Massachusetts Daily Collegian: Nov. 26, 2013

MADE THE RANK

Right on taRget

PAGE 8

PAGE 5

‘Catching Fire’ hits the mark

UMass ends 15-year drought

THE MASSACHUSETTS

A free and responsible press

DAILY COLLEGIAN DailyCollegian.com

Tuesday, November 26, 2013

By katrina Borofski Collegian Staff

At Monday night’s weekly meeting, senators of the Student Government Association received a detailed presentation regarding the renovations of Blue Wall that lay ahead in the near future. In addition, the Senate debated the distribution of budgets for groups in need on campus.

David Eichstaedt, the director of Retail Dining Services, along with a number of other important figures dealing with the renovation of Blue Wall, joined the SGA this Monday to discuss the upcoming plans for the Campus Center’s dining space.

“It’s over fifty years old, it’s pretty archaic,” Eichstaedt said to start off the presentation. “We’ve really outgrown the space in the Campus Center.”

Currently the Campus Center is home to Blue Wall and a number of other retail dining options here at the University.

The purpose of Blue Wall renovations lies in “making the students happy,” , according to Eichstaedt, “We want to make sure you have a comfortable place to eat,” he said.

With that being said, Eichstaedt and his team of builders, architects and directors introduced the tentative plans for Blue Wall in the next few months.

Construction is expected to begin on Dec. 13, immediately after a majority of the students leave campus.

The builders intend to be finished by Aug. 15 of next year. According to Monday night’s presentation, they plan to reduce noise surrounding construction by

completing as much of the heavy work as possible during the period in which students are gone for winter break.

The efforts that go into renovating Blue Wall aim not only to provide students with a comfortable space to eat in the Campus Center, but also to provide a source for student to obtain fresh food.

“We want to serve you fresh food, sustainably,” said Ken Toong, executive director of Auxiliary Enterprises.

The new Blue Wall will offer many of its former dining options, but will also expand. The renovated space will include a Star Ginger, a People’s Organic Coffee and a salad area, sushi area and grill, among many other options.

The presentation Monday night also shed light on some of the architectural features that would be incorporated in the renovated Blue Wall.

“The goal is non-institutional,” said Dan Rath, an architect working on the Blue Wall Renovation project. Rather than highlighting the space as a college dining hall, Rath hopes the space will offer a different value to students through its architectural details. For example, stainless curtains are one of many interior accents that Rath and others hope will add to the space.

“This gives it sort of an upscale feel, as opposed to a food court,” Rath said.

The new Blue Wall is also designed to keep in mind space maximization.

“There will be a lot of cool seating where you’ll be maximizing eating in a small place,” said Eichstaedt, who emphasized the importance in utilizing space in the Campus Center. see

SGA on page 3

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Ready to roll

SGA: Blue Wall renovations and budget grants Concerns raised about space limits

Serving the UMass community since 1890

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The UMass Marching Band fights the cold and practices on Nov. 19 in preparation for its march in this year’s Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.

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

By Patrick Hoff

B

Collegian Staff

y the time you read this, the University of Massachusetts Minuteman Marching Band will probably already have left for New York City, a little more than 48 hours before they are scheduled to perform live from the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.

In the days before the parade, the marching band building was abuzz with chatter and preparations, even more so than on a typical day. People were running back and forth, uniforms were spread out in conference rooms and there was not a single person just standing around – everyone was doing something.

“I’m most excited for

performing on the star, but I guess also all the energy and excitement,” said Demi Staluppi, a senior trumpet player and member of the administrative staff for UMMB. During the past month, as football season has been winding down and marching band rehearsals have been gearing up, becoming more intense and focused, according to Staluppi.

“I feel like we’re definitely a lot more goal oriented than kind of just like ‘Oh, we’re getting better at something for the next couple of shows,’” said Kenechukwu Abajueumeh, a sophomore mellophone player and

member of the public relations staff. “Now it’s kind of like, ‘This is what is going to happen and this is the time we have to do it.’”

Despite the more serious approach that the marching band has been taking in order to properly prepare for the parade, Staluppi said that the band is still a fun place to be.

“I mean, marching band is always fun,” she said.

“It’s just that we have a different goal – we don’t have a show to put on the field. Since this a oncein-a-lifetime opportunity, performing in the Macy’s Parade, we really have to be at our best.”

Over the past few weeks, the marching band has been rehearsing parade marching and has been practicing keeping their posture while marching long distances, as well as practicing the drill that they will be performing on the Macy’s Parade star shortly before 11:30 a.m.

The band’s administrative staff has also been busy taking care of logistics, such as sending the band uniforms out to be dry cleaned and making sure that the new color guard uniforms are ready. The staff has also been talking to the press, including some television stations.

“You know, we’re kind of celebrities,” Staluppi joked.

When the marching band arrives in New York City on Tuesday, its members will be given the night off of rehearsals and be allowed to explore the city for the night.

“We’re allowed to do what we want for the day because for a lot of people it’s their first time in the city,” Abajueumeh said.

Staluppi added, “We have a night to see the sights of the city and then Wednesday it’ll be practice, practice, practice.” see

BAND on page 3

SALT partners with SaveUp UMass students design to fight against student debt Nipmuc Cultural Center Aims to teach better financial planning

By ElEanor HartE Collegian Staff

SALT, a non-profit free educational resource created by American Student Assistance to assist students in making better decisions about finances, partnered earlier this month with SaveUp, the nation’s first free rewards program for paying down debt.

SaveUp is a free online program that offers users an opportunity to save money and get out of debt through a reward system. A for-profit social enterprise, SaveUp is funded through sponsorships and partnerships. It was founded in San

Francisco in 2011. Since that time, it has helped users rebuild over $1 million in savings. The site includes financial education tools and aims to help people become more aware of the issues surrounding debt and its causes.

SALT provides free resources for students to take control of their finances, so it was a natural partnership, according to SaveUp CEO Priya Haji. The website features videos, articles, and a “Money Coach” designed to help students learn about savings plans, repayment options and how to control their debt.

“SALT is one of the largest student loan guarantors in the country,” Haji said.

“They are very motivated and they moved quickly on

the partnership.”

The two organizations have entered into a collaborative co-marketing agreement in which they will be helping each other reach millions of new people, according to Haji.

“It’s designed to appeal to people used to social interaction,” Haji said. As a result, it’s the 20-35-yearold crowds that use the site most often and benefit the most, according to Haji.

This age group is the one that faces the most debt.

According to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, 14 million people under the age of 30 held student loan debt in 2012. The average amount of loan debt is more than $26,600, according to see

SALT on page 3

Architecture class works with tribe

By DaviD BarnstonE Collegian Correspondent

In two adjacent studios on the top floor of the Fine Arts Center, architecture students at the University of Massachusetts have been designing a community center for a group of Native Americans with strong ties to a plot of land in central Massachusetts.

Students in associate professor Ray Mann’s senior design class presented their plans and models for a Nipmuc Community and Education Center at the West Brookfield Town Hall on Saturday.

The Nipmuc, or “fresh-

“As this process is unfolding, the community is gradually identifying what they really want in this building. Each person has to keep adjusting their design to achieve the new criteria.”

Ray Mann, UMass architecture professor water”, people are a tribe of Algonquian Native Americans who originally settled around what is now southern New England.

Today there are roughly 3,000 members of the tribe scattered in clans around the region.

The Nipmuc people are currently lacking a central location to meet, practice traditions, preserve cultural artifacts and share their heritage with the public. With a grant from the

Massachusetts Division of Conservation Services, graduate students at the Conway School of Landscape Design investigated a 42-acre plot of land last spring as a potential site for a Nipmuc community center.

“That whole area is really at the heart of [the Nipmuc’s] original territory,” Mann said. “If you look at the geography of it, it’s filled with ponds and lakes see

NIPMUC on page 3

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Tuesday, November 26, 2013

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

In 1917, the National Hockey League was formed. The first teams were the Montreal Canadiens, Montreal Wanderers, Ottowa Senators, Quebec Bulldogs and Toronto Arenas.

AROUND THE WORLD

Hondurans protest election results TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras — Chanting “take to the streets!” Monday, Honduran supporters of the country’s first major pro-left political party vigorously protested official presidential election results that showed their candidate losing.

Backers of candidate Xiomara Castro accused electoral authorities of fraud, saying they were manipulating results to hand victory to her chief rival, an old-style politician from the conservative ruling party.

Castro, wife of the president ousted in a 2009 coup, was trailing the top vote-getter, Juan Orlando Hernandez, by about 5 percentage points, according to the official tally with more than half of the ballots counted.

“We do not accept the results,” Castro’s husband, the deposed former President Manuel Zelaya, said Monday.

Hernandez’s disputed victory, which is gradually being recognized by other Latin American governments, threatens to plunge the violent, dysfunctional country into an even deeper period of instability.

Los Angeles Times

Afghanistan: Punishments may return to stoning Human Rights Watch reported from Kabul on Monday that the Afghan government is pondering a return to Taliban-era punishment of adultery with death by stoning and called on President Hamid Karzai to “reject this proposal out of hand.”

A spokesman for the Justice Ministry denied that the government had proposed resuming public execution by stoning for moral crimes, The Associated Press reported.

But Reuters news agency quoted a member of the Shariah law committee working on a new penal code as confirming that the ancient punishment was a subject of discussion.

Los Angeles Times

Protesters call for resignation of prime minister Anti-government demonstrators forced their way into Thailand’s finance and foreign ministries, blowing whistles and calling on the prime minister to resign, joining thousands who poured into the streets of the Thai capital of Bangkok on Monday for the second day in a row.

The protests were triggered by a controversial political amnesty bill that critics say would have allowed ousted leader Thaksin Shinawatra to return to Thailand without being tried on corruption charges. Thaksin opponents say he continues to pull the strings from abroad through his youngest sister, the current prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra.

Yingluck’s government has argued that the legislation is necessary for social and political reconciliation.

Los Angeles Times Distributed by MCT Information Services

THE MASSACHUSETTS DAILY COLLEGIAN

DailyCollegian.com

Amherst Police Log: thievery Administration: abound over last weekend HealthCare.gov on Friday, Nov. 22 to target for Nov. 30 Sunday, Nov. 24

North Pleasant St. reported that residents at the house next door were throwing bottles at the north side of the callBy Mary reines er’s building after being Collegian Staff denied entry. Police were unable to make contact Friday, Nov. 22 with the culprits. One was found outside, but 10:48 a.m. Construction was uncooperative and signs were stolen near 457 refused to identify his Main St. Their location, as well as the perpetrator, 9:23 a.m. A caller at 27 roommates or assist the Montague Rd. Apt 33 officers. remains unknown. reported a drunken, col7:45 p.m. A caller at 37 lege-aged male asleep on 1:25 p.m. A larceny was Meadow St. reported a his couch. There were no reported at 15 Allen St. break-in and bags of coins signs of forced entry. The where a man reportedly missing at the residence. male received a summons came onto the resident’s There was no sign of a on charges of breaking porch and stole some and entering. returnable cans. forced entry.

Pelham Rd. called to report that a truck had crashed into her front yard. The truck appears to have been stolen from the University of Massachusetts Athletic Department and sustained heavy damage. The driver of the truck remains unknown and the case is under investigation.

8:41 p.m. A caller at 1001 11:51 p.m. Responding to Liquor North Pleasant St. Apt. 41 reported a break-in and indicated that several items in the apartment had been moved. No items were reported missing and there were no signs of forced entry.

a noise complaint, police found about 100 guests accompanied by loud music and underage drinking at 334 Lincoln Ave. Residents were warned about town bylaws regarding noise.

Saturday, Nov. 23

Sunday, Nov. 24

arrests: 0

law

violation

Liquor law summons: 0 Noise complaints: 9 Vehicle stops: 7 Vehicle crashes: 13 Mary Reines can be reached at

5:22 a.m. The resident at 106 4:39 a.m. A caller at 374 mreines@umass.edu

Police doubt accuracy of Yale gunman report First caller still

unknown, unverified By shawn Beals and Mikaela PorTer The Hartford Courant NEW HAVEN, Conn. – The man who called police Monday morning and said someone was headed to the Yale campus with a gun “sounded like a confused gentleman,” and officials were beginning to have doubts that the initial report was accurate, police said.

Nonetheless, police continued to scour the Yale University campus Monday afternoon, and the Old Campus remained on lockdown as evening fell.

Lockdown was lifted campuswide around 4:40 p.m.

The man who made the initial call - at 9:48 a.m. - said his roommate was headed to campus with a gun to shoot people, police said.

He did not identify himself and hung up before offering more details, said New Haven Police spokesman Officer David Hartman.

New Haven police received the call from a phone booth in the 300 block of Columbus Avenue, between Howard Avenue and Hallock Street.

“We are tracking down the person who made that

phone call,” said New Haven Police Chief Dean Esserman at an afternoon news conference.

That person “sounded like a confused gentleman,” Esserman said. “I wouldn’t describe his words as clear and concise.”

Police and the FBI are investigating whether video surveillance could have captured an image of the caller or anyone else of interest.

At 10:17 a.m., Yale sent out a text alert to the community about the report.

Within about an hour of the anonymous call, two witnesses told police they had seen a person with a “long gun,” Hartman said.

Police are investigating whether those witnesses were looking at law enforcement personnel, Hartman said. Esserman said police were interviewing several people “who are not sure ... if they saw a police officer with a gun or a citizen with a gun.”

Police focused their search efforts in the Old Campus area bordered by College, Chapel, Elm and High streets, Hartman said.

Yale police conducted roomto-room searches of residential college areas.

Hartman said a “basement to roof search” of Yale buildings was underway. Multiple SWAT teams

searched the area, he said.

Police shut down roads around the Old Campus to traffic and pedestrians.

Several public schools in the area were put on lockdown as a precaution.

“Caution is the watchword,” Esserman said.

“This is not a time when we can just be relaxed - not when there’s a call about a gun.”

The lockdown was lifted at 3:30 p.m. for everywhere except the Old Campus, according to the university’s website.

The initial alert posted on Yale’s emergency management website said there had been no confirmations or sightings of anyone with a gun.

Then at 11:02 a.m., Yale announced that there was a “confirmed report of a person with a gun on/near Old Campus.”

At 11:37 a.m., Yale announced that “shelter in place/lockdown remains on campus.”

At 11:57 a.m., the Yale website reported that “There are confirmed reports of a person with a gun on campus on the Old Campus. The shelter-in-place/lockdown continues. Teams from Yale Police, New Haven and the State Police are on the scene and are actively searching for any gunman.”

Site to work for most “The system will not work perfectly on by end of month Dec. 1, but it will

By Tony Pugh McClatchy Washington Bureau operate much better WASHINGTON – The than it did in OctoObama administration on Monday expressed guarded ber.” confidence that it’s on track to get the troubled Healthcare. gov website running properly

by Nov. 30, its self-imposed deadline.

“The system will not work perfectly on Dec. 1, but it will operate much better than it did in October,” Julie Bataille, communications director at the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, said during a telephone briefing.

Administration officials say they want four out of five site users to be able to compare, apply and enroll into new health coverage in December.

A surge in signups is expected

by Dec. 23 - the last day to enroll in health coverage that starts on Jan. 1, 2014.

To handle the increased volume, the site will double its current capacity by Nov. 30 to handle 50,000 simultaneous users and 800,000 daily visitors.

If user volume spikes too high and becomes unwieldy, a new “queuing” feature will message users to leave the site and return when volume has decreased.

“Those are the kinds of things that we are actively going to have in place early next week to manage demand,” Bataille said.

Last week, Jeffrey Zientz, the White House-appointed consultant who is overseeing the site repair efforts, said more than 300 software improvements, a host of new hardware upgrades, along with code rewrites and capacity increases, have made noticeable improvements to the site.

The repair team will work through the Thanksgiving holiday weekend to make some 50 more fixes this week.

After a disastrous open enrollment debut on Oct. 1, the website that serves as an entry portal for the federal insurance marketplace has been on its sickbed for most of October and November.

It was expected to log

Julie Bataille, communications director, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services

500,000 new health plan enrollees in October. But just over 26,000 people managed to enroll because of problems setting up individual accounts, browsing the various coverage options and numerous other site malfunctions.

Now after repairs by private and governmental information technology experts, pages load in under a second, down from 8 seconds in October. And the per-page frequency of system timeouts and failures known as the “page error rate” had shrunk to 0.75 percent last week, down from 6 percent several weeks ago, Zientz said.

But additional problems persist.

It remains unclear when the Spanish-language website and the online small business marketplace known as “SHOP” will be up and running.

And errors continue to show up in information sent to insurers about applicants.

On Monday, the site was down for about an hour because of what Bataille called “parts of the system not communicating properly on the back end.” Technicians repaired the site quickly, and the problems did not affect operation of the federal website’s data hub, which verifies applicant information for marketplaces in all 50 states.

“We have work to do to further improve the system and user experience, and it’s likely that as we move forward, we’ll find additional glitches and experience intermittent periods of suboptimal performance,” Zientz said last week.

“Our bottom line is that we’ve made measurable progress in getting the site working smoothly for the vast majority of users.”

THE MASSACHUSETTS DAILY COLLEGIAN

DailyCollegian.com

Obama will not override deportations need to go,” Obama Executive order won’t don’t said. “He can stay there. ... I

bypass Congress By christi Parsons Tribune Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama told a heckler who interrupted a speech on immigration Monday that he will not circumvent Congress and try to halt deportations by executive order because the U.S. is “a nation of laws.”

“Please use your executive order!” shouted the heckler, who was standing behind Obama onstage, close enough to be in the television camera shot during an event in San Francisco’s Chinatown.

Urging the president to give immediate relief to those separated from their families at Thanksgiving, he yelled, “You have the power to stop deportations!”

“Actually, I don’t,” Obama responded, asking security personnel not to remove the heckler or other protesters who joined in the shouting. “These guys

SGA

respect the passion of these young people.”

But the solution to the problem “won’t be as easy as just shouting,” he said to the young man. “If you’re serious about making that happen, then I’m willing to work with you.

“The easy way out is to try to yell and pretend like I can do something by violating our laws,” he said.

“What I’m proposing is the harder path” of trying to get the law changed.

As the prospects for immigration legislation in Congress have faded, activists have been putting increasing pressure on Obama to take executive action to reduce the number of deportations.

Last year Obama approved a step to shield one group of people from deportation, the so-called DREAM Act youth, who were brought to the country illegally as young children. The administration justified that action as an exercise in prosecutorial

discretion, the legal basis being that the executive branch has authority to say that some cases for deportation are less urgent than others. That principle can’t be extended to cover everyone, administration lawyers have said.

The shouts came at the end of a speech Obama gave as he began a two-day visit to California otherwise dominated by Democratic fundraising events. Obama had used the speech to make a new appeal to Republicans to pass immigration reform before the end of the year.

Obama urged House Republicans to enact changes even if that requires passing several separate measures rather than one comprehensive overhaul package like the one approved by the Senate this year.

“It’s Thanksgiving. We can carve that bird into multiple pieces,” Obama said.

“As long as all the pieces get done and we actually deliver on the core values we’ve been talking about for so long, I think everybody’s fine with it.”

Obama had suggested that sort of piece-by-piece approach before but not in such vivid terms.

Some House Republicans may be interested in that step-by-step approach if they can finesse the intraparty politics.

House Speaker John A. Boehner, R-Ohio, said this week that his caucus is committed to considering immigration legislation, but he did not lay out a time frame. The issue splits Republicans, and GOP lawmakers are divided over the idea of providing a pathway to citizenship for the 11 million immigrants in the country who have overstayed their visas or entered the country illegally.

Obama has insisted that any immigration reform law must include a pathway to citizenship.

“The speaker is sincere in wanting to get something done,” Boehner spokesman Brendan Buck said after the president spoke, “and we’re pleased the president said he can accept the step-bystep approach we’re taking in the House.”

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While construction is under way, food will still be offered at the Campus Center, only on a smaller scale. RSO tabling will also still take place during and after construction is completed.

Senators at Monday night’s meeting also agreed to grant the UMass rowing team a budget request. The President and Treasurer of the rowing team joined Senators Monday night to explain the team’s cause.

Last May the rowing team had one of its engines stolen. These engines

were used for the boats the coaches used to train and supervise the team.

“We have 40 guys on the team and therefore have four or five boats on the water at a time,” the team president said. “I would be much better if we had two coach launchers working.”

More than anything, the rowing team sought the money for safety reasons. The Student Senate agreed to grant it this budget request.

At Monday’s meeting, Senators also noted the hard work of Chairwoman

Savannah Van Leuvan-Smith and other members of the Diversity and Student Engagement Committee, who helped in the planning of Lobby Day that took place last Tuesday. As a whole, senators agree that the lobbying for House Bill H.1088 and Senate Bill S.588 were a success. Senators plan on participating in another Lobby Day in the spring.

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

Syrian rebels break Hezbollah seige Peace talks set to begin this January

By Mitchell Prothero McClatchy Foreign Staff

BEIRUT — Rebels on the outskirts of the Syrian capital launched an offensive over the weekend that apparently succeeded in breaking the government siege of several contested villages in a long battle that apparently involved the Lebanese Muslim Shiite militant group Hezbollah.

Three rebel commanders confirmed to McClatchy on Monday that the offensive was ongoing, but each refused to provide details, saying that the newly dominant faction that controls rebel forces around Damascus had put a news blackout in place.

Abu Yaser, a spokesman for Jaysh al-Islam, a coalition of Islamist rebel groups, said details of the fight would be made public when the operation was completed.

Photos posted on Facebook and Twitter showed rebels celebrating what appeared to be a series of bloody victories over Hezbollah fighters who’d been supporting the Syrian army in the area. Rebels appeared to be holding prisoners, and some of the photos depicted apparent executions.

Word of the fighting came the same day that the United Nations announced that the United States and Russia had agreed to Jan. 22 as the date for the socalled Geneva 2 peace talks, intended to find a political solution to the civil war.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon announced the date in New York. If the talks take place as planned, it will be the first meeting between representatives of President Bashar Assad’s government and the opposition since the civil war

broke out in 2011.

“At long last and for the first time, the Syrian government and opposition will meet at the negotiation table rather than the battlefield,” Ban said.

It was still unclear who’d be attending the conference, which was originally called for in the so-called Geneva Communique agreed to by the United States, Russia and several other countries in June 2012. Assad has said he’ll send a representative, but it’s been unclear which rebel factions will appear and whether countries such as Saudi Arabia, which supports the rebels, and Iran, which supports Assad, will be invited.

“We are still discussing the complete list of participants, and we will be meeting again on Dec. 20 for another trilateral, maybe the last one before the conference,” Lakhdar Brahimi, the U.N.’s special envoy to Syria, said in Geneva, referring to a meeting of representatives from the United States, Russia and the U.N. “We are in touch both with government and the opposition. We are asking them to name their delegations as early as possible, hopefully before the end of the year.”

He ducked questions on whether Iran would be invited, noting only that Ban and the head of the Arab League have said they’d favor its participation.

The announcement of the date for the talks and the rebel offensive probably were coincidental, but the timing underscored a key rebel concern: that peace talks would begin while their campaign to oust Assad appeared to be flagging.

In recent months, the Syrian army, with the help of Iranian advisers and fighters from Iraq and Lebanon’s Hezbollah, has successfully pressed to retake areas around Damascus that had been under rebel control.

Ghouta and the adjacent

“At long last and for the first time, the Syrian government and opposition will meet at the negotiation table rather than the battlefield.”

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon suburbs of Damascus have been under heavy government siege and bombardment for almost a year as pro-Assad troops sought to weaken rebel forces that occupied the area. Little in the way of food or medical supplies has arrived in the besieged area.

“The battle is ongoing, and the fighting brigades were able to liberate townships that were being controlled by the regime army,” said a rebel activist, who asked that his name not be used so as not to offend the rebel units that insist on a news blackout. He identified the rebel units participating in the fighting as Jaysh alIslam and the Islamic Union of Ajnad al-Sham and Ahrar al-Sham, two conservative Islamist groups.

“Yesterday, all of alBahariyah was liberated,” he said, referring to a town east of Damascus that’s been contested for months.

He said rebels also had taken the towns of Deir Salman and al-Qisa, which had been in rebels hands at the beginning of the year but fell to the army over the summer.

Rebel video showed dozens of bodies of what the insurgents claimed were Hezbollah fighters. Several showed prisoners whom the rebels identified as Lebanese.

A Hezbollah commander in Beirut said he was aware of at least 21 casualties from the weekend fighting and that the Shiite community of southern Lebanon was bracing for high casualty figures.

“I have a list of 21 names of our martyrs from this weekend, but there will be

more,” he said. “It could become at least 40 in the next few hours.”

Residents of Beirut’s Hezbollah-controlled southern suburbs said there were signs that some bodies had been returned from the battlefield just a few hours away and that families with sons in Syria were expected to hear of more casualties.

The Hezbollah commander described a murky ongoing situation in Ghouta and around a strategic highway interchange that links the capital to the mostly rebelheld city of Aleppo to the north.

“Yesterday our units came under a human wave attack by hundreds of terrorists and rebel fighters,” said the commander, who asked not to be identified because he wasn’t authorized to discuss Hezbollah operations with reporters.

“They took several villages and took several Hezbollah positions.”

When he was asked whether the Hezbollah units would be reinforced, the commander said elite units from Hezbollah were already being sent to the battle.

“It’s not over. We will retake those positions,” he said.

One resident said a mass mobilization of these units was readily apparent in the tight-knit community.

“Everyone’s phones are ringing and buses full of special forces are leaving” the neighborhood, the resident said. The resident asked not to be identified for security reasons.

Tuesday, November 26, 2013

SALT

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the Project on Student Debt.

“We want to reach every campus in the US,” Haji said. “We want to make SaveUp the tool of use for college students.”

Haji noticed that while the recession was affecting younger people as they tried to establish their professional lives, at the same time student loans were growing in record numbers.

In response, she created SaveUp, which she calls “a fun way to organize your finances and get rewarded for doing the right things.”

According to Haji, the program is designed using behavioral economics. It is specifically designed in such a way that people will become addicted to it. The addiction, however, is not to spending, but to saving money. The user receives points for saving money and paying off loans and credit

BAND

card payments, as well as for watching educational videos related to finances.

“The goal is for people to strategically rebuild their savings,” Haji said.

Credit card debt can also be a severe problem for recently graduated students.

“Credit cards are not inherently bad,” Haji said, “if they’re used the right way. Building up credit is important, but not at the expense of your future.”

Presently, the two websites differ in that SALT provides information and resources for students, while SaveUp provides incentives and games for anyone facing debt. It’s a partnership that makes sense, according to Haji, and it’s her hope that the two websites can help eradicate student debt.

Eleanor Harte can be reached at eharte@umass.edu.

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On Wednesday night, the band will be provided with a celebratory dinner in the hotel, something that both Staluppi and Abajueumeh were excited for.

On Thursday, the marching band has to be lined up with the floats and other parade participants by 3 a.m. At 4 a.m., UMMB has a final practice on the Macy’s Parade star, the last rehearsal before they do it live.

“Once you put on that

NIPMUC

uniform and once you step out onto the streets of New York City, you can just feel it in the air,” Staluppi said.

“Just the environment is so overwhelming but it’s exciting at the same time, so I’m really looking forward to that.”

Their official performance time on the star is scheduled at 11:24 a.m. in front of all of New York City and the world.

Patrick Hoff can be reached at pphoff@umass.edu.

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and all these waterways.”

The East Quabbin Land Trust intends to purchase the privately owned property and sell it to the Nipmuc tribe, according to minutes from a meeting of the West Brookfield Conservation Commission in July.

This semester, UMass architecture students have been picking up where the Conway students left off, working closely with Nipmuc representative David Tall Pine White to design the building and other amenities for the site.

One student in the class, Evan Janes, said it has been a unique experience working with a real client. He said most students don’t get to do that until graduate school.

“It’s been really challenging because in the past if you had some sort of parameters, [they were] all things you’ve made up,” said architecture student Amanda Rogg. According to Rogg, White visited their class several times to provide feedback on their designs.

“As this process is unfolding, the community is gradually identifying what they really want in this building,” Mann said.

“Each person has to keep adjusting their design to achieve the new criteria.”

The Nipmuc people had some specific requests for what they wanted to see in the design. For one, the building had to be circular with an east-facing entrance. Mann and her students said circularity holds a lot of symbolic value for the tribe. A medicine wheel, for example, is an important symbol that shows how elements and living things are connected to one another. Rogg used the concept of a medicine wheel to organize the spaces within her building design, creating a quiet library space for elders on the north side of the building.

The Nipmuc tribe also wanted the building to

serve as an emergency shelter for West Brookfield residents. Rogg incorporated a basement into her design to serve this purpose and Janes “overengineered” his design by making use of robust, 6 x 10 beams for the building’s frame.

Finally, the Nipmucs sought a sustainable building that would have a low impact on the land. One of the highlights of Rogg’s design is a living machine, which she describes as a “self-contained waste water processing system.”

This system would filter wastewater from the building’s bathrooms and kitchen through the landscape and then be reused.

The students said having all these components come together in their design was challenging, and sometimes they conflicted with each other.

Additionally, they had only a $1.5 million budget to work with.

Janes said designing a circular building is expensive because it requires custom work. To improve the affordability of his design while maintaining its circularity, Janes squared off the corners and created an octagon shape.

The class meets for three hours, twice a week, but Janes said that accounts for less than a quarter of the time they put into the project.

“There have been plenty of all-nighters this semester where I’ve worked straight through until my alarm clock was going off,” said Janes.

Although the semester is coming to an end, Mann said her class is the beginning of what could be a multiyear project. The ideas and designs generated by her students can help the Nipmuc people communicate their vision for the community center to architects they work with in the future.

David Barnstone can be reached at dbarnsto@umass.edu.

Opinion Editorial THE MASSACHUSETTS DAILY COLLEGIAN

Tuesday, November 26, 2013

“I write only because there is a voice within me that will not be still.” - Sylvia Plath

Finding the sport in pro gaming The competitive professional video game movement just took a huge step in the direction of your

Johnny McCabe living room. The “Major League Gaming” organization, known colloquially as “MLG,” announced in an interview with website TechCrunch early last week that it would be launching “MLG.tv,” an all-inclusive Internet-only streaming broadcast that would focus on the highlights of professional competitive gaming, in a fashion undeniably similar to ESPN and other “real sports” networks. By narrowing the gap between competition and presentation, MLG hopes to prove to the world that “e-sports” are indeed a profitable industry. But what truly defines a sport? Is it the spectacle or the audience?

On the subject of spectacle, all it really takes is a cursory observation of an MLG broadcast to see that the glamour of professional sports is second nature to the industry. MLG.tv kicked off its broadcast initiative this weekend with nonstop coverage of “MLG Columbus,” a three-day slugfest in which the highest ranked pro teams from all around the world converged in Ohio to

compete in games like Dota 2 and Call of Duty: Ghosts for prize pots numbering upwards of $120,000.

Thousands of people flocked to a darkened convention center, watching teams compete against each other from soundproof booths onstage, with an enormous display showing all the action dominating the background. Players wear vibrant jerseys and hoodies plastered with logos of sponsors ranging from electronics distributors seeking to capitalize on a highly specific target audience of young males, to recognizable name brands like Red Bull and Monster. Games reach a fever pitch, with analysts in suit, tie and headset providing frantic commentary and statistics like something out of SportsCenter.

All of this upheaval, however, is the result of only a few years of work on the part of MLG, which formed in 2002. The much larger audience of the general public, composed of typical consumers of more traditional sports, remains all but unaware of the fringe effort that is the e-sports movement. Dota 2 pros like Dendi and AdmiralBulldog, household names to those familiar with the game, are completely unknown outside of the e-sports commu-

nity; a problem that Chris Puckett, the Don Orsillo of the professional gaming scene, believes can be easily rectified. “My goal,” Puckett said to the New York Times in early August, “is to take these guys who already have a following, enhance their production values and put them on the network … [to] bridge the hard-core gaming community to the casual viewer and still keep everyone entertained.” Puckett speaks in reference to an initiative on the part of MLG, through properties like the aforementioned MLG.tv, to bring its branding even further out into mainstream media, further blurring the line between e-sports and the ultra-popular conventional sports industry.

The line between conventional athletes and e-sports participants is a topic of significant controversy among the critics of the movement.

After all, how can sitting in a chair fiddling with a keyboard and mouse compare to the physical rigors of high impact sports like football and baseball? Once again, the e-sports community effectively manipulated its influence, with “League of Legends” creators Riot Games lobbying with the U.S. government to grant “professional athlete” status to professional gamers looking to

immigrate for the purpose of competition. Replicating the ability of sports like baseball to attract players from all across the world and easing the immigration process is a key way that MLG can broaden the appeal of competitive gaming in the U.S., following the example of countries like South Korea, whose Starcraft II obsession borders on the religious.

When all is said and done, however, MLG and e-sports in general have thus far managed to catch lightning in a bottle. They have, through concentrated effort over the span of a just a few incredibly short years, shifted the paradigm of professional gaming away from the quarter-wielding arcade high score junkie and toward the elite and disciplined master strategist, whose prowess is more in line with the chess grandmaster than the football lineman.

Regardless of the individual merits of the game in question or the administrative body presiding over the competition, it cannot be denied that the e-sports phenomenon has already begun to snowball out of anybody’s control: MLG already has the top score.

Johnny McCabe is a Collegian columnist and can be reached at rjmccabe@ umass.edu.

Fossil fuel divestments will work to fight climate change The facts are extremely clear – the burning of fossil fuels is dangerous to the environment and to our health.

Recently, the United Nations listed air pollution as a carcinogen and a large factor for this pollution is the burning of fossil fuels such as coal, gasoline and natural gas. Even more alarming are the effects of climate change, which are now beginning to impact us in the form of significant drops in yields of crops, record wildfires and the prevalence of extreme weather events.

At our current pace of fossil fuel use, scientists predict that global average temperatures could rise up to 11.5 degrees Fahrenheit within the next 100 years. Within this time, sea level could rise 1.5 to 3 feet, making many coastal areas uninhabitable and making storms more frequent and destructive. The changing climate has already had an effect on many other animal species such as migratory species that depend on particular weather cycles. Mosquitoes and other insect vectors of infectious diseases like malaria may become more widespread over longer seasons due to the changes in temperature, rainfall and habitat.

The UMass community must take part in preventing global climate change and call for measures to prevent further destruction. One approach is fossil fuel divestment, a movement sweeping across the nation, especially within college campuses,

which seeks to hold liable the corporations responsible for profiting from climate change.

To divest from something is to remove all investments in a particular industry with the goal of stigmatizing their unethical and immoral practices. Fossil fuel divestment aims to replace the dangerous

in the form of health impacts due to asthma and cancer attributed in those who live near centers of pollution, or start to quantify the destruction caused by “super” storms – hurricanes like Katrina, floods, droughts, record wildfires in the Southwest and now the devastation caused

Fossil fuel divestment aims to replace the dangerous and unsustainable approaches the fossil fuel industry uses for energy production with novel, sustainable practices. and unsustainable approaches the fossil fuel industry uses for energy production with novel, sustainable practices. It is important to note that choosing to only invest in green technologies does not provide the same power and message as first divesting from the old, unsustainable technologies.

In addition, divestment makes economic sense and some of the largest investment firms, like HSBC global and economic institutions, like the World Bank, are taking notice.

This is because the costs of continued fossil fuel use and extraction are beginning to outweigh the benefit. More and more dangerous methods of extraction and transportation are utilized and because of this, deadly oil spills and fossil fuel disasters have become nearly omnipresent.

Once we begin to account for the monumental cost of life

by Typhoon Haiyan – we see that we clearly cannot afford this system anymore.

Governments are beginning to take notice of this as well. Every piece of legislation that keeps fossil fuels from being burned lowers the bottom line of the fossil fuel industry. According to 350. org – the organization that launched the divestment campaign – and prominent NASA scientist James Hansen, in order to avoid the most catastrophic effects of climate change, two-thirds of the remaining yet-to-be-extracted fossil fuels have to remain underground. This means that up to two-thirds of the fossil fuel industries’ assets could become “stranded” if governments take the lead in combating climate change.

And they are doing just that, evidenced by the new EPA restrictions of carbon dioxide pollution from power

plants and the Renewable Fuel Standard Program, which increases the sale of renewable fuel and decreases greenhouse gas emissions by 138 million metric tons within the next decade.

On a grassroots level, we can continue to spread awareness about this topic and push for legislative and investment changes in our towns, states and within organizations in which we are involved. The UMass Fossil Fuel Divestment Campaign is a student-run coalition and a vehicle for getting involved in the fight for our future. We must uphold the UMass mission to “improve the lives of the people of the Commonwealth, the nation, and the world.”

So lend us a hand – visit us in the Campus Center to sign our petition to show the UMass administration how we, the community of UMass Amherst, feel about this issue, or join the Divestment Campaign to help spread more awareness and build power for this movement. Join us in upholding the integrity of this university, and the assurance that we will still have an inhabitable world in which to grow old in the future. Check us out at our newly launched website, www.divestumass. org.

Pratiksha Yalakkishettar and Samuel King are members of the UMass Divestment Campaign. Pratiksha can be reached at pyalakki@umass.edu.

Samuel can be reached at sfking@ umass.edu.

Editorial@DailyCollegiancom

A difficult task for college coaches With the start of yet another basketball season, excitement has swept the campus.

However, with the change

Dennis Topakov of sport seasons come new controversies. Recently Holy Cross’ women’s basketball coach Bill Gibbons was put on paid administrative leave for allegedly verbally and physically abusing players on his team. Gibbons is not the lone coach in this type of abuse controversy. In April, Rutgers University men’s basketball coach Mike Rice was fired after a video was released showing Rice physically and verbally abusing his players. Now this season, to start the year off, we have Gibbons.

Former Holy Cross players and coaches responded in support of Gibbons, claiming the lawsuit depicted a man who was “far from the Coach Gibbons we know.” These conflicting reports lead one question to arise: has the college coaching occupation become one of the hardest tasks in the world? Contributing to this question is the fact that the fine line between strict discipline and abuse is becoming thinner and thinner.

The college coaching profession is very different from professional coaching.

In professional leagues, the players a coach deals with are committed to their craft; they strive to get better, and regardless of their attitudes or personalities they are motivated by their will to make money by listening to coaching. However, when a college coach is faced with the task of trying to guide teenagers and young adults, most of whom will not make it to the pro’s, things become very tricky.

There will be days when young student-athletes show their attitude, rebel, question why they are playing the sport and lack motivation. It is the coaches’ job to instill a positive mindset and make sure his student-athletes follow his every command. It is much harder to guide an individual who is still trying to find their niche in life, like college students, as opposed to professional athletes who, for the most part, have their priorities in order.

This difficulty of dealing with different personalities of student-athletes leads coaches to become susceptible to losing their temper, which is a perfectly human trait. However, a problem arises when a certain tipping point is reached: for example, using racial slurs towards your players or hitting them. College athletes, especially the ones on scholarship, are very much at the mercy of the university and ultimately their coach.

They occasionally fall into a mindset that they have to act tough and handle all of their coach’s challenges regardless of how irrational or unfair they seem. This student-athlete mindset gives

coaches a certain power-trip.

Such false power-trips lead coaches to lose sight of their actions, which might become out of character and hurtful towards their players, but seem normal to themselves.

This gave way to coaches like Bob Knight, a notoriously short-tempered individual who was considered prolific for Indiana and Texas Tech despite his reputation for his temper tantrums.

But with the high incorporation of social media in the lives of college students, I believe a lot more of these harsh coaches are being exposed. Instead of simply transferring or going to a higher authority, studentathletes look for help and support through Twitter and other forms of communication. Not only is this help-

It is much harder to guide an individual who is still trying to find their niche in life, like college students, as opposed to professional athletes … ing to locate all of the injustices committed by coaches, who are typically seen as “normal,” it also helps unveil the commendable coaches within the sport.

For example Jay Bilas, former Duke basketball player, said about his former coach, Mike Kryzewski, “My college coach cursed a lot, but he never was demeaning.

He challenged us. He used some blue language. But he never was demeaning.” Such language not only helps illuminate all of the good in the coaching world, but it also silences the critics who believe “being tough” and “breaking athletes down” is the only way to coach.

College coaches have a hard occupation because they not only have to worry about being successful, but also how to deal with emotions of their young and developing players. When dealing with such fluctuating matters as emotions, anger is bound to strike at some point. However, it is how coaches handle that anger that will be seen and judged.

I believe the best coaches are the ones who can give off a hard-nosed persona but never come off demeaning like Kryzewski. Nonetheless, I also feel that college coaches who are first-time offenders of crossing the line should be looked at as people dealing with young adults, not as robots who can never get frustrated. A punishment is necessary but a termination of employment seems slightly harsh.

Dennis Topakov is a Collegian columnist and can be reached at dtopakov@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

Tuesday, November 26, 2013

“Ricky, life isn’t about getting drunk and eating chicken fingers all the time, alright?” - Julian from “TPB”

FILM REVIEW

Arts@DailyCollegian.com

FILM RETROSPECTIVE

‘Catching Fire’ is epic, dark, outstanding Anderson the rare voice of creativity

Sequel picks up slack of first entry

Director shines with small oeuvre

By NathaN FroNtiero Collegian Correspondent

The first “Hunger Games” movie pissed me off. Series author Suzanne Collins helped pen the film’s script herself, but the adaptation was troublingly devoid of the substance that made the book so great.

Perhaps the best thing about “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire” is how it vastly improves on the first film. A much-needed changing of the guard served the production extremely well; director Francis Lawrence and screenwriters Simon Beaufoy and Michael Arndt created an adaptation that is both fresh and faithful to the source material. The story ignites as it jumps from page to screen, and thankfully, it sticks the landing.

Early scenes in “Catching Fire” are colored with a palette of cold grays, blues and white. This effectively mirrors the calm before the storm in a wintry District 12, establishing a tension that never lets up. You can really feel the heightened stakes during Katniss and Peeta’s victory tour montage, which picks up after the events of the first film.

The canned press statements the two are forced to read barely mask the growing unrest in Panem.

Lawrence fortunately picks up some of the important threads that were left out of the first “Hunger Games,” including the romantic tension between Katniss and Peeta.

This is key because it was that dynamic that gives the first part of the trilogy its emotional heft. Katniss and Peeta’s relationship is more seriously acknowledged here, as is the strain it causes between them. This conflict means that when they do eventually reconcile with one another, the moment is especially satisfying.

Collins’ post-apocalyptic dystopian society is also more convincing this

By JacksoN Maxwell Collegian Staff

LIONSGATE

Jennifer Lawrence (left), Elizabeth Banks (center) and Josh Hutcherson (right) star in ‘Catching Fire.’ time around, with the help of some cleverly placed nuance. The Capitol is an intriguing juxtaposition of savage brutality with technologically advanced grandeur and frightening affluence. The excess of the Capitol’s denizens is still wonderfully over-the-top, their costumes and makeup particularly well-done. Even James Newton Howard’s score occasionally invokes a sense of the thoughtless, almost clichéd aristocracy.

The rest of Panem is, as President Snow remarks to Katniss, “a fragile system.”

It is clear that the country is teetering on the edge of chaos. A yearning for revolution is rampant everywhere, reaching as far as the cold, battle-hardened souls of the previous victors that are called to action once again.

Strong characters are essential for making this twisted world believable, and the cast of “Catching Fire” delivers. Stanley Tucci, this time decked out with purple eyebrows, a pompadour and ponytail, is absolutely perfect as Caesar Flickerman. He digs deeper into Flickerman’s empathetic interactions with the victors, all while blowing the energetic capitol emcee even further off the deep end of sanity. Elizabeth Banks

also adds some more colors to Effie Trinket’s emotional canvas and watching the character get choked up as she passes new orders from the Capitol to her District 12 victors is heartbreaking.

Josh Hutcherson isn’t terrible as Peeta, but the co-star performs as if reading from a distilled version of the script. Peeta is supposed to be brooding and conflicted, but Hutcherson’s portrayal of a thoughtlessly protective nice guy leaves the onscreen character oversimplified and uninteresting. His Peeta is basically the placid teddy bear to Katniss’ fiery Mockingjay.

Here’s hoping the final two sequels allow him to more fully inhabit the character.

Jennifer Lawrence remains an undeniable force as Katniss. She is defiant and strong, but Lawrence also very successfully conveys the underlying fragility of the character; in “Catching Fire,” you really believe that she has the shell-shocked psyche of an adolescent who had to fight her way to survive a televised bloodbath. There’s a great moment at the beginning of the film where she is overwhelmed by a sudden flashback to the games and it’s a very compelling depiction of PTSD. Lawrence is entirely devoted to her

role and it becomes abundantly clear in the film that only she could play Katniss Everdeen.

At nearly two and a half hours, “Catching Fire” is long, but it flies by at a kinetic pace. Francis Lawrence made the right choice to drop the much-maligned handheld camera technique that Gary Ross used in the previous film. Lawrence keeps the shots steady. The unwavering images lock eyes with the viewer, forcing them to witness every atrocity the Capitol commits. The dystopian world is terrifying and realistic, thanks in part to a slew of improved special effects.

The film’s finale is especially gripping, and it provides an excellent base on which “Mockingjay: Part 1” can build. However, “Catching Fire” deserves attention for being the rare exception to the lapse in quality that often plagues sequels. Instead, Lawrence’s vision is thought-provoking and shocking. It surpasses its predecessor, thanks to a terrific production team and a killer cast. “Catching Fire” is more than a blockbuster cash-in - it’s also a stimulating and invigorating cinematic escape.

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

between the lives of a dozen or so different characters, the film dwells on the demons, the unattainable dreams and the haunted memories of the people who populate the film.

Anderson effortlessly weaves these distinct stories and emotions in a cohesive narrative that almost never loses its momentum even after its 188-minute runtime.

Although Anderson has worked with many of the finest actors in Hollywood, he does have some go-to collaborators. Chief amongst them is Academy Award-winner Hoffman, who has appeared in five of Anderson’s six films.

Anderson’s most recent film, “The Master,” is probably the best example of the incredible chemistry Anderson and Hoffman have formed over the years. The film focuses on a young, alcoholic and emotionally unstable WWII veteran named Freddie who meets Lancaster Dodd, the mysterious leader of a movement known as “The Cause.” Dodd (Hoffmann) takes a liking to Freddie (Joaquin Phoenix), and inspires him to join the movement and become his protégé. Although the film is not without its faults, the space Anderson gives Hoffman and Phoenix to forge their characters’ path makes the film memorable.

Dodd exploits the unhinged enthusiasm Freddie shows for The Cause, and dominates the younger, more vulnerable man. The chemistry between Hoffman and Phoenix is absolutely electric and Anderson captures it brilliantly.

More so than almost any other Hollywood director, Anderson is willing to take risks. His breakout film, the now-legendary “Boogie Nights,” challenged taboo by documenting the rise and collapse of the Los Angeles porn industry in the 1970s.

He is not afraid to end a story without a full resolution, or test an audience’s patience with the pace of his movies.

Unconstrained by expectations, Anderson is one of the foremost creative voices alive today.

When looking for movies to enjoy in the crowded world of cinema, the general public has always gravitated towards films that give them a rush. Recently this rush has mostly been delivered by a towering fictional hero who dominates the screen, letting the audience accompany him or her on their newest fast-paced, explosion-filled, va guely-morality-driven journey. And hey, I’m not going to pretend like I didn’t go see Christopher Nolan’s “Dark Knight Rises” at its midnight premiere in my town last summer and absolutely love all 165 minutes of it. But there remain more unique cinematic voices that exist right on Hollywood’s fringe, acting as a refreshing alternative to the constant barrage of action-packed blockbusters.

Paul Thomas Anderson is not the world’s most prolific filmmaker. He has made only six feature-length movies to date. Nevertheless, all six of them, popular or not, bear his unmistakable stamp. Incredibly slow and deliberate, Anderson’s films are driven less by plot than they are by raw emotion. His films are deep, intense character studies that relish in the darker side of the human psyche.

Anderson’s earlier work relied less on any sole character than it did on the interweaving stories of an ensemble cast. Clocking in at three hours, and buoyed by an impeccably spun tale of coincidence, regret and the disintegration of parent-child relationships, “Magnolia” is an ambitious film even by Anderson’s lofty standards. Featuring an incredible cast anchored by Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Julianne Moore, William H. Macy, John C. Reily and, in what may be his finest performance ever, Tom Cruise, “Magnolia” is simply a mas- Jackson Maxwell can be reached at terpiece. Twisting its way jlmaxwell@umass.edu.

TELEVISION AND FILM PREVIEW

‘Trailer Park Boys’ comes back for new season and film

The boys to wreak havoc once again By søreN hough Collegian Staff

Fire up the go-kart, hide your drugs and grab your guns: the boys are back.

After four years off the air, Canadian comedy series “Trailer Park Boys” is making its impromptu return in a brand new season and film. Fans of the show are understandably with the prospect of seeing their favorite miscreants tear up the scenery once again in Sunnyvale Trailer Park.

Historically, “Trailer Park Boys” finds its roots in 1990s reality television. At the height of the “Cops” craze, filmmaker Mike Clattenburg thought it would be compelling to see that show from the perspective of the criminals.

However, for what were likely both creative and logis-

tic purposes, Clattenburg followed in the footsteps of genre-legend Christopher Guest and decided to work through his concept in the format of a lighthearted mockumentary.

His first attempt was a short entitled “The Cart Boy” which starred series mainstays Mike Smith, Rob Wells and John Paul Tremblay.

That story focused on two mall cops named Ricky and Jason (Wells and Tremblay) in active pursuit of an unnamed shopping cart thief (Smith). Clattenburg followed this up with his 1999 black and white feature entitled “Trailer Park Boys,” which was picked up by producer Barrie Dunn as the platform for a new television series. In 2001, coinciding with the similarly-styled British show “The Office,” a fully-realized version of Clattenburg’s vision began its first season on the Showcase network.

It was an instant hit.

Perhaps the most universal-

ly-acclaimed Canadian comedy since “The Red Green Show,” “Trailer Park Boys” was quickly embraced by both critics and stonerslackers alike. The show followed Wells, Tremblay and Smith, all finally settling into their permanent roles as slow-witted series icons Ricky, Julian and Bubbles, the latter an evolution of the “cart boy” character from Clattenburg’s early short film. Friends since childhood, the premise was that a camera crew would follow the trio as they attempted to make their living as halfbaked criminals. Their endless scheming and repeated failure hearkened back to the winning formula of “The Three Stooges,” often resulting in catastrophic showdowns with the police.

As the show built up its cast, everyone from trailer park supervisors and assistant trailer park supervisors to wannabe rappers all found themselves tied up in crew’s shenanigans.

Despite its popularity, “Trailer Park Boys” was never a culture-defining phenomenon like the UK version of “The Office.”

Where Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant’s show focused on the working class, “TPB” told the story of the unemployed and uneducated. Many of its characters were alcoholics, drug users and compulsive gamblers. Dialogue seemed to scrape the very bottom of the script-writing barrel, seemingly every other word a swear of some kind. And there was always that nagging feeling that the show was made at the expense of the real-life denizens of trailer parks.

However, closer inspection of “Trailer Park Boys” revealed a surprisingly rich, nuanced story that never felt exploitative or meanspirited. The show remained socially conscious and never shied away from introducing emotional weight to its plots.

Characters like Bubbles and

J-Roc grew to be immensely affecting over the course of the show’s seven-season run. Most notably, series antagonist Jim Lahey’s (John Dunsworth) descent into madness becomes of the most troubled and tragic character arcs in recent television history, dramatic or otherwise.

When the show concluded in 2007, fans clamored for more. The cast toured regularly during that time performing live shows of “TPB” for their rabid followers.

Earlier this year, in a video released via their production company, SwearNet, Tremblay, Wells and Smith announced that they purchased the rights to almost all “Trailer Park Boys” property from Clattenburg and his team. With the rights in hand, the three actors immediately began work on returning to Sunnyvale with an eighth season, continuing the saga of Julian, Ricky and Bubbles. “TPB” diehards were understandably

excited to see the show’s rebirth, especially when it was made public that fan favorite Cory (Cory Bowles) would return as the boys’ simple-minded lackey after two seasons of absence.

On top of an eighth season, “TPB” devotees can also look forward to a third feature-length film called “Don’t Legalize It.” The show has had a rocky past with movie adaptations – its first major effort “The Big Dirty” was disappointing for Clattenburg and Co. – but the success of the follow-up “Countdown to Liquor Day” put the show back on track. The eighth season doesn’t yet have an air date, but “Don’t Legalize It” is set to hit Canadian theaters in April 2014. And if preliminary footage is any indication, fans can rest assured: the boys are back and they’re as greasy as ever.

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

6

Tuesday, November 26, 2013

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I am probably in a food coma while you are reading this.

D inosaur C omiCs

B y r yan n orth

~Alternative~ Thanksgiving

P oorly D rawn l ines

aquarius

HOROSCOPES Jan. 20 - Feb. 18

Before roasting, put your turkey in the oven on the “self–cleaning cycle” for a few hours in order to ensure the cleanest and freshest bird.

pisces

B y r eza F arazmanD

Feb. 19 - Mar. 20

leo

Jul. 23 - aug. 22

So long as it remains incredibly undercooked and mostly frozen, no one will be able to tell that you substituted turkey for a chicken.

virgo

aug. 23 - Sept. 22

Despite their likeness to sweet potatoes, yams Take your raw turkey for a walk or maybe to are eggs of the yam creature. Cook them for the park before roasting. A turkey having fun four hours at 350 degrees to ensure incubation. is a tasty turkey!

aries

Mar. 21 - apr. 19

taurus

apr. 20 - May. 20

Potatoes need not be the only component of dinner that you mash.

If you aren’t eating one–pound leftover turkey sandwiches for the next week, you didn’t buy a big enough turkey.

gemini

May. 21 - Jun. 21

sagittarius

A pinch of smallpox adds that perfect festive, traditional punch that your thanksgiving dinner is lacking.

libra

Sept. 23 - Oct. 22

scorpio

Oct. 23 - nOv. 21

Despite the translation, cranberry sauce and cranberry salsa are two very different things.

nOv. 22 - Dec. 21

Celebrate the American tradition with a deep– Instead of consuming that unappetizing fried holiday: Don’t stop at a deep fried turpumpkin pie, apply the cream all over your key; deep fry the green beans, the gravy... body for a satisfying exfoliating experience.

cancer

Jun. 22 - Jul. 22

capricorn

Dec. 22 - Jan. 19

Though it might be done out of desperation, a Contrary to popular belief, cooking and Thanksgiving pizza might not be as bounteous reducing Ben and Jerry’s “Wavy Gravy” to a an experience as you would presume. thick sauce is a fantastic addition to stuffing.

THE MASSACHUSETTS DAILY COLLEGIAN

DailyCollegian.com

Tuesday, November 26, 2013

7

UMass finding new ways to win SportsBriefs WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

UM adjusts on both ends of court

By Joey Saade Collegian Staff

Don’t look now, but the Massachusetts women’s basketball team is riding a twogame winning streak.

Following Wednesday’s upset win over a Rutgers team coached by Vivian Stringer, the Minutewomen battled a cold start against Hartford on Saturday and came out with a 63-59 comefrom-behind victory.

For UMass coach Sharon Dawley, winning consecutive games for the first time in two seasons is a nice accomplishment. But the more vital aspect is how the Minutewomen pulled out those two games: in two different ways.

UMass (2-3) held a doubledigit lead for the majority of the second half against Rutgers before they had to hold off a furious rally.

On Saturday, the Minutewomen’s offense didn’t find its rhythm until the second half, when they overcame a 12-point deficit and came out of another nail-biter on top.

While the overall circumstances differed in both games, the common denominator that propelled UMass was defense.

“I think it’s great to have won two games in two differ-

ent ways,” Dawley said. “But in both games, I watched them grow defensively.

They’re just playing with a lot of confidence at that end.”

Defense was the team’s main focal point after a rough 0-3 start to the season, which included a Nov. 10 game against Central Michigan when the Minutewomen gave up a team-record 105 points. They’ve given up a combined 122 points in their last two games. Saturday’s game against Hartford (1-3) was a prime example of how the Minutewomen’s defense has grown since the beginning of the season.

While the offense was struggling to find any rhythm in the first half with UMass only shooting 25 percent from the field, the defense limited Hartford to just 38 percent shooting and a six-point intermission lead.

“We just had faith that if it didn’t work out on the offensive end, we get another stop and we’ll be OK,” Dawley said. “Even when we missed easy shots, we were running back on defense.”

Eventually, the UMass offense caught fire in the second half. Led by Kim Pierre-Louis’ 19 points and seven offensive rebounds, the Minutewomen shot 52 percent from the field and outscored the Hawks 38-28 in the final 20 minutes.

Pierre-Louis was one

NFL FOOTBALL

Browner facing year-long ban

CADE BELISLE/COLLEGIAN

Rashida Timbilla dribbles the ball during UMass’ 64-63 win over Rutgers. the best players on the floor in Saturday’s win. On Wednesday, it was Rashida Timbilla’s 17 points and 12 rebounds that paved the way for the Minutewomen.

Getting big-time contributions from different players each game has been one of the major reasons UMass has hit its stride “The most exciting part is having a team where someone different steps up and delivers,” Dawley said. “We can’t be good if there’s not someone different every day.

“We can’t assume one kid can carry the torch..We have to have multiple options.”

Also in double-figures for the Minutewomen on Saturday was senior Kiara Bomben, who scored 12 points, and junior Emily Mital with 10.

The upperclassmen have

been leading a group that consists of 10 freshmen and sophomores that are still getting acclimated into a new system.

As the season progresses, Dawley senses that her team is starting to grow on both sides of the ball, which will only get better moving forward.

“With a young team we have growing pains, there was a lot of chemistry that we had to get going,” she said. “I think we’re starting to solidify the defensive end and the offense will start to get better.”

It’s still early in the season, but if the Minutewomen can get their team chemistry clicking, they’ll find even more ways to win games.

Joey Saade can be reached at Jsaade@umass.edu and followed on Twitter @Jsaade1225.

HOCKEY EAST

M AC F O O T BA L L

NIU beats Toledo, UML, UNH get BGSU rolls in win important wins

Huskies remain undefeated in 2013

By JaSon KateS Collegian Staff

The Bowling Green football team won its eighth game of the season on Saturday, routing Eastern Michigan.

The Falcons (8-3, 6-1 MidAmerican Conference) outplayed the Eagles (2-9, 1-6 MAC) on both sides of the ball, recording 560 total yards on offense while only allowing 65 the entire game. The Bowling Green duo of quarterback Matt Johnson and wide receiver Ronnie Moore put on a show for fans, hooking up three times for touchdowns, including a 74-yard score in the first quarter.

Johnson went 13-for-23 for 264 yards and three touchdowns, while throwing one interception that was ran back by redshirt senior Sean Kurtz for Eastern Michigan’s only touchdown of the game.

Moore finished with seven receptions for 161 yards and three touchdowns.

Running back Travis Greene also had a big day for the Falcons, rushing for 126 yards and two touchdowns on 15 carries, pushing his season total to 1,293 yards.

Both teams will be on the road Friday afternoon, with Bowling Green traveling to Buffalo and the Eagles facing in-state rival Central Michigan.

seconds left in the third quarter, although that would be the last time Toledo found the end zone.

Two rushing touchdowns from Lynch, followed by a rushing score from redshirt Junior James Spencer, gave Northern Illinois a 35-17 lead.

Spencer had two touchdowns for the game, while fellow redshirt junior Cameron Stingily picked up 152 yards on 18 carries.

Quarterback Terrance Owens had a solid day for the Rockets, throwing for both of his team’s touchdowns while completing 17 passes for 235 yards.

The Huskies will play Western Michigan Tuesday night as they look to finish MAC play undefeated, while the Rockets head to Akron Friday afternoon in a battle of Ohio schools.

Buffalo handles Akron

The Buffalo football team defeated Miami (Ohio) by a score of 44-7 last Tuesday.

The game was all Bulls (8-3, 6-1 MAC) from the start, scoring all 44 of their points before the Redhawks (0-11, 0-7 MAC) could score their first points of the game on a touchdown with three minutes, four seconds left in the fourth quarter.

Leading the charge for Buffalo were running backs Anthone Taylor and Branden Oliver, who combined for 304 yards and two touchdowns for the game. Bulls quarterback Joe Licata also had a good outing, throwing for 172 yards and a touchdown.

NIU defeats Toledo Buffalo dominated on the stat The No. 18 Northern Illinois sheet, gaining a total of 517 football team scored 21 unan- offensive yards, while Miami swered points in the second could only collect 200. The half to defeat Toledo 35-17 on Bulls defense was able to shut Wednesday night in a confer- down Miami’s pass game, ence battle. allowing only 65 yards through Led by a three touchdown per- the air. formance from quarterback After a scoreless first quarJordan Lynch, the Huskies ter, Buffalo busted the game (11-0, 7-0 MAC) scored all their wide open with 28 consecutive points on the ground, racking points, including two touchup 364 rushing yards and five down runs from Oliver and a touchdowns. defensive touchdown by defenA receiving touchdown from sive back Okoye Houston.

Bernard Reedy gave the Rockets (7-4, 5-2 MAC) a 17-14 Jason Kates can be reached at lead with eight minutes, 34 jkates@umass.edu.

BU skates to draw with North Dakota By tyler Fiedler Collegian Staff

The No. 11 UMass Lowell hockey team defeated No. 6 Notre Dame, 3-1 on Saturday.

UMass Lowell got by the topranked penalty killing unit in the country; scoring three power play goals to win its second game in a row.

Connor Hellebuyck had a stellar game, saving 34 of the 35 shots he faced for the River Hawks. Notre Dame entered the game having surrendered just four powerplay goals and having a 93 percent kill rate entering the game. But the red hot UMass Lowell power play continued its dominance by scoring three times.

Defenseman Zack Kamrass opened up the scoring on a laser through traffic to give UMass Lowell the lead. Ninety-three seconds later, freshman forward Michael Kapla added his first collegiate goal to give the River Hawks a 2-0 lead going into the break.

Notre Dame came out and cut the deficit in half behind Bryan Rust’s goal. He snapped Hellebuyck’s shutout streak at 179:21. Joseph Pendenza closed the door on a Notre Dame comeback, scoring a power play/empty net goal to close out the two-game sweep for UMass Lowell.

Late goal earns BU tie

of-conference affair.

BU opened the scoring behind Noonnan’s power-play goal at the 6:57 mark in the first, but UND scored the equalizer with just under two minutes left when Bryn Chyzyk’s put one past O’Connor.

BU took a 2-1 lead in the second when Roberto notched his fourth goal of the season on a one-timer from the right circle. Fourteen seconds later, UND retaliated with a goal of their own.

Stephane Pattyn converted from the low slot and put it passed O’Connor to tie the game. UND took their only lead into the third until Baillargeon tied it for BU. In overtime, BU put pressure on late but did not manage to pull out the win.

SEATTLE — The Legion of Boom might have lost a founding member for good. Seahawks cornerback Brandon Browner is facing a second suspension for violating the league’s substance-abuse policy.

A league source said Browner was being suspended for using a non-performance enhancing drug, thought to be marijuana.

ESPN reported that Browner would be suspended for a year because this is his second violation in a calendar year and his appeal has already been heard. He was suspended for the final four games last season for using performance-enhancing drugs.

It was already questionable whether the 29-year-old Browner would play again this season as he suffered a groin injury Nov. 10 against Atlanta and was deemed out 4-6 weeks.

He is a free agent after the season and there had been speculation the team was unlikely to sign him anyway as it will have a number of big decisions to make in coming seasons.

The Seattle Times

NBA BASKETBALL

Mensicus tear will sideline Rose for the rest of the year SALT LAKE CITY — Just over 15 years ago, the Bulls placed an exclamation point on their 1990s dynasty by winning their sixth championship in this mountainringed city. Michael Jordan’s follow-through on his Game 6-winning shot provided an image for the ages.

Monday delivered an all-time franchise memory of a more painful kind.

Derrick Rose will miss the rest of the 2013-14 season after team physicians surgically repaired the torn medial meniscus in Rose’s right knee. The surgery, which took place at Chicago’s Rush University Medical Center, means Rose will enter next season having played in 50 games over three seasons.

The development also closes the championship window of this Bulls team as currently constructed. Whether changes occur this season or next summer, the 2014-15 team that Rose returns to will look different.

Luol Deng, who will explore unrestricted free agency next summer, according to his agent, could be gone. So could Carlos Boozer, a candidate for the amnesty provision. Overseas prospect Nikola Mirotic could be a new sidekick.

Rose will remain the franchise centerpiece but must overcome _ both mentally and physically _ two major knee injuries in 19 months.

Chicago Tribune

COLLEGE BASKETBALL

Kentucky narrowly avoids upset, beats Cleveland State LEXINGTON, Ky. — What looked like a historic Kentucky loss Monday night became a twin killing.

Staring at the program’s first loss to a team from a non-major conference since 2009, Andrew and Aaron Harrison rallied Kentucky to a 68-61 victory over Cleveland State.

The Wildcats, 5-1, trailed most of the game and by 10 points with barely seven minutes left. Kentucky didn’t take the lead for good until Andrew Harrison hit a floater while being fouled with 2:08 left. His three-point play put the Cats ahead 60-57.

Kentucky made the clutch plays down the stretch.

Offensively, the twins contributed to 13 of Kentucky’s final 24 points. Defensively, the Cats limited Cleveland State to two baskets in the final 8:14.

This youth-will-be-served display of clutch play prompted Cleveland State Coach Gary Waters to whisper to his Kentucky counterpart, “You needed this more than I did.”

Lexington Herald-Leader

UNH squeaks by PC The New Hampshire hockey team won a hard fought game in overtime over No. 3 Providence by a score of 4-2 on Friday.

Down two goals going into the third period, the Friars battled back to tie the game and force overtime. But just 15 seconds into the extra period, Wildcats junior forward Matt Willows handed the Friars their first home loss of the season.

UNH held a two-goal lead going into the third off goals from Nick Sorkin and Grayson Downing. But that lead was cut in half when Friars redshirt sophomore Noel Acciari fired home a goal 6:28 into the third period.

Sophomore Mark Jankowski tied it up with his seventh goal of the season at 14:12 to force the game into overtime.

The Wildcats scored both of their goals in the first 20 minutes of the contest. A tipin by Sorkin off a Willows blast gave UNH the early lead. With only 21 seconds left to play in the opening period, Downing doubled the lead for the Wildcats.

A third-period goal from Boston University freshman Robbie Baillargeon erased North Dakota’s lone lead of the contest and eventually sent both teams to a 3-3 draw.

BU’s sophomore goaltender Matt O’Connor had a careerhigh 55 saves in the game, 24 of which came in the third period. The Terriers also received goals from senior Garrett Noonnan and fresh- Tyler Fielder can be reached at man Nick Roberto in the out- tfiedler@umass.edu.

CHIARELLI coming and they deserve it.”

In a world where recruits filter through national programs like water and individual star power is at an alltime high, the Minutemen are almost a throwback.

The current starting lineup of Chaz Williams, Derrick Gordon, Sampson Carter, Raphiael Putney and Cady Lalanne has combined to play 382 collegiate games to date. UMass is loaded with veteran savvy and maturity, a skill it’ll have to rely on as it wades into uncharted waters.

The Minutemen have balance, too. Every starter is averaging double-digit scoring and the offense isn’t opting for low-percentage outside shooting. It’s the kind of balance and levelheaded play that can win tough games.

It almost feels like UMass is the antithesis of everything the crème de la crème of college basketball is today. The faces of the program like Williams and Putney are players

continued from page 8

who have taken the lumps and dealt with the growing pains that come with a program rebuilding. There are no high-profile recruits jettisoning off to play professionally after just a year.

As of now, they have fans believing that a “brotherhood” can shock the world.

And who knows, success is fleeting. The Minutemen are just six games into a grueling, arduous season.

November greatness means little if it doesn’t translate into March success.

But for this day, and this week, UMass is back in the national fold. A team which has waited the better part of three seasons for this moment now appears in the same breath and on the same list as Duke and Kansas. Analysts have a reason to mention UMass once again and fans have a reason to cheer, an outlet for hope.

At least for this instant, the Minutemen are back.

Mark Chiarelli can be reached mchiarel@umass.edu and followed on Twitter @Mark_Chiarelli.

THE MASSACHUSETTS DAILY COLLEGIAN

Tuesday, November 26, 2013

Sports@DailyCollegian.com

@MDC_SPORTS

MEN’S BASKETBALL

THE WAIT IS OVER

For an instant, UMass returns to prominence UMass rebuilding in methodical way

W

EVAN SAHAGIAN/COLLEGIAN

Derrick Gordon is one of all five starters averaging double-figures in points for the UMass men’s basketball team this season.

UMass ranked 24th in AP Top 25

By Patrick Strohecker Collegian Staff

Entering the season, all the talk surrounding the Massachusetts men’s basketball team was about ending the 15-year NCAA Tournament drought.

On Monday, it ended a different 15-year drought.

The Associated Press released its weekly poll on Monday with UMass slotted in at No. 24 in the country. The ranking came with much anticipation following the team’s 62-56 Charleston Classic championship win Sunday night over Clemson, pushing its record to a perfect 6-0 to start the season.

It’s the first time the program has been ranked since the 1998 season.

“Well, I think first of all, it was nice flying under the radar for a little while there,”

UMass coach Derek Kellogg said in an interview with ESPN’s Andy Katz and Seth Greenberg.

“So the ranking gets us some national attention. I think the one thing it does, it reminds people of the glory years of UMass back in the 90s when we were a top-20 team on a regular basis.”

The Minutemen join Iowa as the two new members, replacing Atlantic 10 rival Virginia Commonwealth and New Mexico – who the Minutemen beat in their semifinal matchup – in the national rankings. VCU was ranked No. 10 last week, but plummeted out of the Top 25 after losing two of its three games at the Puerto Rico TipOff Tournament.

UMass made it a point to strengthen its non-conference schedule in order to garner more national attention

and it certainly aided its own cause this weekend in receiving enough votes to move into the Top 25. So far this season, the Minutemen have the fifth best out of conference schedule and have the top RPI in the country.

Through its first six games, UMass also proved that it might have one of the most balanced lineups in the nation. Every member of the starting five – Chaz Williams, Derrick Gordon, Raphiael Putney, Sampson Carter and Cady Lalanne – is averaging double-digit points per game.

Entering Selection Sunday the last two seasons, UMass was a bubble team, ultimately missing out on the NCAA Tournament due to a low a RPI and not enough quality wins. That won’t be the case this season as UMass already has four wins against BCS-conference

opponents – Boston College, LSU, Nebraska and Clemson – and anupset over the thenNo. 19 Lobos to put on its tournament resume.

“UMass is a basketball school that is committed to men’s basketball,” Kellogg said to Katz and Greenberg.

“We have a great program and we play a fun, exciting style that, obviously now, people realize can beat some of the top teams in the country.”

After opening the season with a grueling non-conference schedule, the Minutemen will travel to Eastern Michigan on Dec. 3 before returning home to face yet another talented out-of-conference opponent in Brigham Young University on Dec. 7 in Springfield.

Patrick Strohecker can be reached at pstrohec@umass.edu and followed on Twitter @P_Strohecker.

hat did you do when you woke up today?

Did you roll over and press snooze on your alarm clock? Or should I say, rolled over and unlocked your smartMark phone, Chiarelli tapping the screen a few times to keep the world from becoming real for at least a few minutes?

Or did you do as I did, immediately opening your favorite social media app to make sure you didn’t miss any news?

Everything’s instant.

It’s nearly impossible to go an hour without at least a brief glance at your phone. Computers, which come in all forms these days, are much a part of the daily routine as brushing your teeth or tying your shoes. The way we process information and analyze and process news is at a lightningfast pace. One blink, and everything changes.

Is college basketball all that different? Take a look at the national scene, you know, the teams at the top of the rankings plastered across ESPN. The programs – Duke, Kansas, Kentucky – rarely suffer through down seasons, mainstays in a constantly changing sport.

The same can’t be said about the players. Last year, three freshmen were drafted within the first 10 picks of the NBA Draft. In 2012, three freshmen comprised the first three picks of the entire spectacle.

Now, made-for-professional-basketball freshman

stars such as Andrew Wiggins and Jabari Parker have become the poster children for the one-anddone. These types of players are becoming as much a fabric of the national college basketball scene as the pick and roll. If you blink, they’re gone in an instant.

Perhaps that’s what makes what Massachusetts men’s basketball coach Derek Kellogg is building truly special.

UMass’ success – the freshly-minted champions of the 2013 Charleston Classic are currently beholders of a pristine 6-0 record and the No. 24 ranking in the most recent AP poll – has been both literally and figuratively a long time coming.

It’s been 5,481 days since the Minutemen last graced the Top 25 poll.

That’s 15 years and two days, for those who are as bad at math as I am. The last time UMass mingled with basketball’s elite?

Bill Clinton was still in office, Google was an infant (invented in 1998) and I was barely its superior, clocking in at the tender age of 4 years old.

For the last six seasons, Kellogg’s quietly built a foundation that a proud basketball program sorely lacked and a proud alumnus hoped to change. It’s been a long mountain to climb for someone who’s witnessed UMass’ basketball mortality rise and fall firsthand.

“That’s a long time, that’s a long time,” Kellogg said to reporters after the Charleston Classic on the prospect of becoming nationally ranked.

“As an alum and a guy who played there, that’s tough, tough to see. But I hope for the guys that, if we are, it’s a long time see

CHIARELLI on page 7

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

Minutewomen ready to build on recent winning streak Defense aids UM as confidence grows

By JeSSe Mayfield-Sheehan Collegian Staff

The Massachusetts women’s basketball team is heading into Tuesday’s game against Holy Cross with a feeling it hasn’t had in a long time: the momentum of a winning streak.

After defeating Rutgers on Wednesday and following it up with a win over Hartford on Saturday, the Minutewomen achieved their first two-game winning streak since Feb. 22, 2012.

“It really builds our confidence,” junior guard Emily Mital said. “Starting off 0-3, we obviously were kind of in a little slump there, and so this two-game winning streak kind of picked us up and now we’re feeling pretty confident.”

Holy Cross (3-0) comes into the contest with a strong offense that currently averages 83.7 points per game, with all five starters averaging at least 10 points a game.

“They do a tremendous job getting down the floor, and they pretty much have five shooters on the floor at one time,” UMass coach Sharon Dawley said.

The Minutewomen (2-3) have stepped up on the defensive side over the past two games, allowing an average of 61 points over their two wins after allowing an average of 84.3 points through their first three losses.

“I think our confidence on the defensive end keeps growing. I think that’s critical,” Dawley said. “Against Rutgers, we had the confidence to just hold onto a lead, and against Hartford, we couldn’t buy a basket, and just had confidence, like ‘stay in it, and once we’re able to put something together on the offensive end, we’ll be ok,’ and who knows what kind of game (Tuesday night) will bring.”

One aspect UMass particularly hopes to improve is transition defense. The team has been outscored on points off turnovers in each of its first five games by a margin of 96-59 and has been outscored on fast break points in three of the

five games and 23-18 overall.

“That’ll be paramount, that we get out and match up on transition D,” Dawley said. “At that point we might not be on who we need to be on, but we’ll live with that as long as we don’t give them any transition buckets.”

The offense has also made slight improvements for the Minutewomen, scoring 63.5 points over their last two games after averaging 59.3 through their first three. But Dawley continues to emphasize defense as the team’s main key to victory.

“I think defense is something that you can hang your hat on. I think offense is the thing that comes and goes,” Dawley said. “But as a defensive unit, if we talk and we stay together…and I think if we play the defense that we played against Rutgers and Hartford, it’ll be a good game, we’ll be in it.”

Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. on Tuesday in Worcester.

Jesse Mayfield-Sheehan can be reached at jmayfiel@umass.edu and can be followed on Twitter @jgms88.

CADE BELISLE/COLLEGIAN

Nola Henry and the Minutewomen allowed just 61 points per game in their last two victories.