CHEERLEADING

SPORTS

Cheerleading

Continued from page 1

From August to April, the FSU cheerleaders train hard in the hope of earning an invitation to Nationals.

From long practices in the Athletic Center gym to cheering at football games, the team has a tight bond with one another - a bond that no pandemic can take away.

Hamilton said, “Even off the mat, we tend to push each other to keep our ac de i o s. n the t e definite y have a close bond. So, it [their bond] just helps us in every aspect of our lives.”

Fernandes added, “I want to do good [at competition] not only for myself, but for my teammates because I have a bond with them. I don’t want to let them down. Off the mat, it is the same thing.

“We motivate each other. We would keep each other in-line and in-check so that we could be the best for ourselves and for each other. So, I think we kind of all just pushed each other to work hard and make things happen,” she added.

This season, the team has fallen behind as the University has yet to assign practice time to them.

While other fall sports have been allowed to hold socially distanced practices during the week, the cheerleading team has been left in the dark by the University.

Hamilton said the team’s coaches reached out to the Athletic Department to get a practice slot.

A month later, the team is still waiting to receive paperwork required to hold practice.

With time running out, both cheerleaders have their eyes set on attending the 2021 Nationals.

This goal, however, is quickly slipping out of reach as the team must attend a National Cheerleaders Association (NCA) nd o ith n o fi i N t iner in order to earn an invitation to Nationals.

Hamilton said, “It’s hard for us at Fram-

ingham to look on Instagram and see other cheerleading teams that are getting to practice right now. It just kind of feels like we’re falling behind.”

She added cheerleaders around the country are currently able to participate in the sport, but at a limited capacity.

She said, “We haven’t met together as a team once, never mind go to [NCA] camp together. I do hope we get to go [to Nationals]. With all of our hard work last season, we are at a level where we could do half a season and still be competitive.”

Fernandes said attending Nationals as seniors would “be a great way to go out, especially because we had such an upsetting exit to last season, after everything we kind of worked for.

“So, hopefully we get that chance, but we’ll just have to take it day by day,” she added.

As the two seniors anxiously wait to see if they will be allowed to practice and

FSU cheerleading team | Courtesy of Danielle Achin

o ete d in thei fin o e i te se son they oth e e t on thei st o years on the team.

Hamilton said, “I do try to be a leader on this team - which I’m not normally very good at. I tend to sit back and let the group work things out. This is my fourth year on the mat and the coaches do look at me as a leader for the team.

“So, I’ve had to step up and learn that skill that I didn’t really have going into this. I am probably most proud of my growth in leadership skills through this experience,” she added.

Hamilton, a Weymouth native and biology major, began all-star cheerleading when she was 8 years old.

She said, “I started because my best friend and my cousin started doing it. So then, I obviously was like, ‘I want to do what they’re doing,’ and my mother act y s id no o si onths nti fin y persuaded her to let me do it.”

From then on, Hamilton stuck with the sport.

Likewise, Fernandes, an international business major from Taunton, began cheerleading in middle school.

She said, “I tried out for my middle school team and I didn’t make it. That kind of got me into all-star cheer because I really wanted to make the team.”

Now, Hamilton and Fernandes are only a few months away from graduating college and are looking forward to staying close to the sport. e n ndes s id definite y ho e to incorporate cheerleading [into my future], whether that means opening a gym or maybe coaching - we’ll see what happens with that. definite y oin to et y e estate license this upcoming spring and then hopefully start with that and kind of get my foot in the door for other business opportunities,” Fernandes added.

After graduation, Hamilton said, “I want to go to a 16-month nursing program and turn my bachelor’s in science to he o o s ien e in n sin . definitely want to work in a hospital setting or a medical setting.”

She added, “I’m still an all-star cheerleader and I want to continue doing that team for at least a couple more years. I’m also coaching, so I want to keep coaching.”

With the spring semester quickly approaching, Fernandes and Hamilton re e ted on the e y they ho e to e e behind for their underclassman teammates.

Fernandes said, “We really had this way of changing the team’s mindset. I think the legacy that is going to be left behind is a legacy of triumph. We overcame so much and it brought everyone together. I feel like that’s going to continue. I don’t think that’s going to be forgotten.”

She added, “I can’t believe how fast it went and how things have changed. … e yone sho d definite y e the est of it while they can, and hopefully, everything with this virus will be going away soon.” i ton s id on t ose the fi ht. Framingham State has the skill level to win the national championship and every year, something so small sets us back.

“I don’t want to see this team, once we’re gone, start heading downhill and not caring anymore, because we are such a talented program and everybody just needs to think of that,” she added. i ton s id definite y nt to e e e y o fi htin o so te y e erything you do because you only get four years and it goes by so fast. Looking back, now I’m like, ‘If only I had done this differently,’ and you don’t want to feel that way.

“You want to put every ounce of your being into the four years you’re there. I hope people see that’s what I’ve done in my four years and I hope everybody in ye s to o e ts th t s e fi ht in ecause we are a very good program.”

[Interim Asst. Sports Editor, Danielle Achin, is a member of the cheerleading team.]

ARTS & FEATURES

Talking code and the alphabet - the Swiacki Children’s Literature Festival goes virtual

By Robert Johnson Jr. Arts & Features Editor

At this year’s Swiacki Children’s Literature Festival, the McCarthy Center was not a mecca for all things children’s literature, due to the COVID-19 pandemic blocking off the potential for large, in-person gatherings.

Instead, that honor was given to a Zoom link in which many members of Framingham State’s community, as well as other spectators, gathered to hear presentations Nov. 5 from Cathie Mercier, as well as the two featured speakers, Joseph Bruchac and Melissa Sweet.

This year’s iteration also served as the 35th anniversary of the festival, which was held in honor of Tomie de o the esti s fi st e e est who died earlier this year in March.

Mercier, a professor at Simmons University who is chair of the children’s literature department, hosted her annual lecture as part of the Pat Keogh Memorial Lecture, “What’s New in Children’s Literature?” at the 4:30 p.m. timeslot.

The presentation, similar to those in past years, discussed the advancements and strides made in the industry in the year since her last presentation, while also recommending some of her favorite titles.

“I am deeply honored to be invited back after being with you, last year,” Mercier said.

She continued, “‘Last year.’ Remember that? This festival was on a dismal, cold, rainy November afternoon and evening. And, yet, we were warm in our bookish comforts, and we were warm together, gathered in one place. Without masks, without gloves, and without vats of hand sanitizer.

“This afternoon, we meet virtually, surrounded by the uncanny ordinaryness of COVID-19, by the daily hazards of racism, and by the unimaginable disruptions that threaten to unhinge our very democracy. … We gather here today in the indefatigable belief that literature, and especially literature for young people, has the capacity to affect change - has the obligation to affect change. Has the opportunity to affect change,” she said.

“We gather here today to celebrate with each other, in this community, the knowledge that good books make for good people.”

Mercier began to delve into specifics, regarding the realm of children’s and young adult literature.

“With over 5,000 books published for children and young adults, but with closed warehouses and expert distribution of e-titles for preview, and closed libraries and bookstores, 2020 has also meant decreased access to new titles,” she said.

In her presentation, Mercier recommended books such as Rita Hubbard and Oge Mora’s “The Oldest Student,” Duncan Tonatiuh’s “Feathered Serpent and the Five Suns,” Reimena Yee’s “Séance Tea Party,” and Carson Ellis’ “In the Half Room.”

Later on in the evening, Bruchac and Sweet spoke to the audience, as part of the Mary Burns Memorial Lecture. While it was plagued by connection iss es t fi st dien es e e en ossed in what each creator had to say about their works and their creative processes, as well as their life stories.

The lecture was introduced by F. Javier Cevallos, president of FSU, and Ellen Zimmerman, interim provost/ vice president of academic affairs.

“[The Children’s Literature Festival] is truly one of the great academic events of the year - we look [forward] to it every year with anticipation, because it is such a wonderful, wonderful event,” Cevallos said.

Zimmerman said, “I want to end my welcome to you all with this following acknowledgement: We would like to acknowledge that the land on which we live, work, learn, and commune is the original homelands of the Nipmuc Tribal Nations. We acknowledge the painful history of genocide and forced removal from this territory.

“We honor and respect the many diverse, indigenous peoples still connected to this land on which we gather,” she said.

After a brief introduction by Lisa Eck, professor and chair of the English department, Bruchac, an author of over 170 books for children and adults, took the “stage.”

Bruchac focused on one book, “Code Talker: A Novel About the Navajo Marines of World War Two,” during his talk, but he also spent a large part of his time talking about his life and upbringing.

“I should point out that as a storyteller and a writer, I always try to make sure that whatever I share does two important things: First of all, it should be entertaining, because, then, people will pay attention and remember,” Bruchac said.

He added, “But secondly, it should contain within it a useful lesson. Something that will be worth having heard, or read, a story.”

Speaking of stories, he shared one with the audience: “I want to tell you a story that, I think, may mean something to those of you who are trying

“We gather here today in the indefatigable belief that literature, and especially literature for young people, has the capacity to affect change - has the obligation to affect change. Has the opportunity to affect change.” - Cathie Mercier, professor at Simmons University

to write, who aspire to write. You see, there will always be people who will tell you that what you want to do, you cannot do.”

He spoke of his experiences at Cornell University as a wildlife conservation major and a varsity heavyweight wrestler for the school.

“I had a mind and I had ideas I wanted to share, and, because of that, I decided to take a course in creative writing,” Bruchac said. “My professor was a man named David Ray, and David took one look at me when I walked into the room - I had matte burns, I h d i o e e h d e y sho t haircut, and I was pretty muscular carrying a gym bag, and he immediately said, ‘This is the creative writing class - I think you’re in the wrong place.’”

He continued, “I said, ‘No, this is it. This is the course I want to take.’”

Bruchac described his struggles in the course, noting how after he turned in his fi st ssi n ent y to e it apart,” as well as the second and third assignments, prompting Ray to inform Bruchac that he “could drop this course.

“But I did not give up. I continued writing. … I ended up getting an ‘A’ in that course,” he said.

After that, Ray and Bruchac became close, personal friends.

Later, Bruchac talked to the audience about the Navajo Code Talkers Association, as well as facts regarding his novel, “Code Talkers.” This is also paired with experiences - both serious and hilarious - from his career, such as attending a dinner at the Library of Congress during the George W. Bush administration.

Sweet, the second featured speaker at the festival and illustrator of over 100 children’s books, came in after Bruchac. She provided the audience “an overview of her process and what she thinks about picture books,” with a concentration on biographies.

“For me as an artist, you have the opportunity to get these great manuscripts, or write a manuscript, that [searches] for who these people are, what they did in their lives, and how to bring it, visually, to the page - what was hard for them? All those small det i s nt to find o t e e ythin Sweet said.

“Of course, in a children’s picture book, we don’t have room to do everything, so we synthesize, and I think that’s the challenge and that’s, really, the fun for me,” she said.

From there, she talked about her upbringing as an artist in New Jersey, the toys she played with as a kid that helped her develop as an artist, as well as how she got her discipline, which she notes is “nine-tenths of the artist.”

“Before I got published, I kept busy taking classes,” she said. “And I learned calligraphy and hand-lettering. I knew I wanted to learn it, I thought it would be interesting, and maybe something I could use in my art.”

In her presentation, she delved into the process of creating some of her latest books, namely “Alphamaniacs: Builders of 26 Wonders of the Word” alongside Paul Fleischman and her own book, “Some Writer! The Story of E.B. White.”

“The slowness is important to me, working slowly and meticulously,” said Sweet of the process behind making the cover of “Alphamaniacs.”

Sweet closed her presentation with a quote from E.B. White: “All that I ever hoped to say in books, is that I o ed the o d. ess yo n find it in there, if you dig around.”