Massachusetts Daily Collegian: Nov. 26, 2013

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MADE THE RANK

Right on taRget

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

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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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