MARKY MARK NOT SO FUNKY IN LONE SURVIVOR
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NO. 21 UMASS VISITS BONNIES
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THE MASSACHUSETTS
A free and responsible press
DAILY COLLEGIAN DailyCollegian.com
Wednesday, January 29, 2014
Group takes on Amherst housing
News@DailyCollegian.com
Obama to Congress: Student Help the poor, or I will behavior
improves UMass sees a decrease in off-campus incidents
Coalition aims to increase affordability
By ChanCe Viles Collegian Correspondent
B y Jason K otoCh Collegian Staff
An Amherst citizens group has requested town funds to start a land trust in an attempt to tackle the town-wide affordable housing crisis. The Coalition for Amherst Neighborhoods asked for startup funds from the Amherst Community Preservation Act Committee in a December 2013 proposal. The money would be used to create an Amherst Community Land Trust which would work to purchase residential properties and resell them with deed restrictions, ensuring that they cannot be rented to students in order to level out the housing market. Spearheading the trust is University of Massachusetts professor Maurianne Adams who acknowledged that the land trust won’t solve the problem by itself. “These problems have many facets and need coordinated efforts on several fronts,” she said. The town has received other proposals for funding to address housing issues, some of which came after the release of a townsponsored housing market study done by New Hampshire-based RKG Associates. Working off of the study, the land trust funding proposal states that the plan is intended to stabilize year-round family neighborhoods, redevelop residential communities which have been threatened by the student housing market and increase housing affordability. Still in the early planning stage, the proposal will be under review during a public CPAC meeting at 7 p.m. on Feb. 6 in the see
HOUSING on page 3
Serving the UMass community since 1890
MCT
President Barack Obama delivers his State of the Union speech during a joint session of Congress on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday.
President addresses inequality, job creation By lesley ClarK and anita Kumar McClatchy Washington Bureau WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama looked to revive his second term in a sweeping speech to the nation Tuesday, outlining an agenda that calls for creating jobs and addressing the widening gap between rich and poor. He offered a mix of new and old ideas in his annual State of the Union address, calling for a “Year of Action” and saying he wants to work with Congress but will act on his own when he can, if necessary. “I’m eager to work with all of you,” Obama said in the speech to a nationally televised joint session of Congress. “But America does not stand still and neither will I. So wherever and whenever I can take steps with-
out legislation to expand opportunity for more American families, that’s what I’m going to do.” Entering his sixth year in office, Obama worked to tie economic woes to a long tide of history rather than his own record. He said that although the U.S. has largely pulled out of the economic recession, the middle class has lost jobs and income from three decades of blows, including shifts in technology and global competition. “Today, after four years of economic growth, corporate profits and stock prices have rarely been higher, and those at the top have never done better,” he said. “But average wages have barely budged. Inequality has deepened. Upward mobility has stalled. The cold, hard fact is that even in the midst of recovery, too many Americans are working more than ever just to get by - let alone get ahead. And too many still aren’t working at all.” He also strived to break away
from Congress, substantively and politically. Obama said he would: - Sign an executive order forcing federal contractors to raise the minimum wage for their low-paid workers - and he challenged Congress to do the same for all workers; - Introduce new retirement savings plans with a guaranteed return for workers whose employers do not offer such plans. - Host a summit to highlight policies that help working families. - Review the federal job training system and work with companies to increase apprenticeships. - Cut bureaucratic red tape by improving the efficiency of the federal permitting process. Despite a host of pressing national security and foreign issues such as U.S. surveillance, Syria’s civil war and see
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The number of off-campus incidents at the University of Massachusetts declined over the last year, down 41 overall incidents from fall 2012, according to a UMass press release. According to the release, an offcampus conduct report released Jan. 16 shows a total of 227 incidents involving 289 students last semester. In fall 2012, there were 268 incidents involving 431 students. According to Associate Editor for the Office of News and Media Relations Larry Rivais, a combination of programs such as UMatter, the OWL program for students moving off campus and joint police patrols may have been responsible for the decrease in incidents and repeat offenders. “The effort has been toward community building ... collaborating with neighbors,” Rivais said in a phone interview. Joint police patrols, established in spring 2013 by the UMass and Amherst police departments, have made a noticeable difference in the amount of incidents off campus, according to Amherst Chief of Police Scott Livingstone. Amherst has 47 police officers, while other communities of a similar size have closer to 55 officers, so the joint patrols help reduce the student incidents, according to Livingstone “It’s not a secret. You work together, that’s when good things happen,” Rivais said. The University has also taken additional steps to educate students about how their behavior can affect their education. The police department now speaks at the freshmen student orientations. “Education is a big part of what we do,” Livingstone said. The overall amount of incidents see
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Gov. proposes new UMass-based climatologist Proposition part of a statewide initiative By marie maCCune Collegian Correspondent Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick proposed the creation of a new climatologist position at the University of Massachusetts earlier this month that is part of his $50 million initiative aimed at climate change preparedness. Based out of the Northeast Climate Science Center (NECSC) located in the Morrill Science Center, the position would be jointly funded at $100,000 per year by the University and the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, according to a UMass press release. The proposed language for legislation to establish the position outlines four key responsibilities of the job, according to University Director of the NECSC Dr. Richard Palmer. The responsibilities include gathering and archiving data on climate conditions around Massachusetts,
conducting and fostering research concerning the climate in coordination with the NECSC, educating and informing citizens about climate change and advising all other branches of state and local government on matters concerning the climate and its implications in both economic and scientific matters. “The NECSC is extremely happy for the position to be based here at UMass,” Palmer said. “Extreme weather conditions, especially in recent years, point to the necessity of such a position and a big thanks to the governor and state legislature for recognizing this and supporting the University. It is exciting to have more funds and support for our students doing research in climate science.” The proposition is a result of collaboration between Steve Goodwin, dean of the College of Natural Sciences, Michael Malone, vice chancellor for Research and Engagement and Richard Sullivan Jr., secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs, according to the UMass
press release. According to Goodwin, the idea of a state climatologist position has been in the works for years. Fortyseven states in the U.S. have state climatologists and many of them are based at the state’s flagship university. “It was only natural that we follow suit, especially with UMass having the NECSC on campus, which works with the U.S. Department of the Interior and conducts tons of climate research,” Goodwin said. He also mentioned that the state geologist already works out of the University. In terms of student research, Goodwin hopes there will be as much interaction as possible with undergraduate and graduate students alike. Goodwin referred to the new position as being part of the “ever increasing research being done to protect our planet” and mentioned the role it would play in bringing more prestige, world class faculty and students and research funds to
the University. Malone expanded on this, saying part of the climatologist’s job is to look into opportunities for research in order to better understand climate change. He also pointed out that the climatologist would “translate” the science coming out of the NECSC and other geoscience programs here at UMass into direct results for Massachusetts. “For example,” he said, “the climatologist could advise municipalities in becoming more energy efficient, drafting safer building and zoning codes, and the like.” Malone said UMass is a prime location for the position, citing the University’s resources, faculty, technology and history in the field of climate science. “UMass Amherst is known for its research on the climate and the environment,” he said. However, this proposal has not come without opposition. The Boston Herald published an article following the governor’s
announcement expressing concerns about state spending and the expanding reach of state government. That same day the Herald also published an editorial by columnist Howie Carr questioning the necessity of the Commonwealth studying climate change in general. “The state is going to hire itself a $100,000-a-year weatherman,” Carr said. He argued “… Deval’s newfound interest in global warming, I mean climate change, is just so yesterday. Niagara Falls has frozen over, the global-warming nuts’ boat is stuck in the Antarctica ice, and Deval is trying to morph into Al Gore.” When asked about the University’s position on climate change, Malone said, “It is the job of the faculty to take a position best supported by the most extensive research and upto-date science and the University’s job is to support its faculty. The best science today tells us climate change is real and needs addressing.” Marie MacCune can be reached at mmaccune@umass.edu