Massachusetts Daily Collegian: Nov. 5, 2013

FINISHING STRONG Cross country performs well at A-10 Championships

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ENDER’S GAME A dissapointing adaptation

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THE MASSACHUSETTS

A free and responsible press

DAILY COLLEGIAN DailyCollegian.com

Tuesday, November 5, 2013

SGA talks World Series, scheduling and peer mentors Major issues on tap for this week

By Katrina BorofsKi Collegian Staff

At Monday’s Student Government Association meeting, senators discussed a number of important topics, including last week’s SGAsponsored events, new implementations for the peer mentor program and a change in scheduling that will take place next fall.

U n ive r s i t y of Massachusetts Chancellor Enku Gelaye was among a number of people pleased with the outcome of the event programming that took place on Wednesday night for the World Series.

“I think this is a significant turn in in see programming on campus,” Gelaye said. “I am proud of the thousands of students that came and celebrated peacefully and dispersed peacefully.”

In the weeks leading up to the World Series, the SGA coordinated with students, faculty, staff and the UMass Police Department in order to plan the programming that took place on the quad in the Southwest Residential Area last Wednesday night.

“It didn’t go exactly as planned. However, it was successful in a way that we gave students an awesome experience in an environment that was very exciting and energetic,” said Senate Speaker Sionan Barrett, who put hours into the planning of this programming and volunteered at the events that night.

SGA Adviser Lydia Washington expressed that she was similarly pleased from an advisor’s perspective as to the outcome of this event.

“I was so touched, as your adviser, to see you out there

not just interacting with the crowd, but cleaning up afterward,” Washington said.

The events that took place on Wednesday will serve as precedent for future event programming. Although police were forced to disperse crowds and arrest students that night, the event as a whole was considered “a major success.”

The University Vice Provost of Continuing Education Carol Barr also spoke at this week’s SGA meeting to discuss a number of important topics, including the new schedule being initiated next fall as well as a new program for peer mentors.

Starting in the fall of 2014, 75-minute class blocks will be included to Monday/ Wednesday/Friday classes. Currently, classes on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays are only 50 minutes long, while classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays are 75-minute classes.

Increased enrollment conflicted with scheduling because Tuesdays and Thursdays are currently filled to 100 percent utilization. This often causes issues regarding schedules for many students.

With increased enrollment, the issue worsens.

Tuesdays and Thursdays will remain the same – the only difference being that classes will now begin at 8:30 a.m. as opposed to 8:00 a.m.

As for Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, there will still be 50-minute class blocks, but the afternoon classes for these days will be 75 minutes long.

“We kept six 50-minute time blocks for classes like Introductory Mathematics and certain language classes, who prefer the 50-minute class time,” Barr said.

This implementation will become feasible with the finalization of the new academic see

SGA on page 2

Serving the UMass community since 1890

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Students for Liberty activist group reaches out to UMass New Amherst branch helped by University senior

get involved however their mind tells them to.

The child of immigrants who fled Portugal from political oppression, Fatal always felt strongly about asserting indiBy Brian Bevilacqua vidual rights and freedoms. He started Collegian Staff the New England Objectivists Society as University of Massachusetts senior a space where students can discuss and Nathan Fatal passionately wants to develop their personal philosophies on recruit you; for what exactly, he would life in order to decide how to get engaged in the issues that they find important. rather leave up to you.

Fatal, a political science major, wants Fatal is now stepping back from his students to get involved in any political first group and bringing a new group, issue they feel strongly about. As leader Students for Liberty, on campus to work of the New England Objectivists Society with multiple groups, including the at UMass, he is helping the internation- UMass Gun Club and Cannabis Reform al group Students for Liberty establish Coalition.

Several student activists from UMass itself on campus in an effort to encourage students to think for themselves and and other Five Colleges have already

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aligned themselves with the organization.

SFL is a worldwide, non-profit Libertarian group based in Washington, D.C., working with thousands of supporters to protect what they see as the freedoms of personal choice that are attacked by politicians from all parties.

They work with many colleges and wanted to extend support to UMass through Fatal.

Fatal, along with SFL representative Daniel Morris, held their first meeting on campus two weeks ago and were recruited 11 UMass students to go to the SFL conference in Boston Nov. 2, and expect their support to grow as they introduce themselves to more student see

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plAce to sit , steep And tAlk teA

XIAOXIAO HU/COLLEGIAN

Students meet over hot pots of tea in a University of Massachusetts classroom to talk about tea and the Japanese language.

Senate works on bill to ban Inquiry sheds light on ‘dark workplace bias against gays money’ in 2012 elections Approval still looks unlikely in House

By William Douglas McClatchy Washington Bureau WASHINGTON – A longstalled bill banning workplace discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity is likely to pass the Senate as early as this week, a sign of the fast-changing political landscape for gay rights.

The fight over the measure is far from over, however.

Conservative groups launched a last-ditch effort to stop it in the Senate. In the House of Representatives, prospects for approval appeared even slimmer as Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, announced his opposition.

The Senate signaled its likely approval Monday with a 61-30 vote clearing the way for a final vote later this week on the proposed Employment Non-Discrimination Act,

which would make it illegal to discriminate in the hiring and firing of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender workers.

Monday’s vote and likely Senate approval reflect changing times and changing public and political attitudes among Democrats and Republicans toward lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender issues.

“Today marks another step forward in the progress of the United States of America in making sure that all of our citizens are treated fairly and equitably under law,” said Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa. “It is a huge step forward, one too long in coming.”

The bill, which has been introduced in Congress every year since 1994, failed by one vote in the Senate in 1996. It passed the House in 2007 but died in the Senate.

Since then, Congress overturned the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy in 2010 and ended the ban on gays and lesbians serving in uniform.

Poll after poll shows greater acceptance of same-sex marriage.

“This is an extremely important moment for the LGBT movement in our country,” said David Codell, legal director for the Williams Institute, a research group that advances sexual orientation law and public policy at the University of CaliforniaLos Angeles.

Still, the bill’s battle in the 113th Congress could be just beginning. With more than two-thirds of the public supporting a federal law to protect gay people in the workplace, some opponents have seized on a provision in this year’s version of the bill that would extend the same protections to transgender people, who face higher rates of job discrimination than gays, lesbians and bisexuals do.

Some opponents, such as the conservative Family see

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Looking at mixed up money trails By chris megerian anD anthony yorK Los Angeles Times

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Tony Russo had a multimillion-dollar problem.

The Republican consultant and his team had raised piles of cash to use in California politics as last November’s election approached. But a wrinkle in state law meant he couldn’t spend it in the final two months of the campaign without jeopardizing the anonymity he had promised his rich donors.

So Russo turned to what he called “the Koch network.” He asked a political consultant who has worked with billionaire Republican contributors Charles and David Koch to shuttle the money through an Arizona

nonprofit. That group, which is not required to reveal its donors, could send cash to California causes without names attached.

But things went from bad to worse. Although Russo handed over $25 million, only about $15 million ended up back in California.

And when the money surfaced, it sparked an investigation by state authorities, who last month levied $16 million in penalties against the Arizona group and three others.

The case offers a rare glimpse into the shadowy world of politically active nonprofits, which have played an increasing role in elections nationwide since the U.S. Supreme Court eased campaign rules in 2010. They provide donors a way to influence elections by piping major money around the country until it resurfaces - without their fingerprints - in a campaign.

Advocates of transparency in government call it “dark money.”

Russo declined to be interviewed by the Los Angeles Times. But he and his colleagues detailed their experience for California investigators, conversations that were recorded in hundreds of pages of transcripts.

Those records and other documents released by authorities show a convoluted money trail. They also show the risks of operating in a political world so intricate that even Russo didn’t fully understand how it worked when he threw in his donors’ money. “There’s all kinds of groups all over the country that I wouldn’t even know,” Russo said.

California Republicans faced two major battles last year: a fight against Gov. Jerry Brown’s tax hike and see

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THE MASSACHUSETTS DAILY COLLEGIAN

Tuesday, November 5, 2013

THE RU N D OW N ON THIS DAY...

In 2007, UMass broke ground on the planned recreation center across the street from the Mullins Center. Funding for the project came almost entirely from student fees.

AROUND THE WORLD

Morsi trial in Egypt delayed after chaotic start CAIRO — The chaotic scenes and defiant shouts that marked the opening of Mohammed Morsi’s trial Monday suggest that Egypt’s military-backed government may face a long struggle to bring the deposed Islamist president and his Muslim Brotherhood to heel.

Emerging from four months in captivity at a secret location - later revealed to have been a military base near the Mediterranean city of Alexandria - Morsi, on trial for inciting murder, faced the judge from inside a specially constructed defendants’ cage, loudly declaring that he did not accept the legitimacy of the court proceedings. The judge adjourned the case until Jan. 8.

“I am the legitimate president!” Morsi shouted again and again, sometimes drowning out the judge, according to official media reports and courtroom eyewitness accounts. A wild melee broke out between Morsi’s foes and backers inside the courtroom.

Los Angeles Times

Masterpieces, possibly looted

by Nazis, found LONDON — The elderly gentleman appeared nervous when police questioned him during a customs check aboard a train from Switzerland to Germany. He was carrying about $12,000 in cash, just within the legal limit.

But a feeling that something was not quite right led authorities to raid the man’s apartment in Munich several months later, resulting in the astonishing discovery of what could amount to more than $1.3 billion worth of artistic masterpieces, some - or all - of them looted by the Nazis more than 70 years ago.

That would make it one of the largest such troves recovered since World War II. The stunning find is being reported by the German news magazine Focus, which said the hoard included paintings by Picasso, Chagall, Matisse and Klee that were believed to be lost or destroyed in the war. Though priceless, the 1,500 pieces were crammed next to piles of canned food in the messy Munich apartment of Cornelius Gurlitt, the 80-year-old son of a wellknown Nazi-era art dealer.

Los Angeles Times Distributed by MCT Information Services

DailyCollegian.com

Quiet weekend after World Series celebrations APD weekend log, Nov. 1 to Nov. 4

By Mary reines Collegian Staff

Friday, Nov. 1

10:14 a.m. Police received a

call about a break-in at 328 Lincoln Ave. Caller reported a kicked-in door, but there was no damage and nothing removed from the home.

Police believe that the suspect never entered the apartment.

7:34 p.m. An iPhone was

reported missing.

11:31 p.m. Officers discov-

ered a large party of about 150 to 200 people at 240 Northampton Rd. following a noise complaint. In the

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from a party at 165 College St. following a noise complaint. Kevin P. Pastore, 21, of Charton, Sean M. Halloran, 22, of Worcester and James P Gilrein, 21, of Charlton were arrested on charges of unlawful noise.

12:35 a.m. Officers respond to

Defliese, 21, of Garden City, N.Y., Stephanie Rose Weiss, 19, of Bedford, N.Y. and Melissa Marie Carelli, 21, of Maplewood, N.J., were arrested on charges of unlawful noise and nuisance house. Three people received summonses on charges of underage possession of alcohol.

help a resident at 19 South Whitney St. remove about 100 guests. Police reported 1:11 a.m. Caller reported lots of cars and foot traffic at a stolen cell phone at 16 the location. The party was Brandywine Dr. Apt. 1H. cleared in about 10 minutes.

1:50 a.m. Police stopped a vehicle that was going 68 Sunday, Nov. 3 mph in a 35 mph zone near 12:17 a.m. Following a noise 10 Meadow St. Officers complaint at 320 N. Pleasant noticed that the driver St., police cleared out about showed signs of impair200 people. Kelsey L. Sheridan, ment. Newman M. Galati, 22, of Chelmsford, Maura C. 21, of North Falmouth, Saturday, Nov. 2 Tubridy, 20, of Marblehead, was arrested on charges of 12:17 a.m. Police dispersed Courtney P Mcgrath, 20, of operating under the influapproximately 400 guests Nanuet, N.Y., Shannon B. ence, operating to endan-

ger and speeding. Ernie’s Towing Company had a 12-hour hold on the vehicle.

2:57 a.m. About 30 to 40 guests were removed from a party at 7 Willow Ln. Two people received summonses on charges of unlawful noise.

6:54 p.m. A dead hen was found hanging from a stop sign at 378 Flat Hills Rd. The hen carcass was removed.

Liquor law violation arrests: 7 Liquor law summons: 10 Noise complaints: 26 Vehicle stops: 20 Vehicle crashes: 8 Mary Reines can be reached at mreines@student.umass.edu.

continued from page 1

Research Council, charge that the measure would lead to gender-neutral restrooms and gender-reassignment surgeries being covered by employer-sponsored health insurance plans.

In a letter to senators last Friday, Ralph Reed, the founder and chairman of the Faith & Freedom Coalition, wrote that “ENDA is simply not sound public policy, defining discrimination based on subjective perception of sexual orientation rather than externally identifiable characteristics of race and gender.”

Reed warned lawmakers that his group would “score this vote to invoke cloture as an ‘anti-family’ position on our congressional scorecard.”

Boehner said he opposed the bill because he thought “this legislation will increase frivolous litigation and cost American jobs, especially small business jobs,” spokesman Michael Steel said in an email.

The House bill, introduced

by Reps. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Fla., and Jared Polis, D-Colo., has 153 co-sponsors.

Boehner’s comments drew a swift rebuke from House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.

“It’s deeply disappointing to see that Speaker Boehner would block any legislation that would end discrimination,” said Drew Hammill, a Pelosi spokesman. “When the Senate passes this legislation,

SGA

house there was lots of trash and a makeshift dance floor with strobe lights. Police arrested Jorge Barzola Jr., 20, of Salem, Kyle Matthew Reilly, 20, of Roseland, N.J., Taylor Joseph Theodore, 20, of Sharon and Jeremy Peter Jemas, 20, of Caldwell, N.J., on charges of unlawful noise, nuisance house and underage possession of alcohol. Robert D. Swan III, 21, of Westford, was arrested on charges of unlawful noise, nuisance house and selling or delivering liquor to underage persons. Alon Nissim Gelber, 19, of Westborough, was arrested on charges of underage possession of liquor. Police cleared out the party.

all options will be on the table in order to advance this critical legislation in the House.”

The White House weighed in Monday, saying that President Barack Obama strongly supports Senate passage of the bill and thinks it’s long overdue.

“We have long supported an inclusive legislative path to dealing with employment nondiscrimination of LGBT Americans,” White House press secretary Jay Carney said Monday. “I noted and others here noted Speaker Boehner’s comments with regret, and his reasoning behind the position he took sounds familiar to the opposition to all - almost all - civil rights measures that have come and been passed into law in this country over the years.”

Gay rights activists say they intend to fight as hard for final passage of the measure in the Senate and House as they did to get the bill to Monday’s test vote. The Human Rights Campaign alone spent more than $2 million targeting senators such as Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., and Mark Pryor, D-Ark. “It’s going to take continued activity from organizations like the task force and continued lobbying,” said Stacey Long, the director of public policy and government affairs for the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force.

“We’re not going to stop pressing.”

SAC settles insider-trading case for $1.8 billion penalty

Warns nobody is “too big to fail”

By Kevin G. Hall McClatchy Washington Bureau continued from page 1

building that will be ready for the fall of 2014, which will provide additional space for classes and students.

Barr also explained changes in the peer mentor program in the next few years at Monday’s meeting, citing plans to “implement a onecredit course for peer mentors to attend to help them with their jobs as well as communication skills, peer mentor development, et cetera.”

In addition, Barr discussed extending the role of the peer

mentor.

“We want to implement a new peer mentor model reserving a lot of the great roles of the peer mentors now, but also incorporate more academic aspects,” she explained.

Peer mentors will have the same time commitment, but Barr said the new program has peer mentors receiving payment.

Katrina Borofski can be reached at kborofski@umass.edu.

****IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT**** REGISTRATION FOR Spring 2014

The Writing Program Placement Test Will be offered on: Wednesday, November 6, 2013, @ 5:30 PM Location: Bartlett 206 Wednesday, November 6, 2013, @ 5:30 PM Location: Bartlett 206 You must take this exam to qualify for enrollment in EnglWrit 112 (College Writing).

Students receiving a passing grade in EnglWrit 111 (Basic Writing) do not need to take the test.

This test may be taken only once.

Students do not need to register for the test.

WASHINGTON – A $1.8 billion insider-trading settlement announced Monday between a Wall Street investment giant and a branch of the Justice Department included a warning that nobody in the global financial capital is “too big to jail.”

“The aggregate $1.8 billion financial penalty is - to the government’s knowledge - the largest financial penalty in history for insider trading offenses,” Preet Bharara, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, said in a settlement document with SAC Capital Advisors LP sent to two federal judges Later, in an afternoon news conference to announce the settlement with the hedge-fund group, Bharara made it clear that his office has its eyes on others. and sent a warning to Wall Street, referencing a line from the 1987 movie “Wall Street.”

“Greed, sometimes, is not good,” he said.

“Whether the misbehaving corporation is a hedge fund or a commercial bank,” he said, no company should think that it’s “too big to jail.”

That set off speculation about who else might be in the cross hairs of an

aggressive U.S. attorney.

Last month, Bharara’s office won a jury conviction against former executives of Countrywide, the mortgage lender purchased by Bank of America, which had fought the case.

SAC is owned by investment magnate Steven A. Cohen. As part of the deal that still needs a judge’s approval, his company would stop investing on behalf of others. It could operate only as a “family office,” meaning Cohen could invest only his substantial family money.

Cohen himself wasn’t charged, but he remains the subject of an investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission. On July 19, the SEC’s enforcement division charged Cohen with failing to supervise two senior portfolio managers, Mathew Martoma and Michael Steinberg. Through illegal trades of pharmaceutical stocks, Cohen’s hedge funds earned profits or avoided losses of more than $275 million and Cohen gave Martoma a $9 million bonus, the SEC said.

Hedge funds are private investment pools for the wealthy. They generally require huge minimum sums from a small number of rich investors, who seek so-called alpha returns, which eclipse what could be earned through conventional investing in the stock and bond markets. Under the revamp

of financial regulations in 2010, hedge funds were required to register with the SEC for the first time.

At its peak, SAC had more than $15 billion worth of assets under management, and it’s thought to still have more than $9 billion. That’s why groups that advocate on behalf of individual investors applauded Bharara for going after a big fish.

“They’ve gone after a big hedge fund. Big is not immunity,” said Bartlett Naylor, a financial policy advocate for Public Citizen.

Monday’s settlement would cost SAC $1.184 billion on top of $616 million that company defendants already have agreed to pay the SEC. SAC has maintained that insider trading wasn’t widespread at the firm.

In the original indictment of SAC, the U.S. attorney told the opposite story, citing “institutional practices that encouraged the widespread solicitation and use of illegal inside information.” It also called that insider trading “substantial, pervasive and on a scale without known precedent in the hedge fund industry.”

Bharara noted that the settlement was only with his office and didn’t preclude further legal action from other state or federal prosecutors or regulators, or against others within SAC.

THE MASSACHUSETTS DAILY COLLEGIAN

DailyCollegian.com

INQUIRY

continued from page 1

a push to pass a measure that would limit unions’ political fundraising.

Russo did not think the state party was up to the task. He envisioned an independent advertising pitch to voters that would tout economic destruction wrought by tax increases and political havoc caused by powerful California labor unions.

To bring in the big money needed for a statewide television campaign, Russo worked with GOP consultant Jeff Miller, lead fundraiser for former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and for Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s 2012 presidential campaign. Miller declined to be interviewed by the Times.

The Fisher family, of the clothing firm Gap Inc., contributed more than $9 million. San Francisco investor Charles Schwab gave $6.4 million, and Los Angeles philanthropist Eli Broad sent $1 million.

The money went to a Virginia nonprofit that would use it to pay for the ad blitz and be allowed to keep the contributors secret.

Nonprofits, unlike political action committees, are not required to identify their donors under federal law.

Many donors did not want to “put their name on ... this fight because they didn’t want to face the retribution of the unions,” Miller told state investigators. Deep-pocketed labor groups were planning major campaign efforts in 2012, and some conservatives were wary of crossing them.

But by the time the money was pouring in, summer was turning into fall. If the donations were spent after early September, there was a risk that the veil would have to be lifted on those who wrote the checks, in accordance with California’s complex campaign laws.

That’s when Russo turned to Republican strategist Sean Noble, who has worked as a consultant for the Koch brothers and

LIBERTY

Those records... show a convoluted money trail. They also show the risks of operating in a political world so intricate even [Republican consultant Tony Russo] didn’t fully understand how it worked when he threw in his donors’ money. whom he had met on a trip to Las Vegas the year before.

Noble heads the Center to Protect Patient Rights, an Arizona nonprofit known as a clearinghouse for conservative causes. In 2010, the organization had distributed more than $55 million to 26 groups allied with Republicans to help them in the midterm elections.

Robert Tappan, a spokesman for Koch Industries, confirmed that Noble has worked for the Koch brothers as a political consultant.

Charles and David Koch did not play any role in California campaigns last year, Tappan said.

Noble declined to speak with investigators, according to Gary Winuk, enforcement chief at the California Fair Political Practices Commission, and he did not answer requests for comment from the Times.

Noble had already helped Russo with hundreds of thousands of dollars for political research and focus groups. Now Russo needed a different kind of assistance.

He wanted the Virginia group, Americans for Job Security, to transfer the millions he had raised with Miller to Noble’s center, and he wanted Noble to relay the money to California campaign committees, obscuring the money trail.

There were risks. Russo and Miller would forfeit control of the donations, and they knew little about Noble. But donors had recommended him, the pair told investigators. And “we were running out of options,” Miller said.

On Sept. 10, the Virginia group sent about $4 million to Noble’s Center to Protect Patient Rights. Within a few days, the center routed

continued from page 1

groups.

“Students for Liberty is not a fringe group. They have something like 98,000 likes on Facebook. They are on every continent, in places like Brazil and Nigeria,” said Fatal of his experience bringing the popular political organization to UMass.

“The general campus community is unaware of us right now, but we are being well received when we meet students and groups like the CRC. “They equip student leaders to defend the rights of students. It’s not partisan and does not align with the Libertarian party. They are about principles and networking to promote them,” added Fatal, saying that his belief that Students for Liberty is right for young thinkers and right to replace his work on campus. “They do what I try to do, give students the intellectual ammo to question the status quo.”

According to Fatal, the ideas of SFL touch on several issues on campus right now. Fatal is strongly opposed to the smoking ban,

wants to encourage students to exercise their Second Amendment rights and believes people need to be more willing to question the political and economic ideas that teachers promote, especially in regard to people’s opposition to capitalism.

Fatal recalled being mocked for all of these beliefs, especially his support of capitalism, and wants people to have a more open mind.

“A lot of people’s ideas are taken on political faith because they are unwilling to question what teachers and politicians have taught them,” Fatal said, “My life belongs to me. Why can anyone limit what you do with your life as long as you do not use other humans as a means to your ends?

[Students for Liberty’s] work in places like Venezuela and Africa, where there are truly no rights, inspires me,” he said. “If they can stand up to their government, so can we.”

Brian Bevilacqua can be reached at bbevilac@umass.edu.

roughly the same sum to an Iowa nonprofit, which sent it to a newly created California campaign committee.

Russo and Miller then directed $20.5 million more to the center, for a total of nearly $25 million.

The state documents show that one of the donors working with Russo and Miller, whose name was crossed out, emailed Charles Koch to ask for his direct assistance.

“It would be great if you could support the final effort with several million,” the donor wrote, adding that “Sean Noble from your group has been immensely helpful,” and “I look forward to seeing you on a golf course.”

A month before the November election, the whole operation came crashing down.

At that point, Noble had routed about $4 million to a California campaign committee. Russo sent him a text message asking for more cash, and $11 million was quickly delivered to the Small Business Action Committee, a California PAC fighting higher taxes and supporting the antiunion measure.

The money had come from an obscure Phoenix nonprofit, Americans for Responsible Leadership, which had received it from the Center to Protect Patient Rights.

An $11 million donation attracts immediate attention, even in a state as large as California.

Americans for Responsible Leadership refused to tell the Fair Political Practices Commission, California’s ethics watchdog, where the money originated, and the

agency launched an investigation to determine whether disclosure laws had been violated.

That heat created a problem. When Russo next asked Noble to transfer money, Noble balked. Expressing concern about the investigation, Noble said he didn’t think he could help now, Russo told investigators.

Miller believed Noble hoped to prevent California authorities “from opening up his books,” giving them the keys to an entire network of nonprofits that were distributing money around the country.

Russo never pried another dime from Noble. Russo said he and Miller scrambled to raise more cash to make up for the rest of the funds.

Miller said he was angry.

“But at that point,” he said, “we were screwed, you know, because we didn’t have any legal control.”

On Election Day, voters passed Brown’s taxhike plan and rejected the anti-union measure, delivering two blows to the Republicans.

Late last month, state officials announced they were fining the Center to Protect Patient Rights and Americans for Responsible Leadership a total of $1 million for violating California law. The groups should have disclosed that the center was the source of the campaign money but had failed to do so, authorities said.

The Small Business Action Committee and another California campaign group were ordered to pay the state $15 million, equivalent to the amount of money state officials said was improperly reported.

The Iowa group that was the conduit for $4 million was not fined because it is more established in California politics, Winuk said.

Russo, sitting in his lawyer’s office in July, told authorities he still wasn’t sure what happened to the $10 million that never came back to California.

Tuesday, November 5, 2013

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Union: TSA agents should be armed LAX shooting raises safety issue By kate Linthicum and kate mather Los Angeles Times

LOS ANGELES – The president of the union representing more than 45,000 Transportation Security Administration agents urged Congress and the agency Monday to create a new class of officers that would be armed with weapons.

J. David Cox Sr., president of the American Federation of Government Employees, which represents 45,000 Transportation Security Administration agents, said that the “sad truth is that our TSA officers are subject to daily verbal assaults and far too frequent physical attacks while performing their security duties.”

“At this time, we feel a larger and more consistent armed presence in screening areas would be a positive step in improving security for both TSOs and the flying public,” Cox said in a statement. “The development of a new class of TSA officers with law enforcement status would be a logical approach to accomplishing this goal.”

The statement comes in the aftermath of Friday’s shooting at Los Angeles International Airport that left one TSA agent killed and two others injured.

The suspect in the shooting, 23-year-old Paul Ciancia, was targeting federal security officers, authorities said.

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder told reporters Monday that the investigation into the shooting will also look at security at LAX - and other airports.

“The function of TSA is to ensure that people can board planes safely

and take flights safely,” Holder said. “The responsibility for protecting airport security is not a TSA function, but something I think we need to certainly examine.”

At a news conference over the weekend, TSA Administrator John Pistole said his agency’s review will include the question of whether its agents should be armed (they are not presently).

“We will look at what our policies and procedures are and what provides the best possible security,” he said.

The idea of arming TSA agents has been raised before, according to aviation security consultant Stewart Verdery, a former Department of Homeland Security official who was involved with the creation of the airport screening agency.

“It’s always been raised as an issue,” Verdery said.

“We know that there are people that don’t like the government, and TSA is a whipping boy for people angry about the overreach of the government. And we also know that terrorists are fascinated with aviation. It puts them on the front lines.”

He said the decision not to arm airport security agents was made because protecting the airport is not their primary mission.

“You want to spend your time training TSA officers to look for dangerous weapons and dangerous people,” he said.

“Arming tens of thousands of agents who are largely dealing with average travelers is not necessary.”

He noted that arming the agents would come at a high cost. The average annual cost of a TSA agent is less than half the cost of an armed law enforcement officer, he said.

Thousands join in Russian marches Citizens vent antimigrant feelings

By Sergei L. Loiko Los Angeles Times

MOSCOW – Thousands of right-wing nationalists marched in cities and towns throughout Russia on Monday, demanding the eviction of migrants, as the nation observed the day officially designated as National Unity Day. In Moscow, about 8,500 people marched under pouring rain for about two miles through a southeast suburb, brandishing a mix of symbols that included the Russian Imperial flag and banners featuring neo-fascist emblems that resembled swastikas.

Columns of young men dressed in sports slacks, black hooded jackets, black woolen hats, sunglasses and masks chanted slogans that included: “Nationalism is Russia’s choice,” “Russia is for Russians,” “The white race is a clean race” and even “Sieg heil,” the World War II-era Nazi salute.

The Soviet Union, which included Russia, lost as many as 30 million people fighting Nazi Germany.

At one end of the march, protesters bellowed, “Long live Stalin and Lenin!” At the other end, some chanted that they would hang all communists.

Other marches took place in St. Petersburg, Volgograd and Irkutsk, among other places.

National Unity Day was introduced by Russian leader Vladimir Putin in 2004 in

SERGEI L. LOIKO/LOS ANGELES TIMES/MCT

Nationalist protesters take to the streets in Moscow to demonstrate for the eviction of migrants on Nov. 4. what was seen as an effort to deprive Russian communists and other leftists of a beloved Soviet-era holiday, the anniversary of the October 1917 Bolshevik revolution, celebrated for decades on Nov. 7.

From the start, the new holiday was hijacked by Russian nationalists, who spanned a spectrum from moderates to neo-Nazis. Unity Day marches have since become an annual occurrence.

Alexander Belov, one of the march organizers, downplayed the more extreme rhetoric, saying it simply reflected the immaturity of some teenage marchers.

More significant, he said, was a huge banner carried by marchers that read: “For

Biryulyovo.”

It referred to a Moscow suburb shaken by riots last month after a young, ethnic Russian man was killed, allegedly by a migrant worker from neighboring Azerbaijan. In response, hundreds of nationalist youth vandalized and looted shops and kiosks run by non-Russians, overturned and burned cars, and tried to storm a vegetable market before police stopped them.

The following day, a migrant worker from Uzbekistan was knifed to death in the area.

In response, police detained thousands of migrant workers and closed down the local market run by people from the North Caucasus region.

“Things like recent riots in

Biryulyovo keep happening with increasing frequency all over Russia and demonstrate a natural reaction of our young and not-so-young people to the immense overflow of both legal and illegal migrants,” said Belov, leader of the ethnopolitical movement Russkiye, in an interview.

“These are uncivilized people who come down from their mountains and commit crimes here, from drug trafficking to murders and rapes on a mass scale,” he continued. “This is why our people are so full of indignation and they join our marches all over the country.

We are marching today for our Russian identity and against Russia turning into a cosmopolitan garbage dump.”

Opinion Editorial THE MASSACHUSETTS DAILY COLLEGIAN

Tuesday, November 5, 2013

“Mankind must put an end to war before war puts an end to mankind.” - John F. Kennedy

Editorial@DailyCollegiancom

For majors, students should pick passion over realism Though this belief might make me naïve and idealistic, maybe even selfrighteous, to some, I would

Elise Martorano much rather spend tens of thousands of dollars to go to college to study a subject that I love than study a subject that will make me a more desirable candidate for job placement.

Before I continue, it’s important that I address the misconception that because I feel this way, I’m lazy or I just don’t want to apply myself to a subject that will land me a “real” job.

Nothing could be less true. I believe that students should want to go to college.

Not because of the intimidatingly dwindling job market or the pressure of their parents or other institutions of “authority,” but because they have a passion for learning and they want to pursue this passion so far that they can make use of it for the rest of their lives.

This is why I’m an English major. All throughout elementary and high school, I loved English more than any other subject. In fact, English was the only subject that inspired me to excel and expand my thinking. Regarding math and science, I couldn’t care less (and I couldn’t have done worse) and in terms of history and foreign language, they never challenged me in a meaningful way.

When I applied to secondary education, I entered as a communications major because my college planner said that it would be an attractive degree for employers to see on a resume. When I began taking communication classes at UMass, however, I didn’t find myself challenged, or even interested. What I felt was a major throwback to my days in high school, when I would slump over my desk in classes I didn’t care about, taking diligent notes in order to succeed despite my lack of investment. And that is no way to proceed through college.

When students apply to universities, they are told

that they can do anything they want. They can take classes in any subject and explore any academic terrain. In short, college has become synonymous with following your dreams.

On the other hand, it’s also become synonymous with selling out – choosing a major that you find only vaguely interesting or prolific and sticking with it, even if it doesn’t excite you. This is because our parents, our teachers and every media influence that we encounter tells us that we need to graduate with a degree that will look good and pay off our debts.

ing your education.” The same applies to countless others who decide that their time and money is best spent cultivating their passion in fields that make them happy. I would encourage these people, people like me, not to give in to pressure from skeptics, and to fight back.

You’re right, English isn’t challenging, but only for people who don’t try.

For those who do, it can open infinite possibilities of philosophy, exploration and social awareness.

You’re wrong. There are countless things that I can do with an English degree – I could become an author, a teacher, a publisher, a journalist. In fact, I could work anywhere that recognizes the necessity of the analytic skills that require intense concentration and interpretation of words that I have gained from studying English. And no, I am not wasting my education. As long as I love what I’m doing, I consider my money well spent.

Students who choose to study what they love and what they think they’re talented in will excel. Because they already have the drive and the skills they need to succeed in their chosen field, they will work harder and enjoy their work more.

They will push themselves harder. They will pursue opportunities within their field and immerse themselves in what they love doing. They will gain experience and knowledge far beyond students who are not passionate about their major because they will actively seek out more and more ways to fulfill their passions.

Any degree is useful if you’re passionate about it, if you intend to pursue the work that you love until you’re satisfied with the life you’re leading. But if you cut off your resources, if you decide that your dream isn’t practical enough to achieve, then you’ll never find out.

... If you cut off your resources, if you decide that your dream isn’t practical enough to achieve, then you’ll never find out.

Think about it: students are encouraged (and pressured) to choose a major that they are not passionate about so that they can pay back the student loans that they accumulate from pursuing a degree in a subject they never wanted.

This is why I encourage every student to consider this: are you really doing what you want to be doing?

When I came to UMass, I could have chosen anything. I could have studied communications, psychology, education, legal studies, management or any number of other more “practical” career paths.

But I know that I would never have been happy.

After my first semester in a major that didn’t interest me, I decided that, despite the consequences, I would switch to English. I would rather follow my passion than close for good my outlet to the only career field I could see myself working in by choosing more “realistic” aspirations.

There are many stigmas behind following your dreams, especially for students who find themselves compelled to study the humanities. Every day, people make comments like, “English isn’t challenging,” “You can’t do Elise Martorano is a Collegian anything with an English Columnist and can be reached at degree” and “You’re wast- emartorano@umass.edu.

No women, no drive Still, the push for a On Oct. 26, women across Saudi Arabia got woman’s right to drive has into their cars and drove. been ongoing for more than So did women in nations all twenty years. During similar driving campaigns in Hannah Sparks 1990 and 2011, women were detained by police, fined over the world, of course – and even fired from their Saudi Arabia just has the jobs for participating. In distinction of being the only 2011, one woman was sencountry on earth to prohibit tenced to 10 lashes, but that women from driving. No ruling was overturned by written law officially bans the cautiously progressive it, but the government does King Abdullah, who seems not issue licenses to women, to have a wishy-washy kind effectively making it illegal. of sympathy for the moveMuch of the concern ment. That being said, a over female driving stems Kuwaiti woman was arrestfrom religious traditions of ed in Saudi Arabia over the guardianship and gender weekend for driving her ailsegregation, which is still ing father to the hospital the norm. In most cases and is currently still in cusSaudi women cannot marry, tody.

The driving movement is work, travel or open bank accounts without the per- part of a larger campaign mission of a male guardian. for increased recognition of Despite slowly chang- women’s rights in the kinging attitudes and increased dom. “Women2Drive,” the support for women’s rights 2011 incarnation, was an across the region, earlier in offshoot of “My Right to the week, about 100 clerics Dignity,” which started as and other religious officials an online petition by Manal in the kingdom sought an Al-Sharif, the reluctant figurehead of the driving audience with King Abdullah to discuss the supposed pernicious effects female driving may have on the highly conservative Saudi society. These effects range from broken marriages to a movement. In a 2012 interfalling birth rate to sudden view, Al-Sharif said the goal promiscuity to non-specific of My Right to Dignity is yet rampant chaos in the “to spread awareness about women’s rights, challenge streets.

Citing “medical studies,” taboos and the misinterone cleric, Sheikh Saleh pretation of sharia (Islamic Al-Loheidan said that driv- religious) laws.”

The Oct. 26th Women’s ing could also affect female reproductive organs, push- Driving Campaign also ing pelvises mysteriously began as an online petiupward, dislodging ovaries tion in Sept. 2013 and now and causing vague birth has more than 16,000 sigdefects. Note that the same natures. Some participants floating-uterus effect appar- filmed themselves driving ently does not occur while and uploaded the videos to sitting in the passenger’s Youtube to garner further seat as a man drives, or in support and visibility.

It’s clear to my Western any of those other countries where women are actually feminist sensibilities that the de facto ban on female allowed to drive.

While parts of the Arab driving is wrong and the world have been undergo- guise that it is put in place ing serious changes since for women’s protection is the beginning of the “Arab almost worse. The culturSpring,” Saudi Arabia has al and religious edict that been slow to change. Protest women be kept dependent is banned in the kingdom on their male guardians and even activists who “for their own good” sughave been on the scene for gests that reforms must be decades are reluctant to made not only in respect create truly confrontational to the sheer logistics of women’s rights, but also in situations with leadership.

regards to attitudes toward women in general. If the Saudi government fears so much for the safety and chastity of its female citizens in the big, bad world, it ought to direct its messages to the behavior of its male citizenry, which it offends by relegating them to the status of beasts without an ounce of self-control.

But that is, of course, a common and yet still unanswered feminist refrain.

“We don’t want to be like the Western world” is yet another common refrain, one heard all over the “nonWestern” world. And yes, the West, specifically the United States, does have its problems and serious ones at that. However, nations like Saudi Arabia, who are allied with the United States and have appropriated malls and other hallmarks of Western commercial culture, appear hypocritical when they deem malls an acceptable Western contribution, but not human rights.

And, edging on the hated theory of moral relativism, a Guardian article suggests that Western feminist sensibilities may not even apply in this situation. Most of the Saudi women surveyed for the article were actually against female driving for many of the same reasons religious leaders argue for its continued ban.

Notably, one woman said it was “just a crazy imitation of America, and doesn’t mean more liberation for women. It rather means liquidation of the society and inferiority of its moral values.”

Are the surveyed women just repeating what they’ve been told for fear of dissenting or do they truly believe driving is an unnecessary luxury for women?

As Rothna Begum writes for CNN, driving “has become for Saudi women what a bus seat was to Rosa Parks and other African-Americans in the 1950s.” And, from where I stand, I would tend to agree

It’s clear to my Western feminist sensibilities that the de facto ban on female driving is wrong and the guise that it is for women’s protection is almost worse.

Hannah Sparks is a Collegian columnist and can be reached at hsparks@ 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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Arts Living THE MASSACHUSETTS DAILY COLLEGIAN

“The inside of your head is filled with miles and miles of hair.” - D.W. from “Arthur”

Tuesday, November 5, 2013

Arts@DailyCollegian.com

FILM REVIEW

CONCERT PREVIEW

Hood adaptation fails to entertain

stir up Iron Horse

‘Ender’s Game’ does nothing for fans of book ‘Born Ruffians’ Cult Canadian band to play in NoHo

By NathaN FroNtiero Collegian Correspondent

It’s a shame to see a beloved novel lose so much of itself in the jump from page to screen. I read Orson Scott Card’s “Ender’s Game” many years ago, so some of it has escaped my memory, but I still couldn’t shake the feeling that something was missing in writer/director Gavin Hood’s adaptation. The film feels like an abridged version of a more in-depth, immersive film, one that will unfortunately never be seen.

The story necessitates a darkness that just isn’t in this movie. Hood quickly sets up the post-interplanetary war future, but a number of that setting’s dystopian elements are glazed over.

For instance, there is only a passing mention of population restriction or familysize regulation, and nothing more. Instead of true world-building, Ender (Asa Butterfield) is tasked with some expository voiceover work to explain the complex universe of the book.

While that sometimes helps to frame the story, like when Ender writes home to his sister, Valentine (Abigail Breslin), it often feels forced and the information it dumps on the audience doesn’t fill in the gaps in the narrative.

Those gaps are detrimental not just to the believability of the plot, but also to characterization. Many of the supporting roles feel very one-note. Breslin is somewhat affecting as Valentine, the one true emotional anchor in Ender’s life, but she is far too quick to convince him to run into the dangerous abyss of war.

Harrison Ford’s portrayal of Colonel Graff is reduced to a single beat: that of the gruff, grizzled war veteran. Even Ben Kingsley as the mysteri-

By alex Frail Collegian Correspondent

SUMMIT ENTERTAINMENT/LIONSGATE FILMS

Asa Butterfiled stars alongside Harrison Ford, Ben Kingsley, Viola Davis, Hailee Stanfield and Abigail Breslin in “Ender’s Game.” ous tattooed war hero Mazer Rackham is limited in depth.

The film is difficult to emotionally invest in or relate to, since it doesn’t give these characters much room to breathe.

“Ender’s Game” consistently feels rushed, as if Hood was trying to cram too much in too little time.

Hood moves through the story in a one-thing-afteranother fashion that feels flat and hollow. It’s not that each of the elements of the story isn’t tended to, but that they’re never fully realized.

For example, Ender is quickly thrown under the spotlight as a chosen one, but Butterfield is inconsistent in his portrayal of the characteristics that make Ender so special. The lasting impression that sticks with me after all these years was one of a dark, cold, young kid who stood on the frayed edge between compassion and harsh, strategic apathy.

Conversely, Butterfield plays this Ender with a confusing level of conflict.

Where the original Ender seemed coldly fearless,

Butterfield’s Ender seems afraid of the growing chaos around him. He only becomes more convincing when the plot absolutely necessitates it. The battle school environment is believably harsh, but, oddly enough, the overarching situation of adults training children to lead a war against a hostile alien race is not nearly as compelling as it was in the book.

Only an unpredictable shift towards the end of the film’s third act makes the story’s universe feel more real.

It isn’t nearly enough to save the film, but the movie’s aesthetics are well-executed.

The cold silver and white color palette of the battle school space station and the sparse, precise lighting are intimidating. Training sequences place Ender and his fellow “launchies” right in the action of the battle room and the immersion of the characters into those simulated battle environments is certainly an achievement.

“Ender’s Game” works best within those confines, set against the dark and

unforgiving backdrop of outer space. It’s convincing enough as an interstellar origin story, but “Ender’s Game” isn’t meant to be an origin story. Once the focus shifts to a conflict between species, the ethical and philosophical questions of war create a believable tension, but the film doesn’t provide enough tangible context to establish itself in-universe.

It’s when the film is most grounded, most terrestrial, that it is at its weakest. The bizarre aspects of Orson Scot Card’s future society are never explored in a satisfying way; they are merely touched on, so the brave new world that should be twisted and intimidating instead feels hollow and empty.

Card’s novel was chillingly bleak and darkly ruminative, but Gavin Hood’s adaptation is static, shallow and crushingly unmoving. The sinister spark of this story remains exclusive, for now, to the realm of the written word.

Nathan Frontiero can be reached at nfrontiero@umass.edu.

10. Much of that review’s negativity focused on Born Ruffians’ alleged “amateurishness.”

Still, mediocre or even dismissive reviews haven’t held away the band’s fan base.

According to iTunes’s page for “Say It,” it holds a solid five-star consensus, greatly contrasting with many professional critics.

The concert on Tuesday will likely feature many of the new tracks from “Birthmarks,” which the Ruffians have just debuted overseas on a European tour.

Concert goers can expect to hear their hit single “Needle,” in which lead vocalist Luke LaLonde’s voice sounds like an Ezra Koenig-Robin Pecknold hybrid over a beat right at home on a Vampire Weekend record. Other songs to look for include the caffeinated “Permanent Hesitation,” as well as “Golden Promises,” an almost a dream pop song that recalls Beach House.

The concert also offers an opportunity to catch a local band from NoHo. The Sun Parade will be on at 7 p.m. to open for Born Ruffians.

According to their website, they play “homegrown pop and rock,” with warm arrangements that make them an aptly named band.

The Sun Parade recently released their debut LP, “Yossis,” which will appeal to fans of Fleet Foxes and Modest Mouse. A bit heavier than many indie rock groups, The Sun Parade employs synths and prominent bass lines to give their songs texture and depth.

Tickets are available for advance purchase online at iheg.com. Advance tickets cost $12.50. You can also purchase tickets at the door, which will cost $15. Doors open at 7 p.m.

Canadian indie rockers Born Ruffians are playing at Iron Horse in Northampton this Tuesday, Nov. 5.

Northampton-based band The Sun Parade will open for the Ruffians.

Born Ruffians’s newest effort, “Birthmarks,” was released back on April 16. It marked a change in sound for the band, which heretofore specialized in spare, alt-rock with some punk influences.

The album, which received slightly higher reviews than 2008’s “Red, Yellow & Blue” and 2010’s “Say It,” employs heavier synth influences, most prominently on the track “Permanent Hesitation.”

Since their inception in 2004, the Ruffians have drawn upon several influences like Vampire Weekend, while cultivating their own unique sound. “Birthmarks” is perhaps their most experimental effort, with more layered and textured tracks.

The sonic blips and beeps of “Birthmarks” are a far cry from the harmonica-kissed favorite “Little Garcon,” or the catchy, looping riffs of “Oh Man” from their previous albums.

According to the Northampton Box Office’s website, the Ruffians enjoyed moderate success with their debut album in 2008.

Although fan feedback has been very positive throughout their nine-year tenure, professional reviewers have not always appreciated the Ontario-based band.

The magazine Pitchfork gave a scathing review of 2010’s “Say It,” assigning Alex Frail can be reached at afrail@ the band a paltry 3.8 out of umass.edu.

TELEVISION FEATURE

The golden age of ‘Arthur’ comes to a disappointing end The seeds of a nostalgic downfall

By SøreN hough Collegian Staff

A nostalgic, familiar sight as Arthur and his friends are sitting in class with Mr. Ratburn, studiously paying attention as the curmudgeonly teacher drones on about math. But something is off.

None of the characters look quite right. Their outlines are bolder and there’s almost no subtlety to their expressions.

And now they’re moving, but again, something about the aesthetic just feels wrong.

Francine has gotten out of her seat and is walking as if she’s a puppet, jerking her limbs and awkwardly gliding across the classroom floor like some horror out of “Silent Hill.” And what’s this? She’s dropped a banana peel. What follows is exactly what you’d expect – a goofy, disappointing attempt to generate laughter as Francine slips on the peel and slides right into the chalkboard.

What happened to the show I used to love?

“Arthur,” the long-running PBS series about an adolescent aardvark and his friends, was a staple of my childhood.

The show beautifully cap-

tured Marc Brown’s thoughtful children’s books, giving life to the characters by giving them a voice and putting them in motion. The animation was detailed, the stories were wellwritten and the dialogue was tight. After getting its start in 1994, it remains the network’s longest running show aside from “Sesame Street,” and the second longest-running cartoon on American TV other than “The Simpsons.”

There was a reason for the show’s success. The writers exhibited extraordinary insight on how to communicate serious ideas to kids – more so than perhaps any other children’s television series to date. Consider the classic episode Prove It!, where D.W. creates her own backyard “science” museum. Much to the chagrin of Arthur’s friend The Brain, she proceeds to use her creation to spread misinformation to all of the other kids in the neighborhood. At once, D.W. becomes the face of every pseudoscientific argument in modern political discourse.

This is a perfect example of how the writers refused to talk down to their audience, elementary school kids or no. Using D.W. as a vehicle, they framed the situation so that any child watching the

show could explain why she is wrong and The Brain is right. I happen know more than a few politicians who could stand to listen to their wisdom, too.

The showrunners also had an uncannily deft grasp of popular culture. Remember when “Arthur” predicted the meteoric rise of hologram bands like Gorillaz and Hatsune Miku with the episodes Binky Rules and Meet Binky? What about when Muffy starts a blog and almost ruins her friendship with Francine in a desperate attempt to drive traffic to her site? Or the time “Arthur” riffed on “Beavis and Butthead,” “Dexter’s Laboratory,” “Dr. Katz” and the “WWE” all in one episode?

That’s right – it’s called The Contest and it’s a beautiful piece of intertextual commentary. Go watch it.

All this being said, you can imagine my surprise when I flipped on an episode from Season 16 of “Arthur” called Flippity Francine and saw the scene described above. This is not the “Arthur” which I grew up with. This isn’t the “Arthur” that was, up until the most recent season, was teaching kids using highquality art and meaningful morality tales. What now stands in for the show is a traitorous abomination of

PBS

Arthur and his friends cloud watch in an older episode of the show. what was once poignant children’s fare. And I’m mad.

Apparently, some behindthe-scenes drama has led to “Arthur” switching from Cookie Jar Entertainment to Story 9 Entertainment for Season 16 and 17. This new studio uses flash-based techniques instead of the traditional approach that bore the show through its infancy.

While the old process was likely more costly and timeconsuming, it also forced the writers to come up with

situations and humor that relied on intelligence and wit instead of low-brow slapstick gags.

The new “Arthur” takes the insult beyond its visual shortcomings. These new episodes, with their strange puppet-like animation, belie their severely-altered style by using the same intro that has opened the show since Season 1. Indeed, Ziggy Marley’s famous theme song and the classic animation of seasons past open every new episode

of “Arthur.” But those catchy lyrics no longer bring with them the promise of the masterworks of yore. Instead, they represent the disingenuous nature of this new, Frankensteinian monstrosity.

It’s too painful to go on describing what’s become of “Arthur”. Suffice it to say that you’ve desecrated something holy, PBS. And I say, “Hey, it’s not a wonderful kind of day.”

Søren Hough can be reached at shhough@umass.edu.

6

Tuesday, November 5, 2013

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HOROSCOPES Jan. 20 - Feb. 18

Next weekend is a three-day weekend. That’s pretty awesome but doesn’t curb the fact that you have four tests and six essays due.

pisces

Feb. 19 - Mar. 20

leo

Jul. 23 - aug. 22

The best thing about Tuesday is that the weekend is only four days away. You are actually closer to last weekend...*sob*

virgo

aug. 23 - Sept. 22

If you spend a lot of time complaining about how “Facebook isn’t Twitter,” redirect those thoughts into arguments on Tumblr.

It would probably make your day a lot worse if you bit into a worm-infested apple. But hey, maybe not.

aries

Mar. 21 - apr. 19

libra

Sept. 23 - Oct. 22

scorpio

Oct. 23 - nOv. 21

You will probably receive equally strong but mixed opinions when you announce how much you hate English grammar conventions.

Making your paper longer by increasing the size of every comma and apostrophe to 24 pt. is not noticeable at all.

taurus

apr. 20 - May. 20

So many ostriches. Sweet Jesus, why?

Bad luck and extreme misfortune will infest your pathetic soul for all eternity. Happy Birthday!

gemini

May. 21 - Jun. 21

sagittarius

nOv. 22 - Dec. 21

Everyone is just afraid of how much they love you.

Your enthusiasm today is contagious, just like your runny nose.

cancer

capricorn

Jun. 22 - Jul. 22

The equinox is coming in a few weeks, and you are nowhere near ready for it, are you?

Dec. 22 - Jan. 19

Start buying one Christmas gift every week until the day. It is the only way you will catch up at this point.

THE MASSACHUSETTS DAILY COLLEGIAN

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FINALE

continued from page 8

of West Virginia (6-4, 6-7, 6-2).

Dixon, however, is not worried about her fledgling star from New Delhi.

“She’s going to get better and better,” Dixon said of Malik. “This is a kid who really wants to close the gap between herself and the other players. She’s very driven to do so and she knows what she needs to do to do that. That bodes well for us for the winter-spring [seasons].”

Other bright spots of the weekend included two victories in No. 2 singles from senior Sonia Bokhari: a long grind of a match against Johanna Hyoty of BU (6-4, 3-6, 6-4) and yet another three-set win against Kaja Mrgole of WVU (6-1, 2-6, 6-2). Bokhari also teamed up with Chanel Glasper in No. 2 doubles to go 1-1 on the weekend, thanks to a nail-biting (8-7) victory against the Terriers’ pair of Kim McCallum and Barbara Rodriguez. Bokhari and Glasper have been the most productive doubles team for UMass during the fall season

DIXON

winning five of their eight matches together.

Dixon expressed her satisfaction with her team’s resiliency after their early difficulties.

“I was really pleased with not only our results but our competitiveness,” Dixon said.

“Win or lose, I want them to compete well. I want them to be tough, get a lot of balls back, be smart and play well in pressure moments.”

She pointed to their great success in longer matches as evidence of the team’s ability to perform under pressure despite being a relatively young group.

The Big Green Invitational marked the end of the fall season for UMass tennis, which won both out-of-conference conference matches, first against Providence College and then Connecticut. UMass will resume competition and kick off its winter season against Brown in Hanover, N.H., on Jan. 31.

Arthur Hayden can be reached at awhayden@umass.edu.

CHAMPIONSHIPS Hilliard said.

LaFreniere added to that.

“Next A-10’s our goal is to win it,” she said..

It seems as if the team definitely has the confidence and the talent to make good on those promises in the immediate future.

Men take fourth place UMass men’s cross country didn’t just walk away from Richmond, Va., with a fourth place finish in the Atlantic 10 conference, they also walked away with two All-Conference runners in Antony Taylor and Ben Groleau. This is Taylor’s second All- Conference finish in as many years.

The Minutemen were picked to finish eighth out of a possible 13 teams in the preseason rankings, but eclipsed

als in tennis, leading the Minutewomen to an A-10 title this year and making it back to the NCAA Tournament before her coaching career is over.

“I feel honored and I feel humbled by the things that have happened to me along the way,” Dixon said. “I can’t say enough about the game of tennis, which has really given me so much of my life.”

Anthony Chiusano can be reached at achiusano@umass.edu and can be followed on Twitter @a_chiusano24.

continued from page 8

that with their No. 4 finish this weekend.

H o w e ve r, this was something that UMasscoach Ken O’Brien said his team wasn’t focused on.

“We were aware we were ranked eighth but you don’t really pay attention to the polls.” O’Brien said. “I was really happy with our team’s performance.”

Taylor lead the team with a 10th place finish in the field of 117 runners and finished with a time of 24:18.3.

Behind him and also claiming and All-Conference finish was Ben Groleau, who finished in 24:24.7 for the 13th spot.

“Ben was a very pleasant surprise,” O’Brien said.

“He’s starting to form his own identity as a distance runner.”

Following Groleau was Blake Croteau who was a two time Atlantic-10 Rookie of the Week in early October.

Croteau clocked a time of 24:48.9 and finished 29th overall in the field.

Rounding out the top five and taking the fourth and fifth spots for the Minutemen was sophomore duo Benjamin Thomas and Miles Hodge. Thomas and Hodge finished 36th and 46th, respectively, with times of 24:56.9 and 25:13.7.

Coming into the season, many saw this as a rebuilding year where the team would take the time to develop it’s younger runners. Things seem to be moving ahead of schedule and O’Brien credits his veteran leadership for the quick progression. “(Taylor) has really taken

it upon himself to show the younger runners the ins and outs of college running,” O’Brien said.

With an impressive finish in the conference meet and the emergence of their young runners ahead of schedule, the team looks to build on this finish and emerge as one of, if not the best team in the conference.

“We’ve established a base we can continue to develop for the future.” said O’Brien.

“Everyone in the program is excited about it.”

Both the men’s and women’s teams will race again on Nov. 15 in the NCAA Northeast Regional Championships in the Bronx, NY. Frank Corona can be reached at fcorona@umass.edu.

Minutewomen finish fall season strong Collegian Staff

In addition, Dixon said that leading the men’s team to the 2001 A-10 championship game, in which they lost to St. Bonaventure, was especially memorable.

“I think that was a huge highlight for me, because all the teams we played against had many more scholarships than we did,” she said. “That was one of the special moments for sure.”

Short term, Dixon said that her goals include continuing to help young individu-

7

ROW I N G

By Matthew ZackMan continued from page 8

Tuesday, November 5, 2013

The Massachusetts rowing team competed in a pair of events this weekend, with the freshman squad racing in the Green Monster Regatta and the varsity team in Mercer Falls, N.J., racing in the U.S. Rowing Fall Regatta.

The freshmen had three boats entered in the Green Monster Regatta. The ‘A’ boat finished fourth overall with a time of 16:42, trailing only Dartmouth, Boston College and Northeastern.

The other two boats finished 11th and 13th, respectively, out of a pool of 16 boats.

In New Jersey, the Minutewomen partook in time trials on Saturday.

They entered 12 boats in the time trials and each boat qualified for the finals, which was on Sunday.

UMass coach Jim Dietz noted that Claudia Caballero Larco was third overall out of 40 scullers in the time trials, which allowed her to take part in the ’A’ final which is for the top six boats in the time trial.

Larco ended up finishing in fifth place in the gold medal final, only 20 seconds out of first place. Her time, 8:26:39, was affected by difficult conditions, which made her have a little trouble

dealing with the wind and rough water, according to Dietz.

Despite finishing fifth, Dietz believes that Larco “still had a very respectable performance.”

“The women’s doubles were actually the two best boats that I thought I entered,” Dietz said. “Those boats in the time trails qualified for the ‘B’ level final, which added to our excitement because the intersquad competition that we have really gets the gals going, because everyone wants to be top dog.

“That was a thrilling race this morning with basically six boats rowing in a dead

heat all the way down the course.”

Dietz also believed Taryn Wilson and Emily Mann, who were back in fourth, rowed a really strategically sound race and in the last 500 meters. Radcliffe, who was in the lead at the time, made a mistake which allowed the field to close the gap. Wilson and Mann eventually took the gold.

Dietz was also proud of his women’s pairs, saying, “by the time the pairs raced, the water conditions were really terrible and many of the boats were crabbing.

Matthew Zackman can be reached at mzackman@umass.edu.

THE MASSACHUSETTS DAILY COLLEGIAN

Tuesday, November 5, 2013

Sports@DailyCollegian.com

@MDC_SPORTS

TENNIS

A LASTING IMPACT

UM ends fall season Podlofsky wins twice at Big Green Invitational

By Arthur hAyden Collegian Staff

CADE BELISLE/ COLLEGIAN FILE PHOTO

Judy Dixon (above) has coached tennis at UMass since 1992, enjoying success with both the men’s and women’s teams while winning Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year three times.

Judy Dixon still ‘hooked’ after 21 years

By Anthony ChiusAno Collegian Staff

In 1992, Judy Dixon never envisioned herself staying at Massachusetts for any longer than half of a year as the women’s tennis coach.

When approached by Glenn Wong, the acting athletic director at the time, she was initially reluctant in accepting the offer and returning to collegiate coaching.

Now, much to her surprise, she is about to enter her 22nd season leading the Minutewomen to success on and off the courts.

“I think I sort of got hooked,” Dixon said. “Obviously, 20 years later, here I am. It’s not been something that I’ve ever thought that I’d be doing. This has turned out to be

something special.”

Dixon first started coaching at Yale in 1973 when she was 23 years old. After three years coaching the women’s team, she departed, but not before making a lasting impact in 1975 when she sued the university – the first lawsuit of its kind against a major university – and won the case under Title IX. Because of her actions, Yale would upgrade all of the women’s teams at the school.

“I have been lucky enough to be friends with Billie Jean [King], and as someone who has been a role model for me in being active in affecting change, that’s been important to me,” Dixon said. “You need to make a stand, you need to take a stand and you need to stand up for what you think is right. Win

or lose, that’s the way I’ve been coaching.”

Now, Dixon cherishes her opportunity to make a positive impact on young adults.

“One of the reasons why I coach is that I am lucky enough to be able to make a difference in young people’s lives, either on the court or off the court,” Dixon said. “I can’t imagine many other jobs or careers where you get a chance to be in contact with so many young people and get a chance to make a difference.”

Leading the UMass women’s team since 1992 and the men’s team from 1993-2001, Dixon has brought consistency to a tennis program that struggled to find steadiness prior to her arrival. She explained that the resurrection of the team

C RO S S C O U N T RY

CLUB HOCKEY

as a team,” Hilliard said. “This Hilliard shines again as did is the best finish we’ve had in my career here at UMass so XC exceeds expectations whole that’s very exciting,”

UMass holds off Siena in a single goal affair

was a “slow and torturous” process, as the tennis program was originally non-scholarship.

“It was really one step at a time,” Dixon said. “I had to find the best talent I could to come to UMass for reasons other than tennis, because they weren’t getting scholarships.”

With over 260 career victories in her 21-year tenure, Dixon now stands as the winningest tennis coach in school history. Among other awards and recognitions, she has been named the Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year on three occasions (1998, 2001, 2003), led the women’s team to a 2001 Atlantic 10 title and an NCAA Tournament berth and was a 2008 inductee into the New England Tennis Hall of Fame. see

DIXON on page 7

Day 1 of the Big Green Invitational did not provide many highlights for the Massachusetts tennis team.

Matched up against the tournament host Dartmouth on the first day, the Minutewomen came away with only one victory, Jessica Podlofsky’s win over Julienne Keong (6-2, 5-7, 6-3).

The Big Green proceeded to dominate the weekend, dropping only five of their 32 matches across the three-day invitational. But UMass was also quick to recover. Despite their early struggles, the Minutewomen continued to battle over the next two days, securing team victories against the other two schools at the Invitational, Boston University and West Virginia University. It was a gritty performance, as UMass went 7-2 in matches that went to three sets.

Two of those seven three-set victories came from Podlofsky who, after defeating Keong onthe first day, won two more singles matches and added a doubles victory. Podlofsky is off to a strong start to her senior season and is rapidly approaching the program’s record for most career singles victories, needing one more victoriy to tie a title currently held by Michele Spiess at 67 wins.

“She’s been the spark plug of the team,” UMass coach Judy Dixon said. “She’s the grittiest player. Her game is a very tough game. You have to beat her, she doesn’t beat herself...She’s a real team leader, that’s for sure.

“She’s hitting the ball really well right now. She will break the record. It’s only a matter of which match she does that in.”

Podlofsky’s playing partner in doubles over the weekend, freshman Aarzoo Malik, did not have as much success on paper as Podlofsky, finishing 0-3 in singles play, including a tough three-set loss to Hailey Barrett see

FINALE on page 7

UMass places fifth in Third period goal by Kmetz A-10 Championship leads Minutemen to victory

By FrAnk CoronA Collegian Staff

The Massachusetts women’s cross country team took it upon itself to make some noise in the Atlantic10 Championships with a fifth place finish in the 12 team event.

The Minutewomen had been riding a bit of a hot streak as of late and the momentum carried into the highly anticipated race as they shattered their preseason conference prediction of eighth overall.

UMass coach Julie LaFreniere did not seem all that surprised with the finish.

“We knew we were not going to be eighth,” LaFreniere said. “The girls like being the dark horse and the team nobody expected to do a whole lot.”

The team was lead once again by junior Rachel Hilliard, who was nursing a foot injury merely days before the event. She placed 19th overall with a time of 17:48.7 and was four spots away from an AllConference finish.

“I’m very excited about how we

Behind Hilliard was freshmen phenom Christine Davis, who took the teams second place spot after coming in 22nd overall in a field of 111 runners. Davis was last weeks Atlantic 10 Performer of the Week as well as UMass Athlete of the Week and backed that up on Saturday with a time of 17:58.1.

“By this time next year she’ll be one of the top runners in the conference,” LaFreniere said of Davis.

Taking the third spot was Alexandra Purdue-Smithe, who finished 31st overall with a time of 18:05.6. Purdue-Smithe has managed to stay healthy this season and has taken advantage of that with some powerful running, and still has another year of eligibility left.

Upperclassmen Katie Powers and Sarah Barrett took the fourth and fifth spots for the women’s team and finished with times of 18:10.7 and 18:34.0, respectively.

The team looks to build on this finish and has even higher hopes for the future.

“We’re really excited that we have such a young, strong team,” see

CHAMPIONSHIPS on page 7

By ross GienieCzko Collegian Staff

Adam Kmetz’s late heroics propelled the UMass club hockey team past Siena 3-2 on Sunday afternoon at Mullins Center. The goal, which came with two minutes, 26 seconds remaining, was his fifth of the season.

It was a back and forth contest with each team consistently generating high quality scoring chances.

Saints goaltender John Schlegel was strong in defeat, making 43 saves on 46 shots, robbing several Minutemen of would-be goals.

“They’ve got a good goalie,” UMass coach Jamie Magarian said.

“And he played a really strong game. He’s got a really strong glove.”

Not to be outdone was Minutemen goaltender Luke Lepine, who stopped 23 of 25 shots to pick up the win in net.

Miguel Rojas led the Minutemen offensively, registering a goal and an assist on the night. He’s been a point per game player for UMass,

with ten points in ten contests.

Siena was powered by Peter Tasca, who scored both goals for the Saints.

The Saints opened the scoring 13:06 into the first period when Tasca got in behind the Minutemen defense and beat Lepine oneon-one to give Siena a lead. The Minutemen answered with good energy for the rest of the period and tied the game up on the power play when Rojas camped out down low and put home a rebound. Both Brian Collins and Allan Haynes assisted on the play. With just 34 seconds left in the first, Mark Fidler blasted a slap shot from the point bar-down to give UMass a 2-1 lead, with Rojas assisting.

After that, both goaltenders settled into a rhythm, trading saves for much of the second period. At 3:09, though, a long breakout pass from Brian Sisti found Tasca in stride and he converted another breakaway for the Saints to tie the game at 2-2.

The third period belonged entirely to the Minutemen. They outshot Siena 15-7 in the frame and spent most of the period in the offensive zone. But Schlegel remained sturdy, turning away multiple chances, including the

save of the day with 6:25 remaining. He sprawled across the crease to make a glove save on his back off a point-blank shot.

The extended UMass pressure eventually proved too much, though, as Kmetz scooped up a loose puck in front of the net and converted for the eventual game winner. Assists were credited to Ryan Daigle and Harris Stone.

The Minutemen were almost doomed by its inability to finish goals and Magarian cited a lack of second chances as the reason for their problems finishing.

“We were creating chances in their zone but we weren’t getting enough second opportunities at the puck,” Magarian said. “It’s ok to get a shot on net but you have to get bodies down there to get secondary chances.”

It was a bounce back win for UMass after a 5-1 loss Friday night to New York University. The Minutemen return to action next weekend with a pair of games, starting Friday night at home against Rensselaer. Puck drop is set for 9 p.m.

Ross Gienieczko can be reached at rgieniec@ umass.edu and followed on Twitter @RossCollegian.