Rams rally at Homecoming
Women’s Soccer shuts out MCLA
35-28 in OT - p. 13
- p. 14
Green Team harvests organic garden - p. 8
T h e G aT e p o s T Framingham Sta te Unive r sity’s inde pe nde nt stude nt ne w s p a p e r s in c e 1 9 3 2
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Administration holds forum after two alleged sexual assaults on campus By Kerrin Murray ASSOCIATE EDITOR After four alleged sexual assaults were announced last week, members of the administration held an “informational meeting” in DPAC to discuss campus safety with the FSU community last Friday afternoon. On Sept. 28, the Framingham State University Police Department sent out an alert stating, “At 3:05 a.m., a female resident student reported she was the victim of a forcible sex offense that occurred in North Hall.” 22-year-old senior who lives in North Hall but is currently barred from FSU property. This alert came after an 18-year-old freshafter FSUPD received reports Wednesday Sept. 19 that he allegedly sexually assaulted three female students. Danielle Vecchione/The Gatepost Vice President for Enrollment and StuVP Linda Vaden-Goad accepts a tangerine from a Chinese Dragon at the Moon Festival on Tuesday. dent Development Susanne Conley sent an e-mail to students, faculty and staff later Friday morning, strongly encouraging their attendance at that afternoon’s meeting where Campus Police Chief Brad Medeiros, President Timothy Flanagan and Dean of Students He said despite the inclement weather By Kerrin Murray Melinda Stoops would address questions and this year’s attendance was as high as pre- teams all won throughout the day both on concerns community members had. ASSOCIATE EDITOR Conley also encouraged students to forvious years. FSU soil and at other schools. FSU’s annual Homecoming and Fam“This is the third year in a row that the Student Involvement and Leadership ward an e-mail to concerned parents in which ily Weekend brought students, friends and forecast has kept us walking on eggshells Development Club and Service Coordinafamily, community members and clubs toup until game time,” said Walmsley. tor Angel Seto said, “We had 22 clubs sign coverage surrounding the alleged offenses. gether in large numbers on Saturday Sept. “I am sorry that some media reports about But, “The alumni association gave up to be at the Homecoming tables at Ma29. the incidents left the impression that we had ple Field. Despite the cold, rainy weather, not acted swiftly and in the interest of our Assistant Director of Alumni Relacollected information updates on a pleth- the clubs had fun selling items, giving campus community’s safety,” said Conley. tions Robert Walmsley said approximately ora of alumni,” said Walmsley. things away and representing themselves Medeiros emphasized that there was nev1,700 people were at Maple Field to watch Spectators were able to enjoy a brunch to the FSU community.” er a time when the campus community was sporting events and partake and other acorganized by Dining Services while cheerFSU History Club President Justin at risk once these separate alleged incidents tivities such as browsing club tables, hanging on athletes at the various sporting - were reported. ing out with Sam the Ram and listening to “We did not have anybody lurking around events. zon gift card and it was a huge success. We music from WDJM. - Continued on page 5 Men’s football and women’s soccer, - Continued on page 3
Homecoming Weekend a success Rams win across the board
Environmentalist Marion Stoddart advocates for eco-consciousness By Sara Silvestro EDITORIAL STAFF A river is one of Mother Nature’s beauties, a water source that has a fortress of trees and soft sand banks gleam in the sunlight, while rays sparkle on rushing water. The silent roar of the river and the Now picture a river sustaining nothing but decaying marine life, a reeking stench be seen. In the 1950s-‘60s, this was the Nashua River, which runs from southern New Hampshire to north central Massachusetts. The pollution was at its height due to the waste dumping by the local paper mills. On Sept. 26, environmentalist Marian
Stoddart, now 84 years old, addressed faculty and students about her experiences, and her passion for environmental activism. “I had no idea that I would become an environmental advocate,” said Stoddart. Stoddart recalled the 1960s, when environmental movements were not as adexisted. Today, society has become more aware of environmental concerns, such as global warming and overpopulation. Stoddart grew up in the Nevada desert and from an early age, had a strong and ambitious work ethic. By 16, she found a way to get her high school diploma in just three years. She was never fond of being indoors nor could she wait for the school - Continued on page 11
Zeina Sader/The Gatepost
Stoddart and children’s author Lynne Cherry inspire FSU students to dream big.
News
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October 5, 2012
Dr. Jonathan Martin Professor of Sociology
Sunday, Sept. 30, 2012 01:57 Disturbed person - North Hall. Male party inconsolable/alcohol-related. Transported to MWMC. 02:16 Suspicious activity - Corinne Hall Towers. Female party wandering hallway. Unable to locate at this time. 04:05 Group (crowd) - Worcester Rd. Advised/ dispersed.
Tuesday, Oct. 2, 2012 20:13 Assistance - Maple St. Train gates stuck down.
Wednesday, Oct. 3, 2012 22:00 Solicitation (unauthorized) - Larned Hall. Report of unauthorized solicitors. Unfounded.
EDITORIAL BOARD 2012-2013 Spencer Buell
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By Kristen Pinto STAFF WRITER Please provide a brief summary of your resume and educational background. That would take a little while, but let’s see. In terms of my educational background, I got my bachelor’s degree from Cornell University - I majored in government. I got my Ph.D. from Brandeis University in sociology - that was in 2001. Why did you decide to major in sociology? Well, I’m interested in issues of power and inequality and social justice, and I felt that sociology was a discipline through which I could understand those dynamics best. It’s only part of what the discipline focuses on, but it’s a good window into those issues - to understand what’s wrong with our society and, potentially, kind of, make it better. What courses do you teach here? I teach Social Problems, Political Sociology. Sometimes, I teach the Internship in Social Services course. I have taught Sociological Theory and did so for many years - I haven’t done it recently. And I’ve taught Social Class. What’s the best part of your job at Framingham State? There are a number of parts that I like - it’s hard to say which one is the best. I like the variety of teaching and doing research. Some colleges and universities have you do mostly one or the other, and I think here, there is a good balance. There are some schools that are publishing mills that make you turn out a huge volume of publications in order to keep your job, and I think, there, the quality of teaching suffers. There are other places where you almost do exclusively teaching, and you don’t have time
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develop your mind and make a contribution to scholarship, and here, I feel there’s a good balance between the two. I think it’s good to lead a balanced life - you develop yourself more, you make a more diverse contribution, you’re happier, and so that’s what strikes me as being the best thing about Framingham State in comparison to a lot of other places.
Danielle Vecchione
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I’ve just had an article accepted, with minor revision requested, pertaining to the research I’ve been doing for a few years on progressive third party campaigns for state legislatures. ty candidates who run for state houses across the United States win - why that’s so rare. I focused on 16 or 17 of those races in New England to determine why they so rarely win. What
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I found was that those who won tended to be a lot more connected to their communities than those who lost. There’s the impression that the reason that third party candidates rarely win is because of these major institutional obstacles like lack of money and media attention, and not to say that those things aren’t important, but I found that, at the local level, that actually connection to one’s community was most important - critical. That article is going to be published in June. I’m also working on an anthology, which is a collection of articles on the future of progressive third parties. That article will probably be in it in some form along with a couple more chapters from me, and from some other writers, thinkers, activists in this to send out a proposal in a month or two, and hopefully it’ll turn into a book someday. What was your best experience in college? Certainly, developing socially was an important part of my college life, as it is for many college students now. But as the years have gone by, and even then, I think some of the small seminars I Alexis Huston/The Gatepost had where I really got a chance to get into in-depth discussion with my peers and with the professors, those were really rewarding and they stuck with me. The information and the analysis from those courses really did stick with me. So I like teaching courses like that for that reason, and I think students really do appreciate them for that reason. Do you have any hobbies? Yes, a few. Politics. I’m actually advising a third party candidate right now who is running for state legislature, and actually using my research to kind of help him. I think, you know, the most important thing about that is just helping to provide more alternatives for people in the state, not necessarily supporting a particular candidate and a particular agenda, but just expanding the range of alternatives. I like to play guitar and write songs when I have the chance - I haven’t done that in a while because I’m so busy. And I like to hike. So that’s Do you have any advice for students? I guess my advice would be to really try to engage as much as possible with your studies. Social life is an important part of the college experience, but you will never have as much time as you have now to really develop yourself intellectually and to learn about the world and how it relates to you, and if you’re in sociology, to imagine how, possibly, you can make a difference in creating a better society and world. This is one of the few times in life when you have the opportunity to focus on those important things, so take advantage of it.
News
October 5, 2012
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Administrators maintain FSU community is safe - Continued from page 1
particularly injurious to us as a community, and so I want you to know that the topic of this afternoon’s meeting is one that we take very, very seriously. ... We want them [students] to be safe, we want them to be happy and we want them to be successful.” He said there are many jobs in the United States such as “embalming, practicing law, medicine or a registered tax agent”
campus that would be jumping out from behind a closed door or out of the bushes ready to attack you,” said Medeiros. If there is ever an immediate threat to the campus, Medeiros said the FSU Alert system would be utilized. He said it is only danger,” but that he, along with other members of the administration, is currently considering ways to alert the community other than from campus police bulletins and the FSUPD website and Facebook page. He added that in each of the four alsors and victims were friends. knew each other. Unfortunately, like with society today, their guard was let down and something happened that shouldn’t have,” said Medeiros. He said the campus is equipped with many “safety enhancements” such as code blue emergency phones, 24/7 staffed security within the dorms and over 75 CC-TV cameras which are located in residence hall entrances and around campus. work “around the clock” to ensure the campus is secure. One student at the forum said she was waiting for a shuttle bus to take her back to campus one evening and was alone. She called the Campus Police dispatch, who told her to “continue to wait for the shuttle to arrive.” Mederios said if she or any student has a similar problem, to ask for the director of dispatch. “We do have direct communication they are and send them in that direction.” cruiser to wait with the student until the shuttle arrives or provide a safe ride back to campus if the shuttle is no longer running. Medeiros added that FSUPD holds a self-defense program, Rape Aggression women, at least once per semester. A female student said she lives in Towers and was informed of the alleged assaults from Channel 5 news. She said she
licensing which complies with “a quaint two-hundred-year-old phrase called ‘good moral character.’ “I would like to just make a special mention to the males in this audience. The time that you spend your undergraduate years in college are intended, among other things, to prepare you for a lifetime of opportunities in the workplace. All of which can be absolutely destroyed those opportunities by getting a criminal record while a freshman in college. There are literally hundreds and hundreds of occupations in the United States that require a professionAlexis Huston/The Gatepost
Administrators and FSUPD Chief Brad Medeiros held a meeting on safety after a slew of recent on-campus sexual assaults. be hard to reach, and suggested providing a warning via text that is separate from the FSU Alert system. Stoops said, “We are certainly open to suggestions and additional possibilities. I think our reluctance to use something similar to the FSU Alert when it isn’t an immediate emergency [is] that you may get sort of the over-exposure fatigue. … We don’t want to run that risk.” According to the FSUPD Facebook page, Campus Police received reports on saults. The police department did not post Monday, Sept. 24. The most recent alleged attack was reported in the early morning hours of Sept. 28 and the police department posted information on their website later that day. Stoops said she believes FSU is a safe campus that offers many resources which can provide support to someone who needs help or for someone concerned about a friend.
Health Services and the Counseling Center are “all here for each and every one of you, and we really want to hear from you and see you if you have concerns,” or need assistance. Stoops said her program, called Live Safe, serves as another safety resource for students. The initiate which was established last spring, consists of faculty members, staff and students who meet on a monthly basis to look at ways to promote safety on campus. “Whether it is safety while you are driving - not driving while you are texting, not driving drowsy, wearing your seatbelt, to alcohol-and drug-related safety - to protecting yourself from the risk of sexual assault. It covers a whole range of things,” said Stoops. Flanagan said, “When that victimization is that of a student, and allegedly comes at the hands of another student, it is
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He emphasized that “the safety of every member of this campus community is very, very important to us and we all have a role to play in that - in terms of reporting offences or reporting situations that we see that require the attention of police.” Sophomore communication arts major Kevin Quin said, “I don’t think it has to do with the safety of the community. I’m concerned with the mindset of people here. I didn’t hear about it until a couple of days later, so that was the only concern I have.” Sophomore psychology major Aliana Ciampa said, “I am not concerned when this kind of incident happened because it happened between people who knew each other. They [the school] posted about it, so they [the school] let us know.” Junior business major Herbert Kyles tell us [students] about it, so they did their job.” Sophomore geography major TJ Liddell said, “I think removing the two kids was necessary, and it made the campus community a lot more secure.” Sophomore psychology major Amber Samuels said, “I just lock my door now at night when I sleep. But I do feel safe on campus because the appropriate actions were taken.”
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October 5, 2012
SGA allocates funds for “The Hilltop Games” and NACA conference the club was hoping to buy, is available through the Game Room, and said that if they wanted to use it after Game Room hours, SILD would most likely give them permission to do so. Senator Samantha Michel moved to allocate the requested amount for board games from SGA’s unallocated to the Gaming Club. Senator Erin Reilly made a formal amendment to table the request until next week. The motion passed with 17 in favor and six opposed. Michel made a formal amendment to
By Kärin Radock NEWS EDITOR At Tuesday’s meeting, SGA allocated the Hilltop Players for the club’s Noveman out-of-state conference in November. The Hilltop Players came forward with Nov. 15-17 event, “The Hilltop Games,” a cabaret of 11 different musicals based on “The Hunger Games” trilogy of books by Suzanne Collins. The amount requested would provide for a campus police detail for the three performances, the set, a rehearsal pianist, sheet music, costumes, props and posters for the event. SGA Secretary Carly Granville moved to allocate the requested amount from SGA’s unallocated to the Hilltop Players and the motion passed unanimously. SUAB came forward with a travel and ing six students and one advisor to the National Association for Campus Activities (NACA) conference in Hartford, Conn. from Nov. 8-11. According to naca.com, the association “advances campus activities in higher education through a business and learning partnership, creating educational and business opportunities for its school and professional members.” SUAB President Nikki Curley explained that club members will attend education sessions concerning campus-wide programming at the conference. “A lot of them [sessions] are based on how to set up programming for the entire campus - how to program to commuters, residents, nighttime programming, weekend programming,” she said. “There’s one for ‘suitcase’ schools, which involves trying to get them [residents] to stay.” The amount requested would provide funding for hotel rooms, registration, meals included because of the FSU policy for emergency expenses, according the SATF Treasurer Paul Manning. Senator Pat Dempsey moved to allocate
13 in favor and nine opposed. At the beginning of the meeting, Bruce swore in new senators elected in the recent SGA elections and explained the new brought before senate. Instead of giving club members two minutes to introduce themselves and explain their requests followed by questions from SGA, the amount of time for quesAlexis Huston/The Gatepost
SUAB received money to attend a national conference about campus programming. the requested amount from SGA’s travel and conference to SUAB and the motion passed unanimously. FSU History Club came before the senfor the club’s Oct. 20 trip to Salem, Mass. Dining Chair Nathan Stowes moved to allocate the requested amount from SGA’s unallocated to FSU History Club and the motion passed unanimously. The Gaming Club came before the senof food for the club’s second annual zombie-themed Last Night on Earth social on Oct. 26. Because the Gaming Club didn’t submit its funding request by the 12 p.m. deadline last Thursday and wasn’t originally scheduled to come before the senate until next week, Vice President Larry Liuzzo moved to table the request until the next senate meeting.
per club, Bruce said. If there is a need for
SGA President Hannah Bruce explained that the club had accidentally been scheduled to come before the senate this week, and said she thought that since they were present at the meeting, their request should not be tabled. The motion failed with two in favor and 18 opposed.
to make a motion, she added, senators can make one to allocate for additional time to ask questions. Once the motion is on the
SGA’s unallocated to the Gaming Club and the motion passed with 21 in favor and two opposed. The Gaming Club’s second funding re-
are due Friday, Oct. 5 by 5 p.m. Applications are available on CollegiateLink and should be e-mailed to Angel Seto at aseto@framingham.edu.
games. Gaming Club Head of Research and Development Nathan Stowes said the club treasurer searched the board games on Amazon.com. Senator Kendra Sampson asked if Stowes knew if there were any used games available. Senators discussed the fact that Apples to Apples, one of the board games
of Service at the Voices Against Violence 5K walk in downtown Framingham on Saturday, Oct. 13 from 8 a.m.-1 p.m.
and club members will have two minutes to address anything, Bruce said. In other news:
will be at Dave and Buster’s in Providence, RI on Saturday, Oct. 20. Tickets are on sale Oct. 18 from 6:30 p.m.-8 p.m.
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-Editing? MEETINGS ARE HELD IN MC 410, ON TUESDAY NIGHTS, 6:00 P.M.
News
October 5, 2012
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Clubs promote student involvement at Homecoming - Continued from page 1
are planning to use the money to mitigate costs for a trip to Washington, D.C.” FSU Dance Team President Taryn Theriault said, “The dance team had multiple fundraisers going on. We sold merchandise such as sweatshirts, T-shirts and bags that would help support our club. We also sold bracelets, lanyards and bumper stickers to help support the Ashley M. Donahue scholarship. Both fundraisers went well, especially the one for the AMD scholarship, which is great, seeing as the money goes to such a good cause.” Theriault added that although they were able to make money, she said the student turnout “seemed much lower than last year. It was cold and rainy, so I am assuming most students didn’t feel like venturing outside.” SUAB President Nikki Curley said an e-mail, “The turnout was impressive despite the not-so-perfect weather. Students and their families were friendly and loved our henna tattoos and Street Sign programs. Our Performance and Concert Coordinator, Elizabeth Cameron, did a great job picking out these novelty programs! There was always a line of people waiting to receive their free sign or tattoo.” Curley added that the club had three difAlexis Huston/The Gatepost
FSU Cheerleading team wows the crowd at Homecoming game.
“In past years, we have done the typical bake sale, but we wanted something different this year so we opted for the ‘make your own trail mix bar.’ People re-
ally seemed to enjoy all of the fundraisers. Olivia Harvey, our Fundraising and Awareness Coordinator, did a great job reaching out to everyone!” FSU’s Gaming Club President Erin Anderson said, “It was fairly crowded, especially for such a rainy day. I was happy to see some new freshmen getting involved with many of the tables, including ours.” According to Anderson, any club which stayed for the entire day was automatically the Gaming Club was “lucky enough” to win. “The general membership is pretty excited,” said Anderson. Dean of Students Melinda Stoops said, “I’ve heard from a number of people that this year’s Homecoming and Family Weekend was a success. I had a good turnout for ‘Donuts with the Dean.’” She said the turnout for her event in the dents, upperclassmen and their parents as well as some alumni. Junior communication artss major Karly Duggan said, “I had a great time despite the weather. It was great that the football team was able to pull through with a win.” Undeclared freshman Matt Andrews I thought that a lot of people went even though it rained for a part of it.” Junior food and nutrition major Jennifer Navaroli said, “Everyone seemed happy and cheery despite the damp and cold weather.”
Photo Credit/The Gatepost Alexis Huston/The Gatepost
FSU Rams line up against Mass Maritime in front of an excited crowd at Maple Field.
Record number of students living on campus By Alex Shuman EDITORIAL STAFF
porarily living in lounges by next semester. In order to accommodate the large num-
This semester, Framingham State University is housing a record 1,950 students - 23 of whom are being housed in residence hall lounges. FSU’s residence halls are designed to house 1,931 students.
Life decided to house students in lounge areas in O’Connor Hall and Corinne Hall Towers. Cochran said 10 lounges are being used as dormitories, including lounges on
(about 62 percent) are living on campus. ate,” said Director of Residence Life Glenn Cochran. Unlike previous years, a wing of the Sheraton Hotel, located about two miles from campus, was not rented to house students, according to Cochran. “Had FSU needed to house fall 2012 students in hotel accommodations, the university would additional expenses,” said Cochran. According to Cochran, in 2010, “16 students were assigned to temporary housing in lounges and 40 in the Sheraton.” In 2011, 10 students were temporarily housed in lounges and 38 students were assigned to the Sheraton. There are still 45 students on a wait list for housing, said Cochran. He anticipates spaces to become available for students on the wait list as well as the 23 students tem-
lounges in O’Connor Hall. Cochran said there are still lounges students who need to use them. Junior nutrition major Conor Tynan lives in a lounge in O’Connor that is serving as a quint. Tynan had reserved a bed in a double last semester, but had issues with he was unable to resolve. Tynan’s status was changed to “inactive,” which removed him from his desired dorm and classes. With a limited selection of beds still available when he resolved his the lounge space. Even though he is living in a lounge with four other male students, Tynan is optimistic about the situation. “I think it worked out real well,” he said. “When you just works.” Cochran said all of the lounges have the same amenities that all dorm rooms have,
including furniture and cable access. “I don’t think that it was very well planned to leave students without study areas,” said sophomore Jarin Snyder. “I live travel to the opposite end of the building to study, and I still do not have the same quiet atmosphere that lounges provide.” Even though FSU’s residency rate is above capacity, the number of students in each room has not changed, said Cochran. According to Cochran, a large number of students requested triple rooms. “Over the years,” he said, “collective wisdom has said that three is a bad number,” which comes as a surprise to him. Sophomore students Glenda Serrano and Elizabeth Chauppetta live in Towers. Not having lounges, they rely on spaces being available in recreational and common areas to study. “It’s real loud being next to the elevator and having people running around,” said Serrano, discussing the downside of having to study in one of the common areas in Towers. open very distracting.” “Sometimes, the little space we do have is full, and you are stuck with nothing but the library, which closes.”
Allie Card/The Gatepost
Study lounges in Towers have been converted to dorm rooms.
ARTS & FEATURES
May Hall Monthly
A snapshot of on-campus artistic happenings
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October 5, 2012
Homecoming Weekend
Photos by Alexis Huston
FSU Cheerleaders amp up the crowd before the football game.
Former and current students enjoy a few brews at the Beer Tent.
An artist designs free
Clubs and organization tables offer information, promotionial items and fun activities.
henna tattoos at the Maple parking lot.
The David Prouty High School Marching Band from Spencer, Mass. performs during the football game.