzoko shouts, “Can I get a little help in here? I’m calling a code.”

Another nurse, Michelle Pinto,

rushes into the room to assist Ferzoko in administering CPR. Ferzoko rests her knees on the edge of the bed and presses methodically on Shapiro’s chest. She counts out loud with each compression to 20 before briefly pausing. Pinto holds the bag valve mask to Shapiro’s mouth as Ferzoko continues to administer the compressions.

A disembodied voice calls out,

See MEDICAL MANIKINS page 11

Red, white and FSU:

Veterans center opens on campus

By Cesareo Contreras Editor-in-Chief

The FSU Veterans Center officially opened on Friday, March 23 after a ceremonial ribbon cutting outside Crocker Annex.

According to Jackie Wolf, FSU’s veterans services coordinator, the center is a designated spot on campus for student veterans to study and socialize with their

News LORI BIHLER pg. 2 DANFORTH RENDERINGS pg. 4

veteran peers.

With an assortment of couches, a flat-screen TV and a study room, the space is meant to be an inviting atmosphere for student veterans to get to know one another, Wolf said.

“I want to say thanks to everyone that has helped make this happen,” Wolf said before cutting the ribbon outside the center’s

See VETERANS CENTER page 3

Opinions MANDATORY SERVICE pg. 7

Corey McFeeley / THE GATEPOST Event attendees celebrate the opening of the Veterans Center on March 23.

Arts & Features

Sports

MX.FSU pg. 12

LACROSSE BLOWS OUT EMMANUEL pg. 15

WHERE IS FSU’S BEST COUCH? pg. 14

A LOOK INSIDE FSU INTRAMURALS pg. 19

INSIDE: OP/ED 7 ARTS & FEATURES 9 SPORTS 15

2 | NEWS

THE GATEPOST

Editorial Board

Gatepost Interview

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 Opinions Editor Lizzy Stocks 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 Staff Designer Cara McCarthy Staff Writers Brennan Atkins Noah Barnes Stephanie Bennett Mackenzie Berube Thom Duda Dan Flahive Colton Madore Nick Murphy Cordelia Stark Staff Photographers Oscairy Tavarez Michael Upton 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

MARCH 30, 2018

Lori Bihler

History professor

By Mackenzie Berube Staff Writer What is your professional and educational background?

I did my undergraduate degree at the State University of New York at Binghamton. I decided I wanted to be a history teacher, but I also wanted to live overseas. So, I did what’s an equivalent of a master’s of education in England at the University of Bristol. Then, I became a social studies teacher back in the States because I couldn’t get a work permit. I taught middle school for five years, then I decided that I wanted to study history. I had this passion for a tiny little sliver of history, and I wanted to explore it as much as I could full time. So, I decided to get a Ph.D. in history, and I went back to the UK, to the University of Sussex, where they had a program in my field. I stopped teaching middle school and I worked getting my Ph.D., and while doing that I substitute taught as a high school teacher, just to make ends meet. But I did a Ph.D. in history and after I did that, I lived in Germany for two years, where I wrote my dissertation, which is now a book. Then after that, I moved back to the States and I taught at the University of Rhode Island for five years as a visiting professor. And then I got the job here. I’ve been here since 2012.

Why did you choose to teach history?

I think I’ve always been obsessed with the past. When I was a little kid, I would go to our local historical society and spend hours there when my parents would take me.

I have a fascination with the past and how it compares to the present.

I’m always constantly thinking that way, and I do that in my teaching, too. Every time we study something new in history, I always find ways to make it relevant to today. That’s really important to me - to find meaning in the past, not that everything happens for a reason, but more that there are so many connections from then and now. And how does the

Framingham State University

past shape our present? And so, that little way of looking at things comes very naturally to me, and I just enjoy it. It was part of the reason why I became a history teacher because I wanted to share that with kids, having them see these connections between the past and present. I did my Ph.D. for that same reason, because I was obsessed with finding out the answers and poring through history for a good five years.

Could you describe your book and why it is important?

My book is called “Cities of Refuge: German Jews in London and New York, 1935-1945.” What it does is: I look at one group of a community - people who are fleeing Nazi Germany. I look at how they came in really large numbers - over 100,000 in New York and at one point, 20,000 in London. I was fascinated by how the two communities in these very different cities, even though they both speak English and are predominately Christian - how did they become so different? What shaped their experiences for these certain populations? How did they change in these two distinct places and why? And the reason I think that’s important to know is because we always talk about how immigration is such a big issue right now, as are refugees. I work with the Holocaust class I taught last semester - we did A Taste of Framingham State, which was to help Syrian refugee families, and it was actually done to help the same organization that helped my grandparents. I think it’s really important for us to understand what

makes a successful or worthwhile experience, or what conditions can we create for refugees in our countries, regardless of the country? Being a refugee is very painful, and if we can create conditions that make it least painful as possible, the better to help people get back on their feet - especially in this day and age, where we have more refugees than ever before. So, even though [the book] is about the past, I still find meaning in it for today.

What do you consider to be your greatest accomplishment?

The first is my book - that I actually finished it! It’s published and it’s out. I can’t believe I put my mind to something. I had an idea and I made it. That to me is amazing. The other accomplishment is what I’m on my way to making, which is my second book on history education.

In my role here, because I supervise student teachers and I teach history education, I’m also really active in the community of social studies education. I work with developing new curriculums. I’m the vice president of the New England History Teachers’ Association, and I’m on national calls for the National Council for the Social Studies, so I’m really involved in how history is taught and being taught. And, while supervising my student teachers, I get to see what’s happening in over 40 different schools.

Do you have any advice for students who want to publish a book?

Just write as much as you can.

Write and write and write. Most of it won’t get published - and that’s OK. In my eyes, I probably wrote about three or four times as much as what actually got published, but I have to get all the ideas out before I can find the essence. So, even if you can do it every morning for 20 minutes, keep writing. Write about what interests you and just keep pushing. I contacted several publishers before I found one that worked, and it was a really good fit.

Police Logs Thursday, March 22 12:01 Tow O’Connor Parking Lot Vehicle Towed

Friday, March 23 15:14 Disturbance North Hall Report Taken

Sunday, March 25 19:36 Animal Complaint Dwight Hall Checks OK

FRAMINGHAM STATE UNIVERSITY’S INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER SINCE 1932 | FSUGATEPOST.COM

Monday, March 26 12:42 Follow-Up Investigation FSU Police Dept.

Follow Up

MARCH 30, 2018

THE GATEPOST

NEWS | 3

Veterans Center Continued from pg. 1 door. “Thank you to Framingham State, the president, the CFO, the Dean of Students, Glenn [Cochran] - all these people that have been by my side helping me with this, but I especially cannot be more proud of these students.”

Although the center had its official launch on March 23 to correspond with the military community collecting event in the McCarthy Center Forum on the 24, it’s been open to student veterans since October, Wolf said.

“We invited the student veterans to utilize the area as soon as we moved in,” she said. “As the students used it, they were encouraged to give ideas about what would make it better. I wanted the student veterans to have a voice in what the space would be.”

When they moved in, Wolf added the center didn’t have much practical furniture. But through donations, Wolf and members of the Veterans Club have been able to properly furnish the space.

“The TV, sound system, entertainment center, refrigerators, personal printers ... [and] lockers were all brought in by students to build the Veterans Center,” she said.

Although the center just launched this year, Wolf said she had wanted to launch it a year and half ago when she was hired, but was told the University didn’t have the space.

“I asked if we had a veterans center and if it would be possible to get one started, but I was told that space was really hard to come by and there were a lot of other people on the list ahead of me that were waiting for space for various different projects that they had,” she said.

According to Wolf, recent data collected from the non-profit organization Student Veterans of America has shown that colleges with veterans centers have higher student veteran retention and graduation rates.

“Student veterans are non-traditional students. They’re a little bit older - a little bit more experienced. They have families. They are crunched for time and they feel a little bit like they stick out

Following the ceremony, veterans and guests mingled and enjoyed refreshments.

at the traditional study spots,” she said. “Usually, they like having their own place where they can come and study, and they trust everybody around them.”

Early in the spring 2017 semester, members of the Veterans Club, frustrated by the lack of a dedicated space for veterans, met with President F. Javier Cevallos to see if he could help them secure a location.

Senior and Veterans Club President Stephen Ames said he proposed the club meet with the president because he thought Cevallos could help them expedite the process.

Ames said Cevallos “loved the idea” and started looking for a space for the center.

Cevallos said, “It’s a place for a group of students who have a common set of experiences that are different from the majority of our students. Having that place where they can come together ... and feel a part of the community is very important.”

Initially, Cevallos proposed the center be housed in an empty space on the lower level of Foster Hall, but he ultimately decided against that since it was “too isolated” from the rest of campus.

By late spring, Cevallos informed the Veterans Club the Crocker Annex was available since

Campus Events, the office that previously occupied the space, had moved to O’Connor Hall.

Dale Hamel, executive vice president, said creating the center in Crocker Annex might be temporary, however, as the University has requested funding from the state legislature to renovate Crocker Hall entirely. If funded, it would then have to be added to the commonwealth’s capital spending plan. In total, the process could still take three years before construction would begin.

Hamel added, “It’s a lot of space, probably more space than they will end up having when we ultimately need to move them out because we don’t have that type of space on campus. But for the short term, they were fine recognizing that it is a possibility that we’ll be renovating.”

Wolf reports to Glenn Cochran, associate dean of students and the director of Residence Life, who directly helped Wolf move into the center over the last year.

Wolf said, “There were times when I was told that I did not have authority to request things, and Glenn would have to step in to get it done.”

She added, “For example, just accepting the space - facilities wouldn’t let me say I [could] accept it. Glenn had to tell them that

Corey McFeeley / THE GATEPOST

I could have the space. There were various moments along the way when I got pushback, and Glenn had to step in to say he was backing me on this project.”

Wolf said while she had wanted to open the center before the fall semester, it had to be repainted, the locks had to be changed and furniture had to moved, which took until the middle of October.

“We decided that if we planned the open house to correspond with the collecting event, it would help build more excitement for the collecting event,” she said.

In the months that the center has been open, Ames said he is often taken aback by the amount of people he sees whenever he is there.

“To be completely honest, I was actually surprised myself in how much people like to come here and use this place,” he said. “Every time I come here and I see the log book, and I see the list of all the people that have been here that day, it always makes me happy just to know that people are enjoying themselves ... and feel free to be themselves.”

CONNECT WITH CESAREO CONTRERAS ccontreras@student.framingham.edu

@TheGatepost | FSUgatepost.com

4 | NEWS

THE GATEPOST

MARCH 30, 2018

Coming soon to FSU:

Courtesy of Dale Hamel

FSU unveiled architectural renderings of The Danforth Art Center at Framingham State during a fundraiser on March 28.

By Kayllan Olicio Associate Editor • Renderings of renovations for the Jonathan Maynard Building were unveiled to the public on Wednesday, March 28. The building will house The Danforth Art Center at Framingham State University, which was previously known as Danforth Art. • The event, which was attended by approximately 50 people, is the last to be hosted in the building before renovations begin, according to Debra Petke, director of the museum.

• The renovations, according to President F. Javier Cevallos, will start in “just a few days. … It doesn’t mean we will be open.

After you finish [renovations], now you have to move everything in and set up a whole museum.”

ing to Framingham State’s website.

• According to Dale Hamel, executive vice president, the University is expecting renovations to be done by the next calendar year.

• Danforth Art’s collection of over 3,000 pieces of American art will be gifted to FSU, according to its website.

• State Representative Chris Walsh spoke to event attendees via Skype. He said he hopes Danforth Art is able to become the “premier tourist, art and cultural centers of the Metro West.”

• FSU purchased Danforth Art after Framingham Town Meeting members passed two articles on Oct. 17. The votes allowed the University to purchase the Jonathan Maynard Building, where the Danforth Art collection will be housed.

• FSU will be the first Massachusetts state university to house a “comprehensive art museum and cultural destination,” accord-

• Among the gifted art is a collection of works by African-American sculptor Meta Vaux Warricker Fuller, according to its website. According to Petke, Danforth holds the largest collection of Fuller’s work in the world.

• The center will operate under the University’s continuing education division, which will offer classes for all age groups, according to its website.

CONNECT WITH KAYLLAN OLICIO kolicio@student.framingham.edu

Equestrian Club presents….

THURSDAY, APRIL 5, 2018 NORTH HALL COMMONS

5 - 7 P.M.

fsu global issues lecture series

Trail Ride at Bobby’s Ranch Saturday, April 29th from 10am-2pm Check in at 9:30 in McCarthy lobby!

In response to a growing panic about escalating urban crime, the Izmir Police Department (Turkey) launched a proactive strategy in 2006 to address the city’s “crime problem” which entailed profiling and criminalization of ethno-racially differentiated urban poor populations, especially the Kurdish youth. In her talk Dr. Gönen will discuss these policing strategies, drawing parallels to the NYPD’s “zero-tolerance” policies during the Rudy Giuliani era, as a reflection of the penal/security state formation around the globe.

Dr. Gönen is a visiting professor in the Department of Sociology at FSU. She teaches and researches issues of crime, policing and punishment from a global perspective. Her first book The Politics of Crime in Turkey: Neoliberalism, Police and the Urban Poor was published by I.B. Tauris in 2016.

Event sponsored by the Global Studies Program. For more information, please contact Dr. Joseph Coelho at jcoelho2@framingham.edu or Dr. Kaan Agartan at kagartan@framingham.edu.

Tickets On Sale Monday, April 3rd in the Game Room @ 12 noon

Only $10! Includes transportation, lunch and ride BUT your $10 will be refunded on the date of the event!

NO experience necessary- beginners welcome!

Questions? Equestrian@framingham.edu

FRAMINGHAM STATE UNIVERSITY’S INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER SINCE 1932 | FSUGATEPOST.COM

MARCH 30, 2018

THE GATEPOST

NEWS | 5

Alumni Association Continued from pg. 1 Massachusetts does not make financial contributions from its budget to continuing education programs, making his departmental programs “self-supported,” relying on grants and donations.

He added continuing education is important, as it is designed to be flexible and geared toward an “adult audience.” The program not only offers degree pathways and certificates to boost professional credentials, but also provides non-credit classes aimed at senior citizens.

Greenberg said the classes are “very popular.” They are part of a program called “Adventures in Lifelong Learning,” which was formed almost nine years ago in collaboration with the Framingham Public Library.

According to Greenberg, each class has approximately 80-200 people, depending on the subject.

He added many of the classes are taught by professor emeriti, such as Helen Heineman and Brad Nutting. Classes run for four weeks in both the spring and fall, occur on a weekly basis and span a wide range of subjects - including literature, visual art and film.

According to a registration packet for the program, financial support comes from the Framingham Cultural Council and the Massachusetts Cultural Council.

Membership is not required, but dues-paying members receive priority consideration for classes.

Greenberg also noted the accessibility of the program. “If somebody cannot afford to come, then they don’t have to pay,” he said.

“It is truly an amazing group of people who are engaged in this.”

Other events designed in cooperation with the Framingham Public Library include the “Lifelong Learning Lecture Series,” in which guest speakers - mostly FSU professors and some from colleges in Boston - are invited to give free lectures on various subjects, including art and history.

“We get a very good turnout,” Greenberg said. Approximately 50-60 people attend each lecture.

However, Greenberg said the program faces issues of sustainment. “You have to have the mon-

Amanda Martin / THE GATEPOST Scott Greenberg spoke to Alumni Association members about the continuing education programs offered at FSU.

ey. You have to have donations coming in. The membership fee does not pay for itself, does not pay the entire cost of the program,” he said.

Greenberg said the program has been successful in beneficially impacting its students - one program participant donated $20,000 to help sustain future classes and events. “She loves the program.

That was truly a terrific help,” he added.

The other division of non-credit courses is comprised of the English-language-learning programs, designed to help non-native English speakers improve their skills for the workforce, Greenberg said.

According to a promotional flyer, there are two types of classes.

One is an Intensive English Program, which “offers instruction in reading, speaking, grammar, vocabulary building, academic writing, pronunciation, TOEFL [Test of English as Foreign Language] preparation and content areas based on student interest.” The other is a set of Community ESL classes, which meet less often but cover the same material at five different skill levels.

Dennis Alves, class of ‘78, said

“It is truly an amazing group of people who are engaged in this.”

- Scott Greenberg,

associate vice president for academic affairs and dean for continuing education

he understands the importance of English language classes, having taken them before. “These kinds of programs were greatly beneficial to me in the past,” he said.

Greenberg also talked about credit courses, which are tailored toward people of various education levels and prospective career paths - including “people who already have a bachelor’s” and “people who only want a certificate,” Greenberg said.

He added the undergraduate certificates that are offered by the program are “designed for entry-level positions” in fields including accounting, computer programming and software engineering.

Greenberg said his division develops courses and certificates in response to the changing needs of the workforce.

“I’ll talk to faculty about an area we know there’s a need for in terms of jobs. Employers are looking for people,” Greenberg said.

“For instance, enterprise systems - that’s working with mainframes - and a lot of the employees [in that field] are retiring. So, a lot of the IT companies came to us and we added the courses. They helped develop the curriculum for these courses.”

Greenberg noted many of these classes are online in order be as flexible as possible so people will be able to fit them into their schedules.

“These areas of online learning - that’s really where we’ve seen the most growth,” Greenberg said.

“We started the first online course - I think it was in 1998 - and since then there’s been phenomenal growth, both here and nationally.”

Greenberg added, “There is a new movement now at univer-

sities and continuing education - what they call ‘micro-credentials’ or ‘nanodegrees.’ Instead of students having to wait until they graduate to get something to hang on their wall or put on their resume, you might string five courses together along a specific theme.”

Greenberg spoke about a recently developed bachelor’s completion program called FSU@ MassBay, which provides students with the opportunity to earn both associate and bachelor’s degrees at MassBay Community College’s Wellesley Hills campus at a lower cost than taking classes at FSU. According to a program flyer, students enrolled in the program receive a $240 discount for each FSU course taken at MassBay. The offer is available to students pursuing a bachelor of arts with a major in liberal studies or a bachelor of science with a major in management.

“Many students at the community college, when they just finish, are comfortable where they’re going. They’d like to stay there - and they’ve got parking there!”

Greenberg said.

Other topics discussed included future events and trips for alumni - including the upcoming trip to Greece next month, organized

by Jennifer DeFronzo, director of Alumni Relations.

CONNECT WITH NADIRA WICAKSANA nwicaksana@student.framingham.edu

@TheGatepost | FSUgatepost.com

6 | NEWS

THE GATEPOST

MARCH 30, 2018

SGA gears up for a Ram-packed end of the spring semester

By Shanleigh Reardon News Editor Two new senators were sworn in during SGA’s weekly meeting on March 27. Now with 34 members, this semester’s senate is the largest in recent history.

SGA President Kyle Rosa said, “Can you believe that it is the end of March and we’re still growing? I cannot believe it. ... We have never been this big before, so I’m kind of shocked.”

Abigail Salvucci, representing the class of 2021, and Ashleigh Whigham, representing the class of 2020, were sworn in by Rosa.

During the meeting, four members of The Gatepost presented about their experience at the College Media Association Conference in New York City from March 7-10.

The students received funding from SGA for trip.

The members said they learned about design, recruitment, representation and leadership during the sessions they attended. Editor-in-Chief Cesareo Contreras said the newspaper will be holding a “fake news game show” on April 11 in the Alumni Room based on a similar event members attended during the conference.

Also during the meeting, SUAB President Kayleigh MacMaster appeared before the senate to answer questions about changes the organization is making to its constitution.

Changes included the redistribution of the treasurer’s duties to in-

clude planning two fundraisers per semester. It also included splitting the single entertainment coordinator position into one on-campus position and one off-campus position.

MacMaster said, “As it stands, we have a fundraising coordinator. So, they do the fundraising events and then they do homecoming weekend, but we kind of wanted to switch up the positions because we want every position to be able to plan events.

As it stood, the treasurers just kind of updated our budget, but they didn’t even really do that because we had so many transactions going on that it was really SILD that updates our budget. So, we took fundraising coordinator and stuck them under treasurer.”

Senator Adam Scanlon asked how many hours SUAB members were dedicating to their positions on average, saying he was concerned students may feel overwhelmed with the responsibilities of their positions on top of class work.

MacMaster said SUAB officers are required to hold two office hours per week and typically spend about one hour outside of that completing their duties.

Isaac Vu, SUAB vice president and senator, added SUAB officers are generally able to complete their work during their office hours.

All proposed changes were approved.

Five clubs presented funding requests during the meeting.

Equestrian Club received $1,792.50 for a trail ride at Stowe

Oscairy Tavarez/ THE GATEPOST Two senators were sworn into SGA during its weekly meeting on March 27.

Farm that will be held on April 28.

Psychology Club received $661 for mason jars customized with their club logo to hand out during Sandbox.

Brother to Brother received $3,939 for food, T-shirts, hats, prizes and a DJ for their King of the Court event, which is a three-versus-three basketball tournament.

Afro-Caribbean Dance Group received $2,189 to hold a flag football tournament on April 22. $2,010 will go to T-shirts and the rest will go toward snacks and trophies.

During both Brother to Brother and Afro-Caribbean Dance Group’s funding requests, Student Trustee Karl Bryan raised issue with the bulk

of funding going toward T-shirts.

Math Club received $1,450 for 40 tickets and a bus to the Museum of Science on April 22.

In other news: - Senator of the Month was awarded to Erin Dempsey.

- Senator Erin Johnson presented the U-Rock to SGA’s advisor Amanda Haskins.

- SGA members their votes for Senator of the Year. The winner will be announced during the All University Banquet.

FRAMINGHAM STATE UNIVERSITY’S INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER SINCE 1932 | FSUGATEPOST.COM

CONNECT WITH SHANLEIGH REARDON sreardon1@student.framingham.edu

THE GATEPOST

MARCH 30, 2018

THE GATEPOST EDITORIAL

OP/ED

Transportation frustration

It’s 4:30 p.m. and you are sprinting across campus, nearly knocking over a professor in front of Hemenway, in an attempt to make it to Bement before the RamTram leaves for the mall.

It’s 4:38 p.m., you’ve reached the stop, your legs are on fire, you’re out of breath and standing anxiously with other students all waiting to cram like sardines onto the RamTram.

It’s 4:43 p.m. and as you start to clamber up the steps of the Tram, the driver tells you they can’t take anymore people because the bus is at capacity.

You’ll have to wait until the next RamTram at 5:15 p.m. to get to the mall.

Again you are late for work - a frustration that many students on this campus have experienced with the RamTram.

FSU is tucked away atop a series of calf-killing hills and for many students, their only way to get to work and purchase groceries or school supplies is with the RamTram and unfortunately, the University doesn’t see transportation for students as a priority.

With so many students who commute, work off campus or participate in internships and student teaching, there is a baffling lack of oversight. The one mode of transportation made available to commuter and resident students is often inconsistent or late and offers few destinations for students to travel.

The Student Transportation Center (STC) deserves to receive more attention from the administration.

This is not the fault of the drivers and workers at the STC, as many of them are students themselves who are struggling to work with the limiting 20-hour work policy, as well as a demanding work and class schedule.

It is unfair for the students and part-time drivers who work at the STC to be expected to manage an entire transportation system, while the University doesn’t have an administrator who is responsible for the scheduling, management and hiring for the RamTram.

There are small fixes we at The Gatepost wish to see implemented including adding more buses, expanding the hours of operation and offering RamTram stops at more locations. We suggest the RamTram stop on both sides of Rt. 9, as many students work at the restaurants that line Rt. 9 and must either find their own transportation to those places or risk running across Rt. 9.

Students have died crossing the road.

We at The Gatepost urge University administrators to make it a priority to address the rampant transportation problems many students face.

For those students who manage to find a way off campus, shopping and hanging out in downtown Framingham isn’t often the first that comes to their minds, despite the fact that it just 2 miles away from campus.

But can one really blame them when the RamTram only stops outside stores on Rt. 9?

With over 5,000 students on this campus, we should be able to get to these places easily. Framingham is an up-and-coming city and FSU students rarely head to the shops, bars and restaurants that line its historic streets. Moreover, there are over 150 small and mid-size businesses in the downtown area that are not only good for shopping and eating, but could potentially provide employment opportunities for students as well.

If the University simply offered transportation that bused students downtown four times a night, think of the positive economic impact that would have on the city of Framingham.

7 | OP/ED

Mandatory Service

By Thom Duda

Staff Writer

Working in customer service is a nightmare. You put in many hours across the span of a single week, often wearing multiple hats and doing more than your original job description required, all the while being cornered by more than a few rude customers.

The stress is high, the thanks few, and the pay and incentives are never enough.

Hell, this sort of rat-race job can make a bottle of jack look preferable to a few more hours on the line or behind that register where life trickles away.

As such, I propose that everyone should do it.

There should be, like a stint of military service in countries such as

South Korea and Poland, a mandatory period - probably two years - where someone works in customer service and experiences what it is like to be behind a counter and deal with people all day.

In doing this, I would hope there would be a cultivation of empathy amongst the next generations after having been through this trial and the people who would accompany it.

While there are, of course, good customers in retail service, there are oftentimes individuals who are there to make one’s life behind the counter abysmal. We’ve all seen them.

The irate person annoyed at being unable to return an item well past its allotted time, and usually without a receipt at all, to the person seemingly unhappy with

having to spend money to receive service.

There’s the customer who can, like a predator in the tall grass, swoop in and ruin an entire day’s rhythm for just a wrong look or a slight difference in the cadence to your voice. No matter what though, the customer will always be right, even when they are horribly wrong and rude.

Now imagine if everyone had to go through this trial of service in their lifetimes, had to deal with the aggravated and impatient, and the extremely belligerent for a meager pay.

Would you willingly allow yourself to treat others in such a manner afterwards?

Hopefully no one would and with that there would come about a real change.

Campus Conversations What do you think should be done to improve transportation for students, specifically with the RamTram?

By Lizzy Stocks and Allie Gath

“I wish there were more stops ... like if it stopped at Trader Joe’s or Michael’s.”

-Erin Vance, junior

“More drivers - when you call they say they’ll send someone and then they don’t. ” -Stephanie Corrigan, sophomore

“I feel like it should come “It’s perfect. There’s nothing every 15 minutes, not halfwrong with it.”

-Jared Archer, junior hour. And it should go to more places.”

-Vanessa Guerrero, freshman

“I feel like they should have more buses running at a time because it can take like 20 minutes to get to the parking lots.”

-Josh Rumple, junior

“There should be a call-in service for the commuter rail the same way there is for the parking lots.”

-Samia Guerrier, freshman

Op/Ed submissions reflect the opinions of their authors only and do not necessarily reflect those of The Gatepost or its staff. @TheGatepost | FSUgatepost.com

THE GATEPOST

8 | OP/ED

Want to Give Input on the New Dining Commons Furniture?

The architectural firm leading the renovation will be holding focus groups to gain insight of student preferences on types of seating And arrangements.

MARCH 30, 2018

We want YOU to join SGA Open positions for SGA Executive Board, SGA Senators, and Class Officers!

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SPACE IS LIMITED!

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ARTS & FEATURES | 9

ARTS & FEATURES Keeping memories alive fsu hosts military archive event

Photo contributed by Barbara Garrett Scanned by Abe Newell

Cesareo Contreras Editor-in-Chief In celebration of the grand opening of the Veterans Center, a veterans community archiving event was hosted in the Forum on Saturday, March 24.

People from all around the area were invited to bring up to three historical military items to be photographed or scanned and archived by the Framingham State Digital Repository staff. All the items processed will be uploaded to Framingham State’s digital commons website. Purple Heart recipient and Secretary of the Department of Veterans’ Services Francisco A. Ureña was the event’s keynote speaker and pieces from Communication Arts professor Leslie Starobin’s “Dear Dearest Mother” series were displayed on and around the Forum’s stage.

The event was primarily planned by interim Chief Officer of Diversity, Inclusion & Community Engagement, Millie González. In May 2017, she helped host the “Latinos and Baseball in the Barrios and the Big Leagues,” a similar event in which the University, in partnership with the Smithsonian National Museum of American History, invited members of the community to bring in their historic sports memorabilia to be archived by Framingham State’s Digital Repository team.

She said she decided to work with Veterans Services Coordinator Jacki Wolf and Director of Career Services and Veteran Dawn Ross to

Photo contributed by Teresa Weisman Scanned by Abe Newell

host a similar event this year. Wolf suggested they host the event a day after the center’s opening, so there could be a weekend of events honoring veterans.

“I had experience doing a collecting event, so right after the event I said, ‘We have to do something for veterans next year,’” said González. “This is the realization.”

Historical items that were flat such as pictures and letters were archived using a scanner while three-dimensional items such as, medals, pieces of clothing and shadow boxes were photographed with Nikon DSLR cameras. Accompanying all items archived are pieces of paper detailing the item archived and its significance to the person who brought it in.

FSU’s Digital Repository Coordinator Susan Skoog, the photographer taking photos of the memorabilia, said, “Every family has got history and a lot of the history is in material culture, which is stuff like the things you keep in boxes in your attic. As an archivist, I know a lot of those things won’t last forever and the stories that touch them won’t last forever. ... If we can capture the appearance of the object and the clothing and get why it meant something to people, it becomes an object with meaning.”

In his keynote address, Ureña said the work being done to support veterans at FSU is a “best practice.”

According to Ureña, in all of Massachusetts’ 29 public institutions, there is a student veterans center.

“Many years ago that wasn’t the case,” he said.

Cesareo Contreras / THE GATEPOST Senior Patrick Hazzard showcased a variety of his military memorabilia.

Ureña was sworn in as the secretary of the Department of Veteran Services in 2015. Ureña’s career in the military started right out of high school when he enlisted in the United States Marine Corps, according to mass.gov. Throughout his eight-year stint in the military, Ureña worked Diplomatic Security at two American Embassies American Embassy Damascus, Syria and American Embassy Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. Ureña was also awarded a Purple Heart after sustaining injuries during the Operation Iraqi Freedom campaign.

“One of the takeaways whenever we speak to veterans that we share is to ‘share your stories,’” he said.

“As we all know, a picture is worth a thousand words. The way we are persevering these military memorabilia is a great example of veterans sharing their stories.”

Prints from Starobin’s “Dear Dearest Mother” photo series showcase the historic military memorabilia of the veterans Starobin interviewed - each photograph calling to attention the realities of war through visual storytelling. “‘Dear Dearest Mother’ venerates classic photography, the lost art of letter writing and the relics from the battlefield. 2014 celebrat-

ed the 175th anniversary of the invention of photography. 2015 observed the sesquicentennial of the end of the Civil War, the first American conflict to be photographed.

2015 also marked the seventieth anniversary of the end of World War II and the fortieth anniversary of the Fall of Saigon. These commemorations have inspired ‘Dear Dearest Mother,’ a portfolio of still-life montages composed from the keepsakes of war and military veterans,” Starobin said in her artist statement.

Taking up a whole table to himself, senior and veteran Patrick Hazzard showcased a wide variety of military items he amassed throughout his time in the service.

From the now out-of-circulation Bosnian currency he collected during his time in the country, to the detailed notepads which outline the mission plan for his trip to Haiti, each item has a story behind it that has helped shape the man Hazzard is today, he said.

“Everything here [shows] the process of a young man with very self-centered, very selfish and minimal view of the world, learning that the world is much bigger.”

CONNECT WITH CESAREO CONTRERAS ccontreras@student.framingham.edu

@TheGatepost | FSUgatepost.com

THE GATEPOST

MARCH 30, 2018

ARTS & FEATURES | 11

Medical manikins Continued from page 1

to administer the compressions.

A disembodied voice calls out, “You’re doing great. Your compressions need to be a little deeper.” There’s a pause and Ferzoko repeats her count to 20. The voice calls out again, “Perfect. Congratulations! You two saved your patient. He has regained consciousness. Great teamwork!”

The voice belongs to Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) student Angela Sesin. She is hidden behind a one-way mirror where she can watch nurses and MSN students like Pinto and Ferzoko work with their patients.

However, Carl Shapiro isn’t a human being. He is a manikin outfitted with technology that gives nursing students the opportunity to treat him, respond to his symptoms and practice resuscitating the patient.

The two women working to resuscitate Shapiro are both licensed nurses, but this isn’t taking place in a hospital - they are working in the Clinical Simulation Laboratory at Framingham State.

The simulation lab is part of the MSN, which is a two-year master’s program offered at FSU that licenses nurses to teach nursing.

Cynthia Bechtel, professor and coordinator of the MSN program, said it is a hybrid that gives students hands-on experience with the simulation lab as well as online courses so students can work full-time while getting their MSN. Located in Hemenway Hall on the third floor, a suite of classrooms are designed to look and operate as actual hospital rooms.

In the rooms, five different manikins are used to train the nurses in different aspects of patient care from basic physical assessment of children to the Carl Shapiro simulation.

Shapiro can blink, breathe and talk. Inside of his chest are pressure sensors that transmit to a computer and tell the technician if the nurse is performing CPR correctly. His mouth moves so the nurses can experience giving oral medication to patients as well.

Today that technician, Sesin, is tucked away in the control room behind the one-way mirror monitoring the manikin’s response to Ferzoko and Pinto. Sesin controls Shapiro’s actions from two computer monitors that allow her to adjust his breathing and heart rate as well as his blood pressure.

During the simulation Sesin is Shapiro’s voice. From a small microphone by her side, she gives the nurses a taste of the different per-

This manikin is used to simulate physical injuries on patients.

sonalities they will encounter with real patients.

After Shapiro regained consciousness he joked, “Wow! Feels like someone sat on my chest! It still hurts … but not in the same way.”

Sesin said performing simulations like this helps nurses not only understand practicing medicine on live patients but also the range of personalities they may come across in their line of work.

She added, “Another helpful aspect of the practice is the dynamic of teamwork” that presents itself.

The nurses can be evaluated on how they interact with one another during a procedure such as the code that was simulated.

She said a fun part of the simulation is having the option to choose how the patient reacts and what they say to the nurses.

Bechtel said she believes the simulation lab makes the learning experience richer for nurses who are pursuing a master’s degree. Additionally, she believes the program helps nurses so they are better prepared for real-world situations they may encounter in hospitals, schools or rehabilitation centers.

She said only 15 percent of nurses have their master’s degrees, but believes this program provides a fast-paced experience that all nurses should have, and the medical field would greatly benefit if there were more nurses with their master’s.

Bechtel said the simulation lab opened in 2016 and has expanded to give students opportunities to work with both “high and mid-fidelity” manikins to experience the full range of patient care.

She added the “high-fidelity” manikins, like Carl Shapiro, are the most interactive with the ability to blink, feel and respond to stimuli. A manikin such as Shapiro costs $35,000.

Pinto said the Carl Shapiro simulation is available to her once a week, so she can practice different aspects of patient care.

She said while not every nursing program has an “advanced” set up similar to FSU with the simulations, the students here can then go out and teach the practices they learned to other nurses.

Another MSN student, Katie Kirkland, said all the scenarios are approved by the National League of Nursing (NLN), an organization that helps develop guidelines for teaching and providing information to nurses that can be utilized in their jobs.

Kirkland said because the scenarios are approved by the NLN, the simulations give these students the tools they need to go teach other nurses who may not have access to an interactive facility such as this one.

Because the simulations are performed the same way around the country, “everyone is getting those same expectations, objectives, topics, reinforcement based on using those provided simulations that are standard,” she said.

Kirkland added a huge part of the exercise is the debriefing. After each simulation, the nurses go into a conference room to “very specifically go through the simulation - ‘What were you learning?

Was anything missed?’ It’s all the rational and the critical thinking part - not only doing the sim but the debriefing is the final, very im-

Cesareo Contreras / THE GATEPOST

portant part of every simulation.”

Ferzoko said each simulation is updated and re-coded based on the “best practices” available at the time, so the MSN students are working with the current standard of patient care.

Additionally, the simulation can be programmed to focus on areas where students are struggling.

She said all nursing students must take and pass the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX) to receive their nursing license. The NLN collects data concerning what aspects of the exam students are failing and then that data can be used to reprogram the simulations to reflect the areas of study that need improvement.

Ferzoko said those who graduate with an MSN can then use the information that was provided in the simulation to teach the material in a way that will help improve the test scores. “Hopefully, with the next group that goes through and takes the NCLEX, you can see improvement.”

According to Bechtel the “mid-fidelity” manikins cost from $5,000 to $6,000. These do not have the same interactive capabilities as Shapiro, but offer nursing students an opportunity to experience another side of patient care.

While nurses Ferzoko and Pinto reset the simulation to conduct another code on Shapiro, down the hall other MSN students are preparing the other manikins for a different type of simulation.

Tucked away in a smaller room, four manikins are on display. One of them lies motionless in a hospital bed with another manikin holding its hand and resting

Continued on page 13

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ARTS & FEATURES | 12

MARCH 30, 2018

THE GATEPOST

Mx. FSU showcases student talent Allison Wharton Staff Writer

SPEAK UP RAMS!

When junior Tommy Herr came on stage with a sweater around his neck, his charisma and school spirit won the judges over instantly and eventually earned him the title of Mx. FSU 2018.

SUAB hosted their yearly pageant, Mx. FSU on March 22 in DPAC. Lorretta Holloway, vice president of student enrollment, Kyle Rosa, previous Mx. FSU and senior, and David Baldwin, associate dean of students, judged the competition.

The contestants were freshman Tyler Crowly, seniors Ross Grenier and Marquis Sims and junior Ryan Buchanan and Herr.

Contestants competed in a costume contest, a talent portion and a question and answer segment.

The costume portion showcased Sims in a pizza poncho joking, “I’m delivery, not Digiorno.” Buchanan strutted around in American boxing attire, claiming “Rocky IV” was the best in the series, Crowly wore a Hawaiian shirt and gold shorts and Greiner in a futuristic outfit saying they were from the future.

For talent, Grenier came out in a new outfit - a star romper with a train. They sang Frank Sinatra’s “The Way You Look Tonight” while dancing and twirling during the instrumental portions.

Herr danced to Jaden Smith’s “Icon” in a purple sweatshirt, jeans and socks. He got the audience cheering as he moonwalked across the stage.

Buchanan came out in a polo tucked into cargo shorts and glasses. “Who remembers the third grade?” he asked, before playing a track from The Lord of the Rings soundtrack on the recorder.

Sims performed stand-up comedy under the name Deep Dish. He sat at the edge of stage with a water bottle next to him. “I can’t imagine I will need this in the next few minutes, but every comic has one,” he joked.

He discussed topics such as how he came to choose comedy as his talent, girls vs. boys at bars, his goal of being a stay-at-home dad and how “desperately” single he is.

Senior Genesis Guerrero said, “I liked Tommy’s dancing and Ross was so cute. … I feel the school needs more events like this.”

Senior Sarah Strike agreed with

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Guerrero and said, “I liked Ross’ second outfit. They made the event their own.”

The next segment was the question and answer portion. Contestants were asked four questions: “If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go?” “Living or dead, who would you want to be best friends with?” “What is your major and why did you choose it?” "What is your favorite day of the year?”

Herr said he would want to go to the North Pole because Santa Clause would be his friend and he would have endless amounts of hot cocoa.

Sims at first said he wanted to go to California. “I would have to ask my mom first and they have earthquakes and we have the Patriots. …

Never mind.”

After deliberation from the judges, Rosa presented first, second and third place. Sims won third because he made the “judges laugh the hardest,” Grenier won second and Herr took first because he displayed the most school spirit.

Unlike previous years, the winners were able to pick their prizes. Herr chose Beats headphones, Greiner chose a 32-inch smart TV

Corey McFeely / THE GATEPOST Herr dances to Jaden Smith's "icon."

and Sims received the Beats Pill speaker.

Event host and sophomore Yamile Lugo Rodriguez said Herr “represented the fun side of being a Ram, but all participants have wonderful qualities.”

CONNECT WITH ALLISON WHARTON

awharton@student.framingham.edu

MARCH 30, 2018

THE GATEPOST

13 | ARTS & FEATURES

Medical manikins Continued from page 11 its head on the bottom of the bed.

On a changing table to the left of the hospital bed is an infant manikin being tended to by one of the nurses.

MSN student Kathy Johnson is bent over the infant, a makeup wedge in one hand and palette in the other. She paints the manikin’s lips with a light coat of blue.

“What I’m doing is called moulage.

See, if a nurse came in and saw an

infant with lips that are blue, we’d know the baby needs oxygen.”

Moulage is the process of applying makeup to simulate realistic injuries - this can include burns, cuts, sores, rashes and scars. The process is used to help nursing students identify additional problems that may occur when treating a patient. Because the manikins cannot actually sustain injuries, the nurses practice by applying the makeup to the manikins themselves.

Cesareo Contreras / THE GATEPOST Nurses Caroline Ferzoko and Michelle Pinto perform CPR on Carl Shapiro.

After the injures are applied to the manikins, other MSN students will be responsible for identifying the physical injuries the patients have sustained as part of the simulation.

“Blue lips are abnormal. While these manikins can’t speak or respond to us, it helps us identify injuries that present themselves physically,” she added.

Sitting in a chair beside the infant is a manikin of a small child wearing a baseball cap and a Boston Red Sox T-shirt.

MSN student Cinthia Dos Santos-Mesquita is applying makeup to simulate a bruise radiating up the child’s leg. She grabs a brown pencil to simulate the appearance of cigarette burns.

The manikins being covered in rashes and burns are “mid-fidelity,” meaning they don’t speak, breathe or blink. However, they offer a realistic view of physical injuries the nurses may come across.

Dos Santos-Mesquita said practice with physical injuries is particularly helpful for nurses who end up working in family homes.

“If they can identify injuries, not necessarily in the patient they are in the house to treat, that helps us

protect the patient and the family.”

Johnson said moulage gives the nurses a 3-D “realistic view of injuries. We can make rashes or injuries that start to ooze, which is something you might see in a patient who isn’t taking care of their wound.”

Dos Santos-Mesquita said she had worked in a rehabilitation center as well as in a high school as a registered nurse, but knew she wanted a change.

After talking to Bechtel, she decided to enroll in the MSN program. “I like helping people and you can do that with nursing. …

However, I knew I wanted to help teach other nurses too.” She will graduate in May of 2018.

Kirkland said she believes all nurses should have the opportunity to take a simulation course such as this one. “I have colleagues at work and they have never taken a course like this. To not have an education like this is a disservice.”

CONNECT WITH BAILEY MORRISON

bmorrison1@student.framingham.edu

FRAMINGHAM STATE UNIVERSITY'S INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER SINCE 1932 | FSUGATEPOST.COM

ARTS & FEATURES | 14

By Nick Murphy Staff Writer

MARCH 30, 2018

THE GATEPOST

Rank the couches of Framingham State

Sasha the southern belle

Introducing Sasha, freshman Stephanie Bennett’s big-hearted German shepherd.

Just before Sasha’s arrival in June 2015, Bennett had spent a few weeks redecorating her room. This process included fresh paint, new furniture and to top it all off, a strikingly beautiful comforter.

“I remember the first day Sasha came home. She was a little puppy that could fit in the palm of your hand,” said Bennett.

At first, Sasha was grumpy about having to stay in her crate at night, so she’d often bark, howl and cry into the night.

Bennett couldn’t deal with the “heartbreaking” cries anymore, so she took action.

“I hated hearing my brand-new family member all alone in the kitchen … so I brought her to stay with me for the night,” said Bennett.

Knowing she wasn’t yet house-trained, Bennett anticipated Sasha may have a little accident - so she laid down a towel to be safe.

Yet, despite her worries, everything was OK! Fast forward 30 minutes and…

“Sasha had quite the explosion," said Bennett.

While the once pristine comforter quite literally ended up with the butt end of the deal, the Bennetts took comfort in finding out that a chicken allergy was the reason for Sasha’s distress.

After living with the Bennetts for a while, Sasha developed a newfound love of visiting her local dog park, the “Outback,” one or two times a week.

One summer day at the park, Sasha stumbled upon a massive branch that she deemed the perfect size to play fetch with.

“As I am throwing this ungodly sized stick for her to catch, I think about how Sasha has never swum.

So, I throw the stick into the lake, hoping she’d chase after it,” said Bennett.

Just like that, Sasha took off, sprinting at full speed, intent on catching up to the stick that soared overhead. Then, Sasha took notice of the water before her and came to a screeching halt mere inches before the intimidating lake.

“I knew I had to help her conquer her fear,” Bennett said.

Bennett’s persistence paid off and after throwing the stick progressively farther and farther out into the water, Sasha gradually waded in completely and began retrieving the floating branch with ease.

Aside from learning to swim, Sasha has picked up a fair share of tricks including sit, lie down and play dead. “We have a cookie jar at home and if someone even mentions the word ‘cookie,’ she’ll fly to the jar,” said Bennett.

Sasha knows the order of her tricks by heart, so if you ask her, “What are you going to do for a cookie?” Sasha will sit, then plop down on all fours before sliding into a motionless pile of cuteness, until she knows she’s earned her cookie.

Despite being hundreds of miles away from Sasha and her Chihuahua Daisy while at school, they are always on her mind.

“I miss everything about my dogs when I am at school,” said Bennett. “I think the worst part is when my mom sends me funny videos of my dogs and I’m stuck writing a paper wishing I could be there - it does not help academic motivation!”

CONNECT WITH NICK MURPHY nmurphy5@student.framingham.edu

@TheGatepost | FSUgatepost.com

By Brennan Atkins & Noah Barnes Staff Writers

(Editor's Note: "The Couch Boys" started out as a humble series of film reviews. Over the course of this academic year, it has grown into Framingham State's leading source for couch-related information.)

The Sacred Sofa (Towers Fourth Floor Lounge) Arguably one of the greatest innovations of all time, this couch has been specifically engineered for maximum comfort and style.

Its Carolina blue contrasts extremely well with its hand-crafted wooden armrests, and is a treat to the eye. The pillows themselves feel like were plucked from the clouds of Asgard, and this is what Vikings must have dreamt of all those years back. This couch seems to be extremely underrated due to the size, but size isn’t the only thing that matters - it’s how you use it.

Brennan Atkins / THE GATEPOST

By having a smaller couch, you can easily watch a movie on the same laptop, much like we did in our early days at FSU. This couch is a staple of who we are today, and

Brennan Atkins / THE GATEPOST

Slim Shady (McCarthy Gameroom) Passersby of this couch will take immediate notice of the platinum grey leather, and its overall sleek design.

Ol’ Reliable (Bench outside of Library) This one really stumps us. Whenever we walk by the library, it always seems like the students of FSU are kicking it on this abomination of a couch - well, not us. For one, it simply isn’t comfortable compared to the other luxurious thrones around campus, it just isn’t.

There is no lumbar support, and the couch is made out of some sort of wooden material rather than the conventional leather or fabric.

Don’t even get us started

It may not be the beefiest of couches, but don't let that fool you. The built-in pillows are quite comfortable and your lower back will thank you for sitting in such a couch. The couch’s best on the armrests, oh wait, we couldn't even if we wanted to because these armrests are nonexistent. Another big negative about this couch is you can’t even watch Adam Sandler's very own “Click” from it. What’s the deal with that? There are no outlets in the area and no television in sight.

Have fun watching people walking in and out of the library - what fun! While there isn't much going for it in the comfort department, one aspect of the couch that some might find enjoyable is the look of it. It’s vintage, rustic, and it brings back

should be the standard for couches around the nation nay, the globe.

Grade: A+ quality is its location. Just have a tough loss at pong?

Have a good crying session on the couch. While there may not be any armrests to cry on, you can at least watch a movie to drown your sorrows. It's quite a long couch, so large groups of friends are not a problem, unless you’re in the corner spot where things can get a bit tight. Overall, it has its flaws but it also has its perks. This couch could be seen as a metaphor for people in general, and the lesson is, we need to learn to accept one's flaws and learn to love each other.

Grade: B

Noah Barnes / THE GATEPOST

memories from a simpler time. However, we will not sit in it because this is the future and we are not silly.

Grade: C+ CONNECT WITH BRENNAN ATKINS & NOAH BARNES batkins@student.framingham.edu nbarnes@student.framingham.edu

THE GATEPOST

MARCH 30, 2018

SPORTS | 15

SPORTS Women’s lacrosse extends win streak to six games to move to 7-1

By Matt Ferris Sports Editor Framingham State took on Eastern Connecticut State in a road matchup on March 24.

The Rams opened up the scoring just 5 minutes into the game.

Grace Gamache scored the goal unassisted to put Framingham up 1-0.

Three minutes later, the Rams struck again. Hanna McMahon scored unassisted to make it a 2-0 game.

Morgan Begley added another goal for Framingham to give the Rams a commanding 3-0 lead just 12 minutes into the game. Begley scored off an assist from Kimmy Foley.

Just a minute later, the Warriors cut into the deficit as Maddie Bodington scored off an assist from Katie Burke to make it 3-1.

The Rams would soon respond, scoring four unanswered goals in a 3-minute span before half.

Gamache got the run started for the Rams, scoring off an assist from Foley to make it 4-1.

Foley would get one of her own two minutes later to make it 5-1.

Kristen Keenan scored the third goal of the run, 30 seconds later, off an assist from Foley to make it 6-1.

Gamache would add the final goal of the stretch just 10 seconds later. She added her third goal of the game off an assist from Nicole Pacheco to make it 7-1.

The Warriors would score one more goal before halftime to make it 7-2 heading into the break.

Framingham continued its good play in the second half, scoring the first four goals.

Audrey Duhaime got the scoring started just over a minute into the half, scoring unassisted to make it an 8-2 game.

Tess Destino scored just over a minute later off a McMahon feed to make it 9-2.

Foley scored her second goal of the game, off a pass from Gamache, 2 minutes later to make it 10-2.

Britney Herskowitz capped the 4-0 run with a goal to make it 11-2 with just 20 minutes left to play.

The Warriors scored to shrink to deficit to 11-3 off a Katlyn Molony goal.

Duhaime pushed the lead back to nine goals just a minute later, scoring on a free position shot to make it 12-3.

After a Warriors goal to make 12-4, Framingham scored again to make it 13-4. Foley added her third goal of the game to extend the lead.

Jennifer Buckley would score the final goal of the game for the Rams off a feed from Jacey Salvie.

The Rams went on to win the game by a score of 14-6.

Foley led the way for the Rams with three goals and three assists.

Gamache was just behind her, also scoring three goals to go along with two assists. Duhaime added two goals on four shots for the Rams.

Indigo Fox Tree-McGrath made six saves in net for the Rams.

4-1, as Elizabeth Fortier scored unassisted.

Framingham would respond with back-to-back goals to extend the lead to 6-1. The first was Foley, who scored unassisted, followed by McMahon who scored on a free position shot.

Emmanuel would get one back as Kylie Rice scored on a free position shot to make it 6-2.

The Rams would close the half on a 4-0 run to take a 10-2 lead into the break.

Foley, Gregory and Gamache all scored unassisted and Pacheco scored off an assist from Gamache.

The second half was much of the same.

Framingham scored the first two goals of the half to extend the lead to 12-2.

Alissa Marino scored off a feed from Foley, and Pacheco scored off a feed from Gamache to push the lead to 10.

Emmanuel would score one more goal to make it 12-3, before Framingham finished the game with five unanswered goals to reach the final margin of 17-3.

Gregory started the run, scoring unassisted. Marino added another goal, taking an assist from Pacheco.

Gregory scored the next two goals, one off a feed from Maggie Destino and one off a feed from Jenna McMahon.

McMahon would then score the seventeenth-and-final goal of the game off an assist from Gregory to make it 17-3.

Gregory led the Rams with five goals and added an assist. Foley and Pacheco each had three goals for Framingham.

Fox Tree-McGrath made two saves in net before being replaced by Mikayla Seavey.

Seavey also made two saves for Framingham.

With the win, the Rams extend their winning streak to six games and improve to 7-1 on the season.

FRAMINGHAM STATE 17 EMMANUEL COLLEGE 3

CONNECT WITH MATT FERRIS mferris2@student.framingham.edu

FRAMINGHAM STATE 14 E. CONNECTICUT STATE 6 With the win, the Rams improve to 6-1 on the season.

Framingham hosted Emmanuel College on March 28, in a nonconference match.

Just 5 minutes into the game the Rams got the scoring started. Pacheco scored unassisted to make it a 1-0 game.

Five minutes later, the Rams would score another goal. This time is was McMahon scoring off a feed from Duhaime to make it 2-0.

Less than 30 seconds later, Foley added another goal for Framingham. She took a pass from Gamache and ripped a shot into the back of the net to make it 3-0.

Ashley Gregory would add another goal to the lead for the Rams 3 minutes later off a free position shot to make it 4-0.

Emmanuel would strike back 17 minutes into the game to make it

Allie Gath / THE GATEPOST Audrey Duhaime looks to make a pass for the Rams.

@TheGatepost | FSUgatepost.com

16 | SPORTS

Ferr or Foul: MLB preseason power rankings

By Matt Ferris Sports Editor 1. Houston Astros The Astros are the defending World Series Champions, beating the Dodgers in seven games. Not only are the Astros returning nearly all of their starters from their championship season, but they also added some talent. The Astros already had a talented rotation, headed by Justin Verlander and Dallas Kuechel, but added the very talented Gerrit Cole. The Astros are also bringing back plenty of young hitting talent with Carlos Correa, George Springer, Alex Bregman and reigning AL MVP Jose Altuve.

2. New York Yankees The Yankees have been in the headlines all offseason. New York, who already hit the most homeruns as a team in 2017, added Giancarlo Stanton to their already loaded lineup. Stanton is the reigning NL MVP and hit 59 homers last season. Stanton will fit nicely in a lineup that already has Aaron Judge and Gary Sanchez in it. New York also has one of the best bullpens in the MLB. The Yankees biggest weakness is their rotation. After Luis Severino, New York has many question marks amongst their starting pitchers.

3. Boston Red Sox The Red Sox were a good team in 2017, but lacked a consistent power hitter and that’s exactly what they got in the offseason.

Boston brought in JD Martinez who slashed .303 with 45 HRs and 104 RBIs in just 119 games in 2017. He will be joining a very talented lineup, which already includes Mookie Betts, Andrew Benintendi and Xander Bogaerts. The Red Sox are also returning the 2017 AL Cy Young runner up, Chris Sale, and arguably the best closer in the MLB - Craig Kimbrel.

4. Washington Nationals The Nationals could be looking at their last good chance to win a World Series for a while in 2018. Star outfielder Bryce Harper is in the final year of his contract and will be hitting the free agent market next year. But with that being said, Harper has something to prove if he wants a monstrous pay day in 2019, so expect Harper to put up unbelievable numbers this season. The Nationals are also returning their young shortstop, Trea Turner and veterans Anthony Rendon, Ryan Zimmerman and Daniel Murphy, not to mention one of the best 1-2 starting pitching combinations in the league with Max Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg.

5. Chicago Cubs The Cubs and the Indians were very close for the fifth spot in the rankings, but the loss of Carlos Santana allows the Cubs to sneak in at five. Chicago will be bringing back the most talented corner infield combo in the MLB with Anthony Rizzo at first base and Kris Bryant at third, to go along with a young talented middle infield - Addison Russell and Javier Baez. The Cubs also have a good rotation with Jon Lester, Kyle Hendricks and big free agent signing Yu Darvish. However, the Cubs lack a proven closer after losing Wade Davis to the Rockies in the offseason.

CONNECT WITH MATT FERRIS mferris2@student.framingham.edu

MARCH 30, 2018

THE GATEPOST

Baseball drops close game to Salve Regina

By Richard Tranfaglia Asst. Sports Editor The Rams lost to Salve Regina by a score of 18-15 on March 28.

The Rams struck first as Aaron Williams singled to right, followed by a walk by Matt Fogarty.

Jordan Pallazola was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Williams later scored on a walk by Cameron Borrelli.

Kyle Pileski then hit a grand slam to center to take a 5-0 lead in the first inning.

In the bottom of the first, John Militano walked to start off. Michael DeFusco reached first on an error by the shortstop. Alex Perry homered, driving in Militano and DeFusco to make it 5-3.

Following the homerun, Zach Smith singled to left. Colton Eremian followed with a single of his own and later scored along with Smith off a double by Dylan Ketch to tie the game at five.

The Rams took the lead in the top of the second as Fogarty doubled to left and later scored after Pileski walked with the bases loaded. Framingham left three men stranded as Jamel Vilmont struck out swinging in the next at bat.

In the top of the third, the Rams extended their lead as Joe Ambrosino scored off a double to left by Williams.

The Rams continued their offensive assault in the fourth. Pileski started with a single to center. A single by Vilmont and a walk by Ambrosino loaded the bases for the third time for Framingham.

Williams walked on the next at bat and scored Pileski. Fogarty followed with a single up the middle to score Vilmont and Ambrosino.

Pallazola grounded out to end the inning.

The Seahawks responded as Smith scored off a single by Ketch.

Ambrosino extended the Rams’ lead to six when he doubled to center, scoring Pileski and Vilmont.

In the bottom of the fifth, Eremian singled to left scoring, Perry and Militano.

The Seahawks stormed back in the seventh, as Perry walked to start the inning and later scored on a bunt by Tristian Dacey.

Smith singled to right followed by a homerun by Christian Vargas to make it a 12-11 game.

Ketch was hit by a pitch to get on base and scored off a single by Anthony Cieszko.

Militano followed with a single. DeFusco brought Cieszko home on a single to right. Militano scored on a wild pitch to put Salve up by two.

Smith got his second RBI of the day when he doubled to center, scoring DeFusco.

The Rams pulled within a run when Borrelli tripled to left scoring Pallazola, Williams, and Brockett. Venuti struck out swinging to end the top of the inning.

The Seahawks got two insurance runs in the bottom of the eighth when an errant throw by the third baseman allowed Cieszko and Ketch to score.

Chris Riga started the game going 4.2 innings, allowing nine hits and eight runs. Zach Dionne only pitched two innings for the Seahawks, allowing four hits and seven runs.

The Rams fall to 7-8 on the season.

SALVE REGINA 18 FRAMINGHAM STATE 15

CONNECT WITH RICHARD TRANFAGLIA rtranfaglia@student.framingham.edu

FRAMINGHAM STATE UNIVERSITY’S INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER SINCE 1932 | FSUGATEPOST.COM

MARCH 30, 2018

THE GATEPOST

SPORTS | 17

Agree to Disagree:

Preseason MLB predictions

Matt Ferris

Question

Jose Carrasquillo

New York Yankees

Which MLB team will win the American League?

Boston Red Sox

Chicago Cubs

Which MLB team will win the National League?

Los Angeles Dodgers

New York Yankees

Which MLB team will win the World Series?

Boston Red Sox

Carlos Correa

Who will win the 2018 AL MVP?

Mike Trout

Anthony Rizzo

Who will win the 2018 NL MVP?

Bryce Harper

Chris Archer

Who will win the 2018 AL Cy Young?

Chris Sale

Clayton Kershaw

Who will win the 2018 NL Cy Young?

Noah Syndergaard

Mike Scioscia

Who will win the 2018 AL Manager of the Year?

Alex Cora

Craig Counsell

Who will win the 2018 NL Manager of the Year?

Bruce Bochy

Shohei Ohtani

Who will win the 2018 AL Rookie of the Year?

Shohei Ohtani

Lewis Brinson

Who will win the 2018 NL Rookie of the Year?

Ronald Acuna

@TheGatepost | FSUgatepost.com

MARCH 30, 2018

THE GATEPOST

18 | SPORTS

Players of the week

Softball’s four-game win streak snapped against Johnson & Wales

By Liam Gambon Asst. Sports Editor

fsurams.com

Kimmy Foley scored three goals on six shots on net and added three assists in Lacrosse’s win against E. Connecticut State.

On Wednesday March 28, the Framingham State Rams came into a double-header against Johnson & Wales riding a four-game winning streak.

The game was quiet until the third inning when Johnson & Wales got the first run of the game off an RBI double.

The next score came in the fifth inning when Brenna Duperry hit a two-run homer, which was followed by an RBI single to put the Wildcats ahead 4-0.

JWU had another homerun in the seventh inning giving them a 5-0 lead, and Framingham responded with one run in the bottom of the seventh off an RBI single by Mycala Moody that scored Anna Dziok. That would be the only run of the game for Framingham as they dropped the first game of the double-header 5-1.

Dayna Marchant led the way for the Rams as she wen 3-for-3 at the dish with a walk.

Marissa Vellucci took the loss as she went four innings allowing three hits and a run.

JOHNSON & WALES FRAMINGHAM STATE

5 1

In the second half of the double-header, the Wildcats once again got on the board first and early as they scored in the first inning, but Framingham responded in the second inning with a sacrifice fly by Kristen Dick that scored Victoria Ziner to tie the game.

In the third inning Ziner scored Megan Downing on an RBI triple and was later knocked in by Dziok to give Framingham the 3-1 lead.

The Rams would not score again as JWU scored eight runs over the next four innings to blow out Framingham 9-3.

Vellucci took the loss for the second straight time as she allowed four runs in just 0.1 of an inning in relief.

Dziok went 2-for-4 at the plate with an RBI to lead the Rams offense in the second game.

With the two losses, the Rams fall to 6-8 on the season.

JOHNSON & WALES FRAMINGHAM STATE

9 3

CONNECT WITH LIAM GAMBON lgambon1@student.framingham.edu

fsurams.com

Kyle Pileski went 2-for-4 at the plate with a homerun and five RBIs while scoring three runs against Salve Regina.

fsurams.com

Kelsi Gunarathne picked up a win, pitching a two-hit complete game shutout while striking out six against New England College.

Amanda Martin / THE GATEPOST The Rams high five each other as the huddle in the pitcher’s circle against Johnson & Wales.

FRAMINGHAM STATE UNIVERSITY’S INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER SINCE 1932 | FSUGATEPOST.COM

nt f

o d tu ls al

By Dan Flahive Staff Writer The whistle blows, and the game commences. It’s colder than it should be, but that may be attributed to the various broken windows that cover the top half of the old gymnasium. Cheerleading mats and a roughly 60-foot high baseball hitting net encroach upon the “playing field,” but this doesn’t seem to stop the athletes.

Outdated pennants hang around the gym - names of colleges on them, both those that are still in the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference and those that have moved to different conferences over the years. But the games taking place here are not part of the N.C.A.A. On a typical weeknight, students take time out of their busy schedules to come and play intramural sports. In the few hours among homework, papers, deadlines and jobs, they manage to get together for some friendly competition.

Teams with humorous names fill the indoor soccer stands, such as “Happy Feet,” “The Jiminy Kickits” and “We Too Lit.” Intramurals sports began in 1913 between two rival schools, Ohio State University and the University of Michigan (UM). Elmer Mitchell, a graduate student at UM came up with the idea and is considered the “father of intramural sports.” Mitchell took over the program in 1919 after a five-year hiatus due to World War I. He then led the intramural program for over 20 years and even authored a book on the topic.

James Rippey has been the intramurals coordinator at FSU for the past three years. A graduate of Boston College and Northeastern University, he taught high school mathematics for years before coming to FSU full time.

“It was a great opportunity. I was teaching high school at the time and coaching [lacrosse and football] here,” he said. “The position became available and this was something I was interested in. I certainly miss some aspects of teaching, but not grading or anything like that, so this worked out well.”

A former intramural player himself, Rippey also participated during college, playing mainly basketball and flag football.

“I think it is fun to be in a competitive, athletic environment. A lot of students come from the high school setting, having played high school sports, and maybe sports aren’t in the cards at the college level. But the opportunity to go out and play and compete [is important],” he said.

Although these sports are not part of varsity college athletics, Rippey still finds them exciting and fun to watch - both the good and the bad.

“It’s always nice when someone throws down a dunk in basketball.

For every one that’s successful, you have five kids that tried and didn’t make it,” he said, laughing. “There are some epic games in terms of last-second shots, buzzer beaters and shoot-outs.”

With six seasons since 2013, indoor soccer is one of the most popular intramural sports at FSU, according to Rippey – despite the many hindrances in the back gym. He said these obstacles add a fun and different element to the game. “I think the setup we’ve got is great. You’ve got different obstacles and every once in a while, it goes off the backboard.

There’s different elements to it that make it exciting and different than regular soccer.”

Other intramurals include floor hockey, five-on-five basketball and three-on-three basketball.

Rippey most values student feedback while scheduling different

ents

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19 | SPORTS

THE GATEPOST

MARCH 30, 2018

sports, as he is most concerned with getting a good number of students out and playing. There are roughly 100 students signed up on FSU’s intramural website.

“I’ve really just been trying to receive feedback from the students and tailor it to them. We’re running indoor soccer now in the fall and the spring because we’re getting the numbers for it.”

He said the focus is “getting more students to show up. The biggest change I made when I took over was scheduling everything on a weekly basis. I know you guys have different work schedules. … I tried to make a point of it, but again, you can’t please everyone.”

However, Rippey has noticed a bit of a decrease in student participation in the past few years and would love for more students to come out and play. Also, students often sign up for the league, but do not show up to the games, ruining the fun for their fellow athletes. “There is nothing more frustrating than having six teams on a schedule and a team no-shows.

“Everyone’s busy. I know people work and that type of thing, but it is also a changing culture. Everyone’s on their cell phone or playing too many video games and people are just not in the gym as much.”

Senior Cam Tougas said, “I played sports in high school and I enjoyed it a lot. I didn’t have time to play sports in college, so I play intramurals.”

He recalled his favorite moment from intramural basketball during his sophomore year. “Bleed Green” was his team’s name, referencing a common slogan used by diehard Boston Celtics fans.

The season didn’t start off well, as the team underperformed, but he believed they were better than that. “We weren’t great during the regular season because some of our guys had class, so they couldn’t play most games,” Tougas said.

“We went from 2-6, I think, then swept the floor with everyone in the playoffs to win the championship,” he said. “It was easily the best moment I’ve had during intramurals.”

Junior Steve Gronlund said, “I think intramural sports are fun because you’re playing sports you love with your friends. … Winning the [three-on-three] championship is my favorite memory.

“I play because I get to keep doing what I love even if it’s not at a collegiate level,” he added.

Junior Mike Chandra said, “It’s good competition. Even though it’s intramural soccer, it is really competitive. You feel good after a win and bad after a loss, but it’s all for fun.”

Senior Adam Volpe said, “Indoor soccer gets more intense than you would think. Kids are out here to win.”

He recalled last year’s intramural soccer finals, when his team lost to “Off in Church,” which went undefeated that season.

“We had to play two games in a row, and we were just dead by the second one. We had no business being in the finals anyways, we just got hot in the semis,” he said.

The champions of each intramural sport or tournament receive a T-shirt, emblazoned with “Intramural Champions” on the front.

Senior Marquis Sims said, “It’s all about the shirt. That’s all I play for.”

CONNECT WITH DAN FLAHIVE dflahive@student.framingham.edu @TheGatepost | FSUgatepost.com

20 | PHOTOS

THE GATEPOST

march for our lives

MARCH 30, 2018 Amanda Martin/THE GATEPOST

Corey McFeeley/THE GATEPOST

Corey McFeeley/THE GATEPOST

Students, parents, educators and canines of all ages marched in Boston on March 24 demanding legislators to take gun reform seriously.

Allie Gath/THE GATEPOST

Amanda Martin/THE GATEPOST

FRAMINGHAM STATE UNIVERSITY’S INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER SINCE 1932 | FSUGATEPOST.COM