Massachusetts Daily Collegian: Oct. 23, 2013

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DAILY COLLEGIAN DailyCollegian.com

Wednesday, October 23, 2013

Trans actress visits campus Talks transgender issues & acceptance By Rose GottlieB Collegian Correspondent Actress Laverne Cox of the Netflix original series “Orange is the New Black” spoke to a full house at the University of Massachusetts on Monday about her experiences as a transgender woman and how everyone can promote inclusiveness and acceptance for members of the transgender community. Cox is the first transgender woman of color to have a leading role in a mainstream scripted television show. She plays the role of Sophia Burset, a transgen-

der woman who is incarcerated for credit card fraud. Students and faculty from the five colleges waited in line for hours outside the Student Union Ballroom to hear Cox speak. Roughly 700 people were admitted—hundreds more had to be turned away because the ballroom had reached capacity. Cox stated that being African-American, transgender, a woman and having been raised by a single, working-class mother are all important parts of her identity. She grew up in Alabama, and said that her mother emphasized the importance of education for Cox and her twin brother. Cox believes that everyone can help make the world safer and more accepting for gender nonconformists and

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Motive remains unkown in Nev. school shooting Shooter’s parents could face charges By Melanie Mason and a Ri B looMekatz Los Angeles Times

KATELYN DUBE/COLLEGIAN

Laverne Cox addressed an audience of 700 on Monday evening. help to implement inclusive ple a little more.” in workplaces, schools and The majority of Cox’s communities. Cox encour- speech covered her life, from aged attendees to “speak the personal repression of to our friends, speak to our family” and “love trans peo- see COX on page 3

A bright And lively fArewell

BRYN ROTHSCHILD-SHEA/COLLEGIAN

Members of the UMass Marching Band play for the audience of Friday’s multibands concert as they exit the Fine Arts Center.

Serving the UMass community since 1890

SPARKS, Nev. — The morning after a 12-yearold boy opened fire at Sparks Middle School in Nevada, killing a teacher and wounding two students before turning the gun on himself, police said they do not have a motive for the seventh-grader’s actions and did not release his identity “out of respect for his grieving parents.” “Everybody wants to know why - that’s the big question,” said Sparks Police Department Deputy Chief Tom Miller. “The answer is we don’t know right now. We are proactively trying to determine why.” Police said the shooter’s family is fully cooperating with the investigation and believe the boy used a Ruger 9 mm semiautomatic from his parents’ home. Police said the crime scene has been expanded to the shooter’s home and there is a possibility that his parents could face charges related to the weapon. The two injured boys, both 12, “are stable and recovering,” Miller said at a news conference Tuesday. One was shot in the shoulder, the other in the abdomen. Police said they do not yet know if the students were targeted and declined to speculate about whether bullying was a motive. “There have been things in the media,” Miller said in response to a question about bullying. “But like I said earlier, we are still trying to determine the whys.”

Michael Landsberry, the math teacher and former Marine and Nevada National Guardsman, was credited with saving the lives of other students when he tried to stop the shooting in a school hallway. The violence unfolded in a few minutes outside of school buildings. Police said before-school safety procedures in place kept some doors closed and prevented the shooter from entering crowded hallways. Miller explained the timeline: At 7:15 a.m., the student arrived on school grounds, drew his weapon and shot the first student in the shoulder near the hallway. The shooter then encountered Landsberry on a basketball court. “They were actually walking towards each other,” Miller said. “The suspect shot the teacher, continued southbound, shot a second student in the abdomen, turned around and walked northbound and shot himself,” Miller said. “At no time did any shooting occur within the building of the school itself,” he said, adding that there were no shots fired by law enforcement. Mike Mieras, chief of school police for the Washoe County School District, said that after the first student was shot, “Mr. Landsberry calmly walked toward the shooter, putting his hands up in a motion to try to stop the individual’s actions.” “Mr. Landsber ry was fatally shot in the chest. Mr. Landsberry’s heroic actions, by stepping toward the shooter, allowed time for other students on that playground area to flee.”

Students talk midterms Fox 25 Boston to bring live at mid-semester mark show to UMass this Thurs. By haley schillinG Collegian Correspondent

The mid-semester mark passed on Sunday at the University of Massachusetts as both midterms and fall activities continue in full swing. While some students are feeling the spirit of fall, others are just too busy studying for upcoming exams to participate in festivities. “You know the midsemester’s around when the leaves are changing and the sports teams are winning,” said Jared Beaulieu, a junior political science major. Besides sports, Beaulieu’s involvement with the theater department and UMass Homecoming Royalty Court are keeping him occupied. “This semester’s been pretty busy for me … but

it’s been an enjoyable midsemester for me,” he said. Beaulieu has some advice for fellow students who may be getting sidetracked by the fall festivities: “Be sure to take some time away from distractions and set some time aside on the weekends to actually study, instead of just watching football, as tempting as that may be,” he said. Beaulieu also recommends pairing a pumpkin coffee with studying for midterms as a way to still enjoy the fall season in academia. Atticus Cole, a freshman chemistry and violin performance major, said that his first UMass fall has been a positive one, saying, “I love it. The atmosphere is so relaxed. Everyone I met has greeted me with a smile.” Cole added that his semester has not been free

from midterm-related stress, however, calling midterms “a necessary evil.” “They suck, midterms plain out suck. I hate tests and I hate preparing for tests,” he said, adding that knowing that his professors and teaching assistants are there to help alleviates some of the pressure. Midterms are also keeping senior resource economics major Kristen Moreno occupied. “I’m crazy busy. I’m busier than in any of my previous semesters here,” she said. Moreno said that she is completing a major and a minor, so she has to take a variety of classes that range from computer science to digital art. see

MIDTERMS on page 3

Location will be Goodell Hall lawn By stephen hewitt Collegian Staff

Fox 25 Boston will be broadcasting its morning news show live at the University of Massachusetts this Thursday, the fourth stop of the television network’s six-part “FOX25 College Tour” that is highlighting select New England area colleges and universities. The broadcast will air live from 6 to 10 a.m. on the lawn in front of Goodell Hall. Planned segments include a live performance from the UMass marching band and an interview with Chancellor Kumble

Subbaswamy as well as several interactive activities with students, who are being encouraged to wake up early and participate on the broadcast. In the event that weather conditions force the broadcast to air indoors, the show will move to Hampshire Dining Common. The live broadcast will “showcase the campus in many ways,” Subbaswamy said in an email to The Massachusetts Daily Collegian, “and it will set the tone for the UMass Amherst sesquicentennial celebration in Boston the next day.” Fox 25 hosts Elizabeth Hopkins and Brett Connolly will make the trip to UMass and “plan to mingle with the

crowd and interview students,” according to an email UMass sent out to students last Thursday that announced Fox’s visit to the school. The “FOX25 College Tour,” which is the first of its kind, kicked off at Holy Cross on Oct. 3, then to Bentley University on Oct. 10 and Mass Bay Community College last Thursday. After UMass, the tour will move to Southern New Hampshire University on Oct. 31 and conclude at UMass Lowell on Nov. 7. The series was spawned from the popularity of the station’s “Zip Trips,” a Fox press release said, which were a series of live summer broadcasts that aired see

FOX 25 on page 2


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