April 25, 2013 - Issue 12

Student Newspaper of Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts

For more content, visit online at: Beacon.mcla.edu

North Adams, Mass.

Volume 78 ◆ Issue 12

Th u r s d ay, A p r i l 2 5 , 2 0 1 3

SGA urges fuel divestment

By Ryan Flynn

Senior News Editor

Students display work at URC Students display their work at the URC News - Page 3

‘Agamemnon’ shines in Venable Theater Lab production proves be a unique audio/visual experience Arts & Entertainment - Page 6

Softball on winning streak The softball team is currently on a 4 game streak Sports - Page 8

News 2-5 Arts & Entertainment 6-7 Sports 8 News 9 Opinion 10 Fun & Games 11 Photo Essay 12

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SGA President Jason Brown and Treasurer James Wetzel recently encouraged the Endowment and Trust Committee to divest from fossil fuels in order for the College to utilize green energy as much as possible.

Brown and Wetzel provided a PowerPoint presentation and exemplified green energy efforts already established on campus such as the bike share program, utilizing LED lighting and energy efficiency, recycling initiatives on campus, and the recent addition of the BRTA bus partnership with Williams College. The bus partnership will not only allow MCLA students to visit Williamstown and downtown North Adams, but will also offer the opportunity for Williams College students to visit North Adams.

The duo elaborated on the growth of environmental efforts on campus, such as the increase in waste-reduction awareness with campus dining, environmental science earning their own independent department, and the community garden located next to the Smith House.

Wetzel noted that divesting from fossil fuels is an opportunity the College should try to be a part of.

“It’s really about us acknowledging and changing what we want to see in future years,” he said.

Brown also noted that as an environmental science major, he

believes divestment would give MCLA an opportunity to take a lead in environmental initiatives.

“I would be very excited to see MCLA be a leader as we move forward in this,” he said.

Wetzel added that ultimately, money is not a driving force in their efforts and hopes.

“It’s the statement we want to make, not the amount of money we want to take out of it,” he said.

Alumni George Smith noted that divesting will certainly take effort on the committee’s end.

“We’d have to sell some of the investments we have now,” he said. “We’re invested in mutual funds and bonds. The investment with fossil fuels is indirect,” he said.

Chief Advancement Officer Marianne Drake also noted that the foundation’s small size could make divesting a slightly complicated matter.

“Determining a way to divest from fossil fuels in a prudent matter is complex for a small organization like the MCLA foundation,” she said. “Large universities with significantly bigger endowments invest directly in stocks, so it is easy for them to sell those stocks or not purchase a significantly bigger fuel stock.”

She did note however, that they will look at the process of divesting closely.

“The endowment and Trust Committee members will be carefully reviewing the investments,”

DIVESTMENT, continued on page 4

Photo by Jack Guerino/Beacon Staff

Students dance to music played throughout the event in the Campus Center. It had been two years since Relay for Life was held on campus.

College raises money for cancer research

By Jack Guerino Staff Writer

The College hosted a Relay for Life Friday night in order to raise money for cancer research and promote cancer awareness.

Students and members of the community walked laps around the Campus Center gymnasium from 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m.

“I think it’s a really good turnout, and I’ve never been to a Relay for Life before, so this is my first one, and it seems really fun,” sophomore Gregory Wilson said.

“I really like how together everyone is; there are people sleeping over and everyone is having fun.

It seems like a really good time.”

Walkers made their laps to a constant stream of music provided by a DJ. Performances and activities were scheduled

throughout the night. Allegrettos and Yorick performed as well as Dance Company.

Anika Pommers-Dear said she was most excited about the dancing that took place throughout the event.

“I’m just here supporting this whole effort,” Pommers-Dear said. “I think the turnout is great, and it’s pretty cool especially if you think about the size of the school.”

Colleges Against Cancer organized the event.

“I think this says a lot about our campus community,” Daniel Anderson, president of Colleges Against Cancer, said. “It says that we can look beyond what we could have done for fun on a

CANCER, continued on page 3

Conte renovations: both sides meet at forum for discussion of elementary school project

By Andrew Hodgson Staff Writer

The College hosted a forum outlining proposed renovations to the Conte middle school in North Adams on Wednesday April 17.

The forum precedes an April 30 vote held for citizens to approve the city’s portion of the cost of the project. Opposition to the Conte project includes people who preferred other proposed renovations, as well as those who think the Conte renovation won’t address all the issues it should. Others are worried about the $6.5 million of the project the city is financially responsible for.

“While some think we cannot afford to take this project on, I would argue we needed to find a way and we have,” North Adams Mayor Richard Alcombright said in his preamble.

Murdock Hall set the scene for the event, renovated itself in 2006 at the cost of $8.6 million, according to the official website of the executive office for administration and finance.

The forum was hosted by MCLA’s President Mary Grant alongside Alcombright, and it included several speakers to explain details about the project.

The mayor expressed his hope the forum

Photo by Jess Gamari/Beacon Staff

North Adams Mayor Richard Alcombright listens while North Adams Public Schools Superintendent James E. Montepare speaks at the forum last Wednesday. would “concisely present the facts and avoid misinformation” related to the Conte renovation.

The proposed renovations to the school require North Adams to pay $6.5 million, or 20 percent of the costs of the project. The Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) is footing the bill for the other $23.2 million,

or 80 percent of the project – 80 percent is the highest reimbursement rate the MSBA gives and the $23.2 million is “the single largest amount of money ever awarded to North Adams by the commonwealth, Alcombright

CONTE, continued on page 4

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News

Thursday, April 25, 2013

Public Safety Logs Sunday, April 14 2:44 a.m. - Public Safety responded to an alarm in the Flagg Townhouses.

The alarm was extinguished.

Monday April 15 9:32 a.m. - Public Safety responded to a vandalism incident in the Center for Science and Innovation. A report was filed.

2: 43 p.m. - Public Safety responded to a motor vehicle accident near Venable Hall. A report was filed.

Tuesday, April 16 11:00 p.m. - Public Safety responded to a drug offense in Hoosac Hall. The situation was completed.

Wednesday, April 17 12:25 p.m. - Public Safety responded to an investigation in the Amsler Campus Center.

No further action was required.

Thursday, April 18 3:43 p.m. - Public Safety responded to a motor vehicle accident near Murdock Hall. The situation was investigated.

Friday, April 19 8:59 a.m. - Public Safety investigated information reguarding to vandalism in the Center for Science and Innovation.

Saturday, April 20 2:34 a.m. - Public Safety responded to a medical call for a Hoosac Hall resident. The subject was transported to local hospital.

4:12 p.m. Public Safety responded to a medical call at Hoosac Hall. No further action was required.

SGA executive board, senators sworn in

By Chris Goodell Staff Writer

The Student Government Association’s (SGA) newly elected executive board and senators were officially sworn in at Monday night’s meeting.

“I look forward to the great things that will be happening for the organization in the future,” Jason Brown said before administering the oath of office and officially swearing in newly elected SGA President Jake Powers.

Powers ran unopposed on a ticket with Executive Vice President Brendan Peltier and Coordinating Vice President Hannah Sterrs. After swearing in two other members of his cabinet – Alexandra Kadell as parliamentarian and Kelley Bryant as treasurer – Powers also swore in the newly elected senators that were present. The senate chair and senate secretary positions will be elected at the first meeting of the fall semester.

The outgoing SGA members wished the new executive cabinet and senate luck and reflected upon the past year of the SGA. “It’s been a privilege to work with all of you this year,” Brown

said. “I truly appreciate the work of my cabinet and the work of the senate.”

Constitutions The senate unanimously approved the revisions to the SGA constitution and by-laws presented by former Parliamentarian Brycen Waters at the April 1 meeting, but not without some debate over a clause pertaining to the student trustee position.

At the April 15 meeting the senate voted to approve an amendment allowing the student trustee to hold a position on the senate, but this decision was vetoed by Brown. A vote to overturn the veto was postponed until Monday, but ultimately failed.

The senate then approved an amendment strictly prohibiting such a situation. The approved amendment reads: “The student trustee cannot be a member of the SGA student senate or SGA executive board.”

The senate also voted to approve the constitutions of two newly formed clubs: the Artist Association and Fashion Student Organization.

Beacon.mcla.edu

SGA President/Executive Vice President/ Coordinating Vice President 263 - Jake Powers / Brendan Peltier / Hannah Sterrs Student Trustee 80 – Stephan Rochefort 208 – Alyson Stolz Senate At Large 172 - Lucas G. McDiarmid 179 - Hannah McClearnen 170 - Aloysius Street 168 - Stephan Rochefort Athlete Seat 264 - Alyson Stolz Greek Seat 256 - Taylor Krowitz Commuter Seat 249 - Paul Mclatdey Sophomore Seat 57 - Ama Adwetewa-Badu 49 – Christopher Cozzaglio Junior Seat 47 - Osakpolo Igiede 35 – Vanessa Jordan 38 – Danielle Bloh Senior Seat 54 – Marie-Ange Anodjo 50 – Joseph Goncalves Senior President 21 – Sharron Smith 49 – Jake Powers Senior Vice-President 15 - Joseph Goncalves 53 - Adam Tobin Senior Treasurer 64 - Marie-Ange Anodjo Senior Secretary 66 - Brianna King Junior President 69 – Elizabeth Doughty Junior Vice-President 70 – Osakpolo Igiede Junior Treasurer 66 – Evan Pirnie Sophomore President 34 – Nick Hernigle 14 – Arkeem Samuel 37 – Kelsey McGonigle

Powers: business, balance, and leadership

By Jaimee Melvin

Special to the Beacon A wearer of many hats on campus, Jake Powers enjoys staying busy.

Most recently, Powers was elected president of Student Government Association (SGA) for the 2013-2014 school year.

Starting his freshman year as class treasurer, Powers quickly noticed himself taking on responsibilities beyond his position, which influenced him to run for class of 2014 president in his sophomore year. He was elected and has held that position since.

Powers has also been a peer advisor, an orientation leader, an academic resource assistant, a residential area security monitor (RASM), SGA’s senator, SGA’s secretary, SGA’s public relations chair, and Advisory Board’s secretary.

“I don’t really have a lot of free time. I’m the kind of person that likes to be constantly busy,” Powers said. “Even when I go on vacation I’m like, ‘oh gosh I need to do something.”

Coming from California, Powers ran for vice president of his class during his junior year of high school. He had arrived at Weymouth High School only two weeks prior. Always seeing his older sisters hold leadership roles, Powers was ready to dive in and become a leader.

“I didn’t end up winning, but I was happy I did it, because it ended up leading to a variety of leadership roles,” he said.

During his senior year, Powers was co-president of his high school’s chapter of Rotary Interact, a community service club. He helped lead a group of young people to Central America to teach kids English and hygiene.

“I like being involved. I like feeling like I can make a difference,” he said.

Powers was also secretary of his high school’s Red Cross club, and volunteered at local hospitals.

Power’s older sisters are to thank for his interest and success in leadership.

“I always saw my sisters in leadership roles in sports. I would see them doing all these good

things, being team captains and whatnot. I wanted that feeling of being a part of something and being a leader,” Powers said.

Powers is a business major with a concentration in sports and events management. He plans on focusing on any jobs with a management aspect. Interested in the healthcare field and the business aspect that comes with it, he said he would enjoy managing nurses, hospitals or ERs. “I like fast-paced environments and I like challenges being thrown at me. I wouldn’t mind working long hours; I already do that,” he said.

Powers expressed what he believed was his greatest accomplishments have been thus far.

“Finding out who I am. Every one comes into college not really knowing who they are; you have a blank slate,” Powers said. “Also, the friendships I’ve made, and just everything you go through in college. It all helps shape who you eventually become. That’s what I think education really is; it’s preparing you for the world.”

Photo by Kacie Clark/Beacon Staff

Powers takes leadership positions in many campus clubs.

Powers admits that academics are important, but he makes it clear that communication and social skills are equally as significant.

“Personally, I’ve learned so much more outside of the classroom, being a part of all these organizations, learning more about who I am and how I work with other people. That’s certainly what the real world is,” Powers said.

Weekend Weather 4/25 - 4/28 Thursday, April 25

Friday, April 26

Saturday, April 27

Sunday, April 28

Mostly Sunny High: 60° Low: 31° Precip. Chance: 0%

Partly Cloudy High: 51° Low: 31° Precip. Chance: 0%

Mostly Sunny High: 56° Low: 37° Precip. Chance: 0%

Mostly Cloudy High: 57° Low: 38° Precip. Chance: 40%

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News

Thursday, April 25, 2013

Beacon.mcla.edu

Turnout for URC one of ‘largest’

Photo by Kacie Clark/Beacon Staff

Junior Kali Yomota-Kurland, left, and senior Skyla Seamans, right, look through the poster exhibit.

By Nick Arena

Managing Editor Posters, presentations, and performances took over the campus during the Undergraduate Research Conference (URC).

Thursday April 18, the hard work every presenter had put into their research finally came to fruition as classes were cancelled and students filled classrooms to learn a lesson or two.

“Some of the paper presentations were standing room only,” Psychology Professor Maria Bartini said.

According to Bartini, this year’s conference had one of the largest turnouts she had seen, especially during the keynote speaker.

This URC’s speaker was MCLA Alumni Evan Herrmann. Herrmann graduated in 2007, attended a master’s program at University of Massachusetts Amherst, and is currently continuing his research in behavioral pharmacology at University of Vermont.

“This place kind of feels like home,” Herrmann said about the College.

Herrmann credited his interest in behavioral pharmacology to classes taught by Psychology Professor Thomas Byrne.

He presented research he had

done throughout the years, saying how a lot of it never produced any substantial data, but that it was worth every minute.

“I basically spent a year getting my feet wet, learning more about the research process,” he said.

Being an alumnus of the College and having entered graduate school, Herrmann presented tips on what to do once students graduate from MCLA for the remainder of his time.

“Kick in the door if you need to,” he said, referring to finding a research position in a graduate school. “These jobs rarely present themselves to you.”

He added that undergraduate students should study math, science, practice writing, and get

some research experience ahead of time, just like the students currently presenting.

The day began with poster presentations, and continued with special sessions, paper presentations, and the interdisciplinary research presentations.

Senior Corinne Blake presented at the 2 p.m. session, which included other presentations on politics, language, astronomy, history and terrorism. Blake presented “What is Feminism?” with fellow senior Brianna Vear.

She researched attitudes toward feminism on campus. She recently presented the same research at the National Conference on Undergraduate Research (NCUR).

“At the national conference all of the sessions followed a general theme. The session that we presented at all of the presentations had to do with gender issues,” Blake said. “Whereas here, since it’s a smaller conference, there’s not as many in one theme, so it’s done in more of an interdisciplinary setup.”

Blake noted some of the benefits of presenting only to MCLA students as opposed to presenting on a national level.

“Obviously the other one’s a lot bigger, so one of the problems with the national one is that not all of the presenters were there,” she said. “Some of the sessions were cut short because there were a lot of weather issues throughout the country.”

Photo by Kacie Clark/Beacon Staff

On the morning of the conference, Venable Gym was converted into an information expo for students to showcase their work.

She was very happy with the turnout, and stated that she was pleased with the audience’s interest in the subject.

Sophomore Ellen Farrell attended the conference as a spectator and felt inspired by the presentations.

“I thought that all of the presentations that I saw were really well done,” Farrell said. “I really respect and admire the people who took the initiative and put

Photo by Kacie Clark/Beacon Staff

Keynote speaker and alumnus Evan Herrmann, 07’ gives a talk on his research and getting into graduate school. the hard work into making the event great.”

One of her favorite presentations involved the study of samesex couples and adoption. She added that she felt inspired by everything she saw, and that she would one day like to present at the conference.

“I know it’s a lot of work, but I feel like it would be great to say that I can do this, too,” she said. “I look up to the people that did presentations and I think that could be me someday.”

Students appeared to be in concordance that the URC is a very beneficial part of the College’s curriculum.

“I think it really shows the seriousness of academics at MCLA and how people are really working in their disciplines,” Farrell said.

College fights cancer with fundraiser CANCER, continued from page 1

normal Friday night and be here instead and that beating cancer is something more important.”

Anderson added that the College hasn’t hosted a relay since spring 2011.

Anderson explained that all the money raised goes to the American Cancer Society (ACS) for research.

“Recently the ACS made a discovery that they may have found a literal cure that could destroy cancer cells, and that’s what these funds go towards,” Anderson said. “With government funds being cut, it’s private funding that helps directly fight cancer the most.”

Anderson said that the relay takes a lot of planning before the actual event, and as it gets closer more work is involved.

“The nitty gritty stuff starts about four months before the event, and we really start to push people to sign up and create their teams when they come back from winter break,” Anderson said. “I guess it’s a progressive thing, but the busiest month is the whole month to two before.”

Anderson explained that much of the event’s success is based on making connections and building relationships with others interested in helping.

“It took a while, but in the past few weeks we have had so many people that were outside

of the club just approach us and ask what they could do to help.

The National Residence Hall Honorary are taking care of the grilling and the food; they have taken care of that before for us, which is great,” Anderson said.

“The DJ actually volunteered his time, and I believe he does it because he lost his grandmother to cancer, so he does it to give back.”

Anderson believes that the best way to continue the relay in coming years is to get more students involved.

“What we really want to try is to get new members because we are mostly seniors graduating this year,” Anderson said.

“What we really want to drive home with people is that, if you

want relay to come back next year, it’s a student driven thing.

It’s students that make this happen exclusively and they need to join Colleges Against Cancer and come next year and work to bring relay back.”

Anderson said that cancer touches everybody, and so many people look to get involved in order to help beat it.

“I personally lost my mom a year ago to cancer; everybody is touched by cancer somehow,” Anderson said. We even have a few people who join the Colleges Against Cancer who have not had cancer affect anyone in their family, but they still want to do something about it so there are a million different reasons why people get involved.”

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Classrooms relocate for renovations

By Matthew Tedesco Special to the Beacon

The 13 classrooms and two lecture halls closing during Bowman Hall renovations will be spread among Murdock Hall, the Center for Science and Innovation, Church Street Center, and Venable, a logistical change the College has been addressing for years, according to Jim Stakenas, vice president of administration and finance.

Stakenas said the new locations will include a 72-seat room in the new Center for Science and Innovation, an attempt to make up for the Bowman 101 and 102 lecture halls. Classrooms in Church Street Center will see more use, and five of the labs in Venable Hall will be stripped and replaced with furniture and technologies once used in Bowman. In addition, three conference rooms in Murdock Hall will also be converted to classrooms.

Stakenas said this is one more step in the renovation of the College.

“This has been in the works for over three years, and I would like to apologize to anyone inconvenienced by this. However, the Bowman renovation is going to be well worth waiting for,” Stakenas said.

Other than dealing with the new allocation of classrooms, the College has also had to work on scheduling for all these classrooms. According to the fall 2013 course schedule, there are 729 classes offered during the fall semester, including classes in seven different buildings along with offcampus and online courses.

Murdock Hall will see the largest distribution, 34 percent of classes, to one building. The administration has been working closely with department heads and faculty to make sure every class has a room.

According to David Eve, business administration department chairperson, the biggest problem with this issue has been making schedules that are outside professors’ normal schedules.

“People are used to their schedules; this is just a shake up,” Eve said. “This is almost like what happened with the Murdock renovation. Bowman should be the same.”

The Bowman renovation process will start after the Center of Science and Innovation is finished, and all classroom modifications will be completed during the summer.

“I would like to remind folks that [the renovation] is only for one year and that by fall of 2014 Bowman will be back online,” Stakenas said.

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News

Thursday, April 25, 2013

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Forum discusses Conte renovations

CONTE, continued from page 1

added. He also assured the crowd that the project will fit into the current budget without the need for tax overrides.

Superintendent James Montepare continued by talking about the needs of the district the project will help alleviate, addressing more room for special education and helping to stem over-crowding in the current two k-12 schools. The new Conte elementary school is planned to begin renovations in 2014 and be open for the 2015 academic year, taking in 310 students from Sullivan, if the vote passes.

Mel Overmoyer, a project operations manager for Strategic Building Solutions presented the crowd with the process of coming to decide on this plan.

“We looked at many options,” he reiterated the words of most of the guests. Other plans included one that proposed a new school at Greylock, which would give the district three schools, but was far too expensive. This project has another distinct advan-

Photos by Jess Gamari/Beacon Staff

From left, North Adams Superintendent James Montepare, project operations manager for Strategic Building Solutions Mel Overmoyer, North Adams Mayor Richard Alcombright, and Margo Jones associate architect Kristian Whitsett spoke to a full house on April 17. tage over renovating Sullivan in, “it can be done without vacating kids from school,” Overmoyer said.

Overmoyer passed the mic to Kristian Whitsett, an associate architect at Margo Jones, who explained the specific renovations of the physical building and the goals of many of them.

Whitsett explained how the

team considered safety concerns for parents, as well as the hurdles they faced because of the structures limitations as well as financial concerns.

Montepare described the most recent events in the timeline of the project. “On February 5 the city council approved a $29.7 million bonding order for renovating Conte school,” he

said. His appeal was an emotional one, calling himself a “digital immigrant,” and stressed the need for technology upgrades to keep the area’s education at the cutting edge of an ever-changing world.

After all the speakers had gone, the mayor interjected a political note before the question and answer (Q&A) session.

Buildings evacuated during URC

By Ryan Flynn

Senior News Editor About 400 students, faculty and staff were evacuated from several campus buildings by Public Safety officers Thursday, April 18 after a natural gas leak was reported in the new science building under construction.

The gas leak caused no damage and after the 1:05 p.m. evacuation, everyone was allowed to return to the buildings by 2 p.m., according to James Stakenas, vice president of administration and finance.

The evacuation took place during the college’s Undergraduate Research Conference, but no URC activities were interrupted.

“I personally want to thank students for their cooperation and faculty and staff for their cooperation,” he said. “The evacuation went extremely well and everyone was safe.”

The gas leak was accidentally caused by a company working on behalf of the MassBroadband Initiative. The company was burying a conduit when it struck a gas line that once connected to a house

from

that is no longer there, Stakenas said.

“There is a company called Dig Safe and Dig Safe is supposed to come and determine where items are underground,” said Stakenas.

Buildings evacuated by Public Safety included Porter Street offices, Mark Hopkins, Freel Library, Blackinton House, and Berkshire Towers, as well as the Boardman Block and residences in the immediate area.

The North Adams Police and Fire Departments responded, and Berkshire Gas Co. shut off the gas line.

“I am convinced that this is the right decision, after several years of significant research and analysis by a host of qualified people and committees, if our community votes no it will set us back in ways we cannot yet imagine.” With that, the Q&A began, and the speakers moved to the defensive.

Concerned parents and city councilmen voiced concerns about the project. City councilman John Barrett III voiced concern that the design didn’t relieve the district’s over-crowding enough. Overmoyer insisted that the project will address “about 50 percent” of the overcrowding.

Another concern was that the project hadn’t taken into account “contingency” spending that is spending for unforeseen items. Overmoyer assured the crowd that “the 29 million dollar figure is all inclusive,” and the project had about $3 million for contingencies, which is required to be in the plans submitted to the MSBA. Currently, the building sits unused with Sullivan and Greylock servicing all students K-7.

Students urge to end investments DIVESTMENT, continued from page 1 fully reviewing the investments,” she said.

While it was acknowledged that divestment could ultimately result in a small loss of the number of scholarships, Brown noted that students at a recent SGA meeting were okay with this because they said they valued the long-term effects of divestment.

Drake stated that she agreed with Wetzel and Brown’s presentation and also that the committee appreciates the students’ passion for green energy.

“The Endowment and Trust Committee members applaud the MCLA students for their thoughtful advocacy regarding green energy,” she said.

The presentation took place in the Advancement Center.

News

Thursday, April 25, 2013

Going digital...

...an end to the dark room Photo by Kacie Clark/Beacon Staff

Photography instructor Gillian Jones places a black and white negative in the print enlarger.

By Kacie Clark Beacon Staff

On the bottom floor of Bowman Hall, there is a small, closet-like room, full of containers of stop bath and developer, as well as enlargers, dozens of trays, tongs, and tiny bottles of photo-flo.

By next semester, these instruments of another age will have found another home; the darkroom will not be replaced in the redevelopment of Bowman.

“The darkroom was here when I attended the college,” English/ Communications Professor, and alumnus, Gillian Jones said.

“It’s actually where I learned to develop film.”

A 1991 graduate, Jones has been teaching students the art of film photography in that same

darkroom since 2001.

With the closing of the darkroom, Jones will continue to teach English 205, “Intro to Black and White Photography,” in the fall, but the students will be learning exclusively digital techniques.

There will still be a darkroom on campus after Bowman closes; the Photo Club has one in the Campus Center.

“There will still be a place for students to develop film,” Jones said. “There just won’t be any instruction to go along with it.”

The cost of transporting and handling of the chemicals may be the main reason the darkroom is not being replaced, according to Jones. “We’re a green darkroom, so none of the chemicals go down the drain. The school pays

for the transport and disposal of the chemicals. The chemicals themselves cost hundreds of dollars every semester.”

Combined with the cost of the chemicals is the fact that much of the darkroom equipment would need to be updated in a renovation.

“The equipment is outdated, it would need newer and better e q u i p m e n t ,” Jones said.

According to Jones, at least one of the projectors is broken.

These old pieces of equipment signify a bigger

beacon.mcla.edu picture: The move to digital seems like an inevitable step, when according to projections from the Consumer Electronics Association, 85 percent of American households will own a digital camera by the end of this year, and the unit price of such cameras has consistently decreased over the last decade.

Coupled with increased availability of higher end digital cameras, 46 percent of Americans have a smartphone, which are almost universally equipped with cameras ranging from 5 to 41 megapixels, according to Huffington Post’s 2012 article by Catherine New, and VentureBeat. com.

Despite the cultural trends, if there was a spiritual home of film photography, it would be college campuses, Jones said “Just because an art form’s become obsolete, it’s not a reason to stop teaching it. Drawing is obsolete in a way, but we continue to teach it. I would have kept teaching it, if they’d asked me.”

Current students of the class have mixed feelings about the switch. Lynn Freda, 16’ didn’t know this was the last semester of the traditional class, but was pleased she was learning film

developing: “I’m glad we’re using the darkroom, it’s a cool thing to know how to do. Anybody can take photos with a digital camera, but this is the old school way.”

Gionna Nourse, 15’, agreed. “I think it’s important to learn how to make photos other ways, the way people used to do things,” she said. “It’s kind of a lost art. It was really cool.”

However, each of the students does see a benefit to making the switch to digital. “I’m glad they’re moving to digital, it’s a lot easier.

I think it makes sense,” Nourse said.

Digital photography makes more sense in today’s job market, according to Freda. “I think it’s sort of a good thing, because then we’re getting the skills we need when we graduate. People aren’t going to ask if you can make film in the darkroom, they’re going to ask about your camera and computer.”

Jones has similarly accepted the change; she doesn’t shoot film herself anymore, unless it’s to demonstrate techniques to her class.

“It sad, but I’m okay with it,” Jones said. “It’s just not feasible anymore. I understand.”

Photo by Kacie Clark/ Beacon Staff

The black and white photography darkroom in Bowman Hall.

Day of community service to take place Saturday

The North Adams Chamber of Commerce and the City of North Adams have announced the 21st Annual Community Day of Service will take place on Saturday, April 27. Registration will begin in the lower level of Church Street Center at 9:30 a.m., followed by an official welcome and assignments to work teams and projects.

For more than 20 years the College and the local community have come together to clean-up and improve our community.

The scope and type of projects have evolved over the years, as well as a significant increase in the number of people who come out for the day to make North Adams a better place to live.

In an effort to grow the Day of Service, volunteers will work closely with Green Living seminars in support of the Eagle Street Rising project, which will take place alongside the Day of Service. Volunteers also will return to Hillside Cemetery to continue restoration work there.

Student volunteers will join individual community volunteers, local leaders, and civic organizations such as Art About Town; YMCA; Drury High School students; Northern Berkshire Community Coalition; Price Chopper; Big Y; Roger Eurbin and the Hillside Cemetery project; Mayor Richard Alcombright; the College’s faculty and staff; etc.

Participants end their day in downtown North Adams. In conjunction with Day of Service, the College’s Green Living seminar series is undertaking Eagle Street Rising, a project to help rejuvenate the Eagle Street business district. The day will end with lunch on Eagle Street and the vision of a vibrant Eagle Street.

To sign up to volunteer contact Spencer Moser at spencer.moser@mcla. edu or 413-662-5251. To share project ideas, contact Glenn Maloney at glenn@ northadamschamber.com. Walk-ins are welcome.

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This Sunday April 28!

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Thursday, April 25, 2013

Arts & Entertainment

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“Agamemnon” rocks Venable Students present classic Greek tragedy with an alternative, glam-rock twist

By Kaylie Warner A&E Writer

By Shannen Adamites A&E Editor

What constitutes a fan, anyway?

Over the summer, I went on an intense pop-punk binge. It was a good time at first; I appreciated the tightknit, local community, high energy, and sense of camaraderie at shows. I enjoyed the upbeat and bouncy tunes that perfectly suited late night drives across the state, and how the lyrics suited my life at the time.

That was all, unfortunately, short lived.

For every great show I attended, there was an awful experience. I’ve seen opening bands booed off the stage and completely disrespected, as well as some bands exuding so much arrogance that it detracted from their performance.

I noticed tension both in person and over the Internet regarding personal life choices, which somehow found their way into music. Straight-edge kids would ridicule and judge concert goers who drank and partied.

I’ve felt alienated in some cases, where if I didn’t know a band inside and out or was an “outsider” to their local scene, I was deemed a “poser,” a term I associate with defensive eighth graders. These people were well into their twenties.

I witnessed an awful case of venue disrespect, where a stage diver accidentally kicked one girl in the head. She collapsed into a seizure. The rest of the show was cut short. The venue’s rules explicitly stated that stage diving was not allowed.

I’m not saying all of this only happens in one particular “scene,” or even this extremely.

It actually happens everywhere in various ways, and frankly, it needs to stop.

It doesn’t matter whether or not you have so-and-so’s discography, seen them X number of times, and own X amount of merchandise. It doesn’t matter if you mosh and throw down, or prefer to stand off to the side.

Personal life choices should not have any relation to enjoying music, and no one should be mocked for them in the first place.

“Poser” is an awful term, and doesn’t make anybody sound anymore dedicated than the guy who just discovered a band. People need to start somewhere.

Live music, no matter what genre, is for everyone to enjoy; it’s not an elite society. Stop the hate and start respecting community. Help each other out.

Have fun, branch out, keep an open mind, and get over it.

I don’t mean to lecture, but shows really should not be intimidating for anyone.

Photo by Kayla Degnan/Beacon Staff

Senior James Dunn, juniors Joshua Lapierre and Erik Dabrowski hoist freshman Clarissa Henesbury into the air as they perform an intense, sacrifice scene in “Agamemnon.”

NASC grad to hold book signing Saturday

North Adams State College (NASC) graduate Thomas Donahue will a holding a book signing to promote his novel titled ‘Fraternal Bonds.’

The event is free and open to the public.

“Thomas Donahue was born in Boston, Mass and raised in the city’s West Roxbury neighborhood. His interests include family events, reading, writing, and Boston sports,” according to the novel’s website.

Donahue graduated from NASC in 1991 and published his novel in 2007.

The book signing will take place at The Pitcher’s Mound, located at 218 Ashland St., from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, April 27.

The Fine and Performing Arts (FPA) Department brought sex, glamor, and heavy metal to Venable Theater last week. Audience members got their hand stamped outside before entering into the theatre-turned-concert-hall and experiencing the rock show that was ‘Agamemnon’.

An arena-like stage was built over the seats. Before the show began, actors walked around the stage and through the crowd dancing to rock music. They were wore aspects of punk rock fashion, with dark makeup and edgy hair to match.

Before the show began Assistant Director Jonathan Kinney encouraged audience to participate in the action. Then, senior James Dunn (Chorus) welcomed audience members to the show.

“Welcome you mother [expletive] to Agamemnon!” He shouted into the microphone. The audience and actors cheered and screamed in response.

Junior Joshua Lapierre (Aegisthus/Watchman) shouted from the ceiling and audience members looked up to see him as an angry rock star shouting down at them from the rafters, sporting a spiked Mohawk.

Agamemnon relied heavily on audience participation.

When Jacqueline Coughlin (Clytemnestra) entered, she immediately captivated the audience with her diva rock star attitude.

She asked an audience member

Faculty presents original poetry

By Kaylie Warner A&E Writer

Photo courtesy of FraternalBonds.com

Thomas Donahue, author of “Fraternal Bonds,” will be signing his book at The Pitcher’s Mound on April 27.

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to hold her drink, and another member to hold her microphone as she sang.

After the performance Kinney was at a loss for words.

“I’ve never seen anything like this before,” he said, the smile never leaving his face.

Professor Standley was also extremely pleased that the actors and audience were having so much fun.

Senior Tom Leidenfrost who played Agamemnon said he was challenged by playing such a hateful man.

“He is everything that I hate about men but it was fun to play and show people what I don’t like about him and get people to not like him too.” Leidenfrost said.

“I had such a great time,” Coughlin said as she pulled a pair of mardi gras panties out of her dress.

“I guess these are mine now,” she joked.

Coughlin said she channeled cabaret singer, Meow Meow and a little bit of Meatloaf during her performance.

“She has such amazing stage presence and I incorporated a lot of her movements in my performance,” she said about Meow Meow.

Devin Monroe and Kaylie Sweet were stunned by what they had just seen and were particular fans of Jacquelyn Gianetti as Cassandra.

“When I walked in I was twitching and foaming at the mouth. It was fantastic!” Sweet said.

Faculty and students gathered Tuesday night in the Eldridge faculty lounge to listen to professors share their poetry.

Professors Annie Raskin, Jen Augur, Jeff McRae, Donald Washburn, and Ben Jacques all read from their original poetry works and even working poems. Ben Jacques, who organized the event, opened the night by thanking the students and faculty that came to listen and celebrate poetry, in honor of National Poetry month.

McRae started out the night, reading a poem that he read at his first faculty poetry reading at MCLA almost ten years ago. Raskin could not believe McRae had been a professor at MCLA for that long.

“I don’t want to talk about it,” he said, with a smile, looking down at his poems.

Augur read a couple of po-

ems that she called, “Ocean poems.”

Ben Jacques read a lyric poem that he is currently trying to add to music too, which he wrote for his wife. He read another poem about his wife’s grandfather who was a carpenter and his life.

“His name was Pearl and he made many things,” he said.

Washburn specializes in sonnets and short poems.

“Don’t let your mind wander because the poem will be over before you know it,” he said, advising the audience.

Washburn touched on his retirement and how it has got him wondering about how much time he may have left.

He read a poem that her wrote years before, to explain how he is feeling about this new juncture in his life.

“Poems are like flowers and we gather them even though we know they will wilt and die,” he said.

Thursday, April 25, 2013

Arts & Entertainment

Beacon.mcla.edu

7

Skyla Seamans: advocating for passion Senior discusses feminism, her love for academics, and her dedication to community service

because the Women’s Center was a place only students with work study could work, and the campus was lacking an actual club that allowed feminists and other like-minded students to hang out and

By Haley Costen organize activities on A&E Writer campus.

Senior Skyla Seamans has a pen“We decided to make sion for sticking with things she’s the club an extension passionate about. of the Women’s CenAs the vice president of Stuter, and then it just sort dents Taking Action for Gender of turned into its own Equality (STAGE)—the club she thing, even though both co-founded with senior Brianna work on some of the Vear, and as treasurer of Pillars, same issues,” she said. the campus community service In order to manage club for four years, Seamans has Photo from Skyla Seamans her time, Seamans constayed consistent with her inter- Skyla works very hard to pursue her interests and academics. tributes most of her free ests. time to school work. time and energy into those,” she said.

She also contributed to The “I think academics are the most imporSeamans is an English-Communications Beacon for three semesters as a staff writtant. Then I put the rest of my time into major with concentrations in journalism er, a columnist, and later the senior news Women’s Center and STAGE, and make and professional writing. She also has a editor, before taking up the position of time for friends after that,” she said. Addminor in women’s studies as well as child office manager in the Susan B. Anthony ing “I think you just have to put your priand family studies.

Women’s Center, where she has worked orities in line in order to make time for She credits her devotion to feminism since her freshman year. everything.” and gender issues to her mother and her Seamans was no stranger to school inWhen she’s not doing school work, or involvement with the Women’s Center. volvement upon coming to the College, in the Women’s Center, Seamans enjoys “I was raised by a single mother and I as she was the valedictorian of her high cooking vegetarian meals, reading, and think I just admired her strength and abilschool class in West Pawlet, Vermont, and hanging out with friends. ity to rise above the struggles that I faced part of everything from the business club “I do have fun,” she insisted. “I enjoy as a child,” she said. “I think I always had to the French club; however, she quickly school—it’s really fun for me. I’m one of feminist views but never identified as a learned to concentrate on what was really those students that actually does school as feminist until I came here. And when I important to her. a hobby,” she joked. started working at the Women’s Center, I “Coming to MCLA, I honed in on what I She will be attending graduate school knew that this is what I want to do, and was really interested in—which are femiin the fall at Southern Connecticut State this is my passion.” nist and gender issues, and I put all of my University in New Haven, Conn., where She and Vear originally created STAGE

Seniors debut original art

By Jennifer Nault A&E Writer

Senior art majors will share their work at Gallery 51 in a reception on April 25 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. This year’s exhibit focuses on different functions of the brain, titled “Pathways to Perception.” Their art will be on display at the gallery until June 2.

The artists presented their work at the Undergraduate Research Conference last Thursday. This week, their art will be open to the public. The featured students include: David Camilo, Andrew Cross, Carrie Jean Converse, Nicole Proulx, Adam Duchemin, Eric Walsh, and George William Dunbar.

Duchemin chose to focus on surrealism and dreaming through artistic nudes expressed in mixed media. His series is titled “Gorgeous Dreaming.”

“Each of my pieces is a transformation of mediums and imagery to get the idea of dreams,”

he said. “I will focus on the fantasy and beauty of dreams. In each piece, I show the nude human at its most surreal.”

Along with dreams, the students explored memory, facial recognition, consciousness, ideals and insanity, and science through their visual interpretations.

Prolux particularly enjoys depicting people in her art due to their complex natures and vivid personalities. Her focus pertains to facial recognition through expressive and emotive portraiture.

She added, “I also would not have had so much fun being in this show, ‘Pathways to Perception’, without all of the other seniors in the class with me. I couldn’t ’have asked for a better group of people with which to share this entire experience.”

Gallery 51 is free and open to the public every day from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. It is located on 51 Main Street.

she’ll be working toward her master’s in women’s studies. Her career focus is to fight for gender issues.

“I could see myself working in a community women’s center, a campus women’s center, working at a family crisis center, something that involves working with women and children.” Seamans, whose columns in The Beacon were on feminist issues, added “I could also see myself writing for a women’s issues magazine or a publication like Ms. Magazine, or something like that.”

Seamans said that as long as her career involves activism and writing she’ll be happy.

Though she is excited and feels she is more than ready for graduation, Seamans looks back at her time at the College fondly.

“I think that a huge part of my development at MCLA was working at the Women’s Center, meeting such a strong group of friends that have similar views to me and have a passionate view of gender equality, and being able to start this club (STAGE) to further those interests and allow other students to join us.”

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@beaconMCLA_AE

What’s happening at MASS MoCA? The Human Tower Tonight at 7:30 p.m.

Club B-10 $9 adults / $5 students / 10% discount for members Artist Talk: Xu Bing Tomorrow at 5:00 p.m.

Club B-10 Free to Williams Students, Faculty and Staff and MASS MoCA Members $8 general admission to lecture and reception The Lisps: Futurity Saturday April 27 at 8 p.m.

Club B-10 $12 advance / $16 day of the show / $10 students

Agamemnon Continues through this weekend

april 25-27 at 8 p.m.

2 p.m. matinee on april 27 call the box office at 413-662-5123 to reserve tickets free for students

want to see more material, read more unique columns and articles? check out beacon.mcla.edu!

8

Sports

Thursday, April 25, 2013

Softball on four-game winning streak

By Nick Swanson

Injuries ruin everything

By Ariana Tourangeau

Sports Editor David Lee of the Denver Warriors tore his right hip flexor on Saturday during game one against Golden State in the playoffs. This injury will put him out for the rest of playoffs and possibly alter the chances for the warriors to win.

The Warriors are currently 3rd in the Western conference with a record of 57-25 putting them behind No. 1 Oklahoma City and No. 2 San Antonio.

According to ESPN.com, Lee is an All-Star forward for the Warriors and led the NBA in doubledoubles with 56 this season. He averaged 18.5 points, 11.2 rebounds and 3.5 assists. Without him the Warriors will definitely be experiencing a loss.

After looking at the standings and scores of other teams the Warriors do have a good chance in making it far in the playoffs, maybe not winning but they definitely had a chance of getting there. They still might I’m not saying Lee’s injury ruined that for them it just might make it a little hard.

I will never understand why injuries happen. It’s one thing for them to just happen because no one is invincible, but to happen at a crucial time is just beyond me.

Why couldn’t it have happened in the regular season instead of at the beginning of playoffs? I guess it’s better it happened at the beginning instead of closer to the end, but still, an injury can definitely effect the tone of a team whether it be positive or negative.

Look at Louisville for example, Kevin Ware, a key player for the team got injured at a very crucial time during the playoffs and they still managed to win it all, so maybe Denver still has a chance. It’s just a bummer for an athlete to work so hard for something just to have it ruined right when it gets down to the wire.

According to an article on ESPN.com, Denver’s coach Mark Jackson is focusing on getting the team to move forward from Lee’s injury. "We can't replace him, and we know that," Jackson said. "And that's the thing we have to know right away. He's an All-Star power forward who's had an incredible year. But we have some guys on our bench that can do some things to cover up his absence. But we cannot replace David Lee." Despite the injury and how or when it happened, it happened and now the team has to work hard to do well in playoffs without Lee.

Beacon.mcla.edu

Sports Writer The softball team is currently on a four-game winning streak after two double-headers against the Framingham State Rams and Westfield State Owls. Most recently the Trailblazers faced the Owls on Tuesday, the first game ended 2-1 and the second 5-1, which completed the sweep.

The Senior Day ceremony was held prior to the games on Tuesday, when seniors Megan Boyer, Ainsley MacDonald, and Kendra Hobbs were honored. This was the Trailblazers first home game of the season due to the field being unsuitable for play.

“The fact that we are actually able to play at home on such a big game day for us means a lot, and it being senior day will give us enough strength to do well,” Boyer said.

The Owls scored their only run in the game early in the first inning after taking advantage of the error; Westfield’s Breanne Bisceglia hit a double bringing home the runner.

The Trailblazers earned their

first run in the second inning after a deep hit to left field by Boyer that brought home the runner on third.

“I always tell myself bat to ball, bat to ball, and keep all attention to the pitch, then I swing hoping for the best; today I’m happy I was able to make the hit,” Boyer said.

Boyer earned a double but the inning ended after MacDonald struck out swinging.

The team dominated the bases during the bottom of the third inning when Westfield made an error trying to catch a fly ball in shallow center field. That mistake was essential to the Trailblazers lead because it the score did not change for the remainder of the game.

Both teams played well defensively during the game. The Owls got out of the third inning with a diving tip-of-the-glove catch by their left fielder. Then the Trailblazers with a knee sliding catch by right fielder Michaela Dinicola.

Rachel Quackenbush pitched from beginning to end for the Trailblazers and struck out the fi-

nal batter.

“The team has a powerful defensive side, and when Rachel is on the pitching mound it is very effective for our strategy,” Coach Mike Ameen said.

The second game was substantially more one-sided than the first. The score was 1-0 with Westfield winning until the Trailblazers rattled the scoreboard in the fourth inning.

Boyer again brought the Trailblazer into the lead after a blast to the outfield that earned her a double, which brought home two runners. Freshmen Samantha Boyle then singled to bring in Boyer and the inning ended with a Trailblazers lead 3-1.

In the sixth inning, Hobbs hit a powerful homerun straight to the center that ensured the lead of 5-1; not another run was scored in the game.

“This day was very important to our season, we have four consecutive conference play wins and it can’t get much better than that; I am very proud,” Ameen said.

A day before the Trailblazers took home the sweep from Fram-

Baseball team loses double-headers

By Chris Oxholm Sports Writer

The baseball team had two long days on Monday and Tuesday playing double-headers against Framingham and Westfield. Losing 6-0 in both games against Framingham, the College then split against Westfield winning game one 4-2 and losing game two 7-5 after 12 innings.

The game against Westfield was played at Joe Wolf field in North Adams, marking it the closest game they have had to home all season.

“It was great to play at Joe Wolf,” junior Ross Miner said.

“We had more of a crowd. Some of our friends and the softball team came to support us, which is way better than an away game with just our parents watching.”

Game one was pitched by Miner and junior Cody Weaver. Miner pitched three innings getting one strike-out. He left the field after the third inning with a sore arm. Weaver finished the game with four strike-outs only letting in two runs.

Sophomore Rory Slattery singled, running in sophomore Chase Preite in the fourth inning.

Soon after, junior Sean Coyle batted in Weaver and Slattery for two more runs.

In the fifth inning, senior Joe Duncan scored a run for the Trailblazers off of Preite’s single.

The team held their lead through the sixth and seventh inning for the victory.

“We played ball the way we wanted today,” Miner said. “We

played to our expectations and it worked out for us in the end.”

The Trailblazers could come out on top in game two, but they battled out the MASCAC game for twelve innings, almost the length of two entire games in one.

Game two was tied at 5-5 in the sixth and it wasn’t broken until after six long scoreless innings.

Freshman Shane Lynch and sophomore Jeremy Tanguay of Westfield, ran home in the last inning when sophomore Dan Rokitowski doubled. In the bottom of the twelfth the Trailblazers couldn’t make up the runs and the long game came to an end.

The Trailblazers can now only look ahead to their next MASCAC game against Mass. Maritime on Saturday. Their only chance to the playoffs is to sweep the series.

“We’re still hoping for the playoff spot,” Miner said. “We have to win every game out. If we play like we did today, we will definitely take it.”

Mass Maritime (3-7) is an evenly matched team for the Trailblazers. They sit one spot on top of them in the MASCAC rankings with just one win ahead of the Trailblazers (2-10).

The games at Mass Maritime begin at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday.

The Trailblazers also play Elms College today at 3:30 p.m. along with a home double-header against Norwich University on Sunday beginning at noon. The last regular season game is at Springfield College on Monday at 3:30 p.m.

For Schedules, Scores, and Standings, go to www.atheltics.mcla.edu

ingham that started their win streak. The first game was shutout 1-0 and the second 3-2.

Quackenbush threw 12 strikeouts and did not walk a single batter the entire game. This was enough to control the shutout to end the game and Angelica Perfido scored the only run in the top of the second inning.

“We use a tremendous amount of teamwork to help each other, and being the catcher I see the whole field in front of me, so from my perspective if something is not working well, we can help one another to better ourselves,” freshman Tanelle Ciempa said.

The second game was competitive and at the end of seven innings it was tied 2-2. The game was then brought to the eighth inning when Perfido hit a line drive to left field and sent DiNicola home. The Rams could not make a comeback and the game ended 3-2.

The Trailblazers now stand at an overall record of 14-18, 8-4 in conference play. The doubleheader will be played at Skidmore on April 25 starting at 4 p.m.

For full coverage of the Rugby club go to www.beacon.mcla.edu

Men’s Tennis earns first win

By Justine Cozza Sports Writer

The Men’s Tennis team earned their first victory of the season after defeating Johnson State College on Sunday with a final score of 8-1. The win brings the Trailblazers to 1-8 in the North Atlantic Conference (NAC).

According to the College’s website, five Trailblazers won single matches against Johnson State.

Senior Daniel Nesti won 6-0, followed by sophomore Taylor Krowitz, junior Amory Galili, sophomore Mitchell Mabardy, and Ray Yelle. Krowitz and Galili also won 8-0 in the second doubles match.

“We made the other team work,” Nesti said. “Nothing came easy.”

The men were less fortunate Friday’s match as they fell to Castleton College Spartans 9-0. With the win, the Spartans improved to

9-3 overall.

“As the matches go on we are learning to pull it together,” Mabardy said. “There are difficult points in the matches but we are working though them as a team.”

The men also played Wednesday April 17 at Sage College. Nesti and Krowitz were both victorious in their singles matches and in doubles. The duo had all of the three points for the Trailblazers.

“We are still improving on our consistency of play,” Nesti said.

“When you’re missing shots and giving the other team free points it simplifies the match for them, eliminating the errors is key.”

The Trailblazers next match is home against Lyndon State College at 3:30 p.m. This is the last conference match before heading into the NAC Championships.

For more information or the team’s schedule, visit http://athletics.mcla.edu/sports/mten/201213/schedule.

News

Thursday, April 25, 2013

Beacon.mcla.edu

College has technology changes Sitting in an office in the basement of Murdock hall, Peter Allmaker is surrounded by bits of computers, technology and stuffed animals.

Allmaker has been working for the school since 1983, teaching computer science and in that time has seen a lot of changes.

The TR-80 has been replaced by the Windows-powered Gateway computers that currently inhabit the computer lab. There exists a means for computers to talk to each other. Allmaker says that this isn’t even the endgame.

“When I was in college, I was a bartender. And the guy I worked for was of my father’s generation.

And we talked about the technology of his day and how things had changed,” Allmaker said. “In his time, the personally owned automobile was just becoming a reality. Then when I was young, computers were things only owned by Governments and major corporations. Now I am embarrassed to count how many are even in this room.”

The proliferation of computers has raised the issue of how to integrate them into the school environment. This is not a new issue, as schools have been teaching computer science classes for thirty years now. But now that a phone can perform many of the

duties of a computer, the relationship people have with their computers has changed, Allmaker continued.

“Fifteen years ago I used to carry a PDA to keep my calendar,” he said. “Now I carry a phone, and so do a lot of people. But a phone is connected to a lot of other things, so how we approach them is different.”

The Internet has changed people’s approach towards computers.. Instead of simply performing small or large tasks on PCs, people go to them as a resource for information and entertainment, Linda Kaufmann said, public services librarian, sitting in a glass room, looking out at the students studying in the library.

The library has had to adapt to the times as much as anyone. It has created an online catalog for students to more easily access information than card catalogs used to allow.

“I see fewer students than I used to,” Kaufmann said, motioning towards the students in the study area outside of her room.

“There used to be a saying in the library: ‘Librarians are the gatekeepers of information.’ That isn’t the case anymore.”

Pamela Contakos is the digital services librarian in Freel Library and has been working at this school for a year now.

“People approach the library as a different type of place,” Con-

The English/Communications Department will induct 34 students into Lambda Iota Tau (LIT), a national literature honor society, this Saturday, April 27, at 11 a.m. in Murdock Hall room 218.

The event is free and open to the public.

Members of the English/Communications faculty, as well as some 70 family members and

friends, are expected to attend to celebrate the accomplishments of the inductees.

LIT is a national honor society for literature, whose purpose is to recognize and promote excellence in the study of literature in all languages. It was founded at Michigan State University in 1953 and now has over 46 active chapters with an increasing membership totaling 40,000 stu-

By Raanan Sarid-Segal Special to the Beacon

takos said. “It is a place to meet people. They see it as a quiet place for studying, not research.”

“On the one hand it is harder to get good information on the Internet. One can be awash in a sea of data. On the other hand, the greater access is an invaluable resource,” Kaufmann continued. “Altogether technology has brought more people to the library, as it is a good dedicated study space, but it has also kept some people away.”

This approach to the value of the physical space has held true for the computer labs. When the school began requiring laptops, Allmaker said he was worried that they would render the labs obsolete. However, in the years since the requirement was instated, labs have not suffered a significant drop in their use.

“Before the laptop requirement 93 percent of students were bringing laptops anyway. And the labs were seeing use. That final 7 percent wasn’t going to change things that much,” Allmaker said, pointing to the ceiling, indicating the location of the labs.

“The reason labs survived is because they have exclusive software that the students need. We are working on streaming software so students on campus can access the programs. We will see how that affects us,” he continued.

With the newest generation growing up around ever shifting

9

Brief History of Computer Technology: 1946 – ENIAC 1951– UNIVAC – First commercial computer 1969 – ARPANET – beginning of internet 1971 – First Microprocessor 1974/75 – Scelbi & Mark-8 Altair & IBM 5100 Computers – First Consumer Computers 1981 – IBM PC Home Computer 1981 – Microsoft 1983 – Apple Source: PBS “Triumph of the Nerds”

technology, the focus has been recently on informing teachers in how to use computers and the Internet in their classes, Allmaker said. He thinks this is a distraction.

“When the phone was first invented, they were pretty rare.

But teachers learned how to use them without ever taking a class on their use,” said Allmaker, unhooking his iPhone from his belt and pointing to it. “The telephone was never a topic of study, it was just a tool. The question with computers should be when to use them, not how.”

Curt King is the new chief information officer. His responsibilities include governing the activities of all the technical

departments in the school. Although he seems to agree with Allmaker, he added a caveat.

“The ‘if you build it they will come’ approach does not work,” King said. “People need to be convinced to change after years of teaching methods. And they are going to be reluctant if they don’t know how to use the new tools.”

According to King, 50 percent of the faculty currently uses Canvas, and his goal is to both increase that number and improve the teachers use of the technology. He said that using electronic milestones will give students an unprecedented level of access to how they are doing in class, and help them get the best education possible.

Students to be inducted into national LIT Society dents.

At the College, members of LIT are students majoring or minoring in English/Communications with a concentration in literature, writing, journalism, broadcast media, public relations and corporate communications or film studies.

To become a member, students must be in the upper 35 percent of their class in cumulative grade

point average, have attained at least a full B average in at least 12 semester credit hours, be enrolled in at least their fifth college semester, and have submitted an initiation paper representing their best work thus far.

As members of LIT, students have the opportunity to publish their work in the annual journal, which includes poems, short stories, essays and critical analyses

written by its members across the county. The best work in each category is awarded a publication prize from the Lambda Iota Tau headquarters. In addition, several scholarships are awarded each year to qualifying members who wish to apply through the official Lambda Iota Tau headquarters website.

For more information, go to www.mcla.edu .

Primary election for Mass. Senator on Tuesday

By Tia Polana

Special to the Beacon The primary election for the Republican and Democratic candidates vying to replace U.S. Senator John Kerry will be on Tuesday. The special election will take place on June 25.

Voters registered in North Adams can vote Tuesday at the Saint Elizabeth Parish Center on Saint Anthony Drive from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.

There are five candidates running to replace Kerry, three Republicans and two Democrats.

Republican Gabriel Gomez is a former navy SEAL who served the country flying E2-C Hawkeyes and C2-A Greyhounds off aircraft carriers. According to his profile on gomezforma.com, Gomez sees politicians in Wash-

ington more willing to bicker and fight than to listen and learn, and thinks too little gets done.

Michael Sullivan is a lawyer who served as U.S. Attorney for the District of Mass. from 20012009, and as Acting Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives from 2006 to 2009. He also earlier served as the District Attorney for Plymouth County, Mass. and as a Republican member of Mass.

House of Representatives.

The third Republican candidate is Daniel Winslow, former presiding justice of Wrentham District Court. He is also the former chief legal counsel to Governor Mitt Romney from the years 2002 to 2005.

“I don’t see a repeat like the Scott Brown and Martha Coakley election,” said Political Science

Professor Bob Bence. “Neither Republican has the appeal that Brown had.”

For the Democratic side, the candidates are Stephen Lynch and Ed Markey.

Lynch served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Mass. since 2001. He is a Democrat representing the state’s 8th district. Born in South Boston, he received his J.D. from Boston College Law School.

“The Democrats have an advantage,” Bence said. “There are more Democratic voters and are both congressmen with better name recognition.”

Ed Markey is a U.S. Representative for the Mass. 5th congressional district and has been the longest serving member of Mass. and New England house delegations. He is the second longest

serving current member of Congress from New England and is a progressive who has focused on energy policy, according to Wikipedia. He is also a former chairman of the select committee on energy independence and global warming.

In regards to the keystone XL pipeline debate, California billionaire and former hedge fund manager Thomas Steyer has joined forces with a handful of young Mass. advocates to pressure Lynch to relinquish his support for the proposed pipeline, according to the Huffington Post.

Lynch previously voted in favor of expediting approval of the pipeline while his rival, Markey, is the ranking member on the House Natural Resources Committee and an outspoken opponent of the project.

“Markey is slightly more liberal on abortion and environment,” said Bence. “He appeals more to independent voters.”

The polls have shown that Democrat Markey has been leading in the primaries and Bence said he will probably win the primary election. He also estimates that whoever wins the primary on April 30, will most likely win the election on June 25.

“I’m curious to see the voter turnout for students,” said Bence.

“They will be out of school and less likely to vote. Students usually vote more Democratic so the numbers could make a difference.”

North Adams will also hold a special election on April 30 to vote on funding for a school building project at the former Silvio O. Conte Middle School.

10

Opinion

Thursday, April 25, 2013

Beacon.mcla.edu

How do you feel about the events in Boston?

“I’m not indifferent to it but I’m not surprised by it. It’s not the only place that these things happen. I care about global issues.”

“It’s horrible, it’s tragic. I’m glad the cops found him before the locals.

I’m glad they could find him in less than a week.”

-Raj Ishmael, 2015

-Kelly Lewis, 2014

“Definitely tragic. Glad they caught the culprits. It hurts Boston and the marathon in a way. It was an awful tragedy on Patriot’s Day.”

“It’s disheartening, but sometimes you have to keep living your life and not live in fear.”

The Beacon The Beacon is published Thursdays during the academic year and is distributed free to the College community. The Beacon is funded by the Student Government Association, the English/Communications department and from ad revenues.

Contact information: News desk number: 413-662-5535 Business number: 413-662-5404 E-mail: Beacon@mcla.edu Web site: beacon.mcla.edu Office: Mark Hopkins Hall, room 111 Mission Statement The Beacon strives to provide timely and accurate news of campus and local events.

Editorials Policy Unsigned editorials that appear on these pages reflect the views of The Beacon’s editorial board.

Signed columns and commentaries that appear on these pages reflect the views of the writers.

Letters Policy The Beacon welcomes Letters to the Editor. Deadline is noon on Mondays for that week’s newspaper.

-Alyson Carey, 2013

-Bryan O’Keefe, 2013

“It’s an atrocity. I can’t understand why they’d go for a marathon, a universal peaceful event. It’s disappointing to see such a young individual responsible for it.”

“I feel that it’s a reminder that our freedom is not always free.

This event is shocking to us but it happens a lot in other countries.”

Letters should be kept to 500 words or less and are subject to editing for grammar and content. The Beacon will not publish anonymous or libelous letters.

Letters must be signed by the writer and include a phone number. Letters may be dropped off at the office or e-mailed to Beacon@mcla.edu.

Contributions Policy The Beacon accepts stories, photos, and opinion pieces for publication.

Submissions should be dropped off at the office by Monday at noon or e-mailed to Beacon@mcla.edu.

Advertising Policy The Beacon reserves the right not to publish any advertisement it deems to be libelous, false. or in bad taste.

-Thomas Chiang, 2014

-Tyler Scatliffe, 2013

Compiled by Shauna Dacus/Beacon Staff

Commentary

Arkansas representative’s gun comments insult Boston On Friday, during the heated hunt for the marathon b o m b e r Dzhorkar Ts a r n a e v, Arkansas

By Nick Arena State Rep. Managing Editor Nate Bell (R) felt as though he should bring the argument of gun control to the table.

"I wonder how many Boston liberals spent the night cowering in their homes wishing they had an AR-15 with a hi-capacity magazine?"

Bell wrote on Twitter.

Later Bell came out to apologize in a statement claiming that he wasn’t too worried about the content of his message, just that he had bad timing.

Assuming he was following the news, he would have certainly known that this was the weapon that Tsarnaev and his brother did the most damage with.

Maybe this was a foolish attempt to reiterate the gunlover’s argument that if all

the good guys owned guns there would be no bad guys.

What would a gun owner have been able to do in a situation like the Boston Marathon, in a mass panic, where people were running from the blasts and attempting to find cover or help the wounded? Does finding one person with a remote really sound that easy?

Looking back at Friday, we see the efficiency in which the Boston Police Department shut down the city and successfully took Tsarnaev into custody with minimal damage being done. This was not due to the people of Boston “cowering in their homes,” it was due to the people of Boston clearing the streets for the police, giving them a clear line of sight and leaving few places for the bomber to hide.

What Mr. Bell should come to understand is that the people of Boston don’t cower in their homes and they don’t cower in fear behind the barrel of an assault rifle. Should he want to dispute that, I think the people of Boston would gladly welcome him to pay a visit.

Editor-in-Chief Aya Lanzoni

Commentary

Congress should extend low-interest rate for federal student loans MCT Campus Congress must act again to stop student-loan interest rates from doubling to 6.8 percent.

Lawmakers should know the drill by now. They voted last summer to extend the lower interest rate.

The current interest rate of 3.4 percent expires in July, and a lack of action would be costly.

The rate increase on federally subsidized Stafford loans would cost nearly 10 million borrowers about $1,000 each year over the life of the loan.

That's real money to college students. Last year, 45 percent of the freshmen enrolled in Washington state's public higher-education system took out loans for college. Students are graduating from institutions in this state with an average debt of $22,244, according to the Project on Student Debt.

U.S. Rep. Suzan DelBene, D-Wash., is pushing a legislative solution that ought to garner support from her colleagues, including the rest of Washington's delegation.

The first-term lawmaker is cosponsoring a bill that would keep the low interest rate for two years.

Meanwhile, Congress would work on a long-term solution to slow the rapid accumulation of

Editorial Board

student-loan debt.

A long-term approach is needed. It must be one that broadens access to college, makes it more affordable and increases college-completion rates.

Half of all college students borrow to pay for school. The average student-loan borrower graduates with $27,000 in loans.

On top of that, they face a weak job market. They should not be burdened with high interest rates as well.

College-debt strategies should prioritize low-income and middle-class students completing college without having to rely on loans.

A second priority ought to be no-interest loans and those with affordable, income-based repayment plans for middleincome students.

A Congressional Budget Office report from February said the federal government makes 36 cents off every student-loan dollar it spends. Student loans could bring in $34 billion in profit for the government next year.

The problem is not the revenue, but what ought to be done with it. It should be used to subsidize the cost of higher education.

Business Manager Lauren Coffey*

Sports Editor Ariana Tourangeau

Web Editor Ken Rodriguez*

A&E Editor Shannen Adamites

Senior News Editor Ryan Flynn

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Managing Editor Nick Arena Design Editor Nalaja Caesar

Staff Staff Writers

Photographers

Chris Goodell Andrew Hodgson* Jack Guerino* Haley Costen* Kaylie Warner Chris Oxholm Justine Cozza Nick Swanson

Kayla Degnan Kacie Clark Jess Gamari* Jack Guerino Shauna Dacus

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Jess Gamari* Ken Rodriguez* Jennifer Nault Videographers

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Fun & Games

Thursday, April 25, 2013

Beacon.mcla.edu

11

Cry of the Senior

Comic by Jackie Coughlin

Weekly Horoscopes Aries: March 21-April 19 Put aside your own concerns and focus exclusively on what others are needing or saying. Your selflessness actually pays off down the road, but try to do it for its own sake. Karma helps, too!

FOR RELEASE APRIL 24, 2013

Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle

Taurus: April 20-May 20 Things are getting really interesting today, so push yourself just a little harder to take them all the way! Your people thank you for your effort, and you might make this a day to remember.

Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Lewis

ACROSS 1 Singer Bryant 6 Tooted in a Revolutionary band 11 Jacques, e.g.

14 Common java hr.

15 “__ of Two Cities” 16 Be in the red 17 Michael Jackson memorabilia 19 Coal container 20 Met display 21 Met supporter: Abbr.

22 Completely drained 24 Cold War concerns 27 Web address ending 28 Line-drawing tool 33 Fruity 36 Aristotelian pair?

37 Cauliflower __: boxing injury 38 “Exodus” author 39 Heavy curtain 41 Head of a family?

42 Channel for film buffs 43 Jalapeño rating characteristic 44 Nemo creator Verne 45 Conversational skill 49 Info source, with “the” 50 Like early life forms 54 Shakespearean actor Kenneth 58 SALT subject 59 Worker who handles returns, briefly 60 Tune 61 Uno ancestor, and, in a way, what are hidden in 17-, 28- and 45-Across 64 Prune 65 New worker 66 Pick of the litter 67 Sot’s symptoms 68 Readied, as the presses 69 Deep sleep DOWN 1 Engaged in armed conflict

Gemini: May 21-June 21 You are having lots of fun right now -- so much so that you might find it easy to smooth over an old feud or otherwise take care of a longstanding problem. Do it with a smile on your face!

Cancer: June 22-July22 Your home needs attention today. Is it time for spring cleaning? Get to it right away. You may also find some problems that need fixing before you can feel comfortable, but you’ve got the right attitude for it all.

Leo: July 23-Aug. 22 You are finding it easier to get along with someone who is often a pain in your side. Just roll with the friction and you should find that things start to shake out between you two in a really good way!

Virgo: Aug. 23-Sept. 22 Impulse buying is a problem today -- so stash your credit cards where you can’t reach them and turn off your internet connection when you’re bored. You should find more self-control soon.

By Ed Sessa

2 Beatles jacket style 3 Contract change approvals: Abbr.

4 Tit for __ 5 Motel Wi-Fi, for one 6 Singer-dancer Lola 7 Jurist Lance 8 Top choice, slangily 9 Type of sch. with low grades?

10 Iron-fisted rulers 11 “Don’t sweat it” 12 Baby’s boo-boo 13 Convalesce 18 First in a car, say 23 Uno e due 25 Retired fliers 26 Straddle 29 Spark plug measurement 30 Color 31 Look openmouthed 32 Valentine’s Day deity 33 Target of a joke 34 St. Louis symbol 35 Sci-fi travel conveniences 39 Dict. feature

4/24/13

Last Issue’sPuzzle PuzzleSolved Solves Tuesday’s

Libra: Sept. 23-Oct. 22 You may find yourself flirting with almost everyone you meet today -- even those you’d never think of in that way. It’s all good fun until the wrong person starts taking it too seriously.

Scorpio: Oct. 23-Nov. 21 Though you have all the information you need, it’s still hard for you to make decisions today. See if you can get your friends to help, or find an authority you know you can trust.

Sagittarius: Nov. 22-Dec. 21 You need extra time to make sense of today’s business -- so set aside a time and place to think things through. Your people are sure to help, because social ties are stronger than ever.

Capricorn: Dec. 22-Jan. 19 You need to take care of a career-related issue soon -- though it may be really positive! Move on up the ladder, find a new, more blissful job or see if you can start your own business from scratch!

(c)2013 Tribune Media Services, Inc.

40 Dirty one in a memorable Cagney line 41 Sugar shape 43 Terrace cooker 44 Night-night clothes?

46 DDE, in WWII 47 Worn at the edges 48 Sarcastic remark 51 TV monitoring device

4/24/13

52 Most likely will, after “is” 53 Surgery beam 54 Not in need of a barber 55 Mob action 56 It may run from cheek to cheek 57 Carol opening 62 Zip code start?

63 Day-__: pigment brand

Aquarius: Jan. 20-Feb. 18 Your brainpower is legendary, and that means that you’re not surprising anyone when you bust out with a few hot ideas today. Things look really good for you and your people if you can act on them.

Pisces: Feb. 19-March 20 Try not to read too much into it when your mate or business partner starts freaking out today -- it’s just part of the natural order. You should both come to an understanding in a few days.

Horoscopes courtesy of Yahoo.com

12

Thursday, April 25, 2013

Photo Essay

Beacon.mcla.edu

Students add a coloful plastic bead to a strand with every lap the completed.

Members of Yorick perform during the relay on Friday night.

Relay For Life Photos by Jack Guerino Cake pops are offered as a free late night snack for all participants.

Students wear customized shirts for the event.

A local cancer survivor in the community shares inspiring words to walkers about the importance of relay and the fundraising involved. Behind her, a volunteer DJ plays music from 6 p.m. until 7 a.m.