The Equinox 2.21.19

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THE EQUINOX The student voice of Keene State College

Vol. 71 , Issue #17

Thursday, February 21, 2019

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New Alert System Begins Keene State is switching to new emergency alert system RACHEL VITELLO

nEwS Editor Beginning March 4, there will be a new emergency alert system in effect for Keene State College. KSC is switching from their original emergency alert system to a notification system called Rave Alert.

According to KSC President Melinda Treadwell, one reason why the college decided to start a new emergency alert system was because of complications with the previous one.

“We had a real challenge in making sure that students who are no longer here didn’t continue to get those calls,” Treadwell said.

“We had alums still on the calling list. It’s been very difficult to get the word out to our students on emergencies and weather closures.”

With Rave, students and faculty/staff will be able to receive text messages and voicemails messages about emergencies and weather closures. According to Rave’s website, the sender will be able to send the alert out in a matter of seconds to any Internet connected device.

Interim Director of Campus Safety Kevin Williams believes the new alert system will be a helpful upgrade for the campus.

“Our campus is moving to a new

messaging system that I describe as embracing twenty-first century technology,” Williams said.

While Rave is replacing the old system, it will not be the sole alert to students in the case of some emergencies. For example, if there were a fire on campus, students and faculty/staff would be notified via Rave, but the standard fire alarm would still go off as well.

The need for a new emergency alert system was a large deciding factor in the search for a new campus safety director upon Jeff Maher vacating the position this semester. Treadwell said the college was looking for a candidate with experience in emergency planning, which is why Williams has assumed the interim position.

Research that was done in deciding what the new emergency alert system would be was a joint effort between the campus safety team and Vice President for Student Affairs Kemal Atkins.

The University System of New Hampshire had also already been using Rave. The response from students and staff at schools using that alert system was positive, which contributed to Keene State’s decision to make the switch, according to Treadwell.

“Additionally, the federal

[Jeanne] Clery Act requires institutions provide timely emergency notifications,” Williams said. “We have that ability currently, and our transition to Rave will enhance that capability across multiple platforms.”

For the most part, Rave will be used to notify students and staff about weather delays or closures, as those are the most common alerts to be sent out.

“Rolling it out, we hope it will be a much better platform for us, one that’s more accurate and will be easier for us to keep current the list of students, faculty and staff who will get those messages,” Treadwell said.

Campus safety has been trialing the system in the last few weeks in preparation for it to be official on March 4. In the case of an emergency or weather delay or closure, students and staff can expect to be notified in a timely manner.

Kemal Atkins did not respond to request for comment.

Rachel Vitello can be contacted at rvitello@kscequinox.com.

OLIVIA CATTABRIGA / ART DIRECTOR

Moving towards better sustainability TEDDY TAUSCHER

Equinox Staff Keene State College and the wider Keene community have been making strides towards greater sustainability.

Recently, two business in Keene were awarded with the Bronze Level Bicycle Friendly Business Certification.

The Monadnock Food Co-op and Keene family YMCA were also awarded this certification. In addition to the two business having won the certification, Keene State College and the City of Keene had also won their corresponding certifications prior.

General manager of The Monadnock Food Co-op Michael Faber said the food co-op won the award for their work installing bike racks and incentivizing their

staff to ride bikes to work. “There is definitely room for improvement for Keene’s sustainability as a whole, but that there are positive steps being taken, including composting,” Faber said.

According to Henry Underwood, GIS Specialist for the Southwest Region Planning committee, which provides staffing for Monadnock Alliance for Sustainable Transportation (MAST), MAST was a driving force in

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getting the business its certifications. On Feb. 4, MAST held its annual meeting where initiatives like installing lights on trails and providing better biking routes to school were discussed, said Underwood.

One program at Keene State that helped the college obtain the bicycling certification is the Green Bikes

» SEE SUSTAINABILITY ON A2

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News / A2

Thursday, February 21, 2019

Stopping discrimination and acts of bias

PUJA THAPA / BUSINESS MANAGER

KSC and Keene work together to combat discrimination RACHEL VITELLO

News editor Do you feel welcome and safe in the city of Keene?

This is a question of concern for Keene State College officials and Keene city officials. President Melinda Treadwell and Associate Vice President for Diversity and Inclusion Dottie Morris have been working alongside the Keene Chamber of Commerce and Keene City Manager Elizabeth Dragon to find ways to combat discrimination and acts of bias against students within the community.

One way in which issues of discrimination have been identified is through the campus climate survey.

This is a survey sent to students every three years that asks them a variety of questions pertaining to how safe and supported they feel both on campus and in the Keene community. According to an overview of the survey, available on Keene State’s official website, “The survey begins with a set of statements describing a supportive environment (e.g., “I feel welcome at Keene State College,” and “I feel physically safe on campus”) and invites respondents to agree or disagree with each statement, using a 5-point Likert-type scale (Strongly Disagree to Strongly Agree).” The survey also includes an open comment section.

In the 2017 campus climate survey, it was revealed that a number of students were experiencing situations that made them feel unsafe or discriminated against, mostly off-campus.

“Students were reporting having more biased-related experiences off campus than on campus,” Morris said.

“They heard gender-related slurs or sexual-oriented slurs or racial slurs. It’s usually people passing by and yelling something out, like women receiving cat calls.”

The LGBTQ community at KSC in particular was having these experiences. According to the 2017 survey, “54 percent of transgender students had an experience at KSC or community in which you felt unwelcome or unfairly treated or disrespected or unsafe, which you believe was related to some aspect of your identity.”

One anonymous student wrote in their survey, “When I walk around campus, I frequently hear slurs such as f****t and t****y that make me feel uncomfortable and unwelcome as a queer individual.”

The comment section of the survey also revealed that women and students of color were having experiences that made them feel either unsafe or uncomfortable. However, the statistical differences between the 2014 and the 2017 surveys did not support that.

Despite the fact that not all students experience discrimination or unsafe feelings in the community, KSC

and Keene officials have still made it a priority to begin solving this issue.

“Even if it’s a small subset of our students, it has to be something we take focus on,” Treadwell said. “It identifies things we need to improve and take seriously.”

Treadwell, Morris and city officials are using this information to begin targeting these problems and create solutions so students can feel more welcome in the community. Morris said that examining workforce development is an important step to combat ignorance, as well as maintaining communication with the community regarding diversity.

“We looked at information from the campus climate survey and information from the Governor’s Council on Diversity and Equity,” Morris, who is on the Governor’s Council on Diversity and Equity, said. “We’ve (the council) been going from community to community holding listening sessions and hearing about people’s experiences. Now we’re thinking of ways we can address those concerns.”

One active way in which those concerns are being addressed is making downtown safer. “We have dramatically increased the presence of police in the downtown area, especially on weekends and later at night,” Dragon said. “If you look at the statistics, the community is very safe, but there’s a perception that some

times of the day or days of the week are less safe.”

Addressing and starting to solve these problems may not have been possible without the information obtained from the surveys.

“The campus climate survey is probably one of the most important instruments we have around student life and the climate of the students’ experience of feeling supported, welcomed and appreciated on campus,” Treadwell said. “I’m really grateful to folks who completed it.”

KSC will continue to work with the city to facilitate more ideas on how to make Keene a safer and more inclusive area. Another campus climate survey will be administered to students in 2020. Until then, if students experience any harassment, discrimination or feelings of being unwelcome/unsafe, they can report it to any of Keene State’s Intake Officers, which includes Associate Vice President for Institutional Diversity and Equity, Title IX Discrimination and Harassment Coordinator and the Director of Human Resources.

Rachel Vitello can be contacted at rvitello@kscequinox.com.

SUSTAINABILITY Cont. from A1

Program. Run by Marcus McCarroll since 2005, bikes are rented to students for free. The program started out with only about a dozen bikes and was run simply by students and other community members. Then in 2005, McCarroll took charge and has been collecting and fixing bikes since. Mccarroll estimated the current total of bikes to be around 445 and the number of students that rent bikes per semester to be around 800 to 1,000. Additionally, Mccarroll has now started renting bike locks for ten dollars which circumvents the requirement of needing to buy a bike lock to rent bikes. McCarroll is planning to expand the program in the future with a new bike repair shop on campus.

In 2017, Keene State was one of nine post-secondary schools to be certified as a Department of Education Green Ribbon school. The New Hampshire Department of Education defines Green Ribbons schools as schools that are exemplary in reducing environmental impact and cost.

In 2018, KSC President Melinda Treadwell announced a slew of new energy saving goals to be accomplished by set dates. Many of them

were given timeframes that extend far into the future; however, many of them were also set to be accomplished by 2020. One of these goals was to have a completely renewable heat plant by 2020. Coordinator of Energy and Administrative Services at Keene State Diana Duffy said that this has already been accomplished by using vegetable oil at the heat plant. Another goal was to reduce water use by twenty percent. “We are gonna need help with that,” said Duffy, “We’ve done a ton already, we have low flow toilets throughout campus. We have aerators in our sinks and our showers, that our own plumbers have done over the years.”

Duffy is currently working on an energy services contract with a firm that would help Keene State with its energy efficiencies. According to Duffy, this would involve fixes like putting in more occupancy sensors that connect to lighting and improving the steam system.

Teddy Tauscher can be contacted at ttauscher@kscequinox.com.

KSCEQUINOX.COM

RACHEL VITELLO / NEWS EDITOR

Green bikes are located in the basement of Campus Safety to be rented for free by all KSC students who need sustainable transport.

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News / A3

Thursday, February 21, 2019

Campus Senate meets to discuss budget and other issues CRISTIAN VALENTIN

Equinox Staff On Wed., Feb. 13, the Keene State College Senate held a meeting in the Student Center to hear reports about budget, upcoming events, and revisions to classes.

The meeting began with an update from Keene State President Melinda Treadwell. During this update, Treadwell spoke about the upcoming annual teach-in, which will focus on “freedoms, responsibilities, and free speech.” Treadwell said this is important and will help bring together recommendations from last fall’s listening sessions.

Treadwell then discussed how the school is currently exceeding its undergraduate student enrollment targets but is falling behind on its graduate and continuing education full-time financial equivalent students. In addition, Treadwell said that Keene State has been admitting more students than ever before between summer admission and fall enrollment, causing them to over-award financial aid, which caused the current budget projection for the end of the year to be off by 500,000 dollars.

Treadwell said that they are working hard to fix this. “It’ll be a little turbulent as we bring this jet down the runway,”Treadwell said.

Treadwell then said that the school has 20 more students from the fall to the spring semesters when they typically lose students in that time. She said that “We have tremendous interest in Keene State.

The acceptances that we’ve offered are for a very very high quality student population, so we’re excited and looking forward to the admitted students days.”Despite this growth, she said they are staying true to their history as a Liberal Arts College.

Treadwell closed by saying that, “Budget level at the state level is about to start ramping up,” and she has prepared some press statements. Treadwell also said that the College is expecting an appropriation of nine million dollars to benefit Keene State in the governor’s budget. Treadwell will be in Concord next week “providing requests for Keene State through the legislative hearing cycles.”

After Treadwell’s update, several other members spoke about what their respective committees are doing and planning. Senator AtLarge of the Executive Committee John Sturtz said an artist/ humanrights activist from Argentina is coming to Keene State on March 20,

in the Mabel Brown Room. Sturtz also said there will be an exhibit gallery opening the same day at the Thorne, and they will be doing workshops with students all of that week as well.

Curriculum Committee senator Jeannie-Marie Brown said there will be a play called “A Dream Play” Feb. 27 to March 2 with “approximately 50 students involved.” Chair of the Curriculum Committee Fitni Destani then mentioned that there are both men’s and women’s basketball games this Saturday. Destani also requested that the curriculum committee be allowed to make revisions to several majors including Sustainable Product Design and Innovation (SPDI), Holocaust and Genocide Studies, American Studies, and more. All of these revision requests were unanimously agreed to.

The next Keene State College senate meeting will be held on March 20 in The Mountain View Room.

Cristian Valentin can be contacted at cvalentin@kscequinox.com.

SYDNEY ROBINSON / EQUINOX STAFF

Students in class government joined campus senate in discussing issues pertaining to Keene State in the Mountain View Room.

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NEWS EDITOR RACHEL VITELLO (781)812-7461 KSCEQUINOX.COM

The Student Assembly was called to order at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday. In the new Business Section, Director of Enterprise Information Services Michelle Wood updated the student leaders about the new MyKSC. According to Wood, the new MyKSC is going live on Thursday. It can be accessed through myksc.keene.edu. The new MyKSC is more visually captivating than the existing MyKSC, according to Wood. The vendor Campus Cruiser no longer will be serving Keene State’s MyKSC. Director of Campus Life and Interim Student Government Advisor Jennifer Ferrell reminded student leaders about the presidential inauguration on April 5. She asked the student leaders to volunteer for the event as well.

Puja Thapa can be contacted at pthapa@kscequinox.com

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OPINIONS

Opinions / A4

Thursday, February 21, 2019

EDITORIAL

KSCEQUINOX.COM

Let them speak The Equinox responds to ‘no comment’ The Equinox exists to promote the free flow of information, to protect the First Amendment, to stimulate high standards in the practice of journalism and to foster excellence among student journalists.

These standards are upheld to the best of our ability. We are not in the business of misstating facts or publishing misinformation. Yet, without access to clearly public information from Residential Life directors and assistants, we are unable to keep Keene’s student body informed about events they clearly need information about. We have been faced with an issue where Residential Assistants do not feel comfortable simply discussing policy changes within Residential Life. This hinders our ability to inform the public of how the school responds to city ordinances.

In a recent article discussing the campus’ response to the city of Keene raising the age of tobacco purchase to 21, The Equinox contacted 19 Residential Assistants. After receiving 11 responses, 10 of them declined to comment.

Three Residential Directors also declined to comment. The Equinox reached out to find out how Residential Life has responded to the new smoking ban for people under the age of 21.

Because of directions stated by Residential Life to their staff with ambiguous language and unclear direction, some Residential Assistants choose to decline for comment lest they risk their job which covers the cost of housing and pro-

THE EQUINOX

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

Sebastien Mehegan Administrative Executive Editor Erin McNemar Managing Executive Editor News Editor

A&E Editor

Opinions Editor

Student life Editor

Creative Collections

Social Media Director

Rachel Vitello Kiana Wright

Angelique Inchierca

Multimedia Director Benajil Rai

Sports Editor Cailla Prisco

Art Director

Olivia Cattabriga

Business Manager Puja Thapa

Webmaster

Jacqueline Pantano Jack Hanson

Adriana Sanchez

EQUINOX NEWSROOM

EDITORIAL POLICY

Faculty Advisor

The Equinox is a designated public forum. Student editors have full editorial control over the entire content of the paper.

All articles and opinion pieces are assigned, written and edited by students without censor by administrators, faculty or staff.

The Equinox is published Thursdays during the academic year with dates immediately preceding and following holidays omitted. The advertising deadline is 5 p.m. on the Friday prior to publication. The Equinox reserves the right to refuse advertising for any reason. Advertising is not accepted until it appears in the paper.

Letters to the editor must be written exclusively to The Equinox and are due by noon on the Friday prior to publishing.

All letters must include name and phone number for verification. The Equinox reserves the right to edit for style and length, and refuse any letters to the editor. For clarification and additional information on any above policies call 3582414. The Equinox business office is open Monday-Friday from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

Rodger Martin, Journalism faculty (rmartin@kscequinox.com ) Julio Del Sesto, Journalism faculty (jdelsesto@keene.edu)

Equinox Staff: Eli Felix, Izzy Harris, Emily Carstensen, Iris Pruletti, Haleigh Patch, Amanda Bevis, Alex Harvey, Katie Jensen, Kyle Wilson, Lindsay Gibbons, Julia Hawkins, McHale Burgess, Gwen Phillips, Jacqueline Pantano, Alyssa Borenko, Henry Hobson, Joe Guzman, David Payson, Brandon Moulton, Julia Guidi, Ethan Platt, Austin Cook, Anna Heindl, Matthew Kahlman, Emily Perry, Adriana Daniel, Jayden Rodgers, Soren Frantz, Nina Kljic, Bree Norton, Luke Sweeny, Jack Cimino, Sam Binigono, Sara Olson, Cal Sylvia, Ryan Pelligrinelli, Paxton Blanchard, and Matthew Barriga.

Photo Editor Luke Stergiou

Copy Editors

Tessa DesMarais Ryan Bloomberg

Senior Staff Soren Franz

Ads Director Elias Crandall

Halie Martineau

MISSION: The Equinox exists to promote the free flow of information, to protect the First Amendment, to stimulate high standards in the practice of journalism and to foster excellence among student journalists.

visions.

As journalists we are taught to chase information that appears to be hidden. An organization such as Residential Life owes it to our readers to be transparent and clear about policy changes that will affect those readers. We believe that when anyone hides information behind an organization, it means there is something to hide.

As journalists we strive to make our number one priority to publish accurate information and to inform the public and shine light on any and all situations in the campus that need light. We work relentlessly week after week to maintain the quality of our paper and uphold our mission. There have been mistakes made in the past and we have corrected them in a timely manner both on our website and in our following issue making it clear that we strive for transparency.

This news organization is not only a job but a responsibility of the members of our staff, E-board, and advisors. While not every story we write is a hard hitting story, we are there when the campus needs it.

When The Equinox asks Residential Life staff, directors, and assistants for clearly public information or comment about a subject which affects students at an institution supported by the public’s funding, they are obligated to comment.

Copyright © 2017: All rights reserved Reproduction of The Equinox in whole or part in any form written, broadcast or electronic without written permission of The Equinox is prohibited.

The Equinox is published each Thursday during the academic year by the editorial board of The Equinox, which is elected every spring by the members of the editorial board and acts as joint publisher of the paper.

The Equinox serves as the voice of the students of Keene State College and does not necessarily reflect the opinions of the faculty, the staff and/or the administration.

One copy of The Equinox is available free each week. Anyone removing papers in bulk will be prosecuted on theft charges to the fullest extent of the law. Inserting items into printed copies of The Equinox is considered theft of services and will result in prosecution.

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Opinions / A5

Thursday, February 21, 2019

Thinking An animal at work green ISABELLA PRATT

Equinox Staff

KIANA WRIGHT / OPINIONS EDITOR

Service dogs: More than a furry friend MACKENZIE DONOVAN

Equinox Staff I spent years cycling through different medications and therapies in an attempt to get control of my mental health issues. However, nothing worked. Not only could I could barely leave the house or participate in normal life, but it was even worse because it was becoming impossible to live in my own house, too. I was debilitated by my Tourette’s Syndrome, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, autism, panic disorder, clinical depression, and generalized anxiety disorder.

At 13, I started working with a kennel called Select Shepherds. Sue-Ann Connary Kazenas has been breeding working German Shepherds for thirty years. She produces police dogs, protection dogs, and service dogs.

She works extremely hard to produce dogs with the best physical health, stable temperaments, and drive for working ability. She paired me with a puppy she bred: Leona von der Hainstadt, also known as “Rue.” I have been working with Rue everyday since Jan. 15, 2012. She is now almost 7 and a half. Since day one, Rue was raised and trained to do one thing: be my psychiat-

ric service dog.

In order for Rue to meet the standards set by the federal law that governs service dogs stated under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Rue had to be trained to meet their standard of obedience for the safety and legitimacy for service dogs in public. She also had to be trained to perform tasks that mitigate my disability.

The ADA states that a service dog is: “...any dog that is individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of an individual with a disability, including a physical, sensory, psychiatric, intellectual, or other mental disability.”

The ADA also states that dogs that are out of control can in fact be kicked out of a business by the owner.

It took three years for Rue to be considered fully trained. She performs six different tasks to mitigate my psychiatric disability. She is trained to perform these tasks regardless of whether or not she is wearing her vest.

She is also rigorously trained to and worked to maintain her public access obedience so that she does not disrupt the public when we are in places where pets are not allowed.

Rue does not come in public with me because she

“makes me feel better.” You cannot bring your dog with you in public because their existence makes you feel good. I worked extremely hard to train Rue to meet federal law standards of what a service dog is. We continue to work with her breeder, go to training classes, and train on campus to maintain this high standard.

Service dogs are hard work. They are not the right fit for every disabled person. If you think a service dog might help your disability, please find a reputable breeder like Select Shepherds. Not a rescue or a backyard breeder. People like Sue-Ann Connary Kazenas breed working dogs that set disabled people like myself up for the best chance of success.

Rue is almost eight now, and she will be fully retired from service work within the next year or so. She is an incredible working dog and will spend her whole life with me.

Mackenzie Donovan can be contacted at mdonovan@kscequinox.com

Saving that extra cash LINDSAY GIBBONS

Equinox Staff College students are notoriously short on money. According to the National Student Financial Wellness study, seven out of ten college students say they feel stressed about their financial situation, and 60 percent say they worry about having enough money to pay for school.

However, college students also continue to spend money on things they don’t truly need.

This phenomenon is called impulse spending, and it’s a common behavior among college students. Although there’s no actual definition, impulse buying is thought of as a spur of the moment, unplanned purchase that is not necessarily a good idea.

While you may think a few unplanned purchases a week won’t make that big a deal, it can really add up. According to CNBC, the average American consumer makes roughly three impulse buys a week, which can add up to $45 a month.

Keep that up all year, and you’ll spend $540 each year in impulse buys alone.

According to a survey conducted

by National Student Financial Wellness, seems to be the biggest culprit when it comes to impulse buys. 70

percent of those surveyed said that they had impulsively bought food that they didn’t really need. 53 percent also said that clothing was a big draw to impulse buying. 85 percent of responders said that they are more likely to spend money on something they weren’t planning on buying if there is a discount or special promotion going on. This brings in the opportunistic side of shopping, with consumers being worried they could miss out on a great deal if they don’t purchase the product now.

Ultimately, the key to stopping impulsive spending is willpower, which is the ability to delay gratification and resist certain temptations in order to achieve long-term goals.

Willpower works like a muscle; the more you use it, the stronger it will become. But this also means that willpower can tire out. This is why it’s important to plan out shopping and not go when you’re more likely to spend more money.

Most can agree that it’s a bad idea to go grocery shopping on an empty stomach. However, recent research shows you may want to avoid shopping altogether when you’re hungry. A recent study from the University of Michigan found that hungry shoppers spend about 64 percent more than shoppers who

aren’t hungry. This could be because your ability to resist temptation has some relations to your blood glucose levels, which become low when you’re hungry. Before going shopping, it’s best to have a filling snack, such as a piece of fruit or whole wheat crackers.

Carl Richard, a certified financial planner, recommends waiting at least 72 hours before making a purchase. This can help cut impulse spending by putting some space between you and what you want.

Waiting for 72 hours, or three days, can help curb the impulse by giving you some time to really think about your decision. This allows the initial excitement of a new purchase to die down, so you can make the decision with a more level-headed mind.

While shopping—whether it’s impulsive or not—can be fun, it’s important to plan out all your purchases. Harnessing your willpower and exerting more self-control can help you stay on track with your finances and save money for things you really need.

Lindsey Gibbons can be contacted at lgibbons@kscequinox

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The amount of waste that we produce each day is directly proportional to global climate change and the health of both ourselves and the planet. Each day, students constantly use singleuse plastic cups, plastic bags, throw away large amounts of food, run water and waste copious amounts of paper. The immediate effect is of these actions is hidden in our day-to-day society. However, it can leave a large effect in the long term. I urge you to focus on reducing your waste around campus—starting small, because as cliche as it sounds, everything makes a difference.

A common ground for most Keene State College students is the Dining Commons; where students eat anywhere from 3 meals a day to a few meals a week. At first, the waste from this might seem minimal because they use glass dishes and reusable cups. However, there is a significant amount of resources going literally down the drain. To start off, I urge you to look at what you are drinking for your own health and for the planet. Instead of choosing the sugary sodas and beverages I suggest water, as it is better for you and leaves a much smaller carbon footprint on the planet than alternative beverages. Secondly, I urge you to only take what you will eat, because you can always go back for seconds, whereas you cannot put food back. This will lessen the amount of food that goes to waste when you simply throw away what you didn’t eat and the amount of dishes that you use.

Another common area of waste is Lloyd’s and the coffee shop on campus. Here you constantly see many single-use plastic containers for food, coffee and thousands of plastic bags used every day. As for coffee, bring a reusable mug or travel container for your beverage and simply wash it out when you are done. This will not only save plastic, but will also save you money whereas it is $1.50 for any sized regular coffee compared to $2.25 just for a medium! The same goes for reusable water bottles; they are everywhere and very inexpensive, so next time you are out, try to pick up one up. As for the food in Lloyd’s, it will be difficult to avoid the plastic containers the food comes, in so try to balance that out by not taking a plastic bag when you check out. Is it really that hard to carry a box back to your dorm? You can even put your snacks in your backpack, as most students carry those around every day. Ultimately, try to balance out your waste wherever possible, if you truly do need to purchase singleuse plastic. If you really do need to get a plastic bag, reuse it in your dorm or in your house as a trash bag, or even bring it back to Lloyd’s the next time you go, because those things will last forever!

Don’t worry, I didn’t forget about Hoot ‘n’ Scoot! The last food option on campus is another plastic hub where it is easy to minimize your footprint. If you’re making a salad or getting the pasta from H’n’S, bring a reusable container or tupperwhere to carry your food. Get an apple or orange instead of a fruit cup, because those come with their own protective covering! Bring a water bottle and fill it up at the drink station instead of taking one of the plastic water bottles. (If you want to learn about how bad water in plastic bottles are for you I urge you to watch the documentary “Tapped” to learn about the plastic leaching into the bottles, yikes.) Lastly, once again, do you really need that plastic bag to carry your things, or can you just carry it back to your dorm or house and put the rest in your backpack?

The last place to be sustainable is in the dorms. I keep some glass dishes in my room in case I decide to make oatmeal, or anything that I can wash and reuse so I am not using plastic or paper products. The same goes for utensils; don’t take the plastic straws, forks, spoons and knives from Hoot ‘n’ Scoot and Lloyd’s when you can just keep some in your dorm that you can use again. I know it seems slightly inconvenient to have dishes to wash, but it is practice for the real world. Use dish towels when possible instead of paper towels and even keep a recycling bin in your dorm room next to your trash can. A few of these simple changes will contribute to reducing climate change, help save wildlife, slow down pollution and the overfilling of our landfills.

Isabella Pratt can be contacted at ipratt@kscequinox.com

OLIVIA CATTABRIGA / ART DIRECTOR

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ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT / A6

Thursday, February 21, 2019

Grammy Awareness Students' thoughts on the Grammy Awards JACQUELINE PANTANO

artS & EntErtainmEnt Editor The 2019 Grammy Awards took place recently, on Feb. 10.

With a fresh reminder of the annual recurrence of this award show, students expressed their thoughts.

Student Erin O’Toole said she never watched the Grammys. “Maybe when I was little with my parents on TV not really paying much attention,” O’Toole said. She said was not even interested in watching the highlights.

On the other hand, another student, Grace Moses, very much enjoys the highlights. She explained how she believes the Grammys have an important role in showing the rightful success of women and minorities. Nevertheless, aside from that, Moses said also does not give too much importance to the award, “It’s just another thing on tv.” Senior Zachary Robinson openly spoke about his appreciation for the Grammys. He mentioned how he watches them every year. “It is such an honor for an artist to be nominated,” Robinson said. Robinson said he believes in the value of the awards given by the Grammys.

However, he agreed with his friend, fellow KSC student John Budenas, who described the Grammys as “unfair”.

Budenas said that the board of people who decide the nominees and the winners might have too much power.

However, he also expressed his appreciation for how the board gives the spotlight to minor bands, often some he enjoys.

Many associate the Grammy Awards with pop and mainstream music. Because of that, people separate themselves from the show. Budenas is one of them. He is not a fan of pop or mainstream music. Neither is KSC senior Bryanna Weigel. Because of this, she doesn’t even watch the highlights. Sometimes, she added, she will watch acceptance speeches or videos of the artists she likes.

One student, senior Meghan Liuzzo, disagreed with the introduction of politics in the award show. “It should be just about music,” Liuzzo explained. She does not approve of the show having a political agenda or discussing topics outside the music realm. For this reason, she did not see the Grammys this year. However, she still read articles about them. Student Gargi Gurung said she watches the highlights every year. Gurung pointed out how people do not care about the music anymore. She said many people are simply interested in the fashion. They want to know what the celebrities are wearing. Gurung likes fashion and thinks people should enjoy it, but said, “[The people who watch for fashion] are missing out the hole point of the Grammys.”

Students gladly expressed their opinions on the Grammy Awards this year. The Grammy Awards are still of interest among most of the students at Keene State College.

LUKE STERGIOU / PHOTO EDITOR

Spider-Man CAL SYLVIA

Jacqueline Pantano can be contacted at jpantano@kscequinox.com

Equinox Staff OLIVIA CATTABRIGA / ART DIRECTOR

STAFF COMMENTARY

Gucci sparks controversy JOSEPH GUZMAN

Equinox Staff Companies take whatever precautions they need to stay afloat.

Some do this by switching up their style, and others might collaborate with another company or person of influence to broaden their likeness and brand. In the fashion industry, people are always constantly utilizing both of these tricks for the companies benefit. In the latest wave of products,the high-class fashion line Gucci has decided to release a black face sweater.

The reason why many are quick to call this specific $890 item a racist mess-up is that the sweater itself comes all the way up to the model's nose, and has red lips that are similar to the early imagery of blackface, where white actors would paint their faces black and their lips big and red. At the same time, they made fun of African Americans and their stereotypes, portraying them typically as lesser and unintellectual, even though that's clearly untrue.

According to Fashionista.com, one person who was giving their input posted a photo of the sweater on Twitter, captioning it, "Happy Black History month Y'all," as a kind of tongue-in-cheek response due to the fact that the fashion line dropped it during the highly empowering Black History Month.

Many Celebrities and Artists did not waste any time denouncing the hot streetwear brand. According to hip-hop magazine XXL, a recent example of someone (was rapper 50 Cent who, on video,

decided to burn a pile of his Gucci clothes on his Instagram. Other rappers such as T.I. and Big Draco himself, Soulja Boy also went through great strides to try to distance themselves from the popular brand. Soulja already started the process of getting his Gucci forehead tattoo removed, telling TMZ “I’ve started the process (of getting the tattoo removed) but I gotta go three times, three more times.” The same video also referenced something Soulja Boy had said earlier, "Until further notice, Gucci is canceled, I'm shocked

and I'm appalled and I feel disrespected."

T.I. gave a long and in-depth speech about the situation over his Instagram live and led the charge for this whole boycott, saying, “Gucci, as a sevenfigure-ayear customer and longtime supporter of your brand, I must say…

Y’all got us f***** up! Apology not accepted! We ain’t going for this ‘Oops, my bad, I didn’t mean to be racist and disrespectful towards your people’ s***! Y’all knew what the f*** y'all was doing and we ain’t going for it! We all gotta stop buying, wearing, and supporting

Are you interested in writing for A&E?

Arts and Entertainment Editor Jacqueline Pantano (603)-339-8344

Cal's corner

this piece of s*** company, and all piece of s*** companies until they learn to respect our dollars and value our business! Our culture runs this s***! We [People of color] spend 1.25 trillion dollars a year and if we stop buying anything, they must correct any and all of our concerns. That’s the only way we can get some respect put on our name! I Don’t Give a f*** if I gotta wear Target brand s***... #F***Gucci."

A plethora of other influencers have shown their support for the boycott, such as Russell Simmons,

Waka Flocka Flame, and Jean Grae, to name a few. Influencer Mikey Factz also brought to public attention that Prada released a monkey keychain in early December that also contained big red lips and black hair.

Gucci’s head creative director released a statement saying, “The fact that, contrarily to my intentions, that turtle-neck jumper evoked racist imagery causes me the greatest grief, but I am aware that sometimes, our actions can end up with causing unintentional effects. It is, therefore, necessary [that I am] taking full accountability for these effects.

It’s important for me to let you know that the jumper actually had very specific references, completely different from what was ascribed instead, It was a tribute to Leigh Bowery, to his camouflage art, to his ability to challenge the bourgeois conventions and conformism, to his eccentricity as a performer, to his extraordinary vocation to masquerade meant as a hymn to freedom." Gucci themselves also released a statement saying ,"We are fully committed to increasing diversity throughout our organization and turning this incident into a powerful learning moment for the Gucci team and beyond."

Do you think this boycott has enough leverage to end the Gucci brand or should people forgive Gucci for their mess up?

Joseph Guzman can be contacted at jguzman@kscequinox.com

POSITIVITY cont. from A8

back our bodies and stand up for ourselves,” Haselton said.

Some audience members came to the event searching for that form of female empowerment. Senior Atticus Caruso said, “I heard that it was going on. I had never seen the Vagina Monologues, but I knew a little bit about it. I was really excited for some sex positivity and female empowerment,” Caruso continued. “I had so much fun. I laughed, I cried, I went through the whole spectrum of emotions.”

For those that don’t know if they would be into the show, Caruso said, “I think that people should go and see the show if they have

an opportunity. I think that it’s great for people all across the gender spectrum, people with all different bodies, all different backgrounds and all different ages. It’s for everyone.”

Overall, the performance was well received by the audience indicated by a loud applause as the cast took their bows. All proceeds from tickets were donated to Monadnock Center for Violence Prevention.

Cast members declined to comment on the show.

Erin McNemar can be contacted at emcnemar@kscequinox.com

Once upon a time, everyone seemed to like Sam Raimi’s first two “Spider-Man” films, but in recent years I’ve heard some people say they’re not as good as people remember, that people made the movies out to be better than they actually are. Out of curiosity, I decided to check out Sam Raimi’s first Spider-Man film to find the answer. For the first installment “Spider-Man” is enjoyable but not without its flaws. To understand some of them, one must understand the story.

Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) is a high school student who lives with his aunt May (Rosemary Harris) and uncle Ben (Cliff Robertson).

He has a crush on his classmate Mary Jane Watson (nicknamed M.J., played by Kirsten Dunst), and his only friend is Harry Osborn (James Franco), son of Norman Osborn (William Dafoe), a scientist who founded Oscorp industries. On a field trip, Peter gets bitten by a test subject spider. He eventually discovers he has improved vision, quick reflexes, an ability to jump higher, an ability to sense trouble (spider sense), a wall climbing ability and an ability to shoot webs. To protect his identity, Peter wears a full body suit and calls himself Spider-Man when fighting crime.

Unfortunately, there are parts of the plot of “Spider-Man” that do not make sense. The first scene Peter is in shows him getting bullied for no apparent reason. The scene does serve a purpose, but there is no background info as to why he is getting bullied. Shortly after Peter gets his powers, he is shown accidentally using one without a mask. Several students see him, and yet later on in the story, no one makes the connection when a masked, suited man with web slinging abilities fights crime. Instead of having one big battle, Spider-Man and the villain meet multiple times, and so the story has to find reasons for the villain to let Spider-Man live. Some characters look too old due to the actors who play them. The way Peter’s classmates act is inconsistent. The way the public treats Spider-Man is inconsistent.

"Spider-Man” has its share of clichés as well.

“The girl next door” is an all too familiar term; a scene where Peter prepares to talk to Mary Jane has been seen before in different forms. Multiple lines of dialogue from the villain paraphrase or directly quote already existing material.

Often when the film is original, it is hurt by its cheesiness. Much of the action is cheesy, and much of that cheesiness is due to slow motion. Much of the dialogue is cheesy. One bit of conversation goes on for far too long.

There are multiple overlays of shots. Many if not all look silly. One looks like something from a kids’ show, (one that isn’t suitable for anyone above seven,) and the entire scene looks like something meant only for children.

Such silly fade overs reoccur multiple times.

Mind you, I have nothing against cheesiness, but when a product doesn’t go all out by making everything cheesy, the cheese feels out of place.

There are some other issues worth pointing out: though the CGI may have looked top notch when “Spider-Man” was released, it’s blatantly animated today. Though some of the CGI is probably too photorealistic to notice, edits between live action or photorealistic imagery that is clearly animated don’t look right. Speaking of edits, some felt unnecessary or improperly executed.

That said, “Spider-Man” has its positives.

Tobey Maguire is good at putting on a sad face and crying, and even if he looks a bit old for the role, his look fits with his character.

William Dafoe also does a good job facially acting, and when he says his lines, he suc-

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Thursday, February 21, 2019

WKNH

Playing the sounds of love Music

madness

LAURA ROMANIELLO / EQUINOX STAFF

Roy Ferreira CORALINE SEKSINSKY

WKnH Music dirEctor

BENAJIL RAI / MULTIMEDIA DIRECTOR

On Thursday, February 14, the Keene State College Music Department "Be My Valentine." The performance took place in the Redfern Arts Center.

The Music Department performed 'Be My Valentine' concert BENAJIL RAI

MultiMEdia dirEctor Couples Celebrate Valentine's day with Concert Band at KSC. Keene State College’s Redfern Art Center echoed with the music of love on Valentine’s day.

Keene State College Music Department organized a concert “Be My Valentine” themed for valentine’s day.

Band Director and Brass Coordinator and Music Education Lecturer Dr. Joshua E. Long said, “I tried to have a little theme for Valentine’s day, being about love. So, the first half, a lot of our pieces were inspired by that. Second half was love for that piece.”

The concert started with the song “Elsa’s Procession To The Cathedral(1938). In the song, Elsa is a princess in Brabant.

The other songs were Fantasia on “ black Is the Color (of my True Love’s Hair)” (2005), “Variations on a Theme of Wondrous Love” (1987), “Our Flirtation” (1880), “Suite on Greek Love Songs” (1984) and ended with “1812 Overture” (1904).

Six songs were performed at the concert. The performers were both Keene State College students as well as community members.

Music Education major Bryce Jones said, “It’s like a class slash ensemble. Some music education majors or music majors in general, they had to take a type of ensemble. So, it is like a class for music majors, but anybody can join. “ Jones performed in the concert and was positive about its turnout, and said,, “I played the flute... I loved it. I thought all our pieces went together very well. And I think the audience enjoyed it.”

Many senior couples attended the concert. It was also a homecoming experience for Professor Emeritus Douglas Nelson. Nelson is a retired professor of Keene State College and Chairman of the Keene State Music Department.

Nelson said, “I was the conductor of this band for 35 years, from 1976 until I retired in 2006, and current conductor invited me.”

Nelson conducted one of the pieces called “Suite on Greek Love Songs” in the concert.

The Concert also brought old memories to retired band member William Chase, who played clarinet and saxophone for 25 years for the band. Chase said, “This band has a number of community members. And this was the wonderful part that Mr. Nelson initiated. He invited the members of the community to come in and be part of the band.

And that’s how I got the opportunity...”

Chase was a surgeon for 25 years in Keene, and retired about 20 years ago. He said being a part of an orchestra was one of his ways to relax, ”To come to rehearsal each week and work with the orchestra. And then I did not have to think about medicine. I could just think about music.”

Chase watched the concert as an audience member, but he wished he could play as a band member again. Chase said, “It sounds wonderful. I wish I was sitting there… It makes me feel like I could be right there, being a part of it.”

The Concert Band class meet every Tuesday and Thursday evening.The class does a concert twice a semester. Long said, “We are doing a Franz von Suppé concert. [Suppé] was born in 200 years ago in April. He was an orchestra conductor, but a lot of his music is played in bands. So we are gonna do it for the concert band.”

The next concert will be on April 25.

Benajil Rai can be contacted at brai@kscqeuinox.com

Honoring old music through performance ERIN MCNEMAR

Managing ExEcutivE Editor It is often said that imitation is the most sincere form of flattering. For people who play in tribute bands, that’s exactly what they’re doing.

Some musicians carry a passion for a group so deeply, the decide they want to dedicate themselves to playing their music for audiences of like minded fans. However, many tribute bands receive backlash for trying to be a group that they’re not or just simply because they’re aren’t as good as the original.

Sophomore Aaron Keaton said, “They can be cool but if they’re not good, it’s kind of sad. Like if they’re trying to play these songs but they’re kind of ruining them.”

While it seems like bad tribute bands are more notorious than good ones, servals older bands have actually found new member through tribute bands. According to UltimateClassicRock.com, groups such as Journey, Yes and Judas Priest have turned to tribute bands to replace key members of their musical acts.

Although members of these tribute bands have gone on to play in the band they chose

to inmate, some don’t see tribute bands to be on par with the original group.

Sophomore Megan Marcotte said, I think it’s cool they play old music, but I always kind of thought they were lame though because it’s not the actual people.”

However, the nostalgia the groups can bring back to someone who listened to the original group can be exciting. “I think they’re important because it’s honoring old music. And it could be important because parents could take their kids to see basically the same concert they went to when they were younger,” Marcotte said.

Additionally, these groups can provide younger generations with a look into music history. Junior Jenna Verge said, “It’s a cool idea to be able to bring back old music in a new form. I think they are important to keep the culture alive and not forget about where music has come from.”

Agreeing with the significance of the music history tribute bands provide, Keaton said, “I think they can be important because people can re-hear the music. Also people who like the music so much can recreate it.

It’s definitely cool for people who like the music and get to play their idol’s music.”

While the music will not be exactly the

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same, tribute bands can provide a sence of what the original group sounds like live. For bands that don’t tour anymore, it’s the closest thing music lovers have to their favorite groups.

The desire to see these bands vary from person to person. Keaton said, “If I knew they were going to be good [I would go].

But I won’t go to an random one.”

However, Marcotte said she would be willing to go because of the inexpensive cost.“I would see a tribute band. They’re usually pretty cheap and they’re free at the beach.

That’s where I normally see them just playing music. I’m all about it.”

Coming up in March and April the Colonial Theater is showcasing tribute bands such as Queen, Fleetwood Mac and Pink Floyd.

Erin McNemar can be contacted at emcnemar@kscequinox.com

Rory Ferreira, AKA Milo, AKA Scallops Hotel, might be an art rapper, as some call him. But really, he isn’t. He’s a rapper.

Like all rappers, he practices a type of verbal magic which, when done well, can transmute rhymes into keys to unlock the chains which hold us in bondage.

Rap is liberation music—though there is a broader conversation to be had about homophobia, transphobia and misogyny in rap to be had. It was born in the Bronx, made of equal parts youth culture and racial oppression by way of the displacement caused by the Bronx Expressway.

Rory practices rap for the sake of rap. He has been branded with the label of art rapper for the brunt of his career, a label which I must admit I have found useful.

I am here to make a case as to why it is only limitedly so, if not down right detrimental, and why Rory as an artist is doing the most to subvert the hierarchies being an art rapper implies. This delineation is not in and of itself harmful; it is all that it brings which is. A discussion of a similar time took place in the midst of rap's “golden age.” As De La Soul were blowing up, the media changed them from what was known as “gangsta rap” by labeling them as “conscious hip hop.”

The Wu Tang Clan's song “abbot” RZA spoke out on this, deriding the delineation as ignorant, saying that all rap is conscious in its own way, depending on its situation. Bless to the forebears, the transcendental Wu. In this way, we can see the phrase of art rap similarly. Is rap not art at its core? Some rap is certainly more commercial than others. Rory’s work is about as uncommercial as it gets. It’s jazz..

It’s Alice Coltrane playing raga jazz with a harp and a sitar, an unapologetic stretch to greatness. In this sense, and especially in the wake of rap’s great commercial boom of the late 90s, this puts Rory in opposition to a certain element of rap’s cultural place, which is as pop music. But this leads us to Rory’s place within this system. We live in a racist, white supremacist society, and rap, an art form born of black and brown oppression, is the dominant cultural mode today. There is an inherent contradiction here, and from this we can look into the phrase “art rap” more deeply and more specifically in its relationship to Rory.

It should be stated that I am a white girl. I live on the other side of this paradigm. I am here to highlight an artist I think deserves it, has inspired my life, and whose relationship to these systems serves as a great illustration of ideas and movements.

The “art rap” label makes some sense.

Rory doesn’t rap to get views or clicks.

He does it for ham, and that pays his bills, feeds his family. He started in rap in 2011 with “I wish My Brother Rob Was Here,” an ode to a dead friend. The record was dense with reference to obscure, geeky pop culture and philosophy. He rapped about anime, cartoons, and other “nerdy” activities. He did so with humor and skill, using these references to paint a picture of loss and isolation and insecurity.

He gathered his following, but with the buzz came the backhanded compliment of “he’s not like other rappers,” “he isn’t like those other rappers.” The couched subtext of all this could be that he isn’t as black. He doesn’t talk about all that stuff other rappers talk about, like money or drugs. Rory, in an interview he did with fellow “art rap” luminary Open Mike Eagle for Eagle’s podcast ‘Secret Skins,’ talked about how that attitude decontextualized his artistic lineage. The idea that he is seperate from the art form of hip hop based on vocal tone and subject matter is inherently racist, as is the idea that an

» OLIVIA CATTABRIGA / ART DIRECTOR

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ARTS ENTERTAINMENT

A&E / A8

Thursday, February 21, 2019

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The Vagina Monologues spread awareness ERIN MCNEMAR

Managing ExEcutivE Editor Breaking a stigma can prove to be a challenge. However, by increasing awareness, one can make strides.

On Feb. 14 and 15, Keene State College students performed in the annual production of Eve Enslers’ “Vagina Monologues.” The hour-and-a-half long show consists of stories of women dealing with sexual experiences, body image and of course, vaginas.

Interested students gathered in the Mabel Brown Room to listen to actors read from red binders which were filled with the accounts of these women.

Junior Emily Foy attended the event on Friday after hearing from some friends who enjoyed the show pr vious years. “I had never gone, and they said it was amazing, so I wanted to come check it out,” Foy said.

While the show encompassed many mediums of humor, it also brought light to difficult topics most people don’t want to talk about. “I didn’t realize how many girls around the world get genital mutilation. That definitely stuck out to me,” Foy said.

Altogether, Foy said she enjoyed the show, “I thought it was amazing. It was definitely very eye-opening, and it made me change my perspective on a lot of things.”

Also attending the event was sophomore Emilee Haselton. Haselton said she found the show to be empowering towards all groups of women. “I thought it was really strong. It was really good and it was progressive towards women. I really liked that,” Haselton said.

One of the monologues Haselton said stuck out to her was one that discussed that short skirts are not an invitation for negative attention. “It was very progressive and looked at how we need to take

ON OL OG UE

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STUDENT LIFE

Student Life, B1

Thursday, February 21, 2019

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Option for

acceptance “There’s some relief that comes along with knowing that you don’t have to explain yourself, at least with the people you are living with.”

- Hunter Kirschner

Res. Life providing Housing for LGBTQ students JACK HANSON

Student Life editor The options for housing next year just got a little more colorful.

Along with other options, students will have the choice to live in an LGBTQ- inclusive residential hall for the Fall 2019 term. According to Area Coordinator Nicole Cartier, the current plan is to use Owls Nest 8.

37 spots will be available for students.

As for requirements to live in the residence hall, there are none. The selection will be available for all students regardless of their year, and students do not have to identify as being a part of the LGBTQ community. Cartier thinks that this is for anyone who just wants to celebrate the culture and be an ally for others.

Hunter Kirschner, Program Support Assistant for LGBTQ Students in the office of Multicultural

Student Support and Success said, “It’s more of an intentional community. You’re going to live in this particular hall for a particular reason because of the community standards or values of that space.”

Many people on campus worry that LGBTQ students are often pushed to the side and their problems are not dealt with. Kirschner said he believes that having a residence hall accepting of their culture and who they are is critical, and a huge step in making someone’s college career easier.

“There’s some relief that comes along with knowing that you don’t have to explain yourself, at least with the people you are living with. Really, from my perspective, where you live should be a place where you can feel comfortable and you can relax, and that’s the hope,” Kirschner said.

Senior Nick Morrisohn identifies as gay and said, “This would have been something that would have been great when I first started at Keene State. I think

it gives people in the [LGBTQ] community a chance to connect with others and have kind of a safe space to be around others like them and foster their own little community in Keene State.”

Morrisohn also expresses how important it is for people not in the LGBTQ community to learn more about it and take part in it., “I think it’s also a great opportunity for someone who maybe isn’t in the community but an ally to it, and it gives them insight into all of the hardships that the community might face, specifically on a college campus where there isn’t that much visibility for the LGBTQ community,” Morrisohnhe said.

Jordan Dawson, Sophomore and Resident Assistant, thinks the housing could be very educational and give people in the community the support they need, but still has some issues that could come from it, “My only concern is about other people and how they see it. Some people are going to be excited and

going to see it as a good opportunity for them, but I’m scared of what others are going to think of it and how the building as a whole might then get targeted with ‘oh that’s the gay house’ or negativity towards ‘let’s house all the people of this identity over here,’” Dawson said., “I feel like that might be a little strange, but it depends on how Res. Life and people handle that.”

Both Cartier and Kirschner did confirm that the LGBTQ building was happening, but the location and number of students allowed can still be changed.

They encourage students to look for the option in the Fall 2019 housing selection.

If you have any questions, Nicole Cartier can be contacted at Nicole.Cartier@keene.edu and Hunter Kirschner at Hunter.Kirschner@keene.edu.

Jack Hanson can be contacted at jhanson@kscequinox.com

SEBASTIEN MEHEGAN / ADMINISTRATIVE EXECUTIVE EDITOR

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STUDENT LIFE / B2

Thursday, February 21, 2019

Going for a climb Time Capsule Thoreau’s ascent of Mount Monadnock THERESA DERRY

Equinox Staff

SEBASTIEN MEHEGAN / ADMINISTRATIVE EXECUTIVE EDITOR

On October 16, the Keene State College Environmental Outing Club went rock climbing at The Central Rock Gym in Hadley Massachusetts. The group goes on outings during all seasons. In the summer seasons they try to plan hiking, boating and camping trips. In the cold seasons they plan ski trips, rock climbing, ect.

President of Class of 2022 impeached SELENA LEGACY

Equinox Staff In the beginning of last week it was made known by Student Government that the Class President of 2022 Samantha Welch, has been impeached.

The Student Body President of Student Government Sarah Dugas said, “An election was held last semester, and that’s how all the officers for the class gets elected. Everyone who got elected right after the election got an email sent out to get everything going.” She said nothing was heard from Samantha Welch.

Student government as whole thought that this was because of the timing.

“There were mishaps, making the election for the first year class get pushed back, making the eboard not fully elected til November,” Dugas said.

They kept trying to reach out and start building plans.

“We had two or three assembly meetings after and [Welch] didn’t go to those, then the semester ended,” Dugas said.

Once the semester ended there was still no word or reply from Samantha.

“We had the expectation that the Class President is the one to reach out to the eboard to start planning things and that hadn’t happened,” said Dugas, “We have straightforward guidelines in order to be in that position.”

Student Assembly Secretary Victoria Bergstrom and Speaker Davis Bernstein did not respond for comment.

The class secretary of the class of 2022 Lydia Mardin stated, “I didn’t know Samantha personally, because usually when we tried to meet up, she wouldn’t be there.”

Mardin said in her opinion, Samantha seemed “unreliable.”

Mardin said everyone felt like they were all trying harder than the Class President.

“We tried to have a couple meetings and even put something together on Facebook or even a group chat, but nothing seemed to work,” Mardin said.

When Mardin was running for her position, she thought this was supposed to be fun and a commitment, but feels she has yet to do any

MIA

of that.

“I felt definitely discouraged about the whole thing,” Mardin said.

The impeachment wasn’t for unlawful reasons, it was simply because the President never showed up. Dugas stated that, “it’s hard to get things in motion,” without the president.

“It sounds like scary wording that we impeach someone, but it’s really just the technical term,” Dugas said.

Dugas shared how the voting process works to impeach someone on campus.

“An eboard-wide decision was made after giving her time, and after we hadn’t heard back from her,” Dugas said.

This was after Welch was sent a notice saying that the impeachment would happen if action wasn’t taken.

Dugas said,“Student gov. eboard then had brought it to a vote in assembly, if everyone there

feels comfortable moving forward.

It was voted yes, needing a two thirds vote to pass for an impeachment.”

After that decision was ruled, they went on to looking for a replacement.

“We have a few options here on out, letting the first-year eboard make the decision on their own, meaning the secretary, Lydia Mardin and treasurer, Phoebe Baade to step up in their positions or within their eboard do an election to fill those spots,” Dugas said.

As of yet, no action has been taken.

“It’s all up to their class to elect, we have no say in to who gets elected,” Dugas said.

They strongly encourage getting this sorted out sooner rather than later.

April is when the yearly open election is held for all the positions for student government, but Dugas said that,“It’s too close to call to open it up to the class because this

SEBASTIEN MEHEGAN / ADMINISTRATIVE EXECUTIVE EDITOR

is an eboard that needs to get going now,” Dugas said.

Dugas wants to spread light on the word impeachment, as we hear it in politics tied with scandals.

“Impeachment sounds like some juicy gossip or that someone did something completely wrong,” Dugas said.

Instead, for the future, Dugas suggests more information behind each position before students run as a candidate.

“Student government as a whole wants, in the future, to do a meetand-greet with the people who are intrested to get an idea of what is required,” Dugas said.

Something she would like to see happen, for example, would be events the first week of the semester for next election. As for now, Dugas strongly hopes for this be figured out.

“We are hoping to have everything back in place either this week or next week,” Dugas said.

Dugas said this is obviously a loss, and the eboard has been suffering from it.

“Whatever happens, it makes me sad to see someone not be able to stay on, but our goal is to make every class eboard successful and we need people who want to be there and get the ball rolling,” Dugas said.

Impeachment is going to be avoided as strongly as possible in years to come.

Mardin shared her opinion of what she thought needed to be brought to the table, “A good president for a class is someone who is reliable, is going to stand out, make opinions heard. Also someone who takes the opinions of the class and the campus into consideration for larger decisions.”

Selena Legacy can be contacted at selena.legacy@ksc.keene.edu

Henry David Thoreau. A name that crosses almost every college student’s studies at some point. Thoreau was a man who wore many hats within American society. He was known as a nineteenth-century American writer, poet, and philosopher. Thoreau was also an advocate for social change, speaking on the issues of peace and abolishing slavery.

Thoreau’s refusal to pay a poll tax in support of the Mexican American War resulted in him spending a night in prison. Thoreau wrote of this experience in his famous essay, “Civil Disobedience.” Published in 1849, this literary work challenged the world to engage in passive resistance when dealing with conflict. This essay captured the attention of two famous peace activists, Mohandas Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr. Gandhi and King applied Thoreau’s philosophy of passive resistance to promote impactful social change.

In addition to advocating for social change, Thoreau was an avid outdoorsman. In 1845, he began his adventure of living in a cabin located on the shore of Walden Pond in Concord, Massachusetts. In 1847, Thoreau ended his adventure with a detailed journal. These journal entries lead to the publishing of Thoreau’s most famous book, Walden. However, Thoreau’s passion for the New England outdoors did not end there.

Thoreau’s fondness of the New England wilderness brought him to the Monadnock Region of New Hampshire. Thoreau ascended the highest point in Cheshire County, Mount Monadnock. His zeal for nature made it easy for him to reach the summit four times. In 1860, Thoreau climbed Mount Monadnock for the last time, with William Ellery Channing. These two poets reached the summit on August 4, 1860. Reaching the summit was too mediocre for them. Before they began their journey, they had the intention of setting up camp on one of the most frequently climbed mountains in the world.

In the anthology, Where the Mountain Stands Alone: Stories of Place in the Monadnock Region, an excerpt from Thoreau’s diary describes the process in which Thoreau set up his camp: Choosing a place where the spruce was thick in this sunken rock yard, I cut out with a little hatchet a space for a camp in their midst, leaving two stout ones six feet apart to rest my ridge-pole on, and such limbs of these as would best form the gable ends. I then cut four spruces as rafters for the gable ends, leaving the stub ends of the branches to rest the cross-beams or girders on…[I] cut an abundance of large flat spruce limbs, four or five feet long, and laid them on…beginning at the ground and covering the stub ends…Then made a bed of the same…and all was done…

It is not surprising that Thoreau was successful in setting up camp.

He had camped on Mount Monadnock alone two years prior. On August 9, 1860, Thoreau and Channing descended Monadnock. These two adventurers headed back to Troy, NH, where their journey began.

Theresa Derry can be contacted at tderry@kscequinoxcom

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STUDENT LIFE / B3

Thursday, February 21, 2019

Orientation leadership training starts now AUSTIN COOK

Equinox Staff Orientation can help many firstyear students adjust to college life, and Keene State College utilizes its student body to provide a better orientation; It’s a program for students, by students.

Nathan Flyzik, Orientation coordinator, expects 1,200 students to attend the KSC Orientation Program this year. The Orientation programs utilizes current students as group leaders to introduce prospective students to the KSC campus and student life. Matt Schmidt, Transition Case Manager, saidt KSC orientation leaders understand all of the resources available to help students make connections and strive to provide support to students during the orientation session, and even afterwards. KSC orientation leaders are students and they know how important that first impression of a school is. They remember how they felt at orientation and can share the the pros and the cons of the school.

“First impressions are important relationships, are important [in general.] The data shows that if a student can have six positive relationships on campus, the chances of them staying and being successful are high, and one of those first relationship is an orientation leader,” Schmidt shared.

“I believe orientation is very important, and no matter what student comes in, even if they are very familiar with higher education, or KSC... Our orientation program has some core things we want to emphasize. One main point is connecting with other students and

the community here at Keene State.

That can mean a lot to new students, just making sure they know somebody. Making connections in terms of having somebody you can go to for anything is very important.,” Schmidt said.

Schmidt said that the success of the orientation program depends upon the orientation leaders and that orientation leader training is an ever growing process. In the past, orientation leaders had very little training. Schmidt explained that today, our orientation leaders are hired in October so they know the KSC staff and are acclimated with each other by December. Then by January, they have four or five training sessions where they get everyone trained on what it means to be an orientation leader, and know all the resources available to them.

Flyzik said that KSC aims to have 48 leaders hired for orientation.

This includes five assistants that help with the backdrop of the program, eight cluster leaders and two coordinators.

It’s fairly difficult to become an O-leader, but Flyzik explained it’s a lot of fun. Flyzik said, “We have info sessions at the beginning of the semester, starting around September or October. Potential leaders run through some exercises with us as a group to see how different people work in a group. From there, we ask some people back for an individual interview. The interview is with me or the other orientation coordinator and from there, we make our selections. We then hold our welcome meeting in December.”

“We look for a pretty broad personality profile. I think a lot of

LUKE STERGIOU / PHOTO EDITOR

Orientation trainees grabbing a bite to eat before they begin. Orientation training started Dec. 7 2018. The last section will be in April.

people think we want extroverts.

We do but, we also want a good balance of people. We look for extroverts, introverts, and anything in-between,” Flyzik said.

Collin Coviello, senior KSC biology student, said, “I think that the

orientation leaders do a great job supporting first-year students and making them comfortable.”

Flyzik explained many of the orientation leaders continue to have friendships with students from their orientation groups for years to come.

Alumn of KSC SEBASTIEN MEHEGAN / ADMINISTRATIVE EXECUTIVE EDITOR

An inside look at what it’s like to work at your alma mater.

Personal satisfaction and feeling that you are helping others is a big reason Flyzik became an orientation leader. “I was a orientation leader my first year at Keene, and I loved it. I continue to love doing this job.

On top of that, I have a lot of fun

and meet the entire staff. I’d say you are fairly close to all the people you work with on staff. We like to say we are a family,” Flyzik said.

Austin Cook can be contacted at acook@kscequinox.com

T h i s W e e k

William Wrobel Videographer / Producer

“Working at Keene State is nothing like being a student here. I get to see the sausage getting made and see how everything worked and be a person who’s making those things work now. I also have a major interest in making things happen for students to pay forward what was done for me.

I really didn’t come to a decision to work at Keene State. I got laid off twice in 2012 and I had been freelancing for Marketing and Communications at Keene State and they just happened to be opening up a position doing

KSCEQUINOX.COM

exactly what I was doing as a freelancer.

The transition going from student to staff was actually really easy. I had two years of being an adult to make me wish I could be back in college. Working at Keene State was a happy medium between the two.

Truthfully, I stick around for the students.

If it wasn’t for the interactions I get to have with students, I would probably not have stayed. Seeing students who are excited and looking forward to their lives reminds me that I should be living the same way. I get up

every morning looking forward to the work I get to do with students.

I don’t find it strange to be working alongside people I used to look up to. What I do find strange is seeing them as more human and prone to human emotions than when I was a student. Students usually don’t get to see when their professors are having bad days but co-workers definitely do. It’s reassuring to know that even people who seem perfectly buttoned up get as crazy as I do sometimes.”

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STUDENT LIFE / B4

Thursday, February 21, 2019

m p 4 | 5 2 y r a Febru

s n o m m o C g n i m | Zorn Din

8p

To write for Student Life contact:

Student Life Jack Hanson

jhanson@kscequinox.com KSCEQUINOX.COM

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CREATIVE C LLECTIONS

Creative Collections / B5 Thursday, February 21, 2019

KSCEQUINOX.COM

CREATIVE COLLECTION'S POLICY Creative Collections is a compilation of Keene State College Students' work 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

DIY

How to make a Fox-faced Bookmark PUJA THAPA

BuSineSS manager This is going to be my last DIY article for the newspaper. The DIY for this week is very simple and useful at the same time. I am going to make a fox-faced paper DIY. Let’s get started: Step 1: Cut a square of a paper Step 2: Draw a diagonal very lightly.

Step 3: Above the diagonal, make the shapes as shown in the picture, which later would be the face of the fox Step 4: Fold the paper in half diagonally to make a triangle. Turn the the blank side of the triangle so that it is upright.

Step 5: Among the two layers of paper, fold one of the pointy tips down towards the bottom fold.

Step 6: Fold the bottom corners of the triangle up towards the top point.

Then fold both corners back down towards the inside of the triangle.

Step 7: Draw the head of the fox in another paper Step 8: Attach it to the triangle Step 9: Ta-da! Your corner paper bookmark is prepared.

I hope you enjoyed my DIYs! PUJA THAPA / BUSINESS MANAGER

Puja Thapa can be contacted at pthapa@kscequinox.com

Did You Know?

February 23, 2019 is International Dog Biscuit Appreciation Day!

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Wordsearch Theme: Dog Appreciation! » CROSS OFF THE WORDS AS YOU FIND THEM!

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SHORT STORY

Hitting the Dance Floor: Part Three ANGELIQUE INCHIERCA

Senior Staff A heat wave blew through the gaps of velvet.

The girls tugged on my wrists, eagerly motioning me to the dance floor. We slithered through the crowd, I bounced to the beat of the music.

I observed the night-walkers. Men in dark washed jeans and white or grey tees too small for them looked all too similar to one another.

The women were the intriguing ones. Their hair styles ranged from curled, straightened, crimped, up and down… blondes and brunettes mixed together but working with their pale or artificially tanned skin tones.

I looked to Sirina, her braids swung around as she danced.

“Not so scary right?” she yelled over the music. I gave her a slight smile. My movements were off-beat. I couldn’t get myself to enjoy the auto-tuned remixed melodies blasting from the amplifiers surrounding us. The cluster of dancers began closing in. I missed the lovely melodic sounds of my piano. Suffocatingly, the unstrategic dances began morphing into men and women grinding on one another. I quickly became drained.

Energy vampires, I thought to myself. The hot air got caught in my throat. I waved to Sirina, grabbing her attention.

“I’m going to use the restroom,” I said.

“Okay,” She smiled. “I’ll be here.” I pushed my

way through, practically falling over once I had escaped the mass. I looked back to see Sirina lost in the mass of dwellers. When I looked ahead of me, I saw Sirina’s friend. She was sitting on the arm of an occupied chair surrounded by a small group of women. Sitting in the chair was a man in a white tee and navy trousers. His eyes glanced to me. Quickly, I moved my gaze. I took a deep breath of slightly-cooler air and made my way to the bar. The stool wasn’t too high but I couldn’t touch the floor once I was seated.

Everything seemed to be themed as a modernized speakeasy. The leather couches matched the hardwood floor and dark stained bartop.

The modernized splashes of LED backlights and multicoloured strobes gave a bit more vibrancy to it all. For a moment my vision is blocked by a moving figure. The figure then sat in the stool beside mine. I turned to where Sirina’s friend was sitting. The man was replaced by another woman.

Shit...

“An Old Fashioned, if you would sir,” he said.

“And one for the little miss, she looks like she could use one.” I turned to face the man.

“A what?” my brows furrowed. He chuckled.

His chestnut coloured hair was combed back neatly, his face was framed by his stubble. A classic Night Dweller.

“Bourbon, cherries, oranges and something we call bitters. It’s quite literal.” The bartender

and man exchanged head nods before placing the drinks on the table.

“It’s on your tab Archer.” The amber liquid reflected off the ice in a way that could only be labeled mesmerizing. The man pushed a glass towards me and took a swig from his. Glancing at the drink beside me, he slightly raised his drink and eyebrows to signal it was my turn.

I slowly grabbed mine and sipped it. My face tightened.

“Com’on Princess. You do want to meet up with your friends again don’t you? It’s smoother than others, I promise.” I took as large as a sip as I could before the burning in my throat was too much. His smile grew. “I noticed you were with Sirina, you looked real uncomfortable out there.

Maybe you’ll finally relax a bit.”

“Archer, was it?” I managed to scratch out. He nodded. “You must come here often for the bartender to know who you are.”

“You’re in Night Dweller territory, Princess.

We all know each other here.”

“So I’m the outsider here.” I took another swig. I leaned my back on the bar, watching the crowd. Soon my drink was gone but my face were becoming warm.

“This is our home. May I have a dance?”

Archer offered his hand, I accepted. He guided me into the mess. The crowd moved to give him space. Pulling me close, I began following where his hands traveled. It started slow. My eyes

darted to each distracting drunkard around me.

Music blasted from the speakers, sweat from those around us disgustingly flicked around from one dancer to another. The heat from my cheeks spread from the growing pit in my stomach. I stepped back. It was too much.

“Archer I-” His hand grabbed my waist and drew me to his. Our eyes locked together, the music began to blur as the movements of those around began to slow. Time stopped as we swayed. Holding me, I slowly untensed my muscles as he gracefully lead the dance.

Is this Beethoven? I no longer could feel the distance between us. No, it’s remixed. The soft glow of Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata was paired with numerous electrical tunes. Archer’s hand guided the arch in my back as my vision flipped. Pulling me back straight up to him, our steps fastened to the pace of the melodies around us, turning and stopping at each thump and pause of the vibrations across the ground.

My shoulders began to move on their own.

Without my permission my hips took charge.

Both my physical self and mental self were carefree and communicating without the help of my conscious. Steadying me, Archer leaned in and whispered to me.

Angelique can be contacted at ainchierca@kscequinox.com

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Sports / B6

Thursday, February 21, 2019

Torch passed

SOREN FRANTZ / SENIOR PHOTOGRAPHER

On Saturday Feb. 16 Keene State’s newly crowned all-time leading scorer Ty Nichols met with the former record holder, Al Hicks. Keene State narrowly beat Eastern Connecticut State University in the last regular season game. The Owls will play in the LEC semi-final on Feb. 22 in the Spaulding Gymnasium.

Sending the teams to F.L.

KSC baseball and softball teams afford to play part of season down south AUSTIN SMITH

Equinox Staff Every season ,the baseball and softball teams go down to Florida to play about one quarter of their season in the warm weather. While this is a very important part of their season and is an annual event, this does not mean that it is free.

Both teams have a variety of ways that they pay for the trip.

Assistant Athletic Director Abe Osheyack said, “There is some money from the athletic department, they do have to pay a significant portion out of pocket, and there are some fundraising opportunities available.”

The players have to pay a significant amount of money out of pocket to pay for the trip to Florida. When talking about the cost, senior Connor Johnson said, “It is exactly $1,200 from every player.” Despite the fact that is a significant amount money for the average college student, Johnson also said, “We have to pay in full, actually. It’s tough for most guys, I would say.”

Although it is expensive, Johnson said, “I love it, it’s probably my favorite time of year.”

The baseball team is not the only team that makes the trip down to Florida; the softball team does as well. Softball players and baseball players alike have to pay a significant portion of the trip out of pocket.

Coach Carrah Fisk Hennessey said, “Each player is responsible for paying no more than, and I’ve been fortunate to cap it at $900.”

The team does have fundraising opportunities available. “We do a

fall skills clinic, we chaperone a middle school activity night, we do a winter skills clinic, we participate in a mailing fundraiser,” Hennessy said.

The athletic department is minorly involved in the fundraising. It is mostly up to the teams and coaches in terms of what they do for fundraising.

Osheyack said, “We do have a look at it to make sure it’s in compliance with Keene State policy, USNH policy, NCAA policy, but if a coach has an idea and it does not fall afoul of any of those guidelines, we will more or less let them do it.”

In addition to the 900 dollars the players pay, there is fundraising and some funding from the athletic department Henneseey said, “The week itself, the 10 games, cost about $20,000.”

That money is a lot for a team to go down to Florida, and it is tough for college students to pay, but once the fee is paid, the trip is all-inclusive.

Hennessey said, “Everything is included in that, including meals, lodging, transportation, tournament entry fees, practice fees, field space and flights.”

The cost of the trip is not a fixed rate, and does depend on multiple factors, one of which is the amount of fundraising that the team is able to do Another is the cost of the flights, which fluctuate from year to year.

When asked about how much money the athletic department contributes to the trip, Osheyack said, “To be honest, I don’t know, I don’t handle the department finances.”

Both the teams will head down to Florida soon with baseball’s first game on March 8 and softballs on March 10.

Austin Smith can be contacted at asmith@kscequinox.com MIAH PINARD / EQUINOX STAFF

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Sports / B7

Luke’s Kickin’ Column

Thursday, February 21, 2019

More girl power McKie starts female hockey team at her high school after boys said no IZZY HARRIS

Equinox Staff

MLS is Not A Retirement League Anymore LUKE STERGIOU

Photo Editor With less than two weeks remaining and the 2019 Major League Soccer season fast approaching, teams have been busy scouting players and acquiring new talents to bolster the squad for the upcoming season. But what makes this season slightly different is the type of transfers happening within MLS and outside of North America.

For a long time, Major League Soccer has been regarded as a ‘retirement’ league and a league that has never been able to compete with the bigger european leagues. However, the league has been changing minds of fans within the past 5 years. With the United States Men’s National Team heroic run in the 2014 FIFA World Cup, Major League Soccer has seen increased growth and love for the beautiful game in the U.S. Over the years, legendary players like David Beckham, David Villa and Kaká have all come to North America to play in the MLS. These players have all helped to increase the international presence of the league, and with that has made MLS become more popular with not just international fans, but more importantly U.S. soccer fans. These big name players have also paved the way for other European and South American players to make the move to MLS and advance their career.

With this increased international attention, the league has started to be seen in a new light on the international stage. In this European January transfer window, big name clubs like Paris Saint Germain and Newcastle United made big money moves to bring MLS stars to Europe. Former Atlanta United star midfielder Miguel Almiron completed a move to Newcastle United, while D.C. United Star Luciano Acosta’s skills were acquired by French giants Paris Saint Germain. These two transfers proved to fans and the media that bigger leagues are starting to pay attention to MLS, showing that it’s not just a mediocre retirement league anymore.

Moreover, more MLS clubs have been busy in the international transfer market. The New England Revolution made a big money move to sign Spanish midfielder Carles Gil from Real Sociedad to a designated player contract. Orlando City SC completed a move for former Manchester United Star and Portuguese midfielder Nani, signing him to a designated player contract as well. The Philadelphia Union made headlines when the club signed Mexican International Marco Fabian from German Club Eintracht Frankfurt as a designated player.

All of these transfers show that Major League Soccer has made big strides in changing not only the perception of the league, but the quality of the league. With the 2019 MLS season vastly approaching and the addition of FC Cincinnati, this year looks to be one for the books in American soccer.

Fans should expect to see record attendance and viewership of MLS games this year, and hopefully that number will keep increasing in the years to come.

Like most 5th graders, Madeline McKie did not take no as an answer.

So when she was told there was certain regulations if girls wanted to play on the boy’s hockey team in 6th grade, she did something about it.

McKie explained how her team began, “I helped, in fifth grade, start the team at my middle school. My friends wanted to start it but there [weren’t] enough girls so we kind of rallied everyone together to get it going. My best friend’s dad said he would coach for us, so we kind of got that moving in fifth grade, and then we moved up and played all through middle school and all through high school.”

“We did not want to play with the boys. You were segregated out in different locker rooms and couldn’t hit like the boys can.

We wanted to play with girls,” McKie said.

Mckie said that the team has continued to grow throughout the years.

“There [weren’t] a lot of numbers when we first started, and now they have a full roster, and a lot of girls play in the middle school which then helped the team grow in high school,” McKie said.

Fast forward a few years, and McKie now plays left wing on the KSC Women’s Club Hockey team.

Keene State graduate (and former Equinox editor) Sabrina Lapointe had a similar mindset as McKie when she helped start the KSC Women’s Club Hockey team in 2012. Lapoint said, “I think what we have in common is we don’t let people limit what we want to do.”

“I came to KSC knowing they had a men’s club team and I wasn’t sure what that meant for me. I wanted to play with girls, so I posted on the class of 2016 page and I just said, ‘Are there any female hockey players that are interested in starting a team?’”

Lapoint said.

KSC graduate Ashley Waterman also helped Lapoint start the team.

“She happened to comment on it and we went from there,” Lapoint said.

“When we left, we were not sure if the program would fold out. We always had a hard time keeping up with numbers, we were not sure if the school would continue to support it. So it’s been great to see the girls who are now seniors when we were freshman and [how] they’ve definitely taken it into their own hands and ran with it.”

Shelby McHugh is a senior at KSC who plays on the team. “We really push the girls to take this seriously. I’m definitely not worried for the future of this team. I know [McKie will] keep this going because she won’t want to lose it,” McHugh said.

Mckie said that having the KSC Women’s Club Hockey team was awesome to have while transitioning from high school to college. “Being able to have girls play a sport that was deemed as a

‘guys sport’ is a really big thing,” said Mckie.

Lapoint explained the lack of difference between men and women playing hockey. , “It means that we can do the same thing as men, and sometimes better,” Lapoint said.

“There’s leagues and leagues and leagues of just girls and I’m absolutely proud of seeing that. I can’t wait to hopefully be a coach for a team like that in the near future,” McHugh said.

Izzy Harris can be contacted at iharris@kscequinox.com

“Being able to have girls play a sport that was deemed as a ‘guys sport’ is a really big thing,” - Madeline McKie.

OLIVIA CATTABRIGA / ART DIRECTOR

RECAP

KSC is back and better

Women and Men’s track and field teams both placed in top five overall at LEC championship CAILLA PRISCO

SPortS Editor

Luke Stergiou can be contacted at lstergiou@kscequinox.com

ERIN MCNEMAR / MANAGING EXECUTIVE EDITOR

Angel Ramirez and Dakota Joe competing at the LEC championship.

Keene State is making Little East Conference history once again as the Women’s Track and Field team takes home five individual championships and second place overall.

Junior Alexis Gauthier placed first in the 60 meter hurdles with a time of 9.53 seconds, competing and winning over her twin sister.

According to Keene State Athletics, “Lauren Perkowski cruised to a win in the 5,000 meters, dominating the field in 18:40.92 to set a new Davis Track and Little East Conference record as she won by more than a minute over the next finisher.”

Junior Lynne Hebert won the 1,000 meters in 3:06.82 seconds and set a new facility record, and first-year Shannon Parks won the shot put by throwing 12.16 meters, exactly .20 meters over the second place thrower. Parks has also been awarded LEC Rookie of the Week previously this season.

Dual athlete Nicole De Almeida placed first in the 600 meter finishing with a time of 1.40.68 seconds.

Both teams did substantially better this season than in the 2018 season, with the women’s team moving from third to second place and the men’s team moving from eleventh to fifth place this year.

The Men’s team placed first in the

4x200 meter relay ran by Angel Ramirez, Anthony Jennings, Clinton Mungeta and Jared Hannon, finishing in 1:33.51 seconds.

Athletes that qualified for the New England Division III Championships will travel to Bowdoin College in Maine on Thursday, Feb. 21 for the start of the competition the following day.

Cailla Prisco can be contacted at cprisco@kscequinox.com

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Sports / B8

Thursday, February 21, 2019

SPORTS

KSCEQUINOX.COM

Off to the Semi-Finals

KSC Men’s basketball is the top seed in the LEC after beating EastConn ADRIANA SANCHEZ

Social Media director Saturday Feb. 16 was the Keene State Men’s Basketball senior day. Not only was it their senior day, but it was the day they played against Eastern Connecticut, the Warriors, one of their biggest rivals.

The last time the Owls beat the Warriors was on Jan. 25, 2017. Two years later, after a tough game, the Owls clinched their tenth straight win, and now they’re the top seed in the conference tournament.

The game started off with a packed gymnasium, more than 2,000 people attended the game according to Abe Osheyack who is the Assistant Athletic Director for Sports Compliance and Operations. The former school scoring holder Al Hicks was there to say a few words on Ty Nichols.

Although Nichols was fouled out of the game with three minutes remaining, he ended the game with 34 points, seven rebounds, five assists and four steals. Sophomore Miguel Prieto helped the team out with 16 points, three rebounds, three steals and two assists. Another sophomore, James Anozie, finished with 14 points, seven rebounds and one steal.

Key player for the Warriors Carlos Gonzalez led the Warriors with 25 points with four rebounds, three assists and two steals. First year for the Warriors Seth Thomas had 19 points and nine rebounds. Sophomore Cory Muckle helped the Warriors with 14 points and five rebounds.

It was a close game the whole time, without a significant point advantage until the end of the game.

Both teams struggled early into the game with their offense, but it was the Warriors who gained control at the start with a lead of 6-2. The Owls fired back with the help of Nichols and Anozie, with layups and back to back buckets from Prieto, which put them up 10-6 at the 13:29 mark. The Warriors never had the lead the first half, but did tie the game four times.

At the 6:05 mark, the Owls were up 24-20 with the help of Prieto. With seconds left on the clock in the first half, Nichols threw the ball from more than half court and made it in, but the referees did not count it.

At the start of the second half, the Warriors had their largest lead of the game, a score of 40-34. At the 12:03 mark, the Owls fired back on the court with the help of Prieto and Nichols which put them up 50-45. With seven minutes left, the score was 61-53 in favor of the Owls. Warriors player Seth Thomas had a triple, but it was quickly shut down when Nichols hit four points back and Prieto had a layup to put the score at 74-70 at the 4:16 mark.

The game was close at the end when the Warriors’ Gonzalez had a layup that put the game at a six-point game difference. Gonzalez counted to fire back with four straight free throws, which put the game at 74-70 Owls, with less than a minute left.

Head Coach, Ryan Cain was thinking about strategy during the last minute of the game. “We wanted to make sure we had the best possible lineups on offense and defense each possession. In addition, we wanted to make sure we knew what we were running on offense, what we wanted to do on defense, and let everyone know about the number of timeouts and the possession arrow,” said Cain.

With 40 seconds left on the clock, the game was at 76-74, Owls. The Owls were able to hold on and win the game with a score of 80 – 76. The Owls are now off to the semi-finals, which will be this Saturday here at the Keene State Gymnasium.

Adriana Sanchez can be contacted at asanchez@kscequinox.com

SOREN FRANTZ / SENIOR PHOTOGRAPHER

Men’s basketball celebrating after winning their last regular season game against Eastern Connecticut State University 81-76 and are now the number one seed in the Little East Conference

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