October 2, 2020

THE GATEPOST Framingham State’s award-winning independent student newspaper since 1932

Volume 89 • Issue 3

FSUgatepost.com

October 2, 2020

Chillin’ at the Grille

Donald Halsing / THE GATEPOST

The Ram’s Den Grille team (from left) J.B., Manny, Mike, and Roberto, prepared burgers, fries, and many more delicious menu items for the FSU community Oct. 1.

Framingham State proposes change to seal and logo

By Leighah Beausoleil News Editor President F. Javier Cevallos presented potential designs for an interim seal and logo for the University at the Board of Trustees’ meeting Sept.

23.

The new interim seal designs depict May Hall rather than the current imagery of a Native American.

Cevallos informed the University of a potential change in an Aug. 10 email.

According to the email, the decision to change the seal came after the Massachusetts Senate unanimously

voted to form a panel to redesign the state flag and seal. The Framingham State seal is based on the state seal.

The current seal depicts an “Algonquian Native American holding a bow and arrow pointing down, which signifies peace,” Cevallos wrote.

According to the email, the administration decided the seal “no longer lives up to our core values” in areas of diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Cevallos added, “We also recognize that many First Nations, Indigenous Peoples, and Native Americans view these types of depictions as symbols of white supremacy and reminders of genocide and violence.”

‘I am fertile ground’

According to Cevallos, the plan is to base the University seal on the new design for the state seal to maintain the historical connection to the state as the first public normal school in the country.

While the state Senate has voted to set up the panel, the House has not.

A staff person from the office of Rep. Maria Robinson, a Democrat representing the City of Framingham, said discussing the state seal is not currently on the House agenda.

She said the focus right now will be on budgeting.

The Mazmanian Art Gallery continued their Tuesday Talks series earlier this week with artist Janine Antoni.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, in-person presentations for the fall semester have been postponed. Instead, the Mazmanian Art Gallery will be holding virtual presentations through Zoom every few weeks with their featured presenter.

Antoni, who was born in the Bahamas, graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree from Sarah Lawrence College and her Master of Fine Arts from Rhode Island School of Design.

Her work has been featured in many exhibitions both nationally and internationally.

Antoni started by showing the virtual audience one of the first pieces she created out of graduate school, a work titled “Wean.” This piece, according to Antoni, represents a child weaning off of their mother’s breast and instead moving on to bottles.

“I was thinking of stages of separation we go through with our own bodies as we are weaned into the culture,” Antoni said. “I was trying to figure out how to make a piece about absence with an object present in the room.”

The piece incorporates several imprints starting with a negative imprint of her breast. The next imprint

LIBRARY CIVIC ENGAGEMENT pg. 3 COVID-19 BY THE NUMBERS pg. 4-5

Opinions

See UNIVERSITY SEAL page 6 STOP DRUG STIGMA pg. 7 THANK YOU WOMEN pg. 7

Janine Antoni shares art with Framinham State

By Cara McCarthy Associate Editor

News

is her nipple, followed by three imprints of baby bottle nipples and the packaging they came in.

This is not the only piece of artwork Antoni has done that incorporates her own body into the work.

According to the Mazmanian Art Gallery website, “Janine Antoni is a visual artist who is known for her unusual processes. Her body is both her tool for making and the source from which her meaning arises.”

Another piece Antoni talked about in her presentation was her work that was made out of 500 pounds of chocolate.

“I chewed on it [the chocolate] for a month and half,” she said.

See MAZ GAL page 14

Sports CROSS COUNTRY pg. 9

Arts & Features

GLOBE THEATER ZOOM LECTURE pg. 11 VRAM pg. 13

INSIDE: OP/ED 7 • SPORTS 9 • ARTS & FEATURES 10

NEWS

2 | OCTOBER 2, 2020

Editorial Board

Gatepost Interview

Editor-in-Chief Ashley Wall Associate Editors Donald Halsing Cara McCarthy News Editors Leighah Beausoleil Arts & Features Editors Brennan Atkins Robert Johnson Jr. Asst. Arts & Features Editor Jared Graf Opinions Editor McKenzie Ward Design Editor Kathleen Moore Photos Editor Caroline Gordon Staff Writers Danielle Achin Patrick Brady Kaitlin Burch Dan Fuentes Haley Hadge Ashlyn Kelly Caroline Lanni Johan Perez Lydia Staber Advisor Dr. Desmond McCarthy Asst. Advisor Elizabeth Banks

Olivia Beverlie

Student Government Association President

By Leighah Beausoleil News Editor What made you want to get involved in student government?

My freshman year, I was kind of bored and wanted to join a club, and I had been in student council in high school. So, I decided, “Why don’t I check out student government ” and went to their first meeting, and I just decided that, “Yeah, this is something I wanted to be a part of.”

What made you want to attend FSU? The funny thing is I actually didn’t want to go to FSU in the beginning. I remember, I was at a college fair my senior year of high school with my mom.

I already kind of knew where I wanted to go to college. I thought I wanted to go to SNHU [Southern New Hampshire University]. And my mom was like, “Oh, but we should still go to this college fair.” And we saw a table about tuition, like reimbursement type of stuff, and how you can go to certain schools and get in-state tuition for your major.

Framingham State was listed on there under criminology, and my mom was like, “Maybe we should just go tour. You never know - you might like it. And I was like, “Oh, OK. Whatever.” So, my mom made me go tour the school, and I fell in love with the campus that day. I was really excited about it. … Then, when got my letter for financial aid, it was the best financial aid package had got.

It was just the best option for me to be able to live on campus, and also not be paying an exorbitant amount of money.

What would you say is your greatest accomplishment during your time in SGA? I think my greatest accomplishment is probably within the work I did last year as student trustee - advocating for students and holding administrators accountable. I think I have to say my greatest accomplishment was holding successful Administrators’ Forums because we got a really good turnout for both semesters, and a lot of students were very happy with how it went. They were able to voice their opinions, and a lot of great things have come out of that. The CIE renovation kind of started as a student concern at Administrators’ Forum, and now SGA has been able to donate some money to help out with that. Now the CIE is getting completely renovated because of an Administrators’ Forum. And while it wasn’t me who brought up the concern, I was able to help students get to that point, and be able to voice their

100 State Street McCarthy Center Room 410 Framingham, MA 01701-9101 Phone: (508) 626-4605 Fax: (508) 626-4097 gatepost@framingham.edu

@TheGatepost | FSUgatepost.com

Courtesy of Olivia Beverlie opinion in a good manner.

What changes has SGA had to undergo due to COVID-19?

First off, no more in-person meetings. Obviously, everything is on Zoom, which is hard for us because we’re very debate-centered and voting-centered.

So, not being able to have that in-person communication is definitely difficult. e don t have an open office anymore, which is kind of sad because we used to have to do office hours, and we would keep our door open so students could come in if they had questions or clubs could come in. o, that s definitely been different. We haven’t had as much funding, obviously, to do because a lot of clubs are on like active hiatus, or they’re just inactive because they decided that’s what they wanted to do. So, we haven’t been seeing like any funding reuests because of that. o, it s definitely been different because on the club end of things, there’s not as much work to do. But there’s still so much more work that we’re doing at a University level in terms of policies and procedures. So, it’s definitely been like a shift away from club funding like we normally do, but honestly, it’s kind of a blessing in disguise because that’s what we’ve been wanting to do for a while. We don’t want to be seen as just a bank. It’s been nice that we’ve been able to focus our efforts toward other things.

What is your favorite part about being on SGA? I would say the relationships I’ve built from it. I know that’s a cheesy thing to say about all clubs, but it really is the

truth. I found my best friends by being involved with this organization - people that have honestly, truly changed my life, and changed my life path, and helped me do that. Every Tuesday night when we have Senate, I get excited to see my friends and other members of SGA because I just know that they’re my people. I have found my best friends through this organization, and I’ve convinced my friends who weren’t in the organization to join, and that kind of built our friendship a little bit stronger. o, as cheesy as it may sound, it definitely is the people, honestly.

What advice do you have for your FSU peers?

I’d say right now, especially with the way things are going, I just want everyone to remember how important self care is. It’s something that I’ve had to struggle with reminding myself to do.

The world is a crazy place right now, especially within the last few weeks. It’s an election year, and human rights are on the line. So, it’s very normal to be stressed right now, even if you’re not a club leader. … I would say self care, and taking time out of the day to do something for yourself. I know we all get caught up in thinking homework is the most important thing at the moment, but just taking time to do something that makes you genuinely happy - whatever that is - making sure you’re taking care of your mental health. Take care of yourself because it’s the only way we can all get through this.

CONNECT WITH LEIGHAH BEAUSOLEIL lbeausoleil@student.framingham.edu

Police Logs Monday, Sept. 28 00:59 Medical Corinne Towers Hall Transport to Hospital

Tuesday, Sept. 29 04:36 Noise Complaint State Street Unfounded

Tuesday, Sept. 29 22:07 Assist Residence Life Horace Mann Hall Report to be filed

Wednesday, Sept. 30 01:50 Code Blue Phone Problem Larned Hall Three ghost calls

NEWS

OCTOBER 2, 2020 | 3

Whittemore Library receives $7,500 grant

By Dan Fuentes Staff Writer The Henry Whittemore Library received a $7,500 grant to help increase civic engagement during this academic year, according to a University press release.

The Civic Hub grant was awarded to the Library by the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners (MBLC).

The Whittemore Library will partner with several campus and local organizations to create a virtual and on-campus civic engagement hub. The Library will reach many outside of the campus by capturing and archiving all of the activities sponsored by the grant.

The activities will begin in October and will coincide with the Presidential campaign.

The goal is to build a sustainable civic community, and the only way to achieve this is through engagement with students.

According to Millie Gonzalez, interim dean of Whittemore Library, this grant will be used to promote a number of events to increase civic engagement on campus.

In an interview, Gonzalez said, “I was lucky enough to partner with different organizations both on- and off-campus to really look at different aspects of civic engagement.”

“It will involve many types of civic engagement-related topics like fake news, the election, and book discussions. We also have events - for example, racial healing circles - and also information and events related to cli-

mate change,” Gonzalez added.

The healing circles will serve to proactively deal with the effects of racial trauma.

In addition, the grant will fund guest lectures, a photo exhibit, podcasts, and videos to promote civic engagement.

According to the proposal, “By engaging students with provocative events, capturing their re ections about issues, providing them with credible information and training, and engaging in healing conversations. ...

The Library and its partners will lead the effort to build a civic community.”

Gonzalez added, “What is exciting about the grant, really, for me, is to open up the idea of what it means to be civically engaged.”

Rob Favini, head of library advisory & development for the MBLC, said the hittemore Library was, “a perfect fit for our Civic Hub grant.”

Favini said he believes the grant program will engage the community to bring forth change. Part of this program will address the apathy and disconnectedness that affects young adults. He added that participation in the electoral process has never been more important.

“The fact that this grant is being carried out by an academic library is really exciting, since most of the MBLC grants go to public libraries,” Favini said.

Addressing issues that keep people from taking an active and knowledgeable role is vital, he added. He expects this grant will have a wider impact across campus - beyond the library.

Gatepost Archives According to the grant application, the project looks to embed the concept of civic engagement within existing FSU programs and activities.

Some activities, like the racial healing circles, will continue well past the grant period. The library will be purchasing a Padcaster and training both students and staff to use it for filming, editing, and uploading.

The Padcaster will be available for use for interested faculty and classes after the grant period ends.

The Center for Civic Engagement will continue training and events using images and videos archived from the Civic Hub project.

According to Gonzalez, initially, the civic engagement project was developed for a pre-COVID-19 world. Luckily enough, a number of events were transitioned to the virtual meeting format with ease.

She said promoting discourse is the most important part of democracy - a healthy way of being able to talk about issues, even though we may not agree with each other. he program officially kicks off with a lecture about the Nineteenth Amendment on Oct. 6.

CONNECT WITH DAN FUENTES dfuentes@student.framingham.edu

“What is exciting about the grant, really, for me, is to open up the idea of what it means to be civically engaged.”

- Millie Gonzalez, Interim Dean of Whittemore Library

Correction In the Sept. 25 issue of The Gatepost, we listed Gabby Cochrane’s title incorrectly. She is actually a senior biology major not associate dean of academic success and director of casa. This title belongs to LaDonna Bridges. We apologize for this error.

Weather

Sunday night Oct. 4 50% chance of showers, mostly cloudy, low near 45. Calm wind.

Monday night Oct. 5 Mostly cloudy, low near 45. Light N wind.

Forecast provided by the National Weather Service www.weather.gov Tuesday night Oct. 6 Wednesday night Oct. 7 Partly cloudy, low near 70% chance of showers, 50. S winds around 5 mostly cloudy, low near mph.

50. SW winds around 10 mph.

Monday Oct. 5 70% chance of showers, mostly cloudy, high near 60. NE winds around 5 mph.

Tuesday Oct. 6 Mostly sunny, high near 65. W winds around 5 mph.

Wednesday Oct. 7 30% chance of showers, partly sunny, high near 70. S winds around 10 mph.

Thursday Oct. 8 30% chance of shower, mostly sunny, high near 65. W winds around 10 mph.

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

NEWS

4 | OCTOBER 2, 2020

COVID-19 by the numbers

October 2, 2020

By Donald Halsing Associate Editor

By Leighah Beausoleil News Editor

By Kathleen Moore Design Editor The number of positive COVID-19 cases grew by 1% worldwide since last week based on data from various sources taken Sept. 30.

In the United States, the number of positive COVID-19 cases grew by 1.5% since last week.

Framingham State University administered 601 tests within the past week, and 2,818 total tests, according to the COVID-19 data page on the FSU website.

Two individuals tested positive Sept. 29, according to an Oct. 1 update email from President F. Javier Cevallos.

The individuals have been “moved into isolation” and contract tracing started, he said.

Five-hundred-ninety-one individuals tested negative within the past week. The 7-day negative test rate is 99.66%.

A total of 2,779 negative, and 17 positive results, were returned in the past 30 days. The 30-day negative test rate is 99.39%.

About 3% of Framingham residents tested positive for COVID-19. There were 41 new infections, 30 new recoveries, and two new deaths reported.

Of those who contracted the virus, just over 50% remain infected. Over 45% have recovered and about 3% have died.

The overall death rate from COVID-19 in Framingham is just under 0.2%.

Under 2% of Massachusetts residents tested positive for COVID-19.

There were 3,377 new infections, 2,082 new recoveries, and 305 new deaths.

Slightly more than 50% of those who contracted the virus remain infected.

Almost 45% have recovered, and almost 4% have died.

The overall death rate from COVID-19 in Massachusetts is under 0.15%.

Just above 2% of United States residents tested positive for COVID-19.

There were 267,129 infections, 166,346 new recoveries, and 4,419 new deaths.

Slightly over 70% of those who contracted the virus remain infected. Over 25% of the population has recovered.

As with last week, the national-level recovery rate is about 20% less than local and state values, and the death rate is 1% lower.

The overall death rate from COVID-19 in the United States remains near 0.06%. There were 1,975,206 new infections, 1,635,126 new recoveries, and 35,361 new deaths.

Globally, under 0.5% of the population has tested positive for COVID-19.

Out of those who contracted the

virus, nearly 60% remain infected. Recoveries are just over 40%, and fewer than 2% have died.

The overall death rate from COVID-19 globally is 0.01%.

Data sources: Framingham State University Town of Framingham MA population: United States Census Bureau – QuickFacts Massachusetts US and World population: United States Census Bureau – US and World Population Clock MA data: WCVB US data: CDC, New York Times Recovery data: Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center World data: WHO, Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center *Calculations for each small table are made using both data from this week and last week’s data published in The Gatepost.

Kathleen Moore / THE GATEPOST

Framingham

Kathleen Moore / THE GATEPOST

@TheGatepost | FSUgatepost.com

Massachusetts

NEWS

OCTOBER 2, 2020 | 5

Kathleen Moore / THE GATEPOST

United States

Kathleen Moore / THE GATEPOST

World

Kathleen Moore / THE GATEPOST CONNECT WITH DONALD HALSING dhalsing@student.framingham.edu

CONNECT WITH LEIGHAH BEAUSOLEIL lbeausoleil@student.framingham.edu

CONNECT WITH KATHLEEN MOORE kmoore8@student.framingham.edu

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

6 | OCTOBER 2, 2020

NEWS

University seal In an email, Rep. Jack Lewis, a Democrat representing Ashland and the City of Framingham, said there are still months left in the current legislative cycle, and there is still time for the House to debate and pass the legislation for a new state seal.

Lewis said a bill to form a panel, composed of Indigenious voices, to review and recommend a new state seal, has been filed every year since 1984.

According to Lewis, the state seal was never “intended to honor native peoples as some now retroactively argue.

“The original seal was developed at a time when local governments and later the Massachusetts Legislature offered bounties for native scalps,” he added.

“Technical fixes alone are not going to bring about the true racial justice our Commonwealth and country need,” Lewis said. “Symbols convey great power and are visual representations of our values, and this symbol, and the outdated colonialist ideals it represents, needs to change.”

In an interview, Cevallos said although the administration wants to maintain the historical connection the seal has to the state, change on the state level won’t happen anytime

Courtesy of Framingham State

Gatepost Archives soon.

Therefore, the interim designs were presented to the Board of Trustees.

At the Board of Trustees’ meeting, Dale Hamel, executive vice president, said the interim seal depicts May Hall in an attempt to maintain that historical connection as does the City of Framingham’s seal.

Cevallos said a governance committee will consider the new designs and make a recommendation when they meet Oct. 2.

In an interview, Cevallos said there are a lot of factors involved in changing the University’s seal. The seal is everywhere - whether it’s on the basketball court or University pamphlets. The change will take two to three years once the Trustees approve the new design.

“It’s not enough to talk about diversity and inclusion,” Cevallos said.

“We have to take a proactive stance about racism. We have to get rid of it.

“We have to do our best to real- built on campus. ly learn to respect every person for Morse-Patterson said, “I also feel what every person is,” he added. like it has more of a clear connection Most students interviewed were in and symbolism with the school comfavor of changing the University seal pared to a Native American, which and logo.

I know can definitely be controverEmily Atherton, a sophomore psy- sial.” chology major, said, “I think it’s imWalsh said, “Personally, I am not portant to acknowledge the original offended by this logo, but I can unseal, but also to correct the wrong derstand if my peers are offended by that has been done. I’m all for the it. change if it means bettering our cam“I feel like if the goal is to make pus and school in the name of doing Framingham a more inclusive comwhat is right. munity, where everyone feels wel“We have to do our part in moving come, and there is no room for a logo toward a better society and world,” being misinterpreted, then I think Atherton added. depicting May Hall as a logo is a good Katie Dwyer, a junior criminology idea,” she added. major, said, “I don’t think they should Alyssa Cafarelli, a junior early change it, but that’s my opinion.” childhood education and psychology Kerri Morse-Patterson, a senior major, said, “With all that is going on studio art major, and Samantha in the world today, I strongly believe Walsh, a sophomore biology ma- this is a change Framingham needs jor, both said they liked the idea of to make.” changing the seal to May Hall because it was one of the first buildings CONNECT WITH LEIGHAH BEAUSOLEIL lbeausoleil@student.framingham.edu

“Symbols convey great power and are visual representations of our values, and this symbol, and the outdated colonialist ideals it represents, needs to change.”

- Jack Lewis, House Representative for Ashland and the City of Framingham @TheGatepost | FSUgatepost.com

OP/ED

OP/ ED THE GATEPOST EDITORIAL

More than their pasts

This week, President Donald Trump reached a new low in presidential debates when he attacked Democratic nominee Joe Biden’s about his son - Hunter Biden - rather than his policies and proposals.

When Trump decided to falsely accuse Joe Biden’s son of a dishonorable discharge from the United States Military for drug use, Biden responded with transparency and honesty.

“My son, like a lot of people… had a drug problem,” Joe Biden said.

“He’s overtaken it. He’s fixed it. He’s worked on it. And I’m proud of him,” he added.

“I’m proud of my son.”

The last thing Joe Biden should have had to do during Tuesday night’s presidential debate was defend his son, and justify his son’s road to recovery to almost 73 million viewers.

But in that moment, Joe Biden’s openness about his son’s struggle with his addiction and his recovery showed us the potential for substantial changes to how we as Americans understand this ongoing issue that affects millions of Americans each year.

At the same time, this moment in the debate highlighted the damaging stigma placed on people struggling with drug addiction.

Trump’s insensitive comments toward Hunter Biden do not represent how the leader of a nation should speak, especially because substance abuse is an issue that affects millions of Americans each year without regard to their age, class, race, or gender.

According to The Washington Post, substance abuse kills approximately 70,000 Americans a year.

The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) website states, “The stigmatization of people with substance use disorders may be even more problematic in the current COVID-19 crisis.

“In addition to their greater risk through homelessness and drug use itself, the legitimate fear around contagion may mean that bystanders or even first responders will be reluctant to administer naloxone [Narcan] to people who have overdosed,” NIDA’s website claims.

A U.S. President should never publicly call out a recovering addict. Actions such as Trump’s create the false idea that those struggling with drug addiction are bad people in the minds of those who are uneducated about the difficulty of recovery.

NIDA defines drug addiction as “a chronic, relapsing disorder characterized by compulsive drug seeking, continued use despite harmful consequences, and long-lasting changes in the brain.”

Those with abuse problems are blamed for their disease, but addiction is a complex disorder. Instead of passing judgement, we need to come together as a society to normalize these discussions.

There is nothing wrong with talking about

addiction.

Rather than ostracize a recovering addict, we should instead celebrate the achievement that is getting clean.

Trump’s verbal attacks and mocking is only going to increase society’s rejection of those suffering from addiction.

Stigmatizing those struggling with addiction drowns out any support these victims are offered.

Even those who attempt to seek recovery are often shamed and ridiculed for their past choices.

Instead of putting these victims of addiction in prison, we should be guiding them, and supporting their recovery.

In the eyes of many, those suffering from addiction are no longer seen as people.

Instead, many only see the drugs when they look into the eyes of someone suffering with addiction.

This problem involves both a society where hate is louder than kindness, and where people are not properly educated about drug addiction and recovery.

Instead of judging our friends and families for their substance abuse, we need to spread awareness and give them a supportive environment that makes recovery possible.

No one should have to struggle alone in their battle with substance abuse, and Trump had no right to make the remarks he did during the debate.

Whether or not we like to admit it, almost all of us know someone who has struggled with addiction at one point or another, just as Hunter Biden has.

We owe it to our friends, our families, and to each other to contribute to a society that prioritizes people’s lives and ability to fight their demons instead of politicizing the issue of addiction.

If you or someone you know is struggling with substance use disorders, SAMHSA’s National Helpline is “a free, confidential, 24/7, 365-day-a-year treatment referral and information service (in English and Spanish) for individuals and families facing mental and/or substance use disorders.” The phone number is 1-800-662-HELP (4357).

Have an opinion?

Feel free to email it to: gatepost@framingham.edu Opinions should be about 750 words.

Anyone can submit.

We look forward to hearing from you!

OCTOBER 2, 2020 | 7

A thank you to the women before me

By McKenzie Ward Opinions Editor

On Sept. 18, the Associated Press reported, “Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg dies at 87.”

At first, I didn’t believe it. Although I knew Justice Ginsburg had faced several health complications over the years, I never imagined her passing because she was essentially a superhero.

At least ... my superhero.

As a young woman dreaming of one day becoming an attorney, I frequently found myself admiring the strength of Justice Ginsburg and marveling at the impact she had on women’s rights.

Justice Ginsburg was one of nine women in her Harvard Law class before she transferred to Columbia Law School. During her time at Harvard Law School, she was scolded for taking a seat “meant” for a man by Harvard Law School’s Dean and was not allowed to study in the law library due to her gender, according to NBC Boston.

Not only had Justice Ginsburg served as a role model for young women like myself, but she spent her legal career fighting for women’s rights and participated in critical Supreme Court rulings, including Obgerfell v. Hodges, which legalized same-sex marriage nationwide in 2015, and Whole Women’s Health v. Hellerstedt, which struck down strict restrictions and requirements on abortion providers in 2016.

She was only the second woman to serve on the Supreme Court and was also well known by her very fitting nickname, Notorious R.B.G, a take-off on the stage name of well-known rapper Notorious B.I.G. For future women attorneys like myself, we need role models like Justice Ginsburg in places of power in our government.

Not just women.

But women who care about fighting for others.

Often, I find myself discouraged when I look at photos of Congress and remember that only 25% of the members of the Senate and 23% of the members of the House are women, according to U.S. News and World Report, although women make up 51% of the population in the United States. But then I look at women like Justice Ginsburg and Justice Sonia Sotomayor and realize that I deserve a place in a male-dominated career if I earn the privilege.

A democracy is supposed to be representative of the population it serves.

When only one fourth or less of the members of Congress are women, how are women supposed to be represented fairly?

I am so sick and tired of hearing the same misogynistic questions or comments after stating, “I want to be an attorney.”

“Women are too emotional to be in politics.”

Wonder if that view changed after the Presidential debate.

“Will you have time to have a family with the workload?”

“So, do you want to go to law school because of ‘Legally Blonde’?”

No, I am going to law school to follow in the steps of the countless women who walked the halls of male-dominated law schools and sat in courtrooms full of men who looked down upon them solely due to their gender.

Going to law school will provide me the opportunity to make a real change in this country.

Although I am dedicated to my goal of one day being accepted into a prestigious law school and being able to practice law after successfully passing the Bar exam, I would not be able to have this dream without the women before me who continued to persist against the countless challenges they faced and have spent their careers making sure that I would have a place one day there, too.

The women before me, including Justice Ginsburg, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and countless other women working in positions of power in our government, have experienced hurdles in their careers, but nevertheless, they persisted.

Due to their hard work and refusal to settle, they have made it possible for me to dream bigger than just being an attorney, and they have shown me that I should never settle when it comes to my dreams for my career or my personal life.

To Justice Ginsburg, thank you.

Because of your hard work, I will continue to fight for issues I care about in a way that will inspire others to fight with me.

Your fight is not over.

Your passion will live on in the women like myself whom you have inspired.

Your fight is now mine and that of every single powerful woman in this country.

May your memory be a blessing.

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

OP/ED

8 | OCTOBER 2, 2020

Campus Conversations

What did you think of the first presidential debate between Donald Trump and Joe Biden ?

By Donald Halsing, Associate Editor

“Trump interrupting everything Biden said was rude.”

-Melanie Lucier, sophomore

“I think there were a lot of things that went wrong that could have gone a lot smoother.”

-Megean Law, freshman

“Embarrassing, hard-to-watch, childish, and misinformation.”

-Avry Guiel, freshman

“It was the worst! … It was really just a yelling contest. It didn’t really seem like there was question-andanswering. I was pretty disappointed that Donald Trump didn’t condemn white supremacy.”

-Jacob Stearns, freshman

“I think it was comical to watch two grown adults bicker on stage, when one is the president. It was embarrassing to watch.”

-Toni Silva, freshman

“It was a mess. They were very childish about it: they didn’t give each other time to talk.”

-Djeila Barbosa, freshman

“It was a cluster of stuff, they didn’t really achieve much. It was more of personal chats - it became more personal than them discussing the issues.”

-Christian Viens, freshman

“I thought it was very irritating - a lot of interrupting - but, also kind of entertaining.”

-Kaleb Kinskey, freshman

“I thought it was embarrassing - it was actually hard to watch. I think they’re both idiots and I don’t think anything good is going to come of it.”

-Owen Roy, junior

“I’ve heard about it, but I didn’t watch it.”

-Samantha Boval, freshman

“I thought it was childish. It was like a fourth-grade debate.”

-Juliana Dress, freshman

“They didn’t seem professional. They argued over each other - nobody was letting the other talk.”

p d b o re e t t e op o o t e r t or o l d do ot e e r l re e t t o e o e tepo t or t t @T e

tepo t | FSU tepo t o

-Andres Urena, freshman

OCTOBER 2, 2020 | 9

THE GATEPOST

SPORTS Cross country team pushes forward Captains reflect on past seasons

By Caroline Gordon Editorial Staff Cross country captains Kevin Durant and Adam Banat said they felt disappointed and heartbroken about their canceled season.

“I was surprised how everything just happened so fast,” Durant said. “I was disappointed the season was canceled.

I take it as just a reason to get better it’s good to rest up.”

Banat said, “I was heartbroken. I had a feeling it was going to happen but, in my heart, I did not want it to happen. We trained over the summer thinking the season was going to happen. But once it happened, I just stopped training. I was not motivated to run anymore.”

He added, “I would love to have had the season this year, but there is nothing we can do. We need to move on and keep training.”

To keep busy, Banat said the team has been practicing three days a week, as well as running to keep fit.

Durant does not think this season should have been canceled.

“For our sport, I don’t think it had to be canceled. Cross country is not a touchy sport, you run in your own space.”

When asked about his extra free time Durant replied, “I have been running a lot more than I would be during

the season. I have also been doing classes and stuff.”

Durant said he averages 60 to 65 miles per week.

Despite COVID-19 canceling their season, the cross country team still runs together.

Banat said, “Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays we run as a team and we are also supposed to be running on our own the other days.”

He continued, “I currently average 20 miles per week.”

There are no seniors on the cross country team, so nobody is missing their last season.

“We do not have any seniors currently. But, when spring track got canceled last semester, the seniors were so sad. One of the seniors studied abroad the year before, so she missed two years in a row which was brutal for her,” said Banat.

He added, “Our expectation for this semester was to try and get everyone to run together without the coach before we started practice together.”

The cross country team is trying to stay in good spirits, and the four captains are doing their best to welcome new freshmen during unsettling times.

When asked about goals for the season, Durant said he wants the team to remain competitive and healthy.

Both runners also had personal records they were hoping to break.

“I was hoping to hit the 27-minute mark for the 8K,” said Durant.

Banat said, “I wanted to hit top eight on the team again to go below a half hour for the 8K.” When asked about their relationships with the team, both had positive replies.

“Last year, I don’t think there was a day we did not do anything together.

Whether it was going to dinner after practice or hanging out in Towers we were always together. We have made pies, watched movies, and gone out to dinner off-campus,” said Banat.

Both Banat and Durant recalled exciting memories from their time on the cross country team.

“Probably going to Maine every year for regionals. Going as a team was a good experience,” said Durant.

He added, “Competing against the region is really fun!”

Banat agreed.

“Yeah, I can say the same. The conference meeting is always fun every year,” he said. “It was nice to go to Maine, even though the three-and-ahalf-hour ride was no fun.”

He added, “Getting the hotel overnight was nice.”

Framingham State cross-country has altered their lives for the better, they said.

“I can say, that as I am a commuter, if I did not do cross country, I would

not have made as many friends in the beginning. The connections I made are great,” said Banat.

Durant said, “Framingham cross country has helped my life by making me push myself and by making myself a better person.”

Although COVID-19 has had numerous negative effects, they managed to find positives during their time off.

Both captains said it was nice to spend time with family throughout the pandemic, since they usually get home late and wake up early for practice.

When asked which runners inspire them the most, Durant said Eliza Weisse, one of the captains on the women’s cross country team.

“I would say Eliza Weisse. She pushes me every day to go for a run. Even when I am not feeling it, she makes me go for a run no matter what,” said Durant.

He added, “She always stays in touch with me.”

Banat said, “I think for me, last year Jaydon [Kinuthia] and Aidan [Estrella] because they just pushed [the team] hard.”

CONNECT WITH CAROLINE GORDON cgordon4@student.framingham.edu

“Last year, I don’t think there was a day “Framingham cross country has helped my life by making me push we did not do anything together. Whether myself and by making myself a better it was going to dinner after practice or hanging out in Towers we were always person.”

- Kevin Durant

Kevin Durant / Photo courtesy of FSU Athletics

together. ”

- Adam Banat

Adam Banat / Photo courtesy of FSU Athletics

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10 | OCTOBER 2, 2020

ARTS & FEATURES

ARTS & FEATURES Machine Gun Kelly sells tickets to his evolution

By Cara McCarthy Associate Editor Colson Baker, better known as Machine Gun Kelly (MGK/Kells) shocked the music scene when he announced he was putting his “wild boy” persona down to produce his first pop punk album.

The album, “Tickets to My Downfall,” was released by Interscope Records Sept. 25.

While MGK has been in the scene since the early 2010’s, he has become more popular in the last few years after collaborations with big names such as YUNGBLUD and Camilla Cabello.

The record, in collaboration with Travis Barker of Blink-182, features several other world famous artists including Halsey, Trippie Redd, Blackbear, and even a new song with YUNGBLUD featured on the deluxe edition of the album.

While the album strays away from MGK’s typical sound, he still manages to hold true to what he loves most - his family, girlfriend, and music.

Fans were equally as shocked as they were excited to learn that Kells had recently begun dating Megan Fox when she was featured in his music video for his first single off the album, “bloody valentine.”

As MGK sings in the chorus, “I don’t do fake love / but I’ll take some from you tonight / I know, I got to go / but I might ust miss the ight.”

Throughout the album, there are several songs that seem to be written about Fox including “banyan interlude,” which starts with a conversation between the two of them.

While this interlude is somewhat slower than the rest of the album, MGK is quick to speed the record up in “forget me too,” featuring his close friend Halsey.

The song, accompanied by heavy drums by Barker, is one of the heaviest tracks on the album with powerful guitar and drum beats. MGK’s grunge-like vocals mixed with Halsey’s wide vocal range makes the perfect cocktail for a song as intense as this.

In the saddest but also the most beautiful song on the album, “play this when i’m gone,” Baker shares a song he wrote just for his daughter to help her when he passes away. In a way, he is giving his daughter a gift he wishes he got from his father before he died earlier this summer.

“I’m not gonna lie and tell you it’s

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alright, it’s alright / You’re gonna cry and baby that’s alright, it’s alright,” as MGK sings the chorus.

While many fans are used to Kells vulgar rap style, his willingness to pack a lot of that away for this album and focus more on the art rather than shock value. he first track on the album, appropriately named “title track,” sets the tone for the rest of the album. Similar to how the rest of the album has it’s heavy moments followed by slower and more emotional tracks, “title track” does the exact same thing in a matter of three minutes.

The track starts slow with Kells voice accompanied by an acoustic guitar as he sings “I sold some tickets / To come see my downfall / It sold out in minutes / I saw friends in the front row.”

He keeps this slow tempo up until the pre-chorus when Barker’s heavy drum beats are incorporated into the track, “I use a razor to take off the edge / ‘jump off the ledge,’ they said / ‘Take the laser, aim at my head / and paint the walls red,’ I said.”

This momentum remains throughout the rest of the song, setting the tone for the rest of the album and is perfectly placed as the first track you hear. “kiss kiss” and “drunk face” are two tracks on the album that re ect the pop-punk style of music people are used to. Again, Barker provides the heavy drums and MGK uses incredibly strong vocals to accompany the beat.

Baker also took the time to write a song in memory of his aunt and his father titled “lonely.”

The track, which starts off slow and picks up slightly in the chorus, centers around his rocky relationship with his father and his regret that they didn’t mend their relationship sooner as he passed away in July of 2020.

Due to COVID-19, MGK was unable to see his father in the final days of his life as he sings in the third verse, “The last time I saw you / I cried, I wish you had more time left / The last time I heard you / They held the phone, you took your last breath.”

He then shares the same testament toward his aunt, who acted as a mother after his biological mom abandoned him in his childhood. His aunt died in 2017.

“You called your sister / She cried when she picked me up / Goddamn, how I miss her / ‘cause she didn’t give

a f***.”

The track ends with his father’s voice telling the story of Baker’s birth which reveals he had a heart problem, the umbilical cord was wrapped around his neck, and that his parents didn’t think their son was going to survive.

MGK revealed in Kerrang! that he kept that story in there because “even before I came out of the womb, I was already trying to take myself out of this world - almost feeling like I shouldn’t be here or something.”

However, this album, like many, does not come without its fair share of controversy.

Earlier this year, Kells and his label launched a contest to decide what the album art would be for the record.

Unbeknownst to Baker or the label, the artwork that won the contest was copyrighted, forcing Kells to change the cover last minute.

Due to COVID-19, the release date for “Tickets to My Downfall,” was pushed back.

Baker, instead of letting the record sit on a shelf until it was time to release it, wrote several more tracks, and even covered several other artists’ songs throughout the summer and put them on Youtube.

Almost immediately fans were asking if his covers would be available on popular streaming platforms like Spotify and Apple Music.

In the deluxe version of the album, fans got just what they asked for.

While not all of the songs he covered are on the album - namely his collaboration with YUNGBLUD to cover “Champagne Supernova,” by Oasis - he did include his cover of Paramore’s “Misery Business.”

Surprisingly, the only rap element in the entire album did not come from MGK himself, instead, blackbear hopped on “my ex’s best friend” to add a rap element to the record.

While Kells is on vocals singing the chorus, “I swear to god, I never fall in love , Then you showed up and I can’t get enough of it.”

Meanwhile, blackbear joins in for the second verse, “First off, I’m not sorry, I won’t apologize to nobody / You play like I’m invisible, girl, don’t act like you ain’t saw me.”

Finally, blackbear gradually speeds up towards the end of the verse, “But look at this damage you did to me / I still want nothing to do between you and me / Please don’t say nothin’, it

all sounds so true to me / We don’t got nothin’ to say.”

While the cover MGK did with YUNGBLUD did not appear on the album, the duo did release a new song in the deluxe version of the album titled, “body bag.”

Equally, if not, the heaviest track on the album emerges from “body bag,” with even stronger guitar from Kells and mysterious drum beats from Barker. hile the album itself is significantly different from the wild boy’s typical style, his evolution is something to be acknowledged.

Despite rap battles between him and Eminem and being called a sellout by several fans who preferred his older style, Machine Gun Kelly’s latest album shows his evolution after nearly 10 years in the business.

While yes, I fell in love with the MGK who relied heavily on shock value in his lyrics and would rap about smoking weed and dodging the cops - I can’t help but admire MGK shedding his skin and letting Colson Baker take the spotlight for a little while.

Interscope Records

Grade: A Colson Baker proves he’s more than just The Gunner.

CONNECT WITH CARA MCCARTHY cmccarthy8@student.framingham.edu

ARTS & FEATURES

OCTOBER 2, 2020 | 11

Dr. Will Tosh presents ‘Understanding Theatre Spaces’

By Brennan Atkins

Arts & Features Editor Dr. Will Tosh, a postdoctoral research fellow at The Globe Theater, London, discussed architecture, British theatrical history, and Shakespeare’s impact on performance with Professor Kristen Abbott Bennett’s class, Studies in Shakespeare.

The talk titled “Understanding Theatre Spaces” was presented via Zoom Sept. 24.

The Zoom lecture was accompanied by a picture slideshow of different theaters around the world - the first shown was the Dwight Performing Art Center. Tosh asked the audience, “What do you see in that space that really speaks theater?”

The audience replied, suggesting the curtains, lighting, and positioning of seats are what make a theater space theatrical. “We’re really used to that as a kind of idea of what a theater looks like. We sit in the dark, we look at the space in front of us, we’re told a story, and we receive what’s going on.

“That’s not really the deal at the Globe. That’s not what happens,” he said.

Tosh explained how the architecture of the Globe Theater results in a vastly different viewing experience than watching the same play on a contemporary stage. One big difference is the Globe Theater lacks any sort of Proscenium arch - the audience doesn’t sit in front of the actors, but rather, all around them.

This means set change, costume switching, and other actors’ duties are never hidden from the audience’s view - and it forces the Globe to be part of the play itself.

Tosh described how modern theater spaces are designed in such a way that the entirety of the audience’s attention will be focused on the stage.

“You don’t want to look at the ornate building and the exit sign,” he said.

“That doesn’t work in a space like the Globe, where not only the stage but also the kind of building around it, is always going to be pulled into the drama,” Tosh said.

Shakespeare would write his plays with the Globe’s space in mind. Tosh gave the audience an example in the beginning pages of Shakespeare’s “Titus Andronicus,” in which a stage direction calls for actors to walk in from two separate doors facing the same

direction - similar to how the Globe’s doors are constructed.

Tosh said, “Shakespeare, as a playwright, is thinking about the architecture, the building design of his theater to structure the drama of this opening scene. It’s just there in his DNA when he thinks about theatricality and performance.”

References to the Globe aren’t just found in stage direction but can be found in the poetry itself, Tosh said.

The Globe theater’s ceiling is heavily decorated with zodiac signs representing the sky - the Shakespeare company dubbed the ceiling “The Heavens.”

Tosh recited a line from the second act of “Titus Andronicus” after explaining “The Heavens,” and how the combination of these two elements creates a unique theatrical experience.

“Now climbeth Tamora Olympus’ top / Safe out of fortune’s shot; and sits aloft / Secure of thunder’s crack or lightning ash Advanced above pale envy’s threatening reach / As when the golden sun salutes the morn / And, having gilt the ocean with his beams / Gallops the zodiac in his glistering coach / And overlooks the

highest-peering hills,” recited Tosh.

Tosh also went through the history of early modern theaters, and how Shakespeare was among one of the first playwrights and dramatists who wrote for established, commercial theaters in England.

“When Shakespeare was born in 1564 in Stratford-upon-Avon, theaters as structures that you visited, didn’t exist,” he said. Tosh explained theaters were seen in courts, and sometimes in school, but in the mid1550s, permanent theater spaces didn’t exist.

This brought about another change in theatrical history - the transition from actors having to tour to perform, to performing at the same place every show. While this made being a playwright a potential career, it also brought about new challenges for the theater industries. Touring companies would put on the same show in different locations - as the crowd was always different, but when you stay in the same place, you need new material as well.

CONNECT WITH BRENNAN ATKINS batkins@student.framingham.edu

Jennifer De Leon presents ‘Don’t Ask Me Where I’m From’

By Leighah Beausoleil

Editorial Staff

Jennifer De Leon, creative writing professor, hosted a discussion of her new book, “Don’t Ask Me Where I’m From,” on Zoom, Sept. 30.

The event was in celebration of Latinx Heritage Month, and sponsored by the Center for Inclusive Excellence, Latinos Unidos N’ Accion (L.U.N.A.), and the English Department.

De Leon read two excerpts from her book, and answered audience members’ questions with the help of student moderators - Emily Costa, Johan Perez, and Corrin De Leon - no relation. he fictional story follows the e periences of 15-year-old Liliana who was accepted into the METCO program, said De Leon.

MECTO, the Metropolitan Council for Educational Opportunity, is a real 50-year-old program that aims at desegregating schools in the suburbs by enrolling Boston students of color into predominantly white schools, according to De Leon.

Liliana struggled to fit into her new school where she faced racism and microaggressions, as well as finding out her father was deported, she added.

“It’s a book that I think grapples with a lot of issues that I grappled with - identity, class, racism, microaggressions, code switching, not feeling Latinx enough, sometimes feeling too Latinx, whatever that is - and constantly straddling two worlds, but never fully feeling like I belonged in either one,” De Leon said.

She said the book, despite being a work of fiction, “tells one true story.”

It is meant to act as a “window” for

“It’s a book that I think grapples with a lot of issues that I grappled with - identity, class, racism, microaggressions, code switching, not feeling Latinx enough, sometimes feeling too Latinx, whatever that is - and constantly straddling two worlds, but never fully feeling like I belonged in either one,” - Jennifer De Leon, author

those who don’t know about these issues, as well as a “mirror” for readers who see themselves in it.

De Leon said this is the book she wished she had when she was younger, and wished she could have passed down to her students when she taught in Boston.

Costa asked, “Can you name a few examples of microaggressions Liliana faced at a predominantly white school?”

De Leon said teachers made assumptions about Liliana such as asking if she needed to loan a laptop or assuming she was relieved to no longer be at her old school. Also, asking where she was from.

Wanting to know more about a person is good if done the right way, but peers and teachers were asking the question wrong, and Liliana would be asked quite often, De Leon said. This was “taxing” on Liliana and made her feel being different was bad.

Perez asked how De Leon chose the title of the book.

De Leon said in the book, Liliana went to a creative writing center in her neighborhood, and one of the ice breakers was to write a six-word memoir. Liliana’s six words were, “Don’t Ask Me Where I’m From.”

On National Writing Day, FSU students also take part in writing their six-word memoirs, she added.

Corrin De Leon asked what her writing process was.

De Leon said the book original-

ly began as a series of short stories about Liliana that she would submit to magazines, but they would all get rejected.

“And then one day, a former student actually shared this residency at the Boston Public Library where you got $20,000, in a nine-month residency, and office of your own with a key of your own,” she said. “And I applied for the residency, and I worked on this book.”

The book was originally written to take place in the ’90s from a third-person perspective, but the editor recommended she try first person contemporary, De Leon said. This seemed daunting at first, but she remembered all the voices of her students in Boston, and “it just kind of poured out.”

A student in the audience asked whether the book would be adapted into a movie or Net i series.

De Leon said she wasn’t allowed to say much, but her agent is negotiating for a possible TV series.

Another student asked who De Leon’s inspirations were.

De Leon said her inspirations came from different authors, as well as the students she has worked with.

“Toni Morrison has this great quote,” she added. “If there’s a book that you want to read in the world, and it hasn’t been written yet, then you need to be the one to write it.”

CONNECT WITH LEIGHAH BEAUSOLEIL lbeausoleil@student.framingham.edu

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ARTS & FEATURES

Alumni through the decades Kelly Sardella - ’82 - The 1980s

By Leighah Beausoleil Editorial Staff

[Editor’s Note: This is the third addition in a continuing series of features.]

Kelly Sardella began her time at Framingham State College (FSC) in 1978 where she studied Geography with a concentration in Urban Planning and Environmental Management.

After graduating, she had a hard time finding a ob and wound up in sales. She then took time off to raise children, but she returned to FSC for her teaching certification as well as her master’s in language literacy.

She is also currently a member of the Alumni Board.

Sardella has two older sisters who became secretaries, but choosing a different path, she attended FSC because she wanted to become a journalist.

“My mother was a little bit old fashioned, and asked, ‘Why wouldn’t you want to be a secretary?’ Sardella said, “I’m here because I want to be a journalist. And so they felt safe with me going someplace close to home.”

Sardella wanted to live on campus, but due to financial reasons decided to commute. She explained how she

had friends who did live on campus, so whenever she needed or wanted to stay over she was able to stay with them.

She also was involved in clubs and events on campus. “So, even though I commuted home a lot of late nights,” she said. “I very much had a full college experience, I feel.”

She explained because of her involvement on campus, she had both friends who were and weren’t commuters. The problem with this, she said, was there were separate dining commons for commuters and for residents.

Sardella was involved in the Geography Club as well as an associate editor for The Gatepost for three years.

She said with the Geography Club she was able to go on a trip to the Dominican Republic her senior year.

Through the club, Sardella said she was able to meet people from diverse backgrounds.

“At the time the school was not very ethnically diverse, but economically, it was very diverse,” she said. “It was a nice way to see people who are different than you were, and who had a lot of struggles in life.”

She explained the club was not only great for meeting people from diverse backgrounds, but also for getting to

know her professors. She was able to see they were approachable and easy to talk to no matter where they were on campus.

During her time at FSC, the drinking age was 18, so she was part of a group who put a pub in place on campus. This pub was a popular spot for all of the students to hang out.

But where students congregate - noise is born, and the neighbors abutting the college complained a lot.

Along with that, and the change of the drinking age back to 21, the pub was no more.

Sardella explained another big event on campus was, “Three o’clock in the afternoon - General Hospital.”

She said everyone would gather every day as much as possible to watch the show.

The classroom setting, she explained, was strictly lecture based with rarely any small group activities.

She said she wrote a lot of papers on her typewriter, and most of her work was done independently.

“I had to take a summer class - I got mono one semester - so, I had to make up a summer class,” Sardella said.

“And I remember staying up late at night typing on my electric typewriter to get it in the next morning for my final paper, and putting in the little

piece of white paper. I don’t know if you know about that, that you had to tap it in to correct errors and it never lined up right.”

Sardella explained the most memorable thing about her time at FSC was the friendships she was able to make.

At FSC, Sardella met her best friend who passed away from cystic fibrosis.

She remains to have a group of best friends that she spends time with who were all also Framingham State graduates.“What you really take away are those lifelong friendships,” she said.

Re ecting on her time at F , ardella said,“I just think that it was the first time in my life got out into a much larger, more diverse population.

And I think things like that really change your life.”

She added, “I think when you get out into a world like that, and you see what’s really going on, it really opens up your eyes, and I think it makes you become a more empathetic person.

“I think that’s great for all of us, and I think that’s great for the world, and the decisions that we make as we go forward. As we hold that history with us.”

covers his only living relative is his grandson Ben, also played by Seth Rogen. After getting into a fight, erschel begins a pickle-selling business out on the streets of New York. hroughout the rest of the film, erschel and Ben attempt to mend their broken relationship.

Although it was marketed as a comedy, the film had a lot of dramatic elements to it - it came off as more of a drama rather than a comedy. For starters, Herschel and Ben’s relationship is complex and while it was funny to watch Seth Rogen interact with himself, it was off-putting to watch the two versions yell at each other.

In fact, Rogen hadn’t had much experience with dramatic roles - with the exception of “50/50.” he beginning of the film moved way too quickly, and in less than 10 minutes, there were duplicate versions of Rogen interacting with one another. It was almost as if “An American Pickle’s” opening was a brief recap of a separate film.

Once both of Rogen’s characters are reunited with each other, the film s pacing dramatically slows down, but is still faster compared to other movies. And the one-hour, 30 minute runtime certainly ustifies the movie’s brisk pace. Due to this, a

lot of the plot seemed rushed.

Although the film lacked in some areas, it was by no means not entertaining. The chemistry between Ben and Herschel was surprisingly sweet at moments, and the dialogue was in no way soapy or unrealistic - aside from a few humorous scenes.

The music was great as well. In energetic and humorous scenes, it was playful and bouncy. But in sad scenes, it was somber and less instrumental.

Rogen was a great choice to play both Ben and Herschel. Not only did he bring the characters to life with his enthusiasm, but it was also fun to see him take on different roles - quite literally in this case.

The cinematography was excellent as well, but the film had a weird color scheme - the colors looked washedout and drab.

And, most importantly, the film felt like an indie ick. Nowadays, independent films aren t highly regarded by viewers, but often have way better stories, which aren’t bogged down by CGI and big-budget special effects. nlike many Net i original films, “An American Pickle” is certainly a great original for HBO MAX. Even though films like this often aren t recognized by streaming platforms, there definitely needs to be more like them

in order to draw a wider fanbase.

“An American Pickle” doesn’t quite use its fascinating premise to its full extent, but delivers much more story than anticipated. Rogen does a great job at pleasing his long-time fans, while also entertaining the everyday viewer. he film shows that you don t need a high budget in order to entertain average viewers.

B t may not be a perfect film, but it is definitely a step in the right direction for streaming platforms.

CONNECT WITH LEIGHAH BEAUSOLEIL lbeausoleil@student.framingham.edu

‘An American Pickle’ is a delicious treat

By Patrick Brady Staff Writer

“An American Pickle” is a comedy film directed by Brandon rost. hile this is Trost’s directorial debut, he previously worked as a cinematographer for other films, such as “ he Disaster Artist,” “This is the End,” and “Can You Ever Forgive Me?” he film features eth Rogen as Herschel Greenbaum and Sarah Snook as Sarah Greenbaum.

It was released as an HBO Max original film on Aug. .

“An American Pickle’s” screenplay was based on “Sell Out,” a short story written by Simon Rich - he also wrote the screenplay for the film.

Even though the film s premise is comedic, there aren’t a lot of laughout-loud moments. In a way, Rogen wasn’t used to his full acting ability.

But the film makes up for its lack of comedy in other ways.

Herschel marries Sarah Greenbaum and begins working at a pickle factory after their village is attacked by the Russians in 1919. After fighting off rats, Herschel falls into a tub of pickles, and wakes up 100 years later in modern-day Brooklyn.

While in Brooklyn, Herschel dis-

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ADMIT ONE

Grade: B It may not be a perfect film, but it is definitely a step in the right direction for streaming platforms.

ADMIT ONE

CONNECT WITH PATRICK BRADY pbrady@student.framingham.edu

ARTS & FEATURES

‘I’m Thinking of Ending Things’ – The film that makes no sense until it does

By Brennan Atkins Arts & Features Editor “Sometimes a thought is closer to truth, to reality, than an action. You can say anything, you can do anything, but you can’t fake a thought,” a female voice says, accompanied by the visual of paint-chipped Balusters.

Right out the gate, Charlie Kaufman does what he does best - throwing the audience into the own depths of their minds, making them question their very existence.

Other aufman films such as “Being John Malkovich,” and “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” have done this before, but “I’m Thinking of Ending Things” combines these inquisitive themes with an impressively elaborate screenplay.

“I’m Thinking of Ending Things” is a Net i adaptation of the book of the same name, written by ain Reid. he film stars Jessie Buckley as Lucy, Jesse Plemons as Jake, Toni Collette as the mother, and David Thewlis as the father.

The initial premise of the movie, while interesting, is nothing but a canvas for Kaufman to fully exhibit his themes on perspective, the inner workings of the mind, and most importantly, regret. he film begins with a new couple, Lucy and Jake, visiting Jake’s parents for the first time. hile Lucy puts on a positive and happy-go-lucky demeanor, her internal monologue suggests that she is riddled with anxiety and guilt about meeting Jake’s parents, as she is “thinking of ending things.”

Buckley gives an amazing performance of a young girl whose thoughts are always taking over her immediate attention. From the outside, she is distant, but in reality, she is contemplating her place in the world, and in Jake’s life.

Plemons compliments Buckley’s performance perfectly and kills the role of a troubled man trying his best to be the “perfect” boyfriend. iewers may find Buckley to be creepy, or awkward - but by the end of the film, the audience is faced with a completely different perspective of the male role.

Thewlis and Collette also provide an unforgettable performance of the parents.

Right when viewers are introduced to them, their body movements are immediately off putting - the mother stares out of the window when the couple arrive, and awkwardly waves for what feels like forever.

It’s actually 40 seconds - pretty uncomfortable amount of time without speaking.

While it is a bit cliché to call a movie “an experience,” it’s fair to call this more of a “mental ballad.” Kaufman feeds the audience information to form a theory, just to decimate any chance of that theory becoming a reality. It’s only until the last half hour of the film that everything starts to become clear. his could be interpreted as the film

being confusing, and partially because it is - but it’s a self-aware confusion that is unique and used to fuel the suspense of the film. f anything, the ability to make a film comprehensible in such a short time is a testament to how well all the information was delivered throughout the film.

This is the result of the intriguing, and at times, uncomfortable editing of the movie. Seemingly unrelated scenes are cut together, and events that are impossible are happening right before the audience’s eyes. Little details exposing the true plot are littered throughout the film, and the editing does a phenomenal job of connecting these details together. he soundtrack of the film never felt dominating - melodies played on the harp and piano added a whimsical mood, and in combination with the cinematography and editing, felt like a dreamlike trance.

There are countless monologues that allude to different themes, but Kaufman’s focus seems to be how we rarely perceive ourselves in just the present - the idea that our current thoughts are the result of all our past experiences, and in that regard, we all somewhat live in the past.

In an interview with IndieWire, Kaufman said, “This movie is dealing with somebody’s experience of absorbing things that they see and how they become part of [their] psyche.”

If anything, the second viewing of “I’m Thinking of Ending Things” was more enoyable than the first. his seems like an odd praise, but you can’t truly appreciate all the details and effort that went into each scene without knowing the ending of the film.

Remembering just one or two of the connecting elements is satisfying, but realizing every scene has a purpose to the grand reveal is even more satisfying.

ADMIT ONE

Grade: A Kaufman once again shows he’s the king of existential crisis

ADMIT ONE

OCTOBER 2, 2020 | 13

VRAM: ‘Hotshot Racing’ is a truckload of polygon-packed fun

By Robert Johnson Jr. Arts & Features Editor Arcade-styled racing games are kind of a lost art these days.

It seems like almost every racing game that comes out these days is either a simulator, think Codemasters’ “F1” series of licensed games, as well as games such as those in the “Project Cars” series, or a weapons-based kart racer inspired by the “Mario Kart” series and its ilk.

Which, of course, I don’t mind in the slightest - I do fancy myself an hour or two of “Mario Kart” every now and again.

However, sometimes I really want to scratch the itch that occasionally pops up, where I want to play Sega’s 1993 arcade smash, “Daytona USA,” and, in that endeavor, I remind myself that I have to plug in my hefty PlayStation 3 to do so.

Thankfully, I needn’t worry about doing that anymore - Lucky Mountain Games and Sumo Digital’s “Hotshot Racing” scratches that itch and so much more.

Originally announced as “Racing Apex,” “Hotshot Racing” is a game that mimics the look and feel of games that were released on Sega’s Model 1 and Model 2 arcade systems, except much smoother by 2020 standards, running at a cool 60FPS with little-to-no slowdown. Packed with 16 race tracks and a variety of game types, it tends to be pretty difficult to put this one down.

As “Hotshot Racing” is a game with lots of character in it, it should come as no surprise that the game’s cast of characters are just as unique and vibrant as the game itself. Each of the eight individuals - each with their own set of four vehicles - have their own unique storylines and reasons to participate in the four Grand Prix featured in the game.

For example, my favorite character - and my main - Mike, races to be the best role model he can be for his daughter, despite not having the best of hands dealt to him early on in life. That’s adorable - and straight-up relatable.

On top of that, the soundtrack, composed by Jason Heine and Waterflame, is just full of funky, energetic, earworm-inducing bops. I sometimes catch myself humming to “Apex Rally” every now and again.

As far as the game itself goes, it is an absolute blast to play … once you get acclimated enough to play on the Expert difficulty level. Normal difficulty is great for easing you into how the game works mechanically, but Expert sends you at blazing fast speeds through the 16 courses, and the fun just skyrockets from there.

Beyond Grand Prix mode, the Single Race mode hosts a sea of content. Aside from being able to play all 16 courses in any order you choose, you can also play two unique games in the form of Drive or Explode and a “Hotshot Racing” take on Cops and Robbers.

Drive or Explode is probably the game type I spent the most time on - outside of my time beating all four Grand Prix on Expert. As the race gets longer, especially if you have it set to be a seven-lap affair, the stakes get higher and the panic sets in deeper - it really made me feel as if I was playing “Wipeout HD’s” Zone Mode on Phantom on the final lap, and that’s a good thing.

The other mode in the game, Time Trial, has been one that I’ve been picking away at for the past week. Battling the staff ghosts is always a ton of fun, and these encounters teach you how to best deal with the game’s track layouts, especially when you decide to take those skills online - they give you a fair challenge that can get down to a couple hundred milliseconds between you and the ghost, sometimes.

Speaking of the online content, the netcode is quite stable and I’ve rarely ever stepped into lag or any glitches, aside from that one time I was stuck in a lobby and had to reset the game just so I could get out.

While I do wish more could be added to “Hotshot Racing” down the line, just so I can keep going back to such a fun game, I feel that where the game is, at the moment, is great enough to call it a favorite of mine for years to come.

Grade: A Drifting away to a polygonal world never felt so good.

CONNECT WITH BRENNAN ATKINS batkins@student.framingham.edu

CONNECT WITH ROBERT JOHNSON JR. rjohnson10@student.framingham.edu

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

ARTS & FEATURES

14 | OCTOBER 2, 2020

Mazgal Continued from page 1 Antoni also said, “I wanted to work with the tradition of figurative sculpture, but rather than to describe the body, I thought I would describe it by the residue left on the object.

“So, then I thought, rather than use a hammer and chisel, I would imitate an everyday activity like eating and replace the hammer and chisel with my mouth,” Antoni added.

used black hair dye and mopped the oor with her hair. Antoni did this in a room full of people and said she “slowly mopped the people out of the room.”

Antoni said, “‘Loving Care’ is really about wanting to be the model and the master at the same time and the inherent con ict of that desire.”

She used the same method in her piece “Butter y isses” in which she used black mascara and winked

“I would wake up in the morning, take my nightgown, rip it into shreds, and use it as the material to weave my eye movement into the blanket,” - Janine Antoni She also did the same exact thing with 500 pounds of lard. “And, believe it or not, I chewed on that as well,” Antoni said to the audience.

Unfortunately, Antoni shared that the next morning, her cube of lard expanded and fell off of the pedestal.

“The one part of the piece I can’t control is the fat. And, of course, we know how hard it is to control fat in our own bodies,” she said.

As for the parts of both cubes she bit off, Antoni melted them down and made different items with her materials.

“I spit it [the chocolate] out and I melted it into these heart shaped packages for candy,” she said.

“With the lard that I spit out, I spit it out, mixed it with pigment and beeswax, and made 150 lipsticks.”

After all of her work, she put all the pieces of art together to make the scene look like a ’70s department store. Together, the collection of all four pieces was titled “Gnaw.”

She also shared with the audience one of her performance pieces titled “Loving Care” in which she

onto a canvas to make her piece.

“I thought it was the drawing equivalent to ‘Loving Care,’ but they are kind of in relationship to each other,” Antoni said.

One of her most intense pieces involved the most common everyday activity, sleep. She said she found herself asking, “what is the material of sleep?” to which she concluded that dreams would be her material for this piece. After this realization, she titled the piece “Slumber.”

After much research, she found, and used, a polysomnogram which is a machine used to track sleeping patterns. “It’s kind of like an EKG machine, but it’s really actually able to record your rapid eye movement,” she said.

Antoni, along with the help of a sleep doctor, was able to mimic the sheets that recorded her rapid eye movement in her sleep into a blanket she made.

“I would wake up in the morning, take my nightgown, rip it into shreds, and use it as the material to weave my eye movement into the blanket,” she said.

“The earth supports me.

The earth holds me.

The earth receives me.

I am fertile ground” - Janine Antoni @TheGatepost | FSUgatepost.com

Antoni built a room where she would do this work across the world and would sleep with that blanket every night.

She also shared that while she was doing this project around the world, she noticed all of the different cultures she was surrounded by.

“In London, people have this great literary knowledge. So, they were quoting me all the stories of the woman weaving - Shakespeare, and the ‘Lady of Shalott,’” she said.

She also referred to her time in Zurich, Spain, and Greece.

Antoni said a person who saw her exhibit made her realize her loom was her own dreamcatcher as she weaved her dreams into her blanket.

“I have to say, it really changed the way I make work in the sense of how the work is received,” she said.

Through her work, she has also used art to express her bond with her family. Antoni has several pieces of art dedicated to her parents and her daughter. One piece she made in honor of her daughter was titled “One Another.”

Antoni added, “For me, to put my hand up next to hers is to see her aging, and to try to come to terms with my ultimate aging and death.” he final pro ect she shared with the audience was titled “I am fertile ground.”

Her most recent work was done at the Greenwood Cemetery in Brooklyn where she said she was able to work in the catacombs.

She said the project incorporated Five Rhythms dance moves, a style she has been doing for years.

“It was almost like a message my body was giving me and I would repeat that gesture trying to understand why,” she said. “Why does it feel so comforting and so necessary?”

She said she drew inspiration for this project through religious icons.

One piece in the collection is of her feet covered in gold, and the piece resembles that of a religious icon.

“The image matches the picture’s place, so the image is actually a porthole to the divine,” she

“The one part of the piece I can’t control is the fat. And, of course, we know how hard it is to control the fat in our own bodies” - Janine Antoni The photograph, which was taken by her husband originally, shows her young daughter first learning how to use a spoon. Instead of putting the spoon in her mouth, her daughter put the spoon in Antoni’s belly button.

“I screamed to her dad, ‘Paul, she’s making my work! Come and take a picture,’” she said.

She also made several works involving her parents.

Antoni created her piece, “If I Die Before I Wake,” as a porcelain nightlight in which she made a mold of her hand against her mother’s.

On one side, you can see the youth in Antoni’s hands while on the other side you can see her mother’s age come through the mold.

She said she drew inspiration from the religious prayer she used to say with her mom every night before bed.

“Now I lay me down to sleep / I pray the Lord my soul to keep / If I die before I wake / I pray the Lord my soul to take,” she recited.

said.

Her process involved reciting a saying and continued the dance until she got the perfect photos.

After editing her photos, she framed them in the stance of a religious icon, with one foot on either side, and the Earth being the focus of the photograph.

“Normally, in the altarpiece structure, you would have the main deity in the center and angels on the side,” she said. “So my main deity was the Earth.”

Along with the religious icon photo, she had separate photographs of one of her dancers doing the same dance, in dark lighting, with a different saying beneath it incorporated into the photo.

The photograph, sharing its name with the project, “I am fertile ground,” incorporated the words, “The earth supports me. The earth holds me. The earth receives me. I am fertile ground.”

CONNECT WITH CARA MCCARTHY cmccarthy8@student.framingham.edu

ARTS & FEATURES

OCTOBER 2, 2020 | 15

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ACROSS 1. Supermarket section 5. Really hate 11. To and ___ 14. Sportscaster Andrews 15. Syria’s second-largest city 16. Boy 17. *Nonprofit lending cooperative 19. In the past 20. Administered, as medication 21. Movie trailer, e.g.

23. Groups of nuns 26. “Yuck!”

27. “Ad ___” (2019 space film) 30. Watery expanse 31. Manis’ partners 34. Salary increases 36. Completed 38. “Smooth Operator” singer 39. End of a unit in religious studies?

40. Flyer 43. Cultural funding org.

44. “Uh, I’m here too!”

46. Senora Peron 47. Manhattan coach?

49. Author/comedian Cooper 51. “___ on parle francais” (“French is spoken here”) 53. Walks unsteadily 54. Airport info 55. Jeans 57. Gets thin, in a way 60. Eat between meals 62. Big fuss 63. Initial blackjack hand, or what can follow both parts of each starred answer?

68. Damage 69. Allow 70. Diving bird 71. Future paramedic, perhaps: Abbr.

72. One may not believe the truth 73. Reverberate DOWN 1. Final mo.

2. Go wrong 3. Spoke falsely 4. Playing video games, say 5. Went out with 6. Gets away from 7. Common base 8. Starter for “Pen” or “center” 9. Dalmation feature 10. Get fit 11. *1983 movie in which Jennifer Beals plays an aspiring ballerina 12. Extreme anger 13. Emanation from garbage 18. Neighbor of Jordan 22. People celebrate when they change 24. *Embarrassment giveaway 25. Operate a yacht 27. Diva deliveries 28. Michelle Obama’s youngest 29. *Table that often has a project column 32. Standard of excellence 33. Leaves grill marks on, say

35. Observe 37. Nickname that’s a place to sleep when read backward 41. Enthusiastic 42. Where a plane waits 45. “G’day, ___!”

48. Change proportionally, as a plan 50. Dwelled tiresomely (on) 52. Dr. Scholl’s product Puzzle solutions are now 56. Surmise exclusively online.

57. Domesticate 58. Father of Cain and Abel 59. Rational 61. Ray in McDonald’s history 64. 007 creator Fleming 65. Abbr. within “home run derbies” 66. Cry from Homer 67. ___-cone

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PHOTOS

16 | OCTOBER 2, 2020

Andrew Thompson waiting outside the McCarthy Center.

Lindsey Shapiro enjoying her lunch break outside.

Sam Stafinski and Caroline Cowart sit on a staircase in front of May Hall.

Jenna Cove about to head into the McCarthy Center.

Students enjoy the beautiful fall weather around campus Gabby Cochran listens to music on one of the lawn chairs.

Photo spread by Caroline Gordon/ The Gatepost and Ashley Wall/ The Gatepost

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