The Equinox 11.8.18

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THE EQUINOX The student voice of Keene State College

Vol. 71, Issue #9

Thursday, November 8, 2018

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Sen. Shaheen says ‘VOTE’ AMANDA BEVIS

Equinox Staff Keene State College is one of the 220 participating campuses in the American Democracy Project, which Campus Coordinator Kim SchmidlGagne described as an initiative that is focused on higher education’s role in preparing the next generation of active and engaged citizens for our democracy.

On Tuesday, Oct. 30, Keene State partnered with the American Democracy Project to host U.S. senator Jeanne Shaheen in a forum in the Mountain View Room at the Young Student Center.

Shaheen spoke mainly of foreign affairs, and ended the event with encouraging members of the crowd to go out and cast their vote on Election Day. “I would urge everyone to vote on Tuesday,” Shaheen said in regard to the midterm election this week. “All of you students, you know you can vote; you cannot be denied the right to vote … Get all of your friends to vote because that’s how we can influence what happens in addition to making our voices heard on social media, with our friends, [and] in our communities here at the college.”

Davis Bernstein is a second year student who has a dual major in political science and Holocaust and genocide studies. He had the chance to introduce the senator to the audience made up of about 50 members of the community and students. “[On Election Day], polls are open from 8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. There will be rides from Next Gen and the school behind the Student Center all day, so you should definitely be able to get out and vote. You can vote no matter what. No law is going to stop you this year,” Bernstein said.

“It is not just Congress’s duty to address what’s been happening in our foreign policy. As I look around at all of you who are here, it’s up to all of us to address what’s happening in the country,” Shaheen said. “Together, we can all speak out. Whether it’s about the hate speech and the rhetoric that we’ve heard at the national level, whether it’s about our concerns for what’s happening with foreign citizens with the international order, it’s incumbent on all of us to take a stand on these issues because that’s what’s going to change.”

“The Keene State community is grateful to have Senator Shaheen here today, and I’m honored to have an opportunity to introduce Senator Jeanne Shaheen,” Bernstein said.

Bernstein was asked to open up the event because he is a campus organizer for New Hampshire Young Democrats, as well as the president of KSC Democrats.

“I was asked if I would do the intro, and Jeanne Shaheen is one of my idols, so I was so thrilled to be able to do this today,” Bernstein said.

Bernstein is passionate about the senator and her work. “It’s really great knowing we have someone so informed as our senator, and representing us in D.C. She knows literally everything there is to know about foreign policy. So with what’s going on in the White House, it’s good to know that we have someone knowledgeable and caring focused on foreign policy,” Bernstein said.

Associate professor of political science Dr. Philip Barker was approached to moderate the forum.

“I got an email last week that said the Senator wanted to talk specifically about foreign policy and international affairs, which is classes that I teach in the political sciences department, so … they asked me if I would be willing to [moderate], and I gladly accepted!” Barker said.

» SEE SHAHEEN A2

GWEN PHILLIPS / EQUINOX STAFF

During a forum jointly hosted by the college and the American Democracy Project, Senator Jeanne Shaheen urged students to vote in the upcoming midterm election.

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Leaving the campus nest RACHEL VITELLO

Equinox Staff Making the change to living offcampus from living in dorms can be a daunting transition for many students. On Thursday, Nov. 1, the Office of Student and Community Relations hosted an off-campus housing fair in the Student Center from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Students had the opportunity to speak with area landlords to learn more about available off-campus housing. Students could also speak with representatives on the Student Association regarding their eligibility to live offcampus, as students need 40 credits by the start of any spring term to be able to move off campus the following fall term, according to the Keene State College website.

Living off-campus can be different from the on-campus dorms underclassmen are used to. Multiple landlords were present at the fair to offer information about rental prices, utilities and amenities.

Students can avoid any rental issues, electrical malfunctions, mold problems or any other complication by looking at rentals listed on the KSC website. For a rental to be listed on this website they are required to pass the voluntary inspections of off-campus housing. These inspections are free to students and conducted by city Code Enforcement.

Landlords who were at the fair were ones who have already passed the inspections at all of their properties.

Coordinator of Student and Community Relations Robin Picard said, “We do want students to start using the Places4Students webpage.

The college web page only advertises houses that have passed the inspection. The housing inspection program is about three years old, but the fact that landlords can’t advertise or promote their properties on campus is new to this year.”

If students who are already living in their rental properties experience any complications, they can still get an inspection after the fact. Picard said they should contact the City of Keene for an inspection, but that she can also step in to support them.

“The first thing students should know is they do have a place to report this and that is with the City of Keene, but sometimes students don’t know if they’re going to get their landlord in trouble or they don’t know what it means to be in touch with the City, so they can come through me and what I’ll do is I’ll work directly with the City to get an inspection in the house right away,” Picard said.

This information is important to have because this semester, there has been an increase in issues in student rentals. Picard said it may not be due to an actual increase in complications, but that students are more comfortable now with seeking assistance. According to a report regarding the Voluntary Inspections, a poll of 544 of the student rentals in the past two years revealed that 83 needed electrical repairs, 64 needed smoke/carbon monoxide detector

» SEE OFF-CAMPUS A2

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News / A2

Thursday, November 8, 2018

Calling for a vote

VINCENT MOORE / NEWS EDITOR

Ward 4 Councilors Margaret Rice (left) and Robert Sutherland (right) both voted against the raised smoking age ordinance at the October 4 City Council meeting.

The Keene City Council voted to proceed with smoking ordinance amidst concerns over its educational aspects VINCENT MOORE

News editor The Keene City Council has begun the process of refining an ordinance to prohibit the possession and purchase of tobacco and nicotine products by persons between the ages of 18 to 20.

During committee reports, the Municipal Services, Facilities, and Infrastructure Committee Chair Councilor Janis Manwaring said that at their previous October 24 meeting the Committee voted 4-1 to proceed with the ordinance that was presented to them by City Attorney Thomas Mullins.

“We would like to have a number and move forward to the first reading,” Manwaring said, addressing the Council.

Mayor Kendall Lane then opened discussion to the Council for questions and comments.

Councilor Robert Sutherland entered a

motion to send the draft back to committee.

“When this was introduced by the Tobacco 21 group and the Monadnock hospital, there was an interest in educating the public, and the ordinance as it stands right now has no element of education … I feel as though this is something that, if somebody is ticketed for possession or purchase or something of that nature, who is under 21, that at least they would have an option to instead of paying that fine perhaps entering an education program. This would perhaps have a better outcome of what the intent of this ordinance is rather than just to punish somebody with a fine, to enable them to learn a little bit more the effects of tobacco and nicotine. This is why I’m asking for this to be sent back,” Sutherland said.

Sutherland said that another reason he was asking for the ordinance to be sent back to the committee was that it didn’t suggest any grandfathering, which he said warrants further dis-

cussion.

Councilor Philip Jones said that the ordinance would still be open for change even if Sutherland’s motion fails, “Probably since I’ve been on the Council, this has been the most transparent issue we’ve had. I’ve never had an ordinance with an opportunity to vote on two drafts before it even comes back. Even if we send it back to the committee, it’s still coming back here. If that motion is declined, it’s still going to come back to the Council anyway. It’s going to go back to the Committee and back to the Council, it’s just going to have a number on it, that’s all … There’s also opportunities to introduce new issues that can deal with educating or deal with whatever we want to do as part of this. I think we should continue with the progress we’re making.”

Councilor Randy Filiaut said that he agreed with Jones and that the Council should vote against Sutherland’s motion, since the ordi-

nance will return to the Committee regardless.

Lane called for a vote on Sutherland’s amendment to send the ordinance back to committee, which resulted in a 14-1 vote, with Sutherland being the sole vote in favor of the amendment.

Lane then returned to the first motion of introducing the ordinance for a first reading.

With no further discussion the Council voted 14-1 in favor of passing the motion, with Councilor Margaret Rice being the sole opposing vote.

The Municipal Services, Facilities, and Infrastructure Committee is set to meet again Wednesday, Nov. 7 at 6 p.m. in the Council Chamber A at Keene City Hall.

Vincent Moore can be contacted at vmoore@kscequinox.com

OFFCAMPUS Cont. from A1

installation or repair and 54 needed infestation, structure, heating or security related repairs. Those are the most common issues.

How a landlord deals with these issues varies. One landlord in Keene who is in charge of Pearl Street Properties, Shana Davis, said she takes care of any issues her tenants have either the day of or the next morning.

“I only run one building with two apartments.

Because I have so few tenants I really have the time to tend to those issues right away,” said Davis.

Jeanne Longobardi is a senior who is living off-campus this year. She said that having problems get fixed in rentals is usually a matter of urgency, but that landlords are typically efficient with getting the job done.

“If there’s something urgent that needs to be fixed, they definitely take care of it right away. I think [that it’s] important to realize that there’s over 100 properties that they have and there are definitely more urgent situations than when our washer and dryer is having issues compared to a roof leaking or something like that,” Longobardi said.

Longobardi’s house includes a basement that her and her roommates are not permitted to use due to the terms of their lease. It needed to be inspected for safety by an electrician and the Keene Fire Department.

Longobardi said her landlord was professional about making sure the space was safe and informing the residents of when inspections were taking place.

When it comes to living off-campus, Longobardi said communication is key: “I definitely would try to reach out to people that have the same landlord as the places that you’re looking at and see what they have to say about their landlord and how they go about fixing things. Their opinion is going to be the most honest.”

Rachel Vitello can be contacted at rvitello@kscequinox.com

SHAHEEN Cont. from A1

“I’ve had the chance to talk with politicians in the past, and my everyday life is standing up in front of a crowd, but this is the first time I’ve moderated a session with a senator or a national-level politician.”

Attendees were encouraged to stand up and ask Shaheen any questions they had for her. A sophomore Keene State student asked, “What do you believe we can do about the Russian influence on our elections?”

Shaheen responded with, “There are a couple of things that we can do as individuals to respond. One is to make sure that if something on social media … doesn’t identify where it’s from, that you check it out, so you’re not just believing something that gets Tweeted out, or something that gets shared on the news … We have not been as suspicious as we ought to be about what we’re seeing.”

Following the event, Barker said, “I thought it went great! I thought she did a great job of responding to the questions on the fly with the students — well, the community in general — but I noticed a number of Keene State students ask really good questions. We got through a wide variety of topics. I thought it went really well.”

Amanda Bevis can be contacted at abevis@kscequionox.com GWEN PHILLIPS / EQUINOX STAFF

Associate Professor of political science Dr. Philip Barker (left) was asked to moderate the forum after Senator Shaheen (right) specifically asked to discuss foreign policy.

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News / A3

Thursday, November 1, 2018

Empowering women Freshmen and sophomore Recital

Kelly to Sununu: “Don’t underestimate me” RACHEL VITELLO

equinox stAff

PUJA THAPA / BUSINESS MANAGER

Keene State College first-years and Sophomores preformed at the Redfern Arts Center on Nov. 3. The students practiced for many hours leading up to the recital. Both vocalists and musicians performed. For more on the story see “Starting off recitals on a high note” page A6.

With the midterm elections happening on Tuesday Nov. 6, Keene State College was abuzz this week with discussion surrounding voting and politics. Democratic Candidate for the Governor of New Hampshire Molly Kelly visited campus on Monday Nov. 5 to speak with KSC students. She delivered a speech encouraging students to get out and vote the next day and spoke about her positions on various topics.

As a KSC graduate, Kelly is familiar with the college. She lived on campus as a single mother with three children and managed the family housing (now the closed Bushnell apartments). During her speech, she expressed gratitude to the college and hope for all current students.

“I came to Keene State as a young single mom. I waitressed one night a week, we had a rural paper route on Saturday mornings. I was willing to do whatever it takes so I could provide for my family and to have opportunities for myself. How exciting is it that you get to do all the things you want to do and open doors for yourself here at Keene State. It’s a wonderful college and it changed my life,” Kelly said.

Kelly went on to discuss how her college experience had inspired her current stance on public education. She wants to continue to fund public education and work towards making college affordable for everyone. Adversely, she expressed how her opponent, current New Hampshire governor Chris Sununu, is not in favor of funding public education and wants to move money to private and religious schools through a voucher program.

“If we erode public education, we will be eroding democracy,” Kelly said.

Kelly also discussed how she will

repeal voter suppression laws that are specifically targeted towards preventing college students from voting. This is an issue of concern as earlier this year Sununu signed House Bill 1264 which requires any voter in New Hampshire to be a resident of the state at the exclusion of any other residency, according to New Hampshire General Court.

Other issues Kelly covered included her intent to continue to provide safe and legal abortions in the state of New Hampshire, despite talks of overturning Roe v Wade at the federal level, and that she plans to make New Hampshire a more environmentally friendly state. She said she will move New Hampshire from fossil fuels to renewable energy to ensure cleaner air, water, energy and to provide good jobs in the state.

To her opponent, Kelly sent a warning that she is not a force to be diminished.

“I’d say to Chris Sununu: don’t underestimate me. I was underestimated when I was a single mom here at Keene State. People said you can’t do that; be a single mom, raise three children and get your education. But guess what? I did. I ran for the State Senate. I ran against a Republican leader. People said you can’t do that. I did.”

Before giving attendees a chance for one-on-one meet-andgreets, her last remarks were ones of support and confidence in this election.

“You’re going to get up.

You’re going to vote. You’re going to get all your friends to vote and you’re going to have the loudest voice there is in this state and together we are going to move forward and I can’t wait for it to happen.”

Rachel Vitello can be contacted at rvitello@kscequinox.com

This year’s Pumpkinfest creates new expectations ALEX HARVEY

equinox stAff The revived Keene Pumpkin Festival was held just over a week ago and already Let it Shine, the group that organizes and promotes the festival, is preparing for next year.

On Saturday, Nov. 3, the group held a meeting in United Church of Christ to recruit volunteers for next year’s festival.

The members of Let it Shine agreed that this year’s Pumpkin Festival went very well, despite the legacy of the 2014 Pumpkin Festival riots still lingering in their minds.

Timothy Zinn, Board Chair of Let it Shine, spoke highly of student conduct during the weekend of the festival.

“All of the reports that I heard were amazing, I checked some stuff on Facebook and saw some posts from people in kind of key neighborhoods, if you want to call it, and they said it was amazing. I looked over on Winchester Court which I think has been kind of a hotspot in the past, but even that was quiet,” Zinn said.

Kemal Atkins, Vice President for Student Affairs at Keene State College praised the Keene State College student body: “Students have done a really good job of wanting to represent the institution well, represent their families well, and also represent themselves well.

Because you’re preparing to be leaders of the future

beyond Keene State ... the weekend went really well overall.”

Atkins said that students have been reminded of the school’s behavioral expectations repeatedly and in a variety of places, including in orientations, classes, student organizations, athletic teams, and in their residence halls.

“At the festival itself the students were there in the dark in the morning, lugging pumpkins and running games, holding the parade, setting up the labyrinth.”

Let it Shine board member Ruth Simpson said, describing the various ways that Keene State students helped out with the festival.

The organizers of the festival had some specific volunteer requests, and the students at Keene State did their best to fulfill these requests. Students volunteered at the festival in a variety of ways, including cleaning up the festival grounds, dumping pumpkins, and running games.

The festival included displays of Jack-O-Lanterns carved by local school children, pumpkin games and trick-or-treating. The festival also included music provided by DJ RayRay and a live performance by former Keene State College student Senie Hunt, who drew a large crowd with his solo-acoustic set which included a mixture of original songs and covers, and showcased a variety of unconventional guitar techniques.

“We had a number of activities that took place on campus,” Atkins said.

VINCENT MOORE / NEWS EDITOR

Atkins said that the school is trying to establish new weekend and a good opportunity for us to continue the traditions with some of the events, including the movie high level of energy on campus right now,” Atkins said. marathon and Monster Mash Dance Party which were both held on Saturday, Summoning the Spirits on Alex Harvey can be contacted at Sunday, and volunteering in the Pumpkin Festival. aharvey@kscequinox.com “We had over fifty students serve as volunteers for the Keene Pumpkin Festival downtown. It was a great

STUDENT ASSEMBLY SEBASTIEN MEHEGAN

AdministrAtive executive editor

Three budget increases were requested from different offices and organizations around campus.

On Tuesday Nov. 6, Interim Director of Athletics Dr. Denisha Hendricks made a presentation to the Student Assembly, explaining how important the Athletics Department is for the campus, and why they should have a three percent increase in their ask from student fees for fiscal year (FY) 2020. Hendricks touched on the marketing aspect, and how the athletics program expands the diversity of the school as a whole, as well as how it helps to recruit students.

Hendricks emphasized the need for the increase

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in budget based on certain aspects of the Athletic Department’s memberships to NCAA and the LEC, and how prices have increased for travel and various other smaller details the department worries about.

Hendricks’ request was approved unanimously.

Director of Campus Safety and Compliance Jeff Maher made a presentation asking for a 2.5 percent increase to the Campus Shuttle Service Fee budget, and for that same account to have its name changed to Safety Fee. His presentation included the different services Campus Safety provides the school to keep it a safe environment, and to improve the experiences of the students attending Keene State College. He went on to explain how the budget increase would help the commencement of different programs that

would improve on the current transportation service Campus Safety provides. Maher said the department wanted to change the name of the account so it will free up the money to be used for other improvements regarding safety so students might start to see some returns on their investment, i.e. student fees. Maher’s request was approved unanimously.

The third party to present was the dance team, who stated they needed a $2,000 increase to their traveling budget. Members of the dance team said this will help when they go on their Annual Nationals Trip which usually costs around $18,000. The dance team’s request was approved unanimously.

At the end of the assembly, Coordinator of Fraternity/Sorority Life & Student Leadership Brandon

Mathieu addressed the Student Assembly, saying KSC President Melinda Treadwell intended to be at the meeting. Unfortunately, she couldn’t make it, due to scheduling issues. Mathieu said she wanted to hear the general thoughts on whether or not the school should continue to distribute regalia hoods to the graduating class or whether it would be better to distribute medallions instead. The topic was tabled until a later date.

Sebastien Mehegan can be contacted at smehegan@kscequinox.com

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OPINIONS

Opinions / A4 Thursday, November 8, 2018

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Home sweet home The sad truths of living off campus EDITORIAL

Home sweet home. Not home-home, but like a second home. A student’s “Keene home” that they stay in while they go to school. Where they learn responsibilities by renting a house and living with only their roomates for a year.

In that home, they learn that they need to shut off the lights and TV before leaving, they have to keep up with dishes or else they pile up, they have to pay the electricity and Wi-Fi bills on time to make sure they build good credit, and lastly, they have to maintain a good relationship with their landlord or else living in that house could be hell.

The transition from living on campus to off campus isn’t easy.

Even though students are renting the house for a number of months, the accelerated process of finding that house and signing off on the lease can take only days.

Students are rushed into signing leases and looking at houses.

Most students look at less than three house before the realtor says, “So which one do you want?” The process is so fast and students feel pressured into places because realators are telling them, “You won’t find another five bedroom house in Keene,” or “I have another group of students looking at this house in three days so you need to make a decision about the house now.” Students need to take time and look at as many houses and apartments as they can because they will thank themselves in the long run.

After signing the lease for their first house, they wait a year before they can actually move in — only to find more surprises awaiting them. The toilet is broken, the walls have black mold, rodents are running around in the apartment — what happened? When the landlord doesn’t meet the students halfway, it can make living in that house so much more complicated than keeping up with their laundry. The lights don’t work, the kitchen roof is leaking, the doors aren’t locking — who do you call? The landlord. Get in contact with them, whether its calling, emailing, or showing up at their realtor office.

Having problems in the house can be very annoying, but it won’t get fixed if

students don’t say anything. If a realtor is cutting edges and not showing up after a student has made multiple efforts to get in contact with them, it’s another story. But a landlord most likely doesn’t know every little thing going wrong in each of their houses.

It’s a student’s job to show them the issues they’re having and talk to them about it respectively. After trying to get in contact with the realtors and still no response, then a student has to seek other guidance.

Students can go to the City Hall to figure out if their house has passed inspection. Most houses are inspected and then fixed, but many are still pending. Pending means that there are things that need to be fixed in the house, but it is still “livable.”

After doing this, students can also reach out to the off-campus living advisors.

They will make sure that a student gets in contact with the realtors and things get fixed.

But in the end, none of this will happen if a student sits on their couch and just complains.

They have to take action. It is a student that has the right to enforce the contract they signed.

They a r e pay i ng hundreds of dollars to get what they signed for. If a realtor is slacking off or doing things halfway, they need to realize the amount of power that a student has.

Let the realtor know that if they don’t fix the things they promised, other students could hear about it —

LAURA ROMANIELLO / ART DIRECTOR

encouraging others to stay away from those specific houses.

Living off campus is a great experience that most students will take advantage of.

It’s a real world scenario that many stu-

dents will also have to go through after graduation. As college students, they need to be respectful to the house (doesn’t every student want their security deposit back?) they live in and everyone they live around.

Establishing a good relationship with their landlord is key, even though it can be very difficult. When in doubt about a situation, call the landlord and figure it out together.

LETTER TO THE EDITOR To The Editor: I seem to find myself in the minority in today’s National Democratic Party.

I disagree with the tendency of most Democrats (including political candidates for Congress and those in the news media) to constantly bash Donald Trump over his obnoxious personality and his divisive comments.

As very-conservative “Morning Joe” Scarborough has said on his MSNBC show, when Democrats talk negatively about Trump it just makes his supporters

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angrier and more protective of him, while corroborating their paranoid belief that the Democrats and the liberal part of the media are out to get Trump. Rather, as Joe suggests, Democrats need to focus on communicating their humanistic, caring, and compassionate values to the American people and on telling the people how the federal government can be a positive force for a lot of good in our society and that it can make life better for all Americans.

They don’t seem to realize that research has consis-

To contact the Equinox, e-mail smehegan@kscequinox.com or cperry@kscequinox.com

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tently shown for the past forty years that most AmerSincerely, icans agree with them that we need to protect the Stewart B. Epstein safety-net programs such as Social Security, Medicare, 2266 Westside Drive Medicaid, Food Stamps, College Student Loans, and Rochester, New York 14624 Unemployment Insurance Benefits. phenom51@mail.com These are winning issues and popular programs that we should constantly be talking about, not trashP.S. I am a retired college professor of Sociology ing Trump. and Social Work.

I taught at West Virginia University and Slippery Rock University.

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Opinions / A5

Thursday, November 8, 2018

STAFF COMMENTARY

STAFF COMMENTARY

Get in the game

Sports: Watching, eating, supporting

The movie networks’ BIGGEST competitor

KATIE JENSEN

Two days ago, every Keene State College baseball fan had their T.V.s on, watching the Red Sox take their fourth World Series Championship.

According the 2017 Keene State College Factbook, approximately 43 percent of out-of-state students are from Massachusetts, which adds up to a lot of Boston Red Sox fans.

Although sports are competitive and controversial at times, it truly brings the community together to celebrate. The topic of sports appeals to all types of people, whether it’s going to the game, watching it on TV or creating a fantasy league with friends. When someone chooses to support a specific team, they automatically become a part of a community.

Sports are a topic that many people can bond over. Many of us grew up idolizing certain athletes like Lebron James, Michael Phelps, Shaun White and many more. This is often what drives a person’s interest to learn more about a sport.

Eventually, the more they know, the more they can engage with other people about it.

Last year, the 2018 Super Bowl brought New England Patriot fans to their knees when the Philadelphia Eagles won the game, 41-33, in a crushing fourth quarter. But win or lose, the important thing is that friends and family had the opportunity to bond over common interests.

When there are a group of people watching a game, it often comes with a lot of cheering, high-fiving, hugging and nacho-eating. High stakes games provoke a lot of tension, however, nothing beats screaming at the referee through the T.V. with all your friends backing you up.

In my experience, having knowledge about sports has helped me break the ice and develop deeper friendships over the years. It may also benefit you in unexpected ways, which I realized through the course of my summer internship last year.

On the first day of my internship, my boss brought the other interns and I out for lunch. It started off as a very awkward lunch, since most of us were too intimidated to speak. However, my coworker, Casey, broke the ice by talking about a Celtics game he recently watched on T.V. Eventually, more people chimed in to comment about the game, as did our boss. This was a very smart move on Casey’s behalf since he demonstrated confidence and social skills by introducing a conversation. Even though I did not have much to say, sports is a topic that most people can relate to and easily converse over.

Many colleges and universities in New Hampshire celebrated last Wednesday when the Red Sox won. Thousands of people gathered at the University of New Hampshire on Main Street, cheering and setting off fireworks. Plymouth State University also celebrated the win, but things eventually got out of hand when students threw bottle rockets and started vandalizing school property. It’s good that no such occurrence happened at Keene State College and that we reacted with pride and dignity. So to every KSC sports fan, keep watching and keep cheering with your friends!

ANNA HEINDL / EQUINOX STAFF

Katie Jensen can be cotacted at kjensen@kscequinoxcom

STAFF COMMENTARY

KYLE WILSON / EQUINOX STAFF

equiNox staff

LINDSAY GIBBONS

equiNox staff The move-in checklist for college freshman contains all of your basics; textbooks, mini fridges, sheets, and lamps. However, there is a new item that is commonly added to student’s lists; Netflix.

The success of Netflix originals, such as “Stranger Things,” “Black Mirror” and “Haunting at Hill House” has given the company a lot of recent publicity, leading to an increase of monthly subscriptions, in both the regular population, and college students.

In a new survey of college students in the United States, lead by LendEDU, only eight percent of students said they didn’t have access to a Netflix account. That means that a whopping 92 percent of college students have access to Netflix movie and television content. Of those students, 37 percent said that they watched Netflix on a daily basis.

However, that doesn’t mean all students pay for Netflix. 54 percent of college students in the United States who responded to LendEDU’s study said they use a friend’s or family member’s account, and 5 percent said they used an account owned by their significant other or an ex boyfriend or girlfriend. Only 34 percent of users said that they owned their own account. The company has always taken a laid-back approach to password sharing. Netflix once stated in an interview with Business Insider, “As long as they aren’t selling them, members can use their passwords however they please.”

Students often start out pretty innocently.

They think they’ll just watch once episode after class and then get started with their homework.

Yet, the cliffhanger at the end makes them feel like they need to watch the next one, eventually watching three, four, or even five episodes in a row. This is called binge-watching, something almost every college student will experience at one point or another. Cliffhangers at the end of episodes can make it especially hard for students to stop after they become interested in a show.

While everyone does it occasionally, bingewatching shows regularly is not a very healthy practice. Loss of sleep and irregular sleep patterns are some of the downfalls. If absences due to lack of sleep start to become an issue, professors may take notice. This can have a big impact on a student’s grades. Binge-watching regularly can also lead to loneliness or depression. This stems from the lacking sense of control that comes with watching several episodes in a row and simultaneously letting homework and other projects pile up.

However, Netflix does have some benefits. The concept of “Netflix and Chill” has inspired many jokes and memes, and on the surface, it’s easy to see why. However, a new study shows that Netflix and Chill can be great for your relationship— and not just because you spend all those hours cozying up on the couch together.

Previous research has shown that couples who have mutual friends tend to have stronger relationships than couples that don’t. But a new study points out that if your partner and you don’t share a social circle, fictional characters can strengthen your bond.

“Having a shared connection to the characters in a TV series or film might make couples feel like they share a social identity even if they lack mutual friends in the real world,” Sarah Gomillion, who has a PhD, explained in an interview with Health.com. Netflix can also have the same effect on friendships. This is especially true in friends that don’t see each other often, or who also run in different social circles.

So, while binge-watching on your couch with your friends or significant other shouldn’t be the only thing you do all weekend, or the only time you spend together, we can stop rendering it as such a guilty pleasure. The key is to enjoy Netflix is in moderation, and ensure that you’re up to date on the latest TV series, but are not spending all day sucked into your computer screen.

Lindsay Gibbons can be contacted at lgibbons@kscequinox.com

College students easy bait for the politicians’ lies VINCENT MOORE

News editor This midterm election season, there was a fervor among political campaigns to get young people out to vote; posters were put up, flyers were given out, and canvassers invaded campuses. One message that was frequently touted out this season was that young people need to have their voices heard. On the surface, it seems like a positive message; everyone wants to be heard, but is that what really happens in our system? Not by a long shot.

Canvassers want young people to “have their voice heard” in the same way a snake oil salesperson wants their customers to be free of maladies; they see young people as a means to their end. If politicians care as much as they say they do about college students and young people, then why do they discuss their issues only when it’s time to pander for their votes? Why do a majority of politicians vote for policies detrimental to young people, like voting to continue deficit spending (which is the government spending money that it doesn’t have yet but expects future generations to pay off)? Why haven’t they rescheduled the most widely used so-called “illicit drug” by college students, cannabis, to not be as illegal as heroin, and why is student debt at an all-time high despite college affordability being a frequent campaign issue since 2008?

None of these issues have been solved or even seriously discussed outside of campaigning season.

This is because the people who run for and occupy public office for the most part see young adults and college students as a voting block they pander to when campaigning, and then ignore when in office in favor of representing lobbyists working the Military-Industrial complex and Wall Street.

A decade ago, during the 2008 election, Barack Obama enamored young people with his message of hope and change to great success; Obama won the votes of 66 percent of the 18-29 year old population, in no little part due to the concerns he expressed about college affordability on the campaign trail. Despite having someone in the White House who two thirds of young people felt would represent their interests, their problems became worse. At the end of 2008, before Obama took office, student loan debt was $640 billion, and by 2015 it had ballooned to over a trillion dollars. In the meantime, Obama spent his entire two terms waging war in seven different countries (none of which ever posed a direct threat to the American people); the first two-term president in the country’s history to do so. Does waging continuous warfare against faraway developing countries represent what the young adults who voted for him wanted, or does it represent what the militaryindustrial complex and its army of lobbyists wanted?

The Republican participation in this political game can be personified by Obama’s late presidency foil, Speaker of the House Paul Ryan,

who rose to prominence with the help of the Tea Party movement, but frequently betrayed his fiscally conservative base by reliably voting in favor of raising the debt ceiling and increasing spending. Choosing between Republicans and Democrats has the same results as playing a rigged coin toss: Heads, they win, or tails, you lose. “Politics today is pro-wrestling,” former Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura once said.

“The dems and repubs in front of you and in front of the public are going to tell how they hate each other and how they’re different, but as soon as the cameras go off, in the back room, they’re all going out to dinner together and they’re all buddies cutting deals.”

It’s been said that the definition of insanity is doing the same action over and over again, expecting a different result each time. Republicans and Democrats have been taking turns promising change for the better for the past decade, yet what has changed for the better? Instead of voting every two years for someone coming from two organizations with solid track records of equivocating and lying to help solve their problems, young people would do better to rely on themselves and those they trust for help. Politicians have had decades to improve the lives of this current generation and the fruit of their labor is evident: the power and treasure of those living in the imperial city of Washington D.C. is increasing while the rest of the country’s standard of living decreases. It’s time for the young

CONTRIBUTED BY BEN GARRISON

to stop supporting this system and turn their backs on politicians and to try something new: Self-determination. In a twist of President Kennedy’s famous words, ask not what country can do for you, but what you can do for yourself.

Vincent Moore can be contacted at vmoore@kscequinox.com

“The dems and repubs in front of you and in front of the public are going to tell how they hate each other and how they’re different, but as soon as the cameras go off, in the back room, they’re all going out to dinner together and they’re all buddies cutting deals.”

-Governor Jesse Ventura

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ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT / A6

Poetry gets personal ERIN MCNEMAR

artS & EntErtainmEnt Editor Everyone has varying interests, goals and opinions. However, people can unite on a common and relatable ground.

On Friday, Nov. 4, spoken word poet Gabriela Garcia Medina performed some of her original works in the Night Owl Cafe.

Medina began writing poetry when she was young. She said, “I was about 10 years old, and my family had migrated to the U.K. from Cuba, and it was a way I found that I could express what I was feeling.”

The performance began with Medina sitting down with the audience and getting to know everyone. She asked each individual person their name, and what they were majoring in to a create an intimate and close group for the performance.

Once the reading began, Medina performed poems about what makes her herself, such as having a broken heart, sexual assault, and being a progressive feminist as well as other numerous topics. Medina also read some company poetry ads she wrote for organizations such as Home Depot and Dove soap.

Medina explained her creative process when it comes to writing poetry.

“Either things are commissioned and they will say, ‘Okay, I want you to write a poem about how great it is to be Latino.’ Then I will come up with an idea,” Medina said. “Either that, or I set perimeters for myself like, ‘I want to talk about love because I’m in a lot of pain now.’ Then I write about that, so different things and interactions with people.

Also stories that I hear,” said Medina.

While writing your own poetry is one thing, performing it can be intimidating.

However, Medina did not shy away from the spotlight. “So I’ve always liked performing, and I’ve always performed. I performed other people’s poems when I was younger. When Is started writing my own poems, I always wanted to perform them, but I didn’t know there was such a thing as performance poetry,” Medina said. “When I was 15, I won a scholarship to Columbia University for this teen writing program. One of the field trips we went on was to the Nuyorican Poets Cafe, and that was when I saw spoken word for the first time. It blew my mind, I was like, ‘Oh my god, I can marry my love for acting and my love for writing together,’” Medina said.

First-year Sydney Robinson was working on the tech crew for the NOC on Friday, so she was able to watch the reading. “I thought it was really good.

It was actually above my expectations.

I had a lot of poetry in high school, but this was a lot better than that,” said Robinson.

Also attending the performance was KSC junior Dillon Tavitian. Tavitian attended because, “It was just something to do on a Friday night, and some of my friends invited me.” Tavitian said, “I had never seen a poet perform before so I didn’t know what to expect.”

Tavitian said he enjoyed the performance, and would go to another poetry reading in the future. “It was really good, intimate and empowering. I had a really good time. It was fun,” Tavitian said.

The Hate U Give JACQUELINE PANTANO

Equinox Staff

Erin McNemar can be contacted at emcnemar@kscequinox.com

ERIN MCNEMAR / ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR

Starting off recitals on a high note

PUJA THAPA / BUSINESS MANAGER

On Saturday, November 3, first-years and sophomore's performed in the annual Freshmen and Sophomore Recital. The recital featured music and non-music majors.

Students perform in the freshmen and sophomore recital Equinox Staff Keene State College kicked off November this year with a special concert—the annual Freshmen and Sophomore Recital.

Performed in the Redfern Arts Center on November 3, at 7:30, the recital featured both instruments and vocals from music and nonmusic majors alike. For students performing, this recital was not small undertaking according to Colette Rinker, a music major who currently takes applied voice lessons here at Keene. “I am a music major with my primary instrument being voice, so the lessons are required for my major,” she noted.

“Each student is also required to perform a piece at a combined Freshman/Sophomore recital.”

Rinker, however, is far from just a singer.

She also plays double bass, guitar and piano, and has dedicated much time to preparing for the concert. “I spend about forty minutes daily rehearsing all of my vocal repertoire. We are given up to four pieces for our lessons to learn and memorize by the end of the semester, and we get to choose one of the pieces for the recital. For the past month I’ve spent an additional twenty minutes during my usual rehearsal time dedicated to rehearsing my piece for the recital,” Rinker said.

However, not every participant in the concert was a music major. First-year Davis Allen, who plays trumpet, played in the concert simply as a musician. He noted that, because of this, his experience was quite different from those who were music majors.

When asked about the recital process, he stated that it was about, “Going beyond

memorizing the music and taking it to the next level of truly playing it.”

Topher Clark, another music major, got involved in the recital in a similar fashion to Rinker. “I’m a music education major with voice as my primary instrument,” he explained when asked about his participation in the recital. “So I will be singing one of the pieces that I have been working on in my voice lessons. All of the freshman and sophomore music voice majors are performing at this recital, which is how I got involved,” Clark said.

Clark went on to state that most of his recent voice lessons were spent working on his chosen piece for the concert, and “shaping it to be at performance level,” as well as rehearsing for half an hour out of class each week. While the rehearsal process varied between each participant, Clark confidently

Jacqueline's movie mania

ANGELIQUE INCHIERCA / SENIOR STAFF

On Friday, November 4, the Night Owl Cafe hosted spoken word poet, Gabriela Garcia Medina. Medina read poems about her personal life experiences.

KATHRYN SPADAFORA

Thursday, November 8, 2018

said that each student involved worked equally hard.

Hours upon hours of hard work and rehearsals were put into making the Freshmen and Sophomore Recital on November 1 the best it could be, by both music majors and non-music majors. For those pursuing a music major, the recital is a required event to mark progress on their instrument. A culmination of efforts from both the Keene State Music Department and the first-year and sophomore music talent at Keene State, the first-years and sophomores marked a special night for both audience members and performers alike.

Kathryn Spadafora can be contacted at kspadafora@kscequinox.com

“The Hate U Give,” a story about being a story, is a masterful representation of pride, courage and love.

“Your voice is your weapon.” This line encompasses the beautiful concept of this film. Starr (Amandla Stenberg), a black teenage girl, lives in the fictional poor and predominantly black neighborhood Green Heights, and attends a predominantly white upper class private school in an affluent neighborhood. As a consequence, her personality is split in two.

Starr hides who she is at her school, afraid of being a victim of racial stereotypes and stigmas. She hides her cultured and educated side, afraid of betraying her neighborhood by attending a privileged high-end school. She lives this double life and hides her true-self until she witnesses the murder (by the hands of a cop) of her childhood best friend, Khalil (Algee Smith). The barely standing equilibrium breaks. Silence cannot be an option.

The film explores the consequences of the broken system our world thrives on, as well as the injustice, the hatred, the shame, and the fear that fills all our hearts. Your voice is your power.

Even if it seems that no matter how loud you scream no one hears, someone is always listening. A story is nothing but a voice, a loud scream. “The Hate U Give” is a voice in the crowd.

It is a voice screaming about injustice, hatred, pride and self-love.

The underprivileged are shamed.

Their identity is seen as their weakness; it is treated as if it should be hidden and degraded. Identity is always a strength. Pride in that identity always leads to success. Starr shows to those listening and watching how true that is. Stenberg, with her extraordinary performance, guides the viewers through her growth, from passive acceptance to rebellious activism. A broken system must not be accepted. It must be fought. Your voice is your greatest weapon.

A perfectly built climax accompanies the audience from a starting slow rhythm growing every second to the moment of release, truth and power: Starr screaming at the top of her lungs.

She was once hidden in the dark and now she finally shines; she is finally true to her name.

The film brings to the screen the seemingly undefeatable, subtle, unaware, painful and destructive racism that plagues society. It questions everyone’s role in the fight to defeat this plague. Everyone needs to stand up. The most powerful weapons — your voices — must be used.

“The Hate U Give”, based on the novel by Angie Thomas, was directed

by George Tillman Jr. The film premiered at the Toronto Film Festival.

As of Nov. 2, it holds a 97% approval rating based on 167 reviews on the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes.

“The Hate U Give”, a critically acclaimed film, should be seen by everyone. Stenberg’s extraordinary performance, the beautifully written script and the film’s great emotional power will make up for a very pleasurable and entertaining two hours.

However, it must be seen for its powerful message. “The Hate U Give” is a story that wisely uses the power stories have. It acts as a vehicle to spread awareness, to open eyes. It is a plea to join the fight for equality.

Jacqueline Pantano can be contacted at jpantano@kscequinox.com

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ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT / A7

Thursday, November 8, 2018

Expression through demonstration

ANGELIQUE INCHIERCA / SENIOR STAFF

Keene State College's Art Collective encouraged students to showcasing their values and beliefs by writing them on a sign to be posted in front of the student center from Monday to Tuesday evening.

KSC students participate in the national art project "For Freedoms" ERIN MCNEMAR

Arts & EntErtAinmEnt Editor Love, happiness, freedom. These were some of the words written on signs all across the Student Center lawn due to the work of the Keene State College Art Collective and a movement called the “50 State Initiative of Freedoms” created by For Freedoms.

“For Freedoms is a non-profit art movement,” said senior and studio art major Logan Symonds. “Through non-partisan nationwide programing, For Freedoms uses art as a vehicle for participation to deepen public discussions and civic issues and core values. They are [a] hub for artist, art institutes and citizens that want to be more engaged in public life,” Symonds said.

On Monday Oct. 29 and Tuesday Oct. 30, members of the Art Collective set up a table in the student center and asked passers by to write down what they value on a sign. The sign was then displayed on the lawn outside the building.

“The campaign encourages participants to produce and publicly display their own definition of freedom.

It’s not entirely a political event. [It’s] more so emphasize core values and things that are important to individuals. I generate the idea to get others to reflect and actually think about what they value in their life,” Symonds

continued. “As day-to-day life goes on, we sometimes forget the things we hold close to our hearts and some of the things that make us human. It’s important to stay true to yourself and stand up for the things you value,” Symonds said.

KSC gained involvement in this movement through Associate Professor of Art, Jon Gitelson. “I’ve known the two founders Eric Gottesman and Hank Willis Thomas for a number of years, just being artists together. When they started working on this project they contacted me and said, ‘We’re looking for one school in every state.

We would love it if you would head up the New Hampshire area,’” Gitelson said.

According Gitelson, For Freedoms approached him last January or February. From there, Gitelson began the process of making this collaborative idea a reality at KSC. “I started off just talking to a lot of people at the school to see how this could even come to be. The yard sign image was already imagined by For Freedoms, so that was something I knew we could do on campus, and then I approached the Art Collective,” Gitelson said.

President of the Art Collective Haley Kean worked closely with this project and with insuring its success.

“I’m very proud of what everyone’s accomplished. It was such an amazing opportunity to get to work with successful artists who are a part of this nationally known

organization. As an art collective, It was very encouraging to see a fellow collective making such a difference,” said Kean.

For Freedoms has expanded their reach of this project all across the country. “There are hundreds of schools involved in this across the country, and actually, Keene State is the only one represented in New Hampshire,” Symonds said.

The 50 State Initiative of Freedoms is the largest creative collaboration in our nation's history. According to the For Freedom website, “From September to November of 2018, concurrent decentralized public events across the country will reflect a multiplicity of voices and spark a national dialogue about art, education, commerce, and politics.”

“I feel like this movement will be something that is in history books some day. It’s huge to be the biggest thing in history, and Keene State is involved,” said Symonds.

In addition, the Art Collective also created For Freedoms displays in the Carol House as well as the Redfern Arts Center. “Every project we did with For Freedoms was more about embracing your voice, expression, and collaboration as young adults. We have a lot more power than we think we do and it’s important advocate and encourage the use of it,” Kean continued. “We view these projects as one big interactive art piece. The ideal

outcome of these projects was to facilitate a conversation about freedom and to get the community to talk and collaborate together,” Kean said.

With the political climate the United States is currently facing, Gitelson emphasized the importance of this campaign not just at Keene State, but everywhere in the country.

“It’s an incredically polarizing time, and I feel like there are no more sidelines. Even by being on the sidelines you’re choosing certain power structures to exist.

Ever since I started working here, I have been pushing my classes towards civic engagement and political awareness,” Gitelson continued. “I’ve been here eight years. When I first started, students were much less aware of the world around them than they are now.

To me, the most important thing is to get young people involved,” Gitelson said.

When asked what students should take away from this project, Gitelson said, “Empowerment.The idea that the world is broader than just Keene State.

This is part of a larger thing.”

Erin McNemar can be contacted at emcnemar@kscequinox.com

BRIEF

Choirs and community sing for remembrance ERIN MCNEMAR

Arts & EntErtAinmEnt Editor There is a power behind joining together, as well as singing together.

On Wednesday Oct. 31, the Keene State College concert choir joined together with members of the community to perform Dr. Elaine Ginsberg’s "Oseh Shalom.” The event was held to bring together the community and remember those that were affected by the Pittsburg Shooting on Oct. 27.

Concert choir director, Dr. Matthew Leese, explained his desire to hold the event in light of the attacks of violence in Pittsburg. He felt the best way to cope with it was with music.

The event was took place in the Redfern Arts Center’s Alumni Recital Hall and began at 12 p.m. The group of students and community members discussed the recent tragedy and

then went through a series of vocal warm ups.

The KSC students mixed the community members into their vocal sections as a symbol of unity and togetherness.

Once the groups joined together in song, the performance was conducted by Ginsberg herself. The singers sang through “Oseh Shalom” multiple times with and without piano, attempting perfect and blend their voices, according to Leese.

After the last note of the song ran out, Ginsberg said, “That was beautiful. This means a lot to me.”

The event lasted for about 40 minutes and was open to the public.

Erin McNemar can be contacted at emcnemar@kscequinox.com

KSCEQUINOX.COM

ERIN MCNEMAR / ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR

On Wednesday, October 31, the KSC concert choir joined the community to remember those lost in the Pittsburg Shooting.

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A&E / A8

Thursday, November 8, 2018

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STUDENT LIFE

Student Life, B1

Thursday, November 8, 2018

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Charity event hosted by Woodward SEBASTIEN MEHEGAN

AdminiStrAtive executive editor Philanthropist is not a word often used to describe a video game enthusiast, until now.

Keene State College student Kyle Woodward, with the help of the Gamer’s Guild, put on a charity event called Extra Life starting on Saturday, Nov. 3, through Sunday, Nov. 4.

According the extra-life.org website, “Extra Life unites thousands of gamers around the world to play games in support of their local Children’s Miracle Network Hospital. Since its inception in 2008, Extra Life has raised more than $40 million for sick and injured kids.”

Woodward said, “Right now we are playing games to heal kids.” This statement is also included in the Extra Life motto.

KSC senior Katie Walsh said, “A lot of times, people get lumped into basement dweller status and [people] don’t really see that the hobby itself that is playing video games can be used to do good things.”

Woodward said he and other members of the Gamer’s Guild were raising money for Children’s’ Miracle Network Hospitals. He wanted to focus his group’s aid more towards one specific hospital. “We are raising money for Children’s Miracle Network hospitals, more specifically Boston Children’s [Hospital],” Woodward said. “I wanted to be able to give back to the hospital that helped save my sister’s life.” He said when his sister was 18 she was struggling with depression and mental breakdowns. During her struggle she had gone to their local hospital to no avail. “...Then we went to Boston Children’s Hospital and she was able to get the help she needed. She was there for a while but she was stable. My

stress level went down because she was getting all the help she needed,” Woodward said.

Along with the fact that this was a gaming charity event, there was still another twist. Woodward said this event was supposed to be a 24 hour event, however, due to the fact that Nov. 4 was daylight savings, the event went on for an additional hour. “We’re here from 9 a.m.

November 3 to 9 a.m. on November 4.” Woodward said.

Woodward said he discovered the Extra Life program through a friend. “He’s doing his sixth one right now while I do my first one.”

In terms of attendance, Woodward said they had opened a live video game stream on Twitch.com so anyone could view their progress through the night or even donate through his personal account. “I began reaching out to friends and Keene State students that had an interest in playing games. I spoke to Gamer’s

SEBASTIEN MEHEGAN / ADMINISTRATIVE EDITOR Kyle Woodward (left) hosted Extra Life charity event backed by the Gamer’s Guild and their members

Guild and asked the members of Gamer’s Guild if they wanted to help out and that’s how I found a lot of these guys… Now we are just playing games.”

Walsh said she heard about the event through flyers posted in her residence hall. She recognized the title Extra Life: “I’ve kind of heard other Youtubers doing charity streams and that’s always been kind of interesting so I thought I’d check this one out since it’s actually going to be held on campus.”

Walsh said she had a lot of fun at the event even though she isn’t a member of Gamer’s Guild.

Sebastien Mehegan can be contacted at smehegan@kscequinox.com

BRIEF

Trans-justice panel responds to government mandated gender identity ALYSSA WISNIEWSKI

Student Life editor The Mabel Brown Room was filled with emotions on Thursday as a justice panel for the transgender community spoke about their rights.

Hunter Kirschner, the program support assistant for LGBTQ students, planned the event in response to a New York Times article that discusses a memo from the Department of Human Services.

“A lot of it centered around wanting to create a space to be able to have a conversation about it,” said Kirschner.

According to the Keene State College student handbook, “Keene State College prohibits gender discrimination in any of its programs and activities.”

“It’s to demonstrate that we’re in institution that is taking it seriously and care about the impact,” said Kirschner.

Kirschner wanted to respomd to the political side, as well as the social aspect.

“My job is to work with and support LGBTQ students.

It falls under my purview, and personally as a trans person this hit me too,” said Kirschner.

Thinking about his students, Kirschner wanted to

make them feel safe and loved: “In light of my response to this [...] I’m sure students are varying the level of their own transition and identity development may feel more vulnerable and more harmed so I wanted to acknowledge that and respond to that.”

The Panel included Jeff Maher, Emily Mcgill, and three other KSC students. The panelists answered questions about safety and concern in the transgender student population.

“They talked about information and context but also the authority they have, people would take them seriously,” said Kirschner.

During the panel, students shared personal stories reflecting on living as transgender students. Kirschner said it was important to have students on the panel: “Having the students speak from their own experiences on [an] individual level, being able to elicit empathy and to hear about any fear they have,” said Kirschner.

Throughout the night, the audience that consisted of students, citizens of Keene and faculty members listened and asked questions to the panel regarding safety.

The main goal of the panel was to provide some answers for the community and show the support for Keene State students who are transgender or part of the LGBTQ community.

“We want to create spaces for people to come together as a community to resist and build resilience against what’s happened,” said Kirschner.

This informative justice panel led people’s eyes to become watery, whereas some were red with anger.

“It’s a lot of different feelings. [Some] are angry about what’s going on, unfair and not surprising, it’s very unjust and frustrating,” said Kirschner.

The panel is only the beginning of the fixing the problem. Reaching out to the community was the first step.

“That’s [what] cultivating a community is. [It] creates a group of people that care about each other. Having more these conversations, but also practicing creating a community... and it’s hard to expect people to know how to do it,” said Kirschner.

Kirschner realizes that the panel alone will not solve the issue of transgender rights being changed, but he said that there is still a way to make a difference: “Taking the time and energy to help someone or support someone. It’s all about practicing love.”

Alyssa Wisniewski can be contacted at awisniewski@kscequinox.com ALYSSA WISNIEWSKI / STUDENT LIFE EDITOR

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STUDENT LIFE / B2

Celebrating Dia De Los Muertos

PUJA THAPA / BUSINESS MANAGER

JULIA HAWKINS

Equinox Staff The Common Ground Club, or the Multicultural Club, put on its third annual celebration of Dia de Los Muertos for everyone at Keene State to enjoy.

On Nov. 1, Keene State College students and faculty enjoyed raffle prizes, games, food and drinks in the Flag Room in the Student Center while celebrating El Dia de Los Muertos.

As the president of the Common Ground Club, Brianna Neely hosted and manufactured all of the activities presented in the Flag Room for students to participate in. Neely and other members of the Common Ground Club all did previous research on the Day of the Dead before hosting this event. Neely said,

“It’s a lot of fun to put on this event because we look at death one way, and to see it from a whole another cultural view is inspiring.”

Unlike past years putting on Dia de los Muertos, the Common Ground Club has included a new addition to its event: The ofrenda. Students and faculty who attended the Dia de Los Muertos celebration placed things such as pictures, flowers and candles on the ofrenda in dedication to a lost loved one. This will continue on for years to come, and will be added to each year.

As a Mexican holiday, the Day of the Dead offers a different perspective on death. Typically when anyone in America thinks of death, it is instantly associated with darkness and tragedy. However, in Mexico, death is looked upon differently. When describing how

death is looked at in Mexico, Neely said, “They tell stories about their loved ones and there’s colors, music, food, and it’s a lot different than it is here in the United States.”

At the event, there were many tables set up with different activities. A first year student named Hannah Correia attended the Dia de Los Muertos celebration. Correia said it was a “really cute set up” and that she “really enjoyed all of the food and decorations and Halloween candy.” Some of the other activities included making tissue paper flowers, fake tattoos and coloring in skulls. Lots of students took advantage of these activities and spoke highly of them. A third year student named Elena Papadimitriou who attended said she “really enjoyed decorating the skull rice crispy treats and hanging out with friends.” The

Tabling for Politics

PHOTO CONTRIBUTED BY ROBIN PICARD

Keene State Colleges student groups KSC Republicans and College Democrats were set up, side by side, November 1, in the Student Center at a time of such political discord and separation in the US

biggest hit at the Dia de Los Muertos celebration was the skull rice crispy decorating activity. Most of the rice crispy skulls were gone and decorated by the end of the night. Another popular activity was the coloring station. There were many coloring pages to choose from, and lots of students took advantage of sitting down and coloring with friends.

The Dia de Los Muertos celebration was and is welcome to any student or faculty at Keene State who is interested in the Day of the Dead. Even though the Dia de Los Muertos is a Mexican holiday, it is still celebrated everywhere throughout the world.

Julia Hawkins can be contacted at jhawkins@kscequinox.com

Out and About to create safe space GWEN PHILLIPS

Equinox Staff On Friday, November 2, the monthly social event Out and About gathered once again to talk and give a place for students and faculty alike to openly converse about not only heavy topics but just to check in with each other and ask about classes, friends, and build relationships.

It was created by the Keene State College Program Support Assistant for LGBTQ students, Hunter Kirshner, in the fall semester of 2017.

With so many outside factors that place stress on people in the media, such an inviting meeting can be beneficial in reassuring the LGBTQ community.

For example, the leaked memo from the department of health about defining sex as a immutable biological condition determined by genitalia at birth in NY Times, creates stress, fear and anxiety and this group helpfully would allow people to talk and to show and give support.

By engaging attendees in a creative activity, sign making, no speakers just everyone gathering to talk and channel the feelings of distress caused by the NY Times article to help people process the feelings.

Hunter said he hopes this welcoming environment if anything becomes a place friends are made and people of the LGBTQ community can just talk.

While Out and About was not explicitly created for people coming out, it could be a place for people exploring identities.

The main goal in forming this meeting is to make a consistent space for people to go to and engage and talk.

As far as emotional support goes, the office of Diversity and Multicultural Student Support is, for many, an informal support to meet other people and build relationships.

Of course the campus has a counseling center available that is encouraged to be utilized for anyone that wants to talk.

Gwent Phillips can be contacted at gphillips@kscequinox.com

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STUDENT LIFE / B3

Thursday, November 8, 2018

Kappa Delta Pi hosts game night

Having fun in Morocco

HALEIGH PATCH

ALEXANDRIA SAURMAN

Equinox Staff

Equinox Staff

Favorite childhood games were brought to life at Giant Game Night. Kappa Delta Pi (KDP) hosted Giant Game Night in the Mabel Brown Room on Tuesday, Oct. 30, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Kappa Delta Pi, the Education Honors Society on campus, promotes excellence and recognizes outstanding contributions to education. It helps prepare students for challenges they might face in the future as educators. KDP also happens to be the oldest honors society at Keene State, as it was chartered in 1943.

Giant Game Night had games such as Giant Connect 4, Jenga, Corn Hole, Flip Cup, Spike Ball and more. All of the games were life-size to promote the word “giant.”

Adriana Alicea and Tyler Chaisson are the presidents of Kappa Delta Pi and Sierra Shelburne is the vice president.

Alicea said their faculty advisor has a connection with the company Games To Go, and that is where they were able to rent these “giant” games.

Chaisson said KDP hosts one event per semester on campus, and this is the fall event.

Shelburne said the past e-board had done something similar to this event, and they wanted to bring it back because everyone seems to enjoy it. She said the point of this event is for both recruitment purposes and for the opportunity to partner with the KSC Bigs Club, which is a student run organization affiliated with Big Brothers Big Sisters of New Hampshire.

The Bigs Club assists students wishing to be matched with a little brother or little sister and organizes various events for matches. Some events include pep rallies at KSC basketball games, holiday parties or game nights. The Bigs Club is open to all students and holds meetings on Wednesdays at 7 p.m. in Atrium Conference Room.

LUKE STERGIOU / SENIOR PHOTOGRAPHER

The president of the Bigs Club, Kayla Koster, said KDP reached out to them to connect at this event and they hope to continue to working with them in the future.

“It would be great to have a partnership with KDP so kids and education majors have the opportunity to connect,” Koster said. She said she hopes they can put on another game night in the future and try to collaborate with kids and students.

Koster said the Bigs Club focuses on college students becoming mentors to children and they put on events to make that happen.

The event was open to students as well as club members. The Mabel Brown Room was filled with games and about 20 students — however, most of them were club or honors society members. There was music and announcements at the beginning of the evening about future events

or fundraisers with a sign-up sheet. There were baked goods made by members of KDP available for students at the event as well. Sophomore Gavin Soper came to the event with a member from the Bigs Club and said he had a great time at Giant Game Night and he would come to it again in the future. He said it was a good idea to have this event to bring Kappa Delta Pi and the Bigs Club together.

Haleigh Patch can be contacted at hpatch@kscequinox.com

Ambling around the city streets of Agadir, Morocco, I follow the map on my phone, guiding us towards a local nail salon. It’s past eight o’clock at night, and the streets are starting to get busy. A couple of friends stand on the sidewalk, simultaneously having a conversation and watching my friends and I get lost; a few musicians walk by, recognizing us from the restaurant and giving us a wave; a group of men play soccer in an open square while another closer to us tries to help us find our way.

As small as these interactions are with people, they prove to be some of the most important. Travelling is more than seeing famous sites and exploring a new city; it’s understanding the culture around you and absorbing what you see. When you’re exploring a new city, it’s important to take in everything you see. A camera can’t always capture the beauty of traveling. Your phone wont be able to build friendships and memories with friends. Take a moment to breathe and watch the surroundings, even if it’s just watching the sunset or looking at the stars.

Later that night, after my friends and I got back from the nail salon, we found our way onto the balcony of where we were staying. We pulled some plastic chairs onto the concrete and gazed at our surroundings for an hour. The city of Agadir was brightly lit. Lights of yellow, red, green and orange shades filled the lower third of the skyline and the faint sound of city life filled the air. Looking up, we saw the dark night sky illuminated by the dozens of stars scattered beautifully about. I was in awe. The peace of the city outskirts combined with the company of my newfound friends and breathtaking views made for a memory I’ll never forget.

For the next sixty or so minutes, my friends and I found ourselves talking about

Owls of KSC

“What is your family’s favorite fall tradition?”

Compiled by Angelique Inchierca

“I would say making apple crisps.”

- Hannah Hutchinson

“Our whole family comes together for Thanksgiving at my house. We go skiing in Killington a lot. We have traditions to go [skiing] Thanksgiving weekend, Good Friday, and also winter break.”

“Probably going apple picking.”

- Chrysta Barbaro

“We always go apple picking every year which is super fun because we finally get the whole family together ... We also do the carving of the pumpkin and put the pumpkin seeds in the oven.”

- Lauren Pearce

-Benjamin Lavigne

“It’s ironic. It’s a fall tradition, but my family, this morning every year, tags a Christmas tree and then cuts it down later [in the year].”

- Kaitlyn Wilson

KSCEQUINOX.COM

“It’s more like ‘Holiday’ but every year on Black Friday, my aunt has us all over and we all watch ‘National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation.’”

- Sarah Brochu

everything and anything. My newest piece of conversation was on the recent massage I had received at the nail salon. “She turned the lights off and put on ambient music but didn’t tell me anything. I was so confused,” I told them. I had asked the owner for a massage, and without much instruction, she guided me behind a curtain, turned the light off, played music and walked away. It was a very confusing time. We laughed over the story and switched subjects. We talked about what we wanted our final projects to be on, our past classes and what we wanted our final projects to be on.

There’s something special about traveling that can only be understood when you take a break from everything and look around. When you finally take a minute to breathe and not worry about how a picture will look, if you’re going in the right direction or what’s next on the itinerary, you’ll see a different world. You’ll see what you had hoped for and what every traveler desires to see – something new.

Alexandria Saurman can be contacted at asaurman@kscequinox.com

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STUDENT LIFE / B4

Thursday, November 8, 2018

what’s happening in

November Thursday | November 8, 2018

Nov 8 Friendsgiving

Nov 8 Stuffed Spud Bar

Nov 19 Nov 29 Love, Keene State Dining Find us around campus for a special treat

Tailgate Lunch

Curated by KSC Dietetic Students

Zorn Dining Commons | Lunch

To write for Student Life contact:

Student Life Alyssa Wisniewski

awisniewski@kscequinox.com KSCEQUINOX.COM

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CREATIVE COLLECTIONS

Creative Collections / B5 Thursday, November 8, 2018

KSCEQUINOX.COM

SHORT STORY

Poems by Izzy grandson and pursed his lips.

“Can I stay here?” Aditya then asked with uncertainty in his voice.

“Sure,” his grandfather said. “Go Aditya was standing at the threshold of his grandfather’s house. His grand- and shower then.”

The boy pursed his lips with a tight father’s face changed to confusion and a somewhat frustrated look when he saw the smile and got up from the floor. Then he slowly walked inside the house and went in boy.

“What is it, Adit?” the old man asked a bathroom.

After a while, Aditya came back gently.

The boy quietly waited. He wouldn’t with a fresh smile and dark damp hair. He talk. His grandfather gestured for him to sat next to his grandfather who had been come in. But he still wouldn’t move from the holding a book. Aditya’s grandfather often read this book with a ragged leather cover threshold.

“Come on,” his grandfather said and thick letter words in Nepali. So, the boy decided to examine a page that his grandencouragingly.

Aditya nodded and with a glance father had flipped on. He recognized some back, he went inside. He sat next to the old words, but others that were very long made man. The boy had dried and bloody lips. He no sense to him.

“What is it?” the old man asked. kept looking around his surroundings as if Aditya shook his head looking up at expecting someone to jump on him.

“Where is Grandma?” Aditya asked his grandfather.

“Oh,” the old man exclaimed. “Look, quietly.

“She went to the garden,” his grand- Son, your grandma is coming.”

The boy turned his head following father said. “She’ll be back soon.”

The old man carefully looked at his his grandfather’s gaze. They silently looked her way until she was close enough to hear them.

Aditya ran to his grandmother and hugged her. She was carrying her homemade bag on her shoulder. He pulled the bag from her, peeked into it, and carried it in the house for her. His grandmother smiled.

“You are such a gentleman,” she said. “Were you waiting for me? We’ll have a big dinner tonight.”

She would never wait for his response as she already knew––Aditya was always waiting for her to make some delicious dish he hadn’t tried before.

“Hmm,” the boy huffed once he put down the bag.

“These ones are from your plants,” she said, holding some kale in her hand.

They were vegetables from

I was younger then than I was right now.

ANITA PANDEY

EQUINOX STAFF

Your hands on the steering wheel and stars in your eyes, Looking over at me and in that moment I became the milky way.

Did you know I was gonna hold these memories Turn them into dandelions and pluck them when I’m feeling sad? her own garden. Aditya remembered that he had gone to the garden and helped her — that was a few Sundays ago. He had spent all day with her in this blazing sun, with an occasional breeze.

“Your mommy’s home?” the grandmother said.

He shook his head without lifting it up. “She went to Santa Fe.” “Oh. And she didn’t take you,” she sighed and lifted some vegetables from the floor. “Let’s wash them.”

“No,” he said. “She said she’ll come back next Friday.”

The boy knew his grandmother put the vegetables into a basket that his grandfather had made so he reached for it. The old man had made the furniture: stools, chairs, and his desk. They were made of wood from old and dead trees around their house.

They sat at the table for dinner, and his grandmother served them rice with vegetable curry. It was still hot, steaming in the plate.

“Let me know,” the grandmother said. “When you want more.”

Aditya nodded and picked up a cubed carrot from his curry bowl and set it aside.

“Don’t throw that away,” she scolded him. “Try it first.”

He did. He closed his eyes and swallowed

it.

After their dinner, Aditya laid on a carpet in their courtyard with his grandfather. On the side, there was hot milk in a glass. Stars above twinkled, and the moon was half.

“Are you okay?” his grandfather asked.

“Yeah,” he exhaled. “Stars are tinier than the moon.”

“You know that is Leo the lion,” his grandfather said pointing at the starry sky.

The boy stared at the sky. The sky was like a dark blue dress and the stars were like sequins on it that his mother usually wears when they went out. Aditya couldn’t see the lion, so his grandfather showed him how the stars come together to make the constellation, Leo the lion. He drew in a deep breath and nodded.

“So,” the old man coughed out the word. “Your mommy isn’t home. And your Dad?” “I don’t know,” the boy said. “He went to work.”

“Work? Huh?” his grandfather sighed. “I also worked. And still work.”

Aditya continued to stare at the sky.

It didn’t hurt to lift his head and look up at the sky.

Arts Director

Rewrite it and make it new again Remold me in your eyes and feel deep in the way I needed you.

Needed you, maybe still do.

Watch you watch her with the stars in your eyes…

I wonder if she feels the way I do, touched you like I did.

Wrapped myself into you, Taking you where you needed to be.

For the rest of the story go to kscequinox.com

A Pumpkin Mousse Trifle LAURA ROMANIELLO

I’ve said goodbye one too many times only to hope you take the ending.

Laura Romaniello can be contacted at Lromaniello@kscequinox.com

CREATIVE COLLECTION'S POLICY

Creative Collections is a compilation of Keene State College Students' in multiple art forms (fiction writings, photography, graphic arts, ETC.) Any enrolled KSC student can submit to this section by contacting Angelique Inchierca at ainchierca@kscequinox.com

We’re now a week closer to Thanksgiving than we were before!

Everybody seems to forget about Thanksgiving and skip right to Christmas after Halloween, but that is not the case for me! Thanksgiving is easily my favorite holiday and the bigger the get-together, the bigger the feast! I love huge Thanksgiving dinners with the whole family. It’s not often that everyone is found in the same room together, so when we get moments like these in our families we should take it all in and be thankful for all the love that surrounds us during this time of year. Food always seems to bring people together, it’s one thing everyone has in common no matter how different we all are. Here’s a delicious dessert recipe for you pumpkin lovers out there, it’ll surely be a favorite amongst the family!

Ah, I can finally put away my halloween gear

Ingredients: 1 box Spice Cake mix Pumpkin Mousse, recipe below 1 jar Caramel Topping 1 - 8oz Container of Cool Whip 5 Skor Bars, chopped (optional) Mousse:

Time to get ready for the next holiday!

1 - 1.5oz box Instant Vanilla Pudding 1 - 15oz can Pumpkin Puree 2/3 cups Granulated Sugar 1 - 14oz can Sweetened Condensed Milk 1 teaspoon Nutmeg 1 teaspoon Pumpkin Pie Spice 1 teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract 1 extra cup Cool Whip Directions: Make the cake, let cool and cut into small squares (about 2 inches x 2 inches) Mix all ingredients for the mousse except the Cool Whip, then gently fold it all in the Cool Whip.

Layer the ingredients in the trifle bowl in order: Cake squares, pumpkin mousse, cool whip, skor pieces, cake squares, pumpkin mousse, cool whip, skor pieces.

Keep refrigerated and enjoy!

It’s not even December yet!

WHAT!?

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Sports / B6

Thursday, November 8, 2018

Blazing through pre-season

Nichols awarded pre-season All-American ADRIANA SANCHEZ

Social MEdia dirEctor Keene State’s Men’s basketball team has been put on the map already thanks to one of their players, KSC senior Ty Nichols.

Nichols was named preseason All American, meaning he is one of the top 20 players in the Division III league. This achievement is based off the player’s statistics of the previous seasons.

“I feel honored to [be] one of the top 20 players in Division III, but it’s not something I look forward to because I’d rather much win games and championships [than]individual accolades ... [It’s] not something I pride myself on. I’d rather look at team’s accomplishments,” Nichols said.

Nichols is the first player to be preseason All American since Cain has started coaching at KSC. Cain believes Nichols receiving this award reflects the quality of their program.

“There are so many schools at our level—there are a lot of really good players at our level. Individuals because of that are often recognized when they are on good teams, so the better teams tend to have the All Americans,” Cain said.

Although Cain did not technically recruit for the basketball program from the class of 2019, he was in contact with students from that class in order to build a relationship with them before the season started in 2015.

The senior class is the only class Cain hasn’t recruited. But when he received the job, he made sure he contacted the players that were committing to coming to Keene to start a relationship, and make sure they were still coming to play for KSC. He had seen Nichols play before knowing he was going to end up coaching him. He saw him play in AAU and in the East State Championship for Ty’s high school team.

“I knew he was really good, so when I got the job, that’s somebody I wanted to reach out to and connect with and make sure he was going to follow through with his commitment to Keene State, but luckily for everyone he did,” Cain said.

From Nichols’ first year here, he believes he’s grown a tremendous amount. Nichols said he was very immature. Cain said Nichols has definitely grown as a person and a player.

“It’s been extremely impressive to see his growth from a first-year to now, but if you look at his statistics from freshman year to now, you’ll see them being drastically different to what they are now,” Cain said. Cain even calls Nichols one of the best three pointers on the team, when Nichols barely make even one per game his first year.

His first year, Nichols hadn’t always started. But that year, two players who were on the starting line-up got injured. Nichols quickly stepped up, and since then, he has started almost every game. Cain said, “[Nichols] was a major role in the team winning the conference championship and advancing to the sweet 16 that year.”

When asked to describe Ty in three words, Cain said he is talented, competitive and unselfish.

“Ty, no question, is the most talented player in our team right now, that covers so many different areas, from scoring, rebounding, making plays for other people. Ty is not selfish, his stats are very good but I think he makes really good decisions with the basketball. We want him being aggressive and making plays for himself and for the rest of the team and he does a really good job on that,” Cain said.

Hard work pays off, and it shows that when it comes to Nichols. Nichols explained that he shows up an hour early to practice to work on his shots. Then, after a two or three hour practice, he stays and continues shooting and works of every aspect of the game he needs to improve on.

Nichols has three goals in mind as of right now: LEC Championship, National Championship and to score two thousand points.

His coach thinks scoring two thousand points shouldn’t even be one of his goals.

“It’ll just happen by accident. I don’t think he needs to press for it, that’s more than attainable if you look at his statics over the last years. If he just does even remotely close to what he’s done in the past I think he’ll easily accomplish his goal,” Cain said.

Nichols has high hopes he’ll accomplish this, but keeps in mind what his coach tells him.

“It’s one day at a time, one practice at a time and one game at a time, so I try not to forward to that but it’s one of my goals and I think I can reach it,” he said.

Nichols started breaking records back in high school. He broke the assists record and won back to back state championships, which was a record as well.

“He’s definitely a guy that likes the big moment, he had a lot of success in high school and now we’ve had some success here since he’s been around,” Cain said.

“He was the guy making some of those plays and some of the big baskets late in the game that helped us win that conference tournament championship, and made some big shots in the NCAA tournament the two years he was able to

play in the tournament. So, definitely a guy that when things are the toughest, or when we need guys to step up, he’s not afraid to do it,” Cain said.

When it comes to having a role model, Nichols doesn’t have one.

“I want to become a better player within myself, there’s nobody I model my game after or try to be like. I just want to get better on things I know I need to improve on,” he said.

Nichols hasn’t always been a basketball player, but was in fact a football player. He started playing basketball in ninth grade. He switched to basketball because of all the injuries, and the position he played didn’t help.

“I was a running back, so I didn’t like all the contact I was getting within the sport,” he said.

But he’s fallen in love with basketball ever since, he said.

Nichols received Division I and Division II offers. So why Keene State?

“It not about what division you go to, but what school actually wants you, and that’s what I felt with this program,” he said.

When the season isn’t in action, you will still find Nichols on the court. During the summer, he has a strength and conditioning coach back home.

“I’m different than a lot of people, I don’t look forward to summer for partying, I stay in the gym because I know what my future holds in the game of basketball,” he said.

Nichols plans on playing basketball after graduation across seas. His top three destinations are China, Italy and France. If that doesn’t work out, he’s going to try to get a contract in the d-league. As long as it’s playing basketball, he said.

“I’m excited to see how his senior year plays out. He’s obviously had a tremendous career up to this point, but I think going into senior year, you want to solidify your reputation and he has that opportunity ... I think everyone would project him to be the all-time leading scorer at Keene State by the time he’s done,” Cain said.

Head Coach Ryan Cain was named preseason All American when he played. He said this accomplishment is pretty impressive.

Adriana Sanchez can be contacted at asanchez@kscequinox.com

RYAN PELLIGRINELLI / EQUINOX STAFF

BRIEF

Keene State falls to WestConn in the LEC tournament soccer final CAILLA PRISCO

State in 2003 and UMass Boston in 2014.

The Owls had two players, sophomore and captain Isaiah Lovering and First-year Wesley McIntosh, The Keene State men’s soccer team narrowly awarded second team all-conference. lost 2-1 in double overtime to Western Connecticut The Keene State team will lose two seniors next State University in the LEC tournament final. season, captain Jacob Chiza and captain Samuel Keene state sophomore Connor Downey Binigono. scored the first goal of the game with an assist from The Owls finish their season with a record of 12-5-0 sophomore Emmanuel Smith with 10 minutes left in after losing in the finals. the first half.

Cailla Prisco can be contacted The Owls were leading the game 1-0 for the at cprisco@kscequinox.com majority of the game, but the Colonials found the back of the net near the eightieth minute mark which tied the game 1-1 and brought it into overtime.

According to Keene State athletics, “The Owls were bidding for their seventh LEC tournament title, having last won it in 2010 where they also won in 1999, 2001, 2002, 2004, and 2006.”

Sunday’s game was also the fourth time in program history that Keene State had gone to overtime in the LEC title game, having defeated Plymouth State in overtime in 1999, and fallen to Western Connecticut

SportS Editor

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Luke’s Kickin’ Column

Thursday, November 8, 2018

Volleyball striking back

MLS Cup Playoffs Get Off to a Strong Start LUKE STERGIOU

Senior PhotograPher The road to the MLS Cup has started, and the first round of the playoffs was intense.

Big teams collapsed under the pressure, and underdogs rose up to defy expectations.

Starting in the eastern conference, third place New York City FC hosted sixth place Philadelphia Union. This game was a difficult must-win game for the Union. After coming off as one of the team’s best seasons yet, and clinching the last playoff spot in the eastern conference, the Philadelphia Union were looking to secure their first ever playoff win in club history. Although getting their first ever playoff win away from home was never going to be easy, and unfortunately, the Union came up short. New York City FC dominated the Philadelphia side 3-1, with their counter-attacking style of play just tearing the team to shreds. The Union also looked unmotivated in the first half, leading to many chances for NYCFC to steal the ball back, regain possession and score on the counter. NYCFC’s attacks, which consisted of David Villa and Ismael Tajouri-Shradi, were too much for Philadelphia’s defense.

In Washington D.C., an even more intense game unfolded. D.C. United faced off against the Columbus Crew at Audi Field, with everything to play for. D.C. United started off strong, with the 4th place team scoring in the 21st minute to make it 1-0.

Crew’s Argentinian striker Federico “Pipa” Higuain scored shortly after in the 30th minute to tie the game 1-1, only to strike again later in the 96th minute to make it 2-1 to the Columbus Crew. D.C. United would tie up the game shortly before extra time ended, with Nick DeLeon scoring in the 116th minute, tying the 2-2 and sending the game into penalties. Unfortunately for D.C. United, Columbus Crew goalkeeper Zack Steffen made two key saves to win the game and upset D.C. United at home. Despite the loss, D.C. United can hold their heads high after an incredible season.

In the Western Conference, the playoffs were just as crazy. FC Dallas welcomed the Portland Timbers, who upset the Texan side at home. The Timbers dominated the game, with star midfielder and reigning MLS MVP Diego Valeri scoring twice, once in the 23rd minute, and once again in the 71st minute. Despite the Timbers going down to 10 men after Larrys Mabiala brought down Dominique Badji in the 58th minute, the Portland side stayed resilient. FC Dallas would score a consolation goal in the 94th minute of added time, but it wasn’t enough to advance in the playoffs.

In Los Angeles, arguably the craziest game of the MLS Cup Playoffs played out against third place LAFC and sixth place Real Salt Lake. Once again, another upset occured as Real Salt Lake beat the newest side in the league 3-2. Real Salt Lake started off the scoring in the 21st minute, but were quickly put back by LAFC’s Danilo Silva and Christian Ramirez’s goals in the 49th and 54th minute respectively. Even though LAFC had the momentum, Real Salt Lake would bring it back after a wonder goal from Damir Kreilach, making the score 2-2 and bringing the momentum back to the underdogs. The Utah side would then crush LAFC’s playoff dreams as the team scored a third goal in the 69th minute, with that goal ultimately being the decider for the game. Real Salt Lake would win the game 3-2 as one of the biggest underdogs of this 2018 MLS season.

In summary, the MLS Cup Playoffs have got off to a great start and will only continue to get better. With big teams like Toronto FC, Seattle Sounders and LA Galaxy, the playoffs look to be all about the underdogs this year.

Luke Stergiou can be contacted at ltergiou@ kscequinox.com

SOREN FRANTZ / EQUINOX STAFF

First-year and outside hitter Emilyann Ashford playing in her first collegiate volleyball season against Rivier University earlier in the season.

Owls surpass UMass Boston in semis but fail to take the title in the LEC championship MATTHEW BARRIGA

equinox Staff Before wrapping up their season, the Keene State College women’s volleyball team recently defeated University of Massachusetts Boston for the first time in ten years. For years, the volleyball team has done well, advancing to the semi finals almost every year. However, UMass Boston has consistently defeated them in the semi finals — until now.

The team ended the season with a record of 24-7, losing in the finals to Eastern Connecticut University. According to head coach Bob Weiner, the team has reached a tremendous goal by defeating UMASS Boston.

“We had lost to UMass something like seventeen consecutive matches, dating back to November of 2008,” he said. Additionally, Weiner said that Keene State volleyball had lost to UMass Boston in the LEC championship games multiple times since since 2010. “We owed them,” he said.

“Lots of history.”

Weiner also spoke to some of the key players this year that played a big role in

defining the team.

“We came into this year not really knowing who we were. We were carried in 2017 by our All-American Rachel Lamica. We knew we couldn’t replace her, and weren’t sure what it would actually look like,” he said.

He said that Riley Bunker, the libero, the LEC defensive player of the year in 2017 could possibly be it again this year.

“She’s always been good, but this has been her best year.” Weiner also mentioned the abilities of many of the younger players, including sophomore Megan Palmer and first-years Ali McLaughlin, Elizabeth Johnson, and Emilyann Ashford.

KSC senior Niamh Dodd, captain on the team, said the players on the team grew a lot as both individuals and as a team.

“We’ve had our ups and downs, but that’ll happen,” said Dodd. “We beat Umass Boston which was a big deal, so it was kind of cool to see us get better over time.” As a senior, Dodd has seen Keene State’s volleyball team grow and develop into what it is today over the past four years, and she says it’s been a very positive

change. Dodd said she believes the team has gotten much better since her senior year, and they proved it by beating their long-time competitor.

She said that while the team performed very well, there were certainly a few key players that contributed a large amount to their success this year. According to Dodd, some key players included Kait West, Riley Bunker and Elizabeth Johnson. She also said that Johnson, a first-year student, had “big shoes to fill” on the court after taking an important position when no one else could.

Johnson wasn’t the only younger player that Dodd held in high regard. Sophomore Nina Dias is a setter on the team, and a good friend of Dodd’s. She’s been playing volleyball since she was twelve. After playing consistently since, Dias was the captain of the Ludlow High School team in Massachusetts. However, she didn’t play a full freshman season due to some injuries. She returned this year and said that Dodd is a big reason why.

“Niamh was definitely one person that made it a good season for me and I’m happy

that I chose to come back. She really influenced me,” said Dias. When asked if she planned to return for next year, she said, “I want to keep going but I’m not completely sure if that will happen. I’ve been injured a lot this season and it’s getting to the point where I don’t know if it’s worth it to keep affecting my health.”

Dodd expressed great pride in the team’s success this year, and is hopeful for the upcoming seasons.

“I’m proud,” she said. “It’s obviously not good that we lost, but somebody had to lose and they just outperformed us. But I think we did well and I’m happy with how it went.” As for Weiner, the head coach is already looking towards the future of KSC volleyball.

Weiner said the younger players have a lot of potential, and that the loss of some seniors will be a small challenge to overcome. “If we bring in good kids to replace Riley, Niamh, and Kait west, we’ll be right back in the hunt.”

Matthew Barriga can be contacted at mbarriga@kscequinox.com

Women’s Basketball prepares for season opener

BENAJIL / EQUINOX STAFF

Women’s basketball practice in the early morning preparing for their season opener on November 9 at 3:30 p.m.

IZZY HARRIS

equinox Staff Keene State College women’s basketball season officially started and they are ready to bounce back from last season.

Senior shooting guard Emily McPadden said it’s like: “[The] summer months when we were out of school never happened, because we picked up where we left off.”

The season offically started on Oct. 15. “Knowing where everyone is on the court never went away, [it’s like we] never stopped playing,” McPadden said.

The head women’s basketball Coach Keith Boucher said the first goal for this season was to stay healthy.

McPadden said that during last season, “Everyone had an injury at one point.”

Junior forward Mackenzie Bennett said the team is low in numbers, with 12 girls and only ten healthy to play.

“Not having the numbers to scrimmage in practice or have subs makes us really unique.

You don’t get to get tired or take a break, you have to work all the time,” Bennett said.

Being a small team has its advantages.

McPadden said because the team is so close-knit and small, they understand each other on and off the court.

Bennett said the KSC women’s basketball team is, “A team with the most personality I’ve been on.”

Likewise, Boucher said the

team has good chemistry. “Given the parts we have, we can put those pieces of the puzzle together so it looks like a picture,” he said.

“We only lost one senior, she was a big part of the team but the skills that each player brings to the table this year meshes really well with what we’re trying to do,” McPadden said.

McPadden is the only returning senior for this season. “It’s crazy to think I’m the only one left.

Hopefully I can help the team out and prepare them for next year and to lead for the next,” she said.

Boucher said that McPadden has a very high Basketball IQ, and she is a student of the game.

“I think she helps the team because she leads in that regard.

They see her and that focus that

she has, and they understand that’s what they have to do in order to be successful,” said Boucher.

The girls had their first scrimmage against Springfield College on Oct. 27.

Boucher said that while the scrimmage didn’t go as well as they would have liked it to, the team is, “Taking steps forward to improve our performance from last weekend.”

“You can either take a step forward or a step back, [there’s] no neutral when it comes to athletics,” said Boucher.

The girls will play their second scrimmage of the season against Norwich University on Saturday, Nov. 3.

Boucher said that it is too early

give a concrete answer on how the team is doing so far. “The best teachers you have are your mistakes. Hopefully everyone, even coaches, make better decisions against Norwich,” Boucher said.

“We’re trying to find our identity as a team and I think that’s the most important thing,” Boucher said.

Bennett said that it was a, “Rough season last year, we were young and we couldn’t [win] games,” but about this season, Bennett said “... we want to finish games and to be tough, and to win.”

Izzy Harris can be contacted at iharris@kscequinox.com

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Thursday, November 8, 2018

SPORTS

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'We are the champions’ KSC defends its title in LEC championships CAROLINE PERRY

Managing ExEcutivE Editor For the sixth consecutive year, the women’s field hockey team has claimed victory, and this time, away from home.

The KSC team tallied their 14th title in program history, making them the six-year running champs of the Little East Conference (LEC).

The Owls traveled to the Dave Walk Stadium in Castleton, Vermont last Saturday. They were able to beat the tournament hosts and top seed team, with a tight score of 2-1. The two goals came from senior Erica Stauffer and senior Julia Babbitt. The Owls ended their season with another title and a 17-6 record.

Although the team was not on their home turf, they were able to dominate offensively, with the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player Ally McCall, attacking all game. The KSC defense held the Spartans off, allowing a shot in the final 37:59 of the contest. The Owls focused on creating plays and opportunities from the beginning. Sophomore Nina Bruno took two penalty corners. Babbitt also took one in the first six minutes of the game. McCall launched a shot, but it was blocked. Bruno also took a shot, but it went wide.

Despite some early blocks, the Owls made it happen and got on the board first. Bruno fired in a corner, to which Stauffer tipped in after receiving it from McCall, leading to a 1-0 lead at the 14:20 mark. However, Castleton didn’t wait long before scoring off a corner of their own.

In the 20th minute, Allison Lowell and Gabri-

elle Ryan (both from Castleton) worked together to even the score.

This was Castleton’s first shot attempt of the game.

The Owls didn’t back down and generated four shots in the six minutes after Castleton’s tying goal.

But the only one on target was saved by Castleton goalie, Tashia Pashby-Rockwood. Megan Ryan from Castleton took one last shot in the 31st minute, but sophomore Rachel Loseby shut her down. The teams went to the locker room for half time, with the score tied 1-1.

After coming together in the locker room, the second half was all Owls. Castleton goalie Pashby-Rockwood stopped Bruno twice in in the 41st minute. Four other chances from the Owls were either off mark or blocked. Babbitt amped up the pressure with another corner in the 50th minute of the game, which resulted in a wide shot. Another corner ended up in McCall’s shot being blocked.

The score remained tied until the 54th minute of the game, when Babbitt forced a turnover and beat Pashby-Rockwood one-on-one for a 2-1 lead. That proved to be the game winner, as the Owls stifled Castleton over the remainder of the contest, not allowing them another shot, which included when the Spartans played the final 2:34 with the goalie pulled.

Caroline Perry can be contacted at cperry@kscequinox.com

Rugby beats all the odds

Men’s rugby team makes it to the playoffs and will compete in the East Coast Qualifier CAILLA PRISCO

SportS Editor Keene State Rugby team has made it to the playoffs for the first time since 2011 with a wide range of players from eager first-years to more seasoned senior players.

On Saturday Nov. 3, Keene beat Bates College 64-29 and then faced off Sienna College the following day, becoming victorious with a final of 47-43 and winning the New England Rugby Football Union (NERFU) Challenge Cup Championship.

Coach John Johannesen said that, “After losing 12 seniors, it was a very different vibe on the field, players had to really step up and take initiative and become leaders.”

“The seniors that I have now I have had since they were freshman, so they haven’t had as much playing time in their earlier years as they do now, but they really stepped up and showed me that they can play this game and they can win,” said Johannesen.

Senior and captain Avery Putnam said that the team is doing well and the underclassman, “are super talented.”

“We are graduating a lot of seniors this year so they really had to learn the game quick,” Putnam said.

According to Putnam, the most difficult thing for this team has been finding a time for everyone to practice.

“Getting everyone to practice is kind of hard, just with class schedules and all that,” said Putnam.

Coach Johannesen agreed with Putnam and said, “We train pretty much every day of the week Monday through Friday, 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. and thats been an issue for us this season because of class schedules. So we haven’t had the whole team together a lot. So before, the seasons were changing and it was getting darker outside, we were practicing at 6 a.m. two days a week to get the whole team together.”

As far as training on their own, Johannesen said, “They should be running and going to the gym because rugby is a very cardio based game so when they can’t make training that day they have to keep up with physical activity.”

When asked about the playoffs, Johannesen said that they were: “Really excited, we got really close this year and we are thrilled to play a few more weeks

and see how far we can go,” said Putnam.

Before their busy, match-filled weekend, Putnam said their training has been relentless.

“We are just having a really hard training week to prepare for the post season,” said Putnam.

According to Coach John, the numbers on the team aren’t where they should be, so making the playoffs and doing so well was a testament to the team.

“In the last three years, we have had very heavy senior classes so the normal numbers the last few years were 55 to 60 players and now I am down to 40 on paper but about 30 showing up regularly,” said Coach John.

The Keene Rugby team is making strides in the playoffs and is hurdling toward the championship cup.

Keene State Rugby earned a spot in the East Coast Qualifier hosted

by UMass Dartmouth on Saturday, Nov. 10. The winner of that match will continue on to the Region Championship.

Cailla Prisco can be reached at cprisco@kscequinox.com

PULLED FROM EQUINOX ARCHIVE

Seen above is Rugby Captain Stefan Andres.

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