Fall 16' issue 5

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

Beacon@MCLA.Edu 413-662-5535 Mark Hopkins Room 111

Volume 83 ◆ Issue 5

Th u r s d ay, O c t o b e r 2 0 , 2 0 1 6

Inside

2

The Beacon’s election guide

6

Nick Cave reception

Science Center wins gold

8

Scenic train rides open

Hardman speaker has a new vision for American Journalists

By Harmony Birch Editor-in-Chief

Photo by Emily Gabert/The Beacon

The Feigenbaum Center for Science and Innovation opened October 2013.

Awarded through Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design

By Kelsey Kistner Staff Writer

The United States Green Building Council (USGBC) has awarded the Feigenbaum Center for Science and Innovation (CSI) a LEED Gold certification.

LEED, or Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, is the most widely used third-party verification for green buildings. It is a

system created by USGBC that measures aspects of a building’s sustainability during and after construction.

MCLA President James F. Birge believes the value of this award comes from its reputation.

“I think the most important advantage for MCLA as a result of the recognition by the US Green Building Council is that we articulate to the public our commitment

to outstanding design for teaching and learning space while recognizing our environmental responsibility,” Birge said.

According to Lawrence Behan, vice president of Administration and Finance at MCLA, sustainability is evolving into an important aspect when designing and constructing buildings, especially in the school system.

“Both the private and public

sector is looking to build smart and sustainable because they are not only beneficial for the environment but also more cost effective to operate,” Behan said. “Sustainability is becoming more prevalent in the public discourse, which is a great thing.”

Behan explained one major green feature that the CSI GOLD Continued on Page 2

Heroin: The struggle with addiction

By Nick Tardive Staff Writer

Although Audrey has lived in North Adams for less than a month, she has lived a life far too familiar for residents of this small town in Western Massachusetts: the life of a heroin addict.

According to a report released by the County Clerk’s office, between 2005 and 2014, substance abuse treatment jumped in North Adams by 47 percent. In that time span, the number of people in treatment programs specifically for heroin went from around nine percent to 40 percent.

With a mother who has been clean for around 30 years,

Photo by Sunquell Dennis/The Beacon

The North Adams Brien Center, which offers many services to recovering addicts.

Audrey was raised by a family in Florida that was very open about addiction and recovery. From a young age, she knew that it was in her system to try “everything” once. She said that she wanted to “take her vices to the limit.”

Attending a private high school in Florida during the prescription pill boom of the new millennium, Audrey’s first experience with opiates was OxyContin. Prescription pills are often popular among the higher

class – Audrey even described heroin as being “the same” as prescription opiates, just cheaper.

For perspective, in Berkshire County, opiate prescriptions grew by 450 percent in the last few years, according to the Greylock Independent.

Following high school, Audrey moved around quite a bit, going all the way to California on the west coast before finding her way back to Orlando, where she found a boyfriend in a “whirlwind romance” at an Ultra Music Festival rave. It was with him that Audrey became addicted to heroin.

“If there’s anything that HEROIN Continued on Page 9

Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton ranks five percent above Republican nominee Donald Trump in a national polling according to the New York Times. This presidential election’s focus on Muslims, Islam and Islamophobia mirrors a trend that dates back centuries, according to Abderrahim Foukara.

Foukara graced the MCLA community on Thursday Oct. 13, 2016 as this year’s Hardman scholar. Foukara is chief of the Washington D.C. Bureau of Al Jazeera, one of the leading news organizations for the Arab world.

Foukara has been working for Al Jazeera for the last 14 years. Before that, he worked for the BBC. He is well acquainted with the differences between British, American, and Middle Eastern media.

Both the BBC and Al Jazeera catered to more diverse audiences than American media. The BBC caters internationally while Al Jazeera predominantly focuses on Middle Eastern countries. America tends to have less focus on international media and more focus on localized events.

One of Foukara’s most shocking American viewing experiences was during Arab Springs when he said Egypt was literally in flames, and each major American news channel was playing footage of the Treyvon Martin case.

The biggest difference between American media and the media Foukara has encountered elsewhere is the commercialization aspect. He said he missed the days of eight hour commercial free television, which is something unheard of in the current American media cycle. Working for both the BBC and Al Jazeera, Foukara is familiar with media outlines funded by government agencies.

“There is no such thing as 100 percent independence from the party, person or state that funds you,” Foukara said.

Still he frequently questions how free commercial TV is to do serious investigative work.

HARDMAN Continued on Page 9

Photo by Ron Leja/The Beacon

Foukara answers the campus community at the Q & A session last week.

2

Campus News

Thursday, October 20, 2016

Beacon.MCLA.edu

The Beacon’s election guide 2016 tee ballots by Nov. 8 at 7 p.m.

By Mitchell Chapman Managing Editor

Ballot questions Massachusetts: Question 1: Allow the Gaming Commission to issue an additional slots license

With the Nov. 8 general election less than a month away, The Beacon has compiled a guide for the benefit of the campus community.

Absentee Ballots As many students are miles away from home, obtaining an absentee ballot might be their only way of participating in this election.

If you live in Massachusetts, you may get an absentee ballot if you’re absent from your polling place during regular polling hours, physically disabled and cannot travel to your polling place, or unable to vote in person because of a religious belief.

If you live in New York, you can get an absentee ballot if you are absent from your county or the city of New York on Election Day (Nov. 8), unable to vote in person because you have a temporary or permanent illness or disability or because you’re the primary caregiver of one or more individuals who are ill or physically disable, a patient or inmate in a Veterans Administration Hospital, or

Question 2: Authorize the approval of up to 12 new charter schools or enrollment expansions in existing charter schools by the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education per year.

Question 3: Prohibit certain methods of farm animal containment.

Question 4: Legalize recreational marijuana for individuals at least 21 years old.

Photo from GovOffice.com

detained in jail awaiting Grand Jury action or in prison conviction for an offense that isn’t a felony.

Any registered voter in Vermont can vote by mail.

All voters must download and fill out the absentee ballot application form found on their respective state websites.

Massachusetts voters must have their absentee ballot application forms mailed, faxed, or emailed to

their local election official by Nov. 7 at 12 p.m. When you receive the ballot in the mail, mail it so that it’s received by Nov. 8 at 8 p.m. New York voters must have their absentee ballot application forms mailed by Nov. 1 and must have their absentee ballots completed and mailed by Nov. 7. Vermont voters need to get their absentee ballot application forms mailed to their town clerk by Nov. 7 at 5 p.m. and their completed absen-

New York and Vermont: There are no ballot measures in either state in 2016.

Voting in person Be sure to look up the appropriate precinct in which you are registered on your state’s website. In Massachusetts, polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. You are allowed to vote if you are in line by 8 p.m. New York polls are open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m., with

SGA: Inaugurations, hydration stations and the meal plan

By Nick Tardive

39th annual Sam Gomez recap

Staff Writer

SGA inaugurated two new Senators-at-Large, three Class of 2020 representatives, Class of 2017 Vice President and Treasurer, and Class of 2018 Treasurer.

Jacob Vitali, who lost out to Nia Little for Class of 2020 President, was elected as the class representative.

“I would be a liar if I said I wasn’t disappointed,” Vitali said regarding his election loss. “But it gives me a lot more time now where I can focus exclusively on the Senate.”

Vitali was a member of SGA in high school, but that student government didn’t use parliamentarian procedure. He’s been reading the handbook and watching the Canadian House of Commons to get acquainted with the process. As a firstterm Senator, Vitali is hoping to focus on policy, and is upset that he missed out on the discussion regarding the Amsler Campus Center Pool. SGA voted to formally endorse the plans to replace the pool with a fitness facility two weeks ago.

More specifically, Vitali wants to focus on fixing the freshmen year plan.

“The meal plan is a big one

By The Numbers...

Total Runners: 84 MCLA students in the race: 26 Total Runners in 2015: 2

I want to look at too, because all freshmen are forced to buy into the same meal plan right now,” Vitali said. “And that just doesn’t work for everybody.”

Yahya Can Abanoz and Robbie Gair were inaugurated as Senators-at-Large.

Nia Little and Alexter Shand were inaugurated as Class of 2020 President and Vice President respectively. Parliamentarian Jessica Lovellette was sworn in as Class of 2017 Vice President. Senator Siobhan Greene was sworn in as Class of 2017 Treasurer. Student Trustee Brianna O’Rourke was inaugurated as Class of 2018 Treasurer.

Coordinating Vice President Sam Giffen announced that she had met with the head of facilities, as well as Vice President Lawrence Behan to discuss the addition of five “hydration stations” around campus - including in the Feigenbaum Center for Science and Innovation, as well as Murdock Hall. Hy-

dration stations are simply water fountains that have spaces to fill up a bottle with filtered water.

“We knew that [hydration stations were] an issue that we could have worked with the administration on while in office,” SGA President Tim Williams said. “We started off wanting to add just one to the science center, and we got five.”

Williams was grateful regarding the school administration’s willingness and ability to work with them on the hydration station issue, among other things. Next for the administration is to just go out and listen to what the constituency around campus wants, similar to State sen.

Ben Downing’s “Coffee and Conversation” template of meeting with the voters and hearing their voice.

“I’m going to start a ‘listening tour’ because I want to hear what the students want,” Williams said. “We’re repre-

sentatives of the students, not the other way around.”

Although Williams understands that, as SGA president, it’s his obligation to focus on what the students want, Williams personally wants to tackle low voter turnout for student elections.

SGA as a whole wants to focus on increased student and club interaction among the student body.

Executive Vice President Shannon Esposito broke precedent for her Senator of the Week award, giving it to four different senators: Siobhan Greene, Maggie Allen, John Kelly, and Secretary Rebecca Godbout. The multiple awards given were for the senators’ heavy involvement in the 39th Annual Sam Gomez Race, which had 84 runners total - 26 of which were MCLA students. Compared to last year’s Sam Gomez race, which had two MCLA students run.

Other business around SGA includes the first Class of 2017 meeting set for Thursday at 6:30 p.m. in the CSI Atrium, the club adviser meeting set for Friday, Oct. 28 from 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m., the Fall day of Service on Saturday. Oct. 22, and Campus Conversations on Race on Thursdays in the Sullivan Lounge at 8 p.m.

those in line by 9 p.m. permitted to vote. Vermont polls from 5 a.m. to 7 p.m., with voters in line by 7 p.m. permitted to vote.

Note: If you are voting for the first time in either of these states, you might be required to show some ID. because of this, all three states recommend that you carry a valid photo ID, such as a license or State ID card, and something that shows your name and address, such as a utility bill, bank statement, paycheck or government check.

Take advantage of early voting If you can’t vote in person and don’t want to get an absentee ballot, be sure to take advantage of early voting! In Massachusetts, early voting takes place between Oct. 24 and Nov. 4. Specifically in North Adams, early voting takes place in city hall from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday during those times, with extended hours taking place Oct. 29, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. An early voter in Massachusetts is allowed to change their vote election day.

Be sure to check out your state website, as rules vary for who qualifies for early voting, and some states, like New York, do not permit noexcuse early voting at all.

GOLD Continued from Page 1 building incorporates is the design of the air handling system. The system features variable speed drives that self-regulate its usage and changes energy consumption based on what is needed. This prevents the system from running at full drive continuously, saving energy when it can.

Other features include high efficiency lighting and lighting controls, a roof garden, photovoltaics, heat wheels to recover energy, and chilled beams to move air without fans.

With this award MCLA now has two LEED certified buildings- CSI and Bowman Hall.

“I am very excited that MCLA made a commitment to use USGBC and LEED design principles when planning the construction,” Birge said. “Both facilities are examples of building excellent teaching and learning environments that honor the intersection between environmental consciousness and modern design.”

Behan compared the construction process of CSI to an LED light bulb. Designing with green principles is initially more expensive, but the cost to run the building is much lower than if they used common practices. A LED light bulb is more expensive than a regular light bulb at the initial purchase but saves money in with its energy saving design.

LEED certification uses a point system that addresses many areas of sustainability issues.

The number of points received determines the project’s rating: Certified, Silver, Gold, and Platinum.

According to Behan, the process for getting certified begins with the initial design of the building. Those working on the project consciously decided that they would use green practices and incorporate suitability aspects into the building to achieve a LEED rating.

When USGBC comes to verify the suitability design aspects of a particular building, they require supporting documentation that proves what practices were used.

LEED considers a large number of factors when certifying projects including the amount of electricity saved, insulation, and water conservation.

Campus News

Thursday, October 20, 2016

Campus conversation on race continues

By Emily Gabert

Staff/Features Writer Campus Comments on Race (CCOR) aims to open a door for discussion on racial issues, while also allowing for the exchanges of ideas.

Established roughly eight years ago, the aim of CCOR is to bring attention to racial issues, while also teaching students and even faculty the proper techniques to mediate and facilitate talks on sensitive topics. Those involved look historically at these problems in America and on what is currently happening in our world today. Thomas Alexander, the CCOR coordinator, believes that respectful dialogue can make a strong impact on building solutions for various racial issues.

“We have some ground rules.

This isn’t a place where we yell at each other or debate,” said Alexander. “These ground rules are probably one of the most valuable tools that we use because it helps us deal with difficult topics...we’re usually taught that someone has to win and that someone has to lose...what about the possibility that we all have to exist together. Let’s put our best thinking on the table and allow everyone else to weigh in, and before you know it, we’ll come up with something that’s much stronger than the first piece we put on the table.”

Alexander also mentioned the importance of talking about everyone’s stories and their own experiences to help make everyone aware that there is still work to be done when it comes to racial issues. He believes to help distinguish the issues, people need to take time to work and

build from what’s going on. Alexander doesn’t think people can just sit back once something has been done. Things can always be better.

Although racial issues is the main focus of the program, other issues involving gender and even sexuality are talked about as these topics are still facing a lot of the same problems as well.

It helps make participants aware of more than just one social issue.

“In these dialogues we find these other issues that relate to gender, age, where you grew up, and a variety of things is discovered,” said Alexander. “From that point we look at not only helping us understand that we have work to do, but that final phase, is now okay, what do we do about it? How can we be apart of the solution? How do we reduce prejudice in ourselves and others?”

The group comes together to begin brainstorming actions that they can perform to help create solutions. Over the years, CCOR participants have expressed wanting more time to help act on their solutions.

Starting this year, the group is meeting two times a week.

Thursdays are a day of conversations in Sullivan Lounge at 8 and 9 p.m., where everyone is invited to come and join in conversation. Fridays from 3-4:30 p.m. are focused on finding activities that CCOR can do to help reduce prejudice and educate people. Alexander mentioned having an activity in the Campus Center Marketplace where the group would host a free-form event where those that are passing by, can learn what the group is all about, and

even have the possibility to participate.

Students involved in CCOR have found the program to be beneficial, and they have learned a lot since becoming involved. Samantha Hamilton, ‘18, has been active in the program since her freshman year and has credited the group with helping her become a much more well-rounded person.

“I wanted to be a part of CCOR because I wanted to be more educated on topics like race and intersectionality,” Hamilton explained. “I have learned about race, culture, and how to have a constructive dialogue with lots of meaningful conversation and solution based discussions. I feel so much more rounded in my character and I am glad to be a part of CCOR and feel like I am really making a positive difference.”

Falyn Elhard, ‘18, joined the program last year and has also found it to be helpful with letting her voice her views, while also having the opportunity to show presentations to the community of North Adams about these social issues.

“I felt that it would provide a forum in which I could discuss my frustrations and desire to take action and make a difference with regards to race relations,” Falyn expressed, “and how we conceive race within our society.”

Campus Comments on Race is open to any interested members of the campus community, and those who want to learn more are encouraged to join the group on Thursdays.

You can also email Thomas Alexander for more information.

Beacon.MCLA.edu

3

FPA professor to receive Friend of Art Education of the Year Award

By Mitchell Chapman Managing Editor

Fine and Performing Arts professor Lisa Donovan has been selected as the recipient of the Friend of Art Education of the Year award at the 2016 Massachusetts Art Education Association (MAEA) Conference.

According to the MAEA Awards Committee, Donovan was selected because of her “passion and dedication to creative learning and the arts, for the great work she does in the field of art education, and for her contributions to teaching and learning in Massachusetts.”

The award recognizes “a community member who broadens access to the arts to a wider population, supports and advocates for community arts programming, and assists with partnerships and materials,” according to the award nomination form. The conference is titled “Redefining Art Education,” and will be held Nov. 12 at Lesley University in Cambridge, Mass. Other award recipients include Katherine Douglas of Middleboro, Mass. (Art Educator of the Year), Lisa B. Flore of Lesley University (Higher Education Art Educator of the Year), and Andrea Green of Framingham, Mass. (Community Arts Educator of the Year).

The MAEA awards were decided on from a pool of nominees submitted at the end of May. All but two MAEA awards required nominees to be members of MAEA, or its affiliate, the National Art Education Association (NAEA; Massachusetts’ professional association for art educators, according to iBerkshires), with Friend of Arts Education being one of the exceptions.

At the time of publication, Donovan was out of state, in Iowa, on a research trip, and was unable to be reached for comment.

According to her profile on

Photo from mcla.edu

Professor Lisa Donovan MCLA’s website, Donovan was the director of creative arts in the learning division of Lesley University before coming to MCLA. She has experience at the following outlets: Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, the Berkshire Opera Company, Barrington Stage Company, University of Massachusetts Department of Theater, as well as Boston University’s Theater, Visual Arts, and Tanglewood Institutes. Donovan has been with the institution since 2012.

According to their mission statement, MAEA exists “to advance high quality visual arts education throughout the state by empowering art educators to excel in the practice, instruction, promotion, and celebration of visual art.”

Past recipients of the Friend of Arts Education award include Jocelyn Almy-Testa of Lynn, Mass.

(2015), Deborah Simmerman of the Massachussetts College of Art and Design (2014), Jonathan Rappaport of Boston, Mass. (2013) and Bhakti Oza of Sargent Art (2012).

The first MAEA Art Educators of the Year awards recognized The Boston Globe, former Senator Stephen Brewer and Crayola National Account Manager Robert Kenyon as friends of art education; the only time the award has been awarded to more than one person.

Question 2: Voters must consider outside charter law, public school funds

By Nick Tardive Staff Writer

On Nov. 8, registered voters in Massachusetts will make a decision about whether or not to approve Question 2; the measure would add 12 new charter schools around the state each year, effectively lifting the state’s cap of 120 charter schools.

The proposed law would also cap expanded charter school enrollment at no more than one percent of the aggregate public school total each year.

Massachusetts has had a noticeable success with its charter school programs, with regulations around the application, approval and performance review processes being much more stringent than other states. However, that extra scrutiny could be attributed to the cap on the amount of charter schools allowed in the state. According to a story written by Michigan Live: “Massachusetts education leaders cite the strict standards as a pos-

sible reason the state has only one for-profit management company that runs three charter schools.

Roughly 61 percent of Michigan’s 300 charter schools are run by forprofit ventures.”

In late August, John Oliver released a segment on his HBO political comedy show Last Week Tonight, highlighting the devastating possibilities of charter schools being run secretly, not so secretly, by for-profit businesses.

ProPublica released two in-depth stories regarding charter schools, in New York and North Carolina respectively. In the case of the former, the Buffalo United Charter School hired a for-profit accounting firm (National Heritage Association) to handle the school’s finances. The for-profit company then began to spend the charter’s money without much oversight from the school itself. Charter-management companies use this process, called a “sweep” contract, to siphon off anywhere from 95 to 100 percent of the

school’s public funding.

In North Carolina, things were much worse. Baker Mitchell, proprietor of four charter schools in the state, got in on the ground floor for charter school initiatives. In 2000 he opened up Charter Day School. He also owns the charter management company that runs the schools’ finances. Also, according to ProPublica: “The schools buy or lease nearly everything from companies owned

by Mitchell. Their desks. Their computers. The training they provide their teachers…Unlike with traditional school districts, there’s no competitive bidding. No evidence of haggling over rent or contracts.”

Mitchell, who fought to remove the cap on charter school growth in NC not only got what he wanted, but was then placed on Charter School Advisory Council. In 2013, NC further loosened regulation and oversight on charter school initiatives.

While Massachusetts may cur-

rently only have one for-profit charter-management company operating but three schools, Mass General Law Chap. 71 Sec. 89 paragraph E suggests the state’s only allusion to aforementioned for-profits: “The board shall establish the information needed in an application for the approval of a charter school; provided that application shall include, but not be limited to, a description of…a proposed arrangement or contract with an organization that shall manage or operate the school, including any proposed or agreed upon payments to such organization.”

Although Massachusetts has been relatively lucky regarding for-profits making money on public education, the proposed cap-lift in Question 2 could lead to problems further on down the road, simply due to the everincreasing number of charter schools in the state.

Aditionally Paul Sagan, who is the Chair for the Mass. Board of

Elementary and Secondary Education – the body that has ultimate say in whether or not to approve charter school applications – donated $100,000 to the Campaign for Fair Access to Quality Public Schools, which supports voting Yes on Question 2.

Critics of Question 2 also raise concerns with the amount of money being funneled into public charter schools despite the lack of local oversight on how the schools are run. Save Our Public Schools MA says that $450 million is already being diverted from the state budget.

The Massachusets state budget will be spending nearly $7 billion on charter schools in 2017.

Six percent, $450 million, would be going to 81 charter schools around the country; or about $5.5 million per school. Whereas traditional public schools (TPS) run slightly over the 1800 mark using the other 94 percent of the budget – or $3.77 million per school.

4

Thursday, October 20, 2016

Opinion & Editorial

Editorial

The Beacon

Does MCLA need a diversity task force?

Yes

President James Birge announced Thursday, Oct. 13 a new Diversity Task Force comprised of five faculty members, four students and four staff members. The task force was designed to administer a “campus climate survey,” that ideally will give Birge a better understanding of student needs and how to better set the College up to accommodate diverse students.

In 2015 the College’s website reported 62 percent of its students to be female and 30 percent as “coming from diverse backgrounds.”

In North Adams a 2013 census shows that 89.7 percent of the population identifies as being white. If the College were to bring more ethnic diversity, it’s likely the town would also benefit.

Diversity, whether it be in terms of background, culture, race or gender, has shown to improve workplace outcomes, according to Workforce.com, Business Insider, the American Banker, and countless other sources. In education scholars like those featured in Our Compelling Interests: The Value of Diversity for Democracy and a Prosperous Society, argue that more

diversity in higher education gives students access to more perspectives and ideas, and also creates new scenarios that contribute to their ability to problem solve. Not only does diversity benefit students, but it also benefits society as a whole by creating a more equal playing field.

The real question is whether or not a simple climate survey or task force will build upon MCLA’s diversity. It certainly has the potential to if the administration takes negative feedback and responds to it. Anecdotally students-whether students from the LGBTQAI community who have been fighting for years for gender neutral bathrooms, and the opportunity to change names throughout outlook and their ID’s and only recently succeeded, or the many students of color who come to MCLA and discover that their professors, peers, and North Adams itself has little experience beyond the rural, white bubble—seem to have a lot of concerns that could be addressed.

Let’s embrace this taskforce and encourage the administration to make impactful change.

Beacon.MCLA.edu

No

Obviously diversity is important in creating an effective and intelligent discourse. Getting a wide variety of experiences and backgrounds adds new viewpoints to the conversation. Recently President Birge reestablished a Diversity Task Force to look into “how other institutions have effectively created diverse and inclusive communities” according to an email he sent out. His intent is to sense the feeling on campus about the inclusiveness of MCLA and how to make the College more diverse.

With groups, organizations, and clubs such as the African Student Association, Asian and American Union, Black Student Union, Latin American Society, Multicultural Student Society, Queer Student Union, Students Taking Action for Gender Equality and so on it would appear as if inclusive is exactly what this school already is. Programs such as Conversations on Race and specific spaces like the Susan B. Anthony Women’s Center and The Multicultural Center, as well as recent hires like the Coordinator of Academic Success and Diversity further accentuate the point.

MCLA is already more diverse than the state of Massachusetts it resides in. The college is 74 percent white according to collegeboard.org while the state reports the same category at 83.2 percent. That shouldn’t matter though, right? Becoming more diverse would only help the

College, right? Of course, but there are more pressing matters MCLA should work on especially considering how diverse this year’s freshman class was in comparison to the previous one.

Instead of focusing on a task force that is much more headline-prone, the College should double efforts on improving the retention rate. The College reports that in 2010, 74 percent of MCLA students of the previous year’s freshman returned for their sophomore year. Higheredinfo. org reports that the rate of freshman returning for their sophomore year in 2010 in the state of Massachusetts was 83.9 percent and the national average was 77.1 percent. That’s a ten point discrepancy. Now if you only include public colleges, the state figure drops to about 80 percent, but that is still a significant difference.

And even some who return for sophomore year don’t graduate from this College. MCLA reports in their 2014-2015 Data Highlights that only 52 percent of students who joined in the fall of 2006 and graduated by 2012. Higheredinfo.org reports that the state average for graduating in six years in 2009 was nearly 70 percent. As a small college, retention and enrollment should go hand in hand. Getting a diverse class to come here is excellent and important but getting them to stay here is equally, if not more, important.

“How do you feel about the clown sightings?”

The Beacon is published Thursdays during the academic year and is distributed free to the College’s community. The Beacon is funded by the Student Government Association, the English/Communications department, and ad revenues. Single copies are free, additional copies may be purchased at 50 cents each.

Contact information: News desk number: 413-662-5535 Business number: 413-662-5404 Email: 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.

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 emailed 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 emailed 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.

Editorial Board Editor-in-Chief Harmony Birch Web Editor Managing Editor Jake Mendel Mitchell Chapman Design Editor Adam Sams A&E Editor Features Editor Jon Hoel Joseph Carew Copy Chief Buisness Lauren Levite Manager Photography Editor Reagan Smith Domonique Ackley Video Editor Dan Wohler

Staff

Staff Writers Emily Gabert Nick Tardive Kelsey Kistner Sports Writer

Brady Gerow

Photographers and Videographers Shunquell Dennis Sam Kniskern

Cartoonist

Samwise Fox

A&E Writers

“I’ve never been terrified of clowns even if they are creepy. I feel like if they are appearing we should be informed more.”

- Tramel Griffith, 2017

“I’m glad I haven’t run into one.”

- Kayla LaVoice, 2017

“Well I think they could be real, and there is speculation on if they are real or not, but I’m not sure.”

- James Swinchoski, 2018

Ronald Leja Chris Riemer Emma Monahan

Copy Editors

Advisers

Ayrel Brosnan Nick Webb

Jenifer Augur Shawn McIntosh

Online at: Beacon.MCLA.edu

Facebook.com/MCLABeacon Twitter.com/TheBeacon_MCLA

“I wasn’t informed on the subject enough and I feel like campus police should tell us more.”

- Katie Murray, 2017

“I thought they were a lie, but it is terrifying.”

- Lyna Benantar, 2018

Photos by Domonique Ackley

“It’s scary man, I hate clowns.”

- Sebastián Conrad, 2017

Opinion & Editorial

Thursday, October 20, 2016

Columns

xkcd - 1403

Letter to the Editor:

h ee

l

LETTER Continued on page 9

W

Party Loyalty in the year of Trump Last week staff writer Nick Tardive addressed the issue of Donald Trump and his relationship to the Republican Party.

Tardive argued that the Republicans, who have recently denounced Donald Trump should have done so much earlier- that they should have done so from the beginning. Makes sense right?

Not so much.

This argument lacks practicality because of the party structure in America. The two parties in our country attempt to demand loyalty from its members, especially those that are elected to office and work in the party. I fall into the second class of individuals. I was elected in August as the chair of my hometown’s Republican Town Committee.

Democratic and Republican Town Committees, along with their State and National Committees, are required to endorse the nominee of the party.

On the other hand, elected officials receive money, support, and power through their partiesDemocrat and Republican alike.

All of these are important to reelection and so what honorable Democrat or Republican would deny another politician the same support that they receive? This is especially relevant when it comes to a Governor or President.

I agree Donald Trump makes some disgusting statements, but yes we Republicans have to hold our tongues because loyalty is important in a party whether times are good or bad. Democrats are telling Republicans not to be loyal to their party, but telling Democrats that they have to be loyal to their party. That is the hypocritical rhetoric that they are pushing. Even when emails were leaked showing that the

5

Beacon.MCLA.edu

Sp n i

Joseph Carew Features Editor Mitchell Chapman

Managing Editor

A

Curious Case of

REDRUM

The value of critique In the art world, there is nothing worse than a yes-man. To do art professionally, albeit through writing, film, theatre, video games, etc., you have to get good.

Criticism can sting, especially for new artists. Some critics are also not as courteous as they should be, and this especially rings true in the age of the internet.

However, the alternative to criticism, directionless praise, can be far more damaging to an artist’s career than some inconvenient truths. Say what you will about critique, but good critics will break down your art into its basic elements, pointing out what works and doesn’t work as established by the codes and conventions of the form you’re working with.

A great critic will go beyond that, not only explaining what works and what doesn’t, but why it is that way. This is valuable information to an aspiring artist, as it gives them a roadmap of what to troubleshoot in their craft.

If a critic fails to tell you how they came to their conclusions, or has visible flaws in their analysis of

your work, you are free to ignore them. This also rings true for the not-so-courteous critics on the blogosphere, though good critique can also be found buried under their unprofessionalism.

A good rule of thumb as an artist, or a professional in general, is that if someone makes a valid point against your work, take it into consideration, and do the best you can going forward. If they make a valid point for your work, great job!

Keep it up.

Critics want to see good work.

It brings us no joy in experiencing bad art.

An artist can either use critique as a tool to build themselves up, or a means to be broken down.

Rejecting invalid criticism and accepting valid critique is vital to getting where you want to be as an artist.

Chances are, a critic will see something in your art you missed, and you will be stronger for it.

The worst thing you can do is lash out at criticism. It is never a fight worth having, and its very easy to be in the wrong.

Life and Death in Formula 1 How much is your life worth to you? Can you put a price tag on something like that? Let me put it differently. If you were to have a job where making a simple mistake can put your life on the line, how much would it take for you to continue? Of course there are numerous jobs where accidental deaths occur, but since this is an automotive column, let’s focus on racing careers.

It had been about two decades since someone had died in Formula 1 when driver Jules Bianchi went off track and collided violently with a recovery vehicle at the 2014 Japanese Grand Prix. Bianchi had slowed significantly, but couldn’t stop the car as it fast approached the 3-ton vehicle.

The safety regulations for this sport are enormous and have been incredibly effective in preventing disaster, but this incident proves that there is still that danger. Whether they think about it or not, these drivers get into a carbon fiber missile and push it to the most extreme limits around sharp bends.

However, their pay can be quite substantial; the salaries for these drivers according to

totalsportek.com vary between $185,000 and $50 million including bonuses. And they are world famous (maybe not so much in the United States but certainly in Europe) individuals who are living their dreams. They travel around the globe, doing what they love, and risking their lives.

In the past 65 years , 81 of their predecessors have passed away while in a Formula 1 car according to for mu l a 1 - d i c t i on ar y. n e t .

That is a horrifying figure, but you are obviously far less likely to die now than in the 1950s or 1960s (eras where drivers died in staggering numbers).

I cannot believe anyone raced in those decades considering that almost one driver died per Grand Prix.

Even though now it seems like the chance is significantly smaller, it is still there. There is a risk at every race and in every corner and at every start. I had thought that those who took a career in Formula 1 were crazy lucky to get the chance to race at the pinnacle of motorsport, but, even considering the money, they might all just be a little crazy.

6

Thursday, october 20, 2016

Arts & Entertainment

Nick Cave’s “Until” displays hundreds of gorgeous ornaments hung precariously by fishhooks from the ceiling.

Beacon.MCLA.edu

Photo by Shunquell Dennis / The Beacon

Nick Cave’s “Until” reception

By Jon Hoel A&E Editor

It was a glorious, excited and moderately somber crowd that received Nick Cave at the reception for his new exhibition at MASS MoCA, “Until” a theatrical and massive scale response to racism, through flawed paradisaical landscape.

The reception was fully loaded—hundreds of people crowded into MoCA’s Building 5, which will hold the Cave exhibit. The exhibit plans to double as a performance space, for poets, musicians and performing artists.

Indeed, during the opening reception, a soprano performed a moving response to the art piece, a wordless blues, with accompaniment on organ.

The exhibit begins with

a question: Is there racism in heaven? It then leads you down, through a meadow of lawn ornaments, metallic and infused with images of guns and bullets—immediately catching a lump in your throat.

After traversing the maze of metal, you arrive at the cloud—a gigantic crystal chandelier. The chandelier is surrounded by yellow ladders that ascend to the heavens.

Because of the volume of the reception, there were some hectic lines to climb, but on a Photo by Jon Hoel / The Beacon regular day at the Artist Nick Cave greets a fan at the reception for museum, there will “Until”.

be more ease of access.

The heavens were quite a sight, complete with a foliage embroidered gramophone and caricature blackface lawn figure horse jockey. It’s a subtle piece in its inferences, but massive in content, there are literally so many trinkets and knick-knacks and all with importance and significance.

Upon the descent from the heavens, there is a tangle of coiled ropes, webbed around like batting cage netting, dressed in all sorts of colors.

Through the netted enclosure is the finale—large wall mu-

rals of eyes-within-eyes and a wonderful visual interpretation of various racist imagery, with ambient accompaniment and a beautiful strobing-effect on the floor.

The exhibit is lavish and beautiful. Cave is no foreigner to large scale projects, as he is arguably best known for his “Soundsuits” the sculptural forms based on the body.

Soundsuits disguises the form, masquerading and curating an outer layer of skin that conceals race, gender, and class, challenging the audience to look without judgment.

While “Until” certainly doesn’t best “Soundsuits” as his magnum opus, it is an absolutely wonderful exhibition that is not to be missed. It will surely join the ranks of the best exhibits to be featured at MoCA.

Inside “outside” art gallery North Adams art gallery highlights new artists and local artists.

By Chris Riemer A&E Writer

On Ashland street near the center of town, there is a collection of buildings, mostly closed businesses now for rent.

Among the empty storefronts, next to a health food store, is another nearly blank exterior.

Small white letters spell “outside,” in the lower right corner of a street-facing window.

Inside, the floor is a light blue and grey linoleum, with natural wood furniture and bright lighting more zen than clinical. Almost everything else is white, except the art: Joyce Zavorskas’s Measure, a collection of paintings and monotype prints depicting coastal landscapes and marshlands in a state of constant flux.

Zavorskas’s artist

statement describes these marshlands as “visual diaries of metamorphosis,” appropriate for the sense of motion and fluidity in her work. The abstract coastal paintings on the walls succeed at evoking this motion: some include sand or marsh grass, and in many the texture of the canvas peeks through Zavorskas’s wide swishes of paint.

Zavorskas lives in Cape Cod, but the gallery’s focus is not on locality. The previous exhibiting artist, Yoko Naito, grew up in Japan and lives in Tokyo. Photographs from past exhibitions indicate a careful eye for picking artists whose work complements the minimal space.

Samwise Fox, ‘17, who has worked for outside Gallery since June, originally came to the space as an intern for Downstreet Art. “[Outside] was originally

Photo by Chris Riemer The interior of the outside Gallery, with its various pieces on display, the spaciousness adds to the general aesthetic of the gallery. part of Downstreet Art’s Creative haven’t had a solo exhibition from a conversation with Gus Business Incubator program,” here.”

Van Sant. she said. “I was placed here to If the current exhibit is not Come to admire the art, organize it and let it run.” of interest to you, it is still worth pursue art catalogs you are Minimalist is not the only checking out the rack of artistic unlikely to find anywhere else, or thing exhibiting artists have in literature just inside the gallery. just for a hushed, contemplative common. The gallery seeks out There are fascinating and place to sit for a little while. artists who have not gotten the rare photography magazines Joyce Zavorskas’s exhibit exposure they deserve in the like the Korean “Magazine is on view until Oct.31, at United States.

Gitz,” various zines including which point photographer and “The artists are from all the long-running Brooklyn bi- videographer Marc Ganzglass over the world,” Fox explained. weekly Packet, and oddities will take over the space.

“What we try to exhibit at such as a booklet of photographs Outside Gallery is located outside Gallery are artists who interspersed with fragments at 10 Ashland Street.

Thursday, october 20, 2016

Arts & Entertainment

Beacon.MCLA.edu

“Best of Everything” starts FPA season strong

By Emma Monahan A&E Writer

FPA’s performance of The Best of Everything debuted this last week from Oct. 12-15. Set in the 1950s, Caroline Bender, played by junior Alex Sasso, has recently began her new life at Fabian Publishing in New York City as a secretary after her ex fiancé, Eddie, played by freshman Mo Robblee, left her for a women in Dallas. He wishes her “the best of everything,” in a departing letter in the beginning of the play, and soon Caroline is in the whirlwind of New York.

Before the play began, audience members took their seats in the middle section of Venable Theater.

The stage was set up with two rows of six desks, and a lard desk in the middle up on a podium. Throughout the play and during certain scenes, the stage set up was able to create different “rooms” and “offices” throughout the story, while also being able to see what was going on outside closed doors.

The props on the secretaries’ desks reflected the time period with typewriters, old spin dial phones, as well as an old Life magazine. Behind the stage, a sheer platform stood as the backdrop, reflecting the image of a window, that changed color for different scenes, or turning into an elevator with a single light and sound effects.

Photo by Domonique Ackley

The cast of “The Best of Everything” admire a racy gift received by Mary Agnes Russo played by Junior Ella Lafontant.

The ‘50s music set the scene, and the costumes that actors and actresses really brought to life the ‘50s feel of it all. The girls wore dresses ranging from vibrant to natural colors, and their hair look as though they had curlers in throughout most of the morning and afternoon, but they reflected the style from the 50s so effortlessly.

Junior Maggie Winslow’s character, April Morrison, was a

big part of the humor throughout the whole production. Although it is hard to give a set drama to The Best of Everything, Winslow’s character was able to make the audience laugh with her childlike persona of a new girl to the city.

While sitting with Caroline on their first day of work, April simple asks her out of the blue, “Are you a virgin?” getting quite a few laughs from the audience.

Sasso was able to bring a

new type of protagonist to the stage, one that is strong willed and knows what they want. Going from a secretary to an editor was an ambition that Caroline had from the beginning, and you couldn’t help but watch and hope that she would reach her goals, despite the time period.

One topic that was common throughout the play was women’s rights, as well as feminism. While women were much oppressed in

the ‘50s, this play was also able to show how things still have not changed within our society.

Caroline is sexually harassed at work by her employer, ultimately saved by a friend who walks in at the right time, and although it is one quick scene at the end of the play, it’s something that sticks because it is a problem that is still dealt with today.

Two major character changes happened during the play. Sweet and humble April gets pregnant from her boyfriend, and after the abortion, she turns into a women that doesn’t seem to care about marriage or a future, and goes on random dates with men she just wants a drink out of.

Gregg Adams, played by senior Virvioly Valdez, is a confident actress who falls for an actor, although she won’t really admit it, soon comes to a major downfall when she finds the man she loves with another women, she sadly faces her death while spying on the two.

These major changes with the characters really affect a viewer, because one just hopes the best for them.

The Best of Everything was a play that made you feel every sort of emotion: happiness, sadness, joy, frustration, envy.

It was the kickoff for FPA’s Theater Programs this year, Henry V will be Nov. 16-19, and was a sneak peak of what’s to come this year.

MCLA Presents! on hiatus until 2017 season

By Ron Leja A&E Writer

For the past 12 years, MCLA Presents! has provided both the town of North Adams, as well as the MCLA campus, with a bounty of live performances from across the country. The series has been utilized to showcase not only world-renowned artists, but the creative works and stylings of MCLA students. However, this year the curtain has been cast, and the decision has been made to grant the series a hiatus during the 2016-2017 academic year.

MCLA Presents! is one of many local projects put in place by the Berkshire Cultural Resource Center (The BCRC).

Composed of MCLA, the city of North Adams and MASS MoCA, the BCRC’s objective is to promote cultural growth throughout the northern Berkshires by providing opportunities, resources and support to those within the artistic community. Some of the BCRCs other projects include Gallery 51, Down Street Art, and the Berkshire Hills Internship Program.

In the past, MCLA Presents! has included a wide variety of performance arts, including musical productions, dance

troupes, and theatrics. However, predicting which acts will draw a substantial crowd is not always an easy task, and what may or may not be considered a popular art form can be expected to change over time.

Michelle Daly, local artist and acting director of MCLA Presents!, hopes that the break will allow the series enough time to better understand their audience.

“Last year we implemented an online ticketing system,” Daly explained. “It allowed us to capture some data, and break down our audiences, and at times we were a little surprised. We found that some events that we thought would be better attended really weren’t, and others that we didn’t think would bring in much

of a student audience actually did.”

Throughout the years, MCLA Presents! has proven itself to be a hit or miss affair.

While some acts may draw in a large crowd, others may not be as widely attended, the results of which have given the BCRC ample reason to re-evaluate the series before deciding on whether or not to move forward.

“Part of what we hope to gain through the break is a better understanding what it is that people are actually interested in as far as artistic performance,” Cynthia Brown, vice president of Academic Affairs, stated. “What people want will naturally change over time, and you may draw an audience for things today that you won’t five years from now and

vice versa.”

The BCRC staff wants to ensure that the type of programming that is being offered is consistently accepted as being both interesting and relevant among the series’ potential participants. Likewise, they feel that future investments should pertain to artists that students and the general community want to experience first-hand.

“We want to build a consistent series audience,” Daly clarified. “The goal is to maintain a level of engagement that will get student’s interested in the series, not just a single event, whether they are familiar with the program or not.”

Admittedly, the BCRC is also currently battling a tough budget year. Several smaller, more cost

7

effective events have since been utilized in order to fill the void, and could potentially become an overall better route for the BCRC. The Levitt AMP concert series for example, has proven to be a relatively successful alternative to MCLA Presents!, and last year’s Figment Art Festival was considered a huge success.

“If we’re putting on events that are good, but no one is interested in them, then we haven’t met our mission,” Brown went on to say. “That’s not the best investment of limited dollars, and there are other programs that we were surprised did as well as they did. The hiatus came at a time where we needed to reduce the expenses of BCRC, but still maintain the programs and events that we thought pertained to the mission. In the end, I think we all were comfortable with the choices made.”

By January, BCRC hopes to have discussed the future of MCLA Presents! further, as well as reach a definitive answer as to the fate of the series.

Regardless, the overarching goal is to provide students and locals alike with interesting, engaging performances, if not through MCLA Presents!, then under another title or program.

Features 8 Local Scenic Railway focuses on history, views Thursday, October 20, 2016

Beacon.MCLA.edu

By Joseph Carew Features Editor

The slight hum of the engine fills the passenger compartment as the stragglers finally take their seats. Nostalgia for some, excitement for others, the mid morning Hoosac valley train tour was nearly filled with at least three generations of leaf peepers, tourists, and locals when I took a seat.

The single passenger car (a Budd RDC 1 for those railroad buffs) slowly exited its station (made up of another passenger car and a green caboose) behind the Brien Center in North Adams and joined the tracks that lie behind Serenitea and the Flagg Townhouses.

A mix of very soft classical music and 50s era soft rock hangs in the air as two old friends comment on my jotting down of notes.

“He’s writing with his whole hand,” one says to another. “I don’t see that often.”

The Berkshire Scenic Railway Museum operates scenic and family-friendly train rides between North Adams and Adams. Worked exclusively by volunteers, the hour long journey costs $12 for an adult ticket for the standard trip but

Photo by Joseph Carew/The Beacon

The Berkshire Scenic Railway takes customers on a historical trip from North Adams to Adams. specialty rides like the Hoosac Valley Legends Train and the upcoming Christmas themed ride will cost $20 and $18, respectively.

The interior evokes a time long since past when this very railway line was used by commuters to get to the factories in the town of Adams.

In place of the advertisements typically seen on rail cars,

original marketing posters for the Budd Company mark the walls. The compartment is filled with history.

The ride crosses main roads as the announcer talks about the proper procedure for crossing when there hasn’t been a train on this track in a while. A staff member gets off the car and flags traffic on the road. 2 long horn blasts followed by a short and a

long blast echo in the valley as the train starts the crossing the road. Two toots signify that the flagman has rejoined the ride and the RDC 1 lurches forward on down the line.

On either side of the tracks are remnants of factories and all the structures associated with a prosperous train city. The rail line, the conductor informs me, used to extend south to Pittsfield

but was ripped up all the way to Adams and replaced by the Ashuwillticook Rail Trail. This path has been paved over and is open to residents and visitors alike for walking and biking.

The narration by one of the conductors provides insight into the history of the region mixed with anecdotes from his time at, what was then, North Adams State Teachers College.

The humor and history dotted throughout provides a context for those not from the area and the conductor’s background in geology certainly influences his comments.

The passengers are witnesses to plentiful views of the Hoosac range to the East and the Taconic Range to the West as well as a clear view of Mt. Greylock but the presence of trees and structures close to the rails hinders the experience.

The more traditional scenic rides will continue until the end of October. Picking back up on the last weekend in November, this service will serve Christmas themed rides every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday until the Dec. 18.

For more information please visit their website: http://www. ho os ac va l le yt rainr ide.com/ index.php.

Mathematics department adds professor Kiley

By Joseph Carew Features Editor

New Hampshire native Professor Erin Kiley joins the College’s math department as an Assistant Professor commanding two introduction to statistics classes as well as a differential equations and a calculus three course. This is her first time handling a full workload of four classes per semester.

“The students haven’t killed me yet so I think I’m all right,” Kiley said. “I don’t know, I think that teaching math at a liberal arts school maybe may not make me the most popular with all my students, so I mean if they’re getting concepts and if they’re getting something they can use in the real world, out of the class, then I’m happy with that.”

Changing Gears

Kiley last taught as a grad student at Worchester Polytechnic Institute (WPI), a primarily engineering school and noticed a dramatically different atmosphere upon coming here.

“I kind of came in running because the last place I taught, where I did my PhD, was an engineering school and the students there, even if they didn’t come in with a strong math background they were all going to be engineers someday,” Kiley said. “But for students who are majoring in the liberal arts, for many of them, this, the class that I’m teaching, may be their first and last math course at the college level, so I think that the goals are totally different.”

After Kiley sensed an almost-mutinous feeling early on she reorganized and restructured in order to better fit MCLA, beliveing the class’s structure had to change in order to better serve her students.

“The goals are not to strengthen their math skills, the goals are to give them something that they can take away that

“I don’t know, I think that teaching math at a liberal arts school maybe may not make me the most popular with all my students, so I mean if they’re getting concepts and if they’re getting something they can use in the real world, out of the class, then I’m happy with that.”

--Professor Erin Kiley they can use in their lives after this,” Kiley said. “And I think they’ve all been going well. The math majors here are just the sweetest bunch of kids and there’s very few of them so it’s a pretty tight knit bunch.”

Another difference between where Kiley had been teaching and here seemed to be the students feelings towards gaining knowledge.

“So I found just a lot more of a general conscience and consciousness among the students here that I liked a lot,” she said.

“And I was impressed by that.”

Kiley remembered her experience as an undergraduate at the University of New Hampshire back when she had never left her own time zone.

“I was like a lot of students at the time, I was 17 years old and I didn’t really know what I wanted to do, I just knew that I was a big fish in a small pond, I did pretty well in school in this tiny town and I knew that smart people were able to do math so I should be able to do math,” Kiley said.

“So I knew that I wanted to do something in the arts and I’ve always really loved languages as well as math so I thought

I’ll just start taking classes in a language and maybe see if I can pick up a minor or something like that.”

But Kiley earned more than just a minor; she went on to achieve her Bachelor of Arts in Russian language.

“I was also like many incoming students in that I didn’t want early morning classes so when I looked at the course schedule I saw that like German was at 8 am and that French was at 9am. Russian was a nice little class at 10 am,” Kiley said.

“So I started taking Russian classes only because I was too lazy to wake up.”

And through being lazy, Kiley spent an extra year at the University of New Hampshire and left with that BA in Russian language as well as a Bachelors of Science in Mathematics and Statistics.

Abroad and Fulbright

“And in-between then I spent a semester in Moscow studying math at an institute that’s just dedicated to math, I spent a semester in Hungary before that and I spent a summer in Finland between the two,” Kiley said. “Once I got out of my time zone I kind of didn’t want to stop.”

It had taken about 20 years but Professor Kiley broke away from the eastern seaboard and landed in Europe where she could still study the same interests she had always loved.

“You can work on them from any office, anywhere in the world so I spent a couple of summers working in Switzerland between undergrad and grad school and my office happened to be right there in the Alps,” Kiley said. “I spent a year in the Russian provinces before grad school on a Fulbright scholarship and my office was in the Russian provinces; I mean it doesn’t matter where your office is you can think about these problems no matter where you are.”

The Fulbright Program offers U.S. citizens grants to study, teach, and conduct research abroad and for foreign citizens to travel to the United States for the same purpose.

Kiley, after finishing her undergraduate work, was still unsure of what she wanted to do with her life. Linguistics seemed to be her choice for a PhD program.

“That was the thing that I really loved was just not the study of particular languages, like learning how to speak them, but the study of what makes human language tick,” Kiley said. “And I got into a PhD program that offered full funding and I was ready to join it once I got back from my Fulbright in Russia.”

And her life might have been dramatically different had she taken this route. But the year was 2008 and the American economy crumbled to the point where Kiley had to rethink her choices.

“There was a period where Russia’s economy was stronger than ours by a huge measure and every time I went to the ATM my dollars were worth fewer and fewer rubles that I was taking out,” Kiley said.

KILEY Continued on Page 9

Campus Life

Thursday, October 20, 2016 HARDMAN Continued from Page 1

KILEY Continued from page 8

“There’s this stereotype that Americans just aren’t interested in international news,” Foukara said.

“I wonder if that’s a self-fulfilling prophecy.”

Foukara feels anecdotally that American’s crave international news.

During the 2004 election, an American couple came into Foukara’s office and asked if he’d ever been to Iowa.

“And I say why would I ever want to go to Iowa,” Foukara said.

He ended up driving two hours through the corn fields of Iowa in search of a place the couple had described to him. It was called Ekadara, a town named after Abd al-Qadir al-Jaza’iri which means ‘the servant of the one who is capable in Islam’.

The town was founded by a lawyer from New York State who was enamored with the character of Abd al-Qadir al-Jaza’iri. He was one of the soldiers who fought the French in the war in Algeria, which was in 1830.

“The interest that the media gave to the war in Algeria, I found

Foukara recounts covering the 2004 election. that extraordinary,” Foukara said.

“People in the United States at that time could hear in their press reports updates about that war happening thousands miles away.”

They thought it mirrored America’s own war for independence, according to Foukara.

During his speech, Foukara emphasized the importance of raising future journalists who embraced diversity.

“In my experience, journalism is one of the most fulfilling careers that you could seek,” he said to journalism students in the audience.

“It helps you understand the politics of your country and also opens your eyes to what’s happening outside of your country.”

She had to think about what would provide a little more security for her in a hurting economy.

“So I should have realized that it wouldn’t be that bad and that the PhD, you know is a long time so that would give some time to recover but in the absence of realizing those things I applied to grad school in math,” Kiley said.

“I applied to Worchester Polytechnic Institute because I had met a lot of people in the department before; I’d done a summer research program there in Computation Electromagnetics, so like modeling microwaves with computers.”

Kiley got into that program and regrets nothing about that decision. She stayed at WPI for her Master’s degree in Applied Mathematics and her Doctorate in Mathematical sciences and joins MCLA as one of 11 new members of faculty.

spent around three and a half years splitting life as a heroin addict, an addict in recovery, and someone who fully recovered. She explains that, within that time span, she previously spent at least a full year of it clean.

Although Audrey knows that her upbringing, and her family’s openness about addiction and recovery, helped light the fire that would lead to her own addiction, she knows that those same attitudes strengthened her resolve during the recovery process.

She moved first to Chicago looking for a “geographical cure.”

When none was found, Audrey made her way back to Florida.

However, she explains that it is very hard to find affordable treatment for addiction in Florida. It was even hard for her to find clean needles at times.

Audrey had a hard time buying needles on her own because of the “looks” that

she’d get as she walked into a drug store, whether the look be disgust or pity: people knew that she was a drug addict about to shoot up. “[But] when you’re getting high every day, you’re not going to not get high just because you have a dull needle,” Audrey said.

Her decision to clean up wasn’t out of hate for the drug, however. It was the aspect of her life outside of the heroin; having to wake up, stone-cold sober, sweating, or desperately trying to find a vein in her arm for “hours,” bleeding profusely from having stabbed herself in the arm dozens of times over.

“At some point you just look at your situation and decide… something’s gotta change,” Audrey said.

This piece is part of an ongoing series about Heroin addiction in North Adams. Look out next week for part two of Audrey’s story.

HEROIN Continued from Page 1 should be talked about, it’s using a needle for the first time,” Audrey says. “That’s what changes everything. I’ve heard it described like you just put down a bunch of luggage you didn’t even know you were carrying. It’s a button you push to feel fine about everything.”

Audrey is incredibly open about her time as a heroin addict. She reflects as if it’s no harder than looking in a mirror. However, like someone looking in a mirror, it can be hard to tell how closely they are scrutinizing their own image.

It is easy to tell that there is pain, however.

“I used to hear people in the sober house say, ‘We paid for our seats with misery,’” Audrey explains. “You have to keep [your] grief close. Or else, why did you even get clean in the first place?”

Six months clean now, Audrey

Photo by Mitchell Chapman/The Beacon

LETTER Continued from page 5

Submit artwork to Nathan Buchanan

by Nov. 1st!

Winner will receive a $25 Walmart gift card and a record of their choice from the station!

For more information, visit facebook.com/WJJWradio

DNC had rigged the primary election against Bernie Sanders, they demanded party unity and loyalty.

So let’s just take a step back.

The actual issues lie in the policy that our politicians support. So Kelly Ayotte’s and Paul Ryan’s stance on Donald Trump means nothing to the future of this nation. Both Ayotte and Ryan prioritize different policies and simply supported the Donald out of political necessity.

In the end, don’t let rhetoric decide your opinion of a politician or even a party because after Nov. 9, Donald Trump will probably be a small blip in American history. Kelly Ayotte, Paul Ryan, etc. will most likely remain leaders of one of America’s largest political parties.

Sincerely, Tyler Spencer

Beacon.MCLA.edu

9

Campus Safety Log Monday, Oct. 10.

11:29p.m. – Rendered services for a mental health issue in Berkshire Towers. Refer To Incident: 16-310-OF in Public Safety logs.

Tuesday, Oct. 11.

5:50p.m. – Responded to emergency phone call from the Callbox outside the Church Street Center.

6:13p.m. – Responded to accidental 911 hang-up call from the Advancement Office alarm.

Wednesday, Oct. 12.

12:00a.m. – 11:59p.m. – Rendered services for eight parking violations.

4:47p.m. – Closed case of Larceny / Forgery / Fraud in Venable Hall.

9:53p.m. – Responded to medical call from Berkshire Towers. Refer To Incident: 16313-OF in Public Safety logs.

Thursday, Oct. 13.

5:49p.m. – Completed previous investigation.

7:08p.m. – Rendered services to a 911 hang-up call from the Advancement Office.

7:59p.m. – Responded to medical call from Hoosac Hall.

Transported subject to hospital.

Refer To Incident: 16-314-OF in Public Safety logs.

9:14p.m. – Filed report on Larceny / Forgery / Fraud in Mark Hopkins Hall.

10:33p.m. – Investigated emergency phone call from the Callbox outside of Bowman Hall.

11:07p.m. – Investigated alarm in the Center for Science and Innovation.

Friday, Oct. 14.

2:04a.m. – Responded to emergency phone call from the Callbox outside of the Amsler Campus Center.

3:34a.m. – Issued citation or warning on Montana Street.

4:07p.m. – Completed follow up investigation at North Adams Police Department.

4:51p.m. – Filed report on vandalism in Venable Hall. Refer

To Incident: 16-316-OF in Public Safety logs.

5:43p.m. – Filed report on suspicious activity on Highland Ave. Refer To Incident: 16-317OF in Public Safety logs.

Saturday, Oct. 15.

2:13a.m. – Could not find suspicious activity reported.

12:12p.m. – Filed report on medical call from Venable Hall.

Refer To Incident: 16-318-OF in Public Safety logs.

12:23p.m. – Transported subject to hospital from Venable Hall. Refer To Incident: 16-319OF in Public Safety logs.

3:34p.m. – Responded to direct panic call from the Center for Science and Innovation using the Guardian app.

5:47p.m. – Filed report on suspicious activity in Bowman Hall. Refer To Incident: 16-320OF in Public Safety logs.

8:33p.m. – Investigated suspicious activity in the Center for Science and Innovation.

10:58p.m. – Investigated suspicious activity in the Church Street Center.

Sunday, Oct. 16.

12:12a.m. – Rendered services for a well-being check in the Freel Library Lot. 12:49a.m. – Rendered services for an investigation on Montana Street.

1:11a.m. – Responded to medical call from Hoosac Hall.

Transported subject to hospital.

Refer To Incident: 16-321-OF in Public Safety logs.

3:42a.m. – Investigated a well-being check in Berkshire Towers.

9:41a.m. – Closed case on suspicious activity in the Hoosac Hall Resident Parking Lot. 10:45a.m. – Warned / Advised subject involved in suspicious activity on Hoosac Street.

9:16p.m. – Responded to medical call from Hoosac Hall. Transported subject to hospital. Refer To Incident: 16322-OF in Public Safety logs.

FINANCIAL AID ANNOUNCEMENT FAFSA Update For 2017-2018!

Complete Your 17-18 FAFSA Starting Oct. 1st!

Make Sure You Complete It Early Financial Aid Will Be Awarded On A First Come, First Serve Basis.

SCHOLARSHIP OPPORTUNITY: BIG Y SCHOLARSHIP: DEADLINE FEB. 1ST. apply at www.bigy.com/community/scholarships

10 Daily Fantasy: Linemen are people, too Thursday, October 20. 2016

By Jake Mendel Web Editor

There is a reason behind every surprise.

Before the season, Jay Ajayi was seen as a solid RB2 with upside potential. Some of us went a step farther with that.

For five weeks, I looked like a total idiot. As I mentioned before, it is hard to find trends, especially early in the season. Ajayi didn’t get the starting job and was held out against the Seattle Seahawks.

The future was looking dark for Ajayi, but then he got his chance and regained the starting role. Against the Steelers, who feature a pretty good run defense, Ajayi went for 200 yards and two touchdowns.

Why did he suddenly break out

and have a good game?

The answer is actually pretty simple and also pretty obvious. It is because linemen are people too.

For the first time in the 2016 NFL season, the Dolphins started their five best linemen. As a result, they dominated the line of scrimmage, allowing the ‘J-Train’ to run wild.

If we were to use stats and projects, Ajayi would have never been in anyone’s lineup. But when you take it a step farther, and see that the potential of Ajayi with a healthy, he looked like a great play.

Moving forward, when looking for that player to put you a step ahead, look at the trenches.

Good teams have good offensive lines. If you want a flyer, look at a team’s injury report. In a 16-game season, it is hard to find a player who doesn’t appear in at least a couple injury reports.

Football isn’t a game where players can thrive on their own.

Sometimes, most of the time, having a great line is better than having a great running back.

Remember that, instead of focusing on week-to-week stats.

Sports

Women’s Volleyball defeats St. Joseph 3-0

By Brady Gerow Sports Writer

The Women’s Volleyball team performed a great kick off to MCLA’s Family Weekend with a 3-0 win against St. Joseph’s on their senior night game.

An aggressive and fast paced first set led on to an even stronger one from the Trailblazers, who sailed into a 25-12 second set win.

The team was lead by seniors Allison Clark and Sam Anderson. Clark was able to lead the team with nine kills in her senior night appearance. It was an aggressive match for the Trailblazers.

Having played with full intensity on both sides of the ball they were able to win the first two sets by a combined 20 points.

With three players over five kills on the match, and nine different players having recorded kills through the match, the offense was able to control the pace of the entire match.

This pace wouldn’t have been possible without the help of freshman setter Tessa Sestito was was able to record 17 of the 30 assists that the team had over the match.

Women’s Soccer beats Mass. Maritime Academy 1-0

photo from athletics.mcla.edu

By Brady Gerow Sports Writer

A late solo goal from freshman forward Kaylyn Holliday lifted the Trailblazers to their 1-0 victory over the Massachusetts Maritime Academy (MMA) Buccaneers on Saturday, Oct. 15.

In the 78th minute of play, Holliday found herself an opportunity and gave her team the edge. Holliday scored the unassisted game-winning goal in front of a crowd of family and friends during MCLA’s Family Weekend.

“We worked together as a team, and I wouldn’t have gotten

the opportunity without the help from my teammates,” said Holliday. “...I just put the ball in the back of the net.”

The Family Weekend game wasn’t one to disappoint. The Trailblazers and the Buccaneers played a tight game throughout.

The first half ended with each team having taken six shots on goal.

Despite Holliday’s late game score to get the victory, the defensive effort is what kept the Trailblazers alive.

“Meg Richardson should be the one being acknowledged here,” stated Holliday. “She is a monster in front of that goal, and she is the

Beacon.MCLA.edu

reason we are always so pumped up.”

The stat sheet gives way to the idea that the game was quite lack luster, with freshman keeper Megan Richardson only recording two saves on the night. Richardson had much more on her plate than just stopping the ball. She had to orchestrate her defense in a way that lead to success.

The Buccaneers ended the game with only 12 shots to MCLA’s 17, but recorded four corner kicks to MCLA’s two. It is these kinds of games that can be dangerous.

The Buccaneers looked to make something of every chance they were given. Richardson and her defense had other plans, though.

Richardson’s two saves came from the only shots that the Buccaneers placed on the goal.

This MASCAC battle led to the Trailblazers very first win in the division, also having broken their previous four game losing streak.

MCLA, now 3-7-3 (1-3-1 in MASCAC), will faced off against Albany College of Pharmacy on Tuesday, Oct. 18 at home. While MMA, falling to 4-7-1 (0-5 in MASCAC,) will travel to Pine Manor on Wednesday, Oct. 19.

photo from athletics.mcla.edu

The defensive side of play helped the Trailblazers in keeping their pace for the game.

Being led by Anderson with 10 digs, there were three other girls who were able to record six or more digs over the match.

St. Joseph made their run at extending the match in the third set. The final set ended in a 26-24 win for the Trailblazers, but they had to fight for it.

St. Josephs was lead by senior middle hitter Cassandra Grimaldi who recorded seven kills in the contest.

Grimaldi was then backed

by sophomore Brenna Miller who was able to notch a doubledouble recording 16 assists with 14 digs along side them.

Frshman Jasmine Buckley and sophomore Carly Ruzbasan added eight digs to the effort from St. Josephs.

That final set stretch that almost led to a fourth set and a much closer match resulted to a great finish of a very close match in front big family filled crowd.

The Trailblazers, now 11-13 were back in action on Saturday, Oct. 15 where they recorded a 3-0 road win at Salem St.

Featured Players

on athletics.mcla.edu

Kamron Anderson, Men’s Soccer

Maggie Allen,

Women’s Volleyball

Sports

Thursday, October 20, 2016

Beacon.MCLA.edu

11

Odell Beckham Jr. helps Ten things we Giants get back on track learned this college football weekend with career day

By Bob Glauber Newsday (TNS)

The Giants were down to their last chance, and anything less than a successful play would mean a fourth straight loss and more questions about whether this might turn into a lost season. Larry Donnell inexplicably couldn’t make it past the first-down marker on a thirddown catch late in the fourth quarter, creating a 4th-and-1 scenario at the Giant’s 34 that would ultimately decide the outcome.

With 1:36 to play and the Giants trailing the Ravens 23-20, Eli Manning walked up to the line of scrimmage, surveyed the Ravens’ defense and signaled to Odell Beckham Jr. that he needed to change his pass route from the play that was called.

“You just try to get 1 yard, so you look at the defense a little bit — they were playing man-to-man, so there was an opportunity for one-on-one [coverage] with your best player,” Manning said.

The player he was referring to, of course, was Beckham, the Giants’ star receiver who was having one of his signature games and now had a chance to add an already transcendent performance.

Beckham, lined up to the right of the formation, did as Manning told him and ran a slant pattern over the middle. Manning delivered the pass at the Giants’ 40, which was more than enough for the first down.

Beckham then turned it into the game-winning play, racing from right to left and sprinting past three defenders down the sideline for a 66yard touchdown. It was one of his biggest plays in a young career that is already filled with electric ones, only this one may have gone a long way toward saving the season.

Beckham finished with eight catches for 222 yards and two touchdowns to carry the Giants on his back for a 27-23 win in what turned out to be an electrifying finish. The Giants’ defense withstood one more drive from Joe Flacco, and the Giants stopped their losing

streak at three games to get to 3-3.

There’s still plenty of season left, to be sure, but another loss here would have dealt a serious blow.

With the Giants’ offense staggering during the losing streak and with questions about whether Eli Manning was on the decline, it was the 23-year-old Beckham who lifted his team and his quarterback. He was as good as he’s been throughout his eventual and sometimes controversial two-plus seasons in the NFL, in part because he had decided before last week’s game against the Packers to dispense with the nonsense and stop being baited into overreacting to opposing defenders.

“Sometimes you need bad to happen, and for me, I’ve always learned the hard way,” he said. “I’ve always had the really bad things happen, and then you’re able to bounce back from them. Going to Lambeau [Field in Green Bay], I said I’m just going to have fun. I’m going to go back to cherishing the moment.”

There was plenty to cherish on what turned into a career day for the star receiver. Even if it didn’t start out like one.

Beckham lost a fumble on the Giants’ first play from scrimmage, a turnover the Ravens converted into a 30-yard touchdown drive and a 10-0 first-quarter lead. He also suffered a hip pointer on a long pass play in the second quarter and missed some time while being tended to in the locker room. But he was able to fight through the pain to make two of his most dynamic catches.

The first was a 75-yard touchdown with 2:10 to play in the third quarter, as Beckham ran a double move up the left side to beat single coverage.

As he did on the winning play, Manning changed the play at the line.

“He called the double move and put [the ball] right where it needed to be,” Beckham said.

After the score, he celebrated by feigning a long jump — he was a long jumper as a track-and-field star in high school — and again became reacquainted with the kicking net

By Matt Murschel Orlando Sentinel (TNS)

photo from Wiki Commons

after the play. Poking fun at himself for having the net carom back and hit him when he got angry during a Week 3 game against Washington, Beckham lay down and placed the net over him for several seconds.

After the winning score, he playfully proposed to the net, saying after the game that “she said yes.” And wouldn’t their kids look interesting, someone suggested. “Blond nettish,” Beckham cracked.

His enthusiasm wasn’t without controversy, though. After scoring the go-ahead touchdown late in the fourth quarter, he removed his helmet and was flagged for an unsportsmanlike penalty. He was lucky the 15-yard walk-off on the ensuing kickoff didn’t affect the outcome.

“I’m just thankful it didn’t hurt the team,” Beckham said, realizing his mistake and vowing not to let it happen again. “I already knew what was coming if we would have lost.”

Instead, the Giants survived the celebration and didn’t ruin an otherwise brilliant afternoon from their star receiver.

Beckham was back making plays like he should be, and doing what he’s supposed to as one of the league’s most gifted receivers: winning games and not turning into a sideshow.

Marian Hossa scores goal No. 500 as Blackhawks defeat Flyers

By Chris Hine

Chicago Tribune CHICAGO _ Marian Hossa took the puck up the right side, making defenders twist and slap at the puck as he skated past.

There was swiftness which has made Hossa one of the best two-way players in the league.

Then came the shot, nothing pretty like a play Patrick Kane might make, but an effective one after Hossa had worked so hard to get face-to-face with the goaltender.

There, at last, was goal No. 500 in Hossa’s career. It came 5 minutes, 4 seconds in the second period of the Hawks’ game against the Flyers.

The Hawks held on for a 7-4 victory

after relinquishing a four-goal lead early in the third period. Artem Anisimov scored the winner, his first of two goals, at 10:24 of the third period.

Hossa’s 500th goal comes almost 18 years after he scored his first one on Dec. 9, 1998. He had scored his 499th late last season but could not get No. 500 before the season ended.

Hossa let out several loud yells and returned to the bench, where he was mobbed by teammates. The United Center made a special announcement after Hossa scored and he acknowledged the crowd before play resumed.

The Blackhawks got off to a fast start and led the Flyers 3-0 after the first period.

Kane got the scoring started when

he scored a wraparound goal just 56 seconds into the game. Kane cleaned up a shot from Artem Anisimov, who made a strong play to get the puck on net.

Then late in the period, the Hawks struck twice more. Winger Dennis Rasmussen was one-on-one with Flyers defenseman Ivan Provorov, but Provorov fell down, allowing Rasmussen a chance alone on goaltender Michal Neuvirth. Rasmussen put the puck through Neuvirth’s legs for a 2-0 lead at 17:26.

Moments later, the Hawks went on the power play and just 13 seconds into it, defenseman Brent Seabrook made a slap pass to across ice to Artemi Panarin, who one-timed a shot at 18:12 for a 3-0 lead.

Check out the top 10 things we learned during the college football weekend: 1. Alabama is clearly the best team in college football.

The Crimson Tide extended their nation’s-best 19-game win streak with an impressive 49-10 win over Tennessee in a game that saw Nick Saban’s team score its 21st non-offensive touchdown since Oct. 1, 2015.

2. Ohio State a team of true road warriors. The Buckeyes improved to 20-0 under Urban Meyer away from the friendly confines of Columbus after slipping past Wisconsin 3023 in overtime Saturday night.

It also was Ohio State’s sixth consecutive true road win over a ranked opponent going back to 2012.

3. Clemson survives again despite itself. The Tigers continue the disturbing trend of playing down to the level of their opponents and making a slew of self-inflicted mistakes, including 16 turnovers this season. Clemson gave up nine turnovers against Louisville and seven against NC State, nearly costing the Tigers their undefeated season.

4. The ACC Coastal is once again up for grabs. Death, taxes and disarray in the ACC Coastal Division all seem to be things you can count on in life.

North Carolina, Virginia Tech, Virginia, Pittsburgh and Miami still have a chance to win the divisional title.

5. At least someone in the Big 12 plays defense. West Virginia is flying under the national radar despite being undefeated. The Mountaineers are winning thanks to a defense that’s allowing less than 20 points per game while playing

in a conference that’s known for being one of the highest-scoring leagues in the Power 5.

6. Arkansas is Ole Miss’ Kryptonite. The Razorbacks have been a pain in the Rebels’ backside during the past three seasons, handing Ole Miss three consecutive losses. Arkansas earned a 34-30 win Saturday, improving to 4-2 during the past six games against ranked teams.

7. Postseason hopes fading for Notre Dame and Michigan State. It’s hard to imagine after combining to go 22-5 last season, the Irish and Spartans have now combined to lose nine games this season and could wind up staying home this postseason for the first time since 2009 (Notre Dame) and 2006 (Michigan State).

8. Time to pay homage to the Big Ten. The Ohio StateWisconsin showdown was not only a great football game, but it just reaffirmed the idea the Big Ten is where it’s at this season thanks to three undefeated teams in Ohio State, Michigan and Nebraska as well as the strong play of Wisconsin.

9. Florida controls its own destiny in the SEC East. It doesn’t seem quite fair that Tennessee, which has played four ranked teams so far this season including the Gators, must now cross its fingers and hope that Florida trips up in the coming weeks to open the door for its first division title since 2007.

10. Keep an eye on Western Michigan and Boise State.

These two are among the 11 remaining undefeated Football Bowl Subdivision teams in the country and while a College Football Playoff semifinal spot seems highly unlikely, there is a chance one of these two could earn a spot in a New Year’s Six bowl game.

Check out the Beacon Web Newscast!

Now premiering online, and on select campus televisions!

12

Thursday, October 20, 2016

Photo Essay

Beacon.MCLA.edu

This year’s Family Carnival and Chowder Festival opened in full swing last Saturday in Venable Gym.

Family & Alumni Weekend Photos By Ron Leja

Jenn Craig from Student Activities and Jess Lovellette, SGA Parliamentarian, work the chowder table.

SAC president Shane Keane (freshman) assists friends and families in creating their own air fresheners.

The Sam Gomez Race started last Sunday morning with high spirits from runners.

Bill Kittler leads the pack as he nears the finish line in the Sam Gomez Race.