The Equinox 11.2.17

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THE EQUINOX

The student voice of Keene State College

Vol. 70, Issue #9

Thursday, November 2, 2017

KSCEQUINOX.COM

Geology program sparks campus-wide concerns JESSICA RICARD

ing a program redesign.

More recently, however, conversations surrounding the future of the program have indicated that geology may soon fall under the environmenPrevious concerns over the possibility of the KSC geology program’s tal studies program umbrella, where faculty members would redesign a “extinction” became apparent in an e-mail sent to students last year. Now, geology minor and eliminate the major for the time being. over a year later, concerns regarding the program haven’t dissipated.

At the College Senate meeting on Oct. 11, a member expressed worry In an Oct. 6, 2016 article from The Equinox titled, “KSC puts a dent in regarding the program, suggesting the program elimination guidelines set geology program,” low enrollment and anticipated retirements of both ten- forth by the group weren’t being followed. ure-track faculty members within the program triggered an administrative According to Provost William Seigh, there have been long conversations hold. New students were not being admitted to the major or minor, pend- between geology faculty members, environmental studies faculty mem-

NEWS EDITOR

bers, Dean of the School of Sciences and Social Sciences Dr. Gordon Leversee and himself, and none of those, he thought, indicated anybody wanting to bring this to the College Senate regarding program elimination.

“We knew we were not going to have the faculty, but I wasn’t ready to say, ‘Let’s end it…’” Seigh said. “If [the future includes] having a geology major at some point again, that’s great. If it’s not time to take the geology major to the [College] Senate, I respect that choice, but I have a feeling because of retirements and future, I have a feeling that’s the path this is going to go down at this point.”

» GEOLOGY, A2

Pumpkin Festival returns COLBY DUDAL

EQUINOX STAFF

Pumpkin Festival returned to Keene this past weekend after a three-year hiatus.

Hosted by Let It Shine, the festival took place at Central Square in downtown Keene on Sunday, Oct. 29.

This year’s festival focused on the children of the School Administrative Unit 29 (SAU29) by having pumpkins displayed the children had carved, games and chances for children to get candy from downtown businesses. Let It Shine Board Member Tim Zinn said the children are the heart of what Pumpkin Festival is about. “I love kids and it is great to see them happy and having a good time,” Zinn said.

In a note on the Let It Shine website, the organization stated, “The schools and school children have always been at the heart of the Keene Pumpkin Festival. When we [the board of directors and event team] think of the festival, we think of kids’ smiles, their joy, their sense of wonder as they explore the festival. The heart of the festival is the children.”

This year’s, Let It Shine Pumpkin Festival comes eight days after the third annual Monadnock Pumpkin Festival. The Monadnock Pumpkin Festival brought in a big crowd, according to The Keene Sentinel. Creator of the Monadnock Pumpkin Festival Jennifer Matthews said last year, the festival brought in over 6,000 people, and according to The Keene Sentinel, Matthews predicted that the one this year had even more.

During this year’s festival, it did rain, but that didn’t stop many families from attending the event. While the attendee count is not known, Zinn predicted that there were about 3,000 to 3,500 pumpkins in total.

Having the Pumpkin Festival centered solely around children is a big change from what the festival was like in past years. Previously, Pumpkin Festival included vendors, and this year, there were none. Zinn said, “As much as it benefits non-profit, we needed to make it pure and about the children this year.”

The other major difference between this year’s festival to past years is the size in which the festival takes place. This year’s festival was completely on Central Square. Keene resident Lindsay Dewees mentioned the major difference. “It’s good that it’s back. I am used to seeing Pumpkin Fest with a big tower with a face on it.

There used to be pumpkins up and down the street. After the incident a few years ago, I was really sad and couldn’t talk about it for the longest time. I am glad that it is back, even if it isn’t as big.”

Keene Police Department Lieutenant Shane C. Maxfield said he thinks the people who managed this year’s festival made a smart decisions when deciding how big the festival would be and when it would be. “The organizers made wise choices in terms of making it more manageable. Having the festival on a Sunday afternoon helps the family factor and the timing of 1:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. helps to prevent problems from happening that had happened in the past.”

Downtown businesses took part in the festival by allowing children to come into their business and receive candy. Fairfield Inn & Suites Front Desk Agent Kelsey Bailey said she thinks it is really fun for the children to be able to go into places and get candy. “I think it is going great. It makes people glad. Allowing children to come into the lobby and take candy gives us a good reputation and, if successful, it could get bigger.”

Monadnock Imaging is also taking part in allowing children to come in and get candy. Store Manager Mike Torska said, “People are out and about. It is good exposure for my business. I was one of the biggest supporters of Pumpkin Fest. Anything to try to improve downtown is welcome.”

Along with the chance to go into businesses to get candy, children also could get candy by playing games, such as knocking over cups from a stack of hay and participating in a beanbag toss. Two volunteers at the festival, Roman Snegach and Angelica Snegach, are siblings who said they used to live in Keene and decided to come volunteer because of how much they enjoy the atmosphere of the festival. Angelica said, “I am glad that this year is being focused on kids. I think that it is a good thing that the festival is back and I think they will work their way up to a bigger festival again.”

KSC students also were at the festival. Sophomore Angela Haglund said she really liked the environment. “It’s a feel-good environment. It should be about the kids and their costumes,” she said.

Colby Dudal can be contacted at cdudal@kscequinox.ocm

ANGELIQUE INCHIERCA / PHOTO EDITOR

Index Section B: Section A: News .....................1-3 A&E .......................1-4 Opinions ................4-5 Advertisements..........5 Student Life ...........6-8 Sports.....................6-8 Associated Collegiate Press

Top Headlines A4: College students and community A8: Student designs library addition B1: Children’s Literature Festival B8: Keene aces the LEC award

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News / A2

Thursday, November 2, 2017

Overcoming learning differences

PHOTO CONTRIBUTED BY RACHEL CAREY

KSC alumnus Marcus Soutra received the 2017 Alumni Achievement Award for his work with Eye to Eye, an organization dedicated to supporting and growing youth mentoring programs by and for students with learning differences.

KSC alumnus receives 2017 Alumni Achievement Award ALEX FLEMING EQUINOX STAFF

The classroom can be a daunting place for anyone with a learning difference. School can leave students feeling stupid, misunderstood and like they’ll never amount to anything due to their disability.

Keene State College alumnus and winner of the 2017 KSC Alumni Achievement Award Marcus Soutra is living proof that even with a learning difference, anything is possible.

Soutra was awarded the KSC Alumni Achievement Award for his work at Eye to Eye, a national organization dedicated to helping people who are diagnosed with learning differences.

The KSC Alumni Achievement award is “Given to one whose professional achievement in his chosen field brings honor to Keene State College,” which according to KSC Professor Stephen Bigaj and Director of Disability Services at KSC Jane Warner, Soutra undoubtedly does.

According to the Eye to Eye website, Soutra was diagnosed with dyslexia and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) when he was young. The stigma of his learning difference followed him throughout his childhood.

After high school, Soutra came to KSC specifically for KSC’s secondary education program. He said he knew he had a strength for working with young people through his work with the Boy Scouts and working as a camp counselor.

Soutra said when he first arrived at KSC, he struggled with the transition to college life. He eventually found Warner, who was “a huge asset.”

Soutra is a big supporter of learning difference advocacy. While he was a student teacher, he told his students about his dyslexia and ADHD. He said his students, especially those with learning differences, responded positively.

They were willing to ask for help and were being

bullied less.

During Soutra’s junior year, he stumbled upon the seminar that would shape his professional career. The seminar was given by Bigaj, and the topic was working with students with disabilities.

The seminar talked about secondary education and what teachers need to do to nurture higher aspirations in students with learning differences.

“For some reason, whatever I said really hit home with him and we just started connecting,” Bigaj said.

Soutra said the presentation really spoke to his core values and he wanted to learn more. “It exposed me to new thinking and I agreed on the strategies. It helped me understand how I learned,” Soutra said.

Soutra then started working with Bigaj, who mentored him throughout the remainder of his college career.

Bigaj founded an Eye to Eye chapter at KSC in the early 2000s with Warner. The program provided mentoring to children with dyslexia and ADHD from college kids with the same learning differences. Bigaj suggested Soutra get connected with the program.

“He took the opportunity and just ran with it,” Bigaj said.

“He ended up getting connected really assertively,” Bigaj said, and by his senior year, Soutra was leading the KSC chapter. He said they even wrote a grant together to get funding to keep the chapter running.

Bigaj said since Soutra was elected as head of the KSC chapter of Eye to Eye he got to go to an intensive training at Brown University on how to run a chapter.

There, he met David Flink, who worked at the Admissions Office at Brown University and founded Eye to Eye. After Soutra graduated from KSC in 2006, he applied for a job at Eye to Eye, where he got the job and started working with Flink.

Soutra became Eye to Eye’s very first hire, both he and Flink have spent the past 10 years building up the organization.

GEOLOGY

Cont. from A1

If the administration had said they were going to completely shut off the program, the College Senate would have come into play, but since they’re not deciding to replace full-time faculty members, “it’s kind of a grey area,” Assistant Professor of Geology Dr. Steven Bill said. The administration would ultimately have to make that call.

At the end of last year, full-time Professor of Geology Dr. Peter Nielsen retired, and the other full-time professor, Bill, said he plans to retire “sometime in the near future,” leaving only adjuncts to teach geology courses.

Seigh said the reality of immediately replacing these positions was looking unlikely, which he said led them to look at other ways to manage the situation.

In moving forward with the program, Seigh explained there were a series of small plans, one being to place the administrative hold while ensuring the current students could graduate “with a really solid curriculum that serves them.”

Second, administration and faculty members wanted to redesign a geology minor for students, while simultaneously continuing conversations about possibilities for the future program, whatever they may be.

Essentially, Leversee said the geology major would go away for the time being. In the past, he said, the political science major at KSC took a similar route, where it switched to a minor, and then became quite popular. After a redesign process, the program was offered as a major once again.

According to Leversee, this is a reasonable way to see programs change

They started with only the two of them working out of an apartment in Brooklyn, New York, and have continuously scaled up their model.

Soutra said they’ve expanded to 20 full-time employees and two national offices, one in New York City and the other in San Francisco. The organization operates in 22 states, has 90,000 hours of community service and works with around 900 mentors.

Soutra is concerned with the status of his original Eye to Eye chapter, the one here at KSC. He said he heard it’s having a rough semester and that it needs more mentors.

He said it’s a big concern of his to teach mentoring skills and learning strategies to young people.

Warner had nothing but good things to say about Soutra. “He’s someone that Keene State should be very proud of,” she said.

According to Eye to Eye’s website, its current mission “is to improve the life of every person with a learning disability. We fulfill our mission by supporting and growing a network of youth mentoring programs run by and for those with learning differences, and by organizing advocates to support the full inclusion of people with learning disabilities and ADHD in all aspects of society.”

If Eye to Eye’s message speaks to you, Soutra said he’s always looking to hire KSC graduates.

KSC Director for Engagement of Alumni and Constituents Sara Barrett, was unavailable to comment on the award and the award process.

If you wish to get involved in KSC’s chapter of Eye to Eye, please visit Jane Warner or Lisa David in the Office of Disability Services, located in the Elliot Center.

Alex Fleming can be contacted at afleming@kscequinox.com

over time and predicts the geology program will be “reframed” as a minor in the “different departmental design framework” in environmental studies.

“You know, the fact is when the dust settles, the major program in geology as we’ve had it would no longer exist, so you can think of that as a program elimination, but it really is, I think, a redesign in the form of a new minor that, then, has the potential to grow into a new major over time,” Leversee explained.

However, Bill, who’s been teaching geology at KSC for 30 years, said there doesn’t seem to be much support in keeping the program around.

Not only has the college removed all introductory geology courses, which were to be taught this coming spring semester, but they’ve also removed all major and non-major courses, as well as Integrative Studies Program (ISP) courses in geology.

Whether the classes were ghosted, meaning the geology department proposed the section and it did not appear on Student Planning during course selection, or the class was cancelled altogether before registration even began, eight courses are off the market for the spring semester.

Among the cancelled or ghosted courses include one section of GEOL252 Evolution of Earth, three sections of INGEOL-110 Earth Systems Science, two sections of INGEOL-151 Physical Geology and two sections of INGEOL-320 Earth’s Climate: Past and Future. A total of five geology courses remained active for students to enroll in during the registration period.

Bill said, however, if he were to come up with a list of 10 students who needed to take a cancelled course, Leversee would consider reinstating the class. By cancelling so many sections though, a number of programs are

PHOTO CONTRIBUTED BY RACHEL CASEY

Soutra graduated from KSC in 2006.

both directly and indirectly affected.

“I would take this as a vote of non-confidence that they cancelled so many sections,” Bill said. “If you don’t even let the intro courses [run], it doesn’t really sound like you have much support for doing a minor in a program.”

Many geology students are feeling the effects of cutting the upper level courses. For one KSC junior and geology major Crystal Pringle, one class in particular that isn’t being offered could keep her and classmates from going off to graduate school following graduation.

A necessary prerequisite for graduate school, Field Study, has been cut from the schedule, according to Pringle.

Pringle said geology students were told if they kept up with their major and program, they were promised to graduate with the major they intended on receiving, but this seems to be inhibiting that promise.

“We’ve had to take a lot of these classes, like they’re offered now, this is your last chance, which is why schedules are so out of control. This is why we’re taking four lab classes in one semester and trying to find enough hours in the day to make this work and still have some sort of sanity...It’s take them now or you don’t get them and you don’t get your degree,” Pringle said.

In terms of the changes said to be made to the program in the future, Bill said he doesn’t want to see the program go away.

“It definitely hurts me to see the program go away,” Bill said. “We kind of are in never-never land….We don’t really know, [and] nothing’s been solidified.”

Jessica Ricard can be contacted at jricard@kscequinox.com

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Thursday, November 2, 2017

KSC searches to fill 11 full-time positions RACHEL VITELLO

EQUINOX STAFF The search is on to fill a variety of open job positions here at Keene State College. After a review of the school’s budget, there are 11 available positions. A few of these include Program Support Assistant for Financial Aid Office, Assistant Director of Human Resources and an Administrative Assistant for the Mason Library. One of the available jobs also includes the new Provost, a position with many responsibilities across the campus.

The main role of a Provost is to be second-in-command to the President of a university. Interim President Dr. Melinda Treadwell said, “The Provost is responsible for all academic leadership and speaks for the faculty. The most important role, in my opinion, is holding the integrity and quality of the academic mission of the institution.”

For the past two years, William Seigh has been working as the Provost as part of a two-year acting appointment. “I could extend William’s acting appointment, but I am concerned that I must help to stabilize key leadership roles for the campus to move forward...The Provost is too critical a role to not stabilize it now. I do hope William will submit candidacy to continue in this role,” said Treadwell.

President Treadwell and the Human Resources (HR) staff will be working together to form a search committee to appoint the new Provost. The hiring process for the Provost differs very little from how other positions are appointed. “The one difference with those higher level positions is that we have open forums on campus, which gives the campus community a chance to meet the finalists, view a presentation and review some documentation, such as resumes,” said Associate Director of Human Resources

Karen Crawford.

The qualities and qualifications being sought in the new Provost position are undefined as of right now. “The President has a draft of the description of the position and is currently looking it over and tweaking it for what she is looking for in a Provost…[The] Provost is a huge position on campus; she’s going to make sure that what she’s looking for is spelled out,” said Crawford.

As for the other available positions, HR is currently working on creating advertisements on the site for the University System of New Hampshire (USNH) and gathering applications they have already received. Assistant Director of Human Resources Heather McGreer said of the applications, “The quality of our pools, just from posting from our site, has really increased. I don’t necessarily base it on the size of the pool because you could receive only three to five applicants, but have all of them be extremely qualified for the position.”

The 11 positions currently available were chosen based on necessity and urgency on campus. “[Treadwell] worked with her executive officers to determine what were critical positions to fill. We knew what resources we had and we wanted to work within that,” said Crawford. Other positions not chosen were either tabled for later discussion or were decided to never be filled. One of the open positions includes the Administrative Assistant of Mason Library. Dean of Mason Library Celia Rabinowitz said, “We really depend on our administrative assistant in Mason Library... We are looking for someone who wants to learn more about the library and what we do and is interested in budgets because we rely on the administrative assistant to keep our budgets in order.”

Along hiring for these available job positions, there is also work being

done to form the Task Force for Organizational Realignment and Budget Development. This task force will oversee the productivity of KSC staff.

“We need to make sure we have the staff to support our student base, our enrollment and what needs to get done on campus. They’re going to look at what we have for staff and make sure that those people are meeting the needs of what we have to do on campus. Moving people to meet the needs is something we might do,” said Crawford.

The President, Human Resources and the President’s cabinet will be working together to launch this task force.

Rachel Vitello can be contacted at rvitello@kscequinox.com

ANNA MAGEE / EQUINOX STAFF

Follow-up on Friday’s power outage

SEBASTIEN MEHEGAN / MULTIMEDIA DIRECTOR

The power outage on Friday was caused by a malfunctioning gear shift inside the transformer by the Redfern Arts Center. The power began flickering all over campus and the fire department arrived having heard reports of a smoking transformer. Keene Fire Chief Mark Howard said upon arrival, their first response was to evacuate the building and isolate the problem. The power came back to campus around 4 p.m.. The Redfern, however, remained powerless until Hamblet Electric was able to make repairs.

Introducing a new educational concept ABBYGAIL VASAS

EQUINOX STAFF Imagine taking a class where you had to pay little or no money for your textbook or materials. What if you could shape your own learning to what interests you, and you had the opportunity to share your hard work with professionals? All of that and more could be possible in an Open Education classroom.

Open Education has been spreading to classrooms across the Keene State College campus and provides a variety of opportunities for students that they may not get in a traditional class.

The Director of Academic Technology at KSC Jennifer Darrow has been raising awareness about Open Education at Keene State for the past three years. Open Education can take many forms, but at Keene State, the primary focus is on Open Pedagogy and Open Educational Resources (OER). “What really makes Open Education successful is the blending of Open Pedagogy and OER,” said Darrow.

She described Open Pedagogy as, “The practice of empowering students to cultivate their own learning.”

One of the ways that Open Pedagogy is utilized by KSC students and faculty is a website called KSCopen.org.

KSC Open is designed to allow students to post selfauthored articles into the public realm. According to Darrow, student writing has improved on KSC Open.

“They’re writing for a real audience, not just their pro-

fessor.”

The second aspect of Open Education at Keene State is the use of OER, which not only helps further students’ education, but also helps save them money. OER are free and openly licensed, meaning they have a Creative Commons license on them. A Creative Commons license means the author of the work is allowing the consumers to share, use and adapt the materials.

Dr. Karen Cangialosi, a professor in the biology department, frequently uses OER and Open Pedagogy practices in her classes. Cangialosi said in her classes, “Students can have choices instead of a laundry list of assignments.” Her students utilize blog posts, such as KSC Open, and Twitter to share their learning, interests and research both with other biology students and professionals in their field.

Cangialosi’s interest in Open Education first began when she attended a conference about it in November of 2015. She brought many of the concepts she learned about back to KSC and began spreading it throughout the entire biology department where “it had great reception.” She encourages the spread of the Open Education outside the biology department, however, she added, “We’re not trying to force it down anybody’s throat, we just think it’s great… we encourage other faculty to look into it.”

Students taking Cangialosi’s classes are able to take part in creating the syllabus, designing assignments that appeal to them and completing self-assessments.

Cangialosi also said that many other biology professors also use Open Access textbook options, such as OpenStax, which is a nonprofit based out of Rice University that provides free online textbooks and low-cost class materials for a variety of subjects such as math, science, social sciences and the humanities. “Many biology students don’t have textbooks,” said Cangialosi. “They get the option to buy the textbook or not.”

Darrow estimated that by using Open Access materials, the biology department has saved students over $80 thousand in textbook and material costs. A few professors outside of the biology department also use Open Pedagogy and OER, but according to Darrow, “The more we can advocate for OER, the more [students] can lobby for it.”

KSC junior Simone McEwan has taken two of Cangialosi’s Open Education-style classes: Tropical Marine Biology and Invertebrate Zoology. The courses often required students to create blog posts and use Twitter to share their ideas. When they create material to post, McEwan said, “We get to decide what we write about based on the topics we talk about.”

She said the Open Education style is effective.

“You’re more engaged in your learning if you get to pick and choose.” She found that the level of engagement was paramount in the classes. “It’s really a matter of putting forth the effort… You get as much out of the class as you put in.” They also completed periodical self-assessments that, according to McEwan, “help

you see where you need to improve.” She also added that being able to interact with the information through discussions, blogs and Twitter posts is “a lot nicer than having to sit there and do flashcards every day.”

Both Darrow and Cangialosi agreed there could be more Open Education opportunities for students if they asked for it. Darrow said, “It can’t come from one person; if students get involved for more OER, then KSC and its students will be in a better place.” When it comes to using Open Access textbooks and materials, Darrow said she feels “attention needs to be paid to the burden on students… students need to voice their opinions about textbook and materials cost.”

Cangialosi also said she wants students to get involved and push for the use of Open Pedagogy and OER. She predicted, “Students are going to lead this movement more than faculty.”

Students who are interested in learning more about the cost of higher education are directed by Darrow to the book titled, “Paying the Price: College Costs, Financial Aid, and the Betrayal of the American Dream,” by Sara Goldrick-Rab. Goldrick-Rab will be at KSC on Feb. 15, to talk about student debt and access to education.

Abbygail Vasas can be contacted at avasas@kscequinox.com

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OPINIONS

Opinions / A4

Thursday, November 2, 2017

EDITORIAL

KSCEQUINOX.COM

College students do more than just party We’ve all seen it, we’ve all heard it - from the comments muttered under people’s breath, to the long threads on Facebook, Keene State College students have been illustrated to only be destructive partiers, and we are sick of it.

During this year in particular, there was a lot of fear in the Keene community that KSC students would go back to terrorizing the streets of Keene again, like what happened during the riots of 2014 Pumpkin Festival. But we are proud that nothing happened this year.

This however, did not stop the continuous thread of Facebook comments that still bash the students. In certain people’s eyes, we can never do anything right anymore after the riots, even though it has been three years.

To them, all KSC students are the ones who caused the riots, even though this year will mark the last year of students who were actually present at the 2014 Pumpkin Festival, as the rest were not

in college yet. We would like to move on and put that in the past.

We’d rather be recognized for the good rather than the bad, and there is a lot of good that KSC brings to the Keene community, that seems to slide under the radar.

Pretty much every major offered at KSC is one that is aimed towards helping people and serving the community.

Education, safety and occupational health, nursing and criminal justice studies, are just a few of the many majors that have jobs aimed at benefiting the community.

The majors at KSC aren’t the only thing that benefits the communities surrounding the college.

The fraternities and sororities on campus are also constantly involved in service with the community.

Just this past week, the Tau Kappa Epilson (TKE) Fraternity slept in a box to raise money for the Hundred Nights Shelter in Keene.

KSC first year students are

required to do a community service day clean up during their orientation, where they go around Keene and pick up trash.

KSC students contribute to the economy in Keene as well, whether it’s from shopping at local store or even the taxes on the college that go to the city.

It’s a symbiotic relationship - the college benefits from being in a tight-knit community with many shops and places to work for students, while the city benefits from our service.

When we see or hear people making rude comments about KSC students and 2014 Pumpkin Festival, it makes us wonder, when will people move on?

It’s upsetting that there’s a stigma around college students, especially in this town.

Many of us live here for about 8 to 9 months out of the year for four years, so Keene does become a second home.

When we see people trashing Keene State it’s

upsetting to us as well because it’s not just the home to Keene residents. It’s “home” for many college students too.

There are tons of stereotypes surrounding college students, but it’s up to us individually if we want to fill that stereotype. Our image is what we make of it.

No matter what there will always be people on the Internet who troll around and want to bring us down.

There will always be adults who make comments and forget that they were once in college too.

So it’s time to move past the comments and leave behind what’s happened in the past.

Whether certain people in the community want to move forward is their own decision, but we need to continue to do our parts and do good for our community.

We must acknowledge as students that it is beneficial and important to do, regardless of if we get recognition or not.

LAURA ROMANIELLO/ ART DIRECTOR

THE EQUINOX

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Thursday, November 2, 2017

STAFF COMMENTARY

STAFF COMMENTARY

Tuition raises can be beneficial

Student would rather shop local

KATHERINE GLOSSER

Equinox Staff Some of the most critical teaching and formative experiences for people is in college. But is the rising cost in tuition worth these experiences? Is there a reason why it’s so expensive and is there a solution?

Since the 1970s, college tuition costs have gradually risen.

In the 1970s, according to National Public Radio (NPR), tuition at the University of California (UC), Berkeley was $700 a year. Today, it now costs almost over $15,000 a year, increasing by 2000 percent. According to The New York Times, one of the common myths about why college became so expensive is because public funding for higher education was slashed. This reason has been projected to many people, with many believing it to be true. This notion is false and only adds to the issue of increased tuition costs.

There are many contributing factors tuition is getting more expensive. One of these factors is the constant expansion of the university administration. With expansion comes the increase of full-time faculty members. According to an analysis by a professor at California Polytechnic University (CSU), full-time faculty members in the CSU system increased from 11,614 in 1975 to 12,019 people in 2008. The number of administrators went from 3,800 to 12,183, which is a 221 percent increase. Because of this, the university is paying more money out of their pocket to keep faculty.

Another contributing factor is that states are paying less of the cost of college than they used to. According to NPR, because of the shrink in state budgets, the students’ share of paying for public education went up. Conservative governors have also challenged state financial aid on the grounds it would increase the raise of tuition. Their actions include pushing administrators to cut waste and increase the productivity of professors. With the productivity increase, comes the cost of it, essentially making it more expensive.

There are quite a few solutions to the issue of increased college tuition. The first solution is to understand the source of the tuition increase. There are multiple sources of the increase in tuition. By understanding the limits of a university and the state’s aid budget, students would essentially see a decrease in the amount of spending a college makes.

Yes, it would most likely mean universities would not be able to expand, but there are quite a few benefits by not doing so.

By keeping colleges where they are resource wise, it will force colleges to hire capable and well-qualified faculty and to work on improving the quality of the college without having to expand. It also means, improving the faculty’s quality of work and mind. Faculty who are hired in bulk are typically paid less and have low job security. However, the best solution to the issue is to form student-faculty unions that will challenge the college administration. By working together to have a say in where the funding goes and the school budgets. By making sure the administration aren’t the only decision makers, more people would be able to make better decisions in regards to where our money goes and help decrease the amount we pay by becoming more sustainable.

Katherine Glosser can be contacted at kglosser@kscequinox.com

LAURA ROMANIELLO / ART DIRECTOR

The relationship between students and business is important ABBY SHEPHERD

Social MEdia dirEctor As a lifelong resident of the Monadnock Region and current Keene State College student, I’ve seen a lot of changes in my community over the past 20 years. This is especially true with the businesses in Keene. This city has a delicate balance of many large chain businesses and small, locallyowned places.

The college participates in the city’s economy by both working and purchasing from both the small and large stores.

The Colony Mill, for example, used to be full of local businesses and vendors. Some of my favorite memories of growing up were there, especially at the Toadstool Bookstore. I would park my bike and read for hours.

Now, it’s vacant, with plans to build more apartment complexes. Target, Price Chopper and the surrounding businesses were a swamp land until about 10 years ago. Today, it’s one of

the biggest shopping centers in the area. Many new chain stores have sprouted up in paved plazas, and many businesses that once thrived in the Colony Mill or downtown Keene have closed. Keene State College has had a transformative few years, but so has Keene itself.

Because I’m both a student and a local resident, I have an interesting perspective on how KSC students interact with the businesses in the area. Many students would rather get a ride from a friend to go to Chipotle or Panera then find local restaurants within walking distance with the same quality food, like Odelay or The Works.

Also, students who work at chain stores outside of campus and downtown are more likely to be paid more by the hour. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, businesses with less than 50 employees pay 62% of the wages that large companies do.

That being said, local businesses also are hiring energetic college students, even if they are in smaller num-

bers. This is also convenient for those of us who don’t drive (like me) and may not be able to get from campus to shopping centers on the other side of town.

Being able to walk to a local business saves money on car expenses.

The KSC campus area and the surrounding small businesses have a symbiotic relationship. The businesses rely on KSC students to eat at their restaurants, get tattoos at their studios and buy their screen printed t-shirts.

We, the students, rely on the businesses for employment opportunities, internships and gift certificates for raffles.

It’s important to remember that Keene community members need students to support them just like they support us.

According to a report from Fiscal Year 2012 called, “Keene State College’s Economic Impact on the City of Keene and Cheshire County,” KSC brings over a 150 million dollars to Keene’s economy, especially the local businesses. Student spending in the city

totalled 32 million dollars in 2011. KSC also contributes to the local economy with volunteer work and philanthropic fundraisers.

For example, student organizations raise money for the Cheshire Medical Center and the Keene Community Kitchen. Keene’s economy can thrive because of our student body.

I’ve lived in the Monadnock Region since I was born, and moved from Swanzey to Keene when I was nineyears-old. I transferred to KSC after my first semester of college because I wanted to come home to the community I love.

All businesses employ and benefit from the purchasing power KSC students, but small businesses benefit even more because of the community members who have been here in Keene State College’s backyard since 1909.

Abby Shepherd can be contacted at ashepherd@kscequinox.com

STAFF COMMENTARY

We need to be better at eliminating our waste GRACE PECCI

opinionS Editor In this day and age it seems almost impossible for humans to not create waste. Whether it’s from all the extra hardly-worn shirts that we have hanging in our closets to the empty water bottles hiding below our beds, it is easy to accumulate things that we really don’t need.

A small shop called Package Free in Brooklyn, New York is working to change this by getting on board with the “Zero Waste” trend and selling sustainable products. According to CNN, the Zero Waste Movement aims to reduce the amount of trash in landfills. This shop will be selling products such as bamboo toothbrushes and toilet paper, tea tree bar soap and bags made out of cloth (only to name a few). Package Free will be opening on May 1, 2018.

This shop isn’t the only shop working towards the goal of eliminating our waste and they aren’t the ones who came up with the idea. CNN stated that the idea can be dated all the way back to when George H.W. Bush was president. Under him, “Congress passed the Pollution Prevention Act which angled to prevent or reduce pollution whenever possible and in turn spend less on controlling pollution,” according to CNN. CNN’s article, “Zero waste isn’t just for hippies anymore” also explained that major brands such as IKEA and Nestlé are also working to have zero waste, as Nestlé completed this in 2015 and IKEA aims for 2020. So, if major companies and even small shops can achieve their goals of having zero waste, we at Keene State College should be able to do the same.

At KSC, we have Recycling on Campus (R.O.C.K.S) which is a group that recycles tin and aluminum cans, plastic food containers, glass jars, cardboard, batteries, and paper, along with many other miscellaneous items.

We also have buildings like the Living Learning Community (LLC) and the Technology Design and Safety (TDS) Center. There’s even a major dedicated to Sustainability, called Sustainable Product and Design.

When it comes down to it, the only way to really get our campus to head in the right direction towards eliminating waste starts individually.

There are plenty of tools on campus that make it easy to recycle and be nicer to the environment-students just need to take become more self-aware.

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY BENAJIL RAI/ EQUINOX STAFF

By making simple changes such as switching from plastic grocery bags to reusable cloth bags, or buying more sustainable products, we will make our campus more eco-friendly and slowly eliminate our waste.

So stop buying plastic water bottles and start using a refillable bottle. Stop buying things that you’re only going to use once, and be more conscience of your surroundings. It may be hard and it may take a while, but

if we aimed to have zero waste, our environment will I would like to see stores like this pop up in Keene thank us. We only have so much room on this planet so that KSC students can have better access to reusfor trash. able items. We are the future and if we start by making I think that the Package Free shop is taking a step in small changes now, we will be able to eliminate our the right direction and I would like to see other stores waste immensely. follow. There are so many things that go to waste and it’s nice to buy something knowing that it is not going Grace Pecci can be contacted at to waste. gpecci@kscequinox.com

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STAFF COMMENTARY

A SHORT STORY

No scale on happiness

Inner Beast

By William Poling

William Poling is a senior at KSC with a U.S. history major and a writing minor. He started writing at the start of college as a hobby, and declared it as a minor sophomore year to learn how to become a better writer. He mostly enjoys writing fiction in almost any genre and hopes to write books as a potential career someday.

MERIDITH KING

Art & EntErtAinmEnt Editor

THEME THIS WEEK: Types of Trees

APPLE ASH ASPEN BIRCH CHERRY ELM

Middle School and Music ERIN MCNEMAR

Equinox StAff

can’t feel unhappy.

Women and men need to reject what media tells us is the norm for body image and find what fits their own lifestyle and body type the best. Society as a whole needs to stop putting so much weight, pun intended, on people’s weight!

Meridith King can be contacted at mking@kscequinox.com

HEMLOCK HICKORY MAPLE OAK PINE SASSAFRAS SYCAMORE WILLOW

KSC Word Search

For many of us, the thought of going back to middle school would be an absolute nightmare. However, for Pelham Memorial School Band Director, Elisa Saunders, it’s a dream come true.

On Tuesday Oct. 24, Saunders came to Keene State College to give a talk on how to be an effective music teacher at a middle school level. Saunders presentation, “How to Get Your Kids to Play With Musical Maturity: Even If They Are Faking It!” focused on the idea that middle school students can and want to play at an advanced level, but there are some steps that need to be taken to get there.

After teaching middle school for 14 years, Saunders has developed some tips and tricks to dealing the with pre-teen mind. As Saunders pointed out, children ranging from sixth to eighth grade have a lot of emotions that they don’t really know how to express yet. They often will not understand what they are feeling, or why they are feeling it. However, through music, Saunders gives her middle school students an outlet to express those feelings, and how to cope with of them when they arise .

“I give them the chance to play how they feel before they know [how they feel],” Saunders said.

With all of those emotions comes the constant feeling of judgement by their peers. It’s difficult to find a middle school student who is completely comfortable with themselves, and doesn’t really mind not fitting it.

Saunders brought up the fact that often times kids would rather receive negative attention for misbehaving, rather than being thought of as stupid by their peers. For this reason, it is not uncommon to see students act out to avoid looking dumb in front of their classmates. Saunders suggested that the best way to combat this situation is to create a safe and friendly environment, as well as follow these three procedures; be authentic, maintain that authenticity and be mutually respectful. By following through with those directions, Saunders claimed that the students will know what to expect and will make for a well-functioning classroom.

Throughout Saunders’ presentation, senior Music Education major Matthew McGinnis, who is a was impressed by the advanced level concepts that the Pelham Memorial School middle school students were able to grasp.

“It was really eye-opening to see how much middle schoolers can do. I’m always amazed but how much they can do with the proper teacher,” McGinnis said.

While knowing how to handle the emotional side of middle school students is important, it’s also crucial to understand that they learn in a different way.

They are too old to be spoken to like they’re little children, but they also aren’t quite at the maturity level to be spoken to like a full-on high school student. It’s vital to find a balance between too young and too old.

Saunders stressed the importance of using descriptive words when trying to explain what you want.

“Don’t use the word loud because they will do it,”

Saunders said. She instead suggested teachers use words like intense, booming, roaring or powerful.

While the directions you are giving may sound clear to you, for someone younger they may be taken more literal than desired.

Professor Jim Chesebrough, who has known Saunders for many years, valued the first-hand accounts of working in this field that Saunders was able to present to the class of aspiring music teachers.

“There was real life experience from a successful teacher who is everyday living and teaching. She not only just talks the talk, but she walks the walk. She’s very successful and she tells it like it is. She doesn’t have to fancy it up at all. Middle school is a very challenging age and she loves working with it. It’s very exciting when you find someone like that.”

Despite only being in middle school, Saunders’ students are able to work on a develop advanced music skills such as intonation. Intonation is determined by how in tune a note is. Saunders stated that she helps develop her students skills through Apps including Intune, Bandmate Tuner and TonalEnergy Tuner, students have the ability to fix any issues on their own and with complete accuracy.

“Every time you play out of tune, a kitten loses its wings,” Saunders has said as a joke to her students.

Saunders presentation was able to prove to KSC students that you can teach middle school students to play with musical maturity. Saunders expressed that the students may have doubts, but that shouldn’t stop you from trying.

“They won’t believe it, so you have to,” Saunders said.

Erin McNemar can be contacted at emcnemar@kscequinox.com

LAST WEEKS SOLUTION

Slender arms, flat tummy, graceful legs and angular cheekbones. So often, these are features portrayed within media and entertainment as the ideal. Most people seem to know and understand that, while many seem to ignore an underlying issue; society often portrays “skinny” as the norm; the default of happy and healthy. If you are thin, you should be happy right?

Kelly Clarkson, American Idol’s Season 1 winner, brought the issue to light in some recent tweets addressing how she felt when she was at her thinnest, which it turns out she wasn’t feeling very happy at all; but it wasn’t because of her weight.

This came about with Clarkson taking to Twitter to clarify comments published in Attitude Magazine, which quoted her as saying “When I was really skinny I wanted to kill myself, I was miserable, like inside and out, for four years of my life. But no one cared, because aesthetically you make sense.”

Clarkson’s tweets clarified that being unhappy caused by her efforts to stay thin, but rather the result of it, also clarifying that she never was suicidal because of her weight.

In response to the tweets claiming Clarkson was suicidal she said, “I’ve never contemplated suicide because of my weight. I said people had no idea I was unhappy oddly enough because I appeared healthy.”

That last part is what really stood out to me. It took me back to my first year of college. During that time in my life, I was at a university that I did not really fit in or enjoy, and as a result of that I was miserable there. I lost a ton of weight because of how I felt, but like Clarkson, no one was the wiser because I looked “good.”

Society’s default is if you are thin, so you must be healthy and you must be happy. I don’t know why media pushes that- at the weight I was then, I was far too skinny for my height and body-type, and the last year or so, 15-20 pounds heavier, my body is a LOT healthier and my mental health is a LOT happier.

I think it is important to think this way for many different body types. Society is quick to judge the bodies of those who are heavier, but sometimes fails to realize “skinny” can be unhealthy too. For some reason, we are taught through media and celebrities this vicious cycle to follow, one that tells up that we can be happy if we get skinny, but if we are skinny we

The bite still itched. As though thousands of needles and maggots that weren’t there chewed at my flesh. It had only been one week. I scratched the back of my neck again, it had been itching for a few days. I had always felt sick near the end of the fall months, but this was very new. Maybe the dog had been rabid? The shot should have worked, but I do not feel any better.

My heart was racing and my hands pulsed with a twitch, as if I had have to muck dark coffee. Feast. My thoughts were acting stranger than usual. Pull yourself together Henry. Feast.

My back started to crack with hollow pops as I felt my nerves ignite with quick pain. My hands.

My fingers have stretched and contorted. My finger nails are pulled with the pain of hangnails being ripped apart. Feast. My shoulders have nails pulling them part with the pain of expanding cramps. My spine was still popping with harder jolts of pain to my hands and now my feet.

Feast. I looked to my hands again. They were long and covered with fur and two inch claws at the ends of each finger tip. Feast. I feel the hair growing on me with my skin becoming dry as ash and as warm as red coals. Feast. My jaw snaps open and unhinges with the pain of pins and needles. It snaps back into place and my teeth begin to grow. Feast. My teeth are as sharp as steak knives as the quickly cut my tongue. I taste blood. It is time to feast. I howl at the full Moon above me and I hunt for my food.

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Thursday, November 2, 2017

From Pakistan to Keene State College MERIDITH KING

Arts And EntErtAinmEnt Editor Imagine signing up for a scholarship on the last day of its deadline as a joke because all your friends did it too. Imagine forgetting about it, then one day, you get the call that you received it, and suddenly you find yourself 10,000 miles away from home, here at Keene State College.

This was a reality for Cultural Exchange Student from Fatima Jinnah Women’s University in Pakistan Zahra Syeda, who now studies graphic design at KSC. “This was actually something that just fell into place.

I came here on a scholarship,” Syeda said. “It’s actually funny because I wasn’t even that serious when I was filling out the form, I just said ‘Hey all my friends are doing it, I’ll do it too.’”

Syeda stayed with a host for just over a week at Math Center Testing Coordinator and Lecturer Allysha “Lisha” Hunter’s house, who has hosted other global students in the past.

“I know she is incredibly talented. She has shown us some of her work,” Hunter said. “My husband was an art major here, when we were students and it was really neat for us to see some of the things that she had done and for him to appreciate her work as a fellow artist.”

Hunter has three young daughters, aged 11, 10 and six, whom she asked a few weeks ago what surprises them about the exchange students who stay with their family. The younger ones are fascinated by the different languages and hairstyles they have seen and heard.

“My oldest daughter was really quiet for a moment

and thought about it and her response was something like ‘people are people, there is nothing that has surprised me because they’re just people,’” Hunter said.

“Zahra has been so open and so gracious about answering [their questions], but also asking then too because she wants to know what life is like for us.”

Although she came here as a graphic design student, Syeda said her heart lies with animation. Syeda received her scholarship to study graphic design at KSC before she officially chose her current major, animation.

“I am basically an animation major, but am studying graphic design here,” Syeda said. “It’s kind of cool, I am happy with it because it adds more dimension to my education. I see both of the different fields and get to study both of them this way.”

Although she misses her family and home, Syeda wouldn’t call herself “homesick” and says her family is generally excited for her.

“Yeah, they were just happy, like ‘You’re going away the house is going to be peaceful and quiet.’” Syeda said, laughing.

Syeda is excited to hopefully see snow, as she never has experienced it before.

Vice President of KSC Common Grounds Kate Chestna was introduced to Syeda through a chance PUJA THAPA / EQUINOX STAFF encounter with Hunter.

Cultural exchange student Zahra Syeda from Pakistan, is currently studying graphic design at KSC. “I am in the graphics department too, I am a graphic design major so we will see each other occasionally, she has classes right after I do,” Chestna said. “She’s very adjusting and enjoying her American experiences very people.” well.

Meridith King can be contacted at outgoing and funny.”

“If you see her on campus, strike up a conversamking@kscequinox.com Chestna said that everyone in the graphics department knows and loves Syeda, and that she seems to be tion,” Chesta said about Syeda. “She loves to talk to new

Check out our

REDFERN ARTS CENTER ANNOUNCEMENT : The Alloy Orchestra : The Black Pirate movie screening was scheduled

playlist At

for Friday, Oct. 27, at the Redfern Arts Center, but was cancelled due to power outages on campus. According to Director of the Redfern Arts Center, Shannon Mayers, there is hope to reschedule the event, although no dates have been confirmed.

For more information and further updates, contact the Redfern Box Office at via phone: (603)-358-2168 or via email: boxoffice@keene.edu.

@KSC3QUINOX

This weeks playlist is inspired by Stanger Things, Season 2 (From Spotify’s playlist)

POEMS BY ISABEL

The Bandstand

Isabel Tisdale is a sociology major who found her love of writing after a fourth grade poetry project. Since then, she spends her time writing poems and creative non-fiction as a way of selfexpression.

Her inspirations include Rupi Kaur, Christopher Poindexter and Warsan Shire. She uses her life experiences to write poetry, with a strong emphasis on the use of motifs, symbols and imagery.

i happened to find it looking through empty cigarette cartons, dirty sheets, and hidden shortcuts. dead end poems turn into fragmented lullabieswhatever it takes to put my mind to ease. i found it after years of searching in all the wrong places. replacing feelings with people and love with lust. a gypsy dancer amongst a world of ballerinas caught between myself and others. and after you find it, it can be so easily taken away. kisses like a stalemate and words like loaded guns. pieces of me left in time capsules that will never be opened. i long to leave my lights left on and door unlocked.

-it

RIVERLIGHT

A Quick Bio Riverlight began in Fall of 2015 when KSC students, singer/songwriter Nick Blitchington and drummer Ryan Sinclair, met and recorded a demo EP “The Riverlight EP”. In the fall of 2016, Sinclair introduced Blitchington to bassist Pat Homer. As a fully formed band, the Indie-Rock/Alt-Rock power trio Riverlight brings energy to the stage.

Where to find us online: Soundcloud https://soundcloud.com/weareriverlight Facebookwww.facebook.com/weareriverlight Contact: weareriverlight@gmail.com Or send them a message on Facebook!

Members: Nicks Blitchington - Lead Vocals/Guitar Ryan Sinclair - Drums/Backing Vocals Pat Homer - Bass/Backing Vocals

Genre: Indie-Rock/ Alt-Rock

Location: Keene, NH ARTWORK BY AUBREY PAUL

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ENTERTAINMENT

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KSC hosts 41st and final Children’s Literature Festival MERIDITH KING

Arts & EntErtAinmEnt Editor Almost everyone knows the magic and wonder they felt as a child when their parents would tuck them into bed and open their favorite picture book.

The combination of storytelling and colorful pictures would combine into a fantastical world that you could think about as you drifted off to sleep.

KSC brought that magic to campus in the form of the 41st Annual Children’s Literature Festival, this past Saturday, Oct. 28.

The festival was established on April 1, 1978, by Dr. David E. White, founder and director. The festival as a whole has had in total over 160 recognized speakers from its inception.

A children’s literature course White had taken in college while studying at the University of Virginia, ignited his love for children’s literature, planting the seeds that would later bloom as the Annual Children’s Literature Festival.

The first annual festival had about 120 attendees, while at its peak the festival reached over 600 attending. This year’s festival was comfortably attended.

The 41st festival is also tinged with sadness, as it is the last year of the festival. The decision was made to discontinue the festival just a week and a half prior to the festival.

The festival this year featured five acclaimed authors and illustrators speaking, from vastly different backgrounds.

The festival also provided attendees the opportunity to buy children’s’ books, accompanied by autographed bookplates, as well as other festival items.

Authors, Sophie Blackall, David Elliot, Grace Lin, Brian Floca and Daniel Salmieri, all offered attendees their stories about their journeys into writing and illustrating children’s literature.

Each author gave about an hour long presentation, highlighting their inspirations, trials and tribulations, and successes as children’s literature authors and illustrators.

Daniel Salmieri, an illustrator from Brooklyn, opened up the floor as the first speaker.

KSC students Colleen Connolly and Jessyca Derby have helped to set-up and coordinate the event for the last two years. Both Derby and Connolly took a Children’s Literature Course with White their sophomore years at KSC, which helped to inspire them to take part in the festival.

“It was really great to see how books affected their [the author’s] lives, even as children, and they’ve always been a part of their [the author’s] lives,” Derby said. “It kind of shows how important children’s books are to a person.”

Derby was also one of the last recipients of the Festival Scholarship, which entailed being Student Director of a Festival, independent study and a research paper.

Speaker Grace Lin, whose parents immigrated from Taiwan and whose work has been displayed in The White House, discussed how her journey as an author and illustrator was also a journey of self discovery into her culture and identity, redefining niches and proving labels don’t set boundaries for success.

“If my work is as true to myself as possible, [then] I have created something that no one else in the world has done.

No one else in the world can share you story,” said Lin. Both Connolly and Derby expressed how Lin was the most impactful speaker for them to listen to.

“I just thought what she had to say was super powerful,” Connolly said. “I was like ‘Oh my God, She is an eloquent speaker,’ and you can tell that she was moved and everyone in the room was moved [by what she was saying].”

Having an artist father and mother who both had been editors for books and magazines, Salmieri was exposed to art and storytelling from an early age.

Salmieri remembered his mother reading children’s stories to him every night. Along with an early love of drawing, Salmieri was drawn to immersing himself into the fantasy worlds that picture books had to offer.

“I loved losing myself in picture books,” Salmieri said.

Keene Resident Alison Franke found out about the festival three years ago and has been attending ever since. As a volunteer librarian and a person with a passion for children’s literature, Franke calls the festival a “treasure” of Keene, and expressed her sadness in its end.

“I find it fascinating to just hear more personal stories from the authors,” Franke said of the festival. “You get to know their backgrounds. I think we all wish we could do what they do, and I think it’s less of a mystery after you sit and listen to them talk.”

Though all the speakers came from such diverse backgrounds and went on vastly different paths to get where they are today, there was an overarching theme through each presentation; stories and storytelling are vital for children, and children’s literature is vastly underrated in today’s day and age.

Jane Yolen, speaker at the 34th Annual Childrens Literature Festival and friend of White, shared a beautiful and aspiring message to people at the festival Saturday, concluding her impromptu speech with a quote from her book “Touch Magic:” “Just as the child is born with a literal hole in its head, where the bones slowly close underneath the fragile shield of skin, so the child is born with a figurative hole in its heart.

Slowly this, too, is filled up. What slips in before it anneals shaped the man or woman into which the child will grow.

Story is one of the most serious intruders into the heart.”

Meridith King can be contacted at mking@kscequinox.com

ANGELIQUE INCHIERCA / PHOTO EDITOR

All photos are of various speakers and attendees of the 41st Children’s Literature Festival.

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Student Life / B1 Thursday, November 2, 2017

KSCEQUINOX.COM

Student helps design city library addition MATTHEW KAHLMAN

Equinox Staff The Keene Public Library is planning on bringing in more resources, opportunities, and space by connecting and renovating the Heberton Hall building next door. Keene State College senior, architecture student Connor Bell helped design the model for the construction of the add-on.

Bell said, “I knew I wanted to be an architect my freshman year of high school.” He tried applying to top architect schools, and after only getting accepted to one, he decided to come to KSC. “At first I didn’t want to come to Keene [State], but it ended up being the best thing that ever happened to me,” Bell said He added, “The program has a sense of everything and touches on different points.”

Bell said a lot of school programs focus specifically on one field or area of architecture, where at KSC the program dives into all different aspects.

Bell said his real interest is in historical buildings. “Going to cities and seeing history is my thing, I love the old buildings,” Bell said. He added one of the reasons he took the project for the library was because of the historical building add-on.

“My love for model making comes from my grandfather,” Bell said how model making is beginning to fade away from architecture with the advancements in technology. “I think models are important because computer generated models don’t show a person what the building actually looks like,” Bell said. “There’s more technology now and a lot of people don’t want to take the time in making a model, because it does take a long time to complete.”

Recently Bell was approached by the Keene Public Library and was asked if he could work on a model project for a future add-on.

The Head of Youth and Community Service at the library, Gail Zachariah commented on the future add-on.

ANGELIQUE INCHIERCA / PHOTO EDITOR

Senior architect major Connor Bell working on his newest project. Bell helped create the new addition going onto the Keene Public Library.

“People use libraries in different ways than they used to, and we wanted to have this add-on to bring in more people who want to use the library,” Zachariah said. “A lot

of people from the community use our rooms for meetings, and more people kept wanting rooms, but we just didn’t have enough.”

Zachariah said the library

bought the Library Annex (the former Heberton Hall) building a few years ago. The building was built back in 1858. Zachariah said a lot of the infrastructure of the build-

ing needs work.

The first proposal for the add-on was at the city council meeting on Dec. 5, 2013. “We planning on starting construction in November,”

Zachariah said. “And the project should be completed by October of 2018.”

George Scott was also approached and asked if he wanted to build the model for the add-on.

Scott has a mechanical engineering degree from Princeton University, a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Harvard University and is also a woodworker. Scott has done previous model projects on Keene Community Ice Arena and the Keene YMCA. “Nancy Vincent, the library director, approached me and asked if I could make a model for the new add-on to the library.” Scott said he didn’t realize how difficult this project was going to be and decided he needed more help. “I needed someone who had experience making models with older buildings and I was introduced to Connor,” said Scott.

Scott said, “Connor had such a busy schedule that we usually worked at different times, but we were able to operate smoothly.”

Bell said the library project took over 500 hours to complete. “It became my child, I cared a lot about this project,” Bell said.

Bell said at times it was stressful managing between school and other projects, but was able to make it all work out. “George helped me stay on track and was a really good asset to that project,” Bell said.

Bell plans on getting his master’s degree in architecture, but with more of a focus in historical restoration and adaptive reuse. “Taking a historical building and turning them into something that wasn’t meant for their original use, but making it more effective in the environment that it is in now,” Bell said.

“A building’s environment is constantly changing but that doesn’t mean the building has to change itself.”

Matt Kahlman can be contacted at mkahlman@kscequinox.com

Applying early for FAFSA and federal financial aid ALEX FLEMING

Equinox Staff It’s finally October, everyone’s favorite time of year: the time of year when everyone can get a jump-start on their FAFSAs! The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is the application that all college students must fill out and submit if they wish to get federal student aid.

According to the FAFSA website, studentaid.ed.gov, the federal government started accepting FAFSA applications for the 2018 fall semester on Oct. 1, and applications must be submitted by June 30, 2018.

Associate Director of KSC’s Financial Aid Office Deborah Nichols said the FAFSA gets more stressful the longer students wait to complete it. “Do it now,” she said. “Get the stress over and done with.”

Nichols said the federal government changed the start of the FAFSA filing period from January to October to help with school recruitment and to take some stress off of students. She also said she likes the change because it gives students a three-month head start on Keene State College’s FAFSA priority deadline.

Nichols said students who submit by the priority deadline are the ones who end up being eligible for as much student aid as possible. Nichols also said, the federal government chooses 30 percent of all filers for a verification process. She said the earlier students submit, the more time they’ll have to send in the required documents if they are selected.

According to a PDF of the application on fafsa.ed.gov, the FAFSA has over 69 questions for the student who’s filing and 39 questions for that student’s parents. Many of the questions have multiple parts, require tax and income information and have lengthy explanations and rules that can be found at the bottom of the form.

Nichols said in order to fill out your FAFSA,

you need tax information from two years ago.

She said taxes from two years ago are used because it is more likely that they have already been filed and returned.

Most college students will have to fill out the FAFSA in their college career. KSC junior Jason Macie said he fills it out every year.

“It’s a fun process,” he said while rolling his eyes, “but it’s not difficult at all, just a minor annoyance.” Macie also said he applies for the Vermont Student Assistance Corporation (VSAC) to get grants from his home state of Vermont.

KSC junior Daija Germain said the FAFSA takes her a long time and that it is confusing.

“It would be helpful if it was explained more or if more help was available.”

Nichols said the financial aid office tries to help KSC students with their FASFAs. She said once the FAFSA deadline approaches, the financial aid office will hold FAFSA filing workshops in the Mason Library that helps students understand how to complete the process of filing. A date for the workshops has not been set yet.

Nichols said the financial aid office also goes out into the community to do outreach and teach prospective college students about the importance of the FAFSA. She said they recently visited Monadnock Regional High School, and students are also welcome to come into the Financial Aid Office anytime to ask questions and for one-on-one meetings when filing their FAFSA. “File your FAFSA,” Nichols said. “No reason not to file it now.”

Alex Fleming can be contacted afleming@kscequinox.com

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY ANGELIQUE INCHIERCA / PHOTO EDITOR

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STUDENT LIFE / B2

Thursday, November 2, 2017

Mason Library offers more than just books

A personal guide to the many services the library offers ALYSSA SALERNO

an hour...really does help a lot because COLLABORATIVE STUDY SPACES AND STUDY they might be coming in from a high ROOMS school that didn’t really have the same Dean of Mason Library Celia Rabi- resources or this is a bigger library so it’s nowitz, said, “When people come into the sort of intimidating or they are just getStudy rooms can be signed out on a library they want help when they want ting started learning how to do research.” first-come first-serve basis. The library it. If you have some time, if you start a also offers computers where two laptops bit early, the research consultation can be LIVE CHAT FOR QUESTIONS, FAQ QUESTIONS can be plugged in and students can see really helpful, you can even make another both screens in the same place. Mason consultation with that same person.”

On the KSC website, a function of the Library also offers KSC study night on Research consultations are a way for stu- Mason Library homepage is a live chat alternating Monday and Tuesday nights at dents to get connected with research option to help students answer any ques- 7-10 p.m., there is food and trivia breaks in an easy way. A student signs up for a tion they may have. As long as there is a and open to all students. research consultation and then is matched worker at the information desk, students with a student research fellow or librar- can send in a personal question and will KEENE PUBLIC LIBRARY ian that knows how the information data- get an answer within a day. bases work already. That way students All Keene State students can use their ARCHIVES have a someone there who knows where student identification (ID) to take out the information that they are looking for books from the Keene Public Library. If The archives are a “treasure chest here a student uses the catalogue online they is rather than searching the whole system until they come across something that that not a lot of students know about” can place a hold on any book, CD, or DVD said Rabinowitz. There are a number of and have it delivered to Mason Library might be helpful for them. resources available to students in the from the Keene Public Library. Students In the library, there are many students and librarians ready to help students who archives, as well as some digital archives can also return any book from the Keene are willing to take the time to get their on KSCommons. There is a collection of Public Library at the Mason Library and films and materials from award-winning vice versa. research done right.

Associate Professor and the Depart- filmmaker Louis de Rochemont, including ment Chair of the Mason Library Jenni- one of the Oscars he won in the archives.

PRINTERS AND SCANNERS fer Ditkoff, said, “For a lot of students in On Nov. 14 the library will be screening ITW (Integrated Thinking and Writing) of one of his films and the Oscar will be It’s pretty common knowledge that that one on one research help for a half on display. there are printers in the library. There are RESEARCH CONSULTATIONS

StudEnt LifE Editor Keene State College students are spending up to $33,000 per year to attend college, but what is that money being spent on? One of the many things the college spends that money on are services of programs to help students be successful.

One central hub for a lot of programs is the Mason Library, and their staff is dedicated to helping students take advantage of these programs.

Junior Victoria Sansevero, who has been working in the library since her first year said, “A lot of students.. Haven’t seen or ever handled resources that our library offers so they don’t know what to expect or know what they need.”

CIRCULATION AND INFORMATION DESKS

At the circulation desk, students can check in and out books. The circulation desk workers can answer any general questions about the library.

Information desk handles more information based research questions. A student can go to the information desk to get help from the research fellows.

a number of computers available to students as well. What is a little less commonly known is there is a high-technology scanner in the library that will take a picture of any document, book or item and convert that image into a Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG).

GREEN BIKES

The green bike program is available to all students. It allows them to rent a bike out from the library like they would a book. This program is available at the circulation desk in the front lobby of the library.

TWITTER AND FACEBOOK

Mason Library has a Facebook and Twitter page to inform students of any upcoming events.

“There are a lot of different resources so if anyone is ever confused or needs help I suggest they come in and we can help walk them through it,” said Sansevero.

Alyssa Salerno can be contacted at asalerno@kscequinox.com

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY SEBASTIEN MEHEGAN / MULTIMEDIA DIRECTOR

Starting up a nonprofit organization to empower girls CAITLYN DOHERTY

Copy Editor One Keene State College student has taken on the challenge of creating and running her own nonprofit to inspire high school girls to become entrepreneurs.

Last spring semester, junior and triple major in chemistry, physics and geology with a minor in astronomy, Briae Robillard, without going through the college, created the nonprofit called Project InspiHER, in hopes that she could create confident young women who want to become entrepreneurs or business owners.

“By the time [the girls] are 18-years-old, they already have one business down and if they want to build up on that they can,” Robillard said.

This organization allows high school girls, when they are sophomores to seniors, to learn how to run a business, manage a website, advertise, get customers and use effective customer service, Robillard said.

Project InspiHER is targeted towards schools that have a low graduation rate and students who may not be “good academically,” but who are better with hands-on projects outside of school, explained Robillard.

Robillard said she and her volunteers got into contact with a principal from one school, “We were turned off from that one high school...Just because there wasn’t necessarily a need for [Project InspiHER] and we’re looking for a need and something more local to really make a difference.”

Project InspiHER is currently reaching out to more local businesses and entrepreneurs within Keene, but is closing a deal with a connection in Massachusetts, Robillard said.

Robillard said, “I really want to bring it to the Keene community because this is where I spend most of my time and I want to get other Keene State students involved.”

KSC first year and criminal justice major, Scott Brim, joined Project InspiHER last spring semester when Robillard sent out a Facebook post to the Carle Hall residents page, describing what she was

“If I can just help one person feel better about themselves, help put them on a track to a better future, you know to me it would be worth it.”

SCOTT BRIM FIRST YEAR

trying to do, what the nonprofit represented and was able to get in contact with her.

On the topic of peer pressure, Brim talked about his high school experiences and said that teenage girls are “at risk” more than teenage boys when it comes to that sort of pressure.

Brim said, “If I can just help one person feel better about themselves, help put them on a track to a better future, you know to me it would be worth it.”

KSC junior Lisa Russo, who is majoring in English with a minor in writing, joined Project InspiHER around the same time Brim did.

Russo said Robillard came into a Mentors in Violence Prevention (MVP) meeting, which Russo is a part of, last year and inspired Russo to join because she advocates strongly in being “a big sister/brother” to this specific group of girls who need someone to be an “extra support system.”

Russo’s goal is to let these girls know that there is someone out there who wants them to succeed.

Brim and Russo feel that Project InspiHER is, as the name suggests, inspiring and that more Keene State students should seek information about this nonprofit.

“I would definitely encourage anybody to at least ask [Robillard] about [Project InspiHER], to try and get involved if they are interested, have her describe it to them,” Brim said. “I think they would see this as being a noble cause that she is trying to get across.”

To a question about why she created Project InspiHER, Robillard said, “I just really want to teach [entrepreneurship/business] to other people because I just love motivating others to get them excited by pretty much saying, ‘Hey you can do this, you can be a girl-boss.’”

Robillard said by Jan. 2018, she hopes to have Project InspiHER’s website up and running.

Caitlyn Doherty can be contacted at cdoherty@kscequinox.com

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STUDENT LIFE / B3

Thursday, November 2, 2017

Donating cans for rounds of Bingo The community kitchen gears up for the holiday season with cans from students

STAFF COMMENTARY

This Week at KSC

A Day in the Life of a Transwoman

THURSDAY

11/2

ALYSSA SALERNO

Student Life editor Bingo is back in the Night Owl Cafe (NOC), however, this year, there are a few new twists. Now, instead of having theme nights, where students dress up for extra rounds of bingo, students are being asked to bring canned goods to donate to the Keene community.

KSC sophomore Marissa Milley said her friend brought her to bingo last year and she has been going ever since because of how much fun she has and also how competitive it can be. “I really miss the dressing up aspect of it, but the fact that it’s donating canned goods it’s a lot better, especially for the community,” said Milley.

KSC sophomore Daniella Giese said, “The costume nights were kind of fun, but I think that cans are a much more productive and helpful idea. It’s a really good way to get people to donate.”

Senior bingo caller Justin Mahan said this is his third year calling bingo. Mahan said there were a lot of factors that led up to the change of bringing canned goods in exchange for an extra round of bingo, but that it mostly had to do with getting students to want to give back.

“It’s kind of an unfortunate thing that as college students we don’t do anything community service or giving-wise unless there is a reward, so this is a pretty good opportunity,” Mahan said.

According to Feeding America, a nonprofit organization that focuses on providing food for the population of people who are hungry in the U.S., 10.5 percent of people in Cheshire County are food insecure. That means that 8,000 people in the surrounding areas of Keene do not have access to food consistently.

The cans donated by students will be going to the Keene Community Kitchen, an organization that provides hot meals and food to low income people in the Monadnock region.

Executive Director of The Community Kitchen, Phoebe Bray, said, “Every week we offer a free food pantry to financially qualified people and every week we offer some soft of can goods.. It’s very essential to our operation.”

This time of year is the best time to give because the number of people in need is usually higher, said Bray, “If you have a reduced income or limited income, if you are trying to put a thanksgiving dinner on the table that can throw off your budget for a month.”

She said that buying one extra item when you go to the grocery store can make a huge difference in terms of donations. People can donate canned food items at central square at the Greater Keene Chamber of Commerce, at the Monadnock Food Co-op and at the kitchen itself on 37 Mechanic Street right behind central square.

“I would like to encourage any student having difficulty feeding themselves to come [to the kitchen,]” said Bray. “We offer meals five nights a week and also students living off-campus could potentially qualify financially for food boxes.”

Movie Time - Student Center - 6 p.m.

Holding Hands with Ilsa with Abraham Ravett in Person The Redfern Art Center - 7 p.m.

FRIDAY

11/3 Open Pedagogy Learning Community - Huntress Hall 10 a.m.

The Major Event (Open house) - look for staff members 11 a.m.

Teaching Innovation Studio - Huntress Hall - 12 p.m.

Film Studies Open House - Media Arts Center (MAC) - 2 SATURDAYDAY

11/4 Freshman Sophomore Voice Major Recital The Redfern Arts Center - 3 p.m.

Student Recital Series - The Redfern Arts Center - 7:30 p.m.

SUNDAY

11/5 Faculty Recital - The Redfern Arts Center - 3 p.m.

WHAT ONE VOICE CAN DO - County Hall (the old court house) - 5:30 p.m.

Student Recital Series - The Redfern Arts Center - 7:30 p.m.

MONDAY

11/6 Crafternoon - L.P. Young Student Center - 2 p.m.

KSC Career Clinic - Media Arts Center (MAC) - 1:30 p.m.

KSC Study Night - Mason Library - 7 p.m.

TUESDAY

11/7 Faculty Enrichment Grant Recipient Presentation Putnam Science Center - 4 p.m.

Study Away Returnee Resume Session Academic and Career Advising Elliot Center 5 p.m.

Game Night - L.P. Young Student Center - 6 p.m.

Career Speaker Series - Rhodes Hall - 6 p.m.

WEDNESDAY

Alyssa Salerno can be contacted at asalerno@kscequinox.com

11/2 Crafternoon - L.P. Young Student Center - 2 p.m.

Teaching Thinking and Writing Learning Community Huntress Hall - 4 p.m.

Searching with Google - Morrison Hall - 4:30 p.m.

Peace Corps Halloween Event - Elliot Center - 6 p.m.

Guitar Orchestra and Latin American Ensemble The Redfern Arts Center - 7:30 p.m.

You know this is the ladies room, right?

VIVIAN VALENGAVICH

equinox Staff I bite my tongue walking out of the bathroom, hearing from inside the words I always dread; “What was that guy doing in here?” The woman’s voice is shrill and worried, and I sigh a little as I walk sullenly away.

I shrug, thinking it could have been worse, but I still wish that I’d remembered to shave, or somehow had made my body change more in the time I’d been on hormones.

I spend my time at home with my love and skulk, thinking about all the times I’ve used the bathroom and gotten those evil eyes, those dirty looks, those comments.

I was walking through WalMart with my love, and we had to break for the bathroom.

I stepped into the ladies room and there was a group of women in there, cackling about who knows what and talking. The moment they noticed me walking to a stall, they all stopped and stared at me through the mirror, until the door was shut to the stall.

I breathed heavily but quietly, trying not to let them bother me. I do my business and cautiously open the door, and see them all still staring, and I rushedly wash my hands and walk away, hearing “[expletive] pervert” and “what on earth was he doing in here?” from inside, tearing up as I meet up with my love, wishing never to have to use the bathroom again and experience that.

Every trip out gives me anxiety about the restroom now, not seeing the classic man/woman “family” restroom or a real and true gender neutral bathroom is stressful in its own way. And after hearing so much for so long about “bathroom bills,” I wonder where I am and am not safe to go where I want to, but rather where people tell me to go. But, despite this anxiety and worry I use the ladies room anyway; I’m a woman, aren’t I? As much as anyone else going in there, anyhow.

In case you managed to avoid the media for a time during the bathroom bill fiasco, it was a bill posed in many states making it so that anyone using a bathroom that did not align with their birth certificate sex would be punished by the law.

How this was planned to be enforced is beyond me, but even in places where it was never mentioned it created turmoil for trans people all over.

Now Keene State does not enforce this whatsoever, in fact there is a large list of gender neutral bathrooms all over campus that can be found on the website under the “Campus > Diversity” tabs. But, to the allies out there who may find themselves in a bathroom with transgender or nonbinary individual, do not make a comment.

Fear has been spread about individuals like myself wishing harm upon others, but from my own perspective and the perspective of all the trans and nonbinary individuals I know: We’re just there to do our business and leave. We want as little to do with strangers in the bathroom as you do, and have no reason to wish you any harm or bring any upon you.

Be tolerant and keep to yourself in the bathroom, like you would with anyone else.

Vivian Valengavich can be contacted at Valengavich@kscequinox.com

BRIEF

Interested in Writing?

Student newspaper receives national Pacemaker award ALEXANDRIA SAURMAN

managing executive editor

Student Life Editor - Alyssa Salerno (484) 424-4737 (413) 244-4166

Keene State College’s studentrun newspaper The Equinox won an Online Pacemaker award on Sat., Oct. 28.

The Pacemaker is “often called the Pulitzer Prize of collegiate journalism,” according to Associated Collegiate Press’ (ACP) website.

Forty-three college online web-

sites were nominated for the Online Pacemaker award, but 25 finalists were selected, including The Equinox.

Some of the finalists of the award included University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), University of Michigan (U-M), University of Minnesota (UMN) and University of North Carolina (UNC).

Winners were announced at the ACP/College Media Associa-

tion (CMA) National College Media Convention held in Dallas this past weekend.

According to Twitter, other winners include Savannah School of Arts and Design (SCAD) and Southern Illinois University (SIU).

Alexandria Saurman can be contacted at asaurman@kscequinox.com

What’s the Hoot?

VALERIE MAMISH

Student Support network member The Student Support Network (SSN) is a training for Keene State College students to help their peers and friends when they are feeling down, having an increased amount of stress and initially a way to gain leadership skills to start a conversation with someone in a time of need. After the training, there aren’t really any meetings. However, SSN members are expected to be more confident about supporting others in a time of distress.

The SSN program is an amazing program because even if you have skills in supporting someone, you learn about how others would help someone in the same situation thus, getting new ideas in supporting a friend. It is a way to expand your skills in helping others. The program is 100 percent a safe zone area and confidential space to speak your mind. I love the program so far, because from the very first class I feel totally comfortable in telling personal stories and giving my own advice. With that, I met a great group of amazing people who are interested in making a change like myself!

Valerie Mamish can be contacted at Valerie.Mamish@ksc.keene.edu SEBASTIEN MEHEGAN / MULTIMEDIA DIRECTOR

The Equinox won the Online Pacemaker award on Oct. 28. They were one of 25 finalists.

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STUDENT LIFE / B4

Thursday, November 2, 2017

Eating with The Equinox What to do with that pumpkin you bought but forgot to carve ALYSSA SALERNO

Student Life editor

Pumpkin Seeds Directions: Cut open the pumpkin and remove its guts.

Separate the seeds from the guts.

Boil the seeds in very salty water for 10 minutes (the saltier the water the saltier your seeds will be.)

Strain the seeds out of the water and lay them all flat on a baking sheet. Make sure it is a single row, so the seeds brown evenly.

I added more salt and some garlic powder to my seeds, but in hindsight I would have left out the garlic powder. If you have a seasoning you really like though now is the time to add it.

Bake the seeds at 400 degrees. Check on them every two minutes, it will take anywhere from five to 10 minutes for them to become golden, but overcooking them even a little bit makes them taste like burnt popcorn.

Take them out of the oven and store them in an airtight container once they have cooled down.

ALYSSA SALERNO / STUDENT LIFE EDITOR

Humans Of KSC

What’s your favorite Halloween childhood memory?

“I was the tooth-fairy when I was three-years-old, it was my first time on my own. I was just about to go to my first house, when these pre-teens came out of the bushes and screamed at me. I ran all the way back to my house and didn’t go back out! I ended up just staying inside and eating all the candy.”

“Senior social at Exeter High School, because while everyone was talking and dancing, I spent the whole time talking about Skyrim with the psychology teacher. It was so fun!”

ANGELIQUE INCHIERCA / PHOTO EDITOR

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Advertisements / B5 Thursday, November 2, 2017

KSCEQUINOX.COM

Friday, November 10th

Dining Service Hours Zorn Dining Commons Open at 10AM for Brunch 10 AM to 7:30 PM

Lloyd’s Marketplace 7:30 AM to 9 PM

Bean & Bagel 7 AM to 9 PM

Hoot-n-Scoot Closed

Night Owl Café Sizzler Closed

Food on the Wing Closed

keenestatedining.SodexoMyWay.com

Interested In...

Writing?

Photography?

Videos?

Get where you need to go in a warm, comfortable bus!

MONDAY - FRIDAY City Express runs 8:00am-5:00pm Campus/Community Shuttle runs 7:30am-7:30pm

Stops at 7 on campus locations:

Keddy/Campus Safety • Library • Student Center Winchester Lot • Butler Court • Art Center • Fiske Lot

Off campus stops:

Target • Starbucks • Market Basket WalMart • Olympia Sports and more!

Join The Equinox!

Get your name out there.

KSC students and staff ride free with ID All City Express vehicles are ADA accessible and are equipped with easy to use bike racks. For more information or a complete schedule, visit cityexpress.org or call 352-8494. TTY use 711.

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Sports / B6

Thursday, November 2, 2017

RECAP

Field hockey finds their way to success SIMON BURCH

Equinox Staff On Wednesday Oct. 25, 2017, Keene State College trumped Smith College’s field hockey team 3-0. First year goalie Rachel Loseby and junior captain Erica Stauffer both had impressive games leading the Owls in the win. Stauffer scored a hat-trick on Wednesday, putting two goals away in the first-half, and a third in the second half to secure the victory.

This marks the first time in the past three match ups between these teams that the game between the Owls and the Pioneers has not ended in a 2-1 score. The contests go back to 2013, with the Owls winning in 2014 and 2016, whereas the Pioneers won in 2015. The Owl’s hold the lead in the alltime contest between the two programs with the current margin being 11-2.

Around the 15-minute mark of the firsthalf, first-year player Kelsey Roberts, who finished the game with two assists, made a pass across the circle to Stauffer.

Stauffer then beat goalie Cameo Tiatje for her first goal of the night to put the Owls up by one. Three minutes later, the two linked up again with Robert's passing across the circle in a similar fashion to Stauffer for her second goal, extending the Owls lead 2-0.

Loseby, who recorded 12 saves during the game, made a double save stopping Beatrice Chadouin with a difficult save, and then Jenna Tampon on the follow-up attempt before half-time to keep the Pioneers off the board. Loseby said her teammates help her stay focused, and play her best by keeping her in the moment. Three minutes before the end of the first-half Loseby made another save on Sammie Pavlov as the Owls led the Pioneers by two at half.

Impressive defense was the early story of the second-half, as Loseby made another superb double save stopping both Chadouin and Pavlov again. First-year player Taylor Robinson made two important defensive saves in the 48 and 51 minutes. Loseby credited Robinson with saving her shutout with these important defensive stops. She stopped shots from Bayleigh Bogan and Alex Larosee to keep the Pioneers scoreless.

Brittany Johnson made a pass to Stauffer in the 57 minute, which Stauffer efficiently put past the Pioneers goalie Tiatje to complete her hat-trick and give the Owls a 3-0 lead. This was Stauffer’s second career hattrick, previously scoring one in 2016 against Bridgewater State.

The Pioneers threatened late in the game with two good chances. but Loseby maintained her shutout, finishing out the game by denying the attempts from Neva Richardson and Pavlov. This was Loseby’s third game with at least 12 saves. Loseby said she thinks that for “being a young team, we've been connecting well,” and that you can see it the way the team plays.

The Pioneers held the advantage in shots with a 23-15 ratio. They also had an 11-1 lead in corners taken.

The Pioneers will finish their regular season on Saturday, Oct. 28, facing off against Clark University on the road.

KSC finishes their regular season with an 11-8 record, the Pioneers finish their season at 8-9. Heading into the Little East Conference tournament the Owl’s will be the number two seeded team. The Owls will host number seven seeded Bridgewater State in a quarterfinal game on Saturday, Oct. 28.

Simon Burch can be contacted at sburch@kscequinox.com

JAKE PAQUIN / EQUINOX STAFF

First-year Nina Bruno sprinted up the Keene State field looking to score against the Pioneers goalie. Keene State women’s field hockey dominated Smith College 3-0 in last Wednesday’s game.

Athletes of the Week TAYLOR FARLAND Senior WOMEN’S SOCCER

HOPE WALSH Senior WOMEN’S SWIMMING AND DIVING

Senior Taylor Farland received athlete of the week after assisting her teammate in a win over Rhode Island College.

Farland also achieved her second career hat trick. Farland has been on the women’s soccer team for all four years of her college career.

JAKE PAQUIN / EQUINOX STAFF

Hope Walsh was named athlete of the week after winning the 1000 meter, as well as the 500 meter race in her last competition. She was also a member of the top 4x400 meter relay.

PHOTO CONTRIBUTED BY KSC ATHLETIC DEPARTMENT

Athletics FUN FACT Did you know the KSC women’s soccer team has a traditional Halloween practice every year before Halloween? Every year, they have one practice where they dress up in Halloween costumes. Usually the women’s soccer team does it for Halloween, but this year it came a little earlier. So the team held their costume practice on Thursday, Oct. 26..

Are you interested in writing for Sports or The Equinox?

Caroline Perry

(802) 522-4738

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Sports / B7

Thursday, November 2, 2017

TRIPLE THREAT O’Brien. reflect.”

O’Brien is a goalie in lacrosse, KSC sophomore Tess Masci is a plays defense in rugby and currently lacrosse teammate of O’Brien. “She’s From lacrosse to rugby to hockey, is a flanker in rugby. wicked dedicated and good. She Keene State College three-season As a goalie, O’Brien said, “That’s always has positive vibes and makes athlete, Anna O’Brien, never sits still. the only place I can be alone and self me want to play better,” said Masci.

“I was going to take a gap year, but ended up coming up and meetPlaying hockey at Keene is much ing the lax [lacrosse] team different than her high school because I got recruited. I experience, fell in love with the team and had to come up here,” said O’Brien.

O’Brien’s high school lacrosse coach once told her she was one of the worst she’s ever seen, and later joined a club lacrosse team which gave her connections to college coaches.

KSC’s head women’s lacrosse coach Katie Clark said, “We are lucky lacrosse is one of her interests and appreciate the fire she brings each and every day.”

O’Brien is a junior majoring in film here at KSC. A typical week in the life of O’Brien looks like this: Hockey practice at 6 a.m. Mondays and Thursdays with games on the weekend, Rugby practice from 4-6 p.m. Monday through Friday, and lacrosse fall ball practice (which just ended) Monday and Tuesday nights, and practice 2-4 p.m. on Friday.

As for balancing academics, O’Brien said she is dyslexic and ADHD, and while school is tough she is trying to manage.

According to Web MD, dyslexia is a learning disorder that causes difficulty affecting the ability to read, write and spell. ADHD is a chronic condition that is shown by inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity.

O’Brien said if she can, she tries to make it to all three practices. “Some days [I’m] drained as hell, other days [I’m] just totally driven to want to do my best,” said O’Brien.

In terms of picking which games to attend when there is overlap, she says she picks in the order lacrosse, rugby and then hockey. “I don’t think I have a favorite because I love all of them so much. Each one is so different and unique in its own way,” said IZZY HARRIS

EQUINOX STAFF

O’Brien said. “It’s a lot chiller of a team. I played with a lot of chicks who want to go [Division 1] D1 [schools] and that’s all they're focused on, it’s nice to take a step back and appreciate [hockey] for what it really is.”

Junior Madison Richardson, who plays hockey and rugby with O’Brien, said O’Brien is a beast on the ice.

“She’s better at hockey then I am, she’s always willing to help and is so humble. She doesn’t judge you on your skill level and is very accepting,” said Richardson.

As for rugby, O’Brien said there is no other sport like it, “I don’t think I could take out my anger on anything better than rugby.”

Rugby teammate Kate Hubbard, sophomore, said, “Anna is super charismatic and probably one of the most generous people I know. She is

super positive and always looks out for others.”

Being a three season athlete, O’Brien said, “You just have to stay positive, and remember that we only have so much time. After college, I’m not going to be able to play sports like this ever again.”

One of O’Brien’s favorite parts about playing sports is meeting the people she knows at Keene State through sports.

Long boarding, music, playing guitar and film-making are other hobbies that O’Brien enjoys.

She recently started playing shows, and performed at Penuche’s Ale House for the first time on Oct. 25.

O’Brien said she enjoys music, and sports have, at times, conflicted with that.

She said, “I’ve missed a couple of shows that I would have liked to seen...or having to stay in for the night.”

Sports have shaped O’Brien into the person she is today. She said she has learned, “We as people are like a sports team. Everyone is so different, everyone assumes so much and there’s this structure that is relevant to so many people, sometimes teams are cliquey and at the end of the day all you have to find a way to live amongst each other and do what you have to do.”

Izzy Harris can be contacted at iharris@kscequinox.com

SEBASTIEN MEHEGAN/ SENIOR PHOTOGRAPHER

Three sport athlete Anna O’Brien gives an insight to the work that goes into playing three sports as a Keene State Owl, as well as the strain it can have on her life at times.

Kicking out of their slump JACEY CHAVEZ

Equinox Staff For the Keene State women’s soccer team, this year has been a slew of wins and losses that have led them to their 9-7-1 record at the moment.

However, for anyone who has watched this team and talked to the players, there should be more of a tilt towards the wins category.

They have had multiple losses that have come off of chances in overtime and of late moments in the game that have led to some of the downfall, but it does not reflect the quality of this KSC team.

On Saturday, Oct. 21, 2017, the Owls matched up against Rhode Island College (RIC) for the last home game of the season. For anyone involved in sports, this last hoorah at home is a final chance for the seniors to play the sport they love, at the school they attend.

Senior night always has a great vibe and going into it seniors Morgan Kathan and Marianna Porcello knew they wanted to do something great for their fellow seniors and their team.

Porcello said, “We were a little emotional going into the locker room and seeing all the underclassmen and realizing that it was our turn, but at the same time we were so hyped up, we were so excited and really needed to win this game.”

The emotions in the locker room were a mix of nervousness, excitement and a bit of sadness as all the seniors knew the relevance of the game.

The mentality going onto the field was simple in Kathan’s eyes was, “We need to show our conference that we are ready to play, and ready to win.”

After a flurry of scoring and utter Owl dominance, Keene State walked off the pitch victors by a margin of 7-2.

The scoring came from Katie Silegy, Julia Pearson, Marianna Porcello, Morgan Kathan and even a hat-trick for the senior Taylor Farland.

For RIC goals were scored by Brittany DeGrooth and Brooke Young. On the KSC side, all the scoring came from seniors on a day dedicated to them.

Other than the hat-trick that Farland netted for the Owls, special goals were scored

by Porcello and Kathan.

Porcello was able to finish on her second collegiate goal ever and Kathan snapped a header into the back of the net, something she had been unable to do for quite some time after multiple health issues, which included some bad concussions.

This fantastic senior day win meant a lot to the team and especially the seniors and they attributed their win to the amount of passion they all play the game with and the love they have for it, and each other.

Kathan described the win by saying, “This game really just meant that we had it in our hearts to play for each other- and to come out on top with a strong win.”

Playing soccer is all about heart and passion- And this game showed me that I have a family of 30 girls and three coaches that have enough heart and passion to help me be successful.”

Playing athletics at any level is a special thing, because at some point you will reach the end of the road.

For the KSC women’s soccer team they knew the importance of the senior day win and the remaining games in the season.

Senior Gretchen Greene put it well and said, "It flew by.“ Everyone always tells you that senior year goes by so quick and you never really believe it until you're there.

“We need to win and everyone has to want it for us [the seniors],” said Greene.

At the end of it all, the love the team has for one another and the coaching staff goes beyond simply teammates and coaches, instead this program has become a family and a strong force to deal with for the fast approaching playoffs, said Kathan.

As the team looks to that playoff picture they have a grueling path ahead of them in

“This game really just meant that we had it in our hearts to play for each other.”

MORGAN KATHAN KSC WOMEN’S SOCCER PLAYER

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY ANGELIQUE INCHIERCA / PHOTO EDITOR

order to make it to the Little East Conference have to continue to fight hard through playoffs so that we can win quarter-finals, semi(LEC) Championship.

The game against RIC taught the girls the finals and the LEC championship.” level they need to play at, but it is going to Jacey Chavez can be contacted at come down to heart, skill and a little luck for jchavez@kscequinox.com any team that hopes to make it to the finals.

Kathan said it best with, “We are going to

Luke’s Kickin’ Column LUKE STERGIOU

SEnior PhotograPhEr

Columbus Stuns Atlanta at Home in the Playoffs On Oct. 26, Atlanta United suffered a shock defeat in the first round of the Major League Soccer (MLS) Cup Playoffs to Columbus Crew, losing 3-1 on penalties. Crew goalkeeper, Zack Steffen made eight saves during the 120 minutes played, then showed up with two big saves to keep Columbus in the playoff race (mlssoccer.com).

The Columbus Crew will now advance to play New York City FC in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. Despite Atlanta’s disappointing loss to end a fantastic season, Atlanta showed the MLS exactly what they needed.

Atlanta United, along with Minnesota United, were the two new expansion teams added to the MLS in the 2017 season. Every time an expansion team is added, it is always uncertain how well the team will do.

But, Atlanta took United by storm, even before their first game was played. Atlanta United had shown everyone that they were not going to be any normal expansion team.

Before the season began, they announced that they hired former Argentina and Barcelona manager Gerardo Daniel “Tata” Martino as their head coach. The team consisted of a selection of South American talents and homegrown American players, proving that Atlanta was planning on doing big things this season. Atlanta even hired United States National Team legend Carlos Bocanegra as their technical manager.

Atlanta United made headlines for breaking attendance records three times in one season. Yes, three times. It all started when they played at Bobby Dodd Stadium, where the team’s inaugural match recorded about 55,000 people. The average attendance for the rest of the time was 48,200 people a game, the best for any MLS team ever.

Then the Mercedes-Benz stadium was built. When Atlanta hosted Orlando City at home, 70,425 people attended the match, breaking the record for the most people to watch a regular season MLS game.

Shortly after that, the record was broken again when Atlanta hosted Eastern Conference leaders Toronto FC, where 71,874 fans attended the game. But after Atlanta United became the first expansion team to make the playoffs since 2009, the team broke the record for the single largest attendance for a MLS playoff game: 67,221. Atlanta United as a club sold 886,625 tickets in total this season, which is the highest total attendance number for any team in MLS history (atlutd.com).

What Atlanta United showed us is that soccer is and will be a popular sport in the United States. It may not be as popular as football or baseball, but it’s getting there. Atlanta also showed us that MLS shouldn’t be looked at as a retirement league or an easy league that anyone can play in. It’s a league that is getting better year by year, and is bringing in more fans and spectators.

Even American soccer fans who have criticized MLS in the past should reconsider after this season.

With Los Angeles FC joining the league next year, I’m sure it’ll bring even more attention to the MLS. So in conclusion, MLS is not the easy, dumb, retirement league that the majority of soccer fans think it is, because it is way more than that.

Luke Stergiou can be contacted at lstergiou@kscequinox.com

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Thursday, November 2, 2017

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Keene aces the LEC TITLE

JAKE PAQUIN / EQUINOX STAFF

The Keene State College women’s volleyball team conquered Plymouth State University 3-1 in last Wednesday’s game, winning the Little East Conference (LEC) title for regular season. The team will go into their next conference as the second-seed ranking.

The women’s volleyball team wins the LEC regular season title CAROLINE PERRY

SportS Editor The women’s volleyball team ended their regular season on a high note, as they took a 3-1 win against Plymouth State University (PSU), gaining them the Little East Conference (LEC) regular season title. This put them in the number two seed for ranking for this weeks conference tournament in Springfield, Massachusetts.

For senior Rachel Lamica, finally accomplishing the goal of gaining the LEC title is something to be proud of.

Lamica said beforehand that it has been her team's goal to win and achieve the LEC title, as well as perform at their highest level. As a senior, Lamica knew this was the last time she would ever be able to com-

pete at this level, so having a team that is so willing to work is one of the many “perks” Lamica said.

Earning a LEC award is only won by hardworking teams, and KSC’s women’s volleyball has definitely risen to that standard this year.

They started the season off with a 15-0 winning streak, changing history for Keene State and setting a record for women's volleyball.

Even after a few losses, they still finished out their regular season with 22-4 record, placing them in the number two seed position for their next conference.

This record also helped guide them to their success of winning the LEC title, however the team members say that winning had everything to do with each other.

Bailey Wilson who is a first-year that came to Keene State from California knows just how important communication and a close connection with teammates is.

Especially in volleyball, everyone needs to be communicating and ready to pick it up in positions, said Wilson.

Without every member being willing to face the team dynamics and not working hard, there wouldn’t be as much success added Wilson.

“I couldn’t have it and we couldn’t have it if everyone else wasn’t doing their jobs.”

Jennifer Severino, who is a sophomore on the women’s volleyball team agrees with her teammate Wilson.

Communication is key, as is hard work.

Both of those factors play a huge part in winning as a team said Severino.

Severino shared the same goal with all of her teammates, that being to win the LEC title and in a sense redeem themselves, and what a season to do so added Severino.

“We had to make sure we were talking and that everyone was on the same page, but winning is always the upside,” said Severino.

Cydnee Morgan, a first-year at Keene State praises her team for being able to work so well together and having no drama.

“We knew what we needed to do and got it done,” said Morgan.

Morgan said her team is very close and wants to be their, wants to work hard and especially wanted to win the LEC title award for regular season.

“It feels great to achieve it just by working hard and wanting it,” said Morgan.

Reflecting back on the regular season Morgan, Wilson and Severino all agree that even though taking some losses was not ideal, that those losses helped them stay level headed and keep their eye of their goals.

With the LEC title in hand, the women’s volleyball team looked to take on their next conference as the number two seed in Springfield Massachusetts, coming out with a 3-0 win against Curry College.

With the momentum that the women’s volleyball team currently has, nothing will stop them in their journey to ultimate success.

Caroline Perry can be contacted at cperry@kscequinox.com

Keene State hosts the cross country LEC championship CAROLINE PERRY

SportS Editor

BRENDAN JONES / EQUINOX STAFF

Christina Martin, coming in first place for the KSC women’s team.

The Little East Conference (LEC) Cross Country Championship started off on a sunny day, with Keene State College hosting the Conference for the second year.

With runners from seven teams participating and the KSC women’s cross country team competing for their 18 consecutive LEC title, the energy was high as the first race began.

The conference took place on Saturday, Oct. 28, on Keene State's very own course.

The Keene State women’s cross country team has 16 runners, while the men’s cross country team has 15 runners.

Beforehand, sophomore and member of the KSC women’s cross country team Lynne Hebert expressed her hopes for her team’s ability to reach their goal of winning the LEC title once again.

Hebert said that her team has done a lot of workouts on the course and has become familiar with the footing and the turns,

which will help them perform at their highest level.

However, even though the women’s team is fairly young and familiar with the course, it is still a great deal of pressure to be competing for an 18 consecutive LEC title.

Hebert said that even though there is pressure, that exact pressure will push her team to do even better.

“We have a shot but it will be interesting to watch. It will be probably closer than years past have been.”

The women’s race heard the gun at exactly 11:00 a.m.. As the teams took off through the course, the KSC fans looked on with high hopes of success.

The women’s cross country worked hard, but unfortunately came in sixth out of seven teams.

First-year Christina Martin, was the first Owl to finish, placing in 11th out of 72 runners.

Martin finished with a time of 20:22 for the 5k. The next Keene State runner to come in was junior Brittany Gravallese, who finished in 18th with a time of 20:40. The third Owl to ring in

was junior Alana Olendorf, who placed in 21st with a finishing time of 20:56.

Ultimately the Owls placed sixth in the championship, but are still proud about time improvements said Hebert.

The Keene State men’s cross country team kicked off their race after the women’s race, setting a fast pace.

Beforehand senior Matt Dudley said that his team is hoping to get back into the top spot and redeem themselves from the year before. It’s important that everyone is focused and ready to work their hardest added Dudley.

“It’s going to be tough this year, but I like our chances. We know what to expect from everyone at this point,” said Dudley.

Junior Tyler DeChane was also hopeful for his teams success in the championship.

DeChane admitted that the men’s team had been dwindling in numbers, but still believed that this race can be the men’s stand out race.

“I’m hoping this is really the race that gets us back into the

groove of things before regionals,” said DeChane.

The KSC men’s cross country team was able to place second out of seven teams, two of their runners placing in the top ten runners. Junior Iid Sheikh-Yusuf finished in fourth place out of 58 runners, his finishing time being 25:53 for the 8k.

Senior Phil Parent came in next for the Owls, finishing in ninth place with a time of 26:12.

The third place KSC runner was first-year Cameron Giordano who finished came in 12th place with a time of 26:26.

Although Keene State did not finish in first, the dedication that each KSC athlete has in their sport shows the true value in the race.

Dudley said, “Yes cross country is more of an individual sport, but I think a lot of people don’t realize how much of a team sport it also is. We all build each other up, we all contribute to each other's success.”

Caroline Perry can be contacted at cperry@kscequinox.com

BRENDAN JONES / EQUINOX STAFF

Iid Sheikh-Yasuf, coming in first place for the KSC men’s team.

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