October 19, 2017 Vol.85 Issue 5

T hu r s day , O c tob e r 19, 2017

Volume 85

Issue 5

ANNUAL SAM GOMEZ RACE

photo by Samantha Giffen

Around 45 runners were present for this year’s charity road race ranging in age from 10 to over 70 years old. The first to finish clocked in at just under 20 minutes.

40th annivesary 5k charity run sees many runners

BY COREY MITCHELLLABRIE STAFF WRITER With shoes laced, watches set, and legs stretched, runners lined up at the start line. With a jump, the runners were off, taking the first steps of their 5 kilometer journey.

Last Sunday, Oct. 15, MCLA proudly held the 40th Annual Sam Gomez Classic 5k Charity Road Race. Proceeds went to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, or NAMI, in Pittsfield, Mass.

The event honors the late Dr. Sam Gomez, a former

MCLA philosophy professor and cross-country coach, and is put on through the combined effort of the Student Government Association (SGA) and Berkshire Running Center.

The Sam Gomez Race is one of the main resposibilities delegated to Victoria Munoz ‘19, executive vice president of SGA, and plays a significant role in a continuing tradition here in North Adams.

“He was an avid runner and a cross country coach as well,” said Munoz. “He always had this classic 5k race in the fall that would benefit

a charity of his choosing in the community.”

This year’s charity was NAMI, which is one of the nation’s top mental health organizations that works to provide support, education and awareness about mental illness for everyone.

The Berkshire Running Center had runners register for the race both online and in the Amsler Campus Center an hour before the event.

Admission was $22 and every participant received a free t-shirt and water bottle after the race.

SGA set up two water stations for runners during the

race: one at the finish line in front of Hoosac Hall and the other at the two mile marker in front of the Armory. The race went around the College, looping around the entirety of both Church Street and Ashland Street.

Brianne O’Rourke ‘18, SGA’s class of 2018 representative and treasurer, and Fabby Bogardus-Street ‘20, SGA senator-at-large, operated the Armory water station.

“Last year we helped the Pittsfield Boys and Girls Club,” said O’Rourke. “We started around 8:30 with putting the signs out, the

mile markers, we did the start line and the water stations. We’ve really been running around.”

The race began on the intersection of Pleasant Street and Church Street The ages of the 45 registered runners ranged dramatically.

The oldest was a man over 70-years-old and the youngest was a baby pushed along in a stroller.

“We actually got Sam Gomez Jr.,” said Munoz after the race. “The son of Dr. Sam Gomez. He came out for the starting line, which was great. He’s normally a

Gomez page 4

Faculty Union without a working contract for over 100 days

BY JOSEPH CAREW EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Pulled over your professor’s typical collared shirt or sweater is a blue, Massachusetts State College Association (MSCA) shirt.

The shirt is a reminder. It has been 110 days since the members of the College’s faculty have been under contract. The MSCA, the faculty union on campus, has been working with the Massachusetts Board of Education since this past June, but negotiations are still under way.

“We have a provision called the ‘Evergreen Clause’ which extends

the old contract to include bargaining times, so faculty are protected against dismissals or unjust actions against them,” Graziana Ramsden, president of the MCLA chapter of the union, said in an email.

This means that the professors and librarians on campus can still perform their jobs but are under a contract they no longer feel is in their best interest. Renegotiations like this occur every few years with both sides sending representatives to establish a collective bargaining agreement.

Among these proposed changes are

the hiring of deans with faculty tenure, the end of formulary salary increases the ending of the 15-percent cap on part-time faculty and changes to faculty evaluation procedures, according to an article by Jillian Pollard in the Gatepost, the Framingham State student newspaper.

“We’ve exchanged proposals with the MSCA and look forward to productive negotiations,” Katy Abel, spokesperson for the Massachusetts Department of Higher Education, said. “Our proposal takes into account various factors that we believe

Union page 4

photo courtesy of Graziana Ramsden

One of the stickers worn by Faculty at the College.

CAMPUSNEWS

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Oct. 19, 2017 Vol. 85 Issue 5

SGA welcomes five new members to the Senate

BY JOSEPH CAREW EDITOR-IN-CHIEF With right hands raised and oaths repeated, the newest members of the Student Government Association Senate officially took their positions. Five new members joined the ranks of the senate on Oct. 16, leaving just two senate-at-large seats open.

Class of 2021 Senate Representatives Shon Loftus and Hilda Opara, Athletic Chair Janitza Santiago, and Senators-at-Large Austin Sirois and Allison Fortin all swore to uphold the Constitution and, to the best of their abilities, represent the students of MCLA. This week’s SGA meeting

saw the Food Committee make an announcement on the upcoming renovations for the Campus Center. Executive Vice President Victoria Munoz spoke on the College and Aramark’s plan to make another pathway to the cafeteria from the future location of the gym. A rough timetable labeled fall 2018 as the most likely time these renovations would be complete.

These renovations to the Campus Center are part of a long-term project in which the College decided to fill in the pool and expand the fitness center to the pool’s location.

This weekend is scheduled to be the annual Family Weekend with a fair to

be held for all visting family members. Among the events scheduled this year is SGA’s Chowderfest where students are encouraged to partake in the clam and corn chowders.

Executive Vice President Munoz spoke on the recent Sam Gomez Race, saying that roughly 50 runners had participated and that the event had been completed without issue.

Parliamentarian Jake Vitali welcomed the new members of senate and informed them that the senate retreat was scheduled for that evening (Monday, Oct. 16) where he would go over the general rules of order the SGA adheres to.

Vitali also reiterated that

Brianna O’Rourke had resigned from the position of senate secretary and that this was the chance for someone to take on the position. The weekly, public meeting was then moved into a closed session in which the SGA nominated people for the open position and voted on the nominations.

The position holds the responsibility of a vote in SGA affairs, recording attendance and office hours as well as reporting the minutes of each meeting. Senator Austin Sirois was elected and immediately took over the position.

Public Safety Committee announced that Campus

Safety was seeking to fill two officer positions. President Giffen, a member of the committee, spoke on the interest the department had in doing a campus safety walk with students to see where safety could be improved at the College.

Four hundred and sixty students participate in online voting

BY HANNAH SNELL STAFF WRITER Voter participation for the past Student Government Association (SGA) election increased from previous years, apparently due to the implementation of an online ballot system on Canvas.

There was a total of 460 ballots submitted this past election on Oct. 3 and 4. In contrast, 227 students voted in the fall 2015 election, 240 in fall 2016, 427 votes in spring 2016 (which had two groups of presidential candidates running) and 207 in spring 2017.

The online ballot system used in the fall election was spearheaded by the SGA Election Committee, Academic Technology, students and staff.

SGA had reached out to Gerol Petruzella, associate director of Academic Technology, in early September as a preliminary inquiry and first wanted to see if online voting was possible given the technologies on campus.

Petruzella then suggested that online voting would be possible by using Canvas.

“It seemed to me that Canvas was a robust kind of platform for that kind of

photo courtesy of Brie O’Rourke

SGA Parliamentarian Jake Vitali (left behind table) and SGA Public Relations Chair Nick Basset (right, behind table) assist students looking to vote in the recent SGA election. interactive work,” said Petruzella. “Other programs and departments on campus use Canvas for lots of different purposes, not just for academic classes. . .so I suggested that we use Canvas to build a ballot.”

SGA Parliamentarian Jacob Vitali served as the chair of Election Committee, con-

Corrections In last week’s issue in the “Women’s Tennis routed by #1 Ranked CSC in NAC playoffs,” a photo caption incorrectly identified junior Sam Gawron as senior Mele Enomoto. This capture was left on the page from the previous week, we regret the error.

In a photo caption from the article “Not just tea, waffles too,” Belgian was spelt Belgin. The Beacon regrets the error.

In the column “The Call,” the headline was from the previous week. It should have read: “NFL Jobs to look out for: early season take,” instead of “Predictions for the upcoming MLB Postseason.” We regret the error.

In the column “WheelSpin,” the word “infrastructure” was misspelt in the title. We regret the error.

tinuing the discussions of previous senate members to implement an online voting system.

“One of the biggest things when President Giffen appointed me was that I really want to do a lot of work with elections,” said Vitali.

“I think about it from a voter and a student perspective

last year, I was very displeased with turnout in the spring election last year.”

Vitali hoped that the use of a familiar platform, such as Canvas, would increase voter participation.

“It’s in your Canvas page now; basically every student is using Canvas for at least one class,” Vitali said. “The

fact that it’s there and it’s accessible anywhere Wi-Fi is available, it really takes away a lot of the excuses for not voting.”

The election also involved new senate members, such as Sen. Connor Ogborn, who spent his first semester on SGA on the Election Committee. During the election process, Ogborn tabled and was one of the volunteers who counted ballots. Individual ballots were counted a total of five times to ensure no errors were made.

“It was interesting to see how it all worked. . .I think it came together great and I think it gives students on campus an opportunity to not be obligated to come to a certain location to vote,” said Ogborn. “They can have their voice heard from anywhere.”

Although this is the first online election accessible through Canvas, according to Director of Student Activities Jenn Craig, this is not the first online election SGA held. According to Craig, who has been the adviser of SGA for the past nine years, the 2012-2013 SGA treasurer started an online vot-

Online page 3

Oct. 19, 2017 Vol. 85 Issue 5

NATIONALNEWS

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The grim task of finding victims of Calif. fires

BY ROBIN ABCARIAN LOS ANGELES TIMES (TNS) SANTA ROSA, Calif._ The Sonoma County Search and Rescue Team arrived Sunday on Dover Court around 2:30 p.m. The neighborhood was gone. There was nothing recognizable as a home, except the chimney, and the rough outlines of a foundation.

They had very little to go on. They knew her name was Mary. She was elderly. And she lived alone.

She had been missing for a week, ever since fire had roared through here, melting or incinerating virtually everything in its path.

Not a thing in this neighborhood was alive anymore.

A buzz filled the air. For a few minutes, a drone hovered, moving back and forth, up and down, above the rubble that had been Mary’s home. Its 3-D photos would document the scene before the team went in.

After the drone landed, searchers in bright orange shirts, gloves and masks walked the perimeter, looking for hazards that might hurt the two cadaver dogs who waited with their handlers, ready to work.

Sgt. Dave Thompson, a 25year veteran of the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Department, stood to the side, a mask over his face, and watched with a couple of detectives.

Thompson has been in charge of search and rescue for eight years. He trained and took care of the folks who would be poking and sifting through the ash for human remains. There are a total of 50; Sunday, 20 descended on Dover Court.

Thompson, who said some have been doing this work for a decade, did not allow me to interview them. The work

photo from MCT Campus

The fires have destroyed houses and vehicles alike as they reach across California. can be emotional and he did not want me to distract them. All are community volunteers: bankers, teachers, professors, insurance agents, basketball coaches.

“They are amazing people,” he said.

And yet, given that temperatures had soared as high as 1,500 degrees, what could even the most tenacious searcher hope to find?

Brace yourselves, because this where it gets really grim.

“The best clue for us is bone marrow,” Thompson said.

“The bones tend to explode a little bit. They look kind of like a PVC pipe. And you see this porous, darker yellow substance in them. That’s the marrow.”

But bones are easy to confuse with other household items, he said. “Drywall pieces that are cupped and curled can look like ribs,” he said.

At Mary’s house, they would be lucky to find even a 3-inch bone fragment, or part of a vertebra or a tooth.

If they were really lucky, they might discover an artificial hip, with a serial number that can be traced.

“Our job is to find the big parts,” Thompson said. After that, he added, the search team withdraws, and detectives move in to gather what they can.

In the first two days after the Northern California fires began, 10 Sonoma County operators fielded 10,000 pleas for information, including reports of 1,734 missing persons. As of Monday, that number had plummeted to 88.

The vast majority of missing-people reports have happy endings, said Thompson, who happens to be the officer who eight days ago picked

up John and Jan Pascoe, the married couple who survived the fire after six hours in their neighbors’ pool.

“They looked like zombies coming out of the ash,” Thompson said. “They were dressed crazy. They were covered in gray. Their hair was sticking out all over.”

Just after dropping off the Pascoes, Thompson came across a panicked couple in a car. The wife, 41 weeks pregnant, was in labor, moaning in pain. “We got to the hospital, I put her in a wheelchair, wheeled her into the lobby and left,” he said. “Maybe they named the baby after me.”

After that, as the missingpeople reports came streaming in, his work took a more gruesome turn. Of the 40 people known to have died in the fires, Thompson’s team has recovered the remains of

Online from page 2 ing program. However, when he graduated, the Senate could not sustain the program, but has been thinking about implementing an online voting system since.

The ballots were built by SGA Office Manager Amanda Schuler then went through several layers of beta testing and revisions to ensure clarity, accuracy and “userfriendliness.”

According to Schuler, the use of online voting on Canvas made the ballots easier to read, and thus, more were counted.

“It went very smoothly. I did not receive any feedback or hear any issues of people having difficulties accessing the ballot. . .If this online process had the effect of get-

ting more people involved in voting, I call that a win,” Petruzella said.

In future elections, Vitali hopes to continue online elections on Canvas. However, he reported wanting to examine the tabling process of elections, as well as working on making elections more competitive and focusing on recruitment and process.

“I think the best part was knowing that we had 460 people vote,” Vitali said.

“I’m very big on people getting engaged in politics even at the smallest level like this. . .The fact that two students wanted to go as a write-in and people came out and voted, I thought that was a really cool thing.”

five.

An hour into the search on Dover Court, when it appeared that the dogs had failed to pick up Mary’s scent, the human team went to work with trek poles, rakes, shovels and sifting boxes.

First, they moved larger objects out of the way, then they sifted, quadrant by quadrant.

“Bathrooms, bedrooms, entryways,” Thompson said.

“Also vehicles.”

For nearly two hours, the team searched diligently for Mary’s remains. One after the other, they would sift debris into buckets, find nothing, then empty the contents away from the house, and start over.

Suddenly, the volunteers erupted in cheers and applause.

Mary had been located. No one seemed to know exactly where, or whom she was with, but she was out there, and alive.

“That’s pretty cool,” Thompson said. “We feel like we just won the war for this particular family.”

On Monday, I was able to track down Mary Priest. I had peeked inside her mailbox, and found a singed piece of paper with her last name.

She is staying with her niece, Monica Kangas, in northwest Santa Rosa. Priest is 91, built her home in the Mark West Springs area with her husband in 1965 and has lived alone since he died 35 years ago.

The night of the fire, she said, she was too panicked to drive, so she fled with neighbors north to Windsor. There, they gathered their wits in a Wal-Mart parking lot with other fire refugees.

By late Monday morning, she had checked into a Holiday Inn. On Friday, she moved in with her niece.

Kangas told me she’d alerted authorities right away that her aunt was alive, but in the chaos of the last week, they did not get word.

On Sunday, a neighbor of Priest’s called Kangas: “I heard they are over there searching for Mary, and I heard she is with you!”

Kangas called the sheriff’s department at 4:20 p.m. After hearing the good news, the search team gathered in a circle for a quick chat and put their arms out while someone with a leaf blower cleaned them off. They climbed into their cars and trucks and drove off.

On Monday, Thompson was back in the field with his team. As always, they hope for the best, and are prepared for the worst.

NATIONALNEWS

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Oct. 19, 2017 Vol. 85 Issue 5

Conservative group to use JFK to lobby Democrats

By Lesley Clark McClatchy Washington Bureau (TNS) WASHINGTON _ A conservative group is launching a six-figure television ad buy targeting Democratic senators in three states that President Donald Trump won, pressing them to embrace a Republican-led push for a tax overhaul.

The ad buy from the Job Creators Network is the latest in what the group says will be a multimillion-dollar campaign aimed at boosting GOP tax reform efforts.

The 30-second spots will start airing Tuesday in West Virginia, Montana and North Dakota. They feature former President John F. Kennedy advocating for tax cuts as a means to boost the economy.

Worried about a tight margin in the Republican-led Senate and leadership’s inability to deliver on campaign promises, the White House and its allies have been targeting vulnerable Senate Democrats to back the administration’s tax agenda.

The three targeted Demo-

crats are all up for re-election in states Trump won handily, and two of them, Sens. Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota and Joe Manchin of West Virginia declined to sign a Senate Democratic caucus letter to Trump and congressional leaders detailing what Democrats say is not acceptable in a tax plan, notably a tax cut for the top 1 percent of Americans. The third, Sen. Jon Tester of Montana, has written to Trump, inviting him to Montana to talk taxes, but has warned against adding to the debt.

Heitkamp last month traveled with Trump aboard Air Force One as he stumped for his tax plan in North Dakota, but she’s stopped short of endorsing the administration’s plan.

The ads, which will run in Washington, D.C., as well, will air for a week and are part of a larger pro-tax reform campaign that includes an online site for a tax relief petition.

“Tax cuts have a long and proud history in the U.S. _ leading to periods of strong economic growth and accelerated job creation,” said Alfredo Ortiz, president of the

group, which is aligned with former House Speaker Newt Gingrich. “The results of tax cuts under President Bush, President Reagan, and the legislation pushed by President Kennedy demonstrated this relationship.”

Kennedy was a strong tax cut advocate, and his plan was moving ahead in Congress. Just days after Kennedy was assassinated in November 1963, President Lyndon Johnson urged Congress to push ahead with the Kennedy plan. The tax cut was enacted in February 1964.

The job creator group’s goal is to have “significant” tax relief legislation passed by the end of the year, but Trump and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., suggested Monday that the tax debate could push into next year, a potentially difficult lift during an election year.

After lunch with McConnell at the White House, Trump said he’d “very much” like to finish a tax overhaul this year, but noted it took President Ronald Reagan “years” to get a tax package passed. Reagan got his major

photo from MCT Campus

Portrait of 35th President John F. Kennedy at the White House in Washington, D.C., July 11, 1963. tax cut passed in 1981, his first year, though advocates had been pushing a version of the plan long before that.

McConnell pointed out that President Barack Obama’s

Union from page 1 for degree-seeking students, as well as current conditions such as the state’s economic circumstances and enrollment trends.”

Neither side has been able to find a solution to the disagreements on these issues and, due to proposed changes the union sees as unfavorable, the MSCA has decided statewide to adopt a policy known as Work

signature accomplishments had come in his second year in office.

“We could have a long way to go,” Trump said. “But that’s OK.”

Gomez from page 1 to Rule. This essentially results in members of the union (i.e. faculty members at the college) working to the letter of the original contract. This includes teaching, advising, committee service, and supporting student clubs and organizations but does not include any extra task forces or advisory boards they typically partake in.

“The President

and the Vice Presidents ask us to contribute constantly to ‘special’ workgroups, advisory boards, task forces etc,” Ramsden said in reference to the addition workload. “At this time, we have decided as a union statewide not to contribute to anything ‘special’ until our contract is settled.

The work that faculty do outside the classroom, which is some-

times double what we do in the classroom, is essential for the smooth running of the institution.”

The MSCA is a union from the nine state colleges and universities who are employed by the Board of Higher Education and is under the umbrella of the Massachusetts Teachers Association Union. This Work to Rule decision is therefore spread across the

state.

Essentially, this shows how much additional work faculty partake in without hindering a student’s path to education.

The professors wearing their union shirt is another sign of protest at the length of these negotiations.

Despite both the Department of Education and the Faculty Union attempts, however, no contract has been

shy guy but it was really nice to see him and he was very thankful for everything we did.”

Coupled with the normal 5k, SGA held a raffle for student clubs as an incentive to participate. Club representatives needed only to take part in the race for a chance to add $100 to their club budget.

The raffle was won by Madison Taber ’20 of the American Sign Language club.

“I’m assuming we’re going to put it towards events, or books to help our club members learn more about ASL,” Taber said.

Weekend Weather Thursday, October 19

Friday, October 20

Saturday, October 21

Sunday, October 22

Partly sunny High: 70° Low: 45° Precip. Chance: 4%

Mostly Sunny High: 61° Low: 35° Precip. Chance: 0%

Cloudy High: 68° Low: 41° Precip. Chance: 9%

Mild; Partly Cloudy High: 70° Low: 49° Precip. Chance: 14% Images from WikimediaCommons

FEATURES

5

FROM ST. JOE’S TO BCC TO MCLA – AND BACK

Third Homecoming

BY MITCHELL CHAPMAN FEATURES EDITOR

Not many people get to teach at a school they attended, but physics professor Bridget Gormalley has done it three times, first at St. Joseph Central High School, then at Berkshire Community College and now at MCLA. “I was only an adjunct at BCC,” said Gormalley. “And since St. Joe’s closed, I wanted to stay in the Berkshires, and this opportunity came along. I was a student here, so I already knew that the physics department was fantastic. It just seemed like a good fit.”

Gormalley is a member of the MCLA class of 2009, which she joined after transferring to MCLA from BCC. She has returned to not only a brand new science building – the Feigenbaum Center for Science and Innovation – but also a newlyrenovated Bowman.

“Bowman, I’m still amazed every time I go in there,” she said. “I pretty much had all my classes in the basement of Bowman. It’s completely redesigned. But I would say while the buildings are new, the quality of education has definitely remained the same.”

She has also returned to an increased focus on the STEM fields – Gormalley remarked that she couldn’t recall even hearing the term “STEM” when she was a student at MCLA. “To me, [STEM] is problem solving and creative thinking, it’s just a different route of problem solving and trying to apply general principles to a problem at hand, and solve it at a

photo by Mitchell Chapman — Features Editor

Bridgete Gormalley was first a student at St. Joseph’s Central High School, then Berkshire Community college, and finally, MCLA. She has taught at all three schools. more mathematical or logical-based approach. But of course most problems you [do] need to solve that way.”

Particularly, she has noticed an increased push to involve local kids

in STEM programs, which she has helped with. She was the co-director of MCLA’s Advanced Robotics Summer Camp for middle school students, a program Gormalley didn’t have access to at that age, though she

admits that it is important for kids to have access to STEM programs at an early age.

“That’s an age where a lot of students can end up making branches,” she said. “Some of them might end up getting turned off by school and that really affects not only how they do in high school but their options for in later in life, be it college or some other field.”

And even if kids choose not to pursue higher education, STEM programs can enrich their every day lives, according to Gormalley.

“By introducing them to STEM concepts, it can be good, even if they don’t go into the STEM fields,” she said. “At least they have a good basis, and, if nothing else, then they become well-rounded citizens that can answer certain questions – when they read a news story, they can kind of understand some of the basics behind it.”

Gormalley added that, in the era of fake news, being a critical thinker and analyzing facts is necessary.

Even with mainstream news, consumers must be wary, as scientific studies are routinely misrepresented in the media.

“I think, in part, especially with big news organizations, it’s about ratings, and if they can have a headline that says something like ‘coffee will solve all of your problems,’ then they’re going to run with that,” she said. “That’s why I think it’s important that you not just read the headline, but read the entire news story and see: what exactly did they find in this study? Because a lot of times, it’s not as great a conclusion as the headlines will lead you to believe.”

ADIRONDACK TRAVEL COURSE

‘An eye-opening experience’ with nature, climate change

BY MEGHAN COOK FEATURES WRITER On Columbus Day weekend, students in Ecology and Land Management of the Adirondack Park went up to Lake Placid for a travel course to learn about the park from different organizations and scholars.

The Adirondack Park is on the brink of peak foliage season, so the mountains were filled with fiery reds and oranges as the MCLA vans made their way around Route 73 through the famous Keene Valley toward Lake Placid.

The trip was from Friday to Monday, and consisted of meetings and lectures from the Adirondack Council, Paul Smith College professors and many more environmental activists, scholars, and lovers of the Adirondack Park.

“I was already connected with a few folks working in the Adirondacks who generously pointed me toward helpful materials and put me in touch with other professionals with whom we could interact,” said Elena Traister, instructor of the course and professor in the environmental studies department.

The travel course was open to 14 students and Traister was the only instructor for the course.

The group was a mix of students from seniors down to sophomores, all advocates for the care and awareness of the environment.

According to Traister, the travel course has both ecological and political value in that it allows students to explore different habitats, like the alpine zone, as well as being “useful as a case study for investigating conflicts between conservation, local economies, and recreation.”

Students who had the chance to go on this trip were excited by the opportunity to see a famous and most unusual park system.

Among the lecturers was Dr. Nina Schoch of the Adirondack Loon Center, who explained the threats and conservation effort in regard to the Adirondacks’ unofficial mascot, the loon.

“The trip was an eye-opening experience into how beautiful our world is, and how climate change is affecting it right in front of our eyes,” said senior Jordan Vanuni, an environmental studies major.

The students had the opportunity to meet with Curt Stager,

Provided photo

The students and professor of the Ecology and Land Management of the Adirondack Park class. According to course instructor professor Elena Traister, the travel course has both ecological and political value in that it allows students to explore different habitats. a professor from Paul Smith College, as well as an ecologist, paleoclimatologist, and science journalist. Stager’s lecture had to do with the discussions and reality of climate change happening and affecting the environment, even right in the Adirondack Park. Stager’s lecture ended with a nugget of wisdom for the group of environmental students in re-

gard to research and activism.

“Learn what is true so you can do what is right,” said Stager.

Stager also gave the students the opportunity to core a bog and the students were able to pull up 7,000 year old peat moss from beneath the surface.

“It was so amazing to be able to take home a piece of ecological history,” said Kaylyn Swenson, a

junior and double major in environmental studies and biology.

Stager handed out protective bags to preserve the sample of peat moss.

The students also had the opportunity to visit the Adirondack Museum at Blue Mountain Lake and view the Life in the Adirondack exhibit. This is a new and interactive exhibit that allowed the students to learn the history of the park as well as the culture of the people living within it.

On Monday the group drove up Whiteface Mountain to examine the alpine vegetation growing there.

“It was definitely a successful weekend,” said Swenson. “Being on top of Whiteface in the fog was pretty surreal.”

The travel course was wellreceived by the students and according to Traister is on the table to do again in approximately two years.

“There are also some different organizations that were not available to meet this year but might be available in future years,” explained Traister. “Lots of possibilities!”

6

Arts & Entertainment

“Between Shades of Gray” shows WWII through a new POV

By Emma Monahan A&E Editor Rut a S ep et ys’ 2011 novel “B et we en Shades of Gray” isn’t a comp anion to t he “50 Shades” s er ies, but a histor ic a l f ic t ion novel t hat c apt ivates re aders and holds t heir attent ion.

S et dur ing World War II, 15-ye ar-old L ina, her mot her and her brot her, Jonas, are t a ken by t he S ov iet ar my, t ravel across t he Arc t ic Circle, work at c amps dur ing t he br ut a l w inters in Sib er i a, and f ig ht for sur v iva l.

Finding comfor t t hroug h her ar t and t he hop e of f inding her fat her, L ina and her fami ly work toward t he life t he y once had in t his amazing stor y.

A lt houg h it to ok me a lmost a mont h to f inish t his novel, w it h a s emislow b eg inning but fastp ace d ending , S ep et ys is able to p or t ray a p ar t of WWII not many p e ople re ad ab out. The te enager’s p oint of v ie w shows how L ina’s courage and spit f ire att itude are w hat put her in d anger.

L it hu ani a is a count r y many students may forget was imp ac te d dur ing WWII, but S ep et ys br ings t he count r y’s st r ug g le to life t hroug h t he stor ies of

Photo from Amazon

“Between Shades of Gray” was published in 2011.

L it hu ani ans force d to work for t he S ov iets.

S ep et ys br ings us into L ina’s st r ug g le to sur v ive, he ar t ache and p ers ona l conf lic ts as she go es f rom one pl ace to anot her t hroug h t he Arc t ic Circle, slow ly but surely losing hop e. Mov ing and t houg ht f u l, S ep et ys tel ls t his stor y t hroug h a dif ferent p oint of v ie w t hat we don’t ne cess ar i ly re ad ab out w hen pick ing up novels s et dur ing WWII. What ma kes t his b o ok so sp e ci a l, t houg h?

The imp ac t. It’s a lways imp or t ant to le ar n ab out

our world’s histor y, e ven if it’s not our ow n count r ies, but WWII imp ac te d mi l lions of lives.

L ina’s ending is t rag ic but inspir ing . Af ter losing b ot h of her p arents and not k now ing w hat was going to happ en to her and her brot her, she is f ina l ly f re e d f rom t he Sib er i an c amp t hat she was pl ace d in, able to go home, but facing t he un k now n.

S ep et ys’ re cent rele as e, “Sa lt to t he S e a,” a ls o c apt ivate d young adu lts in t his histor ic a l f ic t ion novel.

S ep et ys’ novel c apt ivates re aders and show t hem anot her side of WWII. L ina’s stor y is inspir ing and, a lt houg h it’s f ic t ion, e ver yt hing in t he novel s e ems s o re a l.

At t imes, “B et we en Shades of Gray” c an b e a toug h re ad for s ome b o ok lovers, but if you’re into histor ic a l f ic t ion and are a WWII buf f, t his is t he b o ok for you.

L ina’s st r ug g le may not b e s omet hing women our age c an rel ate to, but dur ing her t ime in t he c amps, she g rows as a p ers on and b e comes st ronger for not on ly her fami ly, but hers elf.

Upcoming Events

Venable Gym

ALANA United Oct. 19: Potluck Dinner Wellness Fair 6-8 p.m.

5:30-7:30 p.m. Church Street CC Marketplace Center Social Hall “Get Out” Movie Event Passing Strange 7-9:30 p.m.

8-10:30 p.m.

Sullivan Lounge Venable Theater Oct. 20: Fall Craft Night Spirit Day 8-10 p.m.

11-2 p.m.

Sullivan Lounge CC Marketplace Oct. 22: Passing Strange Passing Strange 8-10:30 p.m.

2-4:30 p.m.

Venable Theater Venable Theater Oct. 21: Family Weekend Carnival 11-3 p.m.

Illustration from Pixabay

Passing Strange kicks off, more to come

By Nora Hones A&E Writer “Passing Strange,” which was originally released as a film of the Broadway production back in 2009, is now being put on by MCLA’s FPA theater program.

This coming-of-age story of a young African American man who is an artist and musician trying to find his place in the world, mostly centering on his adventures in Europe, is a rock musical that explores the concept of what is “real” with its use of relateable comedy and drama.

The book and lyrics of “Passing Strange” were written by Stew Rodewald, and the accompanying music and orchestral arrangement were written by Stew and Heidi Rodewald.

Annie Dorsen helped create and direct the production, along with Spike Lee, who actually did the filming on Broadway.

In MCLA’s production of the rock musical, a live band accompanies the actors on stage, made up of Jacob Fennell as conductor and pianist, Chris Handschuh on drums, Eric Robbins on guitar and Elizabeth Rodio singing vocals and playing percussion.

Photo by Alyssa Call

The whole cast performing a song and dance for Youth’s arrival at Amsterdam.

On opening night of “Passing Strange,” the room was comfortably crowded.

The show didn’t take place as one might expect on the whole stage, but on only a small section of it. The audience was led back behind the curtains to small rows of chairs facing one wall of the stage where the entire musical takes place. The backdrop was done up in graffiti; low lighting and classic rock musicians like Jimi Hendrix playing set up the ambience of the musical.

During the performance, the cast ran up and down the aisles during multiple

Creech, who was involved in Savannah Stage Company, Flint Youth Theatre and Contemporary American Theatre Festival.

MCLA alumna Bryanna Bradley ‘17 is the choreographer, along with playing the role of Mother.

The cast of MCLA’s production is: Rodney Creech as the Narrator, S ebastian Rivera as the Youth, Br yanna Bradley as the Mother, Joslyn E addy as Edwina/ Sherr y/ Marianna/ Desi, S ebastian Phillips as Terr y/ Christophe/ Hugo, Julie Castagna as Stewardess/ Joop/ Sudabey, Devin Gibbs as

Mr. Franklin/ Mr. Venus and Stephani Bauduccio as Stewardess/ Renata/ B order Guard.

If you missed its opening, don’t fret: “Passing Strange” is playing at Venable Theater on Oct. 20 and Oct. 21 at 8 p.m. and on Oct. 22 at 2 p.m. For the showing on Saturday, there will also be a panel discussion with artists, students, and faculty after the performance. Tickets can be purchased ahead of time at mcla.ticketleap.com. General admission is $15, but it’s only $5 for MCLA students and $10 for faculty and staff.

scenes, interacted with the audience, and even interacted with the people working the lights. During one song, Devin Gibbs grabbed a lighting technician, causing her to jump with surprise and a look of shock on her face. The musical was full of these shocking and hilarious moments.

MCLA’s “Passing Strange” is directed by Jeremy Winchester, assistant professor of theatre. Its music direction is provided

by Laura Standley, who is an Photo by Alyssa Call associate professor of theatre. Sebastian Rivera, Devin Gibbs, Sebastian Phillips, and Narration is provided by Joslyn Eaddy sitting in a “car” smoking before choir.

Artist-in-Residence Rodney

Arts & Entertainment

7

Spires holds contest for writers and artists

By Brianna Lamb A&E Writer MCL A’s literar y j our na l, Spires, is holding a fa l l contest, c a l ling for a l l w r iters and ar t ists to t a ke p ar t and submit t heir b est work.

The contest is op en to a l l students and is accept ing submissions for : p o et r y, pros e, nonf ic t ion and v isu a l ar t. The de ad line for submissions is O c t.

31. Students shou ld s end submissions v i a emai l att achments to spires@ mcl a.e du.

Profess or Z achar y Finch, adv is or for Spires, s aid t he

contest retur ns to an ide a t he j our na l had a fe w ye ars ago in order to get more p e ople involve d.

“We have so many t a lente d w r iters and ar t ists on c ampus, and t he hop e is t hat Spires w i l l b e a pl ace w here t heir work gets showc as e d and celebrate d,” s aid Finch. “S o t he contest, w it h its var ious sma l l c ash pr izes awarde d to t he top t hre e submissions in e ach c ategor y, is a k ind of incent ive.”

Ent r ies t hat do not w in w i l l st i l l b e considere d for public at ion in t he j our na l, w it h submissions

Illustration by Halie Smith

Spires cover from last spring

accepte d e ven af ter t he contest. The Spires e ditor i a l st af f, consist ing of 15 student w r iters, w i l l re v ie w a l l ent r ies.

“Submissions are re ad and vote d on by t he Spires st af f completely anony mously,” Kat her ine D uva l, one of Spires’ manag ing e ditors, s aid. “ The w r iter’s name is t a ken of f e ver y submission b efore t he Spires st af f votes on it, s o t here is no r isk of bi as.”

The contest w inners, as wel l as ot her chos en pie ces, w i l l app e ar in t he spr ing j our na l. Spires is a ls o holding a re ading in D e cemb er to celebrate t he award w inners of t he fa l l contest.

In addit ion to t he re ading , Spires a ls o p er io dic a l ly prog rams literar y e vents, most not ably op en mic nig hts. The f irst e vent of t he fa l l w i l l b e an op en mic at S ereniTe a C afé on Saturd ay, O c t. 28 at 8 p.m.

“We do a ls o pl an to col l ab orate w it h ot her student g roups, li ke Voices, t he sp oken word club and The Wr iters’ Gui ld,” Finch s aid.

Spires did not a lways have t he name it do es now. Pr ior to 2001, t he j our na l was k now n as Ka leidos cop e, and has since b e en renovate d and ref reshe d.

MCL A has had a student literar y j our na l r un t hroug h t he Eng lish/ C o m m u n i c a t i o n s

This Is: Barns Courtney

By Emma Monahan A&E Editor Barns Courtney isn’t a name that many people have heard of but soon will. Born in England, Courtney has been in the music business since 2015 and recently released his first album, “The Attractions of Youth,” this

past September.

Courtney’s rock sound is definitely shown in many of his songs, such as “Kicks,” “Glitter & Gold” and “Fire,” but other songs like “Little Boy” show a softer side to the singer/songwriter.

His sound is similar to most rock artists, but different as

Photo by Paige Sara

Courtney’s album debuted at number eight on the Billboard Heatseekers Albums chart.

well. It can be compared to pop punk, rock, hard rock, and more in between. Artists and bands such as Mondo Cozmo, Goodbye June, and grandson can be seen in comparison to him.

Courtney has opened for a string of artists and bands, including The Who, Ed Sheeran and Fitz and The Tantrums, and he has also performed at BottleRock Napa Valley Festival in Calif. and the Governors Ball Music Festival in N.Y. In an interview with Billboard, Courtney expressed how different it is to play acoustic versus a full band back in May. “A lot of the time when you play all of your songs acoustic, it can make the performance quite one-dimensional. I want real peaks and troughs and give people an experience.”

And that’s exactly what he does. Just from following Courtney’s journey through social media, it’s clear that he doesn’t have a care in the world when it comes to his music and performing. He’s just there to have a good time.

Most of his music and videos are around the theme

Illustration from Spires

Spires is MCLA’s literary magazine, published in the spring.

dep ar t ment for a long t ime.

Profess or Finch des cr ib es it as a t radit ion t hat cont inues t hroug h ad apt at ion.

“We are de veloping more of an on line pres ence, t hroug h a ne w web pl at for m, and t he st af f is a ls o engag ing t he c ampus v i a s o ci a l me di a,” he s aid.

Throug h t he us e of s o ci a l me di a, literar y e vents and contests, Spires

is re aching out to t he communit y, aiming to displ ay t he t a lent found in students and a lumni.

“O ur go a l is to foster a cre at ive env ironment on t he MCL A c ampus, as wel l as prov ide a pl at for m for student w r iters and ar t ists,” D uva l s aid.

Thos e intereste d in Spires c an v isit t heir website and Faceb o ok p age as wel l as Tw itter and Inst ag ram.

Photo from Facebook

“The Attractions of Youth” is Coutney’s debute album. of “American Sleeze”, one that may or may not be the best description, but for some reason it works.

In his interview with Billboard, his “American Sleeze” attitude came into play when playing in a cafe in Los Angeles.

“I jumped on a table and it collapsed in front of all the record label executives ever.”

Courtney was recently featured on The Late Late Show with James Corden, where he performed “Glitter & Gold” and “Golden Dandelions.”

Barns Courtney will be performing in Allston, Mass. at the Great Scott on Nov. 6, and in Albany, N.Y. at The Hollow on Nov. 8.

SPORTS

8

Oct. 19, 2017 Vol. 85 Issue 5

Womens soccer rolls to third straight win, second straight MASCAC win

BY BRADY GEROW SPORTS EDITOR The MCLA Trailblazers women’s soccer team defeated the Fitchburg State Falcons 2-0 Saturday night in a MASCAC (Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference) contest in Fitchburg.

Sophomore Kaylyn Holliday and freshman Shannon Prouty scored the two goals, while sophomore goalie Megan Richardson made eight saves.

The first point was scored late in the first half of play, when Holliday received a pass from sophomore teammate Hannah Van De Water, which she was able to convert into a goal.

Holliday scored a goal in the last game giving her a two game scoring streak. Holliday led the team in scoring last year.

After starting the season at 0-8, the ‘Blazers needed to

turn things around fast, and they did. Leading up to their game against the Falcons, the ‘Blazers had won two straight games including a win over Conference opponent Framingham State.

The ‘Blazers went into the second half with a one goal lead, and Richardson made sure it stayed that way. Richardson recorded five of her eight saves over the course of the second half eliminating every chance the Falcons had to get back into the game.

Richardson has been a rock in goal over the ‘Blazers’ last three games, only allowing one goal in all three wins and recording 19 saves over the span.

The ‘Blazers received an insurance goal in the last 20 seconds of play from freshman Shannon Prouty.

The goal was also Prouty’s first collegiate goal.

With the win, the ‘Blazers

photo by MCLA Athletics

MCLA sophomore Kaylyn Holliday playing a ball in a game this season. Holliday has scored a goal in each of the last two Trailblazer wins. Holliday led the team in scoring last season. have since played the Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences and lost 5-2, putting them at a 3-9 overall

record with a 2-3 record in the MASCAC with only two league games left to play before playoffs.

The ‘Blazers are currently in fifth place in the league, but with two league games left they have the opportunity to finish among the top four teams in the conference this season.

Although the ‘Blazers have struggled for a majority of the year, they have turned it around when it counts in the conference games at the end of the year.

The ‘Blazers will be in action again on Saturday, Oct. 21 where they face off with MASCAC opponent Salem State at Shewcraft Field at 1 p.m.

Salem State is currently in fourth place in the MASCAC with a 3-2 record. If the ‘Blazers can win this game, they will be tied for fourth place in the league going into their final league match against Bridgewater State (In a three way tie for 1st place in the MASCAC) on Saturday, Oct. 28.

Men’s Soccer wins 3-1 over MCLA Women’s Fitchburg State, Nygard nets Volleyball slaps Castleton in 3-0 win two goals

BY JEFFREY MAYOTTE SPORTS WRITER MCLA sophomore Andrew Nygard helped propel the Trailblazers to a 3-1 victory over Fitchburg State at Shewcraft Field on Friday with back-to-back goals, putting them at 2-3 in MASCAC and 4-9 for the season.

The Fitchburg State Falcons are not flying high as they drop to 0-4 in the conference and a season record of 4-6.

The Falcons hunted for success in the first half.

Falcon Hassan Koroma passed the ball to Jared Burns who tapped the ball into the upper right corner.

It was still anyone’s game, despite the goal being scored 28 seconds in.

Fouls were traded like baseball cards in middle school before the next goal was scored. MCLA had a corner kick in the 33rd minute of the first half.

Gasps in the audience were shortly met with roars from the MCLA stands as Andrew Nygard scored from the loose ball off the corner. This was his first goal of the season.

The score was tied 1-1 at the end of the first half.

photo from MCLA Athletics

MCLA sophomore Andrew Nygard netted two goals in the teams 3-1 victory over Fitchburg State. The two goals were Nygards first of the season, and only his second and third goals of his career.

In the second half, the Falcons and Trailblazers were hard at work maintaining control. The teams ruffled feathers and fouled more before Nygard scored his second goal of the season and the game with an assist

by Romeo Grey in the 73rd minute. Grey passed for another assist later in the 86th minute for a goal by Khalil Kareh. This was Kareh’s first goal of the season. This gave the motivational edge for the Trailblazers to keep the Falcons from flying out of

town with a victory.

The Blazers outshot the Falcons 18-9 for the game.

MCLA also had six corner kicks while Fitchburg had three. The Falcons had more fouls (16-14) and saves (6-4) than the Trailblazers.

Fouls almost threw out Falcon forward Zachary Buckland who had two yellow cards, while Trailblazer defender Ryan Wanek received MCLA’s one and only yellow card.

MCLA will be facing off against Salem State on Saturday.

BY JEFFREY MAYOTTE SPORTS WRITER The MCLA Trailblazers defeated the Castleton University Spartans 3-0 Thursday Oct. 12, placing the Blazers at 6-14 for the season.

Blazer Natasha Stewart began the first set with a service ace which helped the Blazers dominate the set with a score of 25-10.

The Blazers scored numerous kill shots during the second set, making the score 25-13.

Most of the kill shots were from Blazers Jess Grace and Maggie Allen.

During the third set, a series of kill shots from Blazer Alyssa Keegan and an attack error

by Spartan Greta Hoehn secured the match for the Blazers.

Over the course of the match, Blazer Alyssa Keegan scored ten kills in the match, followed by Bri O’Rourke with a personal best of seven kills, and Maggie Allen’s six kills. Castleton’s Marie Jackson held the most kills for the Spartans with five.

MCLA had a percentage of .329 in hits with the win, while Spartans dropped to -.065 for the match. Meanwhile, Blazer Mele Enomoto proved her athleticism on the defense with 11 digs. On the offense, MCLA struck 11 aces in the match with

photo by MCLA Athletics

MCLA freshman Natasha Stewart (pictured) was awarded the MASCAC rookie of the week. Stewart recorded one kill on 17 attacks with five digs in the 3-0 win over castleton. four of them by Natasha Stewart.

MCLA will face off with Rhode Island College and Keene State on Saturday Oct. 21 in a key tri-match.

Oct. 19, 2017 Vol. 85 Issue 5

SPORTS

Women’s Tennis loses 8-1 to Framingham State on Senior Day

BY BRADY GEROW SPORTS EDITOR The Saint Joseph’s Blue Jays defeated the MCLA Trailblazers Women’s Tennis team on Saturday, Oct. 14.

The loss marked the final game in the careers of seniors Mariza Sfakianaki, Ashley Juskhas, and Katherine Grill.

The ‘Blazers are losing a big chunk of their team, especially in their top player Sfakianaki.

The only winning match for the ‘Blazers was during the second singles match of the contest, when junior Sam Gawron defeated Saint Joseph’s junior Leah Nguyen 6-0, 6-3. Gawron is in line to take over the top spot on the ‘Blazers roster as Sfakianaki departs.

Gawron has been playing in the second spot all season behind Sfakianaki.

Sfakianaki dropped her match to Saint Joseph’s junior Lucy Roberge 6-7, 6-4, 10-7 to make her final match as a Trailblazer one to watch. As for the other seniors, Juskhas dropped her match 6-1, 6-0 and Grill dropped hers 6-0, 6-0.

The doubles matches were a bit more competitive than the singles matches, but Saint Joseph’s was able to come away with all three wins. Roberge and Nguyen defeated Sfakianaki and Gawron 9-7 to earn the first doubles point of the match.

Freshman Catherine Baum and junior Ashley Savino then handled MCLA’s sophomore Briana Higgins and Juskhas 8-6 to take a 2-0 lead. Sophomore Domonique Carnot and freshman Emily McAllister

9

SCORE BOARD MCLA Men’s Soccer MCLA (3), Fitchburg State (1) Andrew Nygard (MCLA)

3 Reb, 4 Ast, 2 Blk

2 Goals, 2 SOG, 3 Shots2 Pts, 7 Reb, 4 Ast, 3 Stl, 1 Blk

Jared Burns (Falcons)

1 Goal, 1 SOG, 3 Shots, s,

MCLA Women’s Soccer

photo by MCLA Athletics

MCLA seniors Katherine Grill (Left), Ashley Juskhas (Middle), and Mariza Sfakianaki (Right) all played their last games as a Trailblazer on Saturday. defeated MCLA’s freshman Lauren Kexel and Grill to give the Blue Jays a very comfortable 3-0 lead before going into singles matches.

Gawron’s win was the only point for MCLA, resulting in a final score

of 8-1. The ‘Blazers ended the season with an overall record of 4-7 and 4-3 record in the NAC (North Atlantic Conference).

MCLA finished in fourth place in the NAC, the same place they finished the season last year.

The Evil Empire....better than everyone thought?

The New York Yankees.

Yankees lost Game one of the Say those four words to most ALDS in dominating fashion, people here, particularly people counted them out. around MCLA, and most When the Yankees blew an people will glare at you.

8-3 lead and fell behind 2-0, Some may have disapit seemed all but inevitable proving remarks to make. that they would get swept or Even those who know otherwise ultimately defeatlittle about baseball have ed. They were set to merely been instructed, likely by Andrew be batting practice for the those close to them, to Baillargeon eventual AL Champion dislike the Pinstripes.

Cleveland Indians.

The Call Really, it makes sense.

Right?

Here at MCLA, and in No. Time and time again, the Berkshires in general, it’s a these Yankees battled back very Boston sports-oriented area against the most unbearable, for the most part. Sure, there seemingly impossible odds. This are Yankees fans; there are Mets was supposed to be a team set to fans. There’s even one sad, disap- rebuild. At most, they were going pointed, Cleveland Indians fan on to simply win about 70 games and this campus. So that’s not to say be reasonably eliminated from everyone follows the Red Sox. But the playoffs by about mid-July. most people do, and that in itself Aaron Judge, Luis Severino, breeds a natural hatred for the Brett Gardner and company team’s rivals. didn’t seem to ever get that It goes both ways, sure, but it’s memo. But that wasn’t all. The a lot deeper coming toward the Yankees have arguably one of the Yankees. They’ve got those 27 most cohesive teams in the marings. They had Alex Rodriguez, jors. No, that doesn’t mean they the primary subject of one of have the most talented roster, the biggest sporting scandals in but this is a very young team with American sports history. It’s rea veteran-like mentality. They ally easy to hate this team for any fought back from the depths so number of reasons. many times, and here they are.

Personally, though, I think anyAaron Judge faced major body who can look past this blind, criticism after a disappointing somewhat silly, hatred of this second half of the season. He set team will find them to be quite a record for consecutive games the inspiring bunch. with at least one strikeout. He People have been counting this didn’t look too hot for the most team out since the start of the part against the Indians. But he season. I, myself, forecasted a made a crucial, game-saving play sweep at the hands of the aforein the team’s 1-0 Game three vicmentioned Cleveland Indians tory that saved the season for the team. When the Red Sox won the Yankees.

AL East, people counted the YanLuis Severino pitched like an kees out. When the Yankees fell ace all season long, but had a down 3-0 to the Twins in the Wild horrible outing that nearly cost Card, plenty of folks dismissed the team their season in the Wild them and began to prepare for a Card game. He came through Twins-Indians ALDS. When the against the Indians, however, and

helped lead the team to victory in Game four.

CC Sabathia had been coming off of multiple seasons of disappointment. There were rumors of him contemplating retirement before the season began. Then, he turned in a solid albeit unspectacular regular season campaign.

In Game one against Cleveland, he was miserably out-dueled by Trevor Bauer in an eventual defeat. Then, he came to Cleveland and threw 5.2 masterful innings in the winner-takes-all game, when the team needed him most.

Aroldis Chapman lost the closer role mid-season after performing ineffectively. He eventually earned the role back, returned to his old self, and he slammed the door on the Indians in Game three and the ALDS clinching Game five.

The idea is that this Yankees team is just that: a TEAM. They have truly embodied the concepts of “next man up” and, of course, “down but not out.”

It’s one thing to hate them if you’re the Red Sox, since they went farther than your team despite all the trash talk you guys pretty much definitely had for them upon winning the AL East.

But if you aren’t a Red Sox fan, try to dismiss your silly, unfounded dislike for this team. They’ve been a treat to watch this year.

If nothing else, don’t count them out until they’ve lost the series for certain.

Andrew Baillargeon is the host of The Call, a weekly program broadcasted by WJJW. Tune in on Sundays from 7-10 PM. Listeners can also tune in via 91.1 WJJW or our website, http://www.mcla.edu/ Student_Life/studentmedia/wjjw/.

MCLA (2), Albany College of Pharmacy (1) Hannah Van De Water (MCLA)

16 Pts, 7 Reb, 1 Stl

2 Goals, 2 Shots, 2 SOGPts, 4 Reb, 2 Ast, 1 Stl

Katie Benson (ACP) 3 Goals, 2 Assist, 6 Shots, 4 SOG

MCLA Women’s Volleyball MCLA (0), Eastern Conn. St. (3) Brooke Queripel (MCLA) 6 Kills, 3 Digs 10-12. 100 yds, 0 TD

Alaetra Long (Warriors)

14 Kills, 9 Digs Rec, 67 yds, 1 TD

NFL Steelers (19), Chiefs (13) Le’Veon Bell (Steelers) 32 Car, 179 Yards, 1 TD15 Pts, 5 Reb, 1 Ast, 2 Stl,

Alex Smith (Chiefs)

19-34, 246 Yards, 1 TD15 Pts, 1 Reb, 1 Stl

NFL

Patriots (24), Jets (17)

Tom Brady (Pats) 20-38, 257 YDS, 2 TD, 1 INT

Josh McCown (Jets) 31-47, 354 YDS, 2 TD, 2 INTPts, 3 Reb, 2 Stl, 2 Blk

NBA Boston Celtics (99),Cleveland Cavaliers (102) Kyrie Irving (Bos) 22 Pts, 4 Reb, 10 Ast1 Pts, 8 Ast, 2 Stl

LeBron James (Cle) 29 Pts, 16 Reb, 9 Ast28 Pts, 22 Reb, 3 Ast

OPINION

10

Featured Photo

An abstract view of the benches residing outside of Bowman Hall, taken by Mackenzie Liddle Are you a student with a passion for photography? If you would like to see your photo featured in a future issue of the Beacon, please email your submissions to our Photography Editor Ron Leja at rl2670@mcla.edu

Oct. 19, 2017 Vol. 85 Issue 5

Time is Stream-Worthy You know what I really suck God, helping us kill that time. at? Watching TV. To be more When I used to work the grave specific, I suck at watching TV yard security monitor shifts in weekly, especially as a college Hoosac Hall, I’d binge shows student. like there was no tomorrow, In high school, I because my mind couldn’t religiously watched handle homework at 4 a.m.

TV shows like Trust me, I want to be “Glee,” “The Vamable to have the time to pire Diaries,” and watch TV shows every week “Pretty Little Liars” Emma every week, anticithat everyone else is watchMonahan ing. Sometime I feel like pating next week’s episode like there Arts & Emma I’m missing out on a great was no tomorrow. show if I don’t. When “The Those shows were Handmaid’s Tale” came out what motivated me to do my on Hulu, I didn’t have it at the homework right when I got time, and I’m the type of perhome from school. son where I want to read the Then I came to college, and book beforehand. Then the although I tried, I couldn’t show got all of these awards, keep up with my weekly shows. I eventually gave up and it was like I was living and got a Netflix account, but under a rock. haven’t watched those shows It’s not just weekly shows, since (the ones stated above even the series that Netflix have all ended). and Hulu put out themselves.

Now the only show I watch I have yet to see “Stranger each week is “This Is Us.” EvThings,” because every time I ery Tuesday after my classes finish a show, and new season get out at 5:15, I have nothof another show I like comes ing to do for the rest of the on, preventing me from startnight. So after dinner, I do homework, and by the time 9 ing something different. See o’clock rolls around, I’m ready my dilemma? for my weekly tear jerker.

I say to solve this problem, I can’t be the only one who because I’m sure I’m not the is like this, right? In college, only MCLA student who has our schedules are completely it, is to have a class that is different to what they were in solely for watching TV. Or high school. Sometimes we to make things easier, just a have not free time, sometimes break in the day where there’s we have too much. Streamnothing happening. Can you ing services like Netflix and Hulu are like a blessing from do that, President Birge?

Are we living in Humanity’s final decades? Is this end?

Pick up a newspaper; turn quo is destabilizing the envion the daily news. You will ronment we all live in. find environmental disasters It seems, more than ever, aplenty, from the unthat the Earth is on a stoppable wildfires that path for a slow, painare ravaging Northern ful death that can Calif. to the onslaught only be interrupted of tropical storms and by nuclear fire. It’s hurricanes that have arguably already been tearing up the Attoo late to undo the lantic, instigated by a Mitchell negative environChapman mental damage manchanging climate.

You will learn of the Not on My kind has done to the microplastics that float planet, but it doesn’t Watch in the water we drink help that the average and of certain areas, citizen simply does like the garbage-choked not take it seriously; even beaches of Ghana, where in the face of a violent hurpeople are literally being ricane season among other killed by their own waste. environmental disasters that From an environmental either effect them personalpoint of view, our planet is ly, or might effect someone getting more violent, beg- they know. ging the question: how much To be fair, America can longer will it be able to sus- not single-handedly save the tain life? world, and as such, RepubPolitics, particularly con- lican politics are not solely servative Republican poli- to blame for the sad state tics, have only increased of Earth’s environment, but these problems, driven by it is a world leader, and as large, private political do- a majority Republican-connors who have a great mon- trolled nation (based on proetary stake in the economic portion of seats), the country status quo of America, who has failed to present itself are either unaware of or as a positive example to the don’t care that the status rest of the world. There are

efforts to rectify this, particularly those who disobeyed President Trump’s wishes by following the Paris Agreement, but as a whole, what the country has been doing comes too little, too late.

This is the time, if any, for the country and the world to have a wake-up call. It is sad and particularly disheartening that a large portion of the country thinks it’s appropriate to debate the science (which is factual – there is no debate) of climate change. Worse still are those who think it’s inappropriate to talk about climate change after an environmental disaster – that’s the time to talk about it. When disaster strikes, it is imperative that it is dealt with, yes, but also studied and analyzed, so the conditions and factors that led to it can be known and accounted for in the future – it should be in all of our best interests to do the best that we can to prevent future disasters.

Perhaps the biggest factor in 2017 that has handicapped a proper discussion and proper action about cli-

mate change is our inability to have a civil discourse about it. People are afraid to talk about politics, particularly because of how our discourse functions today.

We are pushed further to the left and further to the right, programmed to instantly share or blurt out the first things that comes to our minds. There is no listening or thinking involved, or if there is, there is very little, particularly in millennial discourse. Worse yet, many people are not critical of the beliefs and opinions they have, yet they cling to them.

This is all amplified when online, which, unfortunately, has impacted our personto-person discourse.

If this is the last few decades of humanity, disappointment comes to mind.

There is hope, but it will only work if we all work together and not in the way one might think. Compromise will be a big part of it, but only when it’s right to compromise. When it comes to the environment, there is a clear right and wrong side and, sadly to say, climate

change is real and it needs to be dealt with. There will be people who will seemingly never change, but a lot of them will have to, because we can’t afford for our leaders to make decisions based off of Alex Jones-eque pseudoscience. We can’t afford for our political system to be influenced by dying fossil fuel companies that don’t want to change.

Throughout human history, humans made marvels and some of them, like the Pyramids of Giza and the Great Wall, will remain on Earth in some form after we’re gone. We put people on the moon and invented industry. With all the great resources available to us, the problem has and always will be coordination.

It’s time we turn our cameras away from ourselves and towards the world, because without this world, we won’t exist.

Oct. 19, 2017 Vol. 85 Issue 5

OPINION

NAFTA, trade and the Automobile The Trump administra- is another step closer to tion has reiterated its in- an unmanned automotive tentions to renegotiate the manufactory which would North America Free Trade mean actively working to Agreement (NAFTA) nu- get the Big Three (Genmerous times. Which isn’t eral Motors, Ford Motor an inherently poor Company, and decision, but it Fiat Chrysler Audoes have enortomotive Group) mous ramificato bring back their tions on the autoplants would be motive industry. meaningless. Any What is being increase in cost sought, at least in to bring MexicanJoseph part, with this remade vehicles into Carew negotiation is the the United States return of some WheelSpin would encourage manufacturing the companies to jobs to the United invest in automaStates. In 2015, just over tion thus replacing work1.5 million vehicles were ers and cutting costs. built for Ford, Genreal Now, this is strictly Motors, and Fiat Chrysler speaking in an automoin Mexico according to the tive view. But if the one of Center for Automotive Re- the goals of renegotiating search’s July 2016 study, NAFTA is to bring back “The Growing Role of Mex- jobs it seems like an imico in the North American possible task. One of the Automotive Industry.” repeated mantras was that This figure is significant this new deal with Canada but there is no simple way and Mexico would seek to to instantly transfer all of heavily favor the United the invested production to States. Which, on the surthe United States. face, makes sense: you For one thing, that idea want to maximize value of automotive manufac- for yourself in any type of turers having long as- trade deal. Unfortunately sembly lines filled with it appears that neither of workers is slowly slipping the other two countries is into the past. Every year even remotely willing to

accept some of the proposals made by the United States.

Any new deal that works against the interests of Canada and Mexico will, inadvertently, work against the United States.

If, for example, the US’s neighbors accept an agreement that will heavily tax cars being imported into the United States from Mexico or Canada will force manufacturers to find another way to keep their costs low. One of the benefits and costs of globalization is the incredible amount of markets companies now have access to.

All it would take is some research and time for these car companies and they would find an alternative market.

It’s the capitalist mindset that companies tend to have that drives them to keep production costs low and profits high. That isn’t a criticism; profits tend to drive a company because they are what keep it alive. The point is that when you make production in Mexico more expensive for automotive companies unless moving that manufacturing to the

United States is the least expensive option (which is highly unlikely) you have not solved any problems.

Ford, General Motors, and Fiat-Chrysler are spread all over the world and touch almost every market possible. They will search for the next cheapest option and invest in it heavily.

Not only would that mean that the goal to bring jobs back to the United States would be a failure, but that now the vehicles aren’t even going to be built within the same hemisphere. This means that Mexico would lose the investments from these automotive giants and its economy would suffer. An suffering Mexico could have negative implications for all of its neighbors.

If NAFTA must be renegotiated it can’t focus exclusively on America’s interests. Any time a new obstacle stands in the way of a company it will do everything it can to avoid it and a new trade deal could easily hasten the drive towards exclusively automated production and force companies farther away from us.

Comics from MCT Campus

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Executive Board Editor-in-Chief Joseph Carew

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Photographer Ronnie Leja photo portfolio Ronnie Leja Ron is a English & Communications major with a strong focus in the field of entertainment journalism. As an avid gamer and lover of all things nerdy, he is very much an advocate for the arts and enjoys honing his skills in the fields of photography and graphic design. His other passions include creative writing, meditation, video editing, the occasional D&D session and exploring hip-hop and folk punk music. His favorite forms of photography are a stone cold tie between black and white and macro shots.