Massachusetts Daily Collegian: Nov. 19, 2013

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Progressive future for UMass men’s soccer

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Thor makes round two comeback

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THE MASSACHUSETTS

A free and responsible press

DAILY COLLEGIAN DailyCollegian.com

Tuesday, November 19, 2013

UMass student stabbed at party

APD: injuries not life threatening

A local house party turned perilous over the weekend when a 21-year-old University of Massachusetts student was stabbed by a fellow partygoer. The Amherst Police Department responded to a call at 66 Pine St. around 12:30 a.m. on Saturday following a reported disturbance. Upon arrival, police discovered the UMass student who had been stabbed several times in the neck and the back. The Amherst Fire Department transported the victim by ambulance to Baystate Medical Center. The victim is a 21-yearold student who is from Washington, D.C. An APD press release said the victim’s injuries were not life threatening.

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Working toward justice

The rest of the college students who had been attending the party were dispersed. Police identified a suspect who turned himself in on Monday afternoon. Noah Pfister, 24, of Camden, Maine, was arrested on charges of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon. Pfister is not a student at the University. He was visiting his girlfriend over the weekend, according to the Daily Hampshire Gazette, when the couple decided to visit the home of her former boyfriend where the fight that resulted in the stabbing ensued. Pfister is being held on $25,000 cash bail. He is expected to be arraigned on Tuesday morning at the Eastern Hampshire District Court. Police said that the investigation is ongoing. -Collegian News Staff

JULIETTE SANDLEITNER/COLLEGIAN

Protesters supporting the Graduate Employee Organization gathered at the Student Union on Friday to rally against repeated late wages for graduate students.

Rookies find a home in Marching Band Students to push First year students for voting power prepare for Macy’s on Lobby Day

This article is part five in a series as the UMass Minuteman Marching Band prepares for the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.

By Jaclyn Bryson Collegian Staff

For some students, the hardest part of freshman year is leaving their families behind and searching for new friends. But for “rookie” University of Massachusetts Minuteman Marching Band students, by their first week at the University, they have already made over 400 friends. “I love just the family feel of band,” said Laura Rafuse, a freshman flute player. “Everybody is friends. If you need help with anything, people are always there for you.” As members of the Marching Band, first years rookies have to get used to attending daily practices alongside veteran band members, as well as occasionally waking up before the sun has even risen to perform at early football games. “I think my earliest wake up time this semester was 3:30 a.m. because we have to do hair and make-up before we leave sometimes,” said Brenna Fitzpatrick, a junior baton twirler who joined band this year. “That was a hard morning.” And while many have had experience as members of the band in high school, all agreed that there is definitely a difference playing at a college level. “You just have less time to do things so you need to be more efficient. You need to work quicker,” said Matt Harnois, a freshman member of the drum line, comparing his experience as a UMass Minuteman Band Member to his time in band at high school. “It’s like a different vibe.” With almost 400 people active in the marching band,

rookies added the community feel of band is a big plus. “There are 400 tutors around,” Erica Pollock, a freshman clarinet player, said of her fellow band members, who she said are always trying to help the rookies to succeed not only musically, but academically. “They help you with everything and anything,” said Pollock. “When I have trouble with my physics homework, I come to band and I’m like, ‘Hey guys, help with my homework,’ and they help me with my homework,” added Rafuse. “Even when I am having trouble with class they are there to help me through it.” But while joining band in college may require more work and, at times, may feel intimidating, many added that it’s worth the effort. “I went from a high school band of 60 people to a trumpet section of 60 people,” freshman Mike Nicholson said. “But it’s been great. I can name everyone in the section and tell you something about them too. We’re all friends now and we’re all there for each other.” For the band rookies, currently their biggest challenge is preparing for the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. In order to be ready for their televised appearance, they have to practice in an entirely new way. “Obviously (there’s been) a shift away from field marching towards street marching and marching without yard lines,” Fitzpatrick said. “You feel more of an air of see

ROOKIES on page 3

Want more votes on [F]rom 1987–1991 Board of Trustees the Amherst, Boston, and Worcester By Brian Bevilacqua Collegian Staff campuses all had Since William Bulger the right to vote on was president of the school, University of school issues... There Massachusetts students has since been less have fought for the right to vote on what happens at than 11 percent stuUMass. dent representation “Some people think students don’t have the capacon the Board. ity to understand what is going on, which is complete crap,” said senior Student Government Association President Zac Broughton. He is determined to gain full voting rights for students this Lobby Day. “Students are heavily outnumbered on [the] board anyways, and we are adults and can make their decisions. This is something they have to trust us to do.”. On Tuesday, a group of between 50 and 75 UMass Amherst students will arrive at the State House in Boston with Broughton for Lobby Day, when activists from all five UMass campuses will join together to lobby for more student representation in the UMass Board of Trustees, the group responsible for the biggest decisions affecting the UMass system. Lobby Day, an event held by many large state colleges, usually falls in the spring semester so activists can lobby their state representatives for educational funding. It was decided to move it to the fall this year so students could persuade state government to support a bill that would grant voting rights to all five campus representatives. Currently, there are 19 voting members on the

Board, which consists of 17 school officials and two student representatives. According to the student government office, from 1987-1991 the Amherst, Boston and Worcester campuses all had the right to vote on school issues. However, when UMass Lowell and UMass Dartmouth opened, student voting rights were stripped. There has since been less than 11 percent student representation on the Board, with the two votes alternating between the five campuses and the other three schools listed as non-voting members. Although UMass Amherst does not have voting rights this year, the SGA and the Center for Education Policy and Advocacy have worked for several years during this annual event to gain suffrage for all students, even in years when Amherst did hold one of the two votes. The bill is currently stuck in committee, unable to move forward to a vote in the Massachusetts State House, so the student activists plan to talk to their representatives to persuade see

LOBBY DAY on page 3


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