NO MATCH
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No. 17 NIU beats down UMass
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THE MASSACHUSETTS
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DAILY COLLEGIAN DailyCollegian.com
Monday, November 4, 2013
UMass hosts ‘Amazing Race’
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Meet the UMass marching band Members practice for Macy’s Parade By PAtrick hoff Collegian Staff
ARAZ HAVAN/COLLEGIAN
Teams gather to hear the prerace rules before the Amazing Race competition begins.
19 teams compete “I think it’s a really great opportunity for all of the different parts of UMass to interact.” in 10 challenges By ShelBy AShline
Collegian Correspondent
Cheers of encouragement rang out from spectators as dozens of students and faculty of the University of Massachusetts ran frantically around the Durfee Garden, waving flashlights in search of a plastic cup. The pressure was on for each team of no more than three people to find the one cup that had their team’s number written on it. Only then could they receive their first clue and embark on the fifth biannual Amazing Race competition, which was held Friday evening. This semester’s Amazing Race, which is similar to a scavenger hunt, had 19 teams participating in 10 challenges across campus which would test them both mentally and
Oscar Collins, associate director of Academic Support at CMASS physically. Oscar Collins, associate director of Academic Support at the Center for Multicultural Advancement and Student Success, explained that the Amazing Race was originally planned in the fall of 2011 to create a fun activity that students would want to participate in. The event also allows students to work with the UMass Police Department, which is in charge of coming up with all of the challenges. Police officers as well as UMass staff members man each of the stations where competitors complete their challenges and receive their next clue. “For CMASS, our goal is really to work with a campus partner that students don’t
always have a positive experience with,” said Collins. “The other goal is really to have students see as many different parts of campus as possible, especially places they might not be aware of or have not frequently visited,” Collins added. Team check-in and registration began at Wilder Hall at 7:00 p.m. At 7:30 p.m. the teams gathered outside of the building on Stockbridge Road to listen to UMPD Lieutenant Tom O’Donnell explain the rules of the race. O’Donnell began by saying that running was not allowed during the competition. Skateboards, bicycles and cars were also prohibited. However smartphones could be used to help competitors
solve riddles. Teams were expected to use crosswalks when crossing streets and were asked to be respectful of others. Sabotaging other teams’ success in any manner was forbidden as well. After each team had found the cup with their team’s number on it in the Durfee Garden, they received the first clue: a map of the counties in Massachusetts with question marks over Hampshire County, followed by a photograph of fruits and vegetables. The teams set off to Hampshire Dining Commons, where each group had to carve a pumpkin that they would carry throughout the remainder of the race. After two hours of traveling back and forth across campus and completing various challenges, the first teams began to return to see
RACE on page 2
Close to 400 students gather in formation on the field, instruments in hand, awaiting instruction. The command is given, and the entire marching band raises their instruments simultaneously, preparing to play. The M i nu t e m a n Marching Band is one of the largest groups on campus, with 394 people broken up into about 12 different sections. Sizes of sections range from 16 people to the 60-person trumpet section. “At the end of the day, we all are a family and that’s something that’s really important,” said marching band spokesman Dan Carroll. “We come from all different backgrounds … But we all come together at the end of the day to take care of each other and we’re a family. That’s probably the thing that’s most important, how we make people feel in the organization as well as when we perform.” The Marching Band is preparing to march in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade at the end of the month, but that won’t be the first time the Marching Band has been on the national stage. In 1981, 1985 and 2001, the Marching Band played at the presidential inauguration and they have performed five times in the Bands of America Grand National Championship Exhibition. Most recently they performed in Bands of America two years ago. The Marching Band also won the Sudler Trophy in 1998, something that Carroll thinks of as the
band’s biggest achievement in over 70 years. The Sudler Trophy is “basically a lifetime achievement award” given to the best bands in the country, according to Carroll. The band is mainly student run, with 35 students on the administrative staff and 50 students on the field staff, running drills and directing music. Another 50 students are involved in helping run the band in other ways, such as participating in fraternities that help to organize the band. In total, Carroll estimated that one-third of the band is involved in helping in one way or another. “At the end of the day, everyone has to put in their effort,” he said. There are only between eight and 10 professional staff members that are not students, one of which is the band director who is in charge of the entire operation. The current band director is Dr. Tim Anderson, who has been with the marching band since 2011 after the passing of former Director George Parks. Anderson came to UMass from Fresno State University where he was for five years. Anderson is assisted by Tom Hannum who has been with the band since 1981. He is “the top percussion instructor in the country,” said Carroll. “After Mr. Park passed away he’s been very much see
BAND on page 3
UMass opens new Rausch Local businesses partake Mineral Gallery in Morrill in Amherst ‘Dessert Crawl’
Exhibit includes According to Williams, Rausch took great over 200 specimens pride in his collection, not just because of his By JAclyn BrySon Collegian Staff
Just like snowflakes, the Rausch Mineral Gallery at the University of Massachusetts is proving that no two rocks are alike. Located in Morrill Hall, the gallery, which formally opened on Saturday, Oct. 19, is home to over 200 minerals from the collection of former UMass chemistry professor, Marvin Rausch, who died in 2008, according to a press release. “These minerals are so unusual in that they are large and so eye catching that you can’t walk by without looking at them,” said Mike Williams, professor of geology at UMass. “The hope is that many people just walking down the halls
love for science, but because of its aesthetic appeal.
of Morrill will see the minerals, even if they are not going specifically to look at them, and be interested in them.” According to Sheila Seaman, another geology professor, the gallery was made possible by the many acquisitions made by Rausch, who had been collecting minerals since junior high school and later decided to donate some to the geology department where they would be on display at UMass. Following his death, many friends who had bought his minerals earlier came forward to donate the rest of his collection. “He had an incredible
mineral collection. One of the best mineral collections certainly in New England and probably one of the best on the east coast,” said Seaman. According to Williams, Rausch took great pride in his collection, not just because of his love for science, but because of its aesthetic appeal. When Williams went to visit Rausch in his home, he found that all the gems and minerals were out on display, organized by country, as opposed to chemistry or composition. “I think he was interested in them for their beauty and see
MINERALS on page 2
Participants tried 20 various desserts
By VeronicA StrAcquAlurSi Collegian Correspondent
The sunny 65-degree fall weather was perfect for Saturday’s first annual outdoor community fundraiser, Amherst Mega Dessert Crawl, for Reader to Reader, Inc. Families and friends got the chance to try 20 different desserts for $20 at 20 different locations spread along downtown Amherst. “There are a lot of places I have yet to explore in the Valley, food-wise. This is a really good introduction for this,” said Nora O’Connor, a Mount Holyoke student who came to the Dessert Crawl on an empty stomach so she could try everything. O’Connor’s favorite
desserts were the chocolate mousse from Chez Albert and the blueberry cake given out by Henion Bakery. “So far it’s amazing. They have really great portable little portions, but they’re still very generous,” she said. At 12:30 p.m., when the fundraiser started, New Mexico residents Jeff Chen and Kyle Zlark and former Reader to Reader mentees stopped to sit on a bench and taste their third dessert, cider doughnuts from Glazed Donut Shop. “The desserts are all good. We’re pretty excited for the rest of them,” said Chen, who was visiting Amherst during his fall break. Gabriel Tellez and Chris Herrick, UMass Amherst seniors, also stopped by Glazed Donut
to get their hands on some cider donuts. “I am a huge dessert person. It’s pretty exciting so far,” Tellez said. One of their favorite desserts from the Mega Dessert Crawl was the tres leches cake, a Mexican dessert, from La Veracruzana. “It was really good. It was like a surprise. I wasn’t expecting it,” Herrick said. The 20 Amherst restaurants that participated included Froyoworld, Bart’s Homemade Café, The Pub and Paradise of India. The Loose Goose Café, another participating business, handed out Sugar Jones Cookies in different flavors. “I think it’s great for the community, for all of us to be a part of it,” said Larry see
DESSERT on page 3