Massachusetts Daily Collegian- September 3, 2013 by Massachusetts Daily Collegian

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The tell-tale signs of a freshman

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THE MASSACHUSETTS

DAILY COLLEGIAN DailyCollegian.com

Tuesday, September 3, 2013

FRUITS OF THEIR LABOR

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Dean of CHC dies after battle with cancer Professor Priscilla Clarkson was 66 BY MARY REINES AND PATRICK HOFF Collegian Staff

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Workers stand in the pool where the world’s largest fruit salad ever was prepared. The final weight of the salad was over 15,000 pounds.

UMass Dining completes fourth annual world record in Labor Day tradition BY MARY REINES Collegian Staff

U n ive r s i t y of Massachusetts student volunteers and dining staff furiously hauled, dumped and raked 15,291 pounds of fruit into a swimming pool on Monday, breaking the Guinness World Record for largest fresh fruit salad. “At UMass, anything is possible, anything,” said Ken Toong, executive director of auxiliary enterprises, before the last of the fruit was tossed in by Chancellor Kumble Subbaswamy.

The salad’s goal weight was 15,000 pounds, and 150 different types of fruit were incorporated to commemorate the University’s sesquicentennial. Half of the fruit came from local farmers and UMass Cold Spring Orchard was one of the biggest contributors, according to Toong. About 500 student volunteers signed up for shifts between 8 a.m. and 5:30 p.m., well over the 150-volunteer goal. Many washed and sliced fruit, and at times there were so many volunteers that some SEE

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Serving the UMass community since 1890

Priscilla Clarkson, distinguished professor of kinesiology and dean of the Commonwealth Honors College at the University of Massachusetts, died at her home Aug. 25 after a long battle with breast cancer. She was 66. “We are tremendously saddened by the loss of Priscilla Clarkson, particularly as it coincides with the opening of the new Commonwealth Honors College Residential Community, for which she was a tireless champion and advocate,” UMass Chancellor Kumble Subbaswamy said in a statement. “She fully realized the power of strong collaboration between the academic and residential aspects of a university, and this new complex will honor her work and vision by serving as a model for undergraduate education in both universities and honors colleges nationally. Her spirit and love of learning will be deeply missed.” Clarkson made great strides in the UMass community, ﬁrst as a student, as she earned her bachelor’s, master’s and doctorate degrees by 1977. She then became a professor of exercise science and associate dean for the School of Public Health and Health Sciences (SPHHS). Clarkson was a writer, researcher and educator, and

quickly became a leader not only at UMass, but also at the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), where she served as president and vice president of National ACSM. With an ever-present interest in kinesiology, Clarkson’s research mainly focused on the function and dysfunction of human muscle and the effects of exercise. She published articles in the area of sport nutrition and served as editor in chief of “Exercise and Sport Science Reviews.” Clarkson leaves behind a long list of achievements, including over 200 scientiﬁc research publications and a co-authored book about classical ballet entitled “Dancing Longer, Dancing Stronger: A Dancer’s Guide to Improving Technique and Preventing Injury.” She was also a member of the Science Working Group at NASA to develop laboratories for Space Station and the NCAA Competitive and Medical Safeguards Committee. Clarkson’s ambition motivated students and colleagues alike. “I knew Priscilla for over 30 years,” said Patty Freedson, chair of the kinesiology department. “She was a friend and a mentor to me and she was always someone I could count on for encouragement and support. She was an amazing person whose tireless commitment and passion for training countless graduate and undergraduate students who have gone on to outstanding SEE

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Freshmen move to dorms US government lowers with mixed experiences interest on student loans Many pleased with “I wanted a dorm where I can socialize, but have my own quiet time.” help and efficiency

Obama signs bill to halve percentage

Sally Mikhlin, UMass freshman

BY ELISE KEI-RAHN

Collegian Correspondent

The University of Massachusetts’ newest entrants into the student body arrived on campus Friday, making history as both the University’s 150th class and also the highestachieving entering class ever. Hundreds of cars lined both Stadium and North Residential Drives, with their inhabitants eagerly awaiting the opportunity to stretch their legs after confronting traffic on Route 9. After reporting to either the east or south check-in areas, families advanced toward their respective dorms where Minute Movers’ sincere smiles greeted the ﬂagship university’s newest residents. Every student received the same allotted half hour move-in time, but their individual experiences differed as substantially as the colors and prints of their

extra-long bedding. Chelsea Dahmer of Connecticut arrived promptly at Central Residential Area’s Gorman Hall at 8 a.m. after nearly two hours of driving. Her parents and older sister, Alicia, unloaded her belongings while she stated, to her surprise, that “everyone is so cheerful, which is strange because it’s extremely early.” Her family expressed their gratitude towards move-in staff , as Alicia’s college, Baypath College, “provides no set time for move-in. You just gather your friends and unload your stuff.” Further up the hill, many residents of Van Meter Residence Hall expressed mixed emotions regarding the location of their dorm. Perched atop their standard issue wooden bed frames, roommates Sally Mikhlin and Morgan Arsenault

laughed about how they thought they “escaped [Orchard Hill]’s trek, but we ended up being parallel, if not further up, than their residents.” But the two are happy that the dorm is known for being a “middle ground when compared to Southwest.” “I wanted a dorm where I can socialize, but have my own quiet time,” Mikhilin said. Although the stereotypes of the University’s residential system are merely rumors and folklore, they play a large role in most freshmen’s preference application. Diamante Spencer, a kinesiology major, expressed her initial disappointment when she found out that she and her roommate will spend the upcoming year in Southwest Residential SEE

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BY CONOR SNELL Collegian Staff

A storm cloud of rising debt, hanging over millions of college students and their parents across America for just over a month this summer, has, for now, been lifted. On Aug. 9, President Barack Obama signed the Bipartisan Student Loan Certainty Act of 2013 (H.R. 1911) into law, officially lowering annual interest rates on Federal Direct Student Loans for undergraduate students from 6.8 percent to 3.86 percent, according to the White House website. This applies to all Federal Direct Loans, except for Perkins Loans, and comes in response to a sudden doubling of student loan interest rates this July. On July 1, the College Cost Reduction Act of 2007 (H.R. 2669) officially expired, removing Congress’s bandage on ris-

ing interest rates for student loans. This bill had steadily lowered interest rates over a ﬁve-year period to 3.4 percent, but called for rates to return to their original 6.8 percent if Congress failed to act by July 1, 2012. A oneyear extension was passed on June 29, 2012, just two days before the deadline, which kept rates at 3.4 percent until July 2013. This year, however, Congress failed to extend the bill, and for just over a month the rates doubled back to their original 6.8 percent. The Bipartisan Student Loan Certainty Act of 2013, officially introduced as the Smarter Solutions for Students Act and later retitled, was proposed to the House of Representatives by House Committee on Education and the Workforce Chairman John Kline and Representative Vi r g i n i a Fox x . The act bases the rate on the current 10-year U.S Treasury note interest rate of 1.81 percent, already a benchmark for

many corporate and private loans. This is a flexible market-driven rate, to which a fixed percentage is added for different types of loans. The rate set by this formula is fixed for the life of any loan taken out during that time, and can be reset and adjusted once a year for new loans. For undergraduate students, both subsidized and unsubsidized Stafford loans receive additions of 2.05 percent. This addition, plus the 1.81 percent on the 10-year Treasury note, yields the fixed rate of 3.86 percent for loans taken out in the 2013-2014 fiscal year. Graduate student loans and parent or graduate PLUS loans receive higher rates than undergraduates; based on this formula, graduate students receive a fixed interest rate for 2013-2014 of 5.41 percent, while parents and graduate students with Direct PLUS loans receive a fixed rate of 6.41 percent. The new interest rates will be applied retroactively to all loans SEE

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THE MASSACHUSETTS DAILY COLLEGIAN

Tuesday, September 3, 2013

THE RU N D OW N WHAT’S GOING ON Student organizations from all over campus will be recruiting new members at the Student Activites Expo at the Haigis Mall from 4 to 7 p.m.

AROUND THE WORLD

British journalist David Frost dies An interviewer who proved as adept at probing the inner Richard Nixon as he was at asking celebrities their secrets to a successful marriage, David Frost died Saturday night, apparently of a heart attack, while aboard the cruise liner Queen Elizabeth, his family said. He was 74. Frost interviewed the last eight British prime ministers and the seven U.S. presidents who held office from 1969 to 2008, according to The Associated Press. His Nixon interviews were the most widely watched news programs broadcast anywhere until that time. “He could be - and certainly was with me - both a friend and a fearsome interviewer,” British Prime Minister David Cameron said in a statement Sunday. “He was excessively polite at times,” veteran interviewer Dick Cavett said, “and then he would burst out of that and just skewer somebody with a short dagger.” Frost’s best-known interview was with Nixon, contracted with individual stations and making global headlines. Under his questioning, Nixon, at times combative and at others almost teary, acknowledged Watergate’s toll. Born April 7, 1939, in Tenterden, England, David Paradine Frost, the son of a Methodist minister, attended Cambridge. Active in the Cambridge Footlights, a theatrical group, he was later discovered in a nightclub by a BBC director who was impressed by his impersonation of Prime Minister Harold Macmillan. In 1962, Frost became host of “That Was the Week That Was,” a new BBC satirical revue. The following year, he started the same program in the U.S., setting the table for the hard-edged topical comedy of later shows such as “The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour” and “Saturday Night Live. “ He was relentlessly ambitious and could be arrogant, though his staff seemed to take it with a smile. Successful both in the U.S. and in Britain, Frost jetted between the two for decades, interviewing celebrities as varied as Timothy Leary and Tex Ritter, Billy Graham and Raquel Welsh. He also hosted “Through the Keyhole,” visiting homes of the rich and famous in Britain. Critics liked him - the Times called him “rare beefsteak in a marshmallow sundae world” - but some were put off by his hunched-over posture and studied intensity. Writer Peter Heller likened him to “a bemused and somewhat undernourished bird of prey transﬁxed by a being it ﬁnds too fascinating to attack.” Frost, who was knighted in 1993, married Lady Carina Fitzalan-Howard, daughter of the Duke of Norfolk, in 1983. She survives him as do their three sons. At the time of his death, Frost hosted an interview show for Al-Jazeera English. MCT

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Defendants in Obama asks Congress to UMass rape case authorize strikes on Syria return to court Russia’s Putin urges WORLD

Hearings continue before trial begins BY PATRICK HOFF Collegian Staff

Pre-trial hearings continued over the summer for the four men accused in the alleged October 2012 gang rape of a University of Massachusetts student, with defendants being ordered to submit DNA samples and requesting access to the records belonging to the alleged victim. In May, Hampshire Superior Court Judge Bertha Josephson ordered Emmanuel Bile, 19, Adam Liccardi, 18, and Caleb Womack, 18, to submit DNA samples to be compared to samples collected from the alleged victim’s body following the October assault. The fourth defendant, Justin King, 19, had previously submitted a DNA sample. The DNA samples were taken from the defendants following the hearing with a cheek swab, despite objections from some of the defense attorneys. In July, the lawyer for Liccardi requested access to a year of Facebook records from the alleged victim, six months prior to the Oct. 13, 2012, incident and six months following. Facebook opposed the request, as did the alleged victim and the prosecutor. The Facebook motion was one of four motions ﬁled by the defendants’ lawyers. The other motions requested disciplinary records involving the alleged victim from

LOANS

UMass, the alleged victim’s medical records from CooleyDickinson Hospital and communications between her lawyer and the University. All of the motions were allowed except for the one involving Facebook records. On Aug. 21, King returned to court to seek a lower bail, which had been set at $10,000 following his indictment of three aggravated rape charges. Terry Dunphy, King’s defense attorney, said that King’s grandfather had taken out loans and used a credit card to pay for the bail. Dunphy requested that the bail amount be reduced to $2,500, the same as Liccardi’s bail. “It’s become somewhat of a burden on the family and the grandfather,” Dunphy said in court. “It’s just a matter of relieving the ﬁnancial pressure on the family.” Despite objections from Assistant Northwestern District Attorney Jennifer Suhl, citing the seriousness of the charges and stating that “the amount [of $10,000] was entirely reasonable,” Judge Richard Carey granted the lower bail to King on Aug. 23 and returned the partial amount of $7,500, according to court documents. Liccardi and King are free on $2,500 bail, while Bile is free on $3,500 and Womack on $10,000. Womack unsuccessfully attempted to lower his bail in January. None of the defendants are UMass students. Bile, Liccardi and King are all SEE

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taken out after July 1, 2013. The law also sets maximum caps on interest rates for Federal Direct Loans at 8.25 percent for undergraduates, 9.50 percent for graduate students, and 10.50 percent for Direct PLUS loans, to curb the possibility of a sudden or enormous jump in rates in the future. According to University of Massachusetts Financial Aid Services, more than 11,400 students receive Federal Direct Loans. “Politicians should not be in the business of setting student loan interest rates,” the House Committee on Education and the Workforce said in its official summary of H.R. 1911. While promising stability and an end to unpredictable rate variations, the law still allows for rate adjustments set according to the free market. Instead, according to the Committee, the law relies on prevailing freemarket based interest rates to determine interest on student loans. It operates with a baseline dependent on

According to University of Massachusetts Financial Aid Services, more than 11,400 students receive Federal Direct Loans. the 10-year Treasury note, which the House Committee on Education and the Workforce forecasts to be as high as 5.2 percent by 2018. In an official statement from July 24, two weeks before the bill’s passage, the Obama administration endorsed the law. However, it admits that “[t]here is much more to do to ensure that college tuition and student loans are affordable for the middle class and those striving to join it.” Conor Snell can be reached at csnell@umass.edu.

US to reconsider

BY DAVID LIGHTMAN, WILLIAM DOUGLAS AND ANITA KUMAR McClatchy Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama said Saturday he will ask Congress to approve military strikes against Syria’s government, a risky step likely to delay action for at least 10 days that could signal broad popular support but also could end in rejection by the legislative branch. Obama’s surprise decision to go to Congress, and his somewhat defiant way of explaining it, were likely to ratchet up the tension in Washington and the nation, where Americans are skeptical about the mission. As he delivered his 10-minute statement in the White House Rose Garden Saturday, chants of protesters outside the gates could be heard. And even as Obama made the move toward engaging the people and their representatives in Congress, the White House said the president would not rule out acting on his own if Congress fails to give its consent. Congress is not scheduled to return to Washington until Sept. 9, and its debate is likely to take much of that week. Most lawmakers have refrained from taking any position on Syria but have been unusually unified in demanding more information and a chance to debate. Many members of the House of Representatives and Senate hailed Obama’s move Saturday, though a few staunch supporters of intervention in Syria criticized the president’s willingness to wait for a congressional debate. Obama announced the decision after explaining his insistence that Syrian President Bashar Assad’s regime face consequences for any use of chemical weapons. “I have decided that the United States should take military action against Syrian regime targets,” Obama said. The president said the mission’s scope would be limited and he was “confident we can hold the Assad regime accountable for their use of chemical weapons, deter this kind of behavior, and degrade their capacity to carry it out.” Secretary of State John Kerry Friday presented evidence that the Syrian regime used chemical weapons in an Aug. 21 attack in a Damascus suburb. The U.S. evidence, Obama said Saturday, “corroborates what the world can plainly

see - hospitals overflowing with victims; terrible images of the dead. All told, well over 1,000 people were murdered. Several hundred of them were children - young girls and boys gassed to death by their own government.” Congress wants more details, and senators Saturday were briefed by administration officials, the third such briefing in three days. Another is scheduled Sunday for House members, and more briefings are planned during the week. Obama administration officials began writing a resolution – but not a declaration for war – for Congress to consider when it returns. Congress’ role in advising and consenting to war has become murky. Though Congress has the constitutional authority to formally declare war, it last did so at the outset of World War II. Recent presidents have often avoided seeking legislative consent before launching military action. The 1973 War Powers Resolution, approved during the turmoil of the Vietnam War, says a president must consult with Congress. Obama stressed Saturday that he has done that, and has the authority to strike Syria now. Everything is ready, he said. “The Chairman has indicated to me that our capacity to execute this mission is not time-sensitive; it will be effective tomorrow, or next week, or one month from now. And I’m prepared to give that order,” the president said. But, he added, “having made my decision as commander-in-chief based on what I am convinced is our national security interests, I’m also mindful that I’m the president of the world’s oldest constitutional democracy.” Saturday, House Republican leaders signaled they were ready for a debate, and suggested it would go for a few days starting Sept. 9. “This provides the president time to make his case to Congress and the American people,” the House Republican leadership said in a joint statement. “We are glad the president is seeking authorization for any military action in Syria in response to serious, substantive questions being raised.” However, Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., a member of the House Intelligence Committee, accused Obama of “abdicating his responsibility as commander-in-chief” by waiting for a congressional debate. “If Assad’s use of chemical weapons against civilians deserves a military response, and I believe it does, and the

president is seeking congressional approval, then he should call Congress back into a special session at the earliest date,” King said. “The president doesn’t need 535 members of Congress to enforce his own red line.” Obama could have an easier time in the Senate, where both Senate Foreign Relations Chairman Bob Menendez, D-N.J., and top Republican Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., expressed support. Recent tradition shows that war debates usually last about a week. President George H. W. Bush got authority to use force to push Iraq out of Kuwait in 1991, after the U.N. Security Council unanimously called for Iraq to leave. Ten years later, George W. Bush won approval to use force against those who were involved in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. In October 2002, he got congressional consent for military action against Iraq, after months of U.N. pressure on Iraq to disarm. In addition to the congressional debate, Obama faces international reluctance to back the mission. Russian President Vladimir Putin weighed in Saturday for the ﬁrst time since the suspected chemical weapons attack. Russia is a key ally of the Syrian regime. Putin appealed to Obama as a past Nobel Peace Prize winner. “We have to remember what has happened in the last decades, how many times the United States has been the initiator of armed conﬂict in different regions of the world,” he told Russian journalists, according to Associated Press. “Did this resolve even one problem?” He said he hoped to discuss the crisis with Obama during the G-20 summit in St. Petersburg, Russia, Sept. 5 and 6. In New York, U.N. spokesman Martin Nesirky also looked ahead, telling reporters that officials were spending Saturday organizing samples for further testing. Before the U.N. can draw any conclusions, he said, “the laboratory process must be completed.” While U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has asked for a quick turnaround, Nesirky emphasized, “We are not giving a timeline.” The U.N. inspectors have been investigating Damascusarea sites. They spent three days observing affected areas and another day talking to patients at a military hospital. They left Syria Saturday and headed to The Netherlands, with victims’ blood and urine samples, as well as soil samples.

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MOVE IN

Tuesday, September 3, 2013

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Area’s Kennedy Tower. Although the roommates received a coveted ‘z-room,’ both girls wanted to live in a low-rise, stating that they were fully aware of the party stigma attached to the towers. “The most popular place is Southwest,” Spencer said. “It houses a lot of the athletes and it seems to always make the news. It’s notorious for riots.” The move-in process took longer than Spencer had originally expected. “I waited in the car line a solid two hours. Maybe even two and a half,” she said. She added that parts of move-in “were more efficient than others. The hired movers were the most effective part of the movein process. However, after we got our keys, we had to get into lines based on our dorms, which was a complete train wreck. Nobody

“Floor plans should be communicated to the movers during training to ease an already stressful process for many new students. And perhaps movers could be stationed inside the building as well.” Megan MacLennan, Minute Mover knew what was going on and the signage was not clear.” Freshmen weren’t the only individuals wishing for increased communication between school and student body. Junior Megan MacLennan, a Minute Mover stationed in Central had a few sugges-

SHAINA MISHKIN/COLLEGIAN

Melina Garro-Duplisea moves into her Van Meter dorm room.

A father helps to bring empty boxes out of Crabtree Residence Hall after his student finishes unpacking.

tions for next year’s process. “Floor plans should be communicated to the movers during training to ease an already stressful process for many new students,” MacLennan said. “And perhaps movers could be stationed inside the building as well.” Overall, she said, she enjoyed seeing student workers and families work-

early for Biology Intensive Orientation Session (BIOS), a program that introduces freshmen to biology research. She brought along enough clothing and supplies to last through the program until her parents drove the rest of her belongings to campus during the official move-in day. “[My wife] cried the whole Mass Pike,” Michael said.

ing together and “being able to transition freshmen into their new dorms.” Any negativity regarding the move-in process was mostly forgotten until the moment came for parents and families to say goodbye to their children. For Gayle and Michael Winters, saying goodbye occurred twice in one week. Their daughter, Brittany, arrived on campus a week

“And I probably will again,” Gayle said, cracking a smile. Despite their sadness during their farewell, Brittany’s parents found comfort in the fact that their daughter already feels acclimated to the large campus. Elise Kei-Rahn can be reached at ekeirahn@umass.edu.

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SHAINA MISHKIN/COLLEGIAN

Minute Movers help incoming freshmen and their parents move their belongings into their respective buildings during move in day.

Members of the moving company University and Student Services prepare to help the Southwest Residential Area towers move in.

CLARKSON careers in science was second to none.” “She was a tremendously accessible person,” said Cory Pols, assistant dean of the Honors College. “She was a voracious responder to email, it was astounding. She had a completely open door.” Pols said that even after Clarkson became dean of the Commonwealth Honors College, she continued to nurture her graduate students. Even when she became ill, she continued to work past anyone’s expectations. “I remember her as an outstanding leader of the Honors College and also a person devoted to understanding education in general,” said Daniel Gordon, Clarkson’s successor as dean of the Commonwealth Honors College. “She was one of the great scientists at UMass.” Gordon added that being a former student at UMass

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“She constantly strived to make whatever she was working on better.” Cory Pols, Assistant Dean of CHC meant that she always had a special place in her heart for the school. “She cared about honors students and UMass as a whole,” Pols said. “She really cared about making Honors accessible to anyone who wanted to pursue it.” Clarkson’s vision and commitment to the Honors College and its students was fundamental in making the new residential area possible, according to Gordon. She began advocating for the residential area at the beginning of 2006, doing research and making pitches to campus

leaders. “She mattered a lot to me personally,” Pols said. “I interacted with her a number of times each weekday … and she was a voracious reader so we would trade books.” Pols described Clarkson as “a class act” and “a doer” who was “almost entirely dedicated to working in service of what mattered to her.” “She constantly strived to make whatever she was working on better,” Pols added. “She was so energetic and so involved. She has big shoes to ﬁll.” Clarkson is survived by her husband Ronald Pipkin, professor emeritus of legal studies at UMass, her mother Mary Massei and her brother Edward (Jay) Massei Jr., of Millbury. Mary Reines can be reached at mreines@umass.edu. Patrick Hoff can be reached at pphoff@umass.edu.

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Tuesday, September 3, 2013

FRUIT SALAD students were delegated to pick up trash. Jessica Murphy, a freshman who worked the event, wished that she had come earlier. “Volunteer early… because we missed out on the chopping part, but picking up trash is useful as well,” she said.. “It was fun,” said freshman Astrid Warny, Murphy’s friend and fellow volunteer. As the swimming pool was ﬁlled with fruit, UMass Dining workers combed through the mixture of apples, bananas, berries, currants, cherries, mint, grapefruits, grapes, mangos, melons, oranges, papayas, peaches, pears, pineapples, plums, kiwis and other fruits to stir the salad. One onlooker was Rebecca Spencer, assistant professor of psychology. She came with her daughters, Finnley and Noa. “It was pretty cool,” Spencer said. “I think it’s good… any way that we can bring some recognition, just excitement to the start of school for the students… is a great way to get the year started.” Mike Cuvellier, a junior, also enjoyed the spectacle. “It’s very colorful, it looks great,” he said. “It helps us stay healthy… it keeps a very positive healthy message going.” Project Manager

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Christopher Howland said that healthy eating was a factor in choosing to do a fruit salad to break UMass Dining’s fourth consecutive Guinness World Record with larger-than-life portions. “UMass Dining always encourages people to eat healthy, eat sustainably,” he said. He also explained that the Pioneer Valley is filled with fruit. “There’s a lot of fruit available, like cantaloupe, watermelon, lots of different varieties of apples and peaches, we have plums, we have grapes…there’s a very big variety,” he said. They also froze blueberries and strawberries over the summer to use for the event. July is the peak season for the blueberries, according to Howland. Executive chef Oliver de Volpi, who broke the Guinness World Record for the largest fruit salad last year at McGill University with an 11,197-pound salad, also helped out at the event and contributed his own experience when the fruit salad was in its planning phase. “You guys have definitely stepped it up a notch, not just in the volume, but 150 kinds of fruit isn’t easy to find,” he said. “And you know breaking our record by about 3,000 pounds is also a pretty impressive feat.” Celebrity chef Jet Tila,

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Volunteers scoop the fruit salad ingredients into the pool.

who has made appearances on the Food Network, also helped compile the salad. In recent years, Tila has contributed to UMass Dining’s record-breaking food history, including the world’s longest California roll, largest stirfry and largest New England seafood stew at UMass. UMass Dining officials made plans to put every pound of fruit to good use after it was served at the barbecue, wasting none of it. They used 5,000 pounds that day for smoothies at the Welcome Barbecue and 3,000 pounds for dining hall dinner service and late night menu items after the barbecue. UMass Dining also plans to freeze 2,000 pounds for baked items, use 2,000 pounds for

BY MARY REINES Collegian Staff

Over the summer, the University of Massachusetts completed construction on the Hampshire Dining Commons, the Life Science Laboratories and the Commonwealth Honors College and Residential Complex (CHCRC). A c c o rd i n g to UMass Construction Communications Manager Jim Hunt, the dining common, which was built in 1966, is expected to hold 650 diners at once and was designed to complement Berkshire Dining Commons. The $15 million renovation of the dining hall was scheduled to accompany the completion of the CHCRC because honors residents don’t have their own dining area. “They have a 24/7 café, but it does not have a full-ﬂedged, fully loaded dining common,” Hunt said. “We refurbished the Hampshire Dining Common over at Southwest to accommodate the increased number of students.” The Commonwealth Complex is located near the W.E.B. Du Bois Library and the Campus Recreation Center, and is designed to house 600 freshmen and 900 upperclassmen, according to Hunt. There are six residential

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smoothies the next morning, 2,000 pounds for jam and 1,000 pounds in UMass Dining retail locations. At Monday’s barbecue, many students took a cup of the fruit salad along for a refreshing dessert. One freshman, Gordon Swain, thought it was especially delicious. “I think that it was yummy, it was really tasty,” he said. “I really like the variety of fruit because a lot of it was kind of squishy but then the really crunchy apples, they really helped balance the texture.” All of the fruit was paid for by sponsors, including Dole, Barilla and Coca-Cola. Mary Reines can be reached at mreines@student.umass.edu.

residents of Pittsﬁeld and Womack is from Windsor Locks, Conn. Bile, Liccardi and Womack are being charged with three counts of aggravated rape, while Liccardi faces a fourth count for allegedly returning to the woman’s room and raping her again after the other men left. All have pleaded not guilty. The defendants face sentences of up to life in prison if convicted. According to court records, the alleged victim knew the four men through a mutual friend. Against the wishes of the alleged victim, the men went to UMass the day of the alleged assault. That night, the woman had been drink-

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ing and smoking marijuana with the defendants and two other friends, according to court records. When her two other friends left, the report states that the four men “‘attacked’ her on the bed and began ripping her clothes off.” The incident allegedly lasted between one and two hours according to estimates by the alleged victim. All of the defendants are scheduled to return to court on Sept. 18 for the penultimate pre-trial hearing, according to court documents. Patrick Hoff can be reached at pphoff@umass.edu.

Construction on campus nears finish

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halls in the CHCRC, and all are named after trees: Birch, Elm, Linden, Maple, Oak and Sycamore. Oak Hall and Sycamore Hall are Residential First-Year Experience (RFYE) halls designated for freshmen and mostly consist of double rooms with about one or two singles on each ﬂoor. There are four triple rooms in Oak Hall. The other residence halls form two clusters; Elm and Linden is one and Birch and Maple is another. Each houses sophomores, juniors and seniors in suite-style and apartment-style formats with double and single rooms that share a bathroom and a living space. Apartments include a kitchen area. The CHCRC also has nine classrooms and a 24-hour café. Although the housing is exclusively for Commonwealth Honors College students, Hunt said that the new facilities are accessible to all students. “We don’t want to make the area insular by any means,” he said. “It will be integrated within the greater campus. “All the academic buildings and the resources, the café are going to be open to the entire campus and used by the entire campus.” The residential halls also include nine classrooms and a Commonwealth Honors

College administration office. The $186.5 million CHCRC was constructed to Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) V3 silver standard from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). “It’s quite a gem, we’re very proud of it,” Hunt said. The Life Science Laboratories (LSL), located next to the Integrated Sciences Building (ISB), provides students with interdisciplinary research clusters for conducting experiments. The LSL was built in two phases; LSL I and LSL II. According to Hunt, LSL I is “completely fit out” with equipment and ready for occupancy. LSL II is a shell that is not yet “fit out” and closed to the public. Hunt referred to LSL II as “swing space” that will be used in the future to accommodate changing and expanding research programs. The building received LEED V3 silver certification. Progress also continued on the New Central Campus Infrastructure Project and the New Academic Classroom Building. Completion is expected by November 2013 and May 2014, respectively. According to Hunt, the Infrastructure Project is necessary for “modernizing and upgrading” the campus utilities system, which runs underneath the center of cam-

pus past the Student Union and the Du Bois Library. “It’s a very high traffic area,” Hunt said. He said that a lot of construction was done over the summer to reduce the impact on campus life and create as little disruption as possible. The New Academic Classroom Building (NACB) construction site is located on North Pleasant Street next to Hasbrouck. The building will house digitally enabled learning spaces for students studying communications, journalism, linguistics and ﬁlm studies. According to Hunt, there will be different types of auditoriums and interactive classrooms with screens. These rooms will facilitate team learning with computer-centralized systems. “Gone are the days of the blackboard,” he said. “It’s the new way of doing things in a group learning environment.” The NACB will provide learning space for classes once taught in Bartlett Hall, which Hunt supposes will be replaced by a new building in the next ﬁve years. “It’s not sustainable,” he said. “It’s going to have to come down.” Mary Reines can be reached at mreines@student.umass.edu.

THE MASSACHUSETTS DAILY COLLEGIAN

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Opinion Editorial THE MASSACHUSETTS DAILY COLLEGIAN

“Cauliflower is nothing but cabbage with a college education.” - Mark Twain

Tuesday, September 3, 2013

The case for immigration reform From an economic perspec- ers in STEM jobs created 262 tive, the battle over immigra- additional jobs for native U.S. tion reform is truly baffling, workers.” The impact of immigrants Makai McClintock has been particularly profound in the tech industry; to especially given the clear role date, 1/4 of high tech startthat immigrants have played ups have been founded by an in growing and bolstering the immigrant or their children, United States economy. Forty including Google, Flickr, eBay percent of Fortune 500 com- and Yahoo. panies were founded by immiFailure to enact compregrants or children of immigrants, as well as many millions of smaller enterprises. These companies collectively produce over $5 trillion in revenue, a figure greater than the gross domestic prod- hensive immigration reform, uct (GDP) of every country in which would allow greater the world outside of the U.S. numbers of skilled immigrants into the country, will aside from China and Japan. It is worth noting that the certainly hurt the U.S. econoeconomic contributions of my in the long run. The U.S. immigrants are not limited to currently lets in about 225,000 Fortune 500 companies. The foreigners each year. This fig2012 issue of “The ANNALS ure is much lower than many of the American Academy of other global economic superPolitical and Social Science,” powers. The facts are simple: there quoted in The Atlantic, found that “immigrants not only add are talented and driven forto large or high-tech cities and eign workers and innovators metros but also to older, more who want to come to America. economically hard put com- By turning them away, we are hurting the U.S. economy. munities and rural towns.” Given the current state of Additionally, immigrants contribute to more than 25 the economy, where jobs are percent of patents worldwide still hard to come by for many and make up nearly a quarter Americans, the very notion of the total science and engi- that jobs are being “stolen” neering workforce in the U.S. from Americans by immiThese foreign-born science, grants has fueled a conservatechnology, engineering and tive backlash that threatens mathematics (STEM) workers to further restrict immigrabenefit the U.S. economy sig- tion. This belief, however, nificantly; according to Steve has been widely discredited Case, co-founder of AOL, by economists on both sides “research shows that every 100 of the political spectrum. A additional foreign-born work- 2011 study by the American

Enterprise Institute found that foreign-born workers have no effect on the U.S. employment rate. Furthermore, according to a White House report, if undocumented immigrants were to acquire legal status this year, over the course of ten years the U.S. GDP would be increased by $1.4 trillion, Americans’ income would rise

The greatest danger we face from immigrants is having too few of them. by $791 billion, state and federal governments would gain $184 billion in additional tax dollars and the U.S. economy would add roughly 2 million jobs. When it comes to the issue of immigration reform, the fact of the matter is simple: the greatest danger we face from immigrants is having too few of them. Passing comprehensive immigration reform will help to spark innovation and economic growth for years to come, ensuring that the U.S. remains a land of plentiful economic opportunity. We simply cannot afford to turn away immigrants based on unfounded and spurious claims of a minority of Americans who clearly do not understand the overwhelming positive economic effects of immigration. Makai McClintock is a Collegian columnist. He can be reached at mmcclint@umass.edu.

The healthcare tax exemption: Needless, wasteful and growing As has been trumpeted by terrible system even exists in some and bemoaned by oth- the first place was that it is, ers for years now, the Patient simply put, an easy form of tax evasion. Stefan Herlitz Employer-provided health benefits are not taxed, and Protection and Affordable thus employers have been Care Act, better known as using them as part of workObamacare, mandates, ers’ compensation for a long beginning Jan. 1, 2014, that time now in order to pay a all Americans obtain health smaller tax bill on the same insurance or else pay a pen- net compensation for their alty. This policy is similar to workers. This tax exempthe Massachusetts law passed tion, a World War II-era relic under former Governor Mitt known as the Healthcare Tax Romney’s leadership, so the Exemption, accounts for a mandate will have little affect staggering amount of lost tax on the already-insured state. revenue – more than $300 bilHowever, the law also con- lion per year, according to a tains a provision set to take Joint Committee on Taxation effect on the same date which report. mandates that all employers To compare, the with 50 or more employees Congressional Budget Office provide health insurance to reported that the U.S. budtheir full-time workers or else get deficit for this fiscal year, face a $2,000 per employee tax ending Sept. 30, will be $642 penalty. This mandate is the billion, meaning that the worst part of the entire Act, Employer Tax Exclusion as it strengthens the misguid- tax exemption for employed idea of employer-provided ers accounts for nearly half health insurance. of our overall deficit. The Employer-provided insur- CBO reports that the United ance is not, and has never States’ entire federal spendbeen, in itself a good idea. ing is about $3.6 trillion for The system is burdensome, this fiscal year, so the healthinefficient and unnecessarily care exclusion is worth just complicated. Not only does it about 10 percent of our entire mean that one must scramble federal budget. for insurance when changing Not only is the healthcare or in-between jobs, but also exemption extremely expenthat the employee has little sive, but it also affects a starto no actual choice as to what tlingly high percentage of the coverage he or she receives. American workforce. More The only reason that such a than 60 percent of Americans

under the age of 65 have employer-provided health insurance coverage, while only 4 percent purchase it for themselves. A large majority of the population is trapped in these employer-provided plans, as the current tax code strongly incentivizes such policies. This incentive has no valid purpose. The only argument for its continued existence is that repealing it would disproportionately affect the majority of the population with employer-provided insurance, a situation spawned by this very system. The healthcare exemption’s only purpose is to maintain the system it created, and that is the worst reason for anything to exist. The Healthcare Tax Exemption perpetuates a woefully inefficient system, under which employers are required to divert valuable resources to managing beneﬁts, employees have no choice or mobility in health coverage, and less tax revenue is collected. This exemption, which only exists to perpetuate the system it created, must be eliminated, not strengthened, as has happened with the Affordable Care Act.

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Olympic boycott not the best solution

Russia’s newest “anti- event will not be able to gay” legislation, which compete. However, a boybans spreading “pro- cott would send a strong disapproving message to Jillian Corriera Russia as well as certify that no LGBT athlete will paganda of nontradi- be arrested or targeted tional sexual relations to during the games under minors,” was signed into Russia’s obtuse and vague law by President Vladimir law. Putin on June 30. This In my perfect fantasy anti-gay law is Russia’s world, an Olympic boymost recent addition to cott would be successful their already hostile and in all the ways proponents oppressive history with would like it to be. It would the lesbian, gay, bisexual, protect athletes and demtransgender (LGBT) and onstrate to Russia that intersex community. the United States will not The 2014 Winter stand with a country so Olympics are sched- brutally involved in grouled to be held in Sochi, tesque discrimination and Russia, and there have violations of basic human been contradicting state- rights. ments as to whether or However, in a not-sonot Russia’s anti-gay perfect reality, a boycott law will be enforced dur- would come with conseing the games. On Aug. 12, Russia’s Interior Ministry confirmed that the law would, in fact, be enforced during the Olympics, but Alexander Zhukov, the head of Russia’s National Olympic Committee, went on to clarify that LGBT athletes taking part in the Olympics should not quences, ones that outworry about their safety weigh the benefits. The most obvious as long as “a person does not impose his or her involves the athletes. views in the presence of A boycott would mean unfairly forcing athletes, children.” Unsurprisingly, there who have worked tirehave been calls to boycott less hours training for the 2014 Winter Olympics the games, to suffer the based on this new law and consequences of a boycott Russia’s (often violent) they might not even supmistreatment of the LGBT port. I’d endlessly admire community, as well as the bravery of any athlete concern over how LGBT who decided on their own athletes will be treated personal accord not to while participating in the participate in the games, games. On the other hand, as putting a personal politsome, including President ical belief before a lifeBarack Obama, are argu- time passion would not be ing against the movement an easy decision to make. to boycott the Olympics, But to impose a boycott on saying a boycott could athletes who deserve their make the atmosphere in moments to shine would Russia worse for the LGBT negate how hard they’ve community and hurt the worked to earn them. A d d i t i o n a l ly, the wrong people. Here’s the dilemma: Russian roots of hatred if the United States boy- for the LGBT community cotts the Olympics, many go far deeper than a boyathletes who have trained cott could reach. Russian their whole lives for this homophobia is a complex

mix of intense nationalism, xenophobia, and a resistance to Western ideologies. A recent Pew Research Center poll shows that 74 percent of the Russian population is, in one way or another, against homosexuality. Sure, a boycott would send the right message, but the message isn’t strong enough to penetrate years of homophobia and Putin’s decision to turn to the Russian Orthodox Church for political guidance. However, rejecting a boycott does not mean rejecting LGBT rights. The only appropriate way for the United States to handle the Olympics situation is to allow our athletes to compete in the games. If they win, it would hopefully show Russians who support the anti-gay law that being gay or lesbian or transgender isn’t a flaw or a deviance. Because what better platform to celebrate international acceptance of the LGBT community than at an event held for the best athletes – varying in race, religious affiliation, and sexual orientation – from around the world? Actor and playwright Harvey Fierstein recently commented on the Olympics controversy in support of the boycott, saying “you cannot just ignore evil.” I completely agree with this sentiment, but disagree with how to approach it. To “ignore evil” would be to stay home in protest. To “not ignore evil” would be to participate in the Olympics instead of giving in to Russia’s longstanding fixation that it is not a westernized nation. A boycott would only serve as the validation Russia is looking for. Fierstein went on to say that “you must fight injustice wherever that injustice is.” And that’s a lot easier when you’re not at least 4,500 miles away.

Sure, a boycott would send the right message, but the message isn’t strong enough to penetrate years of homophobia and Putin’s decision to turn to the Russian Orthodox Church for political guidance.

Jillian Correira is a Collegian columnist and can be reached at jcorreir@ umass.edu.

Stefan Herlitz is a Collegian columnist. He can be reached at sherlitz@umass. edu.

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The Massachusetts Daily Collegian is published Monday through Thursday during the University of Massachusetts calendar semester. The Collegian is independently funded, operating on advertising revenue. Founded in 1890, the paper began as Aggie Life, became the College Signal in 1901, the Weekly Collegian in 1914 and the Tri–Weekly Collegian in 1956. Published daily from 1967 to 2013, The Collegian has been broadsheet since January 1994. For advertising rates and information, call 413-545-3500.

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UMass’ ‘Lonely Souls’

This summer, I worked as a New Student Orientation Leader. Among other duties,

Brandon Sides the job required me to give presentations, distribute apples and watch each “Not Ready for Bedtime Players” skit about 12 times. Our director also challenged us to confront the “lonely souls” within the Worcester Dining Commons. While most dine with their new friends made within the first hour of orientation, other, lonelier types of students sit in solitude during meals. Some folks may simply prefer this relaxation time. Their exhaustion from first-year information overload requires a meal to recuperate not just their bodies, but their racing minds as well. Most “lonely souls,” however, sit with an air of uncertainty. Their eyes dart around the room, looking for others walking without any specific table in mind. After a few unsuccessful attempts to connect with their peers, one lonely soul might resort to web surfing on their smart phone. Another may stare down to admire their award-winning oatmeal, only to wonder why their praiseworthy meal tastes so bland in the absence of company. These are the new students, the “lonely souls,” who I approached at each NSO session. Of course, the conversation was terribly awkward at first. I’d hack my way through the basic topics – major, hometown, preferred housing – to find a springboard from which I could bounce into more unique conversation. Sometimes, they just wouldn’t break. In those cases, I’d often resort to faking a sudden family death or a life-threatening wheat allergy. Other moments required fewer medical fibs. I once asked a new female student coming from an all girls’

school what she thought about her new dating options at our co-ed university. She politely ignored my heterosexist assumption and remarked that guys weren’t really her thing. We both then delved into a discussion of Northampton’s famed statistic: the highest number of lesbians per capita in the U.S. Providing a “lonely soul” with even that brief instance of company better connects each incoming class to its new home. By the end of NSO’s run, the majority of new students leave summer orientation looking forward to their ﬁrst September at UMass. A small

Tour guides advertise the Goat Herding Club, but mention that if herding animals isn’t your forte, then you have the resources to start your own unique club. All of these options exist, of course, alongside specialized Residential Academic Programs and Faculty First Year Seminars. It’s a big school, but there are options. The initial number of doubters doesn’t disappear, though. Just the opposite is true: by the time an incoming class ﬁnishes its ﬁrst year, 12 percent of its students will have decided to leave the university. Financial burdens suck a few students out. For

By the end of NSO’s run, the majority of new students leave summer orientation looking forward to their first September at UMass. A small percentage of other students, mostly those “lonely souls,” go home with doubts. percentage of other students, mostly those “lonely souls,” go home with doubts. Let’s face it: UMass isn’t always a wonderland of NSO fun during the school year. As their ﬁrst and second semesters pass, the number of doubting students grows in number. The leaves fall to reveal the uninspired Brutalist architecture and the Student Union stops hosting open mic nights. First years eventually settle into friend groups and the NSO staff no longer scouts the dining commons looking to welcome each student. The university does what it can to support a variety of student interests. Football coach Charley Molnar energetically informs all ﬁrst years of the campus’ active sports culture. For the intellectually inclined, the school provided guest speakers such as linguist and political critic Noam Chomsky, excessive consumerism critic Annie Leonard, and even environmentalist Colin Beavan, author of “No Impact Man.”

UMass campaign, led by the Center for Counseling and Psychological Health. So far, the initiative’s leaders have introduced a general understanding of bystander intervention to all ﬁrst-year students. More UMatter efforts are still to come. UMatter is just one of a pool of new communitybased initiatives. The new Commonwealth Honors College Residential Complex now provides a cluster of students a closely-knit intellectual community. Even more lectures from academic superstars will continue to foster debate among the student body and greater Amherst community. Some Collegian columns like this one end with the writer ragging on the administration, but I can’t exactly do that here. Many of the problems of UMass’ lack of school spirit stem from students themselves. Overhear the informal feuding between humanities majors and engineers. Witness a Friday night documentary screening garner a single digit audience count, then listen to complaints about the lack of campus events. Others perpetuate the cycle of “lonely soul” syndrome by plugging into iPods between classes. I’ve brushed over our architecture, but allow me to contrast the two issues. Sure, UMass architects decided to make our buildings look like sand-colored waffles. The waffles may be here to stay, but the campus’ social climate is more malleable than ever. Campuswide initiatives have made the university more attractive to “lonely souls” in recent years. University leaders have kept more ﬁrst years with each passing semester, but some responsibility falls on the shoulders of current students to make it a less lonely time.

others, college simply is not the best choice. But the fact that a whopping eighth of UMass “lonely souls” don’t return for sophomore year indicates that something systemic is afoot. During a recent meeting, Dean of Students and Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs and Campus Life Enku Gelaye informed the Faculty Senate that many students feel disempowered and disconnected on campus. Har ry RocklandMiller, the Director of the Center for Counseling and Psychological Health, chimed in to identify a primary cited reason for students leaving: unmet “emotional, relational or familybased issues.” The administration understands that even as our retention rate grows stronger, staff must create new projects to build a more cohesive sense of community. And it’s been Brandon Sides is a Collegian columdoing exactly that with the nist and can be reached at bsides@ newly launched UMatter @ umass.edu.

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Tuesday, September 3, 2013

Liberals: Take the votes you can get The quagmire in Congress his or her voters to win eleccontinues through another tions. These actors believe arduous summer and into a that federal disaster relief for hurricanes, using federZac Bears al money to pave highways and build bridges and new fall legislative session that public schools are dangerous would daunt even the most examples of the overreach productive legislators. Since of a bloated, menacing, “Big mid-May, when the U.S. Brother”-esque, take-awaygovernment reached the your-guns-and–kill-Grand$16.699 trillion debt ceiling, ma-to–save-money kind of the Treasury Department federal government. has employed “extraordiThe reaction to such insannary measures” to meet ity, best epitomized in the

“There is, however, a silver lining in the dismal state of the U.S. Congress: compromise, collaboration and bipartisanship.” government responsibilities and maintain the full faith and credit required by the Constitution for the second time in two years. The status of appropriations bills in the House and Senate is dismal. Of the 13 bills which appropriate funds to the various executive departments, only five have been voted on by the full House and one by the full Senate. These bills must be passed to continue funding the government on and after Oct. 1, which is around the time when the Treasury’s “extraordinary measures” on the debt ceiling become insufficient. Accordingly, Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives have decided to hold both the full faith and credit and the operational capability of the federal government hostage. What’s the ransom? Every single penny allocated to Obamacare! Not only do Republicans want to implement $109 billion in sequestration cuts in October, they want to eliminate the insurance exchanges set to open this fall (which 27 GOP-run states refused to open, giving that responsibility to the hated federal government), stop covering preexisting conditions and return to an era when women could be charged nearly twice as much for health insurance just because they are women, as original sin would dictate. In fact, the current 113th Congress is on pace to become the least productive Congress in history, after (big surprise) the previous 112th Congress. Harry Truman won reelection to his second term in 1948, calling the 80th Congress the “Do-Nothing” Congress; it had only passed 906 laws. The 112th Congress passed 220 laws, including 23 in the first six months of 2011. The 113th Congress has passed just 15 laws since January. In fact, the “Do-Nothing” Congress passed legislation still widely applied in American government today. They passed the antiunion Taft-Hartley Act, the post-Roosevelt Presidential Succession Act, the National Security Act of 1947, which reorganized the entire military and intelligence bureaucracy. The “Do-Nothing” Congress even managed to pass its farm bill, the Agricultural Act of 1948, something beyond the capability of the 113th Congress. There is, however, a silver lining in the dismal state of the U.S. Congress: compromise, collaboration and bipartisanship. In early 2013, immediately post-fiscal cliff, there was a small movement in the Republican Party to remove Boehner as Speaker of the House. It went nowhere, but certainly showed the fragile state of the GOP. By gerrymandering House districts in 2011, the GOP created its very own monster, the ultraconservative, a representative that requires neither cross-party support nor diversity among

ﬁctional Will McAvoy from HBO’s “The Newsroom,” is simple: there are Republicans embarrassed to share a party with Tea Party fascists. Amazingly, some of these Republicans manage to serve in the U.S. House and the U.S. Senate. However, many more, such as former Senator Olympia Snowe (R-ME) and former Rep. Steve LaTourette (R-OH) have left Congress because their views are not respected or considered. If the GOP holds government hostage to the bitter, politically-devastating end seemingly professed by its leaders, the likelihood of moderate GOP members defecting to a Democrat-sponsored budget deal grows. In fact, the national security core of Congress has already seen many defections regarding privacy this year. Bipartisanship on the fringes is growing, with libertarians like Rep. Justin Amash (R-MI) and Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) joining forces with liberals like Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and Rep. Mike Capuano on reforming the domestic spying programs of the National Security Agency (NSA). Paul and Leahy have become a civil libertarian team working on the aforementioned NSA issue, as well as attempting to reform the justice system’s mandatory minimum sentencing for non-violent drug offenders and rescind parts of the PATRIOT Act. Attorney General Holder recently enacted some executive branch reforms for mandatory minimums, but the PaulLeahy Justice Safety Valve Act of 2013 still languishes in Congress. While the overall trend of Congressional gridlock, partisanship and inability to govern creates severe uncertainty both politically and economically, liberals and libertarians actually agree on drug reforms, justice reform, national security reform, LGBT rights, the right to choose, the right to privacy, the protections of the First Amendment and protecting the right to vote for all citizens. If Democrats were to compromise with 25 Republicans in the House and ﬁve in the Senate, they could push through an ambitious and paradigm-shifting agenda reforming our worldleading prison system, ending the overreach of the corporate-military-intelligence complex, securing the equality of LGBT citizens, ensuring safe access to reproductive care and reauthorizing the Voting Rights Act. That agenda may be out of reach, especially considering GOP-control over rules and operations in the House, but if Senators keep compromising and those compromises die in the House, the GOP will face a reckoning in the 2014 midterms. For now, Democrats in Congress and the President can only do one thing: bide their time and take the votes they can get. Zac Bears is a Collegian columnist. He can be reached at ibears@umass.edu.

Tuesday, September 3, 2013

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Unpaid internships don’t help women Love ‘em or hate ‘em, with the president Rachel Thomas made end of the summer comes the end a statement announcing plans to of many an unpaid internship. start a paid internship program. This would seem run-of-theHannah Sparks mill, maybe even unworthy of commenting on if there wasn’t a Whether you view them as valu- bitterly ironic tone to the whole able opportunities to gain experi- thing. ence and contacts in your field or It’s important to note that as inherently exploitative, unpaid Sandberg, one of Time’s 100 most internships are receiving serious influential people in 2012 and scrutiny in the still-slumming worth around $500 million, holds economy, as with all dodgy eco- a lot of sway, which is part of the nomic trends. reason why her book was so popuBasically replacing what was lar. “Lean In: Women, Work and once the entry-level position, the Will to Lead” was a kind of unpaid internships have been manifesto for career women, argucalled exclusionary, elitist and sex- ing that women can help break ist. And the facts mostly back that down sexist practices in the workup: 77 percent of unpaid interns place by “leaning in” and striving are women, and poorer students for leadership positions. are more likely to participate in Meant to empower women, the unpaid internships — especially in whole concept of “leaning in” has the non-profit sector— than their been debated and widely critiqued wealthier counterparts, accord- on feminist websites ad nauseum ing to “The Debate Over Unpaid since the book was first published College Internships,” a 2010 study in March. Most of the criticism

In telling successful career women like herself how to get ahead, (Sandberg) ignores the very sizable population of working women who aren’t looking to climb the ladder, but just to make ends meet. from Intern Bridge, Inc. Factor in living costs in expensive cities, and the unpaid internship can be a raw deal for students already grappling with the financial burdens such as college tuition and student loans. The tide is turning, though, as internships face criticism under labor laws. In June, a New York federal judge found Searchlight Pictures guilty of violating the Fair Labor Standards Act by not paying interns on the production crew for the movie “Black Swan.” The workers did not fit the “trainee” (read: unpaid) status the studio had delegated them. Discussing the case for Slate, Cullen Seltzer praises the judge’s findings, saying that unpaid internships lead to “distorted wages, exploitation of interns, a race to the bottom of the wage scale, and an erosion of the law’s protections for workers.” More recently, in August, the Lean In Foundation, based upon Facebook chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg’s wildly popular book, “Lean In: Women, Work and the Will to Lead,” came under fire after editor-at-large Jessica Bennett posted a job listing for an unpaid internship with the company on Facebook. According to Bennett’s post, the editorial intern (based in New York, an incredibly expensive city to live in) “must be HIGHLY organized with editorial and social chops and be able to commit to a regular schedule through end of year. Design and web skills a plus!” Many non-profits have unpaid interns, sure, but Bennett seems to be looking for an assistant, a position that should probably be paid. Bennett later made a scrambling, defensive attempt to explain that she was looking for a “volunteer.” Once this all blew up on the Internet, though, Lean In

stems from the fact that Sandberg is directing her message at a very narrow (and very privileged) audience of women. In telling successful career women like herself how to get ahead, she ignores the very sizable population of working women who aren’t looking to climb the ladder, but just to make ends meet. It’s hard for the average woman to lean in to “a labor force that has grown more contingent, relying on part-time, unstable, and insecure work,” as Madeleine Schwartz writes for Dissent Magazine. “Lean In” is a brand, Sheryl Sandberg is a brand, Facebook is a brand. And all of these brands make millions and millions of dollars. Shortly before Bennett went trolling for unpaid interns on Facebook, Sandberg earned $91 million by selling Facebook stocks. If Sandberg, or those working on behalf of her ideas, wants to set forth a model of career success and ﬁnancial independence for women, the least she can do is offer the women working for the organization the things the organization supposedly stands for. According to its website, the Lean In Foundation is the “next chapter” of Sandberg’s book and is “committed to offering women the ongoing inspiration and support to help them achieve their goals. If we talk openly about the challenges women face and work together, we can change the trajectory of women and create a better world for everyone.” Just a suggestion: paying your interns may be a way to change that trajectory. I think you can afford it. Hannah Sparks is a Collegian columnist. She can be reached at hsparks@umass.edu.

Comics

Tuesday, September 3, 2013

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R.I.P Grahpics Room

Analysis of a celebrity meltdown We’ve seen it all before: the drugs, the DUIs, the shaved head, the social media boom and eventually the psychiatric ward. We are in the midst of yet another celebrity meltdown. This time, it’s childhood star of “All That” and “The Amanda Show,” Amanda Bynes. Bynes, 27, who had previously been worshipped as a

Elise Martorano quirky and unembarrassed comedy actress, has been “entertaining” an avid public for months with questionable tweets such as, “I Love Surgery,” “It doesn’t matter if you feel sexy if you don’t look sexy” and “If you’re not hot I don’t care about you.” Bynes has been discussed and dissected by the public on every form of social media, and online news sources publish streams of stories concerning her behavior every day. Searching “Amanda Bynes” on Huffington Post yields 278,000 results, with headlines such as “Amanda Bynes’ Face Transformation Will Surprise You,” “Does Amanda Bynes Think You’re Ugly,” “Amanda Bynes Starts Fire, Gets Involuntarily Hospitalized” and “Amanda Bynes Speaks Out After Arrest: ‘I Don’t Drink Or Do Drugs.” But the real question is this: with dozens of high–proﬁle news stories currently playing out, why should we care? Instead of discussing current events or something moderately intellectual or useful, the consensus seems to be that this is among the most important news that we have to talk about. It’s not a new trend, either. Britney Spears and Lindsay Lohan have had the public rapt with attention for years. In their early days, their meltdowns co-existed with the war in Iraq and the Great Recession, but the general public was more informed and involved in

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THE MASSACHUSETTS DAILY COLLEGIAN

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Tuesday, September 3 1:30-4:30 p.m. COMMONWEALTH HONORS COLLEGE

Spears’ and Lohan’s latest hijinks. The celebrity gossip industry has surpassed an annual revenue of $3 billion, according to Al Jazeera. The media has caught on to the public desire for juicy gossip and learned that the only way to fuel increasing income is to exploit this desire, giving the public more and more of what it wants and feeding the cycle. Analyzing the meltdowns of celebrities like Spears and Bynes allows the public to be openly cruel, ridiculing these women for their declines into drugs, alcohol, criminal charges and psychiatric diagnoses. But what is even more prevalent in the general conversation is how they look: haircuts, plastic surgery, exaggerated makeup and revealing clothing. These physical changes appear to explain their

improve when the entire country is obsessed with her instability? By fetishizing celebrities, the public comes to believe that their lives are our business and we should be free to comment and judge them as we see fit. By scrutinizing their every move, the public and the media strips them of their right to exist as real people. Adezah Aalai of Psychology Today says of Bynes, “Does her celebrity status somehow make her immune from our concern, or does anything a celebrity does become filtered through a perception of performance, even when she doesn’t intend to be on stage or have her behavior exposed and consumed by the masses?” Obsessing over celebrity meltdowns also perpetuates our society’s stigma against mental illness. When the public sees cases of undiagnosed mental illness in its idols, it turns its back on them, insults them and mocks them incessantly and without restraint. People begin to see mental illness as funny, embarrassing and most importantly, something that they are fit to judge. The mania resulting from these celebrity meltdowns is an abysmal result of the media taking advantage of the public’s desire for slander and scandal. We may say that it’s harmless to mock celebrities, to obsess over their failures, but this “harmless” obsession may cause us to judge normal people by the same insane standards that we judge celebrities. It is not easy or necessary to defend the actions of celebrities like Bynes, Spears or Lohan, but it is basic human decency to defend their right to privacy.

D INOSAUR C OMICS

B Y R YAN N ORTH

We may say that it’s harmless to mock celebrities, to obsess over their failures, but this “harmless” obsession may cause us to judge normal people by the same insane standards that we judge celebrities.

psychological problems and behavior, allowing the public to assert its belief that these celebrities have “lost it.” They have become the object of disgust, pity and fascination. As Jill Filipovic writes for The Guardian, “When we’re used to seeing actresses, pop stars and models as part of an assembly line of real-life Barbie dolls, it becomes all the more interesting to see one with go by with her head popped off.” The most recent update on the Bynes scandal is the reveal of her alleged medical condition. Bynes’ doctors told a judge on Aug. 1 that Bynes is being treated for schizophrenia, but it is still currently unclear as to her actual diagnosis. Does the possibility of severe mental illness absolve her of her mistakes or is it yet another reason to demonize her? Bynes may soon have the option of seeking treatment for her alleged disorders, but Elise Martorano is a Collegian columnist and how much can her health truly can be reached at emartora@umass.edu.

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RUN OVER FOOTBALL

UM shut out in season opener BY NICK CANELAS Collegian Staff

MADISON, Wis. – Massachusetts football coach Charley Molnar emphasized throughout the preseason that he won’t base his team’s success this season simply on wins and losses. After Saturday’s result, that’s probably a good thing for the Minutemen. The UMass defense was torched for 598 yards – 393 on the ground – and struggled to get any offensive rhythm in a 45-0 loss to No. 23 Wisconsin in front of 76,306 at Camp Randall Stadium. The Minutemen (0-1) kicked off just their second season in the Football Bowl Subdivision on Saturday and certainly looked like a team still in transition. They allowed three different Badgers to run for over 100 yards each, offensively committed six penalties at the line of scrimmage, turned the ball over twice and only reached Wisconsin territory on two separate occasions. “I think (Saturday) there’s a lot of selfinflicted wounds that happened,” said UMass quarterback Mike Wegzyn, who finished the game 9-for-23 passing for 73 yards and an interception before being pulled in favor of A.J. Doyle midway through the third quarter. “Offensively we struggled to get things going. Defensively things didn’t go our way.” With that being said, the Minutemen played a competitive first half. They held Wisconsin quarterback Joel Stave to 36

MCT

Wisconsin running back Melvin Gordon powers past UMass defensive back Randall Jette during the Badgers’ 45-0 win on Saturday. yards and an interception by safety Devin Brown on 4-of-11 passing and only trailed 17-0 despite giving up 226 yards on the ground. UMass should’ve came within a touchdown of the Badgers with 3:52 left in the first half on Blake Lucas’ 47-yard field goal, but it was erased because Molnar called timeout as the play clock was expiring just as the snap was made.

On his second attempt, Lucas’ kick went wide left, and Melvin Gordon responded with a 70-yard touchdown run two plays later. So instead of trailing 10-3, UMass quickly found itself in a 17-point hole. “Well, the clock was ticking down and we could tell our center wasn’t aware of the clock and our special teams coach and I were looking at each other SEE

SHUT OUT ON PAGE B2

UMass rush defense struggles BY NICK CANELAS Collegian Staff

MADISON, Wis. – James White sent the message early. The Wisconsin senior running back took the handoff on the game’s second play from scrimmage from quarterback Joel Stave, cut inside, found a hole in the Massachusetts football

team’s defense and raced into the open ﬁeld for a 47-yard gain. That put the No. 23 Badgers in UMass territory and set up Stave for a 4-yard touchdown run to give his team the early, 7-0 lead. That was the beginning of a long afternoon for the UMass run defense. Wisconsin finished Saturday’s season-opening

contest with 393 total rushing yards, four rushing touchdowns and three different running backs eclipsing the 100-yard mark in a 45-0 win over the Minutemen at Camp Randall Stadium. It was just the third time in school history that the Badgers had three different players run for over 100 yards in a single game. SEE

RUN OVER ON PAGE B2

MEN’S SOCCER

Minutemen aiming to retool, turn corner in 2013 UM comes off five-win season BY MARK CHIARELLI Collegian Staff

Massachusetts men’s soccer coach Sam Koch’s tone changes considerably when asked about the 2013 season. Koch’s excited to turn over a new leaf this year, hoping to put a difficult 2012 behind a UMass squad which ﬁnished at 5-11-2. He was very candid in evaluating the direction of the team, acknowledging recent performance simply wasn’t good enough. “We felt we had to make a change in the program,” Koch said. “There were three years where we had players who weren’t invested in trying to make us a better team. In all honesty, their passion wasn’t there and they really didn’t want to play all that much.” The changes made were as swift as they were aggressive. The Minutemen return just ﬁve upperclassmen this season and will be without their captain Brett Canepa

until the second half of the season due to a torn ACL. There will be an added pressure on young players to step up, something Koch both understands and embraces. “We’re a young, energetic, hard-working group and they have a lot of pride and a lot of passion. As we go, we’re gonna get better,” Koch said. A wait-and-see approach will be imperative for UMass, as almost half the team is comprised of freshmen. And while it’s still too early to single out speciﬁc freshmen, Koch is cautiously pleased with the growth of the ﬁrstyear players. “I think we’re gonna be good,” Koch said, “but how quickly we can get there, that I don’t know.” He also understands consistency will be difficult to achieve in 2013. “The toughest thing about freshmen is they might play this week extremely well and next week they might have a blinder going into the darkest, deepest shadows of their mind,” Koch said. “You just never know what they’re gonna do day in and day out

because they’re brand new.” A season ago, the Minutemen struggled to maintain a competitive goals scored-to-goals allowed ratio, letting in 32 goals while scoring only 16.

THE MASSACHUSETTS DAILY COLLEGIAN

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will help our offense because we’ll be winning balls a lot earlier and a lot deeper.” The goal is to generate more chances offensively, something that should beneﬁt experienced forwards such as Josh Schwarz and Connor DeVivo, who will be relied upon heavily to provide veteran support. Last season also proved to be difficult for Koch on a personal level. Koch was diagnosed with sinus cancer 13 months ago and went through various stages of chemotherapy throughout the season. This year hopes to be a different story for Koch, who will go through treatment three days at a time and then take three weeks off. He’ll be able to be around the team and ultimately says he feels better. “I’m healthy and I GABE SCARBROUGH/COLLEGIAN; BACKGROUND PHOTO BY TAYLOR C. SNOW/COLLEGIAN feel good and the docBut with some produc- ly in our midﬁeld to which tors are happy. It’s not an tive preparation this spring, we were able to sort that out issue and we don’t want to UMass appears primed to and change our system to make it an issue,” he said. turn that trend around. make it easier to close down “We cleaned up a lot of the opposing team. We’re Mark Chiarelli can be reached at things,” Koch said. “We going to defend a lot better mchiarel@umass.edu and followed on weren’t very good defensive- than we did in the past which Twitter @Mark_Chiarelli.

CONTINUED FROM PAGE B1

and we had to make a decision really fast,” Molnar said. “We were right on our kicker’s limit for that day. And if we take a 5-yard penalty, now we’re out of field goal range. … (Lucas) should’ve made it the second time like he made it the first time, really.” However, despite the missed opportunities and big plays allowed, UMass had a much better taste in its mouth at the half than it did in its season opener at Connecticut 12 months prior. “(The halftime attitude) was totally different than a year ago,” Molnar said. “Guys were excited at halftime. We knew that we’d only have one or two opportunities to stay in the game offensively. We had to make something happen. When we didn’t a little bit of wind came out of our sails.” The inability to stop the run was ultimately the Minutemen’s Achilles heel. Wisconsin scored four of its six touchdowns on the ground, and UMass’ defensive front seven looked completely overpowered by a much larger offensive line. Gordon (144 yards) and senior James White (143) combined for 221 rushing yards in the first half alone, and both finished the game with a rushing touchdown of over 50 yards. Freshman Corey Clement also ran for 101 yards and a score during garbage time in the second half. Stave then took advantage of a worn-down defen-

“I think (Saturday) there’s a lot of selfinflicted wounds that happened. Offensively we struggled to get things done. Defensively things didn’t go our way.” UMass quarterback Mike Wegzyn sive backfield in the third quarter with a pair of long touchdown strikes to Jared Abbrederis, who beat Trey Dudley-Giles in single coverage for scores of 65 yards and 57 yards. Before long, it was 38-0 after three quarters. “I don’t think we played that well on defense,” linebacker Stanley Andre said. “We definitely need to be more fundamentally sound. … We just let big plays get ahead of us and that’s essentially what it was.” Redshir t freshman Stacey Bedell ran for just 70 yards on 19 carries and a fumble in his first collegiate start and first game since breaking his collarbone last season. Molnar said there’s “more to Stacey than what we saw (Saturday).” UMass hopes to see more improvements on both sides of the ball when it takes on Maine in its home opener on Sept. 7 at Gillette Stadium. Nick Canelas can be reached at ncanelas@umass.edu and followed on Twitter @NickCanelas.

RUN OVER

Tuesday, September 3, 2013

CONTINUED FROM PAGE B1

The last time came against Nebraska in last year’s Big Ten championship game on Dec. 1, 2012. This time, it was the UMass defense that fell victim. “I don’t think we played that well on defense,” UMass linebacker Stanley Andre said. “We definitely need to be more fundamentally sound. They executed, I feel like we executed for a certain portion of time. We just let big plays get ahead of us and that’s essentially what it was.” Sophomore Melvin Gordon led all rushers with 144 yards on 13 attempts, one of which went 70 yards for a back-breaking score late in the second quarter. The Minutemen had just blown a chance to cut the deficit to 10-3 with just under four minutes left in the half when Blake Lucas missed a 47-yard field goal attempt. And Gordon made them pay two plays later with the longest run of his career. Just like that, Wisconsin led 17-0. “It’s probably just not being in the right place at the right time because we have good players on the defense,” Andre said. “I have confidence in our defense; I have confidence in our corners; I have confidence in our secondary, our outside linebackers, we’re all good players. We probably just weren’t in the right places at the right time. Usually when that happens a team will exploit you.” White and freshman running back Corey Clement were equally successful in carving up the UMass

MCT

Wisconsin running back Corey Clement runs past UMass defensive back Trey Dudley-Giles on Saturday. defense. The senior ran for 143 yards on 11 attempts (13 yards per carry) and had a 51-yard touchdown run midway through the third quarter. Clement, on the other hand, became the ﬁrst Badger in nearly seven years to run for over 100 yards in his debut. The true freshman had 101 rushing yards and a 23-yard score in garbage duty. “Their running game has been honed over two decades,” UMass coach Charley Molnar said of Wisconsin. “Recruiting a certain proﬁle, offensive lineman, running back, tight ends, you honestly, you could’ve been watching 1992 or 1988 Badgers with coach (Barry) Alvarez with the same plays, just differ-

ent guys doing the same things.” The Minutemen were up against a starting offensive line that averages nearly 322 pounds. Wisconsin’s size was a clear mismatch for UMass’ defensive front seven, which ran a 3-4 defense with linebackers attacking the edges for most of the contest and still couldn’t get in position to make plays in the backﬁeld. There may have been more size to the Badgers than the Minutemen are accustomed to, and it turned out to be a key component to Wisconsin’s success on the ground, but Andre saw that as no excuse for their inability to stop the run. “Wherever you go, wherever you play, you’re gonna

find big cats so it doesn’t really matter how big they are,” Andre said. “That’s not a factor that affects the game. It’s all about where you fit in, where you’re playing and I don’t think we were in the right place at the right time.” The Badgers, however, couldn’t help but credit the big guys up front. “We have a great offensive line,” White said. “We have a lot of confidence in them. There’s a lot of change this year, but those guys work hard every day at practice, so we have the utmost confidence in them. They get the job done each and every week.” Nick Canelas can be reached at ncanelas@umass.edu and followed on Twitter @NickCanelas.

MEN’S SOCCER

Minutemen to rely heavily on underclassmen UMass with just

“The young group is five upperclassmen certainly eager, certainly fit, certainly B Y PATRICK STROHECKER passionate and disCollegian Staff ciplined to a point The Massachusetts men’s soccer team hasn’t because they don’t made the postseason since 2009. If it wants that trend know what it takes to change this year, it will yet. They haven’t need to receive production from unexpected sources. been in live fire is After stumbling to a disappointing 4-13-2 record the way to put it” last season, it seemed like 2013 could only be better. The progression may have to wait another year, however, as this season has the makings of another rebuild. “The young group is certainly eager, certainly fit, certainly passionate and disciplined to a point because they don’t know what it takes yet,” UMass coach Sam Koch said. “They haven’t been in live fire is the way to put it… so we’ll have to see just how tough of a transition it’s going to be.” UMass returns 13 lettermen from last year’s squad, but only five of them are upperclassmen. Those five are also the only returning players who saw significant playing time in 2012. “Their experience, that a lot of these younger players don’t have, is vital in terms of being able to help these younger players,” Koch said. “So, there’s no question that the younger players look to them to find the answers to the questions that they have.” The offense brings back three key parts from last year’s team, including Josh Schwartz, who led the Minutemen with 12 points in 18 appearances. Defensively, senior Nigel Negm and junior Matt Keys helped UMass record five shutouts last year and will be asked to help solidify the back end once again. But, the biggest hole that

UMass coach Sam Koch the Minutemen will need to fill will be at the most important position on the field: goalkeeper. UMass was backstopped in every game last year by Brian Frame, who led the team in minutes played and sported a respectable 1.66 goals against average with five shutouts. Without Frame, the starting spot for the Minutemen is up for grabs. Of the three keepers on the roster, only sophomore Nick Ruiz was on last year’s squad. Despite being redshirted and not seeing any action in the fall season, his progression as a keeper during the spring makes him the man to beat for this year’s starting job. “Well, I think Nick Ruiz did a very good job in the spring season, shutting out Rhode Island, shutting out Adelphi at the end of the year,” Koch said. “So he’s obviously the guy that the other guys have to beat out.” Even with the three keepers battling for their respective playing time in net, they haven’t let that affect their relationship as close friends. “It’s a lot different in terms of how they train,” Koch said. “They all really work hard together. They train well together. They push each other together. They respect each other.

It’s a good working relationship and can certainly be a cutthroat situation, but it’s certainly not that.” UMass isn’t a team that typically relies on upperclassmen. Koch likes to expand his bench, but this could be a completely new situation for both the coach and the team.

With so many inexperienced players, it may take time for everyone to get on the same page and be ready to play at the collegiate level. “We have a sophomore class and a freshman class that don’t have a lot of game time, so we’re going to take some lumps,”

Koch said. “We’re going to make mistakes that a lot of juniors and seniors wouldn’t make, but I feel like they’re a good group and they’re going to learn quickly.” Patrick Strohecker can be reached at pstrohec@umass.edu and followed on Twitter at @MDC_Strohecker.

For men’s soccer updates all season long, follow our beat writers on Twitter @Mark_Chiarelli and @MDC_Strohecker.

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Tuesday, September 3, 2013

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WOMEN’S SOCCER

Expectations remain high for young Minutewomen UM will rely on senior leaders BY JOEY SAADE Collegian Staff

Heading into the 2013 season, there is something different about the Massachusetts women’s soccer team. It’s not the team’s ultimate goal of winning the Atlantic 10 championship – that remains the same. It’s the way they’ll have to accomplish that goal: with a younger team that will have to come together. After capping off last season with a 9-10-1 record and ﬁ rst-round elimination by Dayton in the A-10 Tournament, expectations have only risen for this year’s Minutewomen. UMass coach Ed Matz will have to lead a squad that includes only six upperclassman – three juniors and three seniors – and 12 freshmen. While there may be some bumps and bruises that emerge from the learning curve this Minutewoman team will have to endure, Matz has them up to the challenge. Before the preseason even began, Matz put his squad through a two-day, Navy seal-led leadership program. The program was intended to bring the team together by challenging each player through difficult and uncomfortable situations and activities. Matz was hoping for new

leaders to emerge. And he thinks it worked. “Our six [upperclassman] became better leaders, and it also helped them see that these freshmen and sophomores are quite capable of being leaders as well,” Matz said. “I call those [leadership challenges] bumps in the road. Down the road, when we’re faced with adversity, we’ll be able to handle them a little better.” Senior defender Lauren Skesavage is quite familiar with team leadership, as she was elected as co-captain for the second straight year. Acknowledging that this upcoming season entails a “whole different atmosphere,” Skesavage believes that the program went long ways into preparing the team down the road. “That’s the big change from previous years that this program really helped us kind of bond and start a great atmosphere for our team,” she said. Senior midﬁelder Grace Coombs was named the other co-captain. Coming out of the camp, Coombs made a point of emphasis about leadership. She doesn’t care who has the “C” on their jersey, it’s all about a team effort. “It made everyone aware that just because me and Lauren are the only captains, we’re not the only leaders,” she said. “Everyone can come out

MARIA UMINSKI/COLLEGIAN FILE PHOTO

UMass defender Lauren Skesavage, who was voted team co-captain for the second straight season, is one of three returning seniors to a youthful Minutewoman club. and lead.” According to Matz, the learning curve for the incoming freshmen is a very challenging one that will have to be conquered if this team has any aspirations of its season goal. The young class includes two redshirt players and 10 faces completely new to not only the UMass system, but college athletics as a whole. While the adjustment period may take some time, Matz and his two captains are impressed by what they’ve seen thus far. “They’re tremendously talented, athletically fast and I expect them to learn as we go,” Matz said of his

rookies. Coombs believes that even though they are technically freshmen, no one would notice the difference. “You wouldn’t even think they’re freshmen, you’d think they’re upperclassmen by the way they act and play on the ﬁeld,” she said. One side of the ball that will look to continue its dominance of recent past is the defense. Five diff erent players will be battling for four spots, and Skesavage, who led the team to six defensive shutouts last season, will only demand success. “I hold high standards

MEN’S SOCCER

for the defense,” she said. “I want to do better than last year. We have a lot of speed and we have to play to our players’ strengths.” The only question mark associated with the defense heading into this season is the goalkeeping. Redshirt freshman Danielle Kriscenski will take over as the starting keeper, following the footsteps of graduates Emily Cota and Stephanie Gordon. Entering her second year, Kriscenski will build on the lessons she learned from sitting out last year after suffering an injury in the preseason. Matz has all the conﬁdence that she will

succeed. “She might be a bit nervous, but I’m expecting she’s going to have a really solid year for us,” Matz said. Despite some uncertainty, Matz admits that he’s never had a team as talented from top-to-bottom in his 20 years of coaching than he has now. “I’ve never had this, when I could look down the bench and be 100 percent comfortable with putting the 24th or 25th kid in a difﬁcult situation,” he said. The Minutewomen may have lost their leader in points, shots, goals and assists last season in Moa Mattson, but Matz sees an opportunity for his team to become more of a unit. “When she (Mattson) wasn’t on the top of her game, we didn’t have an answer, and we really struggled,” Matz said. “This year, we’re going to be very unpredictable because we have so many players capable of contributing.” Skesavage agrees. “This year is more about the team, rather than just one player, and we will play with that mindset,” she said. If the Minutewomen do play with that mindset, their goal of A-10 champions may not seem so farfetched. Joey Saade can be reached at jsaade@umass.edu and followed on Twitter @Jsaade1225.

FIELD HOCKEY

Minutemen winless in tourney UMass rallies to

top No. 9 Michigan

UM scoreless in opening week BY PATRICK STROHECKER Collegian Staff

With the opening weekend in the books, the Massachusetts men’s soccer team is still searching for a couple firsts: its first goal and its first win. After drawing with Evansville on Friday night, 0-0, the Minutemen (0-11) seemed destined to play to a similar result Sunday, but a goal by Bradley’s Tyler Davis four minutes, 44 seconds into the first overtime stunned UMass in the final game of the Hotels at Grand Prairie Classic in Peoria, Ill.. Much like in their opening game, the Minutemen were plagued by a slow start, but were bailed out by the Braves’ (2-0) inability to put shots on net. Despite holding a 7-3 shot advantage over UMass in the first half, both teams ended the first half with one shot on goal and the game still scoreless. However, Bradley came out firing to start the second half and, unlike in the first 45 minutes, started putting shots on target. The Minutemen found themselves under heavy attack throughout the entire half, but were bailed out by sophomore goalkeeper Nick Ruiz. Ruiz, who recorded his first career regular season shutout two nights earlier, kept the Braves off the scoreboard in the second half, despite his team being outshot 10-3 during the second half. Ruiz finished the game with seven saves and 16 total for the weekend to earn himself All-Tournament honors. Junior defender Matt Keys also cracked the AllTournament list. With the game scoreless after regulation, UMass attempted to once again

happen here?” And there’s almost a mental block, and Collegian Staff I think we overcame that T he 14th-ranked last year, and we’re past that Massachusetts field hockey point.” team closed out its trip to UMass opens season the Maine Invitational last with victory over Maine Saturday with a comeback The Minutewomen win over No. 9 Michigan. opened up the 2013 season Trailing 2-1 going into the with a 2-1 victory over the second half, Brooke Sabia Black Bears last Friday at tied the game within the first the Maine Invitational in minute of the half, scoring her first goal of the season Orono, Maine. Freshman Nicole Miller off a feed from Alexa Sikalis. opened up the scoring in the Sabia scored again three fi rst half, scoring her first minutes later, giving UMass a 3-2 lead that turned out to collegiate goal in the 15th minute with a shot from the be the final score. Coach Carla Tagliente edge of the striking circle. Freshman Izzie Delario said that while Sabia needs to show more consistently extended the lead in the secstrong performances on ond half when she scored offense, her skills continue on a rebound off a penalty corner shot from Prince to to improve. “She’s coming along quite give UMass a 2-0 lead. Tagliente said Miller and well, and I’m really excited to see how she’s going to Delario played well in their evolve even more over the first collegiate games and liked what she saw offensiveseason,” Tagliente said. The Minutewomen (2-0) ly from the team overall. “A number of people realstruck first in the 10th minute of the game when co-cap- ly had great offensive games tain Hannah Prince scored that you won’t see in the stat off a penalty corner off a column, and it’s only a matpass from Sikalis. But the ter of time before we start Wolverines (0-1) struck back to see a few more people when captain Rachael Mack breaking through and getscored a penalty corner goal ting goals,” she said. Maine (0-1) tried to close of her own four minutes later, and Michelle Roberts the gap late in the game, as scored at the 27th minute to Annabelle Hamilton scored give Michigan the lead going a penalty corner goal in the into the half. 56th minute, but Carlino and The Wolverines out- the Minutewoman defense shot UMass 14-10, and had held the lead for the rest of a 9-6 advantage on pen- the game. Carlino provided alty corners, but goalkeep- UMass with six saves for her er Sam Carlino kept the first win of the season. Minutewomen in the game, “Sam really had an outmaking seven saves on the standing game,” Tagliente way to her second win of the said. “She came up with a season. few saves at the end to keep Tagliente said beating a them from tying the game.” top-10 team like Michigan On Tuesday, the was a big win for the team. Minutewomen return to “In past years, these were Garber Field to host UMass the games we struggled with, Lowell at 5 p.m. whether it was a top-10 team or a top-20 team,” Tagliente Jesse Mayfield-Sheehan can be said. “We’d have this stigma, reached at jmayfiel@student.umass. playing a ranked team that, edu and can be followed on Twitter @ ‘Oh my gosh, what’s going to jgms88.

BY JESSE MAYFIELD-SHEEHAN

TAYLOR C. SNOW/COLLEGIAN FILE PHOTO

Peter Alvarenga led UMass men’s soccer with three shots in Friday’s game against Evansville.

Bradley took a throw-in deep in the Minutemen’s end. After a blocked shot ricocheted around the six–yard box, Davis managed to get his low shot through heavy traffic and beat Ruiz for the game-winner, clinching the championship for the Braves. salvage a rather sluggish game with a draw, but were eventually done in by Bradley’s relentless attack. About midway through the first overtime period, Bradley took a throw-in deep in the Minutemen’s end. After a blocked shot ricocheted around the sixyard box, Davis managed to get his low shot through heavy traffic and beat Ruiz for the game-winner, clinching the championship for the Braves. The Minutemen earned third place in the tournament despite having a similar 0-1-1 record with Evansville due to a better goal differential.

Minutemen tie 0-0 UMass got its season off

under them. While UMass was unable to solve the Purple Aces’ keeper, it did come out stronger in the second half and then really turned up the pressure in the overtime frames. The Minutemen limited Evansville to only five shots in the second half and generated five shots of their own. UMass owned a 5-2 shot advantage in the overtime frame, but only got one on goal. Ruiz finished the game with nine saves, while senior Connor DeVivo and sophomore Peter Alvarenga led UMass with three shots each. The Minutemen look to get their first win next weekend when they take on New England rival New Hampshire at 1:30 p.m. on Friday at the Windjammer Classic in Burlington, Vt. UMass then takes on host team Vermont at 1:30 p.m. on Sunday.

to a slow start Friday night, but were salvaged a 0-0 draw against Evansville. After the first 90 minutes ended with neither side breaking through, both teams saw the two, 10-minute extra time frames go without a goal and settled to the tie. The Purple Aces came out strong to open the first half, dominating the Minutemen in shots, 13-3, over the course of the first 45 minutes. But, for how sluggish UMass was offensively, that’s how equally strong Ruiz was in goal for it. Under constant pressure, Ruiz, making his first career fall season start, fended off any Evansville Patrick Strohecker can be reached at chances, helping the pstrohec@umass.edu and followed Minutemen get their legs on Twitter at @MDC_Strohecker.

THE MASSACHUSETTS DAILY COLLEGIAN

DailyCollegian.com

Tuesday, September 3, 2013

‘I STRIVE TO BE LIKE SHE WAS’ Former players, colleagues reflect on life of Elaine Sortino

B Y N ICK C ANELAS

Collegian Staff

t was May 4, 2012, and the Massachusetts softball team was in the midst of the longest game in team history. UMass and Fordham were tied 1-1 in the top of the 17th inning and the Minutewomen had a runner on third base with one out. Outf ielder Katie Bettencourt stood in her usual spot in the dugout next to UMass coach Elaine Sortino, simply because she liked to pick the brain of the legendary coach. With Teea Rogers coming to the plate, Sortino turned towards Bettencourt and the rest of the Minutewomen for their thoughts on a plan to push the go-ahead run across the plate. “I’m thinking about doing a suicide squeeze here, gang, what does everyone think about that?” Sortino asked. “We’re all like looking at each other, like, ‘Sure coach, whatever you say,’” Bettencourt recalled. “And sure enough, she calls it, and we won the game in the Bronx in 17 innings.” That’s just one of the countless memories Bettencourt has from her five years playing for Sortino, who died Sunday, Aug. 18, after a nearly two-year battle with cancer. In her 34 years of coaching at UMass, Sortino impacted the numerous people she grew close to, whether it was players, colleagues or friends. Many of these people have endless tales that exemplify her personality on and off the softball field, and some shared these memories with the Collegian after her death. “Basically as a friend and colleague she was fantastic,” former UMass field hockey coach Pam Hixon said. “Everybody who knows Elaine probably would describe her as incredibly intense, which she was, and a great technical coach. She could pick out the things on the team that were the strengths and the weaknesses and focus in on those weaknesses so that her team and her individuals could become stronger.” Sortino and Hixon were particularly close. The two shared an office for a number of years and spent a majority of their working hours together. Both had two assistants, so with six different personalities taking over a room, Hixon said there was plenty of fun to be had. “We looked at each other across two desks like every day,” Hixon said. “A long period of time seemed very short because we loved it. ... it was an office we got work

COURTESY UMASS ATHLETICS

done in, but certainly it was an office we had fun in and (we) enjoyed going to work every single day.” As a coach, Sortino was considered ﬁerce, tough and highly demanding of her players, especially her pitchers. She bred the likes of Danielle Henderson and Sara Plourde into an Olympic gold medalist and a school career strikeout leader, respectively. And it appeared with each generation of pitchers, the talent only improved. “(During) pitching workouts, me being a pitcher, I spent every day with her,” said Plourde, a 2012 graduate. “We’d have days where we would just cry laughing because something was so funny, and we’d have days where we would just ﬁght because I was being stubborn because I couldn’t pitch, I was having a hard time pitching.” Henderson’s relationship with Sortino was particularly unique. Now, the 1999 UMass graduate hopes to have a similar impact on people the way her mentor did. After three seasons as an assistant coach at Ohio State and Stanford, Henderson is now returning to Amherst to take on the same role at UMass. Wherever she goes, though, she said she applies what she learned from Sortino to this day when working with her own players. “I’m coaching today and I strive to be like she was,” Henderson said. “Whenever I think of things I think, ‘What would Elaine do? How would Elaine treat the players?’ That’s all I ever tried to do. “I’m just trying to give to people what she gave to me

MARIA UMINSKI/COLLEGIAN

Longtime UMass softball coach Elaine Sortino is remembered by many for her intensity as a coach and passionate love for her players. Above, Sortino walks on the field during a game in 2006. Below, former UMass pitcher Danielle Henderson (left) embraces Sortino during a dedication ceremony in 2012, when the UMass softball field was renamed Sortino Field. and I think that’s the best way you could honor someone.” Sortino loved her colleagues much the same way she loved her players. Greg Cannella, who will be entering his 20th season as the UMass men’s lacrosse coach this spring, said that he and Sortino had a “supportive” relationship and would discuss a variety of topics including coaching, recruiting and family. He also admired her “old school” style of coaching because he could relate to it. It’s especially hard for Cannella to forget Sortino’s reaction when he was named head coach of the Minutemen in 1994. “When I became the head coach she was one of the ﬁrst

to congratulate me. I can remember she said, ‘Go home and take your wife out to dinner. Enjoy it now.’ Because she knew what was coming for me,” Cannella said with a quiet chuckle. Hixon not only knew Sortino the coach, but also the great Italian cook and talented wood-worker. “I will never forget she and I would go to Rafters (restaurant in Amherst), and on a beer napkin she would design her next house, what piece of furniture she was going to build, sketch out and draw things and ask questions about how we thought it would look,” Hixon said. Through everything that Sortino was, for hundreds

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of young women across the country she is still Coach. And those players, both former and current, will forever appreciate the mark she left on the entire University, and, speciﬁcally, the softball program. “She is UMass softball,” Plourde said. “I don’t know if there’s a better way to put that, but she built it up and she created a tradition and a family and she is the legacy. It doesn’t really belong to anyone else.” Stephen Hewitt contributed to this report. Nick Canelas can be reached at ncanelas@umass.edu and followed on Twitter @NickCanelas.

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Arts Living “Started from the bottom, now we here!” - Drake

Tuesday, September 3, 2013

n route to a party with all your new friends – at your new school – cars honk as they drive by and screams of “Freshmen!” ring out into the September air. “How do they know?” you ask yourself. This is how...

I hope I didn’t forget my campus map...

Which side of Franklin am I on right now?

Have you heard about anything going on tonight?

Lanyard So you don’t forget your key or ID

Arts@DailyCollegian.com

Infographic by Gabe Scarbrough Photo by Shaina Mishkin

Common Traits • Excitement at their surroundings • Wide smiles of wonder and confusion • Thinking everyone is your best friend • Buying books before classes start • Still in a committed high school relationship

• Traveling in large packs • Holding campus map while looking around • Pushing Dining Commons tables together • Making noises in the Southwest Tunnel • Carrying around “water bottles” at night

y Dead Giveaways • Eating a waffle with every meal

Drawstring Bag To easily carry all your essentials

Academic Planner Gotta remember all that homework

• Wearing your high school graduation T-shirt • Wearing your high school letterman jacket • Asking to go to the bathroom in lecture • Loudly stating “I drank so much last night”

*Does not necessarily reflect model

LIFESTYLE

Seven tips for a fulfilling freshman year Make the most of your first year BY ELISE MARTORANO Collegian Staff

It’s the beginning of the new school year, which means another freshman class is ready to kick off their college careers at the University of Massachusetts. For many freshmen, the new year is met with a degree of uncertainty as they discover new friends, adapt to new living arrangements and balance it all with class and figuring out a major and career to pursue. It all may be seem confusing as we enter the first day of classes, so if freshman year has you feeling nervous, stressed or downright panicked, here are seven tips to get you through your first year of college.

Make your room your own space Your room is where you spend a large amount of your time and should be a place you can return to at the end of the day and feel at home, safe and at ease. Personalize your room with pictures, posters, keepsakes and your favorite stuffed animals or books.

while. At UMass, it isn’t hard to find people who share similar tastes, interests, hobbies and personality traits, as long as you keep your options open. Having friends and contacts from different backgrounds at UMass can reduce anxiety about fitting in. When you’re in your room and have time to relax and talk, leave your door open. People from your hall can then stop by to chat, lending you the opportunity to make close friends with people who live right next door. Likewise, stop by rooms on your floor and introduce yourself. Your roommate is another great friendship opportunity. Finding commonalities and company in a roommate can make for a more comfortable college experience. In downtime during class, talk to the people you sit next to. Exchanging contact information with peers can be a huge step in getting valuable class connections (read: help with class work, forming study groups and even making friends). Also, try reaching out to resident assistants, peer mentors, resident directors, teaching assistants (TAs) and professors. These connections can open you up to new opportunities both on and off campus.

Speak with your roommate about any issues you have whilst living together. In class, ask professors to clarify lecture points and proactively send them emails about test material, homework or extra credit opportunities — their job is to teach you, and you have a right to make sure you are getting the most out of your education. Set up appointments with tutors, TAs and professors for additional academic help.

SHAINA MISHKIN/COLLEGIAN

Arranging to meet with academic advisors is a good solution to feeling overwhelmed or lost while on your academic path. Don’t be shy when it comes to your academic career — advisors are an invaluable resource, but they won’t come to you.

Get involved

One of the best ways to make yourself feel at home at a huge university like UMass is to join a club or organization. UMass has over 200 registered student organizations (RSOs) to get involved with (check out: umassamherst.collegiatelink.net). There is a niche to Talk to everyone Be assertive be found for everyone, from Making new friends is an Instead of anxiously hop- intramural sports teams and important step in making ing that an issue will resolve theatre clubs to media agenyour time at college worth- itself, take action. cies and student govern-

never thought you’d be in. You may land yourself a great internship, an on-campus job, a leadership role in an organization or a chance to study abroad. It’s all about putting yourself out there.

Engage with schoolwork Though many students aren’t thinking solely about academics when they go to college, it’s important to engage in your education as you work to earn that college degree. Doing well in school is easy — if you make the effort. Regularly attending class means having the beneﬁt to learn class material ﬁrsthand. Sitting close to the front of the class ensures that you are surrounded by

Will American audiences burn out on blockbusters? By Søren Hough

decorated gladiator steps out into the sun, brandishing two swords while donning finely detailed armor. Around him, hundreds of men and women line the seats of a massive arena, wildly screaming his name. He walks forward to address his opponent, a Roman slave whose character design is the product of meticulous behindthe-scenes scrutiny. After a few brief words, steel clashes and the two launch into intricate, bloody choreography. Suddenly, part of the arena starts to crumble and fall, taking with it hundreds of bystanders. Fire erupts from the stands, and onlookers scream in panic. No, this isn’t a scene from “Gladiator,” or any other film for that matter – but you would be forgiven for thinking it was. This is actually a sequence from “Spartacus,” a successful high-budget series that recently concluded its run on Starz. With shows like “Spartacus” that feature the high-impact production value of the very best in cinema, audiences have access to their fill of explosions, action and drama right in their homes. Turn now to any mainstream cinema and look at the summer billings. This year alone, we’ve seen everything from “The Great Gatsby,” “Oblivion” and “Pacific Rim” to “The Wolverine,” “Elysium” and “Iron Man 3.” Outside of the odd animated film,

Christine Sgueglia and Olivia Branton set up their Van Meter dorm room. others who are interested in the course work, and it automatically engages you in the lecture. Keeping up with homework and reading outside of class is also extremely important. By familiarizing yourself with class material, you become more knowledgeable and prepared for exams, as well as gain a greater sense of conﬁdence and security in class. By choosing the classes that you are most interested in, you submerge yourself in information that inspires you, ensuring that you enjoy your education and excel in school.

Explore the area

plenty of hiking trails, poetry festivals, record stores, ethnic restaurants, museums, cafes and farmers markets, you can always ﬁnd an event worth attending or a shop worth browsing to beat boredom and acquaint yourself with the Pioneer Valley.

Embrace the experience Freshman year is a unique experience in and of itself. For many, it is the ﬁrst true taste of freedom from high school and yet it is also usually the easiest year academically. Everything is new and many people are looking to make new friends and explore. Appreciate all the new memories you are making — before you know it, the year will be over and you won’t be the new kid on the block anymore.

Amherst and its surrounding areas are fun, cultured and interesting places to explore. Finding things to do and see in town can be a great way to spend a free Elise Martorano can be reached at afternoon or weekend. With emartora@umass.edu.

this summer has seen a particularly robust set of blockbusters. And of those quieter animated movies that have been financially successful, most have been sequels or prequels to major franchises. It’s hard to ignore that “Despicable Me 2” is already the highest grossing film Universal has ever released, just behind “Jurassic Park” and “ET: The Extraterrestrial.” It isn’t entirely clear why movie studios have embraced mega-budget films with such verve, but one working theory points to shows like “Spartacus,” “Breaking Bad,” “Mad Men” and

nominated “Lincoln” nearly made a humble premiere on HBO. When thrills normally reserved for the theater can be found in the living room, industry giants feel the sting in their wallets. Film executives now invest even more in higher budgets, complex special effects and high-end animation. This is a temporary solution with which the television industry cannot yet compete. But these gimmicks may be desensitizing audiences, a phenomenon the media refers to as “blockbuster fatigue.” Disney in particular has suffered from audi-

When thrills normally reserved for the theater can be found in the living room, industry giants feel the sting in their wallets. Film executives now invest even more in higher budgets, complex special effects and high-end animation. This is a temporary solution with which the television industry cannot yet compete. the immensely popular “Game of Thrones.” Steven Spielberg and George Lucas, perhaps two of the most recognizable blockbuster directors of all time, have both gone on record saying that their most recent movies (“Lincoln” and “Red Tails,” respectively), were almost kept out of theaters due to their lower budgets and untested IPs. In fact, according to The Guardian, the Oscar-

ence disinterest. In 2012, “John Carter” lost the studio a stunning $177 million, and this year’s “The Lone Ranger” fell short of production costs by $127.3 million. Disney’s recent flops suggest that major blockbusters, once sure to bring studios profits, are no longer guarantors of success. Many have attributed these missteps to market over-saturation with big-budget features. Despite the red flags,

PHOTO COURTESY MARVEL STUDIOS

Iron Man, played by Robert Downey Jr., falls through the air in a promotional photo for “Iron Man 3.” studios have failed to adjust their strategies. Looking ahead to 2015, audiences can expect to see “The Avengers: Age of Ultron,” a Fantastic Four reboot, a new James Bond, another Terminator, the penultimate Hunger Games movie, “Batman vs. Superman,” “Jurassic Park IV,” “Star Wars: Episode VII,” “Finding Dory” and “Kung Fu Panda 3.” You’re forgiven if you couldn’t track of all of that. It’s a lot, and that isn’t even close to a complete list. Executives aren’t content with planning these movies just a few years in advance anymore, either. James Cameron recently

confirmed that he’s working on not only “Avatar 2,” but “Avatar 3” and “Avatar 4,” as well. Likewise, producer Kevin Feige has stated that his plans for the Marvel Cinematic Universe extend into the year 2021, well past the first three “Phases” that the studio has publicly discussed. This wildly optimistic attitude indicates Cameron and Feige refuse to acknowledge current trends in the market. This isn’t to say that having more blockbusters is a bad thing; a good popcorn flick is a great way to pass the time over summer vacation. However, there may be ramifications to putting so much money into the future of

one particular enterprise. As audiences get more jaded with explosions and excessive use of CGI, this new direction could place major franchises in peril. More importantly, brand recognition may be unable to overcome so-called “blockbuster fatigue.” So what happens to the Star Wars property if it tanks at the box office? Or the next Bond film? Or, God forbid, Marvel’s “The Avengers”? And just look at that list of movies releasing in 2015 alone. If audiences aren’t bored already, it’s only a matter of time. Søren Hough can be reached at shhough@umass.edu.

MUSIC

Summer albums that weren’t a bummer The hottest albums of summer 2013 BY TOMMY VERDONE Collegian Staff

ment, to name just a few. By joining an RSO, you’ll automatically involve yourself in a specialized, tight-knit community run by people who share your interests. By getting involved on campus, you can discover talents and interests you never thought you had or continue to explore a passion you’ve always enjoyed. Becoming conﬁdent, ambitious and opportunistic, you may ﬁnd yourself stepping into a positive situation you

Freshman year is a unique experience in and of itself. For many, it is the first true taste of freedom from high school.

Summer box office saturated with explosions

Common Behavior

UMass T-shirt So that everyone knows what school you go to

Tuesday, September 3, 2013

FILM

Anatomy of a freshman

THE MASSACHUSETTS DAILY COLLEGIAN

DailyCollegian.com

THE MASSACHUSETTS DAILY COLLEGIAN

Few people, if any, could have anticipated the tones that would shake the world of contemporary music over the course of the last few months. The summer of 2013 brought big-name artists out of their enigmatic shells, and drove some of the most consistent sounding groups in startling new directions. Sigur Rós, an Icelandic post-rock group, whose popularity has snowballed in the west in recent years, released its seventh studio album on June 12. The album “Kveikur,” which translates to fuse or candlewick, sounds relatively far off from any other album the band has let out since its inception in 1994. Sigur Rós has always had a reputation for beauty and dreaminess in some unintelligible and intangible form, with its 2002 album “( )”’s lyrics consisting of nothing but a fabricated language aptly named Hopelandic. The band’s most recent album prior to “Kveikur” would be the critically underwhelming “Valtari,” which was released in 2012. Following this album, the group’s longtime keyboardist Kjartan Sveinsson, who had been there through some of Sigur Rós’ most recognized work, chose to depart from the band. “Kveikur” strays from the band’s minimalistic sense of innocence and purity, heading toward something much darker. Possibly due to the lack of a dedicated key-

boardist, the band sounds manipulation of the mind. “Tomorrow’s Harvest” is Josh Homme, the founder noticeably heavier, introduc- “Tomorrow’s Harvest” that the world knows the and only remaining original ing harsher drums and an keeps the menacing yet vir- Boards of Canada are still member of the band, had a brush with mortality and all-around more oppressive tuous tone that the Boards there. tone. It seems that while the of Canada are known for, as On Aug. 3, Queens of the brieﬂy died on the operating rest of Sigur Rós’ albums well as the edgy rhythms and Stone Age released its sixth table. After four months of have been heavily reliant on heavily distorted sounds. LP “…Like Clockwork,” fur- being bed-ridden, he became exceedingly ambitious and cutesy, soft melodies, this While this album does ther establishing themselves set off on a nostalgic particular album draws tour of the band’s ﬁrst much more out of the album, only to then rhythm section in a way head in a new direction that the rest did not. entirely. Starting in April, the Queens of the Stone notorious and someAge albums never what elusive Scottish seem to sound consissibling duo Boards of tent with each other, Canada subtly began as there have been so hinting at its new album many collaborators and “Tomorrow’s Harvest.” shifting members, and This album is importhis album is no exceptant not only due to the tion. Featuring Dave group’s shady evasive Grohl, once a member persona, but due to the of Nirvana and current mysterious puzzle that leader of Foo Fighters, encircled its announceon drums, this album ment, which began on delivers similar driving Record Store Day on hard rock rhythms to April 20 of this year. the earlier project he The puzzle consisted of collaborated on with the codes that were leaked group in 2002, “Songs in a series of assorted for the Deaf.” However, single records, as well as “…Like Clockwork” one commercial, which does take the sound aired for 90 seconds in an unanticipated on Cartoon Network’s direction. While it is Saturday night anime certainly one of the block “Toonami.” group’s darker albums Boards of Canada thematically, serving as have always had a nosan especially intimate talgic child-like tone project for Homme, it is ever since its debut LP by no means its heavi“Music Has the Right to est. Children” in 1998, but Though still a something sinister has Clockwise from top left: Sigur Ros “Kveikur,” Boards of Canada “Tomorrow’s Harvest,” hard rock album, a laid beneath the inno- Queens of the Stone Age “...Like Clockwork,” Kanye West “Yeezus.” clear indie twang can cent sense of wonderment since “Geodaddi,” the not change much stylisti- as a band that tenaciously be heard throughout. The harsh edges that made up duo’s 2002 album. Boards of cally, Boards of Canada are proves with each record the Queens of the Stone Age Canada, while blending a an important name in the it releases that rock is not have been smoothened out staggering amount of electronic and hip-hop genres electronic music industry. dead. An album with a back- for this album, leaving the seamlessly into one simple, It seems that while other story as interesting as its listener with an interesting yet complex ambient work, artists are reaching far out sound, “…Like Clockwork” new creation. One of the most critihave always been a fan of trying to expand its genres, is surprisingly one of the the eerie, never hiding the this Scottish duo is just darker albums that the band cally questioned albums of fact that they are large fans delving further into itself. has let out. The roots of this the summer would have to of subliminal messaging and What is important about album started in 2010, when be Kanye West’s “Yeezus.”

The summer of 2013 brought big–name artists out of their enigmatic shells, and drove some of the most consistent sounding groups in starting new directions.

Released on June 18 and advertised through a number of guerilla listening sessions in which West’s face would be projected on the side of buildings to perform the track “New Slaves” off of the album, “Yeezus” had fans literally swarming with anticipation. West, while a mainstream and commercially successful rapper, has managed to achieve cult status in the last few years and this album is proof. A collaboration project as much as a West album, “Yeezus” takes a minimalistic and intentionally derelict approach at hip-hop. With inﬂuences from soul musicians like Charlie Wilson, and production from the legendary Daft Punk, Rick Rubin and countless others, “Yeezus” takes West’s music in a direction that most pop stars wouldn’t dare to veer in. The album debuted at No. 1 the week of its release on Billboard 200, yet sales diminished immediately, seeming proof that many of West’s fans were put off by the album’s raw, aggressive timbre and drastically different sound. Tonally, the album is angry and desperate with synthesizers that sound like they’re malfunctioning and scattered skips. “Yeezus” takes its listener on a dark and oppressive journey, only broken up by the occasional somber bursts of light from collaborator Justin Vernon of Bon Iver. While it may be jarring on a ﬁrst listen through, this is one of the hardest biting records released this summer. Tommy Verdone can be reached at tverdone@student.umass.edu.

Tuesday, September 3, 2013

THE MASSACHUSETTS DAILY COLLEGIAN

DailyCollegian.com

MUSIC

Alum on the rise and dropping bass UMass graduate produces trap music

the usual 140 BPM which is kind of the ‘normal’ trap tempo,” he said. Today’s trap music falls under the ever-growing BY MARY REINES umbrella of electronic Collegian Staff dance music, and is charAndrew Sweet, 24, spent acterized by ominous 808 his last eight months out of bass, rattling high hats and work a little differently. He synthesizers. As trap’s visibility rises with songs like was making trap music. “Harlem Shake” and DJs “It was awesome because like Flosstradamus, Sweet I got to work on music all believes that the genre has day…really learn a lot and morphed. do all the things I wished I “What people call trap could do when I was workmusic isn’t actually trap ing,” he said. music,” he said. “Because Under the stage name (the original) trap music is Micetro, the University more like, down south kind of Massachusetts gradu- of drug-dealer music.” The ate has performed around “trap” refers to the location Boston at popular night- or occurrence of a drug clubs such as Prime, Rise deal, and trap music stems and the Middle East. In from southern hip-hop artJune, he was one of more ists like Three 6 Mafia. than 100 artists to perform In Sweet’s trap, which Micetro performs a DJ set at a nightclub. at the Camp Coldbrook is of the party-starting Music and Arts Festival in electro-dance flavor, he Sweet started producing was honestly the best deciBarre. likes to incorporate panbeats for his rapper friends sion I’ve ever made.” as a freshman at Franklin Sweet believes that Pierce University. When UMass helped him find a he transferred to UMass day job. his sophomore year, he Although he still had stopped producing, but three credits left when he met a lot of people in the walked at graduation in Andrew Sweet, better known as Micetro EDM scene. All his friends 2011, he had found a fullbecame DJs. time job as a health insur“UMass had a huge effect ance auditor and decided ning – movement of sound Recently, his newest between speakers – and on the music I listened to, to strike while the iron was song, “ACTION” was No. “wood-blocky” textures you know, more than any- hot. Sweet didn’t end up 1 on trapmusic.net, a site that bounce back and forth. thing,” he said. “Because graduating until this year, that aims to feature “the “It just gives it more of an that’s really what spurred receiving a degree in combest producers and DJs in ear-candy effect, especially my interest in it.” munications. the world,” according to its if you listen to it on headAfter graduation, Sweet At the end of July, blog. stayed in touch with many he found another job as phones,” he said. Sweet thinks that the UMass a health insurance audiFor equipment, Sweet Boston-based song’s popularity – over uses an Akai MTK 49 friends who helped him tor with a company called 30,000 plays on soundcloud. Keyboard, his MacBook book shows. HMS Holdings. Now as com – is due to its unique Pro laptop, Reason 7 soft“I feel like the connec- his music is gaining recstyle and slower tempo. ware and occasionally tions you make at UMass ognition, Sweet must also “It’s around 94 (beats Logic Pro. are very strong,” he said. juggle a full-time job, leavOriginally a hip-hop fan, “Transferring to UMass ing him a lot less time per minute) as opposed to

“I feel like the connections you make at UMass are very strong. Transferring to UMass was honestly the best decision I’ve ever made.”

We’re giving away tons of

PHOTO COURTESY OF MICETRO

for music. What was once three hours a day has dwindled to about an hour, if he’s not too tired. He has dreams of becoming a fulltime DJ and touring places like Florida and California, where trap is more popular. But for now, he appreciates the security of a day job and strives to do his best in both aspects of his life. “It’s important for me to be successful at whatever I do, whether it’s work or music,” he said. To hear Sweet’s music, go to www.soundcloud. com/micetro. Mary Reines can be reached at mreines@umass.edu.

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Tuesday, September 3, 2013

THE MASSACHUSETTS DAILY COLLEGIAN

DailyCollegian.com

’ll tell the story ... there was an epic battle. We were invaded in our favorite room of all, graphics. They had spears, pitchforks and a live bear. We held out as long as we could, throwing empty beer bottles and broken pens we found littering the ground. We held about two hours. When all looked grim, Steve Hewitt came flying in on the back of Sam the Minuteman with that T-shirt gun, shooting Collegians at the throngs of invaders. Although it sent them back for a time, they came back tenfold, breaking through the doors and flooding the room. We barely made it out alive via the fire escape, the bear at our heels. The true act of heroism was by our former managing editor Billy Perkins, when, as the bear caught up, he pushed myself and Hewitt out the door and literally punched the bear in the face, which resulted in a fist fight where Billy fought valiantly, using his superior knowledge of newsroom etiquette and InDesign functions to hold the bear off while we made it out alive. That’s why he’s not coming back this year, he was our only casualty in the graphics room battle. It’s a miracle we made it, but alas, the graphics room was lost in the process. It was a bloody day, but one we will forever remember in Collegian history. Heroes were born that day, and the legends will live on. As told by Justin Surgent