Moses Shumow

Page 1

Emerson College’s student newspaper since 1947 • berkeleybeacon.com

Thursday October 24, 2019 • Volume 73, Issue 8

College mourns journalism professor Junior

returns GoFundMe donations

Stephanie Purifoy, Beacon Staff Florida International University senior Bianca Marcof remembered sitting in her Intro to Digital Media class showing the professor memes they had made—one photoshopped the professor’s head onto videos of Travis Scott at the 2019 Super Bowl LIII. “At first [the professor] was nervous because he thought we were making fun of him,” Marcof said in a phone interview from Miami. “But then he thought it was great, he loved it.” Marcof, a junior at the time, said their class became like a family—students even made a group chat where they talked everyday and created more memes of the professor. The professor left after the spring 2019 semester to begin teaching at a college in Boston in the fall. For the last day of class, the students presented the professor with a letter signed by all of them and a Build-A-Bear Workshop stuffed animal clad in Star Wars gear for his son who has struggled with medical issues since 2017. Moses Shumow began to cry at the gifts. Shumow, 42, moved to Boston before Emerson’s fall 2019 semester with his wife and three children after nine years of teaching at FIU. He died on Tuesday after an outbound Commuter Rail train struck him around 8:20 a.m. in Beverly while he was riding his bike through a pedestrian cut through. Transit Police Officers are still investigating the incident. At the time of his death, he was teaching one course at the college, Editing and Web Producing. “I really just think he had a way of getting to his students,” Marcof said. “He was a very engaging teacher—and that’s very rare to find. But he also had a way of inserting his personal life, and because he was so nice and the type of person who would be there for you when you needed him, I believe people could resonate with him and really feel for him.” See professor, page 2

Grace Griffin, Beacon Staff

Assosciate Professor Moses Shumow moved to Boston after teaching for nine years in Florida. Photo courtesy of Florida International University

Junior Karigan Wright disabled her GoFundMe campaign for three local homeless men after learning all are registered as levelthree sex offenders in Massachusetts. Karigan raised almost $3,000 for the men to secure them winter housing. However, after WFXT-TV reporter Evan White interviewed Wright regarding the fundraiser, White called Wright later in the day after completing a background check on the men and finding them on the Massachusetts Sex Offender Registry Board. “I was just silent for a minute, then it hit me, and I just started crying,” Wright said in an interview. “I was with my boyfriend and he overheard what happened and we both just sat there for a little bit in shock and completely devastated.” One of the men, identified by White and independently confirmed by The Beacon as Robert Dresser, previously only provided his nickname—Smiley—to The Beacon. Dresser has been convicted of 12 counts of sexual offenses including rape and sexual misconduct dating back to 1992 and 1994. Peter Travers and Robert Luz, the two other men the campaign aimed to help, are also registered, level-three sex offenders. Travers has been convicted of four counts of sexual misconduct and Luz with three counts of rape and assault. Wright said she did not know the sex offender status of the men when creating the GoFundMe campaign. See GoFundMe, page 6

Men’s basketball gears up to defend title Ethan McDowell, Beacon Staff Freshman guard Ben Allen and sophomore guard Zach Waterhouse shared the soccer field in elementary school—now they share the basketball court in college. Waterhouse and Allen played sports together their entire childhood growing up in nearby towns in New Hampshire, including high school basketball together at Winnacunnet High School in Hampton. “I love playing with [Allen],” Waterhouse said in an interview. “He loves to pass the ball. He’s a great player. He’s got good size. He can shoot. He can do everything. I’m really excited to play with him because he’s like my best friend.” Allen said the chemistry between the two players is one of the reasons he is optimistic about the team’s chances. “I’m really excited to get the season going, because I think we have all the tools to do something special here,” he said in an interview. The Lions are set to start the season at home on Nov. 9 against Worcester State University after coming off a historic season in which they won their first New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference championship in program history. Before their championship run, the Lions were voted to finish sixth out of eight teams in the NEWMAC Preseason Poll. See basketball, page 8

Number of on-campus support animals doubles By Carlee Bronkema • p. 3 Kyle Eber with his cat, Tetra, one of the 14 emotional support animals on campus. • Jakob Menendez / Beacon Staff

INSIDE THIS EDITION

Fighting feelings of unacceptance as a third culture kid. Pg. 5

The Beacon online

The Haunted Hour prepares for new season after inaugural EVVY win. Pg. 6

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Moses Shumow by The Berkeley Beacon - Issuu