Softball wins two
Baseball rained out Inclement weather causes home-
Rams overtake Dartmouth in
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Strutting their stuff Campus studs compete for the coveted title of Mr. FSU - page 7
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Diversity Committee hosts Trayvon Martin open forum By Spencer Buell EDITOR-IN-CHIEF The FSU community gathered yesterday to take part in an open forum about the February shooting of Florida teenager Trayvon Martin and the recent national outcry about the incident. Organizers for the event, The Ground We All Stand On, hosted by FSU’s Committee on Diversity and Inclusion, originally invited the community, in an e-mail penned by Sociology Professor Sue Dargan on behalf of the committee, to attend “an event to observe and process the murder of Trayvon Martin,” at which participants were “encouraged to wear a hoodie,” as has happened at other demonstrations around the country. Organizers reconsidered these plans af-
Alexis Huston/The Gatepost
Hilltop’s production of Grease premiered last night in DPAC.
SGA candidates duke it out in the Ecumenical Center By Kathleen McDonough NEWS EDITOR By Kerrin Murray NEWS EDITOR The Student Government Association (SGA) held its annual public candidates’ tions from the audience. Although the audience and candidates were warned to “keep it respectful” by host of the event and Election Committee were asked to certain candidates about internal club issues. Current SGA President, Junior Han“been my lifestyle for the past year.” During her time as president, Bruce said she has made changes to the constitution and written and passed a new budget policy for
the association that will be in effect next year. She said her re-election “would be vital for a successful transition” to the new budget plan. she thinks she is the best person for the job, how she has grown as president and how she would improve SGA next year. She said she believes she is the best candidate for president because she has many connections to administrators and clubs, and has “the most knowledge about the way that SGA runs.” She added that she has learned throughout her presidency to “put enough faith in my executive board” and has “grown into working side by side with them to support them and have more trust in them.” She also said she would improve SGA next year by making a smooth transition to the new budget policy, “making sure clubs un-
derstand the process that we go through in SGA” and continuing to look at the constitution critically. Junior Katie Oleson, current social events coordinator, is also running for SGA president. She said SGA should be “accountable, transparent, supportive and visionary” in her speech. “I have learned that many clubs feel that they have lost - Continued on page 3 or not made the connections with SGA,” which she said she would strive to improve if elected. Oleson was asked what her goals for next year are. She would make sure clubs have their voices heard in SGA and “focus on clubs that feel as if they were misled.” By Kathleen McDonough She was also asked about her position on the new budget policy. She said, “I think NEWS EDITOR By Kerrin Murray NEWS EDITOR
Campus mourns June Berringer
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Eyes wide open on diversity By Alexis Huston EDITORIAL STAFF This Monday, the Committee on Diver“Eye of the Storm,” a documentary about Jane Elliott, a third grade teacher, and her class. The documentary primarily focused on an experiment Elliott conducted on her students called “Blue Eyes/Brown Eyes.” The purpose of the experiment was to show the class what diversity is, and how it impacts oneself. She wanted to teach her class there was no difference between races. During the excerpt that was shown, the audience was able to witness the effect the
experiment had on the children from both perspectives. In the documentary, Elliott used the color of the children’s eyes to determine their social status in the classroom. “Blue-eyed people are better than brown eyed people,” Elliott said to her class. She then proceeded to have children with brown eyes wear collars to show they are below the blue-eyed children. Two days later, Elliott then reversed the roles. The next day, she explained the purpose of the experiment to the class and told them that everyone was the same and she would hear no different in her classroom. She was suspended from her position the day after.
opting for putting on a less protest-driven event, one which did not entail wearing hoodies or involve a proposed march from Dwight Hall to the Ecumenical Center, in light of a regional uproar. “What works for Framingham is a teachin rather than a demonstration,” said Sociology Professor Virginia Rutter, one of the event’s organizers. The controversy erupted soon after Dargan’s e-mail, sent to faculty and staff, in which she called the shooting a “state-sanctioned murder,” went public. Boston-based conservative radio host Michael Graham criticized Dargan and the FSU faculty on his show, broadcast on 96.9 WTTK Boston Talks, for “whipping up fact-free fear and race hatred.” In a blog post on the station’s website
led by Rosa Hunter, the principal of RHL Enterprises. The main focus was primarily on the audience’s reaction. Most were surprised at how the children behaved and other. Others were surprised by how effective her experiment was. Elliott showed clear initiative to put a stop to racism. The effectiveness of this movement is shown in many of the classrooms she traveled to where Elliott conducted the same experiments. Hunter claimed that after Elliott’s experiments in the classrooms, students strived to be successful in their academics.
On Sunday, April 1, Framingham State lost June M. Berringer, a beloved friend and colleague. Berringer, 61, was a devoted veteran food service supervisor with Sodexo working at the school’s Ram’s Den Grille. Her workdays started at 6 a.m., and she served hungry students with a smile until 3 p.m. Monday through Friday. A longtime friend of Berringer’s, Pat Morrisroe, said “She opened up food services at six oclock, every single morning - rain, shine, snow. She never let them down. I’ve seen it when there was ice six inches thick on her driveway and she got out and got to school to open up.” Berringer was raised in Marston Saint Lawrence, a small village outside of Oxford, England. Growing up, she had no telephone, and many of the people in her village had no telephones or indoor plumbing. - Continued on page 5