THE GATEPOST volume
84 • number 24
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Students participated in the Towers Color Run on Saturday, April 30.
Strong turnout at Science on State Street festival despite rain By Jennifer Johnson News Editor Framingham State University held the second annual Science on State Street event as part of the Cambridge Science Festival on April 23. The Cambridge Science Festival is celebrating its tenth year. It is the first festival of its kind in the U.S., according to the Cambridge Science Festival website. According to Irene Porro, director of the McAullife Center, the Cambridge Science Festival has been expanding across the state. Porro said based on the number of people who visited the McAuliffe
Center to view the planetarium show, the festival attendance was between 300-400 people. “I think that given it was raining earlier this morning, I’m actually very happy. We were really worried that people would decide not to go out and just do something else,” she said on the day of the event. Porro served as one of the main organizers for the Science on State Street event. She said she used to work in Cambridge and was involved with the Cambridge Science Festival before she came to FSU. There are at least two dozen other - See SCIENCE ON STATE STREET page 6
Over $20,000 donated to the American Cancer Society during Relay for Life By Julia Sarcinelli News Editor FSU’s first Relay for Life, which took place Sunday, May 1, raised $21,554 for the American Cancer Society. This exceeded the original goal of $20,000. The event, which took place from 12:30 p.m. to 9 p.m., was held in the gym due to rain. Teams had tables set up with activities to raise money for cancer research, and participants walked around the gym for the event. Along with walking, participants were throwing bean bags into boxes, tossing Frisbees into bins and dancing to music. In addition to team activities,
“SLIFE” program accomodates influx of refugee students By Emily Robinson Staff Writer At a public elementary school in Worcester, Friday morning began with typical announcements read over the intercom system, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance. Some of the 37 students gathered in the school gymnasium struggled to say the pledge in unison, while others hardly knew it at all. These children are not typical local Worcester students. This oversized class is led by a single teacher with two
assisting tutors and has grown so large it had to be relocated from its designated room. These 37 students come from all over the globe and are considered “SLIFE” students, literally meaning “Students with Limited or Interrupted Formal Education,” according to the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. Basically, these students have either never had a formal education or cannot document any prior education in the past three years. The program is not new to the Worcester area. The New Citizens Cen-
ter on Main Street has been educating refugee students and immigrants for years. However, this year, the demand for education outgrew the school and the NCC has relocated its program for grades 3-5. Now, new citizens in grades 3-5 without formal education and limited knowledge of the English language are being placed in other Worcester Public Schools that the city’s students attend. The lead teacher of this multi-cultured classroom said, “Most of them - See “SLIFE”page 26
events such as musical chairs, “pie in the face race” and yoga occurred throughout the day. The Framingham State Dance Team, the a cappella group Framingham State Falsettos and magician Mike Charles also performed. The event started with an opening lap for caregivers and survivors, with everyone clapping and cheering them on before joining in. Community support Thirty-one teams registered for the event. The team that raised the most money and also had the most mem- See RELAY FOR LIFE page 8
Inside Mental Health Awareness Month 11
A night with FSU PD 15
Beyoncé turns lemons into “Lemonade” 31