THE GATEPOST Framingham State’s award-winning independent student newspaper since 1932
Volume 88 • Issue 2
September 20, 2019
FSUgatepost.com
Health Center warns students of the ‘critical’ risk level of Triple E virus
Homecoming event schedule modified to accommodate safety concerns By Nadira Wicaksana Editor-in-Chief
On Sept. 13, the Dean of Students office sent an email to the campus community on behalf of Ilene Hofrenning, director of the Health Center, stating the City of Framingham increased the risk level for the Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE) virus to “critical.” This was an update from a previous Aug. 30 email listing the risk for EEE as “high.” EEE, colloquially known by the nickname “Triple E,” is a virus that originates from birds, according to Hofrenning. After biting birds,
See EEE RISK page 7 Students dance with Regie Gibson at “Shakespeare Time-Traveling Speakeasy” Sept. 17.
Caroline Gordon / THE GATEPOST
“Shakespeare Time-Traveling CASA brings academic support closer to student population Speakeasy” teaches FSU “Minute Clinic” and “Thinkingstorm” community “to be” launched this semester By Sara Senesac Asst. Arts & Features Editor The Arts & Ideas series showcased the first installment of its “Roots/ Routes” series with “Shakespeare to Hip Hop: A Performance,” featuring Regie Gibson, former National Poetry Slam Individual Champion, in the McCarthy Center Forum Sept. 17. Kristen Abbott Bennett and Jennifer De Leon, English professors, kicked off the event with a brief introduction and explanation of how the “Shakespeare Time-Traveling Speakeasy” came to be. De Leon, who has been a friend of Gibson’s for over a decade, described the show as “a literary concert using American musical forms as backdrop for stories, poems, songs, and humor focusing on the background, mysteries, works, and impact of the most famous writer in the world. “I know you won’t be disappointed tonight,” she said.
News
The two main performers were Gibson and his co-star, Marlin Carey, also known by their stage names “Robin Hoodfellow” and “Horatio Everyman.” The two combined elegant vocals with intricate lyrics to remix popular rap songs into a Shakespeare history lesson. Their voices, in combination with Mibbit Threats on bass, Matt Steinberg on drums, and Graham English on keyboard, created a unique and unforgettable performance that brought the words of William Shakespeare to life. Hoodfellow and Everyman began the show with a “Shakespearean Mic Check.” “This is a mic check - a mic check - a mic check - a Shakespearean mic check,” they sang. By putting their own musical twist on a basic mic check the two were able to set the tone for the performance to follow.
See SHAKESPEARE SPEAKEASY page 13
Opinions
By Donald Halsing News Editor FSU’s Center for Academic Success and Achievement (CASA) launched a new initiative this week that places student tutors in easy-to-access locations around campus. LaDonna Bridges, associate dean of academic success at CASA, said the program is called CASA’s “Minute Clinic.” “We’re placing academic strategy peer tutors (ASPTs) in different locations for several hours a week,” Bridges said. Students do not need an appointment to visit the clinics. Bridges said students can “drop in” and “ask us a question.” Allison Chisholm, academic success coordinator at CASA, said ASPTs are available at Minute Clinics to “break down assignments, or, if they have five things due next week and they just don’t know where to start,
Arts & Features
they can help them with that.” She said ASPTs can also connect students to other resources in CASA. Bridges discussed retention of students at traditional tutoring sessions. “People would make appointments to come in for their one-on-one peer tutoring sessions,” she said. “They would start off strong, but they would drop off,” she added. Chisholm said, “We found that students don’t need or don’t want to commit to an hour-a-week appointment.” She said CASA needed to “decentralize” their services and “meet the students where they are. “That means,” she added, “seeing them in the library when they’re doing work,” and helping students if they face a “roadblock” while working in their dorms. Chisholm said CASA has “done a couple of partnerships” with Residence Life in the past, but none involving tutors directly.
See CASA page 4
Sports
ENGAGEMENT DAY pg. 5
BORK LAZER pg. 8
“PEANUT BUTTER FALCON” pg. 11
VOLLEYBALL pg. 16
CROCKER HALL pg. 6
FAT SHAMING pg. 10
SUMMER OF SCIENCE pg. 12
LIAM’S LINEUP pg. 19
INSIDE: OP/ED 8 • ARTS & FEATURES 11 • SPORTS 16