10-01-2010

Arts & Features:

Saturday 10/2

Sports:

“Architecouture”: a professor’s venture into the world of historical fashion.

With the hiring of new head coach, Paul Wholey, FSC men’s basketball begins a new era.

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Sunny High 66° Low 44° Precip: 0%

Sunday 10/3

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gatepost@framingham.edu

T h e G at e p o s t volume

Framingham State College’s Independent Student Newspaper Since 1932

Newly renovated caf opens

By Krysta Davis Editorial Staff

Photo courtesy of Nick Hamilton

President Timothy Flanagan signed the final beam before it was placed on the new dorm.

Ceremony marks milestone in new residence hall construction

By Nenia Corcoran Editorial Staff

Faculty, staff and students gathered Monday at noon to celebrate the “topping off” of the new residence hall.

The topping off ceremony, also referred to as a “topping out” ceremony, is a widely followed tradition in the construction world.

According to an email sent to the student body by Dean of Students Melinda Stoops, when a new building reaches its highest structural point, the final steel beam is signed by those involved and then lifted into place, topped with a small tree and an American flag as symbols of “good luck and fortitude.”

President Timothy Flanagan welcomed several administrators, faculty and members of the Board of Trustees to sign the final beam that was to be lifted into place on top of the new building.

“You will be making a little bit of history and memorializing this event. You can tell your children and grand-

children and great-grandchildren that your name is on this building,” said Flanagan.

Ed Adelman, the executive director of the Massachusetts State College Building Authority, said, “Any other day if we catch you writing on the building, it’s a problem, but today is the one day you can get away with it.”

He recognized Consigli Construction Company and its employees for all the hard work they have done thus far in the construction of the new dorm.

“This is a huge milestone,” Adelman said.

He said that in the tradition of the topping off ceremony, the tree is placed on top of the building to represent the cycle of construction and a new beginning. Adelman pointed out the importance of new buildings to address “the need and the capacity” at the State Colleges, but he also stressed reinvesting in existing buildings so that “the student experience at Framingham State University is of one quality - it’s a high quality.”

-Continued on page 4

Framingham State College’s cafeteria was renovated this past summer with federal stimulus money and funding from Sodexo Corporation.

According to Dr. Dale Hamel, senior vice president of administration, finance and technology, FSC received $1.4 million in federal stimulus funding and $1.5 million from the extension of the Sodexo dining contract in order to pay for the renovations.

The extension of the dining services contract was for five years, meaning that FSC plans to continue to partner with Sodexo over that period.

The cafeteria renovation was completed in six phases over the last few years.

FSC will have more students than ever living on campus next fall as a result of the construction of a new residence hall.

The renovations “have provided us with modern, energy-efficient facilities that will allow us to sustain the anticipated growth of the university over the coming years,” Ralph Eddy, director of dining services, said in an email.

Hamel said, “I think the students are very excited about it, which makes me excited and I think the faculty and staff like the idea of additional variety as well.”

The caf now offers five new venues to FSC’s students and faculty.

The new “Ram’s Den Grille” is located in the former McCarthy’s Pub. This specific venue offers a range of breakfast items and late night burgers, which were formerly served at the State Street Grille.

Other additions to the dining commons include the “Pizzeria Collina,” which serves brick oven pizza and other culinary creations. “The Fire Pit” allows chefs to prepare “ready-to-go” items on a state-of-the-art Mongolian grill.

The new “State Street Deli” offers a variety of sandwiches, and the “Snack Bar” features new sandwiches, salads and snacks to go.

“The idea of [the] venues was to make it more attractive to both residents and commuters to eat on both sides of the dining facility,” Hamel said.

A Sodexo staff member, Christine Wright, who works in the Snack Bar location, likes the idea of having venues as well. “I like it. There’s a lot more space and it’s not as hot in here without the grill. It’s more of a self-serve place and a lot of people like the meal plan exchange. It’s convenient,” she said.

As reported by Eddy, the grills’ red/orange palette for The Fire Pit and Pizzeria Collina provide a “fire” concept to the visual eye. Its structural design, created

by Chris Pitman from CBT Architects and Mark Connor Architecture, provides a layout students can enjoy, he said Freshman Tim Kiernan said, “I think [the new venues] are sick, with different types of food and its design.”

Freshman Jackson Brunsdon also liked the idea of incorporating venues within the caf. “I like it a lot better than the dining commons. I think the food is also better,” he said.

-Continued on page 3

News

2

October 1, 2010

Gatepost Interview

Police Logs

Shayna Bailey

Friday, September 24, 2010 03:01 Fight - Linsley Hall.

03:13 Medical (Alcohol related) - Maple Parking

Lot 1.

03:35 Suspicious activity - O’Connor Hall.

Suspicious female attempting to get in res.

hall.

By Lauren Byrnes Editor-in-Chief

Associate Director of Admissions

GP: What is your educational background?

Bailey: I’m a double alum from Framingham State. graduated in 1998 with a bachelor’s in sociology and concentration in deviance and social control and I had minor in psychology. Then, I graduated in 2001 with master’s in public administration.

the campus … and I think sort of telling our stories to incoming freshmen was just a great experience for us. That whole year was just wonderful. It was a fun time.

I a a a

06:00 Well-being check - Maynard Road Parking

Lot. One intoxicated female. Placed into GP: Why did you decide to major in sociology?

protective custody.

Bailey: I think honestly it had to do with a couple of the

GP: What do you like best about FSC? Bailey: I think the sense of community everyone has here on campus. That was something I thoroughly enjoyed as an undergraduate and also as a professional working here. … Faculty members care about you as a person - you’re not just a number in their class. They’re going to make sure that they’re giving you the best information and helping you in terms of your needs and I think that’s the same thing as a professional working here. … I enjoy coming to work every day. I enjoy saying hello to various people on the campus. That, I think, is really the best part of FSC. I think the fact that students get such a wonderful education in the classroom and also their experiences outside the classroom. I think we do a very good job with our study abroad program, with our internships. …

Everyone is really working hard to make sure our students are getting some great experience outside the classroom.

professors that I had. [They were] just very engaging and I enjoy working with people - I’m definitely a “people Sunday, September 26, 2010 person.” Sociology was just a really good fit for me. As an undergrad, though, I had 16:31 Suspicious activity - O’Connor Hall Parking concentrated in deviance

Lot. Report of non-student driving vehicle and social control because I thought that I wanted to go

around campus in a suspicious manner. into law enforcement when I graduated, but I did have a change of heart my senior year. I had interned at Big Brother Big Sister and really liked working with the volunteers and also with the children, and so I actually ended up working there for Partly Cloudy a year, and then came back High 61° / Low 45° to Framingham State as a grad assistant in 2000 and Precip: 20% GP: What has it been like worked for campus events for you to see the campus for a year. … Phil Dooher change over the years? was the dean of admissions Bailey: The one thing that and he approached me and really made an impact was asked if I wanted to come Partly Cloudy Lauren Byrnes/The Gatepost when the Athletic Cenwork for admissions for a ter went up because I can High 67° / Low 50° Shayna Bailey year and finish up my masremember coming in as a ter’s degree and I said “sure.” … I loved my undergraduPrecip: 10% first-year student and then talking about a new Athletic ate experience here at Framingham State, so I thought Center being built and that didn’t open up until 2001. … admissions would be a perfect fit. I thought my ultimate That was just a great addition to the campus. … There are plan was just to go over there for a year, [but] I ended up just so many more opportunities for students these days. staying. … I think it’s very, very impressive to prospective stuShowers dents. They come to campus and they’re just very, very GP: What is your favorite part of your job? impressed with the facilities.

High 68° / Low 51° Bailey: My favorite part of my job is talking to prospective students who really don’t know anything about FramPrecip: 40% GP: Do you have any advice for students? ingham State. When I’m at a college fair, I will talk to a Bailey: The biggest piece of advice I can give to students student or a parent and tell them about Framingham State, is, get to know your professors. You’re paying to get their show them the brochures and they’ll say to me they’ve knowledge. Get involved. You want to take every opnever seen the campus, and I tell them they’ve got to portunity you can and I think one of the big things stucome for a campus tour - they have to see what we’re Showers dents don’t take full advantage of is study abroad. It’s a all about. I enjoy when I actually see them, when they’re big world out there and after you graduate … sometimes High 70° / Low 51° here, downstairs waiting for the tour guides and they’ve traveling gets put on the back burner. gone on a tour and come back and … they said, “It was so Precip: 40% much better than what I ever thought.”

GP: What are your hobbies?

Bailey: I love to ski - skiing is definitely my passion. I GP: What was your best experience in college? run, take walks, hike. I enjoy walking my dog. I think Bailey: My best experience in college I would say was spending time with my family and friends is really what the year I had done orientation. ... I didn’t know anyone I’m all about.

Showers on staff. … My peers at the time are now still some of my closest friends. My whole group of orientation leaders High 70° / Low 52° [Editor’s note: This interview was conducted in spring we just had a lot of fun that year. We all really enjoyed Precip: 30% 2010.]

Monday 10/4

Tuesday 10/5

Wednesday 10/6

from www.weather.com

Thursday 10/7

Friday 10/8

Lauren Byrnes Editor-in-Chief

EDITORIAL BOARD

Lindsay Chase News Editor Rakel Hjaltadóttir News Editor

Chris Kopacko Opinion Editor Josh Kruger Photo Editor Drake McCabe Photo Editor Kelsey Loverude Interim Photo Editor

Tom O’Brien Arts & Features Editor Spencer Buell Assistant Arts & Features

Pam Barberio Business Editor Jen Perrin Online Editor

Krysta Davis Assistant Arts & Features

Samantha Hamel Columnist

Amy Koski Associate Editor

Editor

Editor

Nenia Corcoran Sports Editor Josh Primak Sports Editor Matt Cook Interim Sports Editor Ryan Creed Interim Sports Editor

Julie Ann Giebler Staff Writer Joe Kourieh Staff Writer Samantha Lockard Staff Writer Danielle Vecchione Staff Photographer

Betty Brault Administrative Assistant Desmond McCarthy Advisor

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October 1, 2010

3

News

New meal plan offered to students of eating in the dining commons.

According to Eddy, the term “block According to both Hamel and Eddy, plan” refers to a block of meals for the the inspiration for the Fire Pit came semester rather than a set number per from an emerging trend in the restauweek.

Additional block plans include rant industry, known as Mongolian the 120, 19/19 Plus, 14 Plus and 10 Grills. These grills help provide freshPlus, which gives students more flexer foods as well as an increased variety ible and versatile meal plan options. in an appealing way, such as new conSenior Meredith Palmer didn’t like tainers that resemble Chinese take-out the new meal plans offered to those boxes and chopsticks. who commute. “I think they are a little Chris Cola, a junior, was concerned unfair. I had to do the Block meal beabout the cost of the new Mongolian cause I’m a commuter, but I can’t use Grill. “It’s not bad other than the fact the Grab-and-Go with it.” that it’s really expensive, especially In addition to new meal plans this when you only have 150 dining dolfall, the dining facilities’ operating lars a semester. But, I don’t mind the hours have expanded. These changes grilled chicken, rice or lo-mien.” consist of an extra half hour added to Students had a range of opinions on dinner on the weekends in the dining the dining commons layout. Sophocommons.

The Snack Bar will be open more Jill Michniewicz said, “The best until 10 p.m. on Friday and The Juice thing I like about the layout [in the dinBar is now open earlier at 9 a.m. ing commons] is that it’s more spread “One of the most exciting aspects Drake McCabe/The Gatepost out and has more variety in foods and of the renovation to me was the ability that’s very good for a college.”

The new addition to the cafeteria. to make our operations more energyShana Cohen, a senior, said, “I like efficient and also reduce our carbon the design of it. It’s very different and dent experiences,” Eddy said in an email. Because of footprint on campus,” said Eddy. eye-catching. It’s very modern and I like that. Also, there’s the renovation, lines have been reduced due to the extra He added the addition of the Balance Station was dea lot of seating now, which is always a good thing.” square footage, “creating a much better customer experiAnother senior, Jessica Pollastro, said, “I think it’s ence.” more complicated. In general, it’s less crowded, but more Sarah Blake, a senior, said, “It looks a lot nicer. [The complicated.” renovations] spread things out so it’s less crowded.”

Eddy said after looking over data collected within the Patrick Laurent, a junior, also liked the caf’s renova“I like the design of it. It’s very different and past several years through surveys, food preference ques- tions. “[The renovation and expansion] make it feel like eye-catching. It’s very modern and I like that.” tionnaires, focus groups and market research, the univer- a new place. … When I first went there, it was all new to sity and dining services recognized the need to modernize me. I like the Chinese food. That’s a good addition. … It the existing “State Street Grille,” as well as cut down the gives more variety,” he said.

- Shana Cohen, senior traffic within its facility.

According to Eddy, the new College Center dining area Sodexo has hired additional employees in order to seats approximately 200 people and with the addition of provide faster service as well as to enhance the customer seating at the bar counters and the bench, seating will inexperience. crease by roughly 25-30 seats.

“The renovation and expansion was driven by many Not all students agree that the seating problem has factors with a singular theme - creating exceptional stu- been fully resolved with the dining facilities’ expansion. veloped over the summer in the dining commons for stuSophomore Kasey McAteer said, dents interested in following a nutritionally balanced diet.

“If they’re going to have more stuThis station offers vegan entrées as well as gluten-free dents with the new dorm construcselections. tion, there should be more seats.

This station provides food with more nutrition, proThe 1:20 lunch is always packed tein and carbohydrates. “This provides customers with an and at the 6:30 dinner, people are easy-to-find healthful and balanced meal without really standing with their plates searching having to think about it,” said Eddy in an email. for a seat. It’s stupid how they won’t Junior Leah Kymalainen believes the renovations are let students go elsewhere.” “visually appealing,” and likes the fact that the dining Aside from additional seating, commons offer a new Balance Station. “It’s good that we two new meal plans were introare offering more,” she said. duced to make dining options more Andrew Irwin, a senior, said, “The renovations are flexible for students. The 120 and bomb!” the 120 Plus provide students with Hamel responded positively to the caf’s improvements.

120 meals to use any time as well “Oh, I love it! I’m glad to see the project end as well after as 150 dining dollars per semester. seven years of construction activities over the course of Commuters looking for a suitable summer. It’s nice to finally complete the project.” way to eat while on campus can sign up for meal plans such as the Block 50, Block 50 Plus or the Block 25 Drake McCabe/The Gatepost per semester. Also, students who are in a rush can now exchange one of The new Simply To Go venue is now open. their meals in the Snack Bar instead

-Continued from page 1

New Meal Plan Changes and Dining Location Hours The Dining Commons

Monday- Thursday 7:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.

4:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.

Friday 7:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.

4:30 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.

Saturday 10:30 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.

4:30 a.m. - 7:00 p.m.

Sunday 10:30 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.

4:30 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.

Ram’s Den Grille Monday- Thursday 7:30 a.m. - midnight Friday 7:30 a.m. - 8:00 p.m.

Saturday 4:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.

Sunday 8:00 p.m. - midnight

The Cyber Cafe

Monday - Thursday 7:30 a.m. - 7:00 p.m.

Friday 7:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.

The Fire Pit/Pizzeria Collina/State Street Deli Monday- Thursday 11:30 a.m. - midnight Friday 11:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m.

Saturday 4:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.

Sunday 8:00 p.m. - midnight

Simply To Go

Monday - Friday 9:00 a.m. - 10:00 p.m.

The Whittemore Smart Market

Monday- Thursday 8:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.

Friday Closed

The Juice Bar

Monday - Thurdsay 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

Friday 9:00 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.

Meal Plan Changes

Simply To Go Meal Exchange Students participating in a full meal plan can now use a meal in the snack bar rather than just the Dining Commons.

New plans: the 120 and the 120 Plus They can be used at anytime throughout the semester. They can also be used for guests. The 120 Plus includes 150 Dining Dollars.

Meal plans aren’t just for resident students - commuters can also get them!

4

October 1, 2010

News

Flanagan, admins sign new res hall beam

-Continued from page 1

“The University staff is commited to providing the same high quality experience whether it’s a residence hall, a dining hall or academic building,” added Adelman.

Chairman of the Board of Trustees Robert Richards was among the guests who signed the final piece of steel.

“Seeing the transformation of this place ... it’s amazing what’s going on with the dormitories and the other buildings.”

Flanagan then began the signing of the beam by saying, “Lets make history! Everybody prepare to grab your sharpies and follow me!”

As faculty, staff and students became a part of Framingham State history, Flanagan spoke of the top-off practice. “I think it’s a nice tradition that marks a really important benchmark in the construction of the building. It’s nice that so many people are going to be able to record their presence here. This will be a really nice memory.”

Max Morrongiello, the student trustee, was happy to have added his John Hancock to the new dormitory. “I’m very grateful that the administra-

tion and Res Life really reached out to students and encouraged student feedback in the design of this building.”

Freshmen Sam Gray and Lindsey Philpot added their

names to the beam as well. “We were part of our elementary building and now we’re part of our college building,” Gray said.

Philpot joked, “We leave our mark everywhere we go.”

Unfortunately, very few students were able to attend the ceremony.

Rachael Bell, a junior, would have liked to participate in the beam signing. “I hadn’t heard anything about the ceremony beforehand, but either way, I was in class at noon.”

Junior Tom Coughlin-Jaroug was also in class during the ceremony. “You would think that the college would want students to be at something like this. Seeing as everyone has 1:30 off, why wouldn’t you have the ceremony then?”

Construction of the 410-bed residence hall began last November and is expected to be complete for the start of the fall 2011 semester.

“It’s amazing how quickly it’s going up. I can’t tell you how impressed I’ve been as a Photo courtesy of Nick Hamilton neighbor watching this,” said Flanagan.

President Flanagan addresses the crowd at the topping off ceremony.

Squ i r re l s “ i n f e s t ” D w i g h t H a ll’s “old gym”

By Julie Ann Giebler Staff Writer

According to Fowler, Bay State Wildlife Management has been called in for past instances involving squirrels Administrators closed Dwight Hall’s “old gym” to all and other animals on campus.

Fowler said the gym was closed because “the wildlife athletic and intramural activities most of this week due to company couldn’t guarantee anyone’s safety.” a “squirrel infestation.”

Junior Kerrin Duffy said she has seen the broken winOn Monday, a student playing basketball notified dows in the gym, which “makes it very sad looking in school administrators that a squirrel was attached to a net there.

They should have taken care of it ahead of time. in the “old gym.” Bay State Wildlife Management was They waited until it was too late.” contacted and the company responded immediately, acCaitlin Eno, a junior, said, “I think that the probcording to Maureen Bagge Fowler, Framingham State’s lem should have been fixed environmental health right when they noticed the and safety coordinawindows were like that betor. cause it could have been a Removal of the lot worse than just squirrels one squirrel led to the in there!” discovery of an entire Greenfield said that brosquirrels’ nest on top ken windows are unavoidof some of the pipes able because both the basein the gym. ball and intramural soccer Bay State Wildlife teams play at the gym.

Management urged Although the gym had the school to shut a number of broken windown the facility so dows, Fowler said the they could properly squirrels were able to enter catch the squirrels the gym through pipes.

“It without any disturDrake McCabe/The Gatepost was an unusual problem bance. Two humanestyle traps were The squirrel infestation prompted a visit from Bay because we have the broken windows, but that was State Wildlife Management. installed in the gymnot the cause of the nest. nasium - such “catchThey [the squirrels] were coming in whether the winand-release” traps ensure the safety of the squirrels. dows were broken or not.”

Mark Greenfield, facility manager, said the gym had Fowler added the squirrels are no longer occupyto be closed because “noise would have prevented their ing the gym, and did not have to be trapped because capture.” “they left on their own.” The traps were removed late

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Thursday.

In addition, another squirrel was removed from Peirce Hall early Thursday.

Mike Delsanto, a sophomore, jokingly said, “Squirrels are taking over Framingham State. They’re freakin’ nuts - pardon the pun!”

Kimberly Sharpe, a senior, said, “We have squirrels on crack here! Once I saw one open a lollipop and eat it. ... I was very impressed and yet kind of creeped out.”

Julie Ann Giebler/The Gatepost

The sign on the gym door in Dwight Hall.

October 1, 2010

News

SGA allocates SUAB’s funding request

By Krysta Davis Editorial Staff

should be advocates for this service which we are providing,” Long said.

According to Long, although this site was “thrown” SGA approved SUAB’s funding request for its yearonto students and possibly “rushed,” he believes this serly conference trip and discussed ways to make Collevice should still be given a “fair chance” to work. “We’ve giateLink more accessible for Framingham State students got to roll with the punches and actually make this work. I and club members at Tuesday night’s meeting. think CollegiateLink is going to be a much more effective Rachel Keir SUAB president, and Ally Chisholm, way of running club life,” he said.

SUAB treasurer, spoke at the meeting, requesting an alAs one solution, Long informed members that Student location of $3,518 for the group’s travel expenses to the Involvement and Leadership Development (SILD) will be National Association for Campus Activities. This funding starting workshops within the next few weeks for general will provide six students and one advisor their registration members of clubs who want to become more familiarized fees, room and board, food and transportation. with CollegiateLink.

SGA unanimously According to SGA’s approved this request Class and Club Treafor SUAB’s trip. surer Rachel Keir, class President Michael and club accounts have Long addressed stumade it onto the Colledents’ discontent with giateLink website. This FSC’s new website, allows members to betCollegiateLink. “Stuter monitor their club dent government funded accounts. $7,000 towards Col Student Trustee legiateLink. It is in our Maxwell Morrongiello best interest to think spoke about his followpositive and work in up meeting with Dr. CollegiateLink, and Dale Hamel, senior vice check on it. president of administra“Since we funded the Drake McCabe/The Gatepost tion, finance and techvast majority that went nology, regarding stuinto CollegiateLink we SGA senators at this week’s meeting. dents’ concerns about

Homecoming Weekend Schedule Friday, October 1 • 6:30 p.m. - Feature presentation: “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” in the Forum • 8:15 p.m. - Hypnotist and Comedian Jim Spinnato in the Dwight Performing Arts Center (DPAC) • 10 p.m. - midnight - Annual Moonlight Breakfast in the Dining Commons

Saturday, October 2 • 10:30 a.m. - Doughnuts with Dean of Students Dr. Melinda Stoops in the Faculty and Staff Dining Room in the College Center • 11:30 a.m. - Pre-game Brunch & Family Fun in the Alumni Tent and Maple Field Parking Lot • 1:30 p.m. - Football Game vs. Mass. Maritime at Maple Field. Individuals wearing Framingham State apparel admitted free.

• 7 p.m. - Comedy Night: Hilltop Players’ Suit Jacket Posse opening for the Improv Asylum in DPAC

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Meetings are held Tuesday nights at 6:00 p.m. in College Center room 410.

5

the 120 meal plan offered at FSC. According to Hamel, students are not paying more to eat at the dining commons. Rather, only one meal plan the commuter meal plan - is discounted. The 120 meal plan for residents is offered at a standard cost.

Morrongiello also met with FSC’s new Academic Vice President, Dr. Linda Vaden-Goad. He told SGA senators that she intends to improve the six-year graduation rate at FSC. According to Vaden-Goad, only 29 percent of students graduate in four years and 51 percent graduate within six years, not including those who transfer.

Morrongiello said, “She seems very interested in working with students.”

At the conclusion of Tuesday night’s meeting, Long said, “This is our time to discuss our purposes and our goals. I think everything is going much better this week.

Everything is going really well.”

Other business addressed at the meeting included the need to concentrate on students’ bad experiences with the student accounts office and the Presidents’ Council’s meeting suggestion to get more supplies for club rooms on campus.

In other news: • The Diversity Club has been given a budget of $50,000.

• SGA intends to upload a link to its CollegiateLink page onto the old SGA website for quicker and easier access to the group’s page.

6

Op/Ed

Op/Ed Tea Party not so hot You may have heard snippets about the bizarre political climate overtaking the nation recently concerning a group calling themselves the “Tea Party.” Yes, this moniker is in reference to the Boston Tea Party of the Revolutionary War era, a protest carried out to fight oppression and monopolization by an abusive ruling regime.

The modern-day partiers take part in adamant protests as well, except with a marked difference from those of the 18th century - they don’t really have any progressive purpose. I’m all for the concept of protesting to unite the power of the people when you have good cause. But these people simply protest for the sake of protesting, causing conflict and slowing the progress of those in power, offering no actual advice toward changing things for the good of the country. It is what Nancy Pelosi called “Astroturfing,” or fake grassroots activism to serve a selfish purpose.

This idiocy comes as little surprise given the fact that the vast majority of Tea Party members are conservative Republicans, a group which lately has been known as the party of “No” due to their refusal to allow any progressive legislation to be passed. These are the same people who can often be found protesting against the rights of homosexuals and immigrants. However, some good has perhaps come from the actions of the Tea Partiers. They’ve now begun to act so crazy that even other Republicans have grown to distrust them, causing a rift throughout the entire party.

And the fact remains, the less unified the Republican Party stands, the better off the country is.

If you are a conservative Republican or Tea Partier and are offended by this, I apologize. I don’t know that you are crazy or idiotic, and don’t mean to accuse you of such. I do, however, know that the ones in Washington and organizing all over the country are crazy idiots. How could anyone honestly trust a group whose top supporters are people like Sarah Palin? My advice to everyone is simply to stay informed, look deeper and understand who to trust and who to regard skeptically.

More views on this matter can be found from the Tea Party’s many websites, as well as reactions such as the Coffee Party, and Jon Stewart’s Rally to Restore Sanity.

October 1, 2010

Share the road I am a commuter and I sometimes cycle instead of drive my car to school. I am a longtime cyclist (that is, I don’t just use my bike to commute, but I also cycle as a sport). As a cyclist, I have found that drivers generally don’t know how to approach bikes.

They don’t understand us and don’t seem to know the rules of the road. As a matter of fact, more often than not, they get irritated at us for sharing the road. I’ve had people shout out the window at me to “get on the sidewalk.” Other motorists have honked at me.

A bicycle and its rider’s place is on the road. Believe it or not, the law considers bikes to be vehicles. In some places it is illegal for us to be on the sidewalk. In Massachusetts, it is illegal to ride on the sidewalk in business districts and some towns prohibit it.

Yes, you see people riding on the sidewalks, but these people probably aren’t regular cyclists. Several bicycling websites quote statistics that say it is actually more dangerous for cyclists to ride on the sidewalk because of cars backing out of driveways, riding into intersections where cars cannot see you and, of course groups of pedestrians. Also, bikes don’t have turn signals or the ability to stop as quickly as a car.

So watch for our hand signals, pass us with caution - leaving enough room between you and the rider - don’t cut us off (you could wipe us out and injure us), and please, please be patient with your fellow two-wheeled vehicles. Share the road!

Jen Perrin Editorial Staff Jen Perrin Editorial Staff

Joe Kourieh Editorial Staff

Keep it cool

I took a five-week course at FSC this past summer. Our first class met during the heat wave of July. Fans had to be used since the hall does not have air conditioning. Unfortunately we also lost valuable time while we searched for a more suitable room (the fans just could not possibly keep up with the heat). Our professor (fortunately) was willing to continue the search and determined that the only viable location for us to meet would be in the library.

I do realize that many of the buildings are older, however it is very disquieting to be seeking a valued education in an environment that does not appear to be willing to address the needs of its staff and/or students by providing more environmentally controlled rooms. I do realize that we had an unusual heat wave.

In the future, however, the administration should provide guidance as to other locations that "may" be able to be used rather than our losing valuable class time, or professors having to use theirs to find alternative locations.

Patrick Bleakney Senior

Join The Gatepost

The Gatepost is searching for writers, photographers, graphic designers, copy-editors, cartoonists, a public relations team, Assistant News Editors and Assistant Arts and Features Editors.

Come to our meetings Tuesdays at 6:00 p.m. in CC 410 Or e-mail us at gatepost@framingham.edu 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.

October 1, 2010

The Gatepost Editorial Student space expendable

At Monday’s SGA Presidents’ Council Meeting, a gathering of all club presidents and SGA’s vice president, some student leaders expressed their frustration about the lack of space for student organizations on campus. One club president even requested SGA change its meeting time because there is such a high demand for the Alumni Room, where students can serve food at their groups’ events.

The frustration expressed by student leaders this past week is nothing new to The Gatepost. We have been fighting for student space in the College Center for years.

When the College Center was renovated in 2006, student groups lost a significant amount of dedicated space in the building. The editorial board decried the poor planning that went into this. In the May 1, 2009 editorial, “Still fighting for more student space,” the editorial board said, “Student groups got screwed. They have been paying for the administration’s bad planning, mistakes and denial of those mistakes for over three years.”

And students are still paying.The administration did not learn from the mistakes made in 2006. The cafeteria construction, which added more dining venues for students, was also a product of poor planning.

Students may have gained more dining options, but they once again lost club space in the College Center. Every time the administration decides to undertake another construction project, students lose more space.

McCarthy’s Pub and CC216, which were frequently used by clubs and college committees alike, were absorbed by the construction, leaving less space for students to host meetings and events.

The new Ram’s Den Grille is now located where McCarthy’s once was and CC216 is used as catering offices.

Students have few places to hold their meetings. They can use the newer Club Room 4, Club Room 3 or Club Room 2, a hole-in-the-wall poster-making room with tiny cubbies for organizations to store their belongings.

Clubs can also reserve space in the Alumni Room, DPAC or College Center forum for larger events, but because the competition for space is so fierce, it’s difficult for students to reserve these spaces at the times they want.

Students were given Club Room 4 when the administration finally acknowledged the lack of student space and converted a College Center classroom into a club room last fall.

When the room was unveiled, students were pleased to find a cozy space with nice chairs, long tables for meetings and a large screen to which laptops can be hooked up. Because Club Room 4 is the only student space with matching chairs and an organized layout, it is in higher demand than the other, smaller and less attractive club rooms.

Student leaders hoped Club Room 4 was just one of a few classrooms which might be turned into club space. It was not.

Because of the cafeteria construction, students now have less club space than before Club Room 4 was unveiled last fall.

The Hilltop Players and Dance Club still have no easily accessible storage space on campus to hold their sets, costumes and supplies.

The magazines on campus - The Onyx, Journal of Critical Thinking and the Fashion Magazine - need a space with multiple computers, a secure storage area for submissions and a place to work and collaborate with editors. They have yet to get that space.

The administration sees student space as expendable - it is the first to go when construction needs to be done.

More classrooms should be turned into club rooms to replace what was taken from students. Classrooms never should have been put in the College Center in the first place.

It is student space, not academic space.

In order to offer current and incoming students a more active campus life, there should be more space offered to clubs so they can hold their meetings and events when they want, where they want.

We at The Gatepost believe students should not have to beg for space to hold their meetings and events.

Student involvement is a key aspect of college life. The skills and sense of responsibility students learn from holding leadership roles on campus are innumerable and invaluable.

Co-curricular activities are just as important as academics.

Students should be given the space they need for their clubs to function and grow.

Instead of wasting their time and energy fighting for any available space, students’ efforts would be better spent managing their clubs and acquiring the skills they’ll need for their futures.

Op/Ed

Op/Ed

7

Texting ban not enough

Yesterday, Massachusetts became the 30th state to ban texting while operating a motor vehicle.

The Safe Driving Act, signed into law by Gov. Deval Patrick on July 2nd, also prohibits those under 18 from talking on cell phones while driving, and requires senior citizens 75 and older to take a vision test every 5 years. While this new law is certainly a step in the right direction toward curbing the state’s apparent “erratic driver syndrome,” it falls short of actually preventing any real reckless driving behavior.

It’s obvious to most common-sense people that texting while driving is dangerous. The reason is simple: anytime you are looking away from the road while behind the wheel, you aren’t doing your job as a responsible driver. You should certainly be fully aware of your surroundings while operating a two-ton vehicle, and if you’re busy making smiley faces on your smartphone, you’re just asking for an accident.

But this same rule applies for more than just texting. Any type of distraction can cause an accident: reading a newspaper, kids in the back seat, putting on make up. So why only target the texters? Answer: because the state isn’t serious about minimizing reckless driving, only maximizing revenue. And at $100 per text-in-motion, the new safe driving bill is just the way to do it.

In other parts of the world, drivers aren’t as negligent as they here in the U.S. Go to Europe and you’ll find that most cars aren’t equipped with many of the luxuries we take for granted in our cars today, such as radios or even cup-holders. This is because the Europeans realize that when you’re driving, you’re driving. They aren’t chatting on cellphones or mowing down Big Macs. Much as I hate to admit it, I’m afraid the Europeans actually got this one right.

Driving a motor vehicle is a privilege, not a right, and needs to be treated as such. People need to be held personally responsible for their actions behind the wheel to ensure safety on the roads.

Texting is just the tip of the proverbial iceberg. If the state wants to be serious about safe driving, it should enforce harsher penalties not just for texting, but any form of carelessness on the road. Until then, I’ll continue to eat my breakfast and shave on the way to class.

Chris Kopacko Opinion Editor

The F-Word

Nothing is more bothersome to my ears than the F-word. “Fuck” is not the word to which I’m referring (especially as I’m a Jersey girl, who’s stereotyped to have the vocabulary of a truck driver).

Faggot - although, internationally the word has a very broad meaning and long history of use, its main use in America revolves around the derrogitory slang for a male in the homosexual community. The term has managed to seep its way into the daily vocablulary of America’s woefully ignorant population, along with the frequent use of the word “gay” as a means to descrcibe someone or something that is “stupid” and/or “lame.”

Standing in line at the cafeteria, anxiously waiting for my turn at the vat of mashed potatoes (or something of the like), I heard someone refer to his friend as a “faggot.”

I’m sure there was no malicious intent behind this exchange. However, I had been standing with a friend who is openly gay. Nothing is more heartwrenching than having to see a friend personally affected by the ignorance of others, no matter how brief the moment or small the act may be.

On another occasion, I literally heard these words come out of someone’s mouth: “I saw two guys all over each other in public today. It’s one thing to be gay but to openly show and spread your ‘gayness’ in public is repulsive.”

Apparently, we still live in a time where “gayness” is a health risk to those who witness any sort of affection by members of the same sex.

Personal friends of mine, an openly gay couple, often hear disgusted remarks when they are simply holding hands in public.

PDA (public display of affection) has its limits: there is a definite line between acceptable PDA and openly sexual acts in public places - no matter what sexual orientation. Last time I checked, no one looks twice at a heterosexual couple for simply holding hands to show affection.

Americans pride themselves on coming so far in terms of equality, both in race and gender, and being a country where people live free of judgement. Massachusetts, for that matter, puts itself high up on a liberal and acceptance scale. If we esteem ourselves to be so accepting, why is it that the term “faggot” or even the nonchalant use of the word “gay” cannot be avoided?

To those who use such words: not only do you hurt members of the gay community and make heterosexual allies cringe, but you make yourself look unbelievably ridiculous and ignorant - the second they leave your mouth.

Julie Ann Giebler Staff Writer 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.

ARTS & FEATURES

8

October 1, 2010

Kelsey Loverude/The Gatepost

’27 Dresses

The Gatepost’s monthly update of May Hall’s artistic happenings.

A couture venture into the realm of

By Spencer Buell historical fashion, where there’s Assistant Arts and Features Editor always more than meets the eye

Spencer Buell/The Gatepost

Spencer Buell/The Gatepost

Linda Clancy’s sculpture of her father features transcriptions from his journal.

By Tom O’Brien Arts & Features Editor

F

ashion is a living, changing organism, evolving its way through history based on society’s active perspective of “what looks good.”

The most recent exhibition at Framingham State’s Mazmanian Gallery, created by FSC professor of consumer science Brianna Plummer, is a collection of fashion pieces with a purpose - an investigation into the construction and intent of some of history’s most gaudy (or god awful) couture fashion.

Settled about the gallery space, a multitude of bold, eye-catching costumes stand at attention. Rows of vivid dresses from different eras of history fill the well-lit exhibition, frozen in time like phantom party-goers caught in the snapshot of a timely waltz. The pieces are truly striking, and even though the gallery lacks any pretty Victorian ladies, these reproductions make it Buell/The Gatepost easySpencer to imagine how grand a room full of them would appear.

And though the beauty, originality and intricacy of each dress has withstood the test of time, these vibrant period pieces do more than just transcend - they transform!

That’s why this massive art collection is aptly named - “architecouture” - the architecture behind some of history’s most famous dress fashion trends.

That is, this collection specifically showcases dressmakers’ ability to alter the human form in ways the body could not do on its own, transforming and ultimately emphasizing parts of the human figure to fantastic proportions. The goal?

To manufacture a more ideal silhouette.

Spencer Buell/The Gatepost

"I like pushing the limits of the material and letting it take on a whole new meaning.”

- Linda Clancy

Spencer Buell/The Gatepost

The exaggerated collars and shoulders, and outrageous hats and fringe, made different by their varying periods in history, become connected in this universal theme of image fabrication. Using gossamer material and biolab style cross-sectioning, space on the dresses is left free of fabric, exposing skeletal undercarriages - the painful truth behind some of history’s most elaborately shaped outfits.

These shape-forming objects like bracing and stays line the walls, looking more like a display of medieval torture devices than objects a woman would willingly wear - each one a different modifier of a woman’s form. The objects altogether are an elegant, yet harrowing sight, considering women wore these uncomfortable devices frequently - probably more than they wanted.

You can thank society for peoples’ bizarre fixation with eccentric dress shapes. Couture, meaning customproduced wear, became a social necessity for women of certain classes. The

Lisa Valeri creates works of art from photographs.

widely set side-hoop dresses of the 1770s, the drape-like skirt and bustel apparatus of the 1880s, all were staples of their eras’ fashion world - and staples of women’s fashion changed quickly! Much more quickly Spencer Buell/The Gatepost than men’s did.

Kelsey Loverude/The Gatepost So quickly, in fact, that with a little research, it’s actually possible to Plummer with cream couture creation, bustel ascertain a date to a historic photograph were a part. solely by examining a woman’s attire.

Observing historical trends through Think Marie Antoinette. Think Scar- the lens of fashion is just another way lett from “Gone with the Wind.” Think to learn about past societies. By thinking they look uncomfortable? You’re prob- retrospectively, it is easy to see the abably right, and that’s where this exhibi- surdity of dress in the Maz Gal exhibit’s tion gets even smarter. newest faux-harleqeuins, and can help By seeing the true architecture behind observers to form their own opinions on these dresses, it is nearly impossible not the fashion/comfort relationship of toto sympathize with the historical wear- day, as well. ers, and that is another one of the artist’s As stated in the gallery’s mission intentions. Not to pity the women of past statement, “The question arises: how societies, but to appreciate what they much manipulation is tolerable for the have done for the fashion world. Appre- sake of fashion?” ciate the works Niki of artOrphanos that have created makes carvings to be used in book printing. due to the lifestyles of which women

9

October 1, 2010

Arts & Features

How do you feel about the Campus ConversationS caf renovations?

By Tom O’Brien & Spencer Buell Photos by Drake McCabe

“I wish that they made more regular [food] instead of what they ‘think’ people want.”

“I think they should have gotten better food instead of just focusing on how it looks.”

- Chris Connolly, junior, undeclared

- Chris McCready, sophomore communication arts major

“I like that it looks like a science museum.”

“I love it.

I crave stir-fry all the time.”

- Joey Bazinet, senior Spanish & food science major

- Alysse Janes, senior English major

“It looks cool. You get to have a fire to look at.”

“I think it was unwise. We need air conditioning and other things for the dorms, first.”

- Garrett Fortin, freshman business major

- Amaria Edwards, sophomore, undeclared

“I’m waiting for it to take off [like a spaceship]!”

- Jake Luth, junior video production major

“I love the decorating especially the wok!”

“

- Kyle Rodrigues, junior visual communications major

“Nine dollars is too much to pay for shrimp around here.

For that price I’d rather go to Legal’s.”

“It’s more convenient than using a meal in the cafeteria.”

- Samantha Conrad, freshman communication arts major

- Greg Fraser, junior communication arts major

“I think they should make the Com caf food the regular cafeteria food - that’d be awesome.”

- Cat Alfamo, sophomore history major

“It bugs me how you have to wait ’till certain times to get certain types of food.”

- Hannah Prescott, freshman biology major

October 1, 2010

10

Arts & Features

Review

round Up and guitarist, Corey Brandon, Scottie Norma Jean “Meridional” calist Henry (guitars), Jake Schultz (bass), Chris

By Krysta Davis

Asst. Arts & Features Editor

Photo courtesy of

www.NormaJeanNoise.com

The Atlanta-based heavy rockers known as Norma Jean released their fifth album, “Meridional,” the summer 2010.

The Jean had recently signed with Razor and Tie Records, where they evolved in their lyrical process. This American metal-core band from Douglasville, Georgia, brought their music to life with vo-

In comparison, “Falling from the Sky: Day Seven,” gave vocalist, Brandon, the opportunity to show off his evolved vocals. In this song, Brandon used his skill to work with singing combined with faint screams, something many Jean fans are not used to hearing from him. This album provided a change in this bands ability to embrace new styles, while still maintaining the group’s well-known passion throughout each song.

This recent album focused on the ability to face life’s challenges, mainly bad, while still learning to embrace yourself. Specifically, “A Media Friendly Turn for the Worse,” has a sound comparable to the song “My Last Serenade,” byAmerican metal-core band from Westfield, Massachusetts, Killswitch Engage.

Norma Jean resembled this song, with its aggressive breakdowns, but also melodic regularity throughout. This song also contains very strong rhythmic sections while throwing in some heavy tribal drums during and between riffs and versus.

Listening to this album, one can hear how the Jean has grown - testing their limits to sing - as opposed to past albums which consisted mainly of enraged roars and screaming. This album has taken a turn from hardcore to a more metal-based sound.

On this album, the Jean has grasped their ability to embrace melody, rather than just heavy songs Brandon is used to singing. The album’s experimental tal arrangements allow for a range of ruthless screaming, as well as solid, but still complex, instrumentation.

For all those Jean fans out there, this album is one to get your hands on if you enjoy powerful songs with a dose of screaming and singing. This multilayered album is sure to blow not only Jean fans’ ears away, but those who can appreciate metal-core and music evolution of all kind.

Games

“NHL 2011”

By Zack Comeau Staff Writer

A

Day (guitars) and Chris Raines (drums).

The metal-hardcore band or also known as progressive hardcore, has collaborated styles in to their sound, one may recognize from other bands’ sounds, such as Chariot (old school), Bury Your Dead, or in some songs, Killswitch Engage.

In this album, the Jean used melodic riffs while still giving away the pure essence of their lyrics. The Jean consistently captured their intensity of past albums while still maintaining their fury throughout each song.

In one of their songs, “Septentrional,” one can hear the bands ability to grasp melody and slow down their rhythm, rather than having an album consist solely on heavy riffs and yelling. The Jean experimented with their sound using forceful songs while still being able to maintain balance between melodic riffs and singing.

Music

Photo courtesy of

www.nhl.easports.com

s if slamming people into the boards or aiming slap shots in from the blue line couldn’t be any more pleasing to the avid sports gamer, here comes NHL 2011.

Perhaps the most realistic team sports

game in existence, EA’s new hockey hit is truly exciting.

NHL 2011 features broken and dropped sticks, bigger, harder hits and an all-new physics-based engine, different from the animation-based engine used in past hockey titles.

NHL 2011 also features a revamped passing system. The longer the button is held, the stronger the pass.

A timing based face-off system features the ability to push or block the opponent. A brand new “hustle button,” similar to the speed burst in past games, allows players to race for the puck, or to gain the advantage in breakaways.

Perhaps the most entertaining

feature of the game is the all-new hit stick, which gives players the opportunity to choose the location of body checks, leading to possible injuries and/or penalties.

As far as difficulty goes, anything past the “Pro level” will have you stomping your feet in disbelief as the computer players ruin your breakaway chance with a dive. Solid defense is a must, as it seems the computer simulated players have perfected the art of deking.

“The All-Star” and “Superstar” difficulties will, without a doubt, test your true skill and precision. New game modes include the “Be a GM” mode, the equivalent of the “Franchise mode”

popular with the “Madden NFL” games.

The new “Rookie Generation” system allows you the opportunity to create a player and develop his skills and control the path of his career. Also new to the NHL franchise is the addition of the Practice mode, so you can practice your power plays and penalty killing to prep your team for the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

If you love exciting plays and heartpounding moments, NHL 2011 is the sports game of your dreams.

Music Tokyo Police Club Champ By Tom O’Brien

Arts & Features Editor

Photo courtesy of

www.TokyoPoliceClub.com

These northern boys are back with their lovable, upbeat indie sound.

Though it’s only been two years since the debut of Tokyo Police Club’s first full-length, the riff-laden powerhouse, “Elephant Shell,” it’s pretty apparent that - time and tours later, this band has grown up.

While still maintaining that jangly, almost brit-pop tone, the new album, “Champ,” is a punchy step in the right direction for TPC. Opening with slow, hymn-like vocals, the first track, “Favou-

rite Food,” seems more like a lullaby than a wake-up call - but it all hits eventually. Just like the album, the intro never rushes the music. The band takes its time developing a song and it’s always for the better.

Vocalist, Dave Monks, spits this introduction in a few poetic verses built around a sole acoustic guitar and his voice. This bare bones tone is a crisp juxtaposition to the cavalcade of instruments that gives the rest of this album such a meaty sound. The band shows that they can do it all - from thin, trebly recordings like the intro, to catchy, shout-filled romps that will leave toe-tappers tapping, and hummers humming.

Also, “Champ,” has grown from “Elephant Shell” in its diversity of song forms. The band’s last album seemed to show a bit of pattern forming in its song selection. That is, many songs on the album shared similar textures (instrument sounds) and similar implementation of riffs, both

guitar and keyboard. It seemed as if every song on the album began with a drum beat to set the meter and sent in a synth riff to set the hook.

No longer is the band’s sound backed into a corner by simple, linear song structures (though it worked before). On the band’s newest musical venture, parts seem more original, and their arrangement - more clever. Keyboard and guitar cascade in and out of one another, successfully forming a wall of sound rather than isolated nuggets of melody as in “Elephant Shell.”

Though this type of song was successful at pounding catchy numbers into the brains of early TPC listeners, “Champ” follows suit more efficiently and more tastefully. The new album has got the hooks and riffs. It’s got rhythm and lyrics, but most importantly, each song is voiced so differently than the next that it gives the tracklist many different themes. The album’s got feelings - give it a listen.

to come.

11

October 1, 2010

Arts & Features

Improv “suits” FSC well

Kelsey Loverude/The Gatepost

By Zack Comeau Staff Writer

T

he College Center forum was filled with laughter Tuesday night, as six FSC students who call themselves the “Suit Jacket Posse” performed various improv skits.

Among the performers were Anthony Reed, Rob Mulligan, Miles Bergstrom, Josh Graveline, Darek Sychtysz and Luis Roberts. Josh Halladay hosted the event.

Many of the games were similar, and some nearly identical, to the show “Whose Line Is It Anyway?” Among the games played by FSC’s improv team were “Switch,” “Scenes From a Hat” and “Slow Motion Commentary,” which seemed to be a crowd pleaser.

“The slow-motion commentary game was my favorite,” said Marie Diehl, a junior history major. The game required two performers to act out a “mundane activity” in slow motion, the subject of which was suggested by an audience member.

“Eating dinner!” berated a member of the already raucous crowd.

Cues like these were sparks in the flaming imaginations of the

improv team and in no time, Bergstrom and Mulligan, with the commentary of Roberts and Reed, had the entire forum erupting in laughter, as a “mundane activity” quickly turned into a vicious slow-motion food fight.

For Bergstrom and Roberts, this improv show was a first. However, they performed excellently. Their timing was smooth and their horseplay, original - the tell-tale signs of natural improv comics.

“I really thought the new guys, Miles and Luis, were very funny and they added new kinds of humor to the show,” said Diehl, who auditioned for the Posse.

Although Diehl was in the audience for the show, she still participated, suggesting a theme for “Press Conference,” in which Reed was arrested for breaking and entering. It didn’t stop there, though, as an audience member spiked up the laugher even more by suggesting Reed’s character be the Kool-Aid man.

During this bit, the rest of the Posse sat in the audience, as Anthony remained on stage, taking questions from his fellow improvisers while trying to guess his character. With an “Oh yeah!” from Reed, the audience exploded with laughter and applauded Anthony for guessing correctly.

One of the most refreshing and re-

assuring aspects of the show was that the performers were clearly enjoying themselves, finding it hard not to laugh at their own jokes. When they sat out a game, they were laughing out from the sidelines.

“When I am watching the games, I think I laugh more than the audience,” said Reed, a senior economics major, who was one of the more vibrant and colorful performers.

Senior applied food science major Rob Mulligan said, “It's usually easy to keep a straight face when I say a joke that lands well, but sometimes someone else in the scene will say something perfect and I wont be able to keep a straight face.”

Another crowd favorite was the game “Switch,” which set Mulligan and Roberts on a steamboat cruise. Whenever Halladay said the word “switch,’’ the performers had to say the opposite of what ever they had just said. A few genuinely funny sequences and sexual innuendos later, laughter could be heard from the parking lot.

“I really like ‘Switch.’ It keeps you on your toes and just creates outrageous scenes which are great,”said Bergstrom, a junior communication arts major.

For Roberts, a freshman biology major, improvisation seemed to come naturally to him. Although not as outspoken and loud as his partners, his dry, awk-

Posse. “I loved every aspect [of the show].” On performing, Vajda said, “It was something different. You have to be yourself.”

According to him, improv requires one to be quick, and build a joke off of another joke, which can be difficult at times.

“We rehearse,” said Bergstrom. “It lets us get comfortable with how the games work and lets us get better at them.”

Mulligan said, “[We] do a lot of theatre warm-ups to get us going and then run a lot of the games we perform with intentionally difficult suggestions.” He also mentioned that improv helped him to build confidence, stating that it “kickstarted” his interest in stand-up comedy, a hobby he is now pursuing.

“For something like improv, there’s no way to rehearse since there are no set lines to follow. Instead, what we do is practice,” says Sychtysz.

“Practice consists of us playing games that we haven’t done in a while, or feel that we’re weak in, so that when we do finally have a show, we at least know how to play a game.”

This is evident when the Posse played “Two-line vocabulary,” which restricted two performers to two lines each. Set in a spaceship, Sychtysz’s lines were, “Not in there” and “What’s that smell like?” while Mulligan’s vocabulary consisted

“There’s a real sense of accomplishment when you can hear a room fill with laughter because of the way a scene turned out.”

Kelsey Loverude/The Gatepost

It’s all in the scene as Reed lays into Graveline during one the crew’s sketches

ward, Michael Cera-like humor was a hilarious change from the usual improv routine.

Mulligan first declared he was from Alaska, and was then prompted to switch, stating he was from Montana.

“Oh, well, less exciting,” answered Roberts dryly, which gave the audience a good, healthy laugh.

“The scene changes really quickly and it's funny to see what crazy direction it ends up going in,” says Roberts, who added that “Switch” is his favorite game to play.

Matt Vajda, a junior history major, was laughing along with the audience, and also auditioned for the Suit Jacket

- Anthony Reed

of the classic, “That’s what she said” and “Help me now.” Reed controlled the scene, and acted as the pilot of the spaceship.

Those four lines, along with Reed’s witty humor, made for one hilarious improv act.

“There’s a real sense of accomplishment when you can hear a room fill with laughter because of the way a scene turned out,” exclaims Sychtysz.

“In my opinion, there’s nothing better than knowing that you’ve made someone forget their worries for just a moment and caused them to laugh.”

12

October 1, 2010

Sports

New era for men’s basketball Wholey replaces Spellman as head coach

By Josh Primak Sports Editor

In his nine-year tenure as the head coach of FSC men’s basketball, Don Spellman took a struggling program and built it into a perennial contender, reaching the MASCAC finals three times and becoming one of only two coaches in school history to amass 100 victories.

With his resignation in April, as well as the loss of key players to graduation, the program will be in need of new leaders, both on the court and bench.

FSC Athletic Director Tom Kelley hopes the hiring of veteran basketball man Paul Wholey as Spellman’s replacement will bring both leadership and stability to a program looking to continue its recent success.

Wholey’s hiring came after an extensive search which began with 100 candidates before the selection of the South Shore native.

“He’s been in coaching a long time, so he brings a lot of experience,” said Kelley. “In his interview, it came across loud and clear that he would be more of a full-time coach than a parttime coach, so that was very attractive to the search committee.”

A retired probation officer, Wholey has been coaching basketball in one capacity or another for over two decades, with most of his time spent in the high school ranks.

From 2006-10, he was the head coach of the Pembroke High School varsity basketball team, which captured the 2008-09 Patriot League Championship. He also has spent time as assistant coach for Bridgewater State College, as well as Div. II Stonehill College.

Looking for his first collegiate head coaching job, Wholey was excited about the prospect of commanding the Rams.

“I felt it was a great opportunity to coach on the college level with a university that has tremendous potential. It is affordable, close to the city, a nice campus and has an excellent academic reputation. All of these characteristics will make it easier to recruit potential players.

“I have coached 23 years of high school basketball as well as AAU and some college basketball. I have always wanted to coach college basketball, but was busy raising three

Photo Courtesy of Kathy Lynch

Paul Wholey takes over as FSC men’s basketball head coach with over 20 years of experience. children and working full time. … My kids are grown now and it seemed like a perfect opportunity to accept this type of a challenge.”

With the loss of seven seniors, including guard Darius Yarrell and forward Josue Almodovar, who finished his Rams’ career as the second leading all-time scorer, the team will begin the year without much on-thecourt experience.

Wholey is hoping to instill a style of play on his Rams that will keep them competitive despite the lack of veterans.

“We will play an aggressive, uptempo style of basketball and we will be an exciting team to watch. We are small in team size, we are young and inexperienced, but I see great potential for improvement as the year goes on. After a monster non-league schedule to start, we will be ready for league play, come January.”

For returning senior Steevan Fernandes, the new coach represents a new team philosophy - one that he hopes will bring a MASCAC crown to the Dwight Gym. “He knows what he is doing and what he expects from the players, which is just be determined to play

hard and make the effort to win. …

Being a senior, I just ask my teammates to play hard and stay focused and just try to get a MASCAC championship before I leave.”

Coming off a season that saw FSC fall just an overtime period short of the MASCAC championship, expectations will be high for the team to continue its winning tradition.

Wholey is excited about taking his program to the next level.

“I plan to build a ‘R.E.A.L’ team based on Respect, Effort, Attitude and Loyalty. I want us to become the class of the MASCAC Conference, competing for the league championship and NCAA bids on a yearly basis. That is my goal!

“I have high hopes for our ability to attract student athletes that are ‘gym rats’ and just love to play basketball. I am hoping we can create an atmosphere of excitement surrounding the basketball program that the faculty, staff and student body will be proud and excited to be part of. I really can’t wait to get started.”

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The Rams will lose seven seniors from last season including Josue Almodovar, who finished his FSC career as the second all-time leading scorer.

DID YOU KNOW...?

It takes 3,000 cows to supply the NFL with enough leather for a year’s supply of footballs.

October 1, 2010

Sports

13

On The Sideline Football Captain Anthony Pappagallo

By Ryan Creed Interim Assistant Sports Editor times when we look average, but we are becoming more consistent each week.

GP: How did you get involved in the sport?

GP: What does the role of captain mean to you?

Pappagallo: I started playing football when I was seven in Malden Pop Warner.

My father and all my uncles played, so it was pretty much expected for me to play and I’ve loved the game ever since.

Pappagallo: The role of captain definitely brings a lot of responsibility and it’s an honor to be the leader of a great group of guys.

GP: Who was your favorite athlete growing up?

GP: What will you miss most when the season is over?

Pappagallo: My favorite athlete growing up was Barry Sanders. My days of running back are over, but I still love watching old highlights of him run.

Pappagallo: What I’ll miss most is just being with the team and working toward a goal together. The bonds shared in football are like nothing else in the world.

GP: What has been your most memorable moment as an athlete here at FSC?

GP: Do you have any pre-game rituals or superstitions?

Pappagallo: My most memorable moment here at FSC was when we came back to beat Coast Guard 25 - 23 two years ago. I just remember thinking with 40 seconds left that we had no chance, but we kept fighting, caused a fumble and punched it in to win.

Pappagallo: A pre-game ritual I have is meeting with all the other defensive backs in the endzone after our pregame warm-ups. It just helps us get focused and confident before we take the field.

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GP: How do you think the team has performed so far this year?

Pappagallo: So far this year we are playing pretty well. There are times when we look like a championship team and

Anthony Pappagallo leads the football team in the 2010 season.

GP: Is it difficult to balance school and sports?

Pappagallo: Sometimes it is difficult to balance school and football, but once I’m organized and have a set schedule for a semester, it’s easier to manage my time.

Editor’s NFL Picks of the Week Baltimore at Pittsburgh(-1.5) Josh’s Pick: 24-10 Baltimore Nenia’s Pick: 21-10 Baltimore Ryan’s Pick: 13-10 Pittsburgh Matt’s Pick: 21-17 Pittsburgh

New England at Miami (+1) Josh’s Pick: 34-24 New England Nenia’s Pick: 21-17 New England Ryan’s Pick: 31-28 Miami Matt’s Pick: 27-13 Miami

AFTER SCHOOL SITTER I am looking for a sitter who can pick up my two children (ages 13 and 10) from school (M-F) in Needham and spend Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday afternoons watching my 10 year old son.

Pay is $10-15 per hour. I am looking for somebody who is available throughout the school year and who has a car. Hrs. flexible.

Please contact Amy at amy.leventhal.stern@gmail.com or (617) 413-8107 if interested.

Last week, in the article “Roadblock for the Rams,” The Gatepost incorrectly reported that Jason Silva scored the first goal. The goal was actually scored by Chris Wilkins. The game-winning goal by Babson was scored at 3:04 in overtime, and not at seven minutes, as the article states.

14

October 1, 2010

Sports

Volleyball ends losing streak to Bridgewater

By Nenia Corcoran Sports Editor It’s been over 15 years since the last time the Framingham State volleyball team beat the Bridgewater State Bears.

Wednesday night, however, the Rams changed all that.

FSC struck down the Bears 3-0, led by Captain Ashley Trudeau, who totaled 14 kills on the night.

The Rams charged into the first match maintaining a large lead over the Bears until Bridgewater mounted a comeback to tie the score at 15. A solo block by senior Nicole Donofrio stirred the Rams back to life and started them on a scoring streak.

A kill from Trudeau and a block by Jackie Friel led to the 25-18 win of the first match.

Set two featured big plays from both sides, with both teams fighting for the lead.

With the match tied at 19, Framingham capitalized on a BSC mistake to take the lead. A block by Friel put the Rams up 2119, which was followed shortly after with the combined efforts of Friel and Lauren Kasischke on a block that made the score 23-20.

The Bears were not willing to give the match up easily, however. They fought back to tie the score at 23 and then called a timeout to rattle the nerves of the Rams.

Upon resuming play, the Rams were awarded the point on a service error by the Bears. The long volley that followed was won by the Bears, again tying the game at 24.

Two plays later, the match was again tied at 25. FSC won the serve from Bridgewater, putting them in position to serve for game point for the third time in the match.

Freshman Andressa Fernandes served BSC with a ball that barely slid over the net. Bridgewater returned Fernandes’ serve, only to have Trudeau spike down the game-winning point, finally ending the match, 27-25.

Up two matches, Framingham State fought to gain the advantage in what would ultimately be the final match. Ahead 18-9, the Rams were beginning to look confident.

Despite the Bears’ attempts at rallies, they were only able to score nine more points throughout the entire match.

Trudeau stood in to serve the game point, which was tapped over the net by Friel to seal the victory, 25-18. Having downed the Bears in three matches, the Rams secured a long overdue win against rival Bridgewater State.

In addition to Trudeau’s 14 kills, Donofrio added nine, and Friel had six.

Friel also finished with three blocks, while Jessi Goode contributed 19 digs on the evening.

Sophomore Courtney Moylan said, “Bridgewater has had an extremely skilled program for years and the fact that we beat them gives us a lot of hope for possibly being the top team in the MASCAC.” Goode. a senior, said, “I think that it was our best performance thus far. We really played as a team and never let down.”

Trudeau was thrilled with her team’s performance Wednesday night. “The rivalry between the two teams has been apparent for many years and this win was especially crucial to the seniors on the team because we have never beat them in our career at FSU,” Trudeau said.

Nenia Corcoran/The Gatepost

The volleyball team beat Bridgewater State for the first time in 18 years on Wednesday night.

Ask A Ram Who is your favorite team to play against?

David Simao Cross Country We race multiple schools in one meet, so I have a rivalry with everyone I race.

Tucker Henrion Men’s Rugby Rhode Island College because it was the only team we could beat.

Molly Malloy Volleyball

Rachael Cooper Cross Country

Worcester State because it’s our toughest competition.

We ran against Mass. Maritime and that was awesome because we got to run the canal.

Nenia Corcoran/The Gatepost

October 1, 2010

Sports

15

Rams dominate MASCAC play, fall in tough non-conference matchup

By Ryan Creed Interim Assistant Sports Editor

Coming off a tough overtime defeat at the hands of Babson College, the Framingham State College men’s soccer team prevailed in conference play, defeating Worcester State College last Saturday 4-1, at Maple Field.

It was clear from the opening whistle the Rams were the better team, controlling the ball and the pace of the game with ease.

The only sign of life from the Lancers of Worcester State was the chippy play that took place in the beginning of the match.

Two yellow cards were handed out within the first five minutes, first on Framingham’s Jepherson Cardoso and just a minute and five seconds later on the Lancers’ Anthony Bourget. After Bourget’s infraction, some minor pushing and shoving took place. The tone was set and the match had the feel of a conference battle.

Once the game was back in order, the Rams were all business outshooting Worcester State eight to three in the first half.

The Framingham offense was rewarded for their efforts in the 21st minute as senior forward Jason Silva was able to find freshman midfielder Ronaldo Vieira streaking down the field for a perfectly executed goal.

The Lancers kept fighting though, and appeared to answer the Rams’ goal just two minutes later, but the goal was called back on a controversial offsides penalty, preserving a 1-0 FSC lead.

The Rams would go into the intermission leading 1-0. However, it could have been a lot worse the way WSC was competing on the field.

The Rams were able to keep momentum early in the second half thanks in large part to a suffocating defense and outstanding goalie play from senior Greg Halle.

The play of the defense allowed the offense to stay in sync. In the 58th minute, Framingham State enhanced its lead to two on a goal by senior Scotty Faria, who put the ball in the back of the net off a rebound.

Moments later, in the 63rd minute of play, Jason Silva added to the onslaught beating the Lancers’ netminder Evan Wiga on a penalty kick.

Up 3-0, the Rams were in complete control of the game. However, WSC’s Dan Goodine would rain on the parade, beating Halle to put the Lancers on the board.

Framingham didn’t let up and played a full 90-minute game despite the fact the game was in hand early on.

FSC’s hard work would pay off as in the 89th minute of play, Vieira was able to connect for his second goal of the game. The win kept the Rams’ undefeated in MASCAC play so far in the season.

FSC’s momentum would not carry over into their clash with nonconference opponent Rhode Island College. Rhode Island was riding a five-game win streak coming into Maple Street.

After both teams were unable to find the open net in the first half, RIC scored two quick goals to open the second. Framingham State’s Silva was able to score for the second straight game, but his goal was not enough as the Rams fell 3-1, dropping FSC to 7-2.

The Rams now will be away for a mini three-game road trip where they travel to Salem State Saturday at 3 p.m. They will then go on to face Springfield College on Wednesday night before finishing up the road trip with a visit to Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts a week from tomorrow at 1 p.m.

Nenia Corcoran/The Gatepost

Cory Ferris is one of eight players who have scored goals for the Rams this season.

Homecoming Preview!

By Josh Primak Sports Editor

Football 1:30 p.m.

Coming off a 46-7 stomping of its conference rival Bridgewater State on the road, the football team will be looking to continue its hot start to the season this Saturday against Mass. Maritime. The Rams, currently 3-1 overall, picked up their first division victory in Bridgewater last week.

Framingham dominated from beginning to end, getting two touchdowns from quarterback Kurt Leone, two defensive touchdowns on a fumble recovery and an interception, and 146 yards on 32 carries from running back Melikke Van Alstyne. The game this Saturday will have huge conference implications as Mass. Maritime sits atop the MASCAC divisional lead with Framingham and Worcester State.

Women’s soccer 10:00 a.m.

The women’s soccer team will face off against MASCAC rivals the Salem State Vikings this Saturday. The Rams, currently at 4-5 overall, with a 1-1 conference record, can move out of the middle of the MASCAC standings with a victory against the lowly Vikings, who are 0-2 in the conference. The Rams have been paced offensively by freshman midfielder Marissa D’Angelo’s four goals and nine points overall.

GOOD LUCK FRAMINGHAM STATE!

September 31, 2010

16

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- Laughing at the Improv Show.