Issue 3 Spring 2015

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Volume 80 ◆ Issue 3

Th u r s d ay, F e b rua r y 1 9 , 2 0 1 5

Press conference held to bring back full service hospital care

By Harmony Birch Staff Writer

Nearly a year ago North Adams Regional Hospital closed. In response, a group of citizens and previous hospital workers met to discuss and funnel information to their community.

Every Tuesday since the closing, 30 to 35 citizens held discussion forums.

The group titled themselves the North County Cares Coalition.

On Feb. 11, the North County Cares Coalition held a rally and press conference calling for inpatient care in northern Berkshire County. The rally served as a press release for a report Massachusetts Nurses Association (MNA) by the “Berkshire Medical Center North (BMCN): The Case for Restoring a Full Service Hospital for northern Berkshire County.”

The hospital served roughly 37,000 citizens in northern Berkshire

County and some communities of southern Vermont and eastern New York. It was the largest employer in the city of North Adams. In Dec., the Massachusetts Labor Force reported North Adam’s unemployment rate at 6.8 percent. Massachusetts’s unemployment rate was 4.8 percent. The U.S. Bureau of Labor statistics reported the national rate for 2014 at 6.2 percent.

In addition to employment concerns, Northern Berkshire County shows health problems greater than the national average.

Organizations have identified prenatal and mental health care as being particularly necessary.

Jim Lipa, the co-chairman of the North County Cares Coalition, claims that 7,000 of northern Berkshire community members raised petitions to D.C. in regards to the hospital closing. He said the coalition was the only way anyone was getting any information about the

hospital.

“There was very little information flow from the elected officials and the hospital,” Lipa added.

“They morphed into a group who could see what could be done about it.”

BHS bought the hospital and opened up a satellite emergency room for northern Berkshire county citizens who might not have been able to survive the thirty-five minute drive to Pittsfield for a full service hospital visit.

According to Michael Leary, a media representative for BHS, the system has invested nearly $13 million to North County health care and hired more than 250 employees from the region.

Yet BHS is hesitant to commit to another full serviced hospital in the Northern county region.

The company follows the findings of the Stroudwater Associates’ “Healthcare HOSPITAL CARE, continued on page 3

Photo by Harmony Birch/The Beacon

Williamstown resident Anne O’Connor attends a press conference to call for inpatient care in Northern Berkshire County.

Online surveys used to Third presidential candidate visits for Q&A Dr. Jane McBride Gates met with students and faculty collect student feedback Staff Writer

Photo from SurveyMonkey

The College has been seeking out student feedback in a variety of ways, including online surveys that students can access by looking up links. But recently there has been a large move to use SurveyMonkey by multiple departments on campus, as well as bringing prospective professors into classes to get students’ perspectives.

Most recently, the Division of Graduate and Continuing Education e-mailed a link to their SurveyMonkey on summer course offerings to all students.

The survey remained open for

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ten days for students to give their input and the e-mail included a link to the current tentative summer course catalog.

“We were really curious about what classes students want for the summer and how they would like them to be delivered, whether that be in an actual classroom or online,” said Howard Jacob Eberwein III, Dean of Graduate and Continuing Education.

“We want to offer the courses that students need so that they can stay on the path to graduate on time,” said Eberwein.

The English Communications department will also be using SurveyMonkey to get feedback from the students who attended the Digital Journalist teaching demonstrations that took place at the end of Jan. through the beginning of Feb. “This is really how students are plugged in, they’re communicating through Twitter and other places online,” said Eberwein. “This is how we can SURVEYMONKEY, continued on page 3

News

By Nick Swanson Senior News Editor

Dr. Jane McBride Gates arrived on campus last week for Q&A based meetings with administrators, faculty members, and students.

All three presidential candidate finalists have now visited campus to voice their image of what they could potentially bring to MCLA as the next college president, and the Board of Trustees will make the final vote on Thursday, Mar. 5.

Gates currently serves as Provost and vice president for Academic Affairs at Western Connecticut State University (WCSU).

She was the first provost (senior academic administrator) in WCSU history to receive an SGA award for attending several meetings and helping student, according to Gates.

“I was not familiar with MCLA but after researching, I was intrigued with the mission and core values of the college because they align with my own,” Gates said.

Gates comes from a family

with three generations of college graduates, which made an impact on her vision of higher education.

At WCSU, Gates oversees more than 100 clubs and organizations where she has discovered that co-curricular activities enhance student learning.

“

I was intrigued with the mission and core values of the college because they align with my own.

“

By Idalis Foster

Dr. Jane McBride Gates “In fact the best practices, from a national stand-point, require that we have co-curricular activities,” Gates continued, “students learn just as much outside the classroom as they do inside, and that’s statistically proven.”

Gates has past experience and shows interest towards United

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Sports

Search for vice president of Student Affairs on hold

Rutha Harris sings in power and beauty

Men’s and women’s basketball standings

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Nations events, the WCSU regional debate team, and nationally funded math and science conferences.

“I am passionately connected to making sure there are optimal learning experiences,” Gates said.

Gates also gave support in the creation of WCSU Research Day, where multiple students and faculty members team up to conduct a research project and then present it during Research Day. “At the end of the day it’s about the student and student learning,” Gates said.

“How do you see civic engagement being represented in higher education and what is your leadership experience around the civic engagement movement?” Spencer Moser, Coordinator of Center for Service and Citizenship, asked.

“Civic engagement builds globally prepared citizens, and is absolutely an essential category in PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE, continued on page 3

News Features Arts & Entertainment Sports Campus Comment Local Events Photo Essay

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Campus News

Thursday, February 19, 2015

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Weekend Snow days leave too many missed class days Weather Some classes have yet to meet on Mondays due to winter weather Thursday, February 19

Snow Showers High: 12° Low: -8° Prec. Chance: 70%

Friday, February 20

By Gionna Nourse Staff Writer

Another snow day?! Although these words excite many, it is safe to say the snow this semester has put a damper on class scheduling for professors and students alike.

So far this semester, there have already been four snow days. Most have occurred on Mondays, with one on a Tuesday. Even though professors usually build a few snow days into their syllabi, too many can cause immense problems when it comes to scheduling exams, homework assignments, and lectures.

Chemistry Professor Carolyn Dehner, has a three-hour Intro to Chemistry lab on Mondays. This time is devoted to the lab component of the Intro course. Dehner explained that it is a little more challenging to make up lab time then regular class time, since students don’t have proper lab equipment to work with outside of class, or at home.

“This makes it a bit more challenging to make up the time, since I can’t have students do the work from home, on their own, etc.,” she said.

Dehner needs to be able to spend time with the students, to walk them through the procedures required to complete lab assignments.

Students missed two labs in a row, which equals out to six hours of class time. Missing one three-hour class is the equivalent of missing a full week of classes, which means Dehner’s students essentially missed two weeks of classes. This can be challenging to come back from for both students and professors.

Dehner has no choice but to alter her original plans for the course, so that she can make up the missed time. She explained the different options she is offering to students in order to make up this lab time.

“These students missed two labs in a row; for one of the labs, I am using lecture time (since I know they’re all available), and for the other, I emailed them with a list of

days and times I’m available and they are emailing me back to set up a makeup lab time (so I have five or so different days and times the students will be coming in to do the lab),” Dehner explained.

Not only did Dehner have to make up the missed lab time with students, she also had to alter a scheduled exam.

“I have postponed their first exam for one week to allow for enough time to get through the material.

I’m hoping to get through the same amount of material this semester as planned,” she said.

One can only imagine how stressful the continuous snow days might be for our professors, but what about our students? While resident students appreciate the extra sleep, and commuter students appreciate less dangerous travel conditions, snow days can still jumble up schedules.

Senior Amanda Hoag feels as though snow days tend to break up the general flow of the semester.

“I love school, and it’s a bummer for me when classes are cancelled.

I had to wait an extra week just to start one of my classes, and I feel like because of the snow days we’ve had, there is no flow to the semester,” she said.

Although Hoag feels this way, she also explained that she appreciates not having to drive to North Adams from Pittsfield in hazardous weather conditions.

“I am also a commuter student from Pittsfield so I can also appreciate the safety factor. I think the decision made by the school to cancel on the days in which they did were the right call,” she said.

Hoag also wishes her Monday classes were a little further along than they currently are, due to snow days.

“I missed an important class on Monday that I wish we were further along in than we actually are,” she said.

Campus Police Logs The week of - 2/8 - 2/14 Sunday, February 8

Partly Cloudy High: 9° Low: -4° Prec. Chance: 10%

Saturday, February 21

◆ Public Safety responded to a safety hazard in the Murdock hall parking lot. The call was completed ◆ Public Safety responded to a building check on the MCLA campus. The building was checked and secured. ◆ Public Safety responded to a building check on the MCLA campus. The building was checked and secured.

Monday, February 9

Snow High: 24° Low: 20° Prec. Chance: 60%

Sunday, February 22

◆ Public Safety responded to a medical call in Berkshire Towers. Services were rendered. ◆ Public Safety responded to a medical call at the Townhouse apartments. The individual was transported. ◆ Public Safety responded to a building check on MCLA Campus. Building was checked and secured.

Tuesday, February 10 ◆ Public Safety responded to larceny/forgery/fraud call in Venable hall. A report was filed. ◆ Public Safety responded to a medical call at Hoosac hall.

The individual was transported by taxi. ◆ Public Safety responded to a motor vehicle accident at the Ashland street parking lot. A report was filed.

Wednesday, February 11 ◆ Public Safety responded to a bank deposit/money escort at Eldridge hall. Services were rendered. ◆ Public Safety responded to larceny/forgery/fraud call at the Amsler campus center. A report was filed. ◆ Public Safety responded to a parking enforcement issue in the Church Street Center lot.

Services were rendered. ◆ Public Safety responded to

The MCLA Beacon Online Snow Showers High: 35° Low: 9° Prec. Chance: 70%

a parking enforcement issue in the Berkshire Towers lot.

Services were rendered.

the Amsler campus center. A report was filed.

◆ Public Safety responded to a 911 hang up call at Shapiro house. No action was required.

◆ Public Safety responded to a medical call at Hoosac hall.

The individual was transported by taxi.

Thursday, February 12

◆ Public Safety responded to a bank deposit/money escort at Eldridge hall. Services were rendered.

◆ Public Safety responded to a 911 hang up call at the Amsler campus center. No action was required. ◆ Public Safety responded to a parking enforcement issue in the Berkshire Towers lot.

Services were rendered. \ ◆ Public Safety responded to a medical call at Flagg Townhouse Apartments. Individual was transported to the hospital. ◆ Public Safety responded to a building check on MCLA Campus. Building was checked and secured.

Friday, February 13 ◆ Public Safety responded to an incidence of vandalism at

Saturday, February 14 ◆ Public Safety responded to a medical call at Hoosac hall.

No action was required ◆ Public Safety responded to a building check on MCLA Campus. Building was checked and secured. ◆ Public Safety responded to a parking enforcement issue at the power plant parking area.

Services were rendered. ◆ Public Safety responded to a building check on MCLA Campus. Building was checked and secured.

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News

Thursday, February 19, 2015

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Dr. Jane McBride Gates talks to students Search for vice president of and faculty about leadership experiences Student Affairs on hold

By Nick Swanson

something as serious as running for office,” Gates answered.

She said Civic engagement and involvement, internships, and service learning all link together academic and applied experience.

What is discovered afterwards is, if it impacted the students or not, and why.

Gates mentioned starting a garden with students at her college as an example.

According to Gates, the project helped in teaching positive environmental practices and that sustainability goes beyond what is discussed in the classroom including the affects it has on mankind.

“Engagement is a key action piece; students who aren’t engaged, are retained,” Gates said.

Gates is a proponent for expanding forms of leadership practices. She suggests student forums, multiple leadership courses, and case scenarios that can help develop leadership skills.

Gates is recognized for her leadership experiences as NAACP 100 Most Influential Black Leaders in Connecticut (2011 and 2013), one of Arkansas’ Outstanding Women in the state

by U.S. Senator Blanche Lincoln.

Director of Counseling Services Heidi A. Riello asked, “If you got hired here, how would you imagine assessing where the gaps are and what [department] needs help the most?”

“Every institution is different,” Gates said. “I need to look over the descriptive data analytics from the college but if someone wants to see ‘X’ they must have data to back it up.”

At WCSU a group of students went to Gates with a written proposal for a new initiative to re-envision the role of the library on campus. Through the proposal

Senior News Editor

she said it was to her surprise that in Philadelphia, P.A. there is library with no books.

Gates then approved the creation of a writing center in the middle of the library.

“Creating the idea was met with a high level of compassion from students and faculty,” Gates continued, “it turned into a wonderful, vibrant learning space that responds to students needs and student body as a whole.

“Lately a lot of focus is on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) majors and professions, but how can that be changed towards other sciences and humanities major,” Student Colby Harvish, asked.

“In STEM there’s even a certain way to write in STEM, but a way to change that barrier is to communicate,” Gates explains, “we need them to think, what are you doing in STEM and if they know how it affects the impact of social change.”

Gates was asked if college campuses should be smoke or tobacco free.

“I agree with it, especially after I saw the [WCSU] librarian come forward and even push to get the e-cig banned because it harms the preservation of books in the library,” Gates said.

Gates firmly believes the wellness of society as a whole takes after the influences of an individual.

“As a member of Beta Lambda I was wondering what’s your take on expanding greek life on campus,” Student Natasha Antona asked.

Gates is a member of Omicron Upsilon Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority.

“I support Greek life on campus, as a fellow greek member I feel it to be very rewarding,” Gates continued. “It promotes retention

and also secures a close network to a group that is there for you and if you come across challenges you have people there to help,” Gates said.

“However I also support a safe campus life, and do not side with the over-consumption of alcohol that is sometimes included with such organizations,” Gates said.

Student Matt Hotaling asked if she has any strategy to increase student enrollment at MCLA. “I think it’s an obligation of the institution to find more opportunities for students,” Gates said.

She suggests there should be an increase in the amount of grad programs available to students and that every student should complete and internship before graduation.

“Painlessly changing just a little, incrementally, embraces the idea of change, then focus on what you did well and what you need to do better in,” Gates said She suggested liberal arts programs should be lined with professional programs.

“We are in control of our own destiny, we need to be stronger, braver, and serve the change,” Gates said. “There are many things you can do that don’t involve [spending] the dollar.”

Gates said outreaching to corporate America is a prime example. She wonders what they could potentially fund or what would they like to see named for them on this campus that is not already here.

“As a liberal arts institution there are opportunities to have more partnerships and start focusing on interdisciplinary tactics, need to work across the disciplines,” Gates explained.

SurveyMonkey promotes higher levels of participation ONLINE SURVEYS, continued from page 1

accumulate higher levels of participation.”

Eberwein also mentioned the ease of use of SurveyMonkey, a point that John Clark, computer helpdesk manager, mentioned as well as a contributor to its growing popularity.

“SurveyMonkey is a service that has become popular because of its ease of use and flexibility,” said Clark. “There are various methods of obtaining feedback electronically but this particular service has the framework already built that provides users the ability to create and manage surveys very easily without the need to build anything custom.”

The departments are able to write up surveys that they feel will get them the best feedback, and then give the surveys to the technology department, which then converts it into the online format. The service is free; however, the college has a subscription which allows it access to more features.

“Any department on campus may decide to invest in its own SurveyMonkey account,” said Clark. “The best example is the Psychology Department, where faculty in that department use their Surveymonkey account to help students build surveys for the research they do for class.”

According to Clark, the ease of going over the feedback is an important aspect as well. The

results can be viewed by individual surveys, or be summarized into graphs, and they can be password protected or made public.

“They can be graphed in various ways and even exported for use with external analysis tools such as SPSS,” said Clark.

The information taken from these surveys is also stored in the SurveyMonkey hosted service, making them easily accessible like paper surveys, but not as easily lost as physical copies.

SurveyMonkey is free to sign up for, and is currently the world’s most popular online survey software with customers ranging from professors to companies like Facebook and Samsung.

The list of candidates for next vice president of Student Affairs/ Dean of Students (VP) has yet to be finalized with attention towards closing weeks of MCLA election for twelfth president.

“The search was put on hold because we believe the new (MCLA) president should make an input on the decision for the new VP of Student Affairs,” Mary Ellen Olenyk, Director of Human Resources, said.

The Spelman and Johnson Group (SJG) is currently building a pool of 8-10 candidates that will be revealed within the next week, according to Olenyk.

“One difficulty that came along with putting the [VP] election on hold is that other institutions are [hiring], scooping up many of the good applicants,” Olenyk said.

“Anyone can apply for the position and that includes those already [hired] from the college internally,” Olenyk said.

The position is advertised on a number of platforms.

SJG representative Heather Larabee organized a number of discussions for students and other groups at MCLA on Jan. 30 to determine what qualifications people were looking for in a VP. According to SJG’s Web site, SJG is a specialized search firm with a proven history filling leadership positions within higher education.

They have a mission to provide exceptional, ethical service to their clients through identifying and recruiting talented leaders for institutions. They were also hired to find candidates for the College’s presidential election.

According to Olenyk, the search committee will review each candidate’s résumé conduct a phone screen interview to every candidate to ask questions to be a potential finalist. These interviews will take place after the college president is decided in early March.

“A couple of weeks after spring break the candidates will come to campus for Q&A sessions like the presidential candidates,” Olenyk said.

North County Cares Coalition rallies for Critical Access HOSPITAL CARE, continued from page 3 Market Assessment: Northern Berkshire County, Massachusetts.”

Stroudwater Associates, a healthcare firm that designs sustainable health care plans, was charged by the State to assess the health care needs of Northern Berkshire County. Using statistics gathered between 2010 and 2012, it was found that the region was in poor health--more so than the national average--and that a large amount of its population relied on public funding for health care.

They recommended expansion of primary and prenatal care, transportation, and an in-patient hospital be opened in North Adams only if it receives “Critical Access” status.

In order to be considered as a “Critical Access Hospital,” the administration must apply, be located in a rural area, and have no more than 25 in-patient beds.

A hospital given “Critical Access” will receive reimbursed funding for patients on Medicare.

One of the community members participating in the rally was Anne O’Connor of Williamstown.

While O’Connor doesn’t regularly attend events put on by the North County Cares Coalition, she strongly believes that an inpatient hospital is necessary.

“It’s a life or death issue,” O’Connor said. “Pittsfield is just too far away.”

O’Connor stated that she wasn’t looking to see who was at fault for the lack of hospital care in

North Adams, but she did believe that gaining Critical Access status would be an important step towards financially supporting a full service hospital.

“

It’s a life or death issue.

Pittsfield is just too far away.

“

PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE, continued from page 1

Anne O’Connor Nykole Roche, Associate director and strategic researcher for the MNA and author of the new MNA report, disagrees that BHS needs “Critical Access” status. In her report she admits that the government assistance would be ideal -though she question why BHS has yet to applybut she insists that regardless of government assistance, an in-patient hospital in North Adams is a financially sound investment.

She argues that the Stroudwater report uses data that is no longer relevant. In her report she states that NARH failed because of poor financial management. Not only does she believe that BHS has the money to open another full service hospital, but her data suggests that it would be profitable.

Campus News 4 Campus Conversations on Race continue Thursday, February 19, 2015

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CCOR aims to encourage discussion of race, prejudice, and privilege on campus

Design Editor

Tuesday’s Campus Conversation on Race, Part II brought students together to examine prejudice, privilege, and progress both on campus and off.

“We’re hoping to expand beyond race here,” senior Jayla C.-Wingard, co-coordinator of Campus Conversations on Race (CCOR), said. “We’re expanding now to LGBTQA, to gender, to income levels. Intersectionality is really important here.”

Freshman Samantha Hamilton, another CCOR co-coordinator, said the goal of the events is to facilitate safe and productive exchanges about race, gender, religion, and class on campus.

“We want to make this a comfortable space to really discuss these things,” Hamilton said.

Co-sponsored by Black Student Union (BSU) and Residential Programs and Services (RPS), Tuesday’s conversation was one in a series open to students, faculty, and staff. The next is scheduled for March 6. All organizers stressed the openness of these gatherings to the campus community, and the importance of different perspectives in the discussion.

Thomas Alexander, Coordinator for Multicultural Affairs, said this conversation is still just the beginning for CCOR. “We’re evolving into a place of solutions,” he said. “It’s normal for students to feel intimidated about coming to things like this, but we’ve got to move past that.

Once we get past those boundaries, look what we can do.”

Alexander said students brought a wide array of different perspec-

tives on important issues, both from personal experience and broader awareness of national and international topics.

Though students discussed topics like the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo. and the recent death of three Muslim students in Chapel Hill, N.C., the conversation focused on personal experiences of prejudice and tactics to combat it.

“Someone asked me at orientation if I could teach them how to twerk,” sophomore Bryanna Bradley said. “No, I’m not going to teach you how to twerk. I’m not going to wear my blackness, or how you imagine my blackness, for you.”

Other students said they experience more subtle forms of discrimination due to their race.

“

People change depending on the seeds you put out there. We’ve got to make sure we get the right ones out.

“

By Meg Gugarty

Thomas Alexander, Coordinator for Multicultural Affairs

“People say they’re intimidated by me,” junior Giovani Dulcio said. “I feel like asking, why?

What did I do to intimidate you?”

“People have to change their whole lives just to stay safe,” Dulcio continued. “When I’m in Florida, my grandma tells me not to drive past 11, because they pull black men over just for driving.

I try not to talk too loud so I don’t offend anybody.”

Students agreed that both media and education have roles to play in improving race relations, but that personal interaction is vital as well.

“They’re erasing blackness,” Dulcio said. “The great pharaohs were black, and they write that out in the movies. We’re pioneers of math, science, industry, and the media disguises it.”

Alexander encouraged students to examine the reason these trends continue.

“Businesses try to create perspectives to get their way,” he said.

“They say we have to Photo by Meg Gugarty/The Beacon put others down in Sophomore Bryanna Bradley shared her experiences at Tuesday’s Campus order to get ahead, Conversation on Race, part of an ongoing series of discussions sponsored and that keeps things

by CCOR, BSU, and RPS. the way they are. All “I have to question myself all ing questioned,” she said. “Black the ‘-isms’ – racism, the time,” she said. “Just because people say I’m ‘acting white’, but sexism, classism – are out there, I’m black doesn’t mean I can’t be I’m not white enough for white being promoted for these reaguilty of thinking these things.” people. I’m not black enough for sons.”

Th e intersection of diff erent them, either.”

Junior Veronica Colacurcio said identities was another important Going forward, Alexander said the discussion gave her a chance topic for many students. he hopes the focus will remain to think differently on her own “I’m really scared for a lot of my on reaching out to others, not just upbringing. family members who still pracstaying comfortable.

“I was raised in a Greek-Italian “Don’t assume that people can’t household,” Colacurcio said. “I tice Islam,” C.-Wingard said. “Not only are they black, but they’re change, ” he said. “Maybe they don’t want to be part of the racism going to pray in their hijabs.

It’s won’t do it in front of you, but you that my family has sometimes. We scary to think of what could hapdrop that seed, and maybe later, clash about it. It can be really hard pen to them just because of that. ” they’ll start to open up. People to stay aware of what I’m coming Bradley shared her experience change depending on the seeds from.” as a black student in a private you put out there.

We’ve got to Bradley seconded the need for school. make sure we get the right ones continual self-examination.

“My blackness is always be- out.”

Low temperatures and high snowfalls hit New England

By Brittany Gallacher Editor-in- Chief

In the past two months, New England has experienced incredibly low temperatures and record-breaking snowfall as the winter season rages on.

Alanna Durkin and Michael Melia at the Huffington Post point out that there have been “exceptionally cold temperatures following [the recent snow storms], perhaps the coldest in years.” The article quoted Matthew Belk of the National Weather Service, who said there are wind chills reaching as low as 20 to 40 degrees below zero.

Another forecasting site, weather.gov, said the historic temperatures will continue across the North East with a cold front dropping down from Canada later this week. The site added that these temperatures could be “some of the coldest weather since the mid-1990s for parts of the Southeast U.S., Mid-Atlantic, and central Appalachians.”

Despite the frigid cold, other parts of the U.S. have been experiencing more record

high temperatures throughout January and February. According to Andrew Freedman, a science editor for the Mashable news website, there have been 1,605 daily high temperature records set or tied in the past 30 days compared to the 107 daily record cold temperatures. This data, quoted from the National Climactic Data Center in Freedman’s article, shows the difference in the number of monthly temperature records.

The MCLA Beacon Online Beacon file photo

This winter is among the coldest and snowiest on record across New England, causing multiple snow days due to dangerous travel conditions.

Snowfall cancelations at MCLA and is affecting how Winter storms Juno and Marcus, the first students and professors get to campus.

The AccuWeather website reports that two storms of 2015, are on Boston’s top North Adams received about 4.5 inches ten list for the heaviest snowstorms of all of snow during storm Juno, and 1.5 more time, according to Jon Erdman’s article on inches a few days later. About 7.5 inches weather.com. fell when Marcus hit campus, and 15 inchJuno began on Jan. 26 and accumulates accumulated a week later, which was the ed 24. 6 inches in the city, while Marcus cause of yet another snow day. rolled in on Feb. 7 with 23.8 inches, Erdman wrote. This increased snowfall across Eastern Mass. has resulted in many class

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Features

Thursday, feburary 19, 2015

Transfer student quickly falls into place Krystal Henriquez ‘16 finds her path through art classes with the help of MassTransfer Block, an initiative that makes it easier for college students to transfer credits from another school.

“MassTransfer Block is the best thing that a transfer can do for themselves,” said Henriquez. “Once I completed the requirements at home, I was able to come here; and I didn’t have to take any core classes. It set me up for my major.”

According to the College’s website, MCLA enrolls close to 300 transfers annually.

Henriquez quickly discovered where she fit in on campus. She joined a handful of clubs; she is the vice president of the Photography Club, the Arts Editor of Spires, a member of the Ski Club, and a member of the Outdoor Trailblazers Club.

Photo by Liz Quirk/ The Beacon

Transfer student, Krystal Henriquez sits in on the Photography Club’s E-Board meeting on Wednesday.

By Kaliegh Hayes

“

It sets the bar high I want to be the best.

Krystal Henriquez

”

Features Writer

Junior Krystal Henriquez is off and running.

The 21 year-old arrived last fall from Holyoke Community College (HCC). Henriquez is one of the many transfer students who found their way to MCLA. She is pursuing her Bachelor of Arts degree in arts management, and is involved in the artistic community of MCLA. After spending two years at HCC, Henriquez wanted to branch out from her familiar surroundings and start a new adventure.

“I transferred here because of the Arts Management program,” said Henriquez. “This is one of the only places that they offer it anywhere near here.”

She was able to jump right into the program’s

Taking advantage of the opportunities the College has for her, Henriquez is also part of an exchange program between MCLA and Williams College. She is enrolled in a “Sculpture Expanded” course this semester.

“It’s challenging in the best way possible,” Henriquez said. “It sets the bar high, and I want to be the best.”

“I’ve been really satisfied with MCLA,” Henriquez said. “I’ve met some really awesome faculty members that are helping me and are putting me in the right places for my career.”

Henriquez is graduating next spring. She’s putting her best foot forward, and is doing all she can to make her life goals into achievements.

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Political Science class to travel to Toronto for NAMUN conference The conference will be held from Feb.19-22

By Juanita Doss Features Editor

Political Science Professor Ben Taylor, and 12 of his students, will be traveling to Toronto, Ontario, Canada, to compete in the North American Model United Nations (NAMUN).

NAMUN is an annual conference held at the University of Toronto, which draws delegations from around the world. This year marks the 30th anniversary of the conference and it will be held from Feb. 19 through Feb 22.

“The students in the class are assigned states (i.e., countries) whom they will represent on a specific committee debating a specific issue, or set of issues,” Taylor said. “We prepare as a team, but in reality each student is responsible for their positions and decisions at the conference.”

Each delegate is assigned a state.

There are also delegates on historical and ‘crisis’ committees which are less structured, and rather than states some delegates are assigned historical figures. Over the course of three days, students will attempt to debate and pass resolutions dealing with the issues before their committees.

“The degree to which delegates know their state’s position, the issue itself, and the positions of other states determines the success of the conference for a delegate,” Taylor said.

According to Taylor, MCLA has had

many delegates win awards for their work in the past. This year he’s hoping for students to bring home more awards.

This is Taylor’s first time being involved with NAMUN. However, Political Science Professor Robert Bence has been involved with NAMUN for quite some time. Last year was his last time attending the conference.

Once Bence decided he would no lonPhoto from Namun.org ger lead the delegation, Taylor asked a few students if they would be interested in going this year. The students were excited at the opportunity, so Taylor offered the course.

According to Taylor, the conference is a great event for students who want experience in politics, diplomacy, the law, or just working with different people.

“It’s a great learning opportunity for students to have,” Taylor said. “It’s an international experience, and uses exactly the skills and capacities we want students at MCLA to be able to bring to bear: critical thinking, writing and teamwork.”

After this year, Taylor hopes to continue to bring students to NAMUN. Anyone who is interested in learning more about NAMUN, political science, or the history program should contact Professor Taylor through Office 365.

Photography Club ready to make a comeback The club’s e-board hopes to attract other students by displaying artwork on social media said Brandon Boucher ‘17, president of the Photography Club. “I let my art come out in my photos.”

For the past couple of semesters, the Photography Club was active, but not many students knew it existed. This time around, they want to be more involved with the student body and other events that are held on campus.

“What inspired me most about bringing this club back was photography itself,” Boucher said. “Photography captures life in an instant, and to me is an amazing form of art.”

The Photography Club will attract students through social media by starting an Instagram page to show their work, and to help keep an online presence.

Photo courtesy of Domonique Ackley “We’ll do features like a ‘30 Day Challenge’ by showTreasurer Domonique Ackley snaps a photo of Ashmere ing the artwork of people in the club, and of other Lake in Peru, Mass. to help promote the Photography people who may just want their work to get out there,” Club. said Krystal Henriquez ’16, vice president of the PhoBy Juanita Doss tography Club.

Features Editor The club also plans to hold events that can become fundraisers for trips they may want to go on for photo-shoots.

It all started with one click. One photo taken with his A possible event they currently have in mind is to create Polaroid instant camera, which led him to fall in love with a classic photo-strip with any photos of the participants photography. choosing.

“I’m very big in the arts, but I’ve never been very good at When Henriquez noticed that Boucher was trying to get playing an instrument, or drawing, or anything like that,” things rolling again, she hopped on board to give herself

the opportunity of re-sparking her interest in photography.

“

Photography captures life in an instant, and to me is an amazing form of art.

Brandon Boucher

”

“Photography was something I used to avidly practice, and I have worked less with it since I have re-directed my career paths,” Henriquez said. “However, I understand the importance of entertaining my interests, even if it’s not career-oriented, so I decided this would be a great way to get back into it.”

Other members on the e-board are secretary Agnella Gross ‘16 and treasurer Domonique Ackley ‘15.

Boucher’s main goal for the club is to bring individuals together who share one passion, photography and capturing beauty with a shutter stick.

6

Thursday, February 19, 2015

Arts & Entertainment

Beacon.MCLA.edu

‘Fifty Shades of Grey’: boring and horrifically oppressive

By Shirin Hijab A&E Editor

“Fifty Shades of Grey” combines an ethically deplorable relationship with one of cinema’s great charms, sex, and results in complete boredom. The film corrects very little from the book, and still presents an outright oppressive relationship as something that should be sexually titillating and apparently, according to the theater I was in, funny.

In The Hollywood Reporter, director Sam Taylor-Johnson noted that she rewatched “Last Tango in Paris” in the process of making the film which serves as a strong point of interest. In “Last Tango,” a man (Marlon Brando) has dealt with the loss of his wife and starts what very quickly becomes an obsessive and abusive relationship with a significantly younger woman (Maria Schneider). The difference in this film is that at the end, instead of giving an ambiguous motion of kinda-leavingbut-not-really-leaving Grey, she shoots him.

It would have been a much better film if this happened; this is not to say that all obsessive people should be shot, but Anastasia (Dakota Johnson) seems smarter than her character is actually drawn out in the film. Some things don’t add up about Anastasia: she’s an English major--and claims that this inherently makes her a romantic--but she reads Hardy, and it seems strange that she hasn’t absorbed any of the pseudo- or

proto-feminism of 19th century literature. Her character is wholly uneven; maybe this is due to E.L. James’s style of characterization.

The film would have actually been a beautifully shot film, if there were no people in it and no plot. The plot is honestly what makes the film the most boring; for every chapter-length segment of the plot, it feels like we get a whole half-hour of dwelling, and angst, and perpetuating stereotypes.

The film should have been about an hour and a half shorter (in its completeness, the film is two hours and four minutes). This film asks people to endure too much. It broadcasts the dark sexually, abusive relationship as a point of allure, when in fact it’s truly terrifying that someone could get trapped in this kind of relationship. It’s the sensationalization of dangerous romance

“

The film would have actually been a beautifully shot film, if there were no people in it and no plot.

”

that’s so abhorrent; ostensibly, there probably are people acting like Anastasia and Christian.

Speaking in terms of a better film, it would be great if the film were interspersed with interviews with the actors on the characters they portray, like in Bergman’s

“The Passion.” This whim might be because Taylor-Johnson used a monologue from Bergman’s “Persona” in the casting process. It’s still mysterious how a monologue could have allowed Taylor-Johnson to choose actors who would play the parts so badly.

But maybe, like in the Abbas Kiarostami film, the characters we have in front of us are just acting “like someone in love.” That kind of analysis would work if we were dealing with something with even the farthest genetic relation to love. The film shows abusive control but doesn’t criticize it; instead the film indulges and asks the audience to indulge. It made me feel a sense of discomfort that I’ve not felt with any other movie, and that makes me question whether I want to even remember this, or think of it as a film in my movie memory.

Would it be possible to consider any merits for the film apart from the nice cityscape and blue tones? British cinema (Sam Taylor-Johnson) has in its commercial arena the tendency to create gray color schemes which make for extremely boring films.

If someone were to try to fix the ethical problems in the book, the film should be shot in black and white.

The whole time, I couldn’t help thinking why the actors needed to be from the US or were using US accents, especially when

Photo from Universal Pictures

“Fifty Shades” is actually more like a horror movie.

Jamie Dornan is from Northern Ireland and E.L. James is herself British. Many young people from the US have fetishized the British accent in all its pretentious ugliness. This lack of Britishness in

the film shows, to a certain extent, the centralization of US cinema and how the world is not recovering or putting up enough of a fight against the US being the center of the film world.

Rutha Harris delivers empowering songs

By Shirin Hijab A&E Editor

The Freedom Singers are a musical group that, probably, not enough people know about. I didn’t know about them until I saw that Rutha Mae Harris was coming to MCLA, and then I was upset at myself for not knowing.

The Freedom Singers consisted of Cordell Reagon, Bernice Johnson Reagon, Charles Neblett, and Rutha Mae Harris as the original quartet. They went around the US to 46 states of the 48 that were in existence in the 60s. They sang about social issues but, most of all, they chronicled the ongoing civil rights movement through song.

Harris entered in a booming fur coat, removed it, and then slowly ascended to the stage. She began speaking, giving the background on the Freedom Singers and then, without any warning, began singing: “We are here and we endure.”

She encouraged everyone to sing along if they knew the words.

“It was a shame people had to lose their lives to get freedom that was ours in the first place,” Harris said, with regard to being a witness to the movement and the police brutality that many still lose their lives from. She noted that, even when she and the other singers were jailed, they kept singing

“

It was a shame people had to lose their lives to get freedom that was ours in the first place.

Rutha Mae Harris

would faun over. She gives hope both to the quality of music, and the propensity for social change. Pain is obvious in her voice, but it’s also clear how strongly she endures, and for all the oppressed she cares about; she literally gives a voice to those who have none, or have been silenced.

“Without freedom songs,” Harris said, “there would not have been a movement of nonviolence.” And the last song she sang along with the audience: “We Shall Overcome.”

For those who have “Selma” fresh in their minds, this gave such a strong feeling and understanding, that even people like me--who are not pacifists-felt compelled to, if just for a moment, consider a nonviolent struggle.

”

to forget the atmosphere of the jail cells and keep morale high for those on the front lines. She remembered a warden coming in, shouting: “I don’t want no damn praying or singing!”

Harris has a voice that almost anyone, musician or otherwise,

Photo by Shirin Hijab/The Beacon

Harris’s songs were emotionally resonant and demanded that we listen to history.

Arts & Entertainment

Thursday, February 19, 2015

Beacon.MCLA.edu

Relaxing indie game hides brilliance

By Matt Hotaling A&E Writer

“Tengami” is a game that seems very simple on paper. It’s a short indie puzzler with a unique aesthetic, but like “Tengami”’s puzzles there is more than meets the eye if you let the game unfold.

“Tengami” was developed by the studio Nyamyam Games, a small team made up of only three members. Phil Tossel served as the game’s lead design along with Jennifer Schneidereit. The game’s artist Ryo Agarie is a Japanese national who previously worked with Microsoft to develop the Xbox 360 Avatars​.

“Tengami”’s visual aesthetic is perhaps its most striking feature. The game is designed to look like a traditional Japanese pop-up book, and its gameplay mechanics are reflective of this.

The games objects all look like sheets of paper, and each time the game progresses to another level the whole book folds up, and one can see all of the hidden elements of the paper-craft that holds the structures together.

“When the pages turn and re-

“

veal the inner construction I can see that its how paper would actually work,” said Meg Gugarty, junior and book artist.

A player interacts with “Tengami” by manipulating folds in

The game aches for more content especially because “Tengami” shows Nyamyam’s ability to make truly compelling puzzles.

”

the pop-up, like folding open a flap to reveal a staircase, allowing the character to advance.

The interface seems natural as the game’s touch controls, which provide the tactile sensation of using a book. The puzzles start very simple, where a player simply needs to manipulate one or two fold to progress, but as the game progresses it becomes more complex.

It may seem easy to write “Tengami” off as another indie puzzle game that is getting by on style more than substance. One of the final puzzles of the game reveals a very robust understanding of what makes a good puzzle game

by creating lateral thinking problems that would be right at home in classic puzzle games like Cyan World’s “Riven”.

As opposed to just toggling various folds back and forth until the player can progress, later puzzles hide their solutions in the space between the folds.

A player must carefully hold pages half open and look for clues hidden in the topology of the folds that are only visible to the player during transitions from one state to another.

“Tengami” does not have much in the way of narrative; one plays as a nameless paper-doll hunter and reclaims blossoms to help revitalize a fading tree.

A major part of the game’s charm is its relaxing atmosphere and music. This relaxing energy isn’t just a coincidence either, but on the crucial design objects

Kanye, creative again

By Matt Aceto A&E Writer

You can’t cage creativity.

Kanye West has fulfilled his potential as a musician. The numbers speak for themselves: with six platinum solo albums, 21 Grammy Awards, and 31 hits on the Billboard Hot 100, West has little left to prove to his critics. At 37 years old however, he has barely scraped the surface for what he wants to accomplish as a creative visionary.

Recently, West launched his first collaborative collection of clothing with Adidas Originals. This follows his highly-recognized venture with Nike, the company whom he left, according to Spin.com, in fall 2013 due to creative differences. Most notably included amongst the Adidas collection are the Yeezy Boosts, a shoe praised by celebrities and tastemakers alike for its unorthodox style. Listed at a retail price of $350, the Boosts will be available worldwide on Feb. 28. Engineering Professor Robert Maloney is skeptical of the shoe’s design in terms of athletic purposes.

“The material appears to be thin, without much support,” Maloney said in an email. “I am also unclear on what the flap over the laces is intended to accomplish.”

While the upcoming release of West’s shoes have sparked much debate within the hip-hop community, so have his actions at the Grammy Awards. On Feb. 8, the 57th Annual Grammy Awards were hosted in Los Angeles, CA. The night’s most renowned award, Album of the Year, was given to “Morning Phase” by

Beck. Among those in attendance who disagreed with the award was none other than Mr. West, who jokingly charged the stage to interrupt Beck’s acceptance speech like he did to Taylor Swift at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards.

Though he didn’t actually voice his opinion on the award until after the show ended, students such as junior Alexandra Kadell viewed West’s actions as unnecessary.

“

I think after getting a lot of criticism [for charging the stage] before, he should know that nobody thinks it’s funny.

Alexandra Kadell

”

Freshman Sean Carroll thinks likewise of West: “his actions are questionable sometimes.”

What isn’t questionable is West’s command as a live performer. On Thursday, Feb. 12, West and his GOOD Music collective rocked the stage at the first annual Roc City Classic held in NYC. West performed hits such as “Mercy” and “New Slaves” to keep fans adrenalized in the frigid temperatures. To cap off the night, he sang his new single “Only One”, in which he followed with encouraging words of wisdom.

“Remember to believe in yourself. Remember that anything is possible,” he said to the thousands of supporters in attendance.

West is setting new boundaries for what can be created in our world of art. West brings an important message to us all: an innovative mind can never be confined.

“I think after getting a lot of criticism before [for charging the stage], he should know that nobody thinks it’s funny,” she said.

“If somebody worked really hard on their album and they deserve Photo from Consequence of Sound. to win, it just shows how ignoKanye often conflates creativity, rant he really is.” opinion, and ego.

7

Photo from Nyamyam (taken from publically available press packet)

while the game was in development. “Tengami”’s soothing soundtrack is inspired by traditional Japanese music.

“It’s a very relaxed kind of game,” game designer Phil Tossell said in an interview with NintendoLife.com. “Something you’d play on your sofa at the end of a long day when you’re feeling tired and you just want to chill out.”

The biggest issue facing “Ten-

gami” is that it’s very short; a competent player can beat the entire game in just a couple hours. The game aches for more content, especially because “Tengami” shows Nyamyam’s ability to make truly compelling puzzles. The game’s brevity might leave some players unsatisfied, but those who are looking for an easy-going puzzler with a moderate challenge are likely to enjoy it.

V-Day Gala: success

By Mitchell Chapman A&E Writer

dent area who “has truly made a difference in the lives of his or her fellow resident students.” Each resident area is required to do at least one fundraiser each semester for the scholarship. Requirements to receive it include being an active member on the A-Board, good citizenship, and maintaining a minimum GPA of 3.0. Last semester, BT’s A-Board hosted a penny war to support the scholarship.

During the course of the dance, according to weatherforyou.com, temperatures dropped from -8 degrees to -10 degrees Celsius.

The winds were mostly calm, with little to no precipitation, though the streets were still covered in snow from earlier in the day.

Thankfully, a shuttle was provided for students unable to drive themselves to the Gala.

At the time of publication, Hoosac Hall’s Outstanding Resident Fundraising event is slated for March 14, and has “Make Your Own Pie/Pie an Ra” theme, according to A-Board President Rachel Durgin.

Couples and singles were greeted by two flavors (nuts and coconut) of chocolate-covered strawberries and a large dance floor below pink paper lanterns and paper hearts during the Valentine’s Day Gala.

The annual event, sponsored by the Berkshire Towers Advisory Board (A-Board), was a welcome distraction for many from the recent snowfall and sub-zero temperatures.

“It was really fun,” sophomore Allison Gaylock noted. “I really liked the chocolate-covered strawberries with nuts.”

For three hours students could dance to songs ranging from pop to dubstep, courtesy of DJ Jared Freeman, who volunteered for the event.

“There are fewer strawberries,” junior Fiona Wilson noted as the night progressed. The annual treat was quite popular, with the first platter disappearing within the hour.

The event, hosted by the Holiday Inn, sold just under 100 tickets, according to A-Board Vice President Samantha Giffen. That’s about 50 less than last year’s Gala, which sold 150 tickets, but was still enough to fill the Holiday Inn’s Berkshire Room, which has a maximum occupancy of 100.

“A-Board believes we had a good turnout and people seemed to have fun,” Giffen said. “It was an overall success, and the money made went straight to the Outstanding Resident Scholarship.”

According to MCLA’s Web site, Photo by Mitchell Chapman/The Beacon the scholarship is given to one The gala is usually a jovial event. sophomore or junior in each resi-

8

Thursday, February 19, 2015

Sports

Beacon.MCLA.edu

Men’s Basketball stopped by Westfield

Photos by Osakpolo Igiede

Above, MCLA sophomore Isshiah Coleman lifts off for a slam during Saturday’s game against Fisher College.

Inset, the Trailblazer bench reacts to the dunk by Coleman. game. rison honored Kenny Suggs, Kraig Page,

By Tyler Bacon Robbie Jones led the Owls with 20 points Anthony Barbosa, Todd Hunt and Ruben Sports Writer and four steals. Grant Cooper added 13 DelRosario.

Fisher led for most of the game, but the Four of the five Westfield State seniors points, 15 rebounds, six assists, five steals Blazers erased a 16 point second half deficit scored in double figures as Westfield rolled and four blocks.

The Blazers got 13 points from Khalil before the Falcons ultimately held on for past MCLA, 83-58, on Westfield’s senior Paul, and Kenny Suggs added in eight the win. Fisher led 48-32 with 17:38 left in night. the game, when MCLA went on a 16-3 run Westfield improved to 17-6 overall and points.

Westfield forced MCLA into 25 turn- over the next four minutes, capped off by 10-1 in the MASCAC. The Owls have a 1-game lead over Bridgewater in the loss overs as the Owls came up with 20 steals. back to back dunks by Isshiah Coleman to column in the standings. Westfield will The Blazers also shot 0-12 from behind the cut the lead to just 51-48.

The Falcons responded and extended the need to win on Saturday at Fitchburg State three point line.

The visiting Fisher College men’s basket- lead to 61-51, but MCLA once again fought to secure the regular season title and lock up the #1 seed in the MASCAC tourna- ball team had three players in double fig- back into the game. They eventually tied ures as they held off a second-half surge the game at 68, with 6:05 left in the game ment.

The Owls jumped out to a 35-26 lead at from MCLA, leading to an 87-76 victory after a Coleman put back. Fisher regained the lead on the next possession, but MCLA the half, and quickly extended the lead in over the Blazers on senior day.

MCLA honored their six seniors playing kept battling and when Coleman finished the second half. Westfield jumped all over the Trailblazers with a 22-6 run over the their final regular season home game. At a layup, just a minute later, they led 74-73. first seven minutes of the half to ice the halftime, MCLA head coach Jamie Mor- This was their first lead since the opening

minute of the game.

Fisher’s OJ Moore answered back with a three pointer, and the Falcons did not trail after that. They pulled away from the Blazers by scoring the final nine points of the game.

MCLA shot only 24 percent in the first half, compared to 50 percent shooting from the visitors. Fisher was led by Tyler Shular’s game leading 21 points. He was a perfect 10-10 from the free throw line. Moore ended with 19 points and 12 rebounds to complete the double double. Chris Green also chipped in with 16 points of his own.

For MCLA, Ruben DelRosario scored a team best of 15 points. Coleman came off the bench for a double double with 12 points and 12 rebounds.

MCLA falls to 8-16 and 5-6 in the MASCAC. MCLA will play at Salem State on

Social media poses danger for athletes on every tweet Fair Territory

By Jesse Collings Sports Editor

Social media has added a whole new dimension to not only sports, but to popular culture in general.

Services like Twitter, Facebook and Instagram have brought celebrities, whether they are athletes, singers, movie stars or politicians, closer to the general public. It creates a medium that connects fans directly to the ce-

lebrity. Before, the fans main forum of access to the famous was through the middle man that is the media, the closest most fans ever got to an athlete was what they were quoted in by the media.

Now, social media has cut out that middle man, and now fans can know what the stars are doing, directly from the stars themselves.

As great as that is, it has added a whole new dimension to sports that nobody could have seen coming. Because athletes now have such a direct connection with the public, they must be that much more careful about what they say and how they say it. A couple weeks ago, LeBron James sent out a tweet supposedly criticizing his Cleveland Cavalier teammate Kevin Love, saying “guys need to stop finding a way to FIT-OUT and just FIT-IN.” James denied that this tweet was directed at Love, but pretty much everyone, including Love himself, believes that it was directed at Love.

If James had been asked a ques-

tion like “What do you think needs to change with the Cavaliers?” and had given the same response, not much would have been made of it. But because LeBron apparently felt it was necessary to go out of his way to broadcast this message directly to his 19 million followers, it became a major media story, because only someone with a real issue with the way things are going would take to social media like that.

James could have simply been putting out a basic comment about the team looking to find itself, but because the main story concerning the team was “Why are the Cavaliers not as good as they should be?” and most of that blame has been directed at Love, the tweet, regardless of its actual intent, came off as something that was very destructive towards the team.

With social media being America’s leading news source, it is nearly impossible for an athlete to escape the scrutiny begin con-

ducted by anybody with internet access. Players can say that they don’t pay attention to what people are saying on social media, but that is a lie. How can they not?

One cannot check their email without being bombarded by the latest breaking news and rumors.

Social media has given anybody, regardless of their credentials or reputation, and gives them a forum in which they can speak out about any issue they deem fit.

Because controversy is what sells newspapers and gets people to click on websites, the media will pick up on any perceived controvery, regardless of its actual value.

On Tuesday, the leading story on Yahoo was a story about a controversy involving Seattle Seahawks quarterback, Russell Wilson. The controversy was that Wilson tweeted about going to see the film “50 Shades of Grey.”

Wilson was slammed on social media, both from conservative chrisitans who claimed that Wilson was setting a bad example for

his fellow christians, and from fellow athletes for seeing the movie despite it’s lackluster reputation.

Again, this was the leading story on Yahoo!

Regardless of the actual value of this important news, it displays the criticism that can be dumped onto an a celbrity, even for something as trivial as a movie recomandation.

LeBron James has benefited a lot from social media, even having a popular app that is dedicated entirely to him. However, he learned the perils of social media the hard way, that the connection it gives with the masses can increase your profile and support, but it also will project all your faults and shortcomings out to the public.

The athlete in 2015 has to be able to consciously manage their social media profile in order to fully solidify their public image in the way that they want it to be. Think before you tweet.

Sports

Thursday, February 19, 2014

9

Beacon.MCLA.edu

Women’s basketball falls to Westfield Scores

By Jake Mendel Sports Writer

MCLA dropped it’s 10th conference game of the season, as they fell at Westfield State on Tuesday, 62-48.

Westfield utilized an 11-0 run late in the first half to leap out in front of the Traiblazers, taking a commanding lead into halftime, 37-22. MCLA managed to play the Owls much tougher in the second half, edging them 26-25, but it wasn’t enough to overcome Westfield’s strong first half, and the Owls picked up the victory, 62-48.

Senior Jen Ashton led Westfield with 14 points and 6 assists, while Forbasaw Nkamembo added 12 points and 9 rebounds off of the bench. Westfield improved to 20-4 overall and 11-0 in MASCAC, and has a chance to become the first team to go undefeated in the conference since Salem State ran the table during the 20032004 season. They will try to finish off the regular season unbeaten in MASCAC when they play Fitchburg State on Saturday.

MCLA was led by sophomore Brayleigh Hanlon, who scored a game high 16 points, and sophomore Kayla Hotaling, who had a game high 13 rebounds.

On Thursday the Suffolk Rams beat the Trailblazers 58-42, improving to 9-12 while the Blazers drop to 7-16 with two games left to play in the season.

Turnovers lead to easy baskets as Suffolk shot 39 percent from the field, including 66 percent from behind the three point line.

In the first half, the game was close as it featured ten lead changes. Suffolk made all four of their threes in the first half, but the Blazers kept it close by mak-

ing eight of their twelve first-half free-throw attempts. The Rams lead by six at halftime and after an 8-0 run, with ten minutes left in the second half, never looked back.

The Rams were able to get 25 from their bench, including 20 points from Shelby Santini who made nine of her 14 shots. Guards Iliana Quadri and Alexandra Nagri both scored in the double digits on a combined 8-21 from the field.

The Blazers were led by Kayla Hotaling’s double-double (11 points and 12 rebounds), while Courtney McLaughlin was perfect from the free-throw line (4-4) and added ten points.

Last Wednesday, Framinghima State traveled to North Adams, and Framingham’s 47-point second half was too much for the Trailblazers to overcome as they fell 67-50.

The Blazers had a solid first half, shooting 37 percent from the field while holding the Rams to 11 percent from three; as a result MCLA had a 26-20 halftime lead.

The Blazers had a solid second half, shooting 36 percent from the field, but Framingham’s offensive firepower was too much to handle. The Rams couldn’t miss as they shot 51 percent from the field with an outrageous 83 percent from behind the three point line.

Guard Nicole Bostic had a team high of 22 points (17 in the second half) for the Rams while Payton Bruegger, Lauren Donahue, and Sarah Palace all scored in the double digits.

The Blazers were led by guards Courtney McLaughlin and Braleigh Hanlon, who combined for 27 points on 11-28 from the field.

Forward Kayla Hotaling added

Men’s Basketball Saturday, February 14 MCLA vs Fisher College 87-76 L Tuesday, February 17 MCLA vs Westfield State 83-58 L Women’s Basketball Tuesday, Frebruary 17 MCLA vs Westfield State 62-48 L

Standings

Men’s Basketball Team

W-L

Westfield St. Bridgewater St. Fitchburg St. MCLA Salem St. Worcester St. Framingham St.

10-1 10-2 6-5 5-6 4-7 3-8 1-10

Photo by Isabel McKenzie

MCLA sophomore Kayla Hotaling attempts a layup, while fellow sophomore Courtney McLaughlin watches on in the background. nine points on 3-6 from the field and pulled down 13 rebounds with four coming on offense (tying her season high in offensive rebounds).

The Blazers drop to 7-15 (1-9 in conference play) while the Rams are now 14-7 (6-4 in conference play).

MCLA will finish off their season on Saturday, when they travel to Salem State on Saturday.

MCLA picked up their lone conference victory earlier this season against Salem, defeating the Vikings in North Adams on January 29, 64-61.

so small,” UT Coach Donnie Tyndall has said. “If we don’t have the right mentality and we are not on razor’s edge, there is no one in our league we can beat.”

Tyndall became the eighth coach to see Kentucky hand him his most lopsided loss at the school. The final 18-point margin matched losses to LSU on Saturday and to Alabama on Jan. 10.

Kentucky couldn’t shake the Vols in the first half. Thanks to surprising rebounding from Booker and a late 3-pointer by Andrew Harrison, the Cats led 35-31 at intermission.

Booker, who had 10 offensive rebounds all season, grabbed four in the first half.

The game could hardly have started more poorly for Kentucky.

Kentucky did not score in the first three minutes. By the time of UK’s first points (an Andrew Harrison jumper with 16:45 left), UK Coach John Calipari had already put four substitutes into the game (Dakari Johnson, Marcus Lee, Tyler Ulis and Booker at the 17:59 mark).

A jumper by Ulis gave Kentucky its largest first-half lead at 18-13.

It was the third basket in three

shots for a player who had made only one of 12 shots in the last three games.

Tennessee, which made only one of its first six shots, made 10 of its next 12 shots. A questionable goal-tend on Willie CauleyStein helped.

A putback by freshman Tariq Owens and resulting three-point play gave the Vols their largest first-half lead: 26-23 with 4:02.

But Booker scored seven of his 11 first-half points thereafter to help give Kentucky a halftime lead.

A basket by freshman Willie Carmichael III 13 seconds into the second half reduced UK’s lead to 35-33 and gave UT a 22-8 advantage in points from the paint.

Yet, Kentucky plowed on. A Booker three-pointer gave UK its largest lead so far, at 40-33.

When the Vols threw long over a press for a layup, it reduced Kentucky’s lead to 48-44 and gave Tennessee a 30-12 advantage in points from the paint.

Kentucky scored the next 10 points to build a 58-44 lead. Putbacks by Towns (his first basket) and Trey Lyles capped the run that said: History straight ahead.

Women’s Basketball Team

W-L

Westfield St. Bridgewater St. Framingham St. Worcester St. Fitchburg St. Salem St. MCLA

11-0 8-4 7-4 6-5 4-7 2-9 1-10

Kentucky edges closer to undefeated season Schedules

By Jerry Tipton

Lexington Hearld-Leader KRT Campus The Kentucky Wildcats did it their way Tuesday night.

UK’s one-for-all approach beat Tennessee, 66-48. The Cats set a program record by winning a 26th straight game to start the season.

Some players disappeared: Early foul trouble made Karl-Anthony Towns a non-factor, while Aaron Harrison missed his five 3-point shots to make him 1-for-12 from beyond the arc in the last three games.

But like in the past this season, other players emerged: Devin Booker’s 18 points matched his high in Southeastern Conference play, his seven rebounds were a career high, and point guards Andrew Harrison and Tyler Ulis combined for 22 points and eight assists.

The victory, which moved UK to 13-0 in the SEC, kept the Cats on track for college basketball’s first undefeated season since 1976.

When asked if a 40-0 record would be good for the game in terms of attracting attention,

ESPN analyst Dick Vitale said, “I know it’s good for Kentucky. It’s not good for anybody that plays them.”

Tennessee’s signature defense, a matchup zone, did its part. The Vols kept Kentucky’s offense away from the basket and reliant on perimeter shooting.

“You can’t simulate the zone in your practice,” ESPN analyst Seth Greenberg said of Tennessee’s zone. “The hardest thing people have to realize is when you play a different style _ whether it’s pressing, whether it’s a great 3-2 matchup, whether it’s a great Princeton offense _ when you put that in for your practice, it gives you a false sense of security. Then all of a sudden, you have to play against it. It’s like _ BAM _ right between your eyes.

“It’s difficult. None of those passes that were easy to make, those little rhythm shots you were getting, the angles you were getting to go to the offensive glass, they are taken away.”

Tennessee became only the fifth team to outscore Kentucky in the paint. Yet, the Vols fell to 14-11 overall and 6-7 in the SEC. “Our team’s margin of error is

Saturday, February 21 Women’s Basketball MCLA @ Salem State 1 pm Men’s Basketball MCLA @ Salem State TBA Sunday, March 1 Baseball MCLA vs Lassell College @ Northborough, MA 11:00 am MCLA vs Lassell College @ Northborough, MA 11:00 am Friday, March 13 Baseball MCLA vs SUNY-IT @ Winter Haven, FL 1:30 pm MCLA vs SUNY-IT @ Winter Haven, FL 4 pm

10

Opinion

Thursday, February 19, 2015

Beacon.MCLA.edu

The Beacon

How are you dealing with the cold weather?

“By wearing this giant scarf and internally screaming.”

“I’ve been wearing multiple gloves and scarves.”

-DV L. Shetler, 2015

-Monique Lemay, 2016

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“I stay in my room since it’s too cold. I also go home to visit family.”

“I stay in my room, then bundle up like it’s Antarctica.”

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

-Olivia Bailey, 2015

-Khalill Dancy, 2016

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

“I’ve been taking the underground tunnels to get to each building.”

“I’ve fallen a lot. They need to take better care of the sidewalks. I have a huge bruise.”

-Samwise Fox, 2016

-Chris Cozzaglio, 2016

Photos compiled by Agnella Gross Health & Fitness

Bigger than biceps

Art & Politics

Notes on Unknown Places

Sodium, sodium everywhere Thoughts on Polish films

By Makayla-Courtney McGeeney Managing Editor

Usually I see it happen more in the summer, but after a bad day or so of eating, I can tell immediately (especially after eating at the café last week…). My fingers and toes swell up and I feel like a balloon. I can thank salt for that.

For people who don’t normally consume salt in their diet, will be effected by it immediately, especially if you drink a lot of water with it like I do. A diet high in sodium increases your risk greatly of having high blood pressure.

Watch out for those $.89 Ramen noodle packs.

Examples of sodium filled meals we don’t think about are Chinese food, any fast food, and frozen dinners. Such a concern of feeling bloated and eating out once and a while may not matter now, but you’re providing building blocks to your body for the future. The reason so many older aged people experience illnesses and complications, could be a number of things, but an unhealthy lifestyle and diet early on is a contributor.

When foods become processed is when more sodium is added, like tomatoes or potatoes and the natural potassium declines, according to a NY Times article.

Large food companies like Kraft,

Subway, and Target all committed to the National Salt Reduction Initiative to reduce sodium in their products by an average of 25 percent by 2014. The article continues to state that 100,000 deaths annually could be prevented by cutting back on sodium population-wide.

Right now we’re accustomed to the taste because it’s been created with it for so long, we don’t know what it tastes like without it. I used to put salt on every homemade meal, but then I stopped reaching for the salt shaker and substituted it for the pepper shaker. It’s more of a mental habit too.

My uncle once told me a story about a chef making an important meal for an interview of some sort, so clearly the visitor was of high status. When the chef presented the meal, the interviewer immediately put salt on the dish without even trying it and the chef was highly offended. First, chefs generally use herbs and spices while cooking a meal because then it’s not covering the food, it’s cooked inside and works with different flavors and it’s just rude.

Avoiding fast-food places is the largest factor in avoiding sausage fingers, because if you’ve ever looked at nutrition labels for McDonalds or even Panera, the sodium is more than a day’s worth. After researching this topic at my internship over the summer, we found that the average person should consume no more than 2,300 milligrams a day.

This amount looks like one ounce of pretzel twists, and you would have already eaten a quarter of your salt for the day.

By Shirin Hijab

Arts & Entertainment Editor Recently I watched Małgorzata Szumowska’s “In the Name Of,” a film detailing the closeted psychology of a homosexual priest who’s trying to help troubled youth. Polish cinema has a history of very peculiar Catholic films, from last year’s “Ida” to “Mother Joan of the Angels,” where a priest falls in love with the woman he must exorcize, and my favorite: “The Decalogue,” a retelling of the Commandments.

I’m often wary of films being labeled specifically as queer films, with queer subject matter because so many of the films I’ve seen treat queer people as something very different, almost on a different plane of humanity. While this sounds really cool, it makes it difficult for straight or unsure people to understand.

What is so endearing about “In the Name Of ” Priest Adam is that he, as a priest and closeted homosexual, has pressing emotional issues dealing with love, loneliness, and sense of purpose/ accomplishment.

There’s something about storms in Eastern European cinema (and Turkish cinema, like the films of Ceylan or Kaplanoğlu) that are particularly endearing for me and cause me to feel that sense of kindred humanity. Storms have an

amazing unifying quality and affect this in “In the Name Of.” We have in this film a priest who is recovering from drinking, which represents a kind of 21st century devout believer, like the priest in “Calvary,” where there is no separation between the priest and the congregation.

With films like this one and others that have come out in recent years or are set to come out, it seems Polish cinema is undergoing a revival, to the level of quality it achieved in the 60s, 70s, and 80s. But that’s easy to say when you’ve seen a couple of good films from one country; what I’d really love to see in my lifetime is a collection of Polish filmmakers who can work through their own specific modes and mental nodes, as the new Romanian filmmakers have done and build a whole universe of films that is related past the shallowness of theme.

“In the Name Of ” is more of a visual tale than anything else and that’s what makes it so enjoyable; it doesn’t have the Bergmanian silence of “Ida” but there are gaps in dialogue and every object begins to gain importance. Just as the camera focuses on priests walking about in black, the film abruptly ends and this kind of ending, similar to the popular method among a lot of young European directors for ending films, demonstrates a keen eye for a specific set of feelings and narrative structure. Very little happens in the film, enough to take up ten paragraphs in writing perhaps.

I’ve had my eyes on Polish films for a while but now I probably won’t be able to get enough of them.

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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.

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Editorial Board Editor-in-Chief Brittany Gallacher Sports Editor Jesse Collings

Managing Editor Makayla-Courtney

A&E Editor Shirin Hijab

McGeeney Web Editor Osakpolo Igiede

Copy Chief Caitlin O’Neill Photography Editor Agnella Gross Design Editor Meg Gugarty

Senior News Editor Nick Swanson Features Editor Juanita Doss

Staff Staff Writers

Photographers

Gionna Nourse Rominda DeBarros* Harmony Birch* Idalis Foster

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Events & Announcements

Thursday, February 19, 2014

Today, Feb. 19 SELMA Movie Screening and discussion with CCOR Images Theater in Williamstown 6 p.m.

Student Leadership Conference Meeting, CC 324A 9 a.m.-10 a.m.

Recycling Fashion Show Tabling, Marketplace 11 a.m.-2p.m. & 4 p.m.-7 p.m.

SAC Blood Drive Venable Gym 1-6 p.m.

Model Call Raquetball Court 1 6:30 p.m.-8:30 p.m.

Harlequin Charades Night Sullivan Lounge 7-11 p.m.

Saturday, Feb. 21 MCLA Leadership Conference Amsler Campus Center 9:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m.

No FLEX Zone: Glow in the Dark Party, Venable Gym 10 p.m.-2 a.m.

Sunday, Feb. 22 Dance Company Meetings and Rehearsals, Dance Complex 4-6p.m. & 10 p.m.-12 a.m.

Intramurals Venable Gym 6-11:30 p.m.

11

Gallery 51 presents panel discussion titled ‘Viewpoints on a Green World’

Check it Out!

Upcoming events on campus

Friday, Feb. 20

Beacon.MCLA.edu

Sen. Downing to present on climate change at tonight’s Green Living Seminar The college will continue its spring semester Green Living Seminar series on climate change at 5:30 p.m. today with a lecture

by State Sen. Benjamin Downing, D-Pittsfield.

Downing’s lecture, “Clean Energy Policy in the Commonwealth,” will be held in the Sammer Dennis Room (218) in Murdock Hall.

It is free and open to the public.

Downing, the senate chairman of the Joint Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities and Energy, has represented the people of Western Massachusetts’ Berkshire, Hampshire, Franklin and Hampden districts since 2006.

As the chairman of the Joint Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities and Energy, he leads the board’s review of all matters concerning renewable and non-renewable energy sources.

During his tenure in the Massachusetts State Senate, Downing has served on a variety of addi-

tional committees, including: the Arts and Cultural Development Committee; the Higher Education Committee; the Joint Committee on Tourism, where he served as its vice chairman; the Public Service Committee, where he served as its chair; the Revenue Committee; the Senate Committee on Bills in Third Reading, which he chaired; the Senate Committee on Steering and Policy; and the Senate Ethics and Rules Committee.

A Pittsfield native, Downing received his Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from Providence College in 2003. In 2008, he received a Master’s of Arts degree from Tufts University’s Department of Urban and Environment Policy and Planning. He is a graduate of Pittsfield Catholic schools.

This spring’s Green Living series focuses on contemporary issues of climate change and features experts speaking on various facets of climate change.

As part of its “Winter Green” exhibition, Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (MCLA) Gallery 51 will host a panel discussion, “Viewpoints on a Green World,” on Thursday, Feb. 26, when four panelists discuss their perspectives on and interactions with plants in their respective professional fields.

This panel discussion, which will take place from 5 to 7 p.m., is free to the public. Refreshments will be served.

MCLA Gallery 51 Manager Julia Morgan-Leamon, who will moderate the discussion, said, “We take plants for granted, but think how crucial they are to our psychological well-being, not to mention the health and physiology of all life on earth.

“I’m sure everyone appreciates new grass in spring, the scent of roses, and the softness of moss, but we have the chance to hear from four professionals who work with and appreciate plants in very different ways.”

The panel will include “Winter Green” artist/scientists Melanie Mowinski and Joan Edwards; Shannon Toye, a certified traditional herbalist; and Sharon Wyrrick, a farmer at Many Forks Farm CSA (Community Supported Agriculture).

Mowinski, an associate professor of visual art at MCLA, created “The Tree Portraits” and the “Tree Meditation” installation for the “Winter Green” exhibit. They are part of her ongoing work to examine the relationship between walking, nature and creative practice.

Through this work, Mowinski gives voice to the tree’s story and how it intertwines with her own.

It also reflects her desire to create an inside space that inspires the peace that sitting in nature can

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Edwards, a professor of biology at Williams College in Williamstown, is recognized for her discovery of the world’s “fastest plant.” Edwards and her students research pollen and spore dissemination processes that happen too fast for the naked eye to see.

Edwards’ photography and video, exhibited in “Winter Green,” showcase the high-speed movement of these plants.

Wyrrick opened Many Forks Farm in 2012 after spending 25 years growing vegetables and thinking about farming on a larger scale. The farm is situated along the North Branch of the Hoosic River in Clarksburg.

Many Forks provides a relationship between a farmer and community members who commit to receiving a share of the farm’s harvest each week of the growing season. The CSA relationship insures the survival of small, local farms and connects community members.

Toye is a certified traditional herbalist who is fascinated by wildcrafting, plant medicine, traditional folk remedies, holistic health and wellness. She owns and operates a small local business, “Out of the Woods Wildcrafting.”

Toye encourages people to adopt practices of preventative care by nourishing the systems of the body with plant-based products created from traditional wildcrafting methods, through sustainable harvesting, and by native local medicinal plants.

“Winter Green” will run in MCLA Gallery 51 through March 22. MCLA Gallery 51 is a program of MCLA’s Berkshire Cultural Resource Center. The gallery is open seven days a week from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and is at 51 Main St. in North Adams.

Email your press release and information on Office 365 to MCLA Beacon Submissions, or message us on Facebook.

FINANCIAL AID ANNOUNCEMENTS IT’S THAT TIME OF YEAR AGAIN!!

Time to re-apply for financial aid for next fall!

Renew your FAFSA at www.fafsa.gov Don’t forget the MARCH 1st priority deadline date!!

Don’t procrastinate!!

It’s right around the corner!!! ******************

5 O’Clock $5 Nachos!!!

Weekend entertainment

Dine-In and Take-Out menu online.

Gift Certificates & Discount Programs Available

www.TheParlorCafe.com fb.com/TheParlorCafe (413) 346-4279

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Thursday, february 19, 2015

Photo Essay

Beacon.MCLA.edu

Senior Day! MCLA battles Fisher College on Saturday ‘s last home game.

Photos by Osakpolo Igiede

Above, senior Anthony Barbosa lifts off in the paint over a defender.

Above, senior Ruben DelRosario drops a three pointer.

Above, a close up of senior Kenny Suggs’ free throw.

Above, senior Kraig Page hits a jumper.

Below, graduating seniors are accompanied by their families, teammates, and coaches.