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WINLESS PAGE 8 THE MASSACHUSETTS
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Thursday, September 12, 2013
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UMass cancels electronic music concert
‘Fantazia Returns’ called off for drug concerns By Patrick Hoff Collegian Staff
Less than two weeks before the highly anticipated Return to Fantazia electronic dance party was set to come to the Mullins Center, University of Massachusetts officials cancelled the concert in an announcement on Wednesday, citing the recent tragic deaths related to the drug MDMA. “To better understand and respond to these current instances, UMass Amherst is joining with a number of venues in the area and universities in the region to cancel these events and proactively educate our communities about
the dangers of Molly,” Interim Vice Chancellor and Dean of Students Enku Gelaye said in an email to students on Wednesday. Added Gelaye: “We don’t make these decisions lightly and do so with a clear focus.” “We, along with the University, felt that, at this particular time, in light of recent incidents, that it would be in everyone’s best interest to cancel this particular show,” Ike Richman, who is the vice president for public relations at Comcast-Spectacor, which manages the Mullins Center, said in a press release. “It’s unfortunate as we know a lot of people have been looking forward to it, but we all felt it was what needed to be done at this time.” Electronic music and drugs, especially MDMA, are quite fre-
quently paired together by concertgoers in a belief that doing drugs at EDM concerts will enhance the experience. “How much of that type of music really necessitates drug use in the first place (though)?” said Jim Lyons, treasurer of the UMass Association for Musical Performance and journalism major. “I understand enjoying yourself but … it’s too much,” added Mitch Bordage, president of UMass AMA and an English major. Other students similarly were not heartbroken over the cancellation of Fantazia. “I think that the concerts are just UMass sponsored raves anyway,” said Chris Hicks, a sophomore at Holyoke Community College. Hicks grew up in Amherst
and said that the concerts “have been going on for years.” Added Hicks: “I’m all for people having their fun but ignorance is not safe.” Some students, however, were not pleased that UMass is revoking certain privileges on campus. “Personally I don’t go to these kinds of things,” said Paul Merriman, a senior management major. “But I think it’s ridiculous that they ban that kind of thing, along with tobacco and soda.” Junior Reed Fox was just confused by the cancellation of the concert, wondering if UMass was just following a trend or whether its fears were legitimate. “They’re the ones who switched our concerts to electronic,” Reed said, citing the fact that there were a variety of concert performances
of other types of music available to him when he was a freshman. MDMA, also known by its slang names of Molly, E, X, clarity and beans, comes in a variety of forms and colors but is a dangerous and illegal stimulant. The drug can lead to hypothermia, kidney or heart problems or even death, despite the myth that it is a “safe” drug. It is prohibited on campus, according to the Student Code of Conduct. Throughout the United States, and particularly in the Northeast region, MDMA has been in the news for being responsible for the death of several college-aged students, most recently at the Electric Zoo music festival in New York on see
CONCERT on page 3
RemembeRing, twelve yeaRs lateR Amherst Planning Board reviewing Olympia Place
New apartments in planning stages By allison ludtke Collegian Staff
ROBERT RIGO/COLLEGIAN
Police officers and firefighters gather around the American flag in front of Center Fire Station during the Amherst 9/11 Remembrance Ceremony.
A proposal for a 75-unit apartment complex on Olympia Drive, called Olympia Place, is undergoing approval from the Amherst Planning Board. On Aug. 21, Dave Williams and Kyle Wilson of Archipelago Investments presented the proposal for the five-story complex. According to documents from the meeting, Williams explained how Archipelago Investments developed Boltwood Place, a new multi-use building in downtown Amherst, for which they had received over 700 inquiries for 12 apartments. Williams stated this shows a
desire in Amherst for more urban living in the downtown area. Located off East Pleasant Street near the UMass Police Station and Amherst’s North Fire Station, Olympia Drive was once referred to as Fraternity-Sorority Park. The lot is currently home to the Sigma Epsilon house. Project plans propose to tear down the building to create space for Olympia Place. Utilities including power, water, sewer and a pump station are on site and are available for use by the new development. Each unit would have one small kitchen and two small bathrooms. There would be singles, doubles and four bedroom units. There would be a ground floor with common areas, library space, see
APARTMENTS on page 3
$3.8b capital project proposed Recreation Center victim of missing towels, locks
A Board of Trustees made a preliminary approval for a capital plan of $3.8 billion for ongoing construction and renovations at the five University of Massachusetts campuses on Wednesday. “Over the past decade, more than $2 billion has been invested in academic, research, student housing and student life buildings across the UMass system, and the creation of these important new facilities has helped to fuel our enrollment and reputational surges,” UMass President Robert Caret said in a press release. The capital plan, which includes 184 UMass projects, will be reviewed by the full Board of Trustees on Sept. 18. The plan has four components, including student life and housing, teaching and learning, basic infrastructure and research. The plan would be implemented from the fiscal year 2014 to the fiscal year 2018, and would build on the $2.4 billion that have been invest-
ed in construction at the five campuses over the past 10 years. “These facilities are critical to our ability to attract and retain outstanding students and faculty and will assist in keeping Massachusetts competitive in the global economy,” Henry M. Thomas III, chairman of the UMass Board of Trustees, said in the release. The plan, which has 27 new projects, estimates that UMass will pay for 72 percent of the funds and the state will pay for the rest. “We are very appreciative of the support we have received from Governor (Deval) Patrick and the Legislature and also thank the UMass Building Authority for making a critical contribution to the University and the Commonwealth,’’ said Trustee Victor Woolridge of Springfield, who chairs the Administration and Finance Committee said in the release.
Some of the proposed projects include $12.6 million to repair Machmer Hall at the flagship campus, $12.5 million for renovations to Healey Library at UMass Boston, $11.4 million for the purchase of the Advanced Technology and Manufacturing Center in Fall River at UMass Dartmouth, $10 million for improvements to campus athletics and recreation facilities at UMass Lowell and $15.5 million to upgrade research and lab facilities at UMass Medical School. Some projects that were already completed include the $13.7 million renovation of Goessmann Laboratory at UMass Amherst, the $46 million expansion and renovation of the Claire T. Carney Library at UMass Dartmouth and the $350 million Albert L. Sherman Center at UMass Medical School in Worcester, according to the press release. Collegian News Staff
Lending system changes pending By Paul Bagnall Collegian Staff
The University of Massachusetts’ Recreation Center has always been willing to lend students shower and locker room equipment. But with equipment increasingly going missing last semester, that luxury has come under threat. Stolen shower towels are nothing new for the Recreation Center, but more recently the locks for the lockers have also been going missing and there has been an increase in missing towels. Due to the amount of towels that are stolen, the Recreation Center runs out every two weeks. “It’s been ongoing since
The Recreation Center’s inventory system is based on sight, so there’s no clear amount of how many towels and locks have been taken over the past year. It’s an “old school” system of keeping the equipment in check. opening,” facility manager Roger Heimerman said. John Blihar, who has been the Director of Campus Recreation for the past two years, hopes that making students aware of the problem will prevent the staff from having to make any unnecessary changes to their system of free equipment rentals. Replacements for the towels cost upwards of $9,000 per year, and around 40 dozen towels were estimated to have been taken since last semester, averaging to about 10 towels per
week. Each missing towel is replaced with a colored one to distinguish the old towels from the new. Some believe the loss is not accidental. “It’s not that hard to lose them,” said Stephanie Kwon, a biochemistry and molecular biology major. This year, about 600 locks were replaced in order to meet the demand for this semester. The Recreation Center’s inventory system is based on sight, so there’s no clear see
REC CENTER on page 2