FSC celebrates Earth Day with The Green Festival pg. 14
Baseball has most successful season in over a decade pg. 29
T he G atepost T he Inde pendent Weekly Student Ne wspa per of Framingham State College Since 1932
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Gov. Patrick speaks about human services, “green” projects
Tom Higgins/ The Gatepost
Governor Deval Patrick visited Framingham State College on April 22, 2010.
VP Academic Affairs Dr. Robert Martin prepares to retire
By Madison Dennis Editor-In-Chief
Vice President of Academic Affairs Dr. Robert Martin will be retiring at the end of this fiscal year after six years of service leading FSC’s faculty and directing academic departments. On Monday, a reception was held for Martin, at which the FSC community gathered to celebrate Martin’s accomplishments and wish him success in his retirement. At the reception, college administrators took turns congratulating him and presented him with a gift relating to his love of NASCAR - the Richard Petty Driving Experience. Part of the program is
the opportunity to learn how to drive a NASCAR-type racing stock car, and according to Vice President of College Advancement Chris Hendry, reach speeds of up to 160-180 MPH. “My family knows well that this calm, sometimes retiring individual is sometimes a hellion behind the wheel,” Martin said, pointing out that he drives “not carelessly so, just impatiently so.” In a subsequent interview, Dr. Scott Greenberg, the associate vice president of graduate and continuing education, who has worked with Martin on multiple projects through-Continued on page 5
Drake McCabe/ The Gatepost
Dr. Robert Martin has served as academic vice president for the past six years.
By Sara Mulkeen Assistant News Editor On April 22, Governor Deval Patrick held an on-campus meeting of state government executives, as part of his Statewide Human Services Summit, and commended FSC’s recent initiatives regarding green energy. Patrick, along with President Timothy Flanagan, addressed a crowd of FSC community members outside of the College Center. Flanagan announced the release of the college’s third annual Climate Action Plan, and also the school’s appearance in The Princeton Review’s “Guide to 286 Green Colleges,” along with five other Massachusetts public colleges and universities. Patrick joined Flanagan in announcing that solar panels will be installed on the roofs of the Athletic Center and the College Center during summer, 2010. Flanagan said using solar energy will be “significant in helping FSC meet [green] goals.” “We not only look forward to the energy savings, but the example we set for other institutions,” he added. According to an e-mail sent by Senior Vice President for Administration, Technology and Finance Dr. Dale Hamel, “A project for the installation of solar photovoltaic (PV) systems on Framingham State College’s Athletic Center and College Center has been approved as part of the federal stimulus-supported Solar Energy Program. “These systems will generate approximately 118kW of electricity - sufficient to support the lighting needs of the Athletic facility - with project financing shared between the Federal Government, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and Framingham State College.” The e-mail also stated that the “estimated net gain from this project is approximately $20K annually.” Patrick thanked Flanagan and FSC’s Green Team for their leadership in environmentally friendly practices. He said the state can “give a new home to the clean-tech economy. “If we get it right, the whole world will be our consumer,” Patrick said, “Products will be made in Massachusetts by Massachusetts workers. Let’s get this done.” Prior to the campus gathering, Patrick spoke briefly in the College Center forum on issues of human services. -Continued on page 5
The Gatepost
Page 2
April 30, 2010
Gatepost Interview
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Sunday, April 25, 2010 21:34 Medical - Corinne Hall Towers. Report of female vomiting and losing vision.
By Amanda Lefebvre Editorial Staff GP: What is your educational background?
GP: What does it mean to you to be elected Faculty Member of the Year?
Enz: I got a bachelor’s degree of science in economics from the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, Washington. Then, I earned my master’s and Ph.D. in economics from the University of Oregon.
Wednesday, April 28, 2010 GP: Please give a brief summary of your resume. 18:04 Medical - Larned Hall. Report of a student having kidney stones. Transported to MWMC Enz: I took my first teaching job before I finished in Framingham by Ambulance 2. Salem, Oregon at a very small liberal arts college, with
Madison Dennis
Associate Editor Lauren Byrnes
News Editor Amy Koski
Assistant News Editors
Roya Bahrami, Lindsay Chase, Rakel Hjaltadóttir, Chris Kopacko and Sara Mulkeen
Arts & Features Editors Matthew Bushery and Tom O’Brien
Assistant Arts & Features Editors Pam Barberio, Spencer Buell, Krysta Davis and Amanda Lefebvre
SPORTS EDITORS
Nenia Corcoran and Josh Primak
Assistant Sports Editors Jeff Mandeau and Chris McCabe
Copy Editor Ngozi Nwabeke
Opinion Editor Staff
PHOTO EDITORS
Matt Bennett, Tom Higgins, Josh Kruger, Andrew Martin, Drake McCabe and Matthew Mikaelian
Advertising Editor Staff
ONLINE EDITORs Liz Anders and Jen Perrin
Administrative assistant Betty Brault
Advisor
Desmond McCarthy
General Staff
Ali-Rae Clark Nicole Dygon Sara L. Fortin
Erika Kruger Kelsey Loverude Monique Thomas
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Editor-in-Chief
GP: What was your favorite part of this past year? Enz: Probably my favorite part of this year was being able to take a group of students to something called the “Fed Challenge.” It’s a competition for local colleges - everybody from the smaller state schools like Framingham and Bridgewater and so forth, and all the way up to Harvard and MIT. So, teams from all these schools gather at the Federal Reserve Bank in Boston, they make a presentation on current economic conditions - where they think the economy is going to go in the next three to six months - a forecast of short-term economy. And then finally, they make a monetary policy recommendation. And they do all of this to Federal Reserve employees and they go through a question and answer session. So, it was really fun to take a group of students to that.
Enz: Since I had a whole bunch of loans and I knew that the government would pay the interest if I went to graduate school, I chose to go to graduate school people usually go for some grand reason, some end in sight. My goal was to pretty much escape paying college loans for a period of time while I figured out what I wanted to do with my life. At the University of Oregon, they would pay your entire way as long as you supplied them with cheap labor by teaching classes. So, for the first Amanda Lefebvre/ The Gatepost time in my life, I was able GP: Do you have any advice for to teach economics classDr. Michael Enz your students? es, and fell in love with it. I knew after doing it for just a couple of quarters that Enz: Academically, I think the most important thing that’s what I wanted to do. It’s not terribly surprising - when you go to college is learn how to speak well, learn my mom’s an elementary school teacher, so I guess it how to write well, learn how to think critically - these runs in the family a little bit. are skills that you’re going to need for the rest of your life. So, don’t necessarily focus in on one particular goal GP: What is your greatest challenge in teaching and to find a job or a career - chances are, you will change. how do you overcome it? Take time to have fun. This is a very unique four-year period of your life, one you will probably never experiEnz: For economics, I think it’s generating interest. ence again, so try not to lose sight of that. Try not to just Most people don’t know what the field of economics is be in a rush to get out of school. [This is a] very unique all about - they hear the word economics and they think time, and can be a very rewarding time. stock market, and most people have a negative reaction to it. So, I try to make some of the concepts relevant, GP: What is your favorite part about working at try to tell stories, because I think once students become FSC? interested or can at least relate a topic to their own lives, then learning the material is a lot easier. For example, Enz: I think the school lends itself to putting a strong when I first start talking about production and produc- emphasis on teaching and a strong emphasis on interaction costs, I use some of my own work experience. I tions with students, and that’s by far my favorite aspect once worked in the royalty of fast food - Burger King. of my job. I often tell my friends and colleagues that beSome people have worked in fast food, but certainly ev- ing a professor at a school like Framingham State Coleryone is familiar with fast food and understands the lege is truly one of the best jobs you can imagine. You production process. get paid to do something you absolutely enjoy - you don’t have to dread going to work. So, in the amount GP: What constitutes a good professor? of time that we do get to spend with our students, we can focus on being here to teach - that’s a great aspect Enz: What students may or may not realize when they’re of the job. making the transition from high school to college, they’re expected to do a lot more independent thinking, GP: Do you have any hobbies? and the learning process - what they’re used to as far as learning - changes. So, I think a good college-level Enz: I run. I just ran the Boston Marathon for my secprofessor really goes after that particular change, really ond year - I was able to finish it in under three hours. provokes individual thought and individual analysis and When I lived in the northwest, I climbed almost all the transforms the student into an independent thinker. In mountains there. But then I moved out here, and I almy opinion, those skills are going to be absolutely nec- ways joke with my students about the fact that I had to essary in this economy as we move forward. give up mountain climbing because there are no mountains out here, so I’ve taken up running.
Monday
2009-2010
GP: What drew you to the teaching profession?
Sunday
Editorial Board
about 1,800 students. But I got my first tenure-track job at Western New England College in Springfield, so I did a five-year stint there, and then came out here to Framingham State College in the fall of 2008.
Enz: Great honor - it means a lot. To a certain extent, it validates what I’m trying to do. I’m very pleased, and a little bit surprised, given that it’s my second year here. During those five years [at Western New England College], I felt pretty attached to the school, so making the move was a big change for me. When you’ve invested that much of yourself into a particular school, it’s a little bit scary to move to a new one and start all over, so I guess being able to win that award in my second year makes me feel a lot better about the move. [The award] reinforces what I set out to do.
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Dr. Michael Enz Faculty Member of the Year
WednesdaY
Tuesday, April 20, 2010 16:44 Larceny - Larned Hall. Report of 2 IPODs and $30 missing. Report taken.
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The Gatepost
April 30, 2010
Page 3
Gatepost Interview Kathleen Bohner Staff Member of the Year
By Amy Koski News Editor GP: What is your educational background? Bohner: I started and stopped a few times. I never got my undergraduate degree, which is a lesson to learn. If at all possible, you should try to stick with school and finish it out. Having said that, though, I know a lot of staff people that have gone back to school at a later date, and they’ve gotten their undergraduate degrees and their masters’, so it certainly is possible to do that, but it’s a lot easier if you finish it in the beginning. GP: Please give a brief summary of your resume. Bohner: I have two children, so before that, I mainly worked in the insurance industry. When I had my children, I started part time. … I came here in 2001 as a part-time worker over at CASA, which I loved, then I worked for about six months up in Academic Affairs filling in for someone who was on maternity leave. … Then I went back to CASA and started fulltime in 2005 and then, in 2008, I came to the Dean of Students.
ferent things going on, so it’s really just trying to be organized and focused. It’s one of the things I love about the job, though - it’s very diversified. I’m not doing the same thing every day at all.
Editorial Board 2010-2011
GP: Are you working on any projects right now? Bohner: I’ve been involved in the Helping Hands for Haiti gift basket raffle. We’ve been doing a lot of that getting the gift baskets organized, and selling the raffle tickets and working with a great bunch of people. It’s not just me, it’s Student Affairs and SILD and Career Services. That’s been very exciting and we’ve had a great response. … A lot of people have helped out with this.
Editor-in-Chief Lauren Byrnes
Associate Editor Amy Koski
News Editors Lindsay Chase and Rakel Hjaltadóttir
Arts & Features Editors Tom O’Brien
Assistant Arts & Features Editors Spencer Buell and Krysta Davis
SPORTS EDITORS
GP: What are some of your hobbies?
Nenia Corcoran and Josh Primak
Bohner: I like to read. … I’m kind of getting into exercise. … I like to knit when I get a chance and I like to garden.
PHOTO EDITORS Tom Higgins, Josh Kruger and Drake McCabe
GP: Do you have any advice for FSC students?
Administrative assistant
Bohner: I think working at CASA and working here in the Dean of Stu dents Office, I think the big things I would say to students, especially freshmen, is don’t be afraid to ask somebody for help. … We get a lot of students coming up to the Dean’s office, and GP: What is your fathey’ll be asking quesvorite part of working tions and it might not for the Dean of Stuhave anything to do with Amy Koski/ The Gatepost us, but our motto is, we dents? never just send a student Kathleen Bohner Bohner: I have seen away. … Don’t be afraid a whole different area to ask for help. Try to get involved and enjoy the whole of student affairs. When I was over in CASA, it was experience. academic support and advising, and I got to see a lot of students and it was great and I loved it. Over here, What do you like most about FSC? it’s all different departments … SILD, Career Services, Multicultural Affairs, so it’s a different area and I really Bohner: The community feeling. I love that it’s small enjoy meeting those people, learning what their depart- enough that I know at least one person in every department across campus, whether it’s academic or adminments do and working with the students there. istrative. I just love that feeling that if I’ve got a big GP: What is the most challenging part of your job? project coming up, that there’ll be people from other departments that will help me - that I can ask for help. Bohner: It’s keeping it all together. There’s a lot of dif-
Opinion Editor Chris Kopacko
Business Editor Pam Barberio
ONLINE EDITOR Jen Perrin
Betty Brault
Advisor
Desmond McCarthy
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Page 4
The Gatepost
Gatepost Interview
April 30, 2010
Richard Davino Administrator of the Year
By Amanda Lefebvre Editorial Staff GP: What is your educational background? Davino: I got my degrees from the same place, but a few years separated: I have my bachelor of arts in speech communications from the State University of New York at Plattsburgh, also known as SUNY, in 1989. And then I went back three years later to pursue my master of science in counseling, and I graduated in 1994. GP: Why did you choose to pursue higher education as a career path? Davino: I was not incredibly active in high school. I played sports - I played soccer and baseball and that was it. And then when I got to college, I couldn’t believe that a freshman could actually get involved in clubs and run for student government, and so I did, and I won, and I thought, “this is kind of strange,” and it just took off from there. I was involved in government all four years, I formed a club, I joined two others, I was an RA for two years - I just really got involved with my college. By senior year, someone else who I was good friends who was also really involved said, “Oh yeah, I’m going to do this for a career. ... I’m going to work for a college,” and I thought, “How is that possible?” So, that got me thinking about it, but I didn’t see the possibility of doing it with my bachelor’s degree, so I went off to do other things. I thought I wanted to be a lawyer, so I was paralegal for a couple of years, and then I just wasn’t happy doing all the different jobs I was doing, and I went back for my master’s in counseling and got my start in Residence Life and I took it from there. I got my early motivation in my undergraduate years. I enjoyed working with other students and I wanted to keep doing that. GP: What is the best part of your job, particularly of advising a student group? Davino: I get to - I think, I hope, on a daily basis - try to really help people, and that comes in many different forms - it could be from the most basic of things, which is helping people with resumes, or it could be something certainly bigger of helping people try and figure out what it is they want to be doing with their lives, and that’s a pretty huge thing. But it’s fun - I get to have positive conversations with students on a regular basis, and that can be exciting because I get to live vicariously through the hopes and dreams of the students here that I speak with. There are some students who are going to do amazing things, and that are already doing amazing things, and it’s fun ... to be a part of that conversation. [As the advisor to SGA], one of the best things is a chance to get back into the student government piece because I really did enjoy my involvement in it as a student, but the other part, the more obvious part, is that it’s just a fun group of very diverse personalities who have come together for some common causes and are really trying to represent the students the best way they can, and that’s fun, that’s important. GP: Please give a brief summary of your resume. Davino: My first job right out of college was as a paralegal in a New York City law firm, because, for a while, I really did think I wanted to go to law school. And after spending a year and a half [there], I realized I did not want to go to law school and I wanted to get into higher education. So, I moved to Albany, NY, and I was working for the state of New York as a Complaint Investigatory for the New York State Commission on Cable Television. That was meant to be the “watchdog” group of the cable television industry, so that if cable subscribers in the state of New York had problems with their cable company, which of course they did, they would call this 800 number, and I would be one of the people on the other end of the phone [to talk to them]. So after a year and a half doing that, I went back to graduate school because ... I was doing grad school part time, but it just wasn’t going fast enough for me, so I put my entire life on hold
and went back to grad school for two years to get my master’s in counseling. Then I worked at Binghamton University as a Residence Hall Director, and then was promoted a year later to the community director. Then, I moved to Massachusetts and worked at Assumption College as a residence director, and then I moved to New Jersey and I was an associate director of residence life for about two years, and then I realized ... I always had an interest in career services, and I pursued the position and I ended up getting it. I became an associate director of career services at Seton Hall - also in New Jersey - and I was there for five years. And then an interest in returning to Massachusetts brought me back up here, and for a year and a half, I was working for Boston University at their School of Management doing academic advising. I
have gotten to know me better than students, so it’s an honor from students, which makes it that much more special. GP: What was the most memorable part of this past year? Davino: Even though my staff is really small, I think we work really, really hard and really, really well together. ... Every year that I’ve been here, we’ve had an increase in students coming in and visiting with us and speaking with us, so, I think overall, that’s a good collective memory - we keep getting busier. And I don’t think it’s only because of the economy. I think students hopefully feel that they are getting a good experience and they are actually telling their friends, so just the fact that we’re doing more and meeting with more students - that’s pretty memorable. Last spring, we had a student approach us who wanted to intern in the office, and I didn’t have an internship in the office because I didn’t have the money to pay an intern - and I really do believe in that -and she said, “I don’t care. I’m going to get credit for it. I really want to do the internship in the office,” and it was the best decision I’ve probably ever made because she was great. Last fall, we ended up with two interns, and this spring, we have two undergraduate interns and even one graduate student who is interning. So, the fact that I’ve never advertised for internships but students have wanted to work here and gain some experience and help us - and not get paid, by the way - has been huge. We are incredibly lucky to have that kind of interest in helping us. GP: What is the biggest piece of advice you tell students?
Richard Davino
Davino: I absolutely do believe in creating your dream and following your dream. I also believe in balancing that with current economic reality, that you may not be able to pursue your absolute dream right now, but it doesn’t mean you should give up on it. For anyone that is graduating, come see us. If you haven’t, let us help you figure out what it is you want to be doing. For anyone who is still currently a student, the earlier you see us, the better, so please take advantage.
Amanda Lefebvre/ The Gatepost
wanted to try something different, but I wanted to stay in higher ed., and then an opportunity opened up here at Framingham State, and to get back into career services, which is what I had really wanted to do. ... I really missed the conversations that I could have and the creativity that I could have with students. Academic advising is very, very straightforward because ... there are certain policies and certain courses need to be taken in a certain order, and career services allows for flexibility and ... the reality of the world, the reality of the economy, changes, so you have to change with it. GP: In your opinion, what constitutes a good administrator? Davino: I think a really good administrator truly, truly balances doing what is right for the students and paying attention to the policies of the college, and there can be a very good balance. And just to be able to have fun. I like to think that I can be serious with students - and I know I can be extremely serious, almost too serious - and I also like to think that I am pretty easy to talk with and can provide some good advice here and there. And it’s not just my advice - it’s paying attention to what a student is telling me about their lives and what they want to do with their lives and trying to go with the flow and be the best sounding board I can. And sure, I’ll point out a typo on a resume - that’s my job - but my ultimate goal is to hopefully help students follow their goals and their dreams. And so, I think it’s that balance of being able to listen and being able to have good advice, and to also admit when I don’t know something, but be willing to try to go find the answer out. I’ve only been here for three years, and I think I’ve gotten to know Framingham State pretty well. GP: What does it mean to you to be elected Administrator of the Year? Davino: I feel incredibly humbled by this reality - it’s huge. I can’t believe that, having only been here three years, I could even be considered for this award. So, it’s a really great honor, and, again, its especially humbling that it was students that voted. It wasn’t my peers who
GP: What is your favorite part about working at FSC? Davino: It’s honestly the students. I went to a state school twice ... and I’ve worked in a private setting and I’ve enjoyed it, and one of my biggest goals was to get back - and I remember this during my interview - I really wanted to get back to a state school setting because it was something I was personally familiar with and I can absolutely identify being a first-generation college student ... and working hard, and not necessarily being the “A” student, but being a good student. I think that FSC offers a lot of opportunity if you just go grab it. You can get a great education, which can lead to a great job or lead to grad school, you can get involved in a current club or organization, or you could form your own. ... So I think that is part of the culture of what just happens here. I think that students and faculty and staff very often see eye-toeye about a lot of things. And people want to help each other, and that’s a good feeling to have when you come to work every day. GP: Do you have any hobbies? Davino: I really enjoy golf. My goal is, this summer, to play more of it ... and taking some time off and playing. I’ve said that every year, but this is the year I’m going to do it. I love playing softball - I play in a men’s league and I’m really enjoying that because I haven’t played since college intramurals. I really enjoy reading - I especially love science fiction and mystery. I love movies - I wish I had an opportunity to see more movies. I love spending time with my family and my fabulous children - they certainly are part of the reason why I perhaps don’t golf as much!
April 30, 2010
Page 5
The Gatepost
FSC community looks back on Martin’s accomplishments
of us rely on him as a voice of wisdom, reason - I think out his years at FSC and considers Martin as a close the word I’ve heard Dr. Martin say most often is ‘confriend, said, “He’s certainly a fast driver. I laughed the versation’. … And I think that’s really the mark of his other day when they gave him his NASCAR hat, because professional demeanor - consultation, exchange of ideas. … I’m really going to miss that collegiality in him.” Bob is not somebody you would He is truly a think of as being particularly aggres“kind human being,” sive. … He’s very impatient, as he’ll Beilin said, who tell you, on the road, and it’s just not “balances the needs something you would think about of the institution with Bob.” and the individual. Greenberg recalled the first time … Kindness goes a he got the chance to ride as a passenlong, long way.” ger in Martin’s car - “I think we were Ellen Zimmergoing to lunch together - I couldn’t man, interim dean believe this was the same man drivof academic affairs, ing!” noted that before she Despite being a “hellion” on the assumed her new road, Martin is known for being role this year, she a calm, collaborative and beloved enjoyed working member of the FSC community. with him from a fac“I know Bob pretty well. He is ulty position. “He’s just a terrific human being, very been an extremely compassionate, very honest, very strong supporter of open. Somebody I could talk to about The Gatepost Archives the faculty, and that anything. Very non-judgmental. His will be missed by heart is in the right place,” Greenberg all faculty and not President Timothy Flanagan said. just by me. For me Susanne Conley, vice president for personally, I always enrollment and student development, speaking at the relook forward to coming to work every day, and part of ception, said, “He is genuinely one of the kindest, most that is because of his caring personality. caring human beings I’ve ever had the pleasure of knowZimmerman also said she appreciates all the support ing.” Martin has offered her in terms of working with him in Dale Hamel, FSC’s senior vice president for adminisher transition into administration. tration, finance and technology, said in a subsequent in“It’s been a wonderful experience. He’s been an outterview, “He’s certainly well-respected and an enjoyable standing mentor - this is my first year in administration, individual. This is a nice community, and Bob obviously and he’s included me in almost all aspects of academic fits well within that community.” Hamel noted that an apaffairs and has been an extraordinary mentor. He’s given prehension about replacing the academic VP is that the me a lot of independence to develop my own projects, new VP might not “fit” as well in the FSC community. but provided the support I needed. I just couldn’t ask for Martin is known for his successful working relationa better working environment. ships with both faculty and other administrators across “I’ve certainly gotten to know him much better over campus, which isn’t always an easy thing to accomplish, the course of the past year, and have come to deeply adas Dr. Elaine Beilin, chair of the English department, mire his professionalism, but also his concern for the pointed out. whole person. He doesn’t look at faculty members or “There are always going to be things that administrastaff people who report to him just in terms of their protors see differently from faculty, and there’s always gofessional capabilities - he regards them as full people and ing to be some conflict and some contention, and I think he cares about all of that, and I think that because of that, that’s probably healthy.” But, “he is a good listener and he elicits people’s willingness to give their best.” would always truly listen to what you have to say. … He At the reception, Hendry discussed how Martin was never held it against you.” one of the first people to welcome him to campus when Beilin has worked with Martin throughout his six years he was hired two years ago. “Bob was gracious in engagas vice president, both in her role as a faculty member ing me when I first came to campus it’s one of those and department chair, and as a member and co-director things you hope colleagues take a moment to do, and of CELTSS, the college’s newly instituted Center for Exwhen they do, you remember it.” cellence in Learning, Teaching, Scholarship and Service. President Timothy Flanagan also discussed his admi“I became chair just before Dr. Martin came here, and ration of Martin. “It has been a great privilege for me … of course he works very closely with chairs. … I’ve spent to work with Bob Martin. … It has been a tremendously a fair number of hours in his office, trying to sort out rewarding couple of years in which I have learned a lot various problems and looking for ways to make things and am consistently impressed with his professionalism happen.” and his humanity and his care and concern and commitBeilin said among his wonderful qualities, he is alment to Framingham State College,” he said. ways a helpful and supportive “advisor, a motivator, a Greenberg said, “He’s fun to work with … I enjoyed facilitator, for chairs who want to see certain programs working with him because he’s an open thinker - he’s through in their departments. … I know that as a departvery intelligent and offers not only support, but advice. ment chair, if I call him, I will get a response and he will … On a personal level, I enjoy his friendship - just going do everything he can do to be helpful.” out for lunch together, talking about our families. Beilin said Martin’s relationship with the faculty is al“The other thing I’m going to miss, probably more ways based on collaboration and consideration. “Many
-Continued from page 1
than anything, is that he is a terrific listener. Sometimes, all you want somebody to do, is just to listen. … He knows that … and that’s hard to find.” Greenberg also discussed Martin’s relationship to students on campus, and said the kindness he shows to his colleagues applies to students as well. “He genuinely cares about students - he cares deeply about not only their learning, but how they’re doing in life - socially, health-wise, and that comes across. He always made the time for students.” Over his years at FSC, Martin has made a number of positive contributions to the college. One of these is the envisioning and creating of CELTSS, which was established in 2007 to fund faculty scholarship at the college and to offer a supportive and encouraging environment for faculty trying to conduct research. “He’s been extremely supportive of that. … He provided both the financial support and the personal encouragement for faculty to pursue scholarship in whatever direction they would like to pursue it in,” said Zimmerman. “That’s been really, I think, important to a large number of faculty members over the past couple of years.” Beilin appreciates the level of independence Martin has given to faculty in the development of CELTSS. “Dr. Martin had created it for us [faculty], given us his hopes and aspirations for it, and then basically got out of our way in the sense that he turned it over to the faculty to manage and use as we saw fit.” Martin said that he “feel(s) very positively about the formation of CELTSS and what we’re doing for faculty development,” but would like to see how it pans out in the future before making any declaration of its success. He added, “none of that would have happened without the support of President Flanagan, for whom this was re-
“On a personal level, I enjoy his friendship - just going out for lunch together, talking about our families.” - Dr. Scott Greenberg
ally important” and “the engagement of any number of faculty, who, when it was presented with them, took the idea and ran with it. … I’m not sure that my was role was to do much more than plant a seed.” Another major contribution of Martin’s is his work with assessment. “That’s an area where I think we have a long way to go,” said Martin. Assessment is typically an area that encounters a lot of resistance, but you “can’t avoid them and you can’t ignore them. But I think we’ve started to do it here in own way, and in a constructive way, so that I hope what is developing, faculty and staff will have some ownership of, and will not feel that it is imposed upon them.” The first-year foundations program is another initiative that was led by Martin. The first-year program, which includes a required seminar class for FSC freshmen, is designed to make the transition to college easier for new students. Greenberg said, “I don’t know if that would even be here today if Bob Martin was not the vice president. He -Continued on page 6
Governor holds discussion on human services recommendations -Continued from page 1
Secretary of Health and Human Services Dr. JudyAnn Bigby introduced Patrick as “leading the drive to do things differently [in human services].” Patrick, along with guest speakers from areas across the Commonwealth, discussed suggestions made during the first stage of the Human Services Summit. Bigby said that since the summit’s first phase, they have attempted to “translate recommendations that came out of the summit into concrete action steps ... and affirm the strength of the partnership between government and human services.” The governor gave a brief introduction, saying he aims to “remove the barriers that prevent us from working better and smarter.” He also urged leaders in the audience to “think fearlessly about what kind of things we can do regardless of money.” Bigby pinpointed six main recommendations, which were each detailed with a plan
of action and deadline for improvements. The areas were: attracting and retaining human services workforce, supporting social enterprises, integrating a service delivery plan for children, improving access to information and services, retrieving consumer and provider input in the design of services and reducing administrative burdens and regulation review. All of the professionals who spoke in each of the six areas commended Patrick for his dedication to improving human services in a tough economic time. Speakers included Executive Director of the Massachusetts Non-Profit Network David Magnani and President and Executive Director of the Pine Street Inn Lyndia Downie. State Senator Karen Spilka and State Representative Pam Richardson of Framingham were also in attendance.
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The Gatepost
Martin sets goals for his retirement
people who are genuinely excited and passionate about was a strong advocate for that, and made it happen. I think what they do. To top it off, a lot of these folks are really that program has become a signature of the freshman year very good scholars.” Martin noted that sometimes, however, his position for us.” puts him in adversarial roles with other members of the Martin said he was hopeful that the program was makFSC community, which can be uncomfortable. He said, ing a positive impact on freshmen in both their academic however, that no matter how angry or dissenting the perand social lives. son might be, he never doubts their dedication and comHe is proud, also, of the steps the college has made in mitment to the college. new academic program development and faculty hiring “I’ve always found it helpful to stop, take a breath, under his leadership. and remind yourself of that, because sometimes we “I think we’ve done some good faculty hiring … and forget that that’s a really we’re pushimportant task ing or pulling for the institutowards the tion because on same goal, the one hand, and we might you lose a lot have differof institutional ences and history when disagreements people go and about how to retire, you lose a get there, but lot of the memin the long ory, the culture, run, they kind the conditions, of pale in comthe values. parison to the There is a chalcommon underlenge to mainstandings that tain what’s good we have.” about it. And at Martin said the same time, overall, he very the challenge much enjoys is to bring in as the interaction capable people between himas we can find self, the other to replace those administrators who are leavand faculty ing, and I think members. “You we’ve done don’t get anyDrake McCabe/The Gatepost pretty well by where by trying Kathleen Mulrey, secretary of the class of 2010. that.” to address issues Martin said by yourself. … You only get somewhere by addressing he hopes that he has managed to maintain and build upon them with other people and coming to some sort of instithe college’s connective culture. “When I came here, I tutional consensus. thought this was really a pretty collegial environment. “And for the most part, that’s a fun kind of endeavor, That people talked to each other and, for the most part, and it’s also a challenging kind of endeavor - to take difpeople didn’t define things in terms of ‘we’ and ‘they.’ ficult subjects and have good, constructive conversations And I think what I would say is that I didn’t screw that up, about it, and to have a lot of differences of opinion, and and hopefully that still exists.” then eventually to be able to forge a consensus. That’s Martin noted that none of his accomplishments “could gratifying.” have happened without the investments of other people.” Martin said he will miss his Beilin said role at FSC, and will always apof Martin, “He preciate the image of the campus is so modest, quad outside his office window and he’s too “My family knows me well that this calm, that he has etched into his memmodest in a ory. “The fact that it’s beautiful sometimes retiring individual is sometimes way.” He has in its own right is also repreaccomplished a hellion behind the wheel.” sentative of I think is the most so much, she positive thing about Framingsaid, and yet - Dr. Robert Martin ham State,” he said, “that it’s a he always place that is very connected. It’s downplays his easy to reach across space from achievements one person to another person, and attributes from one department to another them to others. department, from faculty to stuMartin said he has enjoyed his years at FSC as vice dents. I think every institution hopes to have some president of academic affairs. “It’s very gratifying to creof that quality, and I felt, considering the three inate conditions which enable things to happen” and “creatstitutions where I’ve worked professionally … this ing conditions that make it possible for other people to do place does a pretty good job of it.” things.” However much Martin may miss his VP role at He also mentioned how much he enjoyed working FSC, he said he is looking forward to retirement with both his fellow administrators and faculty. and a break from the stress of an administrative po“First, with regards to my administrative colleagues, sition. both former and current, I would say two principal things “In some respects, it’s kind of almost the same - first, I respect them. … It’s scary, in some respects, how as looking forward to the end of the academic year. competent they are. And I would often confess to my wife … It’s a chance to take a breath, or maybe this time, and to my close friends outside the college, even almost a a couple of breaths. … I mostly just want to look little intimating to how competent they are. And second, I ahead to think about what new kinds of challenges like them. … I feel like I’ve always been lucky to not only I can set for myself and what sorts of fun things I feel good on a professional level about my colleagues, can do.” but to like them on a personal level as well and to enjoy Martin has a number of goals he hopes to achieve spending time with them. in his retirement, including climbing all the Adirondack “With regard to the faculty, I have been more than imHigh Peaks in New York State. He is looking forward to pressed about how committed they are to what they do, spending more time with his grandchildren and catching and how very good some of them are at it. … I look back up on reading and politics. Though he mentioned he has on my teaching, and I think I was pretty good, but I was no interest in running for any sort of elective office right good at one note or two notes, and some of the folks I see, now, he said that he does love politics and hopes to “look they’ve got a whole melody. … It’s so much fun to see for ways that I can make a contribution to the commu-Continued from page 5
April 30, 2010
nity.” Though Martin will not be returning to FSC as an administrator, he is planning to teach at FSC and will be running a course during the fall semester on behavior modification. “I’m looking forward to that on the one hand, because I really look at it and think it will be rejuvenating and on the other hand I look to it with a little bit of apprehension, because it’s probably been something like eight to
“I was fortunate to have Bob and his wife attend my wedding a few years ago - let’s just say that it is real tempting to bring out the video of his dancing during the reception.” - Dr. Dale Hamel
ten years since I’ve taught a full course, and so I have every expectation that I will be as anxious on that first day of class as any of the new faculty whom we have just finished hiring,” Martin said. Martin’s colleagues said though they are happy for Martin, they are sad to see him go. Hamel said he has had a close relationship with Martin even before his work at FSC. They had worked together through the Board of Higher Education while Martin worked at Westfield State, a position he held previous to his employment at FSC. “I was fortunate to have Bob and his wife attend my wedding a few years ago - let’s just say that it is real tempting to bring out the video of his dancing during the reception,” Hamel said. “I work with him as much as a friend as a colleague, so that will be the hardest part of seeing … him step down from his current position. … I’ll miss having a friend next door. … Bob and I come to the office early each morning, and one or the other of us always makes coffee, and it’s one of those situations where it feels like a family.” “Personally, I’ll miss seeing him on a daily basis, and I’ll miss his friendship, but I’m sure we’ll get together outside of the college,” said Greenberg. Zimmerman said though she is going to miss Martin, she believes he deserves his retirement more than any-
Dr. Ellen Zimmerman
The Gatepost Archives
body, and “I hope he has a wonderful time.” Flanagan said he is also going to miss having Martin as a vice president of the college, and offered, “on behalf of the entire Framingham State College community, a welldeserved thank you to Bob Martin for his wonderful service to the college.”
April 30, 2010
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The Gatepost
O’Connor repositioning plans underway for 2011
By Sara Mulkeen Assistant News Editor
believe any specific plan for O’Connor has been accepted, but he supports the notion of having it as a half residence and half academic building. “I’ve worked with half and half buildings in the past
With the construction of the new residence hall and proposed science facility renovations, O’Connor Hall will become either a full academic building, or half-residence hall, half “swing space” for faculty offices and classrooms by fall 2011. According to Senior Vice President for Administration, Finance and Technology Dr. Dale Hamel, “Some repositioning will happen by fall 2011 and most likely it will be the ground floor and we will build from there.” Hamel said keeping a portion of O’Connor as residence space could be beneficial for the school financially. “We’ve essentially already budgeted the operating expenses and by keeping a portion of the residence hall, those funds could be retained for O’Connor Hall. operating purposes,” he said. Hamel added the original plan was to fully reposition here and other places – Health Services used to be housed O’Connor as academic space by fall 2011, but the admin- in O’Connor, and I also worked with a ten-story multi-use istration is now hesitant to commit to the full reposition- building at Emerson College,” Cochran said. “I think that from a residence life perspective there are ing because of other construction on campus. ways to do it - you need to have systems in place so that “A portion of the facility was intended to be used as a you can provide the security swing space to help that you need in a residence hall facilitate [the Hemand the climate for a residence enway] project, so hall. I’ve had it work out, but we wouldn’t want “Some repositioning will happen by fall 2011 and here are logistical challenges to to reposition the fadoing it,” he added. most likely it will be the ground floor and we will cility and then, two Current O’Connor resident years later, have build from there.” Brittany Ault, an FSC junior, a prime space for said she wouldn’t swing space. So, by - Dr. Dale Hamel want to live in keeping a portion of the dorm if it it a residence hall, were only halfwe could then reporesidence hall. sition it temporar“If O’Connor beily for swing space and then fully reposition it upon the came half offices I would not want to live completion of the other project,” Hamel said. here because there would be fewer students “The thought is that the occupants of Crocker Hall will around and more faculty,” she said. move to O’Connor Hall as well as some other functions, Cochran also believes that maintaining but we don’t want that to occur prior to the point where a large student population in the building O’Connor might need to be used for swing space,” he would be necessary for its success. “I think added. in those half buildings, as long as there’s a Sociology Professor Dr. Ira Silver said he likes his critical mass of students, it works out,” he office in Crocker because of the history of the building, said. but looks forward Juniors Julie to having a more Cormio and Damodern space with ron Carlson said windows that don’t “I think that from a residence life perspective they approve of leak. there are ways to do it - you need to have systems having a half“I like the idea of in place so that you can provide the security that and-half buildhaving different deing, but the facilyou need in a residence hall and the climate partments clustered ity would need together and havfor a residence hall. ” to have a clear ing a better social division between space for meetings. - Glenn Cochran office space and We only have the residences. copy room for that “There would in Crocker,” Silver need to be sepasaid. rate entrances, so you wouldn’t really see Dr. Henry Tischler, also of the sociology department, the offices from the residence side,” Carlsaid he appreciates the big offices in Crocker, but the son said, “They could make it work, but school “can’t seem to fix it up enough” to abide by Ameriif it’s not separated properly, living there cans with Disabilities regulations. “The move would be a wonderful opportunity for me would be awkward.” Cormio said, “I think it’s worth it to to throw things away,” Tischler said. keep some beds in O’Connor open [instead Associate Dean of Student Affairs and Director of Resof the full repositioning].” idence Life and Housing Glenn Cochran said he doesn’t Despite the proposal for a half-and-half
building, a floor plan has only been made for the full repositioning of O’Connor, which includes a relocated planetarium and daycare on the ground floor. Hamel said, “The potential move of the Planetarium is being considered as it would enhance the programming of the Hemenway expansion, as well as likely be more cost effective, opposed to building around an occupied facility.” “With the new residence hall - if everything goes on line - my understanding is it’s being programmed for offices and other uses,” Cochran said, “but I’m sure there are all kinds of other contingencies being talked about, depending on whether housing demands are higher and other factors.” According to Cochran, the new dorm would be able to hold about 100 more students than O’Connor currently houses. Cochran suggested, “What the college needs to do is - at the time scenarios unfold - is to kind of weigh all of the campus’ needs. Make a decision that accommodates as many needs of the college as possible, and stay flexible and open to the bigger needs of the whole institution, and use resources that fulfill everyone’s needs to the maximum.” Matt Mikaelian/The Gatepost Hamel emphasized that current plans are only preliminary. “In short, we are still in the study phase for both the O’Connor and Hemenway projects, and much work has to be completed before any final decisions are made,” he said. “We have met a number of times recently with the consultants and faculty to continue to develop a preliminary program layout for a fully repositioned O’Connor Hall - in coordination with the proposed program for an expanded Hemenway Hall - and options for phased re-use,” Hamel added. [Editor’s Note: Hamel announced O’Connor Hall will be only partially be repositioned as an academic building at SGA’s meeting Tuesday night.]
Dr. Dale Hamel
The Gatepost Archives
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Faculty printers may be removed to reduce carbon footprint
By Lindsay Chase Assistant News Editor
The Gatepost
April 30, 2010
in October, 2009, at which he said some printers had been voluntarily given up by the librarians. Donohue noted that “President Flanagan said it was done voluntarily, but it wasn’t. The contract was violated at that moment when they were taken away.” Faculty contracts specifically state, “In addition thereto, the Board shall continue to provide sufficient typewriter, duplicating and computer equipment in good repair for the use of members of the bargaining unit,” and these contracts, according to Donohue, were violated for those faculty members who had printers taken away.
Junior Ryan McElroy, a communication arts major, said, “I don’t think it’ll make too much of a difference. Faculty [members] will probably print the same number Last semester, the FSC administration attempted to inof pages - it’ll just be on a communal printer.” stitute a new policy that would have eliminated individual Beilin said her department went to a meeting with IT printers for faculty and staff members. The faculty union last semester, where faculty members articulated “very filed a grievance and the matter was delayed until the next real concerns about convenience and security and similar academic year. things.” Those questions were all answered effectively, According to Dr. Robert Donohue, president of the facaccording to Beilin. “I think we’re all a little concerned ulty union, “The College was in the process of adopting a about those high-pressure moments in the semester when policy that would require faculty and librarians to give up we’re trying to print up exams or a syllabus … but I’m not individual printers.” This would have resulted in a change going to anticipate trouble until it happens.” of work environment for faculty members and they Krista Adam, a junior secondary education were worried about how it would affect their jobs, major, said, “There will be people printing at the he added. same time. They’ll spend money on ink for that The plan was to remove individual printers and printer, so it won’t save money.” employ a high-tech communal printer on each floor Donohue said, “Unfortunately, Framingham of every academic building to reduce spending on State has a long track record of terminating one paper, ink and energy. The new printers have color method of doing things” without making sure the printing, copying and scanning features, along with new method is up and running. faxing abilities. They are also two times as fast. Johnson said he and his department are willRobert Johnson, chair of the communication arts ing to see what happens with the new policy. “We department, said part of the goal of this policy was were promised that there would be an evaluation, to help “green” the campus and to cut the financial and that if this particular model printer didn’t expense of paper. “There is a logic to reducing that work or if this set up didn’t work that [the adkind of bulk use of paper,” he said. ministration] would be open to working with us to Senior Erin LeBlanc, an English major, said, “It’s change that, and I think we’ll take a wait-and-see not fair to the professors who have printers taken attitude as far as that goes.” away. Is it really going to save a lot of energy?” He added, “The idea that we’re a digital camDonohue said that from his position, “It’s irrelpus is a very nice one, but in practical ways, I still evant” as to why printers would be taken away. “Adhave to provide my students, for example, with a ministration can’t violate contracts,” he stated. hard copy of my PowerPoint presentations. Dr. Elaine Beilin, chair of the English depart“We can, of course, commit a lot of our instrucment, said, “I think it’s something we have to do to tional materials to Blackboard - people already do go forward with the greener campus. While I think that, certainly in my department we do. But every everybody probably develops a relationship with his once in a while, something happens - the system or her own private printer, they do wear out eventuis inaccessible because it’s the middle of the day ally.” and the Internet is slow or some other technologiShe added that she heard good reasons for movcal shortfall prevents that from happening - and ing to the new system and removing individual printyou really do need paper to back it up. I don’t ers. “In theory, I think it’s a good idea.” know that we can be paper-free, but we certainly Janet Schwartz, chair of the consumer sciences can be paper-less,” he said. department, said, “I don’t look at it as printers as beSchwartz said, “I hope the union can be foring taken away - although that might be the result. I ward thinking about this.” She pointed out that look at it as FSC trying to reduce energy costs.” most companies do not have individual printers Johnson said, “You can’t really be against any- there is a community printer. “It’s going to be thing that’s going to green [the campus] and reduce a process.” carbon footprint and reduce using limited natural reDrake McCabe/The Gatepost On Monday, Nov. 30, 2009, Donohue sent out sources. Dr. Elaine Beilin an email to members of the FSC Professional As“I think that there’s always a way to going about The union then filed a grievance to fight the viola- sociation (FSCPA) saying the grievance had been settled introducing policies, and I think the more inclusive you are in communicating, bringing people on board, having tion. “I’m obliged to defend any rights faculty [members] for the 2009-2010 academic year. “For the remainder of discussion, allowing for input and flexibility, the better off have,” Donohue said. “The union’s position doesn’t in any the ‘09/’10 academic year, FSC will continue to support way interfere with installing and using network printers. and supply individual FSC printers for FSCPA members these things are.” (no one will have to surrender their printer).” He added, “On the other hand, if one is going to simply ... It’s nothing we’re working against,” he added. Johnson explained that, for the most part, his departHe added, “At the end of the ‘09/’10 academic year, dictate a new policy and then implement it without providing for some give-and-take, it can make people uncomfort- ment does not have a problem with the new policy. “We things get more complex.” do have dedicated When lookable. We don’t printers that are used ing to the bejust use paper in our curriculum - in ginning of the for the heck of our graphics and phonext academic it - we actually “If you lose a printer at work, that means “While I think everybody probably develops a tography areas - and year when do have a ratioyou’re going to print more at home, which the issue will relationship with his or her own private printer, those are not going to nale for it.” means you kind of shift the carbon footprint be touched.” be revisited, Schwartz they do wear out eventually.” He added, “The Beilin said issue a different way.” said saving endownside is that there “some people ergy is not going - Dr. Elaine Beilin are really three acaare very willto come without - Robert Johnson demic departments on ing” to give up a little bit of efthis floor” - modern their printer, fort. “You have languages, communibut “there is a to work at it,” cation arts and music broad range of she said. She added some faculty members are very upset about - so it could pose a problem with all of those faculty mem- opinion. Some people are paperless already. … Some people will want to go on printing. I think there’s going to be the initiative. “Some people want color printing at their bers trying to use one printer. “The other issue is that a lot of people, including my- a range of reaction and probably a range of experiences.” desk. I hope they’ll think twice about copying” because [Editor’s Note: These interviews were held last semesthey do it without thinking. “Some people are flippant self, would print at home,” Johnson said. “If you lose a printer at work, that means you’re going to print more at ter. The article has not run until now due to space conabout copying,” she said. Donohue explained that FSC President Timothy Flana- home, which means you kind of shift the carbon footprint straints.] gan addressed the printer issue at an All College Meeting issue a different way.”
The Gatepost wishes FSC students, faculty and staff a safe summer break! See you in September!
April 30, 2010
Record March rain leaves resident students waterlogged
By Ngozi Nwabeke Editorial Staff
The Gatepost
I was walking into a wet swamp,” said Brockenbrough. “I was just like, ‘Nah, this isn’t real. Whatever.’ So I went to bed,” said Brockenbrough. He woke up the next morning and realized that his wet floor was, in fact, terribly real. Brockenbrough said he later “assessed the situation” after seeing his rugs were “practically under water.”
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more serious in order to get any maintenance attention, so he never filed a maintenance request. Fairbanks said, “We don’t mind hearing about probFlooding is the last thing one would expect when living lems. We don’t get mad when you tell us there’s a probon the sixth floor of Larned Hall, but residents have been lem. We need to know when things aren’t working right.” dealing with just that due to the excessive rain the month Herbert said, “The only thing that really bothered me of March delivered. is that I have allergies to mold, so the night after I stopped While Larned Hall was the building in which the most the flooding in here, I was coughing my lungs leaks occurred, Towers and O’Connor also out because of the allergies to mold.” experienced leaks. While most of the leaking and flooding ocAccording to Warren Fairbanks, direccurred in the month of March, some students tor of facilities and capital planning, there have had ongoing issues with leaks in their were 26 rooms affected by leaks in Larned, rooms. Towers and O’Connor halls during the Sophomore Stephanie Grace, a fifth-floor month of March. resident of Larned, first noticed her room was Glenn Cochran, associate dean of stuleaking before winter break. “I woke up one dents and director of residence life and day and I heard this noise like water dropping. judicial affairs, said the leaking took place ... I looked over, and there was a puddle on my “mainly during the periods of heavy rain bed right next to me and I looked up and there we’ve had and for the most part in one was water dripping from my ceiling. It was area, but over spring break, when we had very unpleasant.” the big rainstorm, there were other areas afOnly later did she notice that there was wafected. Now, whether that means the other ter leaking from the corner of the room and areas had been affected before and no one seeping up from the tiles as well. reported them, or the unusual quantity and Grace said, “I filled out a maintenance retype of that rainstorm resulted in that, I quest about my ceiling before we even noticed don’t know.” the floor, because the floor only [leaks] when Residents from the top to the bottom it’s raining really bad, and we’ve had a lot of floors of Larned have been baffled by the bad rain.” leaks not only coming from their dorm In order to deal with the leaks in the ceilroom ceilings, but from the water seeping ing, Grace had to rearrange her room and move from the floors and walls. some furniture. Richard Ezerins, a freshman on the sec“I know that some people got calls [during ond floor, said, “The first time I noticed my spring break] saying that their room was floodroom was leaking was when there was waed, and when I got back to my room, there was ter dripping on me.” Ezerins felt reassured mold on my pillow so I know that there was after he got a phone call asking if residence water on my bed and there’s a water line on our life could clean some of his things that had floor,” she said. gotten wet over spring break. After the water on the floor had seemingly “I thought, ‘Problem solved. I can carry Ngozi Nwabeke/The Gatepost disappeared, Grace and her roommate noticed on with my week.’ But when I came back, I go up to my room with all my stuff, and the Newspapers soak up the puddles in a student’s room in Larned Hall. the tiles were still holding pockets of water that would gush out when they were stepped on. second I open my door ... a wall of stench He decided the best way to get rid of the water in his Grace was unsure if the facilities department was even washed over me. ... It smelled really bad of mold, and I walk over to my bed because I know that’s where it leaks rug was to drain it into the trashcan in the hallway. “As I’m aware that her room was being affected by the rain bedoing this, a tour comes in and my door’s open. They’re cause she “didn’t get a call back, so I don’t even know if and the top blanket was still wet in some places.” Ezerins went to his RA and explained that his room like, ‘Oh, hey, can we show your room?’ and I’m like, they got it,” she said. “We put in three maintenance requests at the same time must not have been cleaned and his RA contacted some- ‘Uh, I don’t think that’s a good idea.’ “My rug’s literally dripping brown murky water into [when we returned] so that they are aware that our room one from residence life who came and discussed with the hallway. … There’s a huge puddle in the middle of my was flooding.” Ezerins what to do about his belongings. Fairbanks explained, “Facilities workers pick up the “They were like, ‘Well, I can give you money,’ and I room with mud everywhere and random things all over the said, ‘Yeah, well that’s really inconvenient, but I guess.’ ground.” Brockenbrough was less than pleased to show requests every morning between 7:15 a.m. and 7:45 a.m. and bring them to the facilities office. We then enter the reAnd so then she just gave me nine dollars in quarters, [to off his room in that condition to prospective students. During spring break, Brockenbrough was contacted by quest into the work-order system, the request is prioritized do laundry.]” Ezerins noticed, however, that though his room wasn’t an employee of the office of residence life who wanted to based on a lot of different things, and then acted upon. When the problem is taken care of, the work order is perfectly dry or clean, the ceiling was caulked over break. confirm with him that it was OK for them to wash and dry Cochran said, “All of the people that had issues with a few of his belongings that had gotten wet. “What they closed out.” On the weekends or after hours, residence life staff responds to any reports to make sure they are not the room, contact was attempted, by e-mail ... in some cas- did is they put all the wet [stuff] in bags, and dried it.” emergencies. es, by phone ... just to let people know that it was found Fairbanks said, “We are actually considering doing and that they were cleaning up.” away with the paper request form. My belief is it slows He explained that what residence life tried to do was down the process. I think next fall, we will ask students to wash people’s rugs and things, by permission, and return “We don’t mind hearing about problems. e-mail us and [copy] residence life with any maintenance them in a bag, cleaned and dried, “so they wouldn’t come We don’t get mad when you tell us there’s a requests, but we are still reviewing this procedure.” back to something that was really smelly and wet.” Senior Rachel Krans, a sixth-floor resident, also noproblem. We need to know when things aren’t Fairbanks said, “Because we anticipated that there ticed leaking as early as the end of last semester when were going to be problems, we called residence life and working right.” there was lots of snow. had them let the facilities people in all of the dorms, and At first, she didn’t realize the floor was leaking and we looked in all the rooms and where we found water, we - Warren Fairbanks thought the water on the floor had possibly come from her vacuumed it up and cleaned it up.” shower caddy. It wasn’t until a few days later, when she He said, “I initiated the investigation during the break noticed it was wet again, that she came to the conclusion so that we could deal with any major leaks right away.” that the water was coming from the baseboard under the Fairbanks said that over break, “Facilities vacuumed window. up the water on floors and wiped up wall surfaces and Brockenbrough’s roommate, Alexander Herbert, a “I had to clean everything out from under my bed bewindow sills if they had water on them. Carpets and rugs were vacuumed if they were wet, but this only would re- sophomore, said the last heavy rain after spring break, cause that’s where the lakes would form. All of my stuff Herbert was not on campus and Brockenbrough had to call is now underneath my roommate’s bed, so there’s nothing move standing water.” Clayton Brockenbrough, a sophomore and resident of him and tell him that everything had gotten wet again and that can get wet from my leaks.” Krans said the action she took to try to get some sort the second floor, thought after getting a call over spring had to be moved. “And yet again, my laundry was wet, so of solution to the leakage included e-mailing and calling break, the problem would be resolved and taken care of I had to clean that again,” he said. “It smelled!” chimed in Laura Jarvis, a friend who had maintenance, and filling out maintenance requests. “They and all the water would be cleaned up. came and they just kind of looked at it and most of the He didn’t realize until he reached under his bed for visited the room after the water disaster. “It stunk.” “So, that was another three dollars I had to waste,” said time after they came, it was already dry, so there was nothsomething a few days after returning from break that there was water that hadn’t been cleaned and clothes that were Herbert. “And it wasn’t even like a full basket. … I hate ing they could really do about it.” Over break, she said she was contacted by a member growing mold on them. “A lot of books were ruined. Ev- that.” The next time it rained, Herbert said he didn’t bother of residence life and asked if she would mind if someone ery paper I had from last semester was ruined,” he said. Brockenbrough first realized his room had water leak- contacting anyone. “I just grabbed some of ... my towels steam-cleaned her rugs and she agreed. age when he returned to his room one evening in March, and just stopped the flooding ... and it worked.” -Continued on page 10 Brockenbrough said he thought their situation had to be only to find he was stepping on a soggy rug. “It was like
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April 30, 2010
Fairbanks: the goal is to have the leaks repaired for next year
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Krans, luckily, said she found nothing damaged when she returned to school after spring break. Senior Theresa Hurt, also a sixth-floor resident, said she was told that she would have to move all her belongings out of her room during winter break so the leaks in her room could be caulked. “I thought it was all fixed which is how I ended up with two more things ruined. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have put them on the floor if I hadn’t thought that it was fixed,” said Hurt. “They did caulk it. It just didn’t hold.” Hurt, who was in the same room the previous year dealing with the same leaks, had hoped the problem would be fixed over the summer but realized nothing had changed when she noticed water seeping in again early in the fall semester. “It started in one corner. Then they caulked it last year. Then it migrated down, but it still leaks in the other corner,” said Hurt. She said the whole edge of the wall was eventually caulked and it still leaks, “but it’s not as bad.” To make sure nothing happened to their possessions over spring break, Hurt said she and her roommate “moved all of our stuff - all the important stuff that we care about - off the floor and moved them onto our beds because we knew it was going to rain and there was nothing we could do about it. “During the day - if it’s raining - we’ll move it up on the beds before classes,” said Hurt, but it’s more difficult to find a dry place for her things when she’s sleeping in her bed at night and it’s storming outside, and leaking inside. One student, who wished to remain anonymous, also said she got in contact with several different departments around campus to try and find some resolution. After the second big rain in March, when she and her roommate talked with other residents on their floor and realized the water in their room was part of a bigger issue,
she said she met with Dr. Susanne Conley, vice president for enrollment and student development. After speaking with Conley, she said she later received an e-mail from Conley which explained that she had contacted Warren Fairbanks, who had assured her that a construction project would be underway in the summer to fix all the leaking issues. Fairbanks said, “What we’ve done is speak with MSCBA, which is the Mass State College Building Authority. … They own the buildings, the residence halls, and they have commissioned the team that’s building the new residence hall right now to do this investigation. “So they do an engineering investigation. That engineer will produce a report recommending certain repairs, they’ll put a price tag on it and the plan is this summer to carry out that work,” said Fairbanks, explaining it’s not an easy fix that can be resolved immediately. Fairbanks said the goal is to have the problems repaired for students living in Larned next year. He explained that there are a number of plausible reasons for what is causing the leaking, but that none of these issues can be determined by a simple look up and down while students are still living in these rooms. “What we suspect is happening is that the water is penetrating through the brick, or penetrating down from the parapet on the roof,” he added. One of the likeliest reasons could be due to the parapet, which Fairbanks explained is “like a short wall that runs around the perimeter of the roof, and it’s a typical location on a roof for leaking ... and there’s a lot that can go wrong in a parapet.” Another possibility could be a problem with the weep holes at the bottom of the building into which water drains. “So, if the weep holes are plugged up, that could be a problem,” said Fairbanks. “There’s a lot that can be wrong in the wall, and we
can’t determine that just by visual observations. We have to test it.” The anonymous resident said she was “upset that they’re charging our floor for cleaning up excessive trash, yet people have damaged goods and they were giving us a hard time about getting it replaced.” When asked if and how students could go about being reimbursed for their belongings, Cochran said, “We recommend homeowner’s insurance - that’s something that’s in the Guide to Residence Living.” Cochran recommended that students who live in the dormitories purchase renter’s insurance, as they would if they were renting an apartment, and if they are covered under that, then they can file a claim and residence life would be more than willing to provide them with any information that might be requested as proof of water damage in a claim. He explained, “The college doesn’t insure individual students’ personal belongings. But very often, parents’ homeowner’s insurance would cover a college student’s possessions while away at college - that’s fairly common. “What I can assure people is that there’s not some, like, gaping hole just sitting up there that people are ignoring that could easily be [fixed] up. It’s not that at all,” said Cochran. He has been told those who will be working on this project “may have to open up some walls, they may have to do things that would disrupt the rooms and things like that for a period of time. Of course, the best time for that to happen will be after May seventh and not while there are people living in the rooms.”
Online courses available.
Graduate and Continuing Education www.fsc.edu/gce
The Gatepost
April 30, 2010
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FSC diversity has risen in recent years
By Ali-Rae Clark Staff Writer
To make the college more competitive academically and foster intellectual debate, Framingham State is seeking ways to become a more diverse institution. According to projections from the U.S. Department of Education, the student body on American college campuses is going to continue to become more diverse over the next several years. The department’s annual report, “Projections of Education Statistics to 2018,” estimates the total enrollment in degree-granting institutions will increase to 20.6 million by the fall of 2018, an increase of 13 percent from 2007. Enrollment of Hispanic students is expected to grow by 38 percent. Black student enrollment is projected to increase by 26 percent, while the white student population is expected to grow by only 4 percent. The percentage of minority students enrolled at FSC has been increasing over the years, said Nick Figueroa, current cochair of the diversity committe and former dean of undergraduate admissions. At FSC in fall 2009, black students represented 4.6 percent of undergraduate students and Hispanics 4.2 percent, while white students accounted for 81.4 percent of the undergraduate student population, according to Chief Institutional Research Officer and Staff Associate Jennifer Dunseath. These statistics do not account for the unknown race and ethnicity of some undergraduate students. According to the 2008 U.S. Census Bureau statistics, 86.2 percent of Massachusetts residents are white, 8.6 percent are Hispanic and 7 percent are black. Dean of Academic Affairs Dr. Ellen Zimmerman said, “There is potential for us [FSC] to be more diverse than we are. The statistic I am familiar with is that there will no longer be a majority. People who identify as white will be a minority as well - the largest minority for some time - but there will be no majority. We will become a nation of all minorities. … I think what that says is inevitably, our student body will become more diverse over time … but we can do more to encourage that … we can be actively involved in that process.” According to Figueroa, President Timothy Flanagan founded the diversity committee in fall 2008 to promote diversity at FSC. The committee is made up of 31 members of the college community - faculty, staff and students. Figueroa said the purpose of the committee is to examine five different areas on campus - student recruitment, personnel recruitment and policies, alumni, student programming and academics - to see how the college can improve diversity among these areas, which are broken
“When a student comes to campus and they walk around and see people that look like them, they’re going to be more willing to apply and want to come here.” -David Baldwin
down into subcommittees. Throughout the year, each subcommittee is expected to meet on its own and then report back to the general diversity committee. The goal of each subcommittee is always evolving, Figueroa said. “For example, with the alumni committee, we’re trying to figure out ways that will allow us to reach out to diverse alumni who would be willing to participate on campus events or mentor students. “With student recruitment, that committee focuses on early awareness programming and other ways to bring diverse students to campus. “Student programming is one that’s having a lot of
discussion as where to go. The way I would envision that committee is to have more speakers come to campus, more campus discussions not only on race, but a variety of topics and it doesn’t stop there. It could also include arts performances. We want to try to inject some more activities in which students will share the experience in common and learn from those experiences.” Sophomore Betsie Amendola said she would like it if more diverse performers came to campus. “How about we have some hip-hop artists come? They should invite JayZ.” Right now, the academic subcommittee may be the most active of the committees, Figueroa said. In an effort to increase diversity within the curriculum, two members of the academic subcommittee - soci-
Students congregate outside the College Center. ology professor and co-chair of the diversity committee Sue Dargan and Zimmerman - have proposed a diversity minor that they hope will soon be passed by the college curriculum committee. The objectives of the diversity minor are to provide students with the knowledge, skills and perspectives that are essential to responsible, citizenship, employability and quality of life in an increasingly pluralistic and diverse society. To complete the minor, students would be able to choose certain courses from several academic departments such as art and music, communication arts, fashion design and retailing, food and nutrition, English, geography, history, modern languages, psychology and philosophy, and sociology. Dargan said, “We are not just talking about ethnic diversity - we’re talking about gender, age, sexual orientation and social class. We wanted to use a broad definition of diversity and we wanted students to come out of the minor with some skills to deal with people in a wide range of situations.” Zimmerman wanted to create the diversity minor because “diversity is an extraordinarily important thing to nurture at the college and we have quite a large number of courses that address all different kinds of diversity, but there was no mechanism where students could pull these together and educate themselves in a deliberate way.” Senior communication arts major Julie Murray said, “A diversity minor is a good idea, but it should be narrowed down. Diversity is a huge and important topic and I don’t see how it could be covered in a minor. If it was put under an already established major such as sociology, it would make more sense to be offered as a concentration like anthropology is.” Senior business major Mark Rubackin said he would be interested in pursuing a minor in diversity. “I could see a diversity minor benefiting any major. Students would be given the opportunity to learn different things and not be
tied down to one specific area. Given the ability to explore, students may discover an interest they never knew they had before.” Freshman psychology major Christine Curran said a diversity minor could work for some people but “it’s not something I would personally like. It’s good that students would get more general knowledge of everything, I just don’t see how the different courses could relate to one another.” FSC has also begun to encourage faculty diversity by educating search committees on how to recruit applicants from underrepresented minority groups. This fall, Zimmerman and Dargan held a diversity workshop for search committees. We’ve had a number of search committees in different departments looking for new faculty, so we brought in a diversity workshop facilitator. … The workshop focused on ways in which search committees could maximize their possibility of job candidates from diverse backgrounds,” said Zimmerman. Dargan said, “We want to have a faculty that reflects the diversity of the students and that’s where we are really falling short.” In order to increase faculty diversity, “you have to do a lot of planning and then you see incremental improvement. Once you have a few faculty members who are from underrepresented groups, say Latino, it is easier for you to recruit more Latino faculty members. “It’s a process where you have to build and that’s what we need to be doing. As long as we’re moving forward, that’s good. This year was a huge step because I’ve been here over 20 years, and this is the first time, I’ve seen a real intentional move in terms of hiring - a really obvious effort was made,” added Dargan. The committee may also conduct a faculty development workshop next year, in which faculty are trained on Tom Higgins/The Gatepost how to work with people from different backgrounds. FSC’s lack of ethnic and racial diversity among its professors is a problem shared by many Boston-area colleges and universities. At FSC, blacks and Hispanics make up 2.1 percent of tenured and tenure-track faculty according to Rita Colucci, director of Human Resources and Affirmative Action. At Boston University, 3.4 percent of tenured and tenure-track professors are black or Hispanic. At Brandeis, they make up 3 percent, while 5.8 percent of Harvard’s tenured and tenure-track faculty are black or Hispanic. Many FSC faculty, staff and students believe diversity is important and will strengthen the institution. According to Dargan, several studies have shown that
“It’s just demoralizing to be in a place where you’re a student of color and every faculty member you see your whole four years is not a person of color.” -Dr. Sue Dargan
students who go to diverse colleges and universities have better overall experiences. “Students see diversity as a big plus and are more positive about their college experiences when they learn from students who have different backgrounds. Young people value diversity and want to be in an environment where they are exposed to it.” Dargan added that for students of color, it is very important to see themselves represented in the faculty and -Continued on page 12
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The Gatepost
April 30, 2010
Hamel discusses FY 2011 budget at SGA meeting
By Amy Koski News Editor Senior Vice President for Administration, Finance and Technology Dr. Dale Hamel gave a presentation on a draft of the Fiscal Year 2011 budget at the SGA meeting on April 27. Senators also voted on a constitutional amendment regarding the event of a tie in SGA elections. Hamel said this presentation is usually given earlier in the academic year, but there were delays during this “volatile year” and the Budget and Resource Committee was uncomfortable building a budget right away. “We waited to develop a firmer budget based on the House of Representatives’ budget,” he said. Hamel deemed our current economic climate a “great recession” and said this is the year that was projected to experience the “funding cliff,” or time when federal funding drastically drops. He said though it “was good news” that the government appropriated funds from the federal stimulus package to K-12 and higher education, the “problem is all the states took that as an opportunity to lower state appropriations to those two services” and use the savings toward “other state services.” So, when these federal monies were not supplied, the projected “funding cliff” was approached, he said. A two-year comprehensive review of all college operations was conducted, Hamel said. Reviews of college operations, operational expenditures, enrollment management, program and course offerings and capital and IT investment were completed, he explained. He said a lot of practices were found to be revisable, especially with the new Banner System. In regard to operational expenditures made that year, $3.7 million in base expenditure reductions were made, “with about a third of it coming from personnel.”
By Amy Koski News Editor
He said there are about 20 positions that were filled two years ago, but are currently empty. “I’d like to add that no reduction has occurred on the faculty side.” About two-thirds of the reductions were made in IT and facilities expenditures, he said. He said state appropriated funding and federal stimulus support directed toward operations did not decrease in the form of a “funding cliff,” but rather a “gradual decline … that has hopefully meant …not a large impact that has been felt, even though a lot of reductions have occurred. “My hope is that we’ve seen that gradual decline and have managed that so it’s not a cliff, with the hope that we are now at the bottom of the precipice and going forward. We’ll probably see a very small, gradual increase this year - that’s the plan.” Hamel discussed methods that have been approached in developing the budget, including continuing to invest in key areas consistent with FSC’s strategic plan, to “decouple a lot of the reliance on the federal stimulus funds,” to maintain a five-year budget plan and to analyze the impact of the personnel reductions taken over the last three years. The repositioning of O’Connor Hall to enhance revenues is an important focus in the development of the FY 2011 budget. Hamel said O’Connor will be used as staging for the Hemenway Hall and science lab renovations, but because the Hemenway project has been delayed a couple of years, FSC will be able to keep the top three floors of O’Connor Hall as a residence hall. The first, or bottom, floor of O’Connor will be used for the repositioning of Hemenway offices. Hamel said the assumed FY 2011 federal stimulus money will pay for “maintenance items” and the next phase of the library renovations. FSC is looking to add a Dunkin Donuts into the library,
but is still conversing with the closest franchise owner, as two stores cannot be within a mile of one another, he said. The FY 2011 assumed increase in student charges is 6.5 percent, or $955. Despite the fee increase, FSC would remain the lowest-priced of the Mass. State Colleges. The fee increase at FSC would still be about 5.2 percent below the average cost of the comprehensive state colleges. Hamel presented the FY 2010 versus FY 2011 General Operations Support and said there will be a $2.3 million reduction this year. It is “not a small impact from one year to the next, but necessary within the available revenue,” he said. For FY 2011, FSC will have a $52,275 budgeted surplus. Hamel said, “I’ll tell you, that’s a very small [surplus]. … When you have a large operation like this, you usually budget at say a 1 or 2 percent cushion, and this essentially represents a .1 percent cushion.” He said despite the draft he presented, “We also always have to keep in mind that if state revenues can continue not to hit the targeted marks, that there could be reductions along the way or reduction within the fiscal year.” After Hamel’s presentation, SGA passed a motion to accept the constitutional amendment on election ties as amended. The amendment says that if there is a tie vote, the contested position will be decided on by a majority vote. Ballots will be cast by the current standing Senate and the newly elected Senate. In other news, the following clubs were deactivated at the SGA meeting: • Business Leadership Club • Ultimate Frisbee Club • Figure Skating Club • College Conservatives Club • Wrestling Club
SGA votes on own constitutional amendment
At the SGA meeting on April 20, senators debated an amendment to the club’s constitution regarding the event of a tie in an SGA election. The first option for action in the event of a tie was to hold another campus-wide election to decide the winner. The second option was that the newly elected Senate would vote on the candidates who tied.
SGA Vice President Daron Carlson proposed the idea of newly elected Senate and the standing Senate vote on the tied contested position. Senator-at-Large Kim Selwitz expressed concern that an unbiased vote would be close to impossible, “almost a conflict of interest.” She said that a small group of people, familiar with one another should not be voting to break a tie. Student Trustee Julie Cormio said she thinks the newly voted and standing Senate should vote as representatives
of the FSC campus. SGA President Steve Whittemore agreed. “I don’t think having a second election is feasible, but, again - it’s an option.” Whittemore decided to hold a vote between the two options, then the two versions of the second option. Senate chose the second option and to have standing and newly elected Senate vote to break the tie. The constitutional amendment was voted on at SGA’s meeting on April 27.
Diversity minor proposed
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for white students to see people of color in roles of authority. “It’s just demoralizing to be in a place where you’re a student of color and every faculty member you see your whole four years is not a person of color.” Zimmerman said, “Our student body is becoming more diverse and will continue to do so. It’s beneficial for students if they feel the backgrounds they come from are also represented in faculty. … It’s important for the organization as a whole and the quality of the institution. It’s also important for us as individuals to grow from our exposure to people who are different from us.” David Baldwin, assistant dean of students said, “A diverse faculty attracts a diverse student body,” said. “When a student comes to campus and they walk around and see people that look like them, they’re going to be more willing to apply and want to come here. To know that when they get here, there is going to be some people they can relate to, it just brings an overall comfort for them as opposed to coming in and seeing no one who looks like them.” Figueroa said, “A part of the reason why diversity is so important at college campuses is because students go into the classroom and learn a lot of theory, read a lot of books and that’s the learning that takes place in the classroom - but outside the classroom there is another type of learning that takes place and that is interaction between individuals. Whatever preconceptions they have, they
can discuss them. Those preconceptions may be correct, they may be wrong and the only way to really find out is to have open discussions, open dialogue.” According to senior English major Todd Bubier, the importance of having a diverse faculty depends on which academic department the professor is from. “It really does help to have it [a diverse faculty] because it gives a variety of perspectives, which for the science department is not important, but for art, history, English and philosophy it’s great to have.” Junior biology major Kervin Simeon said, a diverse campus would lead to more positive experiences and create open-minded students. “I know a lot of people who chose not to come to Framingham State College specifically because it was not as diverse as they wanted it to be. Unfortunately, some students still don’t realize there are good colored people out there, not just the type they see on T.V. What they see in real life can open up their eyes. “ Senior Aimee Rivera said, “A diverse campus is important so that people can connect. I have friends who are not diverse like I am and we all connect, no matter what race. People are more accepting when they get to know who you are and where you come from. If we had a diverse student body, it would probably attract more diverse students and create a complex community filled with people from different backgrounds so that we’re not stuck in a box.”
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April 30, 2010
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This Semester at FSC Drake McCabe/The Gatepost
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Drake McCabe/The Gatepost Matt Mikaelian/The Gatepost
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Kelsey Loverude/The Gatepost Matt Mikaelian/The Gatepost
Matt Mikaelian/The Gatepost Matt Mikaelian/The Gatepost
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Tom Higgins/The Gatepost Erika Kruger/The Gatepost
The Gatepost photo section would like to thank photo editor and graduating senior, Matt Mikaelian, for his support. May you, like your camera, focus on the good things in life.
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ARTS & FEATURES Tom Higgins/The Gatepost
FSC celebrates Earth Day with the
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By Tom O’Brien Arts & Features Editor he third annual Green Festival at Framingham State College took place on Earth Day, last Thursday, April 22, transforming several locations on campus into informative and fun environmentally friendly hangouts. The event was sponsored by the Green Team (with collaboration from numerous other clubs, faculty, students and outside vendors) and featured many activities that let participants create and cavort, while simultaneously being informed about humans' impact on the environment. The event could not have taken place at a better time, as FSC has recently been featured in a new publication titled “The Princeton Reviews Guide to 286 Green Colleges,” a text describing U.S. colleges and universities that have demonstrated an exemplary commitment to sustainability. According to a school-wide e-mail issued on Earth Day by FSC President Timothy Flanagan, colleges were selected for inclusion in the report based on ten sustainability criteria including “food expenditures from local, organic or otherwise environmentally preferable food, presence of programs to encourage alternatives to automobile use, the presence of a formal committee (which includes students) devoted to advancing sustainability on campus, presence of an environmental science/studies degree program, the school’s recycling and waste diversion rate, and others.” Leaders in this school-wide green movement include the Green Team, FSC’s sustainability officer professor Carl Hakkanson, the Facilities Planning Subcommittee of the Budget and Resources Committee and Director of Capital Planning and Facilities Operations Warren Fairbanks. Much of the four hour-long festival took place in the Athletic Center, which housed informational booths run by many different school groups, as well as games, food and giveaways. However, activities also took place in DPAC, the Henry Whittemore Library and the Dwight Quad as well. Vice President of the Green Team Brittany Spearin said, “It seems like people were actually being really informed. With all the trivia, there's no way of avoiding the knowledge if you want to compete. “And you know, today was still a trial and error. This is only the third year we've done this, so we're still experimenting with booths and activities. But we tried some new ones that look like they will make it to next year's festival.” While the FSC Wildlife Club ran a popular trivia table, the Animal Rights Club passed out literature including a pamphlet titled “How Farming Animals Impacts the Environment: Consuming the Planet Bite by Bite.” Outside vendors also worked their way into the event lineup. Sodexo had a booth advertising its inclusion of locally grown produce in their food supply, as well some of its other green initiatives. A basket of french fries from the commuter caf adorned the table. Even a representative from Vermont-based ice cream activists Ben & Jerry’s had an event table offering free cups of ice cream. The Ben & Jerry’s company website, which, aside from having extensive flavor lists and Flash ice cream games, has its own activism section outlining the creamers battle for energy-efficient freezers, sustainable agricultural and forestry practices and responsible waste management. “The ice cream was a very nice touch,” said sophomore Mike Carey. “I can't believe they [the Green Team] actually had someone bring a freezer of the stuff up here, but the company is awesome.”
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However, Jessica Wiggin, President of the Animal Rights Club and host of the groups table at the festival, disagreed with Ben & Jerry’s inclusion in the event. “At Green Fest, the Green Team should have invited companies which produce soy/ rice/hemp/coconut/etc. milk ice creams, not those which produce ice cream from the secretions of mass-bred global warming-causing tortured cows. This was not a green or ethical choice.” “I was actually hoping to be just opposite the Ben and Jerry’s table. ... To give but a few examples, dairy factory farms and all others are the number one polluter, more than all other sources combined, of water,” said Wiggin. “Fifty-five billion mass-bred land animals produce 130 times the excrement of the human population.” The festival's crowd remained jovial throughout the event, though, as the sound of Twister, badminton, three legged races and a recycling game called “Bottles in the Pond,” echoed the gymnasium. Tickets redeemable for prizes such as gift cards and small cactus plants were awarded for winning these games, as well as answering table trivia correctly. Arts and crafts were available on a big blue tarp in the center of the large room. Legs crossed, kneeling or standing awkwardly, students painted flower pots and assembled hemp jewelry from provided components. All the activities at the festival showcased the ease of using sustainable materials, as well as the beauty of recycling and reusing. One booth featured a large, decorated trash can in which students could recycle their old cell phones, tossing them in to the round, blue bucket with green gusto. Another table featured hand-made jewelry by FSC junior Shana Cohen. Many of the earrings, necklaces and bracelets Cohen sells are assembled from recycled items. Guitar picks and even bottle caps make for shiny ear candy that embody the “green” state of mind. “About half of the material I use is recycled, and I am donating some of my profits too,” said Cohen. “It was really easy to get into the festival, I just talked to Brittany Spearin and everything worked out smoothly.” Sophomore Nicole Cirino said, “I liked seeing people toss their phones away because they had such a hard time doing it. We hold on to our old cell phones like we're going to need all six of them. ... This gave people a chance to cut the cord and just toss it in.” Representatives from the Henry Whittemore Library also had a booth advertising the schools recent purchase of an extensive selection of environmental science research materials. Including e-books and print resources, the purchase is in response to the school's addition of a new environmental sciences major and the continued implementation of the FSC Climate Action Plan. The library also featured some green art from the fashion department. Several mannequins adorned in clothes reworked from recycled material stood about the library, wearing dresses made of business shirts and upholstery. Of course, a college event would never be complete without free food, and the Green Festival was no exception. While the popcorn machine and soft pretzels covered the salty snack quota, healthy munchies like carrots and celery sticks were available, too. Free water and juice were also handed out in abundance. This event was a truly informative, rewarding experience that really represented the FSC’s communities commitment to sustainability in a fun, knowledgeable environment.
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Interview with the Band By Lindsay Chase Editorial Staff ver the years, new bands try to “make it big in the biz we call show.” In spring 2007, The Cab was signed by Decaydance Records and tried to do just that. On April 29, 2008, The Cab released their first studio album, “Whisper War,” and three weeks later, it was named number one on Billboard’s Heatseekers Albums. The Cab, a band based in Las Vegas, quickly caught listeners’ ears with their punchy beats, catchy melodies and smooth vocals. Within the last year, two of the original members have left the band and the three remaining - Alex DeLeon, Alex Johnson and Alex Marshall - have done their best to keep the music alive. DeLeon, affectionately known as “Singer” to fans and those close to him, provides the band with a wide range of vocals skills, while Marshall lends his voice for pitch-perfect harmonies and plays the piano and, at times, guitar. Johnson supplies the band’s heartbeat as drummer. Recently, The Gatepost caught up with Marshall and discussed, among other topics, the band’s funky influences, future plans and their craziest fan experience.
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GP: How did you come up with the band’s name? Marshall: To be completely honest, lack of a better one. We were just shooting out random names, and The Cab came and it was simple and it just stuck. GP: Who’s been your biggest musical influence and why? Marshall: I grew up not specifically on an individual, but more of a genre. My dad listens to a lot of funk, so when I was younger, I was brought up around all of that. Because of that, I feel like it’s kind of influenced my personal Lindsay Chase/The Gatepost taste in music. GP: Do you think that has influenced the band as a whole? Marshall: Yeah - I feel like everybody in the band has their own personal influences - from Johnson listening to heavier music, to me listening to that style, and Singer [Alex DeLeon] listening to soulful - from Stevie Wonder to Michael Jackson and Justin Timberlake. I feel like with all of those different influences, it kind of ties together The Cab sound. GP: What’s been your favorite moment so far while being in the band? Marshall: A highlight would be [when] we played the Staples Center with Panic at the Disco, Dashboard Confessional and Plain White T’s. To play the Staples Center where Kobe [Bryant] plays and Shaq [O’Neal] played - that was pretty cool. There’s so many people above my head fitting in the stands - it was pretty overwhelming. GP: What do you think has been your biggest struggle so far while being in the band? Marshall: We’ve had a few member changes and … when you make changes with people, the fans feel like there’s an issue or feel that the band’s never gonna be the same. I feel like that’s probably a hard thing to keep going and have fans keep believing in it. If we can believe in it and we can keep going, the fans will stick with us.
The Cab
April 30, 2010
fresh out of high school, so it was kind of more like, “Oh my gosh, I can’t believe I’m actually getting to record a CD. Here’s all the songs from my bedroom.” … When you tour for two-and-a-half years on the road, it’s gonna change you and age you and mature you. I feel like this next CD is more of what we’re about and more personal and intimate from us. I’m excited.
GP: What do you think you would be doing if you weren’t in the band? Marshall: I played baseball in high school and I got a scholarship for a university in Las Vegas, which is called UNLV [University of Nevada, Las Vegas], so I was gonna go play baseball in college and I was gonna go to pre-med. GP: Do you have any pre-show rituals that you do? Marshall: I always go to the back lounge of our bus and turn on whatever song I’m trying to warm up to and - it’s kind of weird - but I put a towel in my mouth and sing, so it’s kind of like a vocal muffler. I think that’s the weirdest thing that I do. GP: What does everybody else do? Marshall: Joey does jumping jacks. Joey’s our tour musician - he’s playing bass with us. He does a lot of calf stretches. And our guitar player, Charles, just does really fast scales on the guitar. GP: At what age did you know you wanted to play music? Marshall: I started taking piano lessons when I was five, so I had an interest ever since I was super young. Taking it super seriously started in high school. GP: What made you take it super seriously? Marshall: I just had a passion for it. I found my niche in it and I found that it was a good escape. Everybody has their certain escape and I felt like I could express myself. GP: What’s your favorite song to play live? Marshall: We’ve been playing “One Of Those Nights,” which we really haven’t been playing that much since we had our “Whisper War” out - I think we played it on two tours. And I get to play guitar on that - I usually am on piano. … So, that’s been the funnest one so far. GP: Where have you toured that you would love to tour again? Marshall: In the States, I love playing Dallas House of Blues - it always has good sound, the kids are always nuts and it has great catering. Catering along the road is always a good surprise to get - when we get it, we’re stoked. And then countrywise, I wanna go back to Japan. The people and the culture - everything about it there - it’s a pretty amazing experience. I feel like we didn’t get to go there long enough last time. We were there for, like, four days. It’s a pretty long flight for four days.
GP: What are your favorite bands/artists that you like to listen to? Marshall: Before I walked into the venue today, I was listening to the new Jay-Z. I like a band called The Script and Pianist and guitarist Alex Marshall Parachute. … We met this band when we were at South by playing in Foxborough last summer. Southwest on the beginning of this tour and they were called Bad Rabbits. They are super funky. If you’re into the funk GP: What’s the craziest thing a fan has ever done for you? Marshall: We’ve had a fan bake her blood into cupcakes. I think that was definitely stuff, you’ll like them - they’re great. the worst. GP: What do you enjoy doing on your off-time? Marshall: When we do [get an off day on tour], we make it a priority to go do a band GP: You didn’t eat them did you? Marshall: [Laughs] Oh, definitely not. … And the fact that she told us and she was dinner and hang out - kind of do stuff outside of the music. Laundry. Above getting just like, “I hope you guys like it!” We’re like, “Well, thanks, it’s a sweet thought, but food - that’s top, top priority. Just relaxing. In our off-time when we’re off tour, we do a lot of trips. We go out to a cabin in Utah that we go to a lot. Even when we’re off, no, I’m OK.” writing music is more of a hobby - it’s not like a job - so even when we’re off, we’re GP: Who would you love to tour with in the future that you haven’t toured with still writing because it’s just what we do. We just like to do that. already? Marshall: I feel like on this next CD we have a lot of influences - like you can really GP: Who have you toured with that you would love to tour with again? see the influences through the music - and I feel like with the melodies and Singer’s Marshall: We’re actually on tour with a lot of bands that I’ve wanted to get back on tour with. The Summer Set - we love them. I met the Every Avenue guys off tour, but style of singing it’d be good to tour with Justin Timberlake. they’re really great, so I was stoked to come back out with them. And Never Shout [Never] is just like one big family. This is the first tour that we’ve been on where literGP: What are your future plans as a band? Marshall: Right now we’re on the AP Tour. We’re actually on our first bus - we’re out ally everybody is family and everybody’s welcome on everyone else’s bus all the time with the clothing company called HK Army - and we’re gonna do this tour and wrap and it’s just not a tour - it’s a family. up around May 8 or so. Then we’re gonna go finish up the CD - we’re about 80 to 85 percent done, I’d say - so we’re gonna finish that up and make it 100 percent. Then GP: Anything else you’d like to add? we’re out on Warped [Tour] and we’re hoping to push the CD out in July and get roll- Marshall: Just check us out and come out to one of our shows - we’ll be on tour for the rest of the year! ing on that new CD and get on bigger and better tours. GP: How’s the CD sound so far? Marshall: I love it. So far, I love every bit of it. The first CD was us super young and
The Gatepost
April 30, 2010
Summer Movie Preview
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By Matthew Bushery
Photo courtesy of Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
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Robin Hood
Photo courtesy of Universal Pictures
idley Scott and Russell Crowe must really, really love working together. This latest adaptation of “Robin Hood” marks their 432nd collaboration together (OK, not that many, but close). Though their shtick is getting a little tiresome, the duo always puts their best efforts to entertain while maintaining an enthralling storyline. The lovely Cate Blanchett plays Crowe’s love interest, while Max von Sydow, Mark Strong, William Hurt and Danny Huston provide supporting roles. In theaters May 14.
Get Him to the Greek
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Photo courtesy of Universal Pictures
he inimitable Aldous Snow character from “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” gets his own movie. Russell Brand reprises his outlandish role from the 2008 hit film, while Jonah Hill plays the media relations assistant determined to get him from Europe to the States for a special anniversary concert in L.A. “Marshall” director Nicholas Stoller returns as well. Expect slapstick galore in this one. In theaters June 4.
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Toy Story 3
he toys are back in town! OK, that was a bit corny, but seriously, the “Toy Story” franchise is one of the best around - animated or otherwise. This time around, Woody, Buzz and co. try to make their way back to college-bound Andy after accidentally winding up at a daycare center. Tom Hanks and Tim Allen return to voice Woody and Buzz amidst a cast of old favorites and new toys entering the mix. Pixar has yet to produce a failure and this film should prove no different. In theaters June 18.
Photo courtesy of Columbia Pictures
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Grown Ups
ob Schneider and David Spade - thank your lucky stars you’re friends with Adam Sandler, otherwise you’d be doing nothing but straightto-DVD nonsense. This comedy features the aforementioned SNL alumnus, along with Kevin James and Chris Rock as high school buddies who reunite for their former basketball coach’s funeral. One can presume the Kings of Clichéd Comedy will play the same roles they’ve played in every film since the early ‘90s. Die-hard Sandler fans will no doubt enjoy. In theaters June 25. Photo courtesy of Amazon.com
Four Year Strong Enemy Of The World
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Inception
Photo courtesy of Warner Bros. Studios
inematic genius Christopher Nolan’s first film since “The Dark Knight” is arguably the most anticipated film this year. Leonardo DiCaprio leads a stellar cast in this mind-bending thriller, which also includes Ellen Page, Joseph GordonLevitt, Ken Watanabe, Cillian Murphy and Marion Cotillard. Details are scarce so far, but given Nolan’s track record, expect this one to be memorable. In theaters July 16.
Scott Pilgrim vs. The World
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he hotly anticipated comic adaptation of the book series written and illustrated by Bryan Lee O’Malley starring Michael Cera as the titular protagonist. In order to win the heart of Ramona Flowers (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), Pilgrim must defeat her seven evil exes. Though an unusual concept to transfer to film, the material is in the perfect hands of director Edgar Wright, who has helmed the hilarious Brit-coms “Shaun of the Dead” and “Hot Fuzz.” This one will definitely slip under the radar until its release. In theaters August 13.
New Music Reviews
By Tom O’Brien
ans of Four Year Strong’s sophomore and most popular release, Rise or Die Trying, will probably find this CD to be a bigger, badder, more riff-laden, gang-vocal monster than “Heroes get remembered...” ever could be, yet the worcester pop-punk heroes’ fresh full length might lack that nostalgic luster old school pop-punk didn’t just have - it worked for. Heavy breakdowns were still new. The palladium was hopping and MySpace was the shit. It may be impossible not to tap your toe to the first single off the new album, “Wasting Time,” and technically all the songs are written in perfect Four Year Strong fashion - tight chugs and surprisingly graceful harmonies, over a brutal musical backdrop that punches you directly in the face, every time - but it may be too much. And that’s what the new CD is - times 10. Sure, it might not be the perfect album every FYS fan was hoping for, but Enemy Of The World is definitely a step in the right direction. While it’s no masterpiece, it’s quite the charmer and a real breeze to listen to. Don’t take the hooks for granted though, while the songs might blend together in similiarity, each one features some unique guitar work. If you haven’t heard it yet, hop on myspace.com/fouryearstrong and see for yourself. Hard to hate a band that coined the term “beard-core.”
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Photo courtesy of Universal Pictures
Photo courtesy of Amazon.com
Closure In Moscow First Temple
f you have never heard these Australian guys play music before, let me just say right off the bat that Closure in Moscow is to melodic post-hardcore what Jack Nicholson’s Randle Mcmurphy is to crazy people. Its not so much that they are the loudest or fastest, its just that they’re so smooth. Interesting melodic modes float around the entire album, with Mansure Zennelli covering some very interesting choruses and slick breakdowns throughout. Some people may find his voice whiney at times, and maybe it is, but the melodies are there. The first time I heard this band was after a show I attended in which I missed their set. After buying this album from the back of the venue, tossing into my car’s CD player and getting sucked in to that enveloping car stereo sound, the album’s true uniqueness shined. Every riff, every drum fill, is exactly where this band intends it to be. Every piece of music is thought out and well-versed. Some of that can be owed to great producing, but these guys work just as hard in the live setting as well, and by golly, even their lyrics are good. If you’re a fan of Anthony Green, Fall of Troy and sweating in mosh pits, this album is a great opportunity to get in to a new band - maybe even a new style. Check’em out at www.myspace.com/closureinmoscow.
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The Gatepost
April 30, 2010
Holocaust survivor Finder details life at concentration camps, help from Schindler
By Chris Kopacko Editorial Staff
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n Wednesday, April 21, FSC welcomed Rena Finder, who returned to the college to recount her story of survival during the Holocaust. Finder was introduced by FSC History Club President-Elect Laura Douillette, who said that although the History Club has hosted numerous events this year, Wednesday night’s feature was “by far, the most important of them all.” “Now, so many decades after [World War II], it is rare we are able to hear in person, someone who … survived one of the most frightening times in recent history. Tonight, we have that privilege,” Douillete said. Finder said she was “very happy and honored” for being able to share her story. Explaining that she was an eyewitness to “what some people could have done, if they had stood up against murder and cruelty,” Finder praised Schindler for his assistance to the Jewish people during the Nazi regime in Europe. “At a time when everybody said, ‘I didn’t know, I didn’t see, I didn’t hear,’ Oskar Schindler saw and heard, and decided to help.” she said. Born in Krakow, Poland, Finder was exposed to anti-Semitism at a young age. She said that anti-Semitism was strong in Poland during that time, and it was encouraged by both the church and the government. Finder recalled a particularly strong memory, in which a Polish girl picked up a stone and threw it at her, calling her a “dirty Jew. “I came home shocked and crying, asking my mom, ‘How could somebody call me dirty? I took a shower this morning,’” she said. Finder went on to describe the day the Germans marched into her home city. “Within two weeks [of Germany’s invasion of Poland], the German Army marched into Krakow. I remember standing on the street and watching this mighty German Army marching in … and I also remember that I wasn’t that scared. I was amazed at the way they looked,” she said. Finder remembered her father saying the invasion wouldn’t last too long, because “after all, Germans are very enlightened people. “It was impossible to imagine and believe that those ordinary people would become cold-blooded murderers,” she said. Once the Germans occupied Krakow, Finder said the Jewish people immediately lost all of their civil rights, bank accounts, and businesses. Jewish people weren’t allowed to use public transportation or walk on the sidewalk, and Jewish children weren’t allowed in schools. The Germans then told the Jewish people that those between the ages of 12-55 and fit to work would be given a work permit and resettled into a ghetto. Those under 12 and over 55 were resettled to the farms, to draw food for the German Army. Finder was only 10 at the time, but her parents were able to falsify her birth certificate, making her old enough to join them in the ghetto, which was located on the other side of the city. She recalled upon entering the ghetto, witnessing families being separated, children being taken or left alone, and much screaming, crying, and shooting. “And yet, around us, nobody paid attention.” she said, referring to the rest of the people of Krakow, who went on with their lives as if nothing were happening. Finder described the ghetto’s living quarters as rooms packed with families, lacking privacy among other things. “The conditions in the ghetto were terrible. We didn’t have enough food … water … electricity, and in winter, it was very, very cold.” She remembered one day during her time at the ghetto when her mother buried her under a giant dirt pile before going to work, in an attempt to hide her from the German soldiers. After her mother had left, the Germans came bursting through the ghetto, shooting those they found hiding and throwing things out of windows. “It sounded like a hurricane. It felt like a hurricane,” she said. The ghetto did provide some hope for Finder, however, when she first heard about Oskar Schindler. Describing the movie “Schindler’s List” as “very accurate,” Finder urged those who hadn’t yet seen the film to watch it. She described Schindler as a handsome, ambitious young man who aspired to become extremely wealthy. She said his outgoing personality enabled him to make friends with people in high places, such as generals and people in government. Schindler took over a pots-and-pans factory in Krakow, and converted part of it for ammunition manufacturing. Finder said he was brilliant to have done this, because it became “badly needed” not only for the war effort, but also for his homeland of Germany, where pots and pans were also needed. Finder said that although he was a member of the Nazi party, outfitted with “a beautiful diamond Swastika on his lapel,” Schindler’s heart was not that of a Nazi’s. He began to hire more and more Jewish workers, telling the authorities that he paid less for them than he did for the Polish workers. “What Oskar Schindler was doing was trying to save lives … He treated his workers like human beings,” Finder said. After the Krakow ghetto was shut down, Finder was fortunate enough to be relocated to Schindler’s factory, after a brief stay at the Plaszów concentration camp. “Life was hell on earth,” Finder said, speaking of the Plaszów concentration camp, “but we still had hope that someone will hear about what is happening and come and save us. [That person] was Oskar Schindler.” Schindler convinced the Nazi commander at Plaszów, Captain Amon Göth, that he needed to hire 150 Jewish women, to assist in polishing ammunition shells. Finder and her mother were two of the 150 lucky ones to be chosen.
It was like going from Hell, to going to Heaven,” she said. Finder said how Schindler was adored by everyone who worked for him, as he filled the factory with hope and confidence. “I had just read the book ‘Gone with the Wind’ just before the war, and to me, Oskar Schindler was Rhett Butler,” she said. As the Germans began to lose the war, however, Schindler was forced to relocate his factory to Czechoslovakia. While the 150 Jewish women were hoping to follow him there, the train they were loaded into brought them to a much more dreaded place. “When I got out [of the train], I saw miles and miles of barbed wire, and hundreds of guards with dogs, and then I saw the sign - Auschwitz.” She said there was a terrible stench all around, and remembered it snowing at the time. “We tried to grab some of the snowflakes, because we were so thirsty, and we realized they were ashes.” Finder said they were all shaved from head to bottom with blunt instruments, which cut their scalps and bodies everywhere. After huddling into a shower room, Finder remembered looking at her mother and not recognizing her. “We are dead,” she told her mother, because she felt so humiliated without her hair, signifying the dehumanizing effect Auschwitz had on those who suffered there. After surviving the bitter cold of Auschwitz for three weeks without food and water, Finder was again put on a train, this time to Oskar Schindler. “All he needed were wings. There was our angel,” she said. “Like Moses took the Jews out of Egypt, Oskar Schindler took his women out of Auschwitz.” For the last seven months of the war, Finder stayed at Schindler’s new factory. She said while she was there, only two people died, both of natural causes. She recalled Schindler bringing them all into the factory to listen to Winston Churchill announce the war was ending. He then told them he had to leave, as the Russian Army would be coming to liberate them, and that if Schindler were there when they came, they would “shoot first and ask questions later.” “I cried when [he] left, because I was afraid of what would happen to me without my second father,” Finder said. After returning to Krakow, Finder and her mother went back to their old apartment, only to learn that no one, including her father and the rest of her family, had come back. “There is no way any of us would have survived without Oskar Schindler,” she said. Finder concluded her speech with a caveat about being a bystander, the theme of her story. “Oskar Schindler is a shining example to the whole world, that one person can make a difference. There is never a time that you should sit by and do nothing. You cannot be a bystander.” Finder spoke about how she tries to impress upon young people in middle and high school, particularly today with the problems of bullying in schools. “As a survivor, I am one of the few numbers left. We feel very strongly that we want to share our memories with other people so they will remember, and they will tell others about the Holocaust.” Finder also mentioned the sad reality that there are still those who deny the existence of the Holocaust. “Those of you who have met a Holocaust survivor have the power to change that,” she said.
Tom Higgins/The Gatepost
Rena Finder, one of the youngest people on Schindler’s list, shared some harrowing stories of her time in concentration camps during World War II.
The Gatepost
April 30, 2010
Page 19
Graduating FSC student a “Mother of Inspiration” By Sara Mulkeen Editorial Staff
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reshman year of college is thought to be a time for high school graduates to “leave the nest” of their hometown and take a little time away from the rules and expectations of parents to explore their newfound freedom before adulthood. Ashley Crosby was doing just this as a freshman engineering major at the University of New Haven in Connecticut until she found out she was pregnant. “I always knew I wanted to graduate college - a degree gives you so many more opportunities,” she said. Fast forward three years and countless struggles later, and Crosby is gearing up for her college graduation, wedding and an unexpected College Success Award, which she will be given in front of Governor Deval Patrick and Boston Mayor Thomas Menino. Crosby said she was introduced to One Family, Inc. by one of her FSC classmates who was also a mother of two. One Family is a non-profit organization that aims to end family homelessness in Massachusetts. Crosby became one of 75 One Family Scholars, all low-income single mothers, who receive one-of-akind scholarships that include flexible funds for expenses such as transportation, rent and childcare - allowing scholars to focus on earning a college degree. One Family hosted a “Mothers of Inspiration” celebration on April 28 to commend the 17 graduating One Family Scholars and presented four Scholar Success Awards. Crosby was the recipient of The College Success Award for earning a cumulative G.P.A. of 3.94 while also raising her three-year-old son, Liam. She also recently passed the math and science MTEL and is now certified to be a middle school teacher. After graduation, Crosby plans on becoming a middle school earth science teacher. Crosby talked about her positive experience with One Family and the thrill
of graduating and getting married within a two day period, while the sound of Liam playing in the background could be heard from the other end of the phone. “[One Family] has been great,” Crosby said, “They helped me work on budgeting and many other things, but the best resource was talking to other girls in the program who were in similar situations, and talking to them about study skills and strategies for school work.” Since for most students, college provides time to be away from home, Crosby said the biggest challenge she faced was having to share space with her boyfriend and his family while she was a pregnant college student. She said, “I always dreamed of moving out and having my own space, but I moved in with Mark’s parents and nana. I love them and they are wonderful people, but having my own place was always important to me.” Because of popular reality television shows such as MTV’s “16 and Pregnant,” teens and young adults across the country are getting a first-hand look at just how difficult it is to meet education and career goals while providing for a child. Crosby said her advice to other women who are having to work extra hard to get their diplomas while raising a child is to “reach out.” “Find other people who are in similar situations, get support and listen to other people’s experiences. Don’t give up,” she said. Crosby looks forward to some down time after her recognition award, wedding and graduation, and enjoying the payoff for her hard work. She is the first to receive the College Success Award, which One Family proudly announced as a new tradition at their annual celebration event. One Family’s Executive Director Denise Durham Williams said in a press release, “We are proud of our One Family Scholars who are committed to earning their college degrees and leaving poverty and homelessness behind for good. These awards represent the excellence we instill in all of our scholars: college success, career success, financial success and leadership success.”
Campus Conversations By Tom O’Brien and Spencer Buell
“I’m going to Texas for Grad School. I’m really excited!” - Coryn Snyder
“Heading home, then going back to school. Hopefully dancing still!” - Briana Fumia
“I would like to become an air traffic controller. It’d be a lot like my job “Starting in June, I’m here as an RA.” going to be interning at the Governor’s - Craig O’Connor office as a photographer.” -Matt Bennett
Seniors, what are you doing afer graduation? Matthew Bushery/The Gatepost
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The Gatepost
FSC’s hidden underground
The hiss of steam is the only sound louder than the buzzing of the boiler down the hallway. Pipes line the corridor and the ceiling lights are fighting shadows. The concrete stairs are deteriorating and the steel rebar is showing through the walls. It doesn’t seem like a walk across the Dwight Quad, but it is. This is just one of the four tunnels hidden beneath FSC. The tunnels, which were originally built to heat the campus, are still in use today. They connect the power plant, May, Crocker, Dwight, Peirce and Horace Mann halls. Once used by students to navigate the campus, FSC’s underground still contains clues of its past. Jack Tatro, the power plant engineer, frequently walks the tunnels, ensuring they are safe and that heat is getting to the buildings. Tatro said, “Basically, we send steam out, it heats the building, it condenses and we try to capture that condensation to reuse it again.” The tunnels hold pipelines which connect to one of three massive boilers in the middle of the power plant. Steam is then pumped into the various buildings and whatever is left is returned to a receiver tank in the basement of May Hall. As a result, the first floor of May can get very hot. The basement also held the original power plant, which was decommissioned when the current plant was built in 1961. Using tunnels offers a unique advantage over buried pipes. Warren Fairbanks, director of the facilities and capital planning, said, “We do have some of our piping buried directly into the ground. The problem with that is we don’t know the condition of it until we have a failure and then it’s an emergency.” Fairbanks said for “some of the older schools, it was a common way of distributing heat in the early 1900s. Most of the newer ones very seldom
use tunnel systems.” According to Tatro, Fitchburg State College recently closed its tunnel system because of a lack of structural integrity. While facilities personnel walk the tunnels at FSC, they do not have a formal inspector. If there is something that needs work, “we’ll bring in a structural engineer and have them take a look at it,” said Tatro. Despite the recent flooding in the area, the tunnels were surprisingly dry, although the occasional groundwater and sump pumps were present. According to Fairbanks, “The problem with the water penetration is that it will deteriorate anything steel like the hangers and the pipe supports and the
“Occasionally, there would be a rumor that there was a man in the tunnels.” - Marilyn Manzella
actual pipes.” For some, the tunnels are more than just hundreds of feet of pipes. They are a trip down memory lane. Marilyn Manzella, executive administrator of the independent alumni association, recalls a time when students were allowed to travel through the tunnels. She said, “After a certain hour, after 9, the dorms were all locked but one. There was one housemother on duty who would make sure you were in on time. You had to go from Peirce through the tunnels and then into Crocker.” Peirce Hall once housed the laundry room in the basement as well as a designated smoking room. Today, the basement is filled with old furniture, painting supplies and oddly placed bicycles. Manzella said she remembers “a lot of dripping
By Drake McCabe water, bare light bulbs, pipes running through” and most of all, remembers the tunnels “being creepy.” She added, “there would be a rumor that there was a man in the tunnels and basement.” The tunnels have always piqued people’s interest. According to Tatro, an alumnus wishing to give a million dollar donation to the college was given a tour of the new science laboratories. However, she insisted on seeing the tunnels again and was given a tour. Today, many students who walk across the tunnels’ skylights, between walkways on the Dwight Quad, unaware of exactly what’s below them, have started to create their own stories. Junior Melanie Christopher, has heard different rumors about the tunnels. She heard“there was an electrical fire back when the tunnels were still being used and a girl died down there.” Another story she heard was that “in the 60’s and 70’s people would be dared to go down into a demon car but when they did, they would never be seen again.” The supposed car is rumored to have been near the tunnels at Horace Mann. Fairbanks doesn’t believe the rumors, but realizes “there are some dangers to being there, because the steam in the tunnels are high pressure and there are a lot of electrical lines in there. Occasionally, something does go wrong.” No matter what rumors are circulating, the tunnels are a place where FSC’s rich history is met with modern curiosity. For more tunnel photos, visit the Gatepost online. www.thegatepost.com/photogallery
Photos by Tom Higgins/The Gatepost
April 30, 2010
The Gatepost
Page 21
Author Joseph discusses African-American progress, from past to present
By Spencer Buell Arts & Features Editor
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istory and sociology students piled into the Dwight Hall auditorium on Tues. April, 13 with notepads and pens in anticipation. The two departments, along with other school organizations, pooled funds together to sponsor a speech by Peniel Joseph, commentator and author of “Dark Days, Bright Nights: From Black Power to Barack Obama.” Joseph advocated what he called “active citizenship,” or citizenship which transcends simply voting or staying up-to-date on current issues. His vision of an active community, he said, is one in which people fight with fervor for justice and democracy in America - the attitude of the Black Power movement of the 1960s. Fifty years ago, he said, it was the youth of the nation between the ages of 18 and 22 who were at the core of the movement which “changed the very face of our democracy.” The Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee, or SNCC, now notorious for its sit-ins, was the group from which all following racial equality groups originated. Joseph said the democracy envisioned by these groups was “small ‘d’ democracy.” As opposed to the partisan quarrels in America today, which, he said, do not lead to prosperity, the members of the civil rights movement cooperated to enact policy changes for the betterment of our “small ‘r’ republic.” He said the major issues people were talking about in the 1960’s, such as poverty and racial inequality, are “lampooned by conservatives and liberals today. This is not progress people!” On june 16, 1966, a time when the civil rights movement had reached a fever pitch, Stokely Carmichael coined the phrase “Black Power,” which, said Joseph, “scandalized American democracy.” The Black Power movement, often seen as the “evil twin that wrecks the civil rights movement,” is synonymous with violence and radicalism in American society.
Though he said Carmichael’s methods were more Shanelle Walker, a juior business major, added that aggressive than Martin Luther King Jr.’s, Joseph ar- it is up to Americans as individuals to make a positive gued his contributions to Black Power were an im- change. portant facet of the civil rights movement deserving “I think if we didn’t segregate ourselves so much, as much credit as Dr. King’s. we could start to talk to each other about these is“You cant just sweep Black Power under the rug,” sues,” she said. added History Club President Jim Park, “We’ve got Joseph said that although it will not be any time to remember it.” soon, he hopes to one day give speeches like this Joseph said the achievements of figures like one purely as a historian. For now, though, Joseph Stokely Carmichael and Malcolm X helped carry remains an active citizen. American society from segregation to our Spencer Buell/The Gatepost first black president. Though it is acceptable for Obama to speak fondly of the civil rights movement in general, Joseph said he cannot openly express a connection between his historical inauguration and Black Power. “The legacy of Obama’s avhievement is connected to Black Power, whether the President wants to acknowledge this or not,” he said, adding, “I am not a politician, so I can say things that the president is not going to say.” Although Joseph said he believed Americans should be proud of overcoming years of racial oppression, he warned that the fight for absolute equality is not yet over. He said, though racial slavery has been abolished, and civil rights leaders have made great strides in enacting public policy changes, institutionalized racism remains. He emphasized that today, minorities are vastly overrepresented in the prison system, are arrested much more often for dealing drugs and have higher rates of unemployment than their white counterparts. He said, we can hope to see the progressive change Obama has promised “only if we Author Peniel Joseph recently visited FSC to are willing, through that black president, to speak about his new book, “Dark Days, Bright Nights: confront the remaining legacies of racism From Black Power to Barack Obama.” and racial inequality.”
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The Gatepost
April 30, 2010
If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the Grille By Lindsay Chase Editorial Staff
Drake McCabe/The Gatepost
W
alking in, the unbelievable heat smacks a patron in the face when going from the dining area into the kitchen. Immediately, the flames from the grill flare up and engulf multiple burgers, drawing attention their way. Students shuffle in and out, ordering chicken tender combos, steak bombs and hot dogs, among other items. This is what FSC’s State Street Grille is like at almost any given time of the day. The Grille, located in the College Center and mostly known as the commuter cafe, buzzes with both resident and commuter students who just want a simple grab-and-go solution to their hunger. And the people serving these students are happy to do it. “It’s fun to cook to order,” Skip Flanagan said. Flanagan has been temping on-and-off for FSC’s dining services for about 10 years, but has been here full-time for almost two. People constantly make their way into the commuter cafe and get service with a smile. Flanagan makes sure to greet every customer he serves with a “Hey, how’s it goin’?” and tells them to “Have a good one” when they receive their food from him minutes later. Around 11:25 a.m., students pile in for a miniature pre-lunch rush and are greeted politely, while being served efficiently. The three cooks - Flanagan, June Berringer and Ruth Macloud - juggle various orders without writing down the specifics of each student’s preferences. Flanagan whistles and hums along to no music, as though he wasn’t serving several people at once - making the process look easy. “Cheese on this, Skipper?” Berringer asked in her very distinct British accent over the sizzling sound of fries dropping into the frialator. It’s this type of teamwork that gets all of the students’ orders taken care of as quickly as possible. When the orders come in less frequently, the employees enjoy witty banter with one another to entertain themselves. “Is this yours?” Berringer asked Flanagan about toasted hamburger buns. “If I did it, I don’t remember,” Flanagan said. “Senior moment!” Macloud yelled as she passed by on her way to the fridge. Macloud will celebrate her 10th year here next January. Berringer is in her 24th year and is the supervisor. FSC’s Dining Commons are being expanded upon and should be completed by fall 2010. The plan is to expand the cafeteria into what is currently the commuter cafe seating area and move the State Street Grille to where McCarthy’s Pub now exists. Berringer is especially looking forward to the new snack bar area. “It’ll be cooler and bigger,” she said. Flanagan is also “very much” excited for the new snack bar. “They’re pumping us up by showing us blueprints and everything … and it looks really good.” He said he has heard there has been an all-time high in the number of deposits for next year’s student enrollment, “so it’ll be good to have a bigger place.” For now, the State Street Grille will have to do. And it seems to be doing just fine when the Monday/Wednesday lunch rushes come along. But lately, the commuter cafe hasn’t been as jam-packed with people during the busy lunch hour, 1:20 p.m. to 2 p.m., according to Berringer. “Either [the students’] money is getting low, or they’re not going to class,” Berringer said. “Usually around 11:20 and 1:20, you can’t even walk through
One of the cooks at the State Street Grille working hard. here.” A few weeks ago, that changed and fewer people come to get their food fix. “This is about as exciting as it gets,” Flanagan said as he flips a piece of chicken on the flat top grill. “The worst is the heat,” he says as Berringer fanned herself with a Styrofoam plate over the grill. “It’s brutal,” she added, wiping perspiration off her face. Even with the incredible heat, they all love what they do. “The stress level isn’t as high as at other jobs,” Flanagan said. “Serving students is fun. … They’re happy to be served what they ask for. … If you’ve ever stood in the back and chopped for hours, it really is better out here.”
April 30, 2010 Spencer Buell/The Gatepost
The Gatepost
Page 23
Alex Herbert is
a skinhead:
An FSC Student’s misunderstood lifestyle By Spencer Buell Arts & Features Editor
Five years ago, he was a 14-year-old punk who roamed the halls of Attleboro High School with a tall, black Mohawk. Today, with his Doc Martins arranged neatly next to his computer desk, his closet stuffed with collared Fred Perry shirts and half-inch thick suspenders hanging from his bedpost in his Larned Hall dorm room, Alex Herbert is anFSC student. He is also a skinhead. He was 16 when he first accompanied a group of skinheads at a concert in Providence, piling into a car full of strange-looking kids with shaved heads who called themselves “trads” and listened to “Oi!” music. When they got to the show, Herbert realized there were plenty of others like the bunch he had just met, and, unlike the unorganized “punks and degenerates” crowding the dance floor, the skinheads stood together. “I went home that night and was just totally taken aback,” he said. “I didn’t know what to make of it.” Curious about what it was that bound this group together, and more than a little nervous that he may have gotten himself tangled up in a white supremacist society, Herbert reached out to his new skinhead friend, Kevin, who sent him a link to a skinhead website. After reading up on skinhead history online, Herbert developed a deep respect for the subculture for persevering despite, he said, being continually “beaten down by the media” and portrayed as a hateful group. He said he, like many others, quickly associated the name skinhead with white supremacy, when in reality, “traditional” skinheads are not at all racist. The traditional skinhead ideology is based upon the power of the individual and the mentality of the working class. In fact, he said, “trad skins,” who make up the majority of the skinhead subculture, make it a point not to discuss politics at all during social gatherings. The clean shirts, the boots, the “braces” (suspenders) and the neatly shaven heads that set the skinheads apart at that first show, said Herbert, represent a commitment to hard work and pride in oneself. Fashion in the skinhead community is a vital link binding everyone together, reminding members what their lifestyle truly stands for. “If you’re a trad skin,” he said, “you’re all about working hard to get what you need. That’s the bottom line - that’s what it’s about.” By 17, Herbert had watched several of his friends get “shaved in” to the skinhead subculture. In this highly symbolic process, a current skinhead buzzes the hair off the head of a new member. It is only through this process that one can become a “fresh cut” skin, a title one holds for five years. Unlike his younger friends who had made the decision to be shaved in on a whim, Herbert wanted to think about his decision to join before he made it. “When I commit to something,” he said, “I don’t like dropping out. So I kept thinking, ‘If I do this, there’s no turning back. I’m never going to hang up my boots. I’m going to stay a skin for life.’” The decision to “hang up your boots,” as did Her-
bert’s more impulsive friends six months after being shaved in, is a decision a skinhead can make at any time without consequence. But, said Herbert, it does show lack of commitment to the group, so it is often a serious gesture. Herbert remained uncertain about formally joining the skinheads, but after months of consideration, he asked his friend and elder skin, Mike, to shave him in. The night after Herbert officially became a skinhead, he and the rest of the Providence skins went to see the Boston punk band Darkbuster. From the back of the venue, Mike spotted a “bonehead” (the derogatory trad skin term for a neo-Nazi skinhead) acting out a Nazi salute in the crowd. In Herbert’s first participation in skinhead justice, Mike decided the two of them needed to “get rid of” this bonehead. When he refused to leave, they were soon dragging him out of the club. In the skinhead subculture, said Herbert, respect is currency. Especially for a fresh cut, every chance to prove commitment and conviction to the elders those who have earned respect from fellow skinheads for at least 10 years - is crucial. Having taught a bonehead a lesson at his first official show as a skin, Herbert was now a rising star in the group. At the next show, Herbert was given yet another opportunity to prove himself. Liza and Berge, the two most influential elders of the Providence skinheads, were among the crowd of skins on the floor that night. At one point, Liza noticed that one particular punk kept groping her every time he passed in the circle pit. Pissed off, and having heard of his last act of courage, Liza turned to Herbert. “So, she looks at me and she says, ‘Can you get rid of this guy?’ That’s it. That’s all she had to say to a fresh cut and I pretty much had to do something.” The next time he came around in the pit, Herbert swung hard and connected, sending a shower of blood from the offender’s nose into the air. Under a hail of pats on the back, pride swelling from the accomplishment, he was thrown out of the club with small flecks of red splatter dotting his clothes. The hierarchy in the skinhead subculture is difficult to define. Liza and Berge’s dark and mysterious past coupled with their age helped establish them as the dominant members. Called Mama and Papa skin in Providence, these two did not lead so much as advise fellow skinheads. Though there aren’t any skinhead rings to kiss or oaths to take, Herbert said any prospective skin must first win the approval of these unofficial figureheads of the group. In short, the “thank you” Herbert got from Liza was incredibly valuable for a fresh cut like him. He was in. After the initial period he called the “golden ages” of being a Providence skinhead, came darker days. A month after Herbert was shaved in, Mike was addicted to heroin and Ricky, another important elder, had left to join the army. “The two oldest skins were gone. I mean, Mike was still there physically, but mentally he was gone.” Kevin, the skin who introduced Herbert to the subculture in the first place, had hung up his boots for the
first or second time. Liza and Berg were now married and had stopped going to shows. Stripped of several key members, and with the future of their group in question, the remaining Providence skinheads went to see the popular Oi! band Oxblood. When Herbert met up with everyone on the floor, Mike had bad news. A skinhead the Providence skins didn’t know had carelessly lost his temper and beat up an FSU member. FSU, or “Friends Stand United,” said Herbert, is an extremely influential and organized hardcore gang - not the kind of group they wanted to offend. “Mike knew right away. He told us we needed to squash this now because, according to them, the war was on - Skinheads vs. FSU.” As shows were often settings for conflict, and FSU members were indistinguishable in the crowd of concertgoers, Herbert said tension loomed in the air. Trouble could have come from any direction. Within ten minutes, a crowd of FSU members in the skinhead crew, Manchester Firm, a group of ex-marines donning flight jackets, quickly jumped a skinhead at random and then ran away. “It was so planned. They beat him up and they left. That was it. They came to the show just to get him. … They just picked someone. It could have easily been me,” said Herbert. The gang had recruited skinheads to fight skinheads. Herbert said that, though he will never know for certain, he wonders whether FSU members would have booked the show with violent intentions. It would not have been out of their reach to organize an event like this, and the concert attracted multiple groups of skinheads to one place - the perfect setting to send a message. Mike, the doped-up elder, decided Herbert and his friends had no choice. They needed to form their own crew to differentiate themselves from the Boston skins FSU was targeting. Defying the advice of Providence skinhead elders, Mike established the sevenmember “508 crew.” “We never wanted to become a crew. … Skinhead is a lifestyle. We are not a gang. … We were being led by a heroin addict into God-knows-what.” In one month’s time, Mike abandoned his skinhead buddies, hung up his boots and checked into a Boston rehab center. The crew was dissolved - it was all over. Now a freshman at FSC, Herbert takes a break from piles of Russian history homework to pull up a Google image of the “crucified skinhead” tattoo, an image of a bald man in full skinhead garb nailed up to a cross in stark black and white. He said it stands for fighting the stereotypes the media has attributed to skinheads. As it is a rite of passage in the skinhead community, Herbert said he will get his tattoo on his chest when he becomes an elder. Herbert doesn’t mind committing long hours to his schoolwork at FSC because it helps bring him closer to earning his Ph.D. and becoming a history professor. Ten years from now, Herbert will carry the skinhead ink beneath a shirt and tie in the professional world. Alex Herbert is not a quitter - he’s a skinhead.
The Gatepost
Page 24
The Gatepost Editorial
Robert Martin’s legacy
There are key characteristics every good college administrator must have. He/she must be articulate, intelligent, open and honest, hardworking, modest and supportive. He/ she must always be willing to listen, to help, to solve problems, and to encourage collaboration in working toward solutions. He or she must be a role model for students and faculty alike, and must be able to understand and synthesize diverse opinions and viewpoints. He or she should not be afraid to take an independent stance on an issue when necessary. Finally, he/she must genuinely care about student learning and the mission of public higher education. Here at FSC, we are lucky to have a few administrators who epitomize these qualities. One of these administrators is Vice President of Academic Affairs Dr. Robert Martin. Over the past six years, Martin has worked tirelessly for faculty and students alike to ensure that their years at FSC are both valuable and enjoyable. Martin has worked to accommodate faculty and student ideas and visions and turn them into tangible results. He has created programs like CELTSS, which supports faculty scholarship and offers professors a substantial level of independence in determining which projects get funded. He has led the way in developing new academic majors, like environmental science. Martin is renowned as an excellent listener and collaborator. He has heard faculty concerns about contracts, class schedules and departmental requirements and has developed well-reasoned solutions. He has tackled the issue of assessment head on and included faculty in the process. He has worked with community colleges to develop program articulation to help students graduate in four years. Martin has also worked to ensure student success. He has designed and taken the lead in developing the first-year foundations program, which aims to help first-year students make the transition to college life successfully, both socially and academically. He has taken the initiative to begin a general education review, to help students retain the quality of a well-rounded education, while also leaving room to take electives. Martin has embodied FSC’s community culture. He is friendly, connective and helpful. His door is always open to students and faculty, and his work has always been enriched by his heart. He is a family man, a helpful colleague and an excellent teacher. Dr. Martin, thank you for your sincere dedication to student success. Despite your modesty in describing your accomplishments, we all know how hard you have worked to ensure that our education and college experience is the best it can be. We at The Gatepost wish you every happiness in your retirement, Dr. Martin. You certainly deserve it. You said one of your goals for retirement was to climb the Adirondack High Peaks. You have helped us climb our personal mountains at FSC - good luck climbing yours.
Op/Ed
April 30, 2010
An uncomfortable library
The library is a place where students spend more time than they realize, especially during finals week. Whether you’re looking for a quiet place to escape from your roommate to get work done, stopping in to do some research or just running in to print something out, at some point during the semester you’re going to be in the library. With the recent renovations to the otherwise cold and dreary library, it’s clear that Framingham Sate is attempting to make the library more welcoming to students, however, they are continuing to overlook one crucial thing. The furniture in the library should be comfortable and inviting. Students should be able to sit and do work for a few hours without having to worry about leaving with a backache. There should be cozy armchairs for reading and studying and comfortable chairs around tables for doing work. As it is now, if you spend more than 20 minutes sitting in the library, you’re going to wish you were back in your own room where you at least have a bed to sit on. The library should be a place of comfort and convenience where students can get work done without needing to see a chiropractor afterwards. Framingham State needs to assess the condition of the current furniture and look into making the library a more student friendly place for the upcoming year. Nenia Corcoran Editorial Staff
First amendment rights abridged at performance
Earlier in the semester, on the evening of Feb. 17, the Prometheus Dance Company of Boston visited FSC to perform “The Devil’s Wedding,” a dance number choreographed to represent a connection between the experiences of women in the Middle East with the contemporary western female. Due to the nature of the performance, no flash photography was permitted. However, many members of the FSC community, including our editorial board and staff at The Gatepost, were informed the dance company had placed a ban on any and all photography during the event. This, according to the Prometheus Dance Company’s website, is their policy for all of their performances. Additionally, due to last-minute rehearsals, the dance company did not allow any members of the audience to enter the auditorium until only a few minutes before the performance began. Because there was very little time between the opening of the auditorium and the beginning of the performance, The Gatepost photographer did not have an opportunity to ask permission to take photographs of the performance. This resulted in the photographer not being able to take photographs of this campus event. Despite the photography ban, a photographer hired by the dance company was taking pictures during the performance, and did not appear to be causing any disturbances. The photographs of the event would have been part of a photo spread included in the Feb. 26 issue of The Gatepost, and would have accompanied Amanda LeFebvre’s feature article on the event, “Book-inspired dance unveils enigmatic stories of Iranian women.” The complete ban on any and all photography of this event is a direct violation of first amendment rights. Because the event took place in a public setting and was funded by public moneys, any photography ban on such an event violates the first amendment right which states, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of people peaceably to assemble, and petition the government for a redress of grievances.” The Prometheus Dance Company responded to one initial e-mail regarding this infringement of first amendment rights, but did not respond to any return phone calls or e-mails as of March 4. This infringement upon our first amendment rights for freedom of speech and of the press is not the first here at FSC. A few years ago, a policy was instated for the Arts and Humanities program to remind all performers that photographers would be allowed to take pictures at all events. Pictures of an event published in The Gatepost serve both the performers and the community as a whole. It is free advertising for the performers, as well as a representation of the excellent and diverse events which take place on a weekly basis at FSC. Obviously, in this situation, there was a lack of communication between the Arts and Humanities department, the performers, and The Gatepost, resulting in the confusion that ultimately led to this abridgement of our first amendment rights. In order to prevent future first amendment infringements during events like “The Devil’s Wedding,” the Arts and Humanities program, as well as the group(s) sponsoring and coordinating the event, actively need to communicate with the group or company that is coming to perform.
Roya Bahrami Editorial Staff
We at The Gatepost welcome Op/Ed submissions from all members of the FSC community. Please limit opinions to 300 words and letters to the editor to 200 words. E-mail submissions to Gatepost@framingham.edu.
Op/Ed submissions reflect the opinions of their authors only and do not necessarily reflect those of The Gatepost or its staff.
The Gatepost
April 30, 2010
Page 25
Senior Letters Steven Whittemore
Dear Faculty, Staff, and Students, It has been an honor and a privilege to serve as your student government president over the past two years. I have seen so many different things change and improve on campus over the course of my five years here. I wanted to take the time to thank each one of you for your support and I truly enjoyed working with each of you in different capacities and through different programs. I have visited many different campuses and Framingham State is, by far, the most unique campus. We have such an interesting, tight-knit community and no one is a number, they’re a person. How often is it that you can walk to class and be greeted by one of your professors by name? Or, visit an office to conduct business and the staff knows your name? That doesn’t happen too often. The people are what make Framingham State the best college experience there is. There have been so many people on campus that have made an impact on my life and they know who they are. Had I not attended Framingham State, I would not have met the many friends that I have today. I received a good education, enjoyed my time on SGA, worked in a great department, and spent five years with genuinely good friends. Thank you for the opportunity to attend this institution and I am proud to say that Framingham State College is my Alma Mater. I wish the best of luck to the class of 2010, to the future of Framingham State, and to the faculty and staff who truly make a difference!
Sincerely,
Steven Whittemore President, SGA
Matthew Bushery My college experience has been a different one than most - an extended one - in which I’ve had plenty of ups and downs. And if there is one thing I’ve taken away from my time in college, it’s the importance of balance. Balance your work with your social life, your social life with your family life, your family life with your work. I would never have achieved this immense and invaluable life lesson - the one I give credit to most for me getting to where I am today - without the help of some immensely invaluable people in my life. Mom and Dad, through what was arguably the toughest time in my life, you helped me pick up the pieces and help me become the person I’ve always wanted to be. Without your love and encouragement, I definitely would not have made it this far. I am forever grateful to you guys, and I hope I make you proud. David and Alex, you are the best brother and sister I could have asked for. Thanks for just being who you are and helping me become me. To my friends and colleagues at school - especially the crazy kids at the paper - I am glad to have shared so many great times with you. It was a special experience to grow and learn with you all. I know the paper is in great hands next year, and I’m excited to see where the future is headed for The Gatepost. Framingham State has some of the best professors I have ever had (and I’ve had quite a few). In particular, though, I can only think of one person who has really transformed my life in ways I could never have fathomed - Desmond McCarthy. You made me realize I was capable of much more than I initially thought I was, and because of your efforts, I see myself going big places and fulfilling dreams once thought impossible. All I can say is thank you, thank you, thank you. There are a variety of other people at the college and in my life who have helped me get to graduation, and I’d like to thank them in no particular order: Liz Banks for creating a wonderful atmosphere at my internship this semester, Josh Valentine for making me laugh constantly and conversing with me endlessly about our love for film, D.J. Hill for being a great and loyal friend and to everyone at FSC who helped me along the way - you all know who you are and I thank you. Finally, I’d like to thank the one person in my life who I can’t imagine ever being without. Sara, there are no words for how important you are to me. I love you, and I can’t wait to see what the future has in store for us. Congratulations, Class of 2010. Enjoy your day. I know I will.
Madison Dennis
It’s really strange to think about the fact that I am going to be a college graduate only a few short weeks from today. It still seems unreal that I won’t be coming back here next year. Instead, I’ll be at BU, working on my graduate degree (and my presidential campaign). On the one hand, I’m incredibly excited for next year, but on the other, I can’t help but feel kind of heartbroken to know that FSC will go on without me. As silly as it sounds, over the past four years, this place really has become my second home, and it’s all thanks to the people who have helped me here. Mom - I wouldn’t have been able to do all the things I’ve done without you. You are my rock. From financially helping me, to driving me back and forth to Framingham, to listening to me whine about all the stuff I had to get done, you were there with me every step of the way. Plain and simple, I would not have accomplished nearly as much without your help, and I can’t thank you enough. Desmond: There’s not enough room in this entire issue to thank you for everything you’ve done for me. I met you my senior year of high school, and here we are, four years, four classes, countless recommendation letters and 96 issues of The Gatepost later. Thank you for pushing me so hard. You helped teach me that I can accomplish just about anything, and that I really won’t die of writing too much. I wouldn’t have half as much to be proud of if it weren’t for you. The Gatepost. Boy, do I know what the phrase “love-hate relationship” means because of this paper. It was the most demanding thing I’ve ever done, and the most stressful, and the most tiring, but it was also the most rewarding, and I don’t regret a minute of it. Each and every single Thursday layout night was a million times better than even the best party could have been. And to The Gatepost staff - it would have been nothing without you. You are all my best friends, and I can’t thank you enough for sticking with me this whole year through all the craziness - especially the senior editors. Bushery, Koski, Sara - I can’t even begin to tell you how many times you have saved my ass. Lauren Byrnes - you are going to be amazing next year. Not only are you the best associate editor ever, you’re also the best friend I could have asked for. You’ve been here all year with me, and I really just don’t know how I could have gotten through anything without you. We’ve worked together, partied together, cried together, laughed together - and I’m looking forward to having a great summer together (without any Eddy Munsters this time, I hope). Koski - take good care of her for me. FSC has the most amazing group of English professors ever. Period. I have had the most amazing academic experience over the past four years, and it’s all thanks to the faculty in the English department. Dr. Parker - thanks for putting up with me and my weird obsession with Shirley Jackson. Dr. Hamel - I just think you’re cool as hell. If there’s any advice I can give to the undergraduates of FSC, it is this: don’t settle for being second best in anything. College is about more than just going to class and writing papers. It’s about pushing yourself to succeed and learning about yourself while you do it. Aim to be top of your class, aim to be president of your club, have big ideas, and have enough faith in yourself to know that you can accomplish anything you would like to if you’re willing to put in the effort. Be determined, be goal-oriented, be driven and don’t be afraid to change yourself. I am a completely different person than the scared, little freshman who showed up outside Towers Hall in 2006, and I couldn’t be more proud of the person I have become. I have learned about myself, developed my goals and values, established my independence and have decided on the kind of person I want to be. I’ve learned about the kinds of people who can hold you back, the kinds of people who can help you move forward, and how to work professionally with both kinds. I’ve learned to make decisions for myself and live with the consequences of those decisions. I’ve made some great choices (and some not-so great ones). I’ve made a few mistakes and have learned how to fix them. I’ve worked hard, played hard and grown up. Thank you, FSC, for offering me a place to do that. Madison Dennis Editor-in-Chief
April 30, 2010
SPORTS Juggling acts The Gatepost
Page 27
Part-time FSC coaches balance full-time jobs By Josh Primak Sports Editor
FSC head softball coach Rich Paulhus leads a busy life. One of only four FSC head coaches to amass 100 wins in any sport, he is in in his eighth season as skipper for the Rams. But coach of the Framingham State softball team is not the only job for Paulhus. When the final out is made on the diamond, he often has to get back in his car and travel down Rt. 9 to Westborough, where he works for GE Water & Process Technology, a company that specializes in water treatment. Even though he saves some vacation time for the college softball season, time is a hard thing to come by for Paulhus, who also runs an 18-andunder softball league in the summer. Although his three jobs often take him away from his wife and young son, he still has his family’s support. “It’s very hard being away from my wife and six-month-old son. … When you include fundraising for the Florida softball trip, the season becomes almost nine-months long. Luckily I have the best wife in the world.” Paulhus is not the only varsity coach here that holds other jobs. Like most Division III schools, coaching a team at Framingham State is only a part-time affair. In order to be successful with their multiple careers, FSC coaches must manage their time well or they can be overwhelmed.
Rams’ Hockey coach T.J. Brown, who completed his first season behind the bench this past winter for Framingham, works as a supervisor for his uncle’s company, Village Green Landscape and Construction in Ashland. Though he lucks out during hockey season, as there is little to do at his full-time job, spring is a different story for Brown. “This time of year is tough because it is our busiest time at work and a busy time for recruiting. My two assistants are great in helping out to make sure we are doing everything we can to make this program better. I think the two jobs are similar in that I try to take a strong leadership position in both. I have been working the construction job since I was 17, so I have worked my way up from the bottom. My family is very supportive and understands what kind of work it takes to be ready for each season.” Baseball head coach Brian Blumsack works as a physical education teacher at two K-8 schools during the day. The job provides him a lot of flexibility when it comes to coaching the Rams. “On game days, I can take a half day at school, which allows me to get to the college early enough for home games or road trips. On days we practice, I get out of school at 2 p.m., so that gives me enough time to get to campus for 3 p.m. practices.” Currently in his third season
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The only coach in FSC Women’s Lacrosse history, Laura Peterson, also teaches in the Nashoba Regional School District.
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FSC softball coach Rich Paulhus works full-time for GE Water & Process Technology in Westborough.
coaching the Rams, who recently surpassed the 20-win mark, Blumsack feels teaching Phys. Ed. has also helped him become a better coach, improving his patience and communication skills. Though he tries to budget his time as best as he can, “From February until our spring season ends, my time spent on baseball and recruiting allows me far less time to spend with my family and friends. Fortunately for me, I have a very supportive group of family and friends who understand that coaching is my passion and in order to do it successfully, I need to sacrifice some time spent with them.” Women’s Lacrosse coach Laura Peterson also works a full-time job, working as a special education teacher for the Nashoba Regional School District. As she began her teaching job around the same time she started coaching at Framingham State, Peterson has learned to prioritize her responsibilities. As the first coach in the history of the Framingham State Women’s Lacrosse program, Peterson has learned to delegate tasks to her assistant coach Michelle Gillett when necessary. Peterson also believes that her teaching job has improved her coaching skills, as she has become a better communicator. Having worked multiple jobs before, she was prepared for her duties as lacrosse coach and
teacher. “I do budget my time with lacrosserelated things. My family always comes first, no matter what. You just have to stay as organized as possible and schedule time for work. I think that I balance both work and home life really well. “I am getting married in the fall and have had no issues planning a wedding during lacrosse season, which is a lot of work. We made sure we did a lot of the bigger wedding plans before the season started so we did not have to try to do it in the middle of games and practice. My fiancé is really understanding, as well as the rest of my family and friends. He knows how much I love lacrosse and coaching, and is super supportive. I am not home a lot during the season, but we make time to do things together.” Whether it is arranging early exits from their day jobs or using vacation time in order to recruit for their respective programs, head coaches at FSC must balance many other tasks in addition to managing their respective teams. While it can be daunting at times, thanks to good time management and support from their families, they are able to juggle all their different tasks - giving the proper time and devotion to their coaching staffs and players.
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On The Sideline Women’s Lacrosse Captain Ashley Noonan
By Josh Primak Sports Editor
recognized for our talent in lacrosse.
GP: How did you get involved with lacrosse? Did you play any other sports growing up?
GP: How does it feel to be named captain of the team? What does the role mean to you? Noonan: It feels great to be named captain of the team. As a captain, I try to lead by example, encourage my teammates to work hard and have fun!
Noonan: My teammate Kerry Kiley’s father encouraged me to play on his girl’s lacrosse team when I was in seventh grade, and I have played ever since. Growing up, I was always involved in many sports including gymnastics, soccer, softball, basketball, and later field hockey and lacrosse.
GP: Do you feel the competion has been tougher this season now that the team is a conference member? Noonan: Yes, I feel that our schedule is a bit tougher as we are playing more difficult teams. However, we embrace the challenge and anticipate surprising our opponents and fans.
GP: Who is your favorite athlete? Noonan: My is Nomar
favorite athlete Garciaparra.
GP: What is your most memorable moment playing lacrosse for FSC? Noonan: My most memorable moment playing lacrosse for FSC was our success in defeating UMass Dartmouth last Saturday. We have never beat UMass Dartmouth in the past and we gave it all we had all game long and came out on top! It was a great feeling for all of us!
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Women’s Lacrosse captain Ashley Noonan is second on the team in goals scored during their inaugural season as a member of NEWLA.
GP: Having played for the team since it’s inception, how do you feel the team has progressed? Noonan: The game has experienced all kinds of changes over the years, but this year is unlike any other year. We are a much closer team than ever before and our players are extremely versitile and capable of adapting to positions all over the
field. Our team has great chemistry and works very well together.
GP: How do you feel the team has played so far this season? What are your expectations for the rest of the season?
Noonan: I am very pleased with the team’s performance thus far and I look forward to seeing what we are Noonan: Being part of NEWLA capable of once the season winds provides us the opportunity to down. I believe our team gets better better our lacrosse program and each day and I hold high hopes of make advances as a team while making a name for ourselves this also allowing us to finally be year. GP: What does it mean for the team to finally be a member of NEWLA?
MASCAC tournament in doubt for softball By Nenia Corcoran Sports Editor
The Framingham State softball team is winding down its regular season and hoping to continue playing into May, as they currently sit in fifth place in the MASCAC standings, with a conference record of 7-4. The Rams’ overall record is slightly lacking at 13-18. With the early April weather causing field problems for the Rams, their ability to prepare for this season was a little thrown off. They found themselves indoors for most of the first month of the season, and were forced to reschedule and make up many of their first few games. After a loss to Salem on Thursday, the Rams tournament hopes are dependent on the other teams in the league. The Rams have a doubleheader against MASCAC opponent Fitchburg State scheduled for Saturday, May 1, which is a must-win for Framingham. They also have a doubleheader on Sunday, May 2 at Brandeis, which is
a make-up from earlier in the season. Sophomore Kasey Phipps said, “This year’s team has shown a lot more fight than years past. We struggled in Florida at the beginning of the season, but during MASCAC games we have proven to be a very strong team.” Pitcher Alysia Morrissette said, “No matter how much we were winning or losing by, everyone battled back and no one ever gave up.” Senior captain Megan Dumas was happy with the team’s play this past season. “This was by far the most enjoyable season I have experienced in my four years,” she said. “Between Josh Primak/The Gatepost the amazing group of girls and the teamwork on the field, I couldn’t have wanted Softball will need solid pitching performances during their doubleheader this Saturmore.” day against Fitcburg State in order to make the MASCAC tournament.
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Ram Resurgence
Baseball has most successful season in over a decade By Josh Primak Sports Editor
Entering into the 2010 season, the FSC baseball team hadn’t finished with a winning overall record since 2003, and hadn’t won 20 games since the 1997 campaign, when former Ram Colin Lydon set the Framingham State all-time batting average record, hitting .486. The team also had little success in the MASCAC, finishing near the bottom of the division standings for the past three years. But in coach Brian Blumsack’s third year at the helm of the program, all that has changed. With 21 wins after their doubleheader sweep of Salem State this past Tuesday, the team can tie their all-time single-season wins record with another doubleheader sweep this Saturday against Fitchburg State. With a 9-3 record in MASCAC play, the team is also vying for the top spot in the MASCAC standings, just a half game behind Westfield State, who has finished first in the standings two of the past three years. Even though the team has overturned a good portion of its roster since last season, it has once again relied on outfielder Steve Tramontozzi to pace their offensive attack. Batting .323 while leading the team in RBI’s with 46, he will once again be a contender for selection to the All-
MASCAC team after being named second team All-MASCAC during the previous two seasons. But Tramontozzi has not been the only Ram having success this season. With five players batting above .300, including first-year player Corey Ketterer, who is hitting a team-high .363, Framingham has become an offensive powerhouse, batting .301 overall. On the pitching staff, the team has received solid performances from Matthew Magazine, who is 4-0 with a 2.16 ERA in his time on the hill, as well as Tommy Lindberg, who has also picked up four victories while sporting a respectable 3.65 ERA. Overall, the pitching staff has improved drastically, dropping the team’s ERA by nearly two runs from last season. The Rams have also developed a flare for the dramatic this season, winning 11 games by two runs or less, including a 20-19 victory in a non-conference matchup with Eastern Nazarene on April 22. After a sloppy, high-scoring affair in which the two teams combined for 14 errors and Framingham squandered a 14-run lead, the Rams were down to their final out in the ninth inning, down 19-16. But there was still a flicker of hope for Framingham, as they had loaded the bases thanks to two singles and an Eastern Nazarene error. With the game on the line, catcher Sean Callahan
Nenia Corcoran/The Gatepost
Catcher Sean Callahan has committed just one error behind the plate this year while hitting a robust .343.
stepped to the plate. With six RBI and a homerun already during the game, Callahan once again came through for the Rams, this time connecting for a game-winning walk-off grand slam that gave Framingham a 20-19 win. While the team’s record may be a surprise to the rest of the MASCAC, the players knew they were capable of a successful season from the beginning. Pitcher Stephen Marfione, who is in his fourth season with, always believed in his team. “I think we are doing what we knew we had
the potential to do. Like coach told us from day one, we have the talent to win the MASCAC.” Now a shoe-in to make the MASCAC tournament, the Rams will be looking for nothing short of a MASCAC championship this season. Said infielder Ryan McCarthy, “I think that this team has proven a lot of people wrong, and we have a very good chance of winning the MASCAC tournament and making it to the NCAA regionals. This year has been a great one for me, being my last year it
Notable Rams First baseman Danny Chaisson went 4-for-5 with a homer and three RBI in a losing effort for the baseball team against Rhode Island College on Wednesday. Taylor Ezold hit a two-run homer for the softball team in a loss against Salem State on Wednesday.
Nenia Corcoran/The Gatepost
With a 3.57 ERA this season, Rams’ pitcher Charlie Spear has been a key component part of the pitching staff’s resurgence.
Chelsea Temple of the Women’s Lacrosse team tallied four goals and an assist in a 17-2 victory on Wednesday.
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April 30, 2010
Spring Sports 2010
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Nenia Corcoran/The Gatepost Nenia Corcoran/The Gatepost
Drake McCabe/The Gatepost
Nenia Corcoran/The Gatepost
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Drake McCabe/The Gatepost
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Women’s Lacrosse stands tough in first year with NEWLA By Nenia Corcoran Sports Editor
The Framingham State Women’s Lacrosse team has nearly completed their first season as members of the NEWLA conference. Framingham is currently seated sixth in their new league, and with just two NEWLA games left to play, they feel comfortable about gaining a spot in the playoffs. On Wednesday afternoon, coming off a three-game losing streak, the Rams evened their overall record at 6-6, when they destroyed conference opponent Elms College 17-2, forcing Elms to drop to a record of 0-14. Senior Ashley Noonan had seven goals in the match. In the 12 games played thus far in the season, Framingham has scored 163 goals. Kerry Kiley leads the team in scoring this season, with 43 of those goals, followed by Noonan who has scored 42. Stephanie Corrales leads the team in assists with 18, and Melissa Price has 12.
Framingham goalie Kelsey Turner is in her rookie season at FSC, and holds a save percentage of .433, having faced 261 shots over the course of the season. Price is proud of the progress that her team has made since preseason. “This has been a season of overcoming obstacles and it wasn’t always easy, but everyone has worked very hard to make it work. … The goal of the season has been to make tournament and make a statement as newcomers to the NEWLA league. If we step up and play our best in the last regular season games then we definitely have a shot.” The Rams will play their last regular season match at Bridgewater State on Saturday, May 1 at noon. Nenia Corcoran/The Gatepost
The Rams have gone 2-4 against NEWLA opponents this season.
Ram Talk What is your favorite FSC sports moment? President Timothy Flanagan “The most exciting moment for me was the postseason basketball tournament this past season against Salem and Bridgewater State. They were heart stoppers.”
Athletic Trainer Damon White “When Women’s Basketball beat Bridgewater State this year.”
Athletic Director Tom Kelley “Sep. 18, 1982, Framingham State 7 WNEC 6. It was my first coaching win. I still have the football on my mantle. It was my birthday.”
Assistant Director of Athletics/Sports Information Kathy Lynch “The four overtime women’s soccer games in 1999 and 2000 that we won.”
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O n e We e k To G o ! Tom Higgins/The Gatepost
Tom Higgins/The Gatepost
Students participate in hair today, gone tomorrow, a program put on by Larned RA, Matt Bennett.
Tom Higgins/The Gatepost Tom Higgins/The Gatepost
Tom Higgins/The Gatepost
Tom Higgins/The Gatepost
Breakfast at midnight was a Thursday night stress reliever. To celebrate the last week of classes, students ate breakfast foods and listened to music from WDJM. Tom Higgins/The Gatepost
Tom Higgins/The Gatepost
Blingo!
Students played Bingo for the biggest prizes of the year. Drake McCabe/The Gatepost
Many students gathered in May Hall after a game of Manhunt.
Drake McCabe/The Gatepost