Massachusetts Daily Collegian: Feb. 4, 2014

I HOPE YOU HAVE THE TIME OF YOUR LIFE

ROAD WOES UMASS ON THREE GAME

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LOSING STREAK AWAY FROM HOME

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THE MASSACHUSETTS

DAILY COLLEGIAN DailyCollegian.com

Tuesday, February 4, 2014

SloShing through Sludge

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UM students struck by car outside Mullins Driver was not a University student

By Patrick Hoff Collegian Staff

JULIETTE SANDLEITNER/COLLEGIAN

Students walk to class in the recent snowstorm by the Old Chapel on Monday.

scene and subsequently released. The third victim was transported to Cooley Dickinson Hospital with head injuries, but Blaguszewski said that she was alert, conscious and talking while on the scene.

The driver of the vehicle that struck the women was not a UMass student.

Charges for the driver are pending.

The University is currently not releasing names because the matter is still under review and Blaguszewski said that some families still had to be notified.

A vehicle struck three female University of Massachusetts students on Commonwealth Avenue on the north side of the Recreation Center on Monday night while the women were in the crosswalk.

UMass police responded to the scene just after 6 p.m., along with the Amherst Fire Department with first responders.

The injuries suffered by the victims were not life threatening, according to University spokesman Ed Blaguszewski.

Two of them were evaluated and treated by Patrick Hoff can be reached at first responders on the pphoff@umass.edu.

UMass among top Two motions approved by SGA Funds allowed for military-friendly Spring Concert schools in nation

ROTC program one evaluation collEgian staff

According to a press release from the Office of News and Media Relations, the journal Military Advanced Education (MAE) has listed the University of Massachusetts as a “Top Military-Friendly University” for the third year in a row. This title has been granted to the University by at least three separate veterans groups since 2011.

Among the militaryfriendly schools listed for Massachusetts, including community and online institutions, UMass is the only school that issues doctoral degrees. There are 430 military veterans listed as being a part of the University’s population.

The school was evaluated on its online learning options, its acceptance of transfer credits by degree level, the on-campus ROTC program, support given to military families as well as the availability of full-time

see

MILITARY on page 3

By Eric Bosco Collegian Staff

The Student Government Association discussed a variety of issues and passed two motions, including the allocation of additional funds for Spring Concert, at its meeting Monday night.

The Senate, with 37 of its 50 members in attendance, approved a motion allocating $50,000 of its excess funds from the current fiscal year to the University Programming Council (UPC) to fund a third music artist and cover costs to the Mullins Center.

In another motion, the SGA unanimously sup-

ported MassPIRG and its coalition in advocating for the “Bottle Bill,” which will appear on November’s ballot. The bill expands the 5 cent deposit on carbonated beverage bottles and cans to include other drinks like water, sports beverages and iced tea.

President Zachary Broughton announced the formation of a committee that will recommend improvements to the amount of space on campus reserved specifically for students to the Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs.

Broughton also mentioned the possibility of using spaces like The Hatch eatery and the Curry Hicks Cage for students as they become vacant after renovations to Blue Wall and

the construction of the Champions Center.

SGA and CEPA representatives will be raising awareness for the 5 Votes for Student Trustees petition at a table in the Campus Center on Tuesday.

The University currently has five trustees on the University of Massachusetts Board of Trustees, but only two of the five have voting rights.

Senate Speaker Sionan Barrett announced that Student Activities and Involvement (SAI) will be providing a bus for UMass students to attend Saturday’s men’s basketball game at the University of Rhode Island.

Tickets for the bus and the game will cost students $10 and the bus will depart

US abortion rate falls to historically low levels Only 16.9 women out of 1,000 have procedure By saBa HamEdy Los Angeles Times

The U.S. abortion rate fell in 2011 to its lowest level since the 1973 Supreme Court decision legalizing the procedure, Roe vs. Wade, according to a new study.

Research by the Guttmacher Institute, a nonprofit organization that supports abortion rights, found that in 2011 there were 16.9 abortions for every 1,000 women ages 15 to 44. In 1973, the rate was 16.3 abortions per 1,000 women.

In all, there were about 1.1 million abortions in 2011, down 13 percent from 2008, according to the report, which is to be published in March. A greater percentage were early abortions, often induced with medication.

Rachel Jones, lead author of the study, suggested that the decline in abortions “coincided with a steep national drop in overall pregnancy and birthrates.”

“Contraceptive use improved during this period, as more women and couples were using highly effective long-acting reversible contraceptive methods, such as the IUD,” she said in a statement.

“Moreover, the recent recession led many women and couples to avoid or delay pregnancy and childbearing.”

Jones noted that the period studied, 2008 to 2011, predates a surge of state laws restricting abortion access that have been passed by Republican-controlled legislatures.

The number of abortion providers declined 4 percent between 2008 and 2011, and the number of clinics fell 1 percent, Jones said, but there is no evidence to suggest the lower abortion rate is a result of that drop.

The last three years have seen “an unparalleled attack on abortion rights at the state level, and these new restrictions are making it harder for women to access services and for providers to keep clinic doors open,” said Elizabeth Nash, state issues manager at Guttmacher.

S t a t e s enacted 205 a b o r t i o n restrictions between 2011 and 2013, Rachel Jones, author of study more than abortions, an increase from 17 perin the entire previous decade, the researchers cent in 2008,” the study said.

The report, titled “Abortion said. The restrictions will affect Incidence and Service Availability the number of abortions going forin the United States, 2011,” will ward, Jones said.

The president of National be published in the March issue Right to Life, which opposes abor- of Perspectives on Sexual and tion, called the Guttmacher study Reproductive Health.

The Centers for Disease Control “heartening.” Carol Tobias said in an email that the report “shows the and Prevention found a similar long-term efforts of the right-to-life decline in a report published last movement to educate the country year. According to the CDC study, about the humanity of the unborn the abortion rate in 2010 was 14.6 child and to enact laws that help abortions per 1,000 women of repromothers and their children are hav- ductive age.

The CDC gets information from ing a tremendous impact.”

The Guttmacher study found state health department reports, that more abortions came earlier which can have incomplete data. in the pregnancy and medication In its abstract of the report, the abortions constituted a larger CDC wrote that six of the 52 reportshare of the total. “An estimated ing areas, including California, 239,400 early medication abortions Maryland and New Hampshire, did were performed in 2011, represent- not provide data to the CDC on a ing 23 percent of all nonhospital consistent annual basis.

“Moreover, the recent recession led many women and couples to avoid or delay pregnancy and childbearing.”

from Haigis Mall at 11 a.m.

For more information, students can visit umass.universitytickets.com.

Elizabeth Chilton, cochair of the Joint Task Force on Resource Allocation, presented the University’s plan to change the way it receives and distributes funds.

Chilton called the current model “very centralized” and “complicated” and said that the University is undertaking a series of steps to receive feedback and suggestions to shift to a “more decentralized” model.

Open Senate meetings are held on Mondays at 7 p.m. in the Campus Center, room 163.

Eric Bosco can be reached at ebosco@umass.edu

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THE MASSACHUSETTS DAILY COLLEGIAN

Tuesday, February 4, 2014

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

In 1945, the Yalta Conference between the “Big Three” (Franklin Roosevelt, Winston Churchill and Joseph Stalin) opened at the Livadia Palace in Crimea.

DailyCollegian.com

Olympic controversies continue Last minute concerns include terrorists, dogs

By WilliaM Douglas McClatchy Foreign Staff

Amid concerns about terrorism, complaints of unfinished hotels rooms, controversy over Russia’s law targeting gays and reports of a last-minute roundup and killing of stray dogs, International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach on Monday proclaimed the 2014 Winter Olympics ready for competition.

Bach, presiding over his first Olympic Games, said “the Olympic stage is set for the athletes. The Olympic stage is ready for the best winter athletes in the world.”

“We can see it in the Olympic villages, which are all of very high quality and offer excellent conditions for the athletes,” he said.

But new questions about Russia’s readiness to host 6,000 athletes from 87 countries and tens of thousands of spectators have arisen ahead of Friday’s opening ceremonies after a series of new revelations.

Three hotels slated to house journalists near the games’ mountain events aren’t finished, forcing Russian Olympic organizers to scramble to find suitable lodging for thousands of people who arrived in Sochi to find that they had no rooms.

While news of the unfinished hotels may have been an embarrassment for Russia’s Olympic committee and President Vladimir Putin, the driving force behind bringing the games to this subtropical city on the Black Sea, Bach said the situation wasn’t a major setback for the games.

He said 97 percent of the hotel rooms had been delivered on time and that only 3 percent of the rooms had problems that made them unavailable.

“I have some travel experience, and I know how embarrassing it is when you arrive after a long flight to a place where your room is not

ready. I can feel with all the people concerned,” Bach said. “We were told everybody was offered a room of at least the same quality, where there was a problem. The other problems, which are technical ones, will be addressed.”

From the mountain areas to the Olympics’ coastal venue, it was clear that the race is on to complete the work on lodging and infrastructure before the games begin.

Even in facilities that are finished, some guests have complained about no or spotty wireless communication, televisions that don’t work, faulty hot water and problems with other amenities.

Some sites near games venues are still muddy messes of land with unsightly rubble or heavy construction equipment in plain sight.

In the last week, workers have gone into beautification overdrive, planting palm trees, flowers and other assorted greenery. What can’t be covered by nature is covered with wallpaperlike Olympic billboards.

IOC officials also have had to deal with a controversial cleanup effort

by Sochi officials: the reported herding and killing of stray dogs in the city. Daily, thousands of dogs can be found roaming alone or in packs throughout the city and at Olympic sites.

ABC News reported that Sochi officials had hired a company to get rid of the animals before the tourists arrive. Alexei Sorokin, the head of the company, told ABC the dogs are “biological trash.”

“Imagine if during an Olympic Games a ski jumper landed 130 kilometers an hour (over 80 mph) and a dog runs into him when he lands,” Sorokin told the network. “It would be deadly for both a jumper and for the stray dog.”

IOC officials said Monday night in an email statement that the Russian Olympic organizing committee had told them that stray dogs were being handled humanely.

“All stray dogs that are found in the Olympic Park are collected by a professional veterinary contractor for the well-being of the people in the

park and the animals themselves,” the IOC statement said. “The dogs are being handled by professional veterinary staff, who carry out a full health examination off-site and look to locate the relevant owner.

All healthy animals are released following their health check.”

Animal rights groups doubt that Sochi’s situation with strays is being handled with care. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals wrote Sochi officials last April and urged them to handle the strays humanely.

Monday, a PETA official accused the Olympic city of animal cruelty.

“We understand Russia spent $50 billion for the Olympics in Sochi and animals are paying the price,” said Stephanie Bell, casework director for PETA’s Cruelty Investigations Department. “We are urging sports fans to contact the Russian embassy to demand an end to the massacre that’s tainting this sports celebration.”

Kelly O’Meara, the director of companion animals and engagement for Humane Society International, said: “Killing street dogs - whether through poisoning, shooting or other means - is not only inhumane but ineffective.”

“While Russia has the world’s attention more than ever with the Olympics around the corner, the current dog-killing program will only prove to rouse international outcry and taint the image of the country,” O’Meara said.

During his wide-ranging news conference Monday, Bach addressed two of the bigger issues that could eclipse the games: security and gay rights.

Bach said he was pleased with Russia’s efforts to protect athletes and spectators from a terrorist attack.

Two deadly suicide bombings in Volgograd in December, coupled with Chechnya’s proximity to Sochi and a call last July by Chechen rebel leader Doku Umarov for his followers to use “maximum force” to disrupt the games, have made some athletes nervous and prompted some

“All stray dogs that are found in the Olympic Park are collected by a professional veterinary contractor for the well-being of the people in the park and the animals themselves.”

IOC Officials Americans to rethink traveling to the Olympics.

Putin has vowed to place a “ring of steel” around the Olympics, and Russian officials have said in recent days that there have been no terrorist threats aimed at the games.

“Every organizer has to make sure that the games are as safe as possible,” Bach said. “And here we have every confidence in the Russian authorities. They are cooperating with other services internationally.

They are doing their utmost to have a safe and secure games.”

Bach also expressed confidence that Russia’s anti-propaganda law - widely regarded as an anti-gay measure - won’t affect the games.

Approved last year, the law prohibits individuals from promoting “homosexual behavior” and spreading “propaganda of nontraditional relations” among minors.

Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights groups say they aren’t sure how Russian officials will react if groups or individual athletes or spectators protest the law.

“We have made it clear we stand against any kind of discrimination for whatever reason, be it gender, race, sexual orientation or whatever,” Bach said. “We have assurances from the Russian government and the president of the Russian Federation that the Olympic Charter and its principles will apply during the Olympic Games.”

Mandela’s estate Weekend Amherst police log left to family, staff and institutions

By Marleigh Felsenstein

Former president leaves $4.1 million By roByn Dixon Los Angeles Times

Nelson Mandela left an estate worth about $4.1 million - a minuscule fortune compared to the wealth of many African leaders - to his widow, Graca Machel; other family members; staff; and educational institutions, according to a reading of his will in South Africa on Monday.

He also left a generous portion of the royalties from the sale of his books and other items to the African National Congress, to be distributed through a trust and used to promote the governing party’s ideas and national reconciliation.

South Africa’s former leader died Dec. 5 at age 95 after a long battle with recurrent pneumonia. As the country grieved his death and celebrated his life, he lay in state for three days before being buried in his home village of Qunu.

The will was read to his descendants Monday at what executors described as an emotionally charged event.

It was released to the public in the interests of transparency - another rare departure from the secrecy cloaking the finances of many African leaders.

One of the executors, Deputy Chief Justice Dikgang Moseneke, said at a news conference that the reading went well. “There were clarifications sought from time to time,” he said.

Mandela wrote his will in 2004 and made slight amendments in 2005 and 2008.

Moseneke said Mandela carefully explained the reasons for each bequest in the 40-page document, describing it as an “interesting read.”

He said he was not aware of any challenges to the will, but anyone who wishes to dispute it has 90 days to do so.

The Mandela clan was involved in acrimonious legal disputes last year. At one stage, two daughters from previous marriages, Makaziwe and Zenani, sued to remove directors from the boards of two companies that support a family trust, in order to access Mandela’s money. They later withdrew the action.

The family has also split over the leadership of the clan in the wake of Mandela’s death, with his eldest daughter, Makaziwe, and a grandson, Mandla, on opposing sides. At one point last year, Mandla claimed that his brothers were illegitimate.

The tense family relationships have ignited speculation that Mandela’s lengthy, complex will may trigger further legal contests over proceeds from his famous name.

Graca Machel is entitled under South African law to half Mandela’s estate. But if she waives that right within 90 days, she inherits three houses and their contents, a property in Mozambique, motor vehicles, her jewelry, artworks and the money in accounts registered in her name.

influence.

7:00 p.m. The juvenile driver was found in possession of a bong and vodka when stopped in his motor vehicle. There was a smell of burnt marijuana in the car.

7:44 p.m. A female reported a 6-foot male wearing a black jacket following her near the Lord Jeffrey Inn.

Pleasant Street. Ernie’s Towing towed his vehicle.

He was charged with a Friday, Jan. 31 lights violation and OUI for alcohol.

1:49 p.m. A male child tried 2:28 a.m. A newspaper was to put snow in the tailon fire in the parking lot of pipe of a woman’s car on an apartment building on Triangle Street.

North Pleasant Street.

3:03 p.m. A lost white dog 7:56 a.m. A college male with a pink collar was seen on Henry Street. The dog was lying on the floor growls when approached.

Saturday, Feb. 1 in the lobby of the A.J. 3:35 p.m. A female was Hastings, Inc. store. He was caught taking pictures of 2:28 p.m. A male came into shaking and lethargic and her neighbor’s children the lobby of 400 Amity was transported to Cooley through the window of her Street screaming that Dickinson Hospital. He had home. The accused claimed somebody was chasing suffered from a six-hour that she was testing her him. He claimed a brick memory lapse. camera. was thrown at him from a 1:53 p.m. A fight broke out 6:35 p.m. A male fell in black truck. in front of Judie’s restauthe Chi Omega house. He rant. hit his head and became Sunday, Feb. 2 unconscious, but he was still breathing. He was 1:31 a.m. Brendan Farrell Marleigh Felsenstein can be reached believed to be under the was arrested by North at mfelsenstein@umass.edu.

Collegian Staff

THE MASSACHUSETTS DAILY COLLEGIAN

DailyCollegian.com

MILITARY

continued from page 1

mental health counselors trained in veteran-specific issues, among other features. The University received its highest marks in the categories of “support on campus” and “military culture.”

For decades, the UMass Amherst U n ive r s i t y Without Walls (UWW) program has been aiding students who are or have been in the military. UWW students are appointed their own personal faculty advisors when they enter the University. One advisor, Cynthia Suopis, is a veteran of the Navy. UMass Veterans Services also provides a drop-in support center as well as phone and email information and assistance.

Since one of the points evaluated is the extent to which transfer credits are accepted, UMass offers a transfer credit policy of 75 credits. There are also opportunities to receive credit for work or life expe-

“We believe the guide serves as an invaluable tool for both education service officers and transition officers when advising service members about their educational opportunities.”

Kelly Fodel, MAE editor rience, professional or military training and for finishing basic training.

According to the release, the MAE is published 10 times per year and “serves education services officers and transition officers at every U.S. military installation, along with the service members they counsel.”

Kelly Fodel, its editor, said the guide gives potential students information about those institutions that find a way to give back to service members.

“We believe the guide serves as an invaluable tool for both education services officers and transition offi-

cers when advising service members about their educational opportunities,” Fodel said in the news release.

This report corresponds to a listing on Victory Media’s Military Friendly Schools website, which lists the top fifth percent of schools that have strong ratings from veterans. There were just nine schools in Massachusetts that received such high ratings from student veteran reviewers.

This is the fourth year UMass was referred for its military-friendly services

by GI Jobs Magazine and Military Times EDGE.

US man’s case exhibits Canada’s zero-gun policy American permits mean little at border By david Zucchino Los Angeles Times

Louis DiNatale didn’t intend to enter Canada when he and his wife wound up on a bridge from New York state to Ontario province one day in September, misdirected by an unreliable GPS. What began as an American couple’s getaway to Vermont quickly turned into a lesson on the stark difference between the U.S. and Canada when it comes to gun laws.

DiNatale, whose request to turn around and cross back into the U.S. was denied, then made another mistake. When a border official asked if he had any weapons, he said no.

Then the questions started about guns. A border agent asked whether he owned any.

“Yes,” DiNatale said.

“Why?” an agent asked.

“I told him I was retired military, I had respect for weapons, and I had a concealed carry license to do so,” DiNatale said in a written statement.

“He asked me when was the last time I had a weapon on me. I told him, ‘Earlier that week.’ He asked me again, ‘Why?’ I told him it was my right as an American Citizen to do so.”

But he was driving his wife’s car, and had forgotten he had stowed his Bersa .380 handgun in the center console days earlier.

A search turned up the gun and DiNatale was handcuffed and questioned by Canadian border officers for allegedly trying to smuggle a loaded handgun into the country and lying about it. He spent four days in a Canadian jail before he could post bail.

DiNatale’s predicament is a cautionary tale for American gun owners: Canada takes gun control more seriously than the United States. Over the last three years, nearly 1,400 firearms were confiscated at Canadian entry points, most of them personal guns belonging to U.S. citizens.

His Canadian lawyer, Bruce Engel, says Canada overreacted to DiNatale’s honest mistake and is using his case to send a message.

“They’re trying to make a general blanket statement to American citizens: Don’t mess with our borders,” Engel said from his office in Ottawa.

DiNatale, 46, a retired sergeant major, says he stored the gun in his wife’s car a few days earlier because he didn’t want it in his car when he

drove onto Ft. Knox, Ky., for a dental appointment.

The gun was still in his wife’s car when she picked him up from work in Louisville, Ky., to drive to a weekend getaway in Vermont, he says. He remembered it all too well, of course, when Canadian agents confronted him with the weapon after they searched the car at the Thousand Islands Bridge border crossing between New York state and Ontario province.

The agents were unmoved by his explanations even after his wife, Cathy, verified his story.

DiNatale, a former Army legal expert who is now a paralegal in Kentucky, faces three years in jail if convicted; a Canada court date is scheduled for June. Engel says he will vigorously fight the charges.

“They could have done their homework and looked at his background and seen he’s a professional,” Engel said.

“They could have accepted the word of his wife and released him on his own recognizance.”

Instead, Engel said, he was told by a Canadian prosecutor at DiNatale’s bail hearing during his jail stay: “Bruce, when it comes to guns, it’s kind of a zero-tolerance policy.”

For Americans accustomed to routinely carrying guns in the U.S., the situation changes radically at the Canadian border. The no-tolerance attitude toward guns there is similar to that of airport security in the U.S. It made no difference, for example, that DiNatale’s gun is legally licensed in the U.S., or that he has a valid concealed-carry permit.

Under Canadian law, Americans who want to bring up to three guns across the border must first fill out a form and pay a $25 fee in Canadian dollars. The weapons must be declared at the border post; the form serves as a 60-day gun permit in Canada.

“If you do not declare all firearms or weapons, we will seize them and you may face criminal charges,” the Canada Border Services Agency warns on its website. Automatic weapons and silencers are outlawed, and Canada strictly regulates the size of cartridge magazines.

The U.S. embassy in Ottawa warns U.S. citizens who attempt to enter Canada with guns: “Weapons are strictly controlled.” The warning adds: “Canadian law requires that officials seize firearms and weapons ... from those who deny having them in their possession. Seized firearms and weapons are never

returned.”

In DiNatale’s case, it seems his mistake was not just unfamiliarity with Canadian laws, but also faulty navigation and a poor memory.

If a Canadian citizen made the same mistakes at a U.S. border post, agents would be able to exercise some discretion, a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement official said. If agents found no evidence of an intent to smuggle weapons, they would probably confiscate the gun and deny entry - but in many cases the offender would not be prosecuted, the official said.

Gun smuggling into the U.S. from Canada is not widespread, the official said, given gun-control efforts in Canada and the relatively free flow of guns in the U.S. But gun smuggling into Canada is a serious problem, which helps explain the vigilance of Canadian border agents.

Most Canadians entering the U.S. with firearms are not required to fill out forms, depending on circumstances, but are subject to local gun possession laws in individual states. If a gun is intended for hunting, Canadians must fill out, in advance, a permit with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. They must also obtain a state hunting license, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

In DiNatale’s case, prosecutors sought to keep him in jail until his June court date, Engel said. The lawyer said he was able to persuade a pretrial judge to release DiNatale, who paid $5,000 cash bail and signed a $5,000 bond.

The judge “was a bit of a hunter, and he said it may have been reasonable that the gun was left there inadvertently,” Engel said.

Chris Kealey, a spokesman for the Canada Border Services Agency, said he could not comment on DiNatale’s case. He said Canada goes to great lengths to inform visitors of the country’s gun laws.

Asked whether Americans are aware of gun laws at the border, Kealey replied: “I can’t speak for all folks who cross.

But those who live near the border are probably more aware of Canada’s laws than someone from the southern part of the U.S.” DiNatale is determined to return to Canada and clear his name, Engel said. He said there is no evidence that DiNatale intended to smuggle the gun or deceive the agents.

His military service and his civilian work as a paralegal should bolster his case, the lawyer said.

Tuesday, February 4, 2014

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Report: VA dept. needs better strategy for claims Large backlog “We still have a new generation of veterans created by system coming home now, so we don’t want to see

By Lauren KirKwood

McClatchy Washington Bureau

Despite a significant decrease in the backlog of veteran disability claims last year, a report released by an advocacy group says that without a better strategy, the Department of Veterans Affairs may struggle to keep up with future claims.

The report from Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, released Monday, warned that even as recent initiatives helped the VA cut its backlog by 37 percent from March to December 2013, the department’s claims process lacks both the accountability and the transparency necessary for the coming decades.

“We still have a new generation of veterans coming home now, so we don’t want to see this issue fade away, regardless of whether we reach backlog zero,” said Jacqueline Maffucci, the group’s research director and author of the report.

“There is still plenty of work to be done after the VA reaches that goal.”

The VA has a goal of eliminating the backlog of disability claims pending for more than 125 days by 2015; the backlog has hovered at about 400,000 since November.

However, the deadline to end the backlog has resulted in pressure on disability

this issue fade away, regardless of whether we reach backlog zero.”

Jaqueline Maffucci, research director

claims processing, where the emphasis is more on the quantity of claims processed rather than on their accuracy, the report said.

Mistakes in the claims process also lead to an increase in appeals, which take an average of four years to reach a final decision, according to the report. In December 2013, more than 265,000 appeals were awaiting a decision.

To ensure the majority of claims are processed both quickly and correctly, the report recommended the standardization of VA claims forms to speed up processing, as well as the creation of an electronic health record system that can be operated by both the VA and the Department of Defense.

In a statement, the VA said it was working hard on addressing the issues raised in the report. The VA said it was “executing an aggressive plan to fix this decadesold problem and end the backlog in 2015.” It said many of the recommendations in the report are already being addressed.

The report cited a lack of transparency and internal evaluation as the main problems with the disability claims process. While a

number of new initiatives were launched last year with the goal of decreasing the backlog, the VA has not established a way to track which initiatives are most successful and project what will be needed in the future, according to officials of the advocacy group.

“There is this huge hole, in terms of transparency and data, within the VA,” said Tom Tarantino, the group’s chief policy officer.

Chris Young, a 27-yearold Marine Corps veteran who attended the news conference releasing the report, said he has been waiting four months for his medical records to be retrieved so his disability claim could be processed.

“With the claims, there’s just not a lot of information out there,” Young said.

“Most veterans don’t really know what to do or who to trust.”

And with a growing population of veterans returning with complex injuries, a system that allows the VA to adapt to veterans’ needs will become even more important, the report said.

“Then, not only is the backlog zero, but the word ‘backlog’ is not even part of your lexicon,” Tarantino said.

Opinion Editorial THE MASSACHUSETTS DAILY COLLEGIAN

Tuesday, February 4, 2014

“There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.”- Maya Angelou

Editorial@DailyCollegiancom

High school memories lead Ignore the myths: Joining to college realizations SGA vital to school success I spent four years in high school and I know most people have done the same. You remember it,

Marleigh Felsenstein don’t you? You had to wake up at 6:15 a.m., throw on your clothes, stuff some cereal into your mouth, run a brush through your hair and jump through the front door to catch the bus.

I made it through all of that and finally graduated.

Now, I am a freshman in my second semester of college.

Last summer, people kept telling me how different college would be from high school. I was going to meet new people, live three and a half hours away from home and have a lot more work to do, all while learning how to manage my own time. I was pretty excited, because high school was not something I had particularly enjoyed.

When I came home for winter break, I decided that I would go back to high school to see what it was like to be there after spending a semester in college. The administrations of two high schools – the one I graduated from, in my hometown of Glen Rock, N.J., and one in nearby Wayne, N.J. – gave me permission to visit.

I went back to my old journalism class, the one class I loved more than the others. I am currently a journalism major and I thought it would be a great idea to compare my college journalism classes to the one I took in high school. I walked into the class, feeling very proud to have a visitor’s pass that allowed me to leave when I wanted to, and I immediately felt old. It had only been a couple of months since I had been there, but it felt like an eternity. My old teacher

had me pitch story ideas to his students and then my brother took me into the hallways to say hello to some of my other former teachers and coaches.

Lockers lined the hallways and teachers sat stationed at every corner to make sure kids were not trying to cut class. I felt trapped. I did not stay very long after that. I said my goodbyes and hurriedly walked home.

My friend’s high school was not so different from mine. The kids were the same and the rules were the same. The classes were boring, lunchtime was too short and people had to ask to go to bathroom. The hallways smelled like cheap perfume and everyone

eat dinner with you that night.

Sometimes, while just sitting in my dorm room, I felt so lonely that I was not quite sure what to do or if I even wanted to stick it out and see if school was worth the extensive amounts of time and money that had gone into it. Sometimes college gets dark. It can feel like there’s no one to talk to, no one who truly knows you.

I thought about it for a while, but then I remembered why I went back to high school in the first place: to see how much I had truly grown over the course of only a few months.

It was more growing than I had done throughout my years in high school.

College took a toll on my life. I understand now that three weeks is not an eternity and that some people cannot just make friends at the snap of their fingers.

You have to live with people you might not like at all and you have to just deal with it.

But that’s what leaving the nest is all about, and I pushed myself to realize it. Eventually, once I gave it time, I found people to eat with. I was able to do my work and do it well and after wanting to go home so badly, I see now that winter break gets boring after a while.

The light will come. Now is the time to find out who I am.

So, I plan to make the most of my four years (or more) in college because I’ll never get this opportunity again. It might take a while, but college is the time to let go, to work, to be yourself – and that is more opportunity than some people get in a lifetime.

Something in me made me want to pretend that I was a senior again and sign up for classes then and there. I missed the security that high school provided.

looked tired, even though it was Friday. At first, everything felt the same.

I was so sure that college was better than this and I could not wait until the last bell so I could go home, until it finally hit me. The students here had a core group of close friends. They knew almost exactly what their day would bring and whom they’d see. Growing up was far ahead in the distance, a time almost too small to see.

In that moment, I felt nostalgic and alone, feelings I thought would never surface in reference to my high school years.

Something in me made me want to pretend that I was a senior again and sign up for classes then and there.

I missed the security that high school provided. You don’t have to worry about Marleigh Felsenstein is a Collegian jobs or your honors thesis contributor and can be reached at or who is going to want to mfelsenstein@umass.edu.

Whereas, the University of Massachusetts SGA plays a pivotal role in student affairs, and, where-

Merav Kaufman as, many students are unaware of the organization’s inner workings, or what the acronym even stands for, be it enacted that I write this article.

The awkwardly formal language in the previous paragraph should provide you with a sense of the Student Government Association’s weekly Senate meetings, which are, due to their strict adherence to Robert’s Rules of Order, awkwardly formal.

The structure of the paragraph actually mimics the structure of a motion, a proposed action plan or resolution written by a senator that serves as the foundation of any Senate initiative. Come Monday night, each main motion is read by the Speaker of the House, presented by its sponsor, debated, possibly amended and called before the Senate can vote. All those in favor of passing the motion signify their opinion with an “aye,” while all those opposed signify their opinion with a “nay.”

Sounds awfully tedious, right? It is. However, with a full semester of SGA Senate behind me, I assure you that Senate is a productive, fulfilling and enjoyable experience despite its awkward formalities.

My decision to run for Senate back in September was, admittedly, uninformed. Over my years at UMass, I had actually come to believe several myths surrounding Senate and the SGA that I have since realized are erroneous.

Myth No. 1: The SGA has little influence on the University administration’s decisions.

Spoiler alert: Did you know that starting next fall, the time blocks of class schedules will change in an effort to reduce class size, resulting in more 75-minute blocks on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and pushing 8 a.m. classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays to 8:30

a.m.? Or, that the newlyrenovated Blue Wall will serve food on china plates to reduce waste?

No? I, too, was unaware of these things until I joined Senate, where connections with administrators are surprisingly strong. At the start of each weekly Senate meeting (which, by the way, is open to all students), administrators often take the opportunity to present and seek the Senate’s input on certain decisions before they are implemented. In addition, the SGA President and Vice President, who meet regularly with administrators, often appoint members of the Senate and Cabinet as student representatives to

...The SGA is a great organization that would only be strengthened if more students were actively engaged in its efforts.

female-to-male ratio has increased significantly thanks to initiatives such as the Women’s Caucus.

Moreover, a diversity of majors is represented in the current Senate and by no means does one need a strong background or interest in politics to be a valuable member.

Myth No. 4: Elections are a popularity contest.

Good news: we’re not in high school anymore.

And that means that you do not need to bribe people with free candy, be super attractive or even make a speech to win an election. All you need to do to get on the ballot is obtain 25 signatures from students in your residential area. While Senate seats are more competitive to land in certain districts, in other districts they are not. I was elected as a Commuter Senator on a mere 64 votes, 0.3 percent of the student population.

Of course, the ability of some Senators to win seats on so few votes is a testament to the low levels of interest among the student body in running for Senate, as well as the low student voter participation rate, which was a meager 16 percent last September. This statistic is unfortunate, because the SGA is a great organization that would only be strengthened if more students were actively engaged in its efforts.

Whereas, those students who have read this article now have a better sense of the vast power and potential of the Student Government Association to enhance student life, be it enacted that they take a more active interest in the organization by voting in future elections, stopping by the SGA office and following the SGA Facebook page. Be it further enacted that those who are interested in running for Senate next fall do so without hesitation. Be it further enacted that students contact me or another SGA member with any further questions.

All those in favor, signify with an “aye.”

“Nay” is not an option.

various faculty committees and councils.

Myth No. 2: It is difficult for individual Senators to contribute and make their voices heard.

Granted, the tedium of Robert’s Rules and the large size of Campus Center room 163 can sometimes deter a senator from frequently participating in Senate meetings. However, senators have ample opportunity to make contributions within smaller, less formal settings.

Each senator is assigned to one of five committees: Ways and Means, Finance, Student & Academic Affairs, Administrative Affairs or Diversity & Student Engagement. The majority of the Senate’s work, including but not limited to budget allocation to RSOs, campaign and event planning and updating the SGA bylaws, actually takes place within these committees.

Myth No. 3: The Senate is dominated by male Political Science majors.

This myth is not completely unfounded. Until recent years, a vast major- Merav Kaufman is a Collegian ity of Senate seats were contributor and can be reached at filled by men, but the merav@umass.edu.

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Arts Living THE MASSACHUSETTS DAILY COLLEGIAN

Tuesday, February 4, 2014

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FA S H I O N

‘American Idiot’ comes Mittens, gloves to the Fine Arts Center or ... glittens?

Give your hands the best of both worlds

Musical expands on Green Day album

By Ryan FoRd Collegian Staff

By SaRah RoBeRtSon Collegian Staff

“American Idiot,” an album that rocked our generation like few others, has arrived on the big stage.

Broadway’s interpretation of Green Day’s hit 2004 album is coming to the Fine Arts Center at the University of Massachusetts Tuesday night, and it will bring with it all of the edginess and angst that defined the poppunk scene of the 2000s.

“American Idiot” chronicles the lives of three uninspired youths in a lifeless suburb and their desperate struggle to find purpose. Produced by the Tony Award-winning director Michael Mayer and the members of Green Day, the play expands on the album’s story and brings its songs to life through the show’s characters.

The New York Times’ Charles Isherwood called “American Idiot” “thrilling,” “memorable” and “as moving as anything (he’d) seen on Broadway (in its 2010 premiere season.)”

Performed with the same gusto as its parent album, the show features many of the band’s most recent hits such as “Boulevard of Broken Dreams,” “Holiday” and “21 Guns.” While Green Day front man Billy Joel Armstrong will not star in

MCT

Unlike this Grammys performance, Green Day won’t be on stage when “American Idiot” comes to UMass tonight. this production, as he had on Broadway, all of the songs performed in the musical are originals written by the band.

When the show began production in 2008, it was worked on over the course of nine months through workshops and revisions to become the production that it is today. Mayer, two-time Tony Award-winning composer and orchestrator Tom Kitt and choreographer Stephen Hoggett all worked closely with Green Day to keep the storyline close to what the band envisioned.

The result is an energetic, vocal and fearless show – exactly what the band wanted.

The musical premiered at California’s Berkeley Repertory Theater in September 2009. It saw weeks of sold out shows and its popularity quickly prompted two extensions.

Since its debut, “American Idiot” has been played at venues nationwide and sold out on Broadway. In 2010, “American Idiot” won Tony awards for Best Scenic Design and Best Lighting Design of a Musical, and

went on to receive a Grammy Award for Best Musical Show Album in February 2011.

“American Idiot” will be playing at the UMass Amherst Fine Arts Center Concert Hall on Tuesday, Feb. 4 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets can be purchased at the door or ahead of time with regular ticket prices ranging from $20 to $55. For more information, you can call the Fine Arts Center at 413545-2511.

Sarah Robertson can be reached at srobertson@umass.edu.

FA S H I O N

The parka makes a comeback A coat to keep you warm and stylish

By LauRen tom Collegian Correspondent Good news: the parka trend is transcending the season with its compelling practicality, and enduring the rest of the winter will be easy with this warm and stylish outerwear.

Originally made and worn by the Inuit, parkas served as protection from the frigid Arctic air, wind and wetness. A variant on the jacket that has been around for decades, it is once again making a comeback during the long, cold winter months.

Through the years, the jacket has transformed from a winter necessity into a fashion staple. Not only does a jacket act as a great source of coverage and warmth, but it can often provide a look that is effortlessly chic and even iconic.

The parka is typically a knee-length coat with drawstrings at the waist and cuffs. Many are adorned with fur-lined hoods and shearling lining, an added inner layer that is great for bitter days. Many are waterproof as well, for protection from the occasional winter rain and slush.

Parkas are sold in a wide selection of styles, materials and colors. There is the well-liked traditional military style parka, the cozy puffy parka and parkas

made of canvas material.

Browns, khakis, greens and black and white are the most common choices of color in these coats.

If you’re ready to pick up a parka, heed this tip: the key to wearing this jacket is layering. Even though a parka won’t provide you with shape due to its long, straight form, the layered look will enhance a cute, bundled-up appearance. This is good news for a winter that could still surprise us with another polar vortex.

One simple, trendy outfit that goes great with a parka is an oversized sweater, leggings and a big statement scarf wrapped and layered fashionably.

Tall boots, lace-up combat boots or a pair of Uggs will top it off nicely.

If you don’t like heavy jackets, you can opt for a lighter version and still achieve the same simple, cool look. Once again, the parka is all about layering, so pairing a lighter jacket with a heavier sweater or several additional layers will still keep you warm.

A lighter parka serves as a great transitional coat heading into the spring as well.

Investing in functional and fashionable outerwear is a great decision that can last all winter, into spring and again when the cold weather returns next fall. If you don’t want to splurge, however, there are affordable options at ASOS, H&M, Urban Outfitters and

MCT

A parka like this one can keep you warm without looking frumpy.

American Eagle to look into.

A great coat can define a whole outfit, and is a worthy investment if its practicality is just as impor-

tant as its style. The parka coat is simply a trend that embodies the meaning of “fashion meets function.”

Lauren Tom can be reached at lktom@umass.edu.

unity, while the thumb stands out as a vanguard against winter treachery.

A thumb that, on command, will snap to attention and give a righteous thumbs up. There are few ways to give as satisfying a confirmation of goodwill as a mitten-clad thumbs up.

The glove and the mitten are both excellent options in their own right, but the combination of the two is fantastic. Like any other winter accessory, glittens come in great patterns and styles. It is, however, important to note that some companies sacrifice warmth for gloveto-mitten versatility, so beware. Navy blue, black, gray and other solid or muted colors are a great starting point for anyone looking to try out these bad boys. Fox River makes an excellent pair in an oatmeal color, and with great attention to detail. The top half can be pulled back to reveal fingerless gloves, and there is even a pivot for the thumb for total freedom. Urban Outfitters sells glittens in an array of colors and patterns, from the classic Fair Isle style to simple stripes or solid colors. If you have some spare time and are looking to save cash, join InStitches, the UMass Knitting and Crocheting Club, and make yourself a personalized pair.

Although it is just the beginning of the semester, work will pile up in no time, so there is no sense in wasting time contemplating whether or not you are a gloves girl or a mitten man. Compromise is what this country was founded on, and the same goes for any stylish wardrobe. Dressing well – and warm – is all about the details. Do yourself a favor and grab (or knit) a pair of glittens today.

Stave off old man winter while looking the coolest on campus, hands down.

Despite the temperature’s recent habit of picking up a few degrees here and there, the weather is still pretty cold. People wearing warm coats, hats and scarves can be seen milling through campus every day. However, there is one winter necessity that most people tend to overlook: gloves and mittens. While some prefer one to the other, there is a compromise for those who are torn between the two.

The rarely noted combination of gloves and mittens, colloquially known as “glittens,” is a wonderful option that goes handin-hand with any winter outfit.

So why pick up a pair of glittens if gloves or mittens are already in your arsenal of winter defense?

Well, few accessories have the same kind of versatility. Some vests and jackets are reversible, but at the end of the day that vest, reversed or not, is still just a vest. The glitten is one of few accessories that can be added as a transformative piece to your wardrobe. On a whim, one can go from the comfort of a mitten to the flexibility and freedom of a glove. Try doing that with a hat.

Let’s talk about gloves.

Gloves are fantastic: they enable mobility of the phalanges and give an air of sensibility usually reserved for dignitaries.

In weather that would render bare hands useless. They are the catalyst for marvelous activities like counting, giving high fives, pointing and, of course, retrieving items from one’s pockets. Glove owners hold this knowledge readily to defend their anti-mitten decision.

On the other hand, mittens offer a different type of snow security. All of the fingers safely guarded under one roof gives the Ryan Ford can be reached at rford@ feeling of strength and umass.edu.

6

Tuesday, February 4, 2014

THE MASSACHUSETTS DAILY COLLEGIAN

Comics

DailyCollegian.com

WE WANT YOUR COMICS! Put your comics in front of thousands of readers.

Questions? Comments? Email us: comics@dailycollegian.com

Ring ring ring ring ring Banana phone.

D inosaur C omiCs

B y r yan n orth

Banans

P oorly D rawn l ines

B y r eza F arazmanD

aquarius

HOROSCOPES Jan. 20 - Feb. 18

Contrary to popular belief, you actually want huge pores so you can take in all the essence of the world, increasing your power.

pisces

Feb. 19 - Mar. 20

leo

Jul. 23 - aug. 22

You want to nap, so stay home because stretching on a mat at the gym will probably lead to public sleepytimes.

virgo

aug. 23 - Sept. 22

I don’t know what it is but I’m going to eat it anyway.

Apparently, the best way to brand your new iced tea idea is how cold it will be. You’re going to make so much money, I tell you.

aries

Mar. 21 - apr. 19

libra

Sept. 23 - Oct. 22

scorpio

Oct. 23 - nOv. 21

As an Aries, you live life by horns, but that’s no excuse to keep ramming your head directly into that wall over and over.

Apricots: The nature made gummy vitamin.

taurus

apr. 20 - May. 20

This weekend was a bad weekend to send your snowboots home with your parents.

It’s a shame that even though the cows are cold from the winter, they will never make natural milkshakes.

gemini

May. 21 - Jun. 21

sagittarius

nOv. 22 - Dec. 21

It’s simply unreasonable to think that your eyelashes could be anything short of five inches long.

You too could live in a world of floating bananas. You just have to believe.

cancer

capricorn

Jun. 22 - Jul. 22

Your first mistake was thinking that muffins are just really big, icingless cupcakes.

Dec. 22 - Jan. 19

There’s no business like crow business.

THE MASSACHUSETTS DAILY COLLEGIAN

DailyCollegian.com

MANNING

SLU pulls off upset at St. Joe’s

most playoff loses in league history.

The only record that matters is that of wins and losses. It’s only fitting that on Sunday, Manning set the record for most completions in a Super Bowl (33), yet it came in a beatdown.

There are lots of quarterbacks who won one Super Bowl, guys like Brad Johnson and Trent Dilfer. And for most quarterbacks, that’s plenty good enough.

But not when you’re discussing the best of all-time.

The two-time-champion club is a must. And it only hurts Peyton’s image that his younger brother, Eli, sits in that very club.

And as he raced after center Manny Ramirez’s gameopening debacle of a snap that led to a safety, he very well could’ve been chasing after his final opportunity to change the message that would be engrained on his career tombstone when he hangs them up.

But he let that one get away, too.

Manning was one of the best, BUT he had a knack for coming up short in the big game. Stephen Sellner can be reached at Manning holds so many ssellner@umass.edu and followed on records, BUT he also has the Twitter @Stephen_Sellner.

7

ATLANTIC 10 WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

continued from page 8

one of the top three or four quarterbacks in league history, perhaps leap-frogging the “Golden Boy” Tom Brady.

But that’s not how things happened Sunday. Instead of Manning slinging it across the field and leading long, career-defining drives, he was left with his trademark Manning face that looks more like a school boy frustrated with a relentless bully stealing his lunch money than the NFL’s single-season touchdown pass record holder.

So, what do we make of Manning’s career? What legacy will he have if he never gets another ring?

Manning will always be remembered as one of the most revolutionary quarterbacks in the game. His command of the line of scrimmage and never-wavering preparation are becoming more of the norm than the exception, and that’s because of the culture Manning has brought to football.

But there will always be the “but” to the argument.

Tuesday, February 4, 2014

Erin Nelson leads Billikins offensively

By Matthew ZackMan Collegian Staff

The Saint Louis women’s basketball team snapped a six-game losing streak at Saint Joseph’s Hagan Arena with a 69-65 win on Wednesday.

At halftime, the Hawks (16-5, 5-3 Atlantic 10) held a seven-point lead over the Billikens (7-13, 2-5 A-10), however, SLU opened the second half on a 20-7 run and never looked back Erin Nelson led the charge for the Billikens, scoring 18 points, all of which were in the second half of the game, and was responsible for nine points on Saint Louis’ gamechanging run as she cashed in on two 3-pointers.

Denisha Womack finished the game with her second straight doubledouble. Womack netted 14 points and secured 10 rebounds. Jamesia Price

and Desirae Ball added 25 points collectively, while Sadie Stipanovich was two points shy of a doubledouble after scoring eight points and recording 10 rebounds.

Natasha Cloud, Erin Shields and Sarah Fairbanks each posted 15 points and 11 rebounds for St. Joe’s as well.

SLU plays A-10 rival Fordham on Wednesday in Missouri as they look to keep their three-game winning streak alive, while the Hawks will travel to New York to take on St. Bonaventure on Wednesday.

Richmond cruises

by La Salle Freshman Janelle Hubbard and senior Kristina King were responsible for 35 of Richmond’s 56 points in an easy 56-39 win over La Salle on Wednesday night.

Re d s h i r t junior Genevieve Okoro scored nine points and grabbed eight rebounds for the Spiders (10-11, 4-4 A-10) in the winning effort.

points and its head coach, Jim Jabir, won his 200th game at Dayton as his team led by as many as 31 points.

The Flyers (13-5, 6-1 A-10) finished the first half leading 56-42 thanks to strong play by freshman Celeste Edwards. Edwards connected on five 3-pointers in the first half and finished the game with 17 points, tying her career high.

Dayton erupted in the second half after Ally Malott logged 18 of a career-best 25 points in the second half to go with six rebounds and five assists.

The Patriots (6-16, 0-9 A-10) performed well despite being outplayed by the Flyers. Sandra Ngoie scored 15 points in the first half and finished the game with 21 points. Taylor Brown scored 19 points in the second half and ended the game with 30 points.

Dayton’s offense Dayton will face VCU on explodes Wednesday at home, while Dayton recorded 100 George Mason will visit La points for the third time this Salle on Wednesday. season, crushing George Mason 103-81.

Matthew Zackman can be reached at Six Flyers scored over 10 mzackman@umass.edu.

Richmond’s strong defensive efforts paid off as the Explorers (10-10, 5-3 A-10) shot a mere 25 percent from the field and failed to hit a single 3-pointer.

Richmond, on the other hand, shot 88 percent from the free throw line as King made all nine of her attempts.

Although the Spiders ran away with the game, they only led by five points at halftime. Richmond forced 19 turnovers and turned their takeaways into 10 points. The Spider’s persistent defensive effort was proven successful as the Explorer’s 39 points was the fewest that Richmond allowed all season.

Richmond will visit Virginia Commonwealth on Saturday, while La Salle will host George Mason on Wednesday.

ATLANTIC 10 MEN’S BASKETBALL

Dayton gets big win over George Washington

By Marc Jean-Louis Collegian Correspondent

the last seven minutes, 34 seconds of the second half, forcing overtime after Rob Loe knocked down a 3-pointer with 44 seconds left to tie the game at 68-68.

The Billikens shot 4-of-5 from the floor, made two 3-pointers and hit 9-of-10 free throws in the overtime period to take control of the game. Loe scored a careerhigh 23 points for SLU, while senior Dwayne Evans logged his 23rd career double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds.

The win was the Billikens 14th in a row, tying a school record. They’ll travel to Philadelphia on Wednesday. to take on Saint.Joseph’s, while George Mason will host Dayton.

It took an extra five minutes at the Chaifetz Arena on Saturday, but after scoring on nine of its first 10 possessions in overtime, the Saint Louis men’s basketball team pulled out an electrifying victory, defeating George Mason 87-81 in overtime.

No. 19 SLU (20-2, 7-0 Atlantic 10) struggled to find a rhythm offensively in the first half. Despite shooting less than 38 percent from the floor and George Mason shooting over 54 percent, the Billikens entered the break clinging to a slender one-point lead.

The second half didn’t start off much better for the Billikens, who trailed the VCU tops in-state rival Patriots (7-14, 0-7 A-10) by Richmond seven points on three sepBriante Weber and arate occasions. However, SLU refused to go away, Melvin Johnson scored 14 outscoring GMU 15-8 over points each to lead Virginia

DOMINANT “He gives us a lot of promise for scoring potential in (the long jump and triple jump) as the year goes on,” O’Brien said of Gooden.

O’Brien also pointed to the early heptathlon success of sophomore Nick Ingham, who broke the team’s heptathlon record in his first meet of the season, and freshman standout Adam Bonifilio as a reason for the aggressive mentality that the Minutemen have shown so far this season.

“When the two young guys get off to a good start…I think it breeds confidence,” O’Brien said. “I think it’s been a partial reason why (the team) has been so successful.”

Minutewomen jump to success Rebecca Stoyle and the Minutewomen continued to churn out top performances on Saturday, further preparing themselves for the Atlantic 10 Championships that take place in less than three weeks.

Richmond’s Kendall Anthony scored a careerhigh 31 points and Cedrick Lindsay chipped in with 21, but it wasn’t enough for the Spiders to crawl their way back into the contest.

Commonwealth to an 81-70 victory over Richmond at the Stuart Siegel Center on Saturday night.

VCU (18-4, 6-1 A-10) sparked a 7-0 run in the opening three minutes of the game and set the tone the rest of the way.

Richmond (14-8, 4-3 A-10) pulled itself back within one at 10-9 midway through the first half, but the Rams went on another run, featuring a 3-pointer by Juvonte Reddic along with a pair of blocks on the other end. VCU took a comfortable 34-22 lead into halftime after the Spiders shot just 32 percent.

Both teams exploded

STRUGGLING

continued from page 8

Stoyle and fellow junior Courtney Kromko established themselves as a powerful one-two punch this season for UMass, and Saturday’s meet in Cambridge was their latest conquest.

With a jump that puts her at No. 23 in the country in the event, Stoyle broke her own program record as the Minutewomen dominated the triple jump, taking the top four spots in the meet.

Stoyle’s jump of 41 feet, 4.5 inches was followed by a personal record from Kromko as well (38 feet, 7.75 inches).

Lauren Avery and Ashley Palmer finished third and fourth in the event, respectively.

Stoyle and Kromko took the same top-two spots in the long jump with almost identical jumps. Stoyle’s (18 feet, 3.25 inches) was just a quarter of an inch further than Kromko’s. Stoyle wrapped up another exemplary meet with a secondplace finish in the 300-meter

offensively in the second half for 95 points.

Richmond’s Kendall Anthony scored a careerhigh 31 points and Cedrick Lindsay chipped in with 21, but it wasn’t enough for the Spiders to crawl their way back into the contest.

VCU has won 16 straight games at home, which is tied for the ninth longest in the country for active home winning streaks. Reddic recorded his third consecutive double-double and the 26thof his career with 11 points and 10 rebounds.

VCU will take on Rhode Island at home on Thursday, while Richmond will return home and play

against St. Bonaventure on second half, as four 3-pointers put the Colonials in a Wednesday.

17-point hole with 15:18 left.

Dayton handles GW GW responded with an 18-8 Despite a combined 52 run in just over 10 minutes points from forwards Isiah to cut Dayton’s lead to 60-53 Armwood, Kevin Larsen with just over five minutes and Patricio Garino, the left. That would be all for George Washington men’s the Colonials, though, as basketball team couldn’t the Flyers responded with extend its five-game win- an 8-0 run of their own and ning streak against Dayton led 68-53 with two minutes on Saturday, falling 75-65 on left, securing the victory. the road.

Senior forward Devin GW (17-4, 5-2 A-10) headed Oliver led the Flyers in into the game without start- scoring, finishing with 17 ing guards Joe McDonald points and nine rebounds in and Maurice Creek, and 35 minutes. Jordan Siebert Dayton (14-8 2-5 A-10) was and Vee Sanford each connot shy to take advantage tributed off the bench with and built a 13-point lead 13 points. over the Colonials in the The Colonials come first half behind hot 3-point home on Wednesday to face shooting. The teams played Duquesne. Dayton meanfairly evenly over the last while will travel to George three minutes of the first Mason. half and GW went into the break down 38-29.

Marc Jean-Louis can be reached at The Flyers’ downtown mjeanlou@umass.edu and followed attack resumed to open the on Twitter @marc_jean93.

dash (40.52 seconds), followed by Palmer, who finished in fourth (42.38 seconds).

Distance specialist Rachel Hilliard had a strong meet as well. The junior was the only female competitor to run a sub-five minute mile at the meet, taking first place in four minutes, 59.23 seconds. Showing tremendous endurance, she came back to find the podium again in the 3000-meter run, finishing third with a time of nine minutes, 54.02 seconds.

Both UMass teams have just one more meet before the A-10 Championships, which start Feb. 22nd in Kingston, R.I. The Minutewomen will travel into Boston for the Hemery Valentine Invite next Friday, a day before the Minutemen head back to New Haven, Conn., where they started the season, for the Giegengack Invitational.

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

continued from page 8

MARIA UMINSKI/COLLEGIAN

During the road losing streak, UMass is averaging only 62.6 ppg, well below its season average of 77.4 ppg. down on the road in a place with this environment.”

The frustration has been growing over the past week.

The Minutemen have gone from the 13-ranked team in the country to out of the Top 25 completely in Monday’s latest poll.

The tone in Kellogg’s voice mirrored that notion as he’s now going

to have to consider different roles for players who he believes don’t play hard for all 40 minutes.

“I’ll just have to watch the tape and see who are the guys not making those plays because they shouldn’t be on the floor quite as much,” he said.

The road isn’t getting any

easier for UMass, which has nine games remaining before the Atlantic 10 Tournament.

Of those nine, four are on the road, including a date with George Washington, who sits ahead of the Minutemen in the conference, on Feb. 12.

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

THE MASSACHUSETTS DAILY COLLEGIAN

Tuesday, February 4, 2014

Sports@DailyCollegian.com

@MDC_SPORTS

MEN’S BASKETBALL

ROAD BLOCK

NFL

Manning’s legacy up in air after coming up short in Super Bowl

I

STEPHEN SELLNER/COLLEGIAN

After losing three straight road games, the UMass men’s basketball team was unranked in the latest AP Top 25 poll released Monday.

UM struggling away from Mullins

By Patrick Strohecker Collegian Staff

PHILADELPHIA — As the clocks at Saint Joseph’s Hagan Arena hit all zeroes and the buzzer sounded, the Massachusetts men’s basketball team hung its heads and walked slowly off the court.

There was no court storming this time. Instead, the only constant was the same reoccurring feeling of letting another potential road win slip from its grasp.

That’s been happening to UMass a lot lately.

Currently on a two-game losing streak — the first losing streak the Minutemen have been on all year — UMass hasn’t been the same team on the road as it has been at Mullins Center. The Minutemen have seemingly lost their identity.

“I don’t know if it’s the time of the year, or fatigue, or whatever’s taking a toll on certain people, but we’re just not getting to the spots as on time as we were before,” senior Chaz Williams said following Saturday’s 73-68 defeat.

UMass is 9-0 at home this season, but when it steps outside the friendly confines of Mullins Center, it’s a completely different story. In true road games this season, the Minutemen are only 4-4, including three straight losses in the past 12 days.

The one noticeable part of UMass’ game that’s been absent on the road is energy.

Whether it’s been getting off to bad starts, or opening the second half in a lull, the Minutemen haven’t pieced together a full 40-minute

performance on the road since crushing Elon on Jan. 18.

UMass coach Derek Kellogg doesn’t think he needs to tell his mature team when it’s time to play hard. It should be something that’s there at all times.

“Really it’s a mental thing with some of these guys that they need to bring it,” he said. “We’re not deep enough to not have our top eight guys bring it every night out. … It’s gotta be the whole unit. It’s gotta be all the guys on the team, all the time. Not when it’s convenient, not when it’s desperation.”

Kellogg quickly dismissed the idea of fatigue playing a factor in his team’s recent losses despite the fact that the Minutemen just wrapped up six games in 18

CLUB HOCKEY

days, with five coming away from home.

Aside from the lack of energy, UMass’ offense hasn’t been the same recently, either. The Minutemen averaged only 62.6 points per game in their last three road contests, while averaging 79.8 points in all other games.

The offensive struggles continued against the Hawks, as UMass missed numerous easy buckets early in the game, quickly forcing it to play catch-up in a hostile environment.

“We had two wide open layups that we didn’t put in,” Kellogg said. “They make (their shots), they go to the free throw, make a couple and then all of a sudden it’s a six or seven point lead. You don’t want to get see

STRUGGLING on page 7

t’s been one day since the Seahawks stomped all over the Broncos in Sunday’s Super Bowl, and if you’re like me, you’re trying to pick up the pieces of what was supposed to be a clash of the ages and Stephen try to figure out what in Sellner the hell happened at the Meadowlands.

Seattle, particularly its imposing defense, was much better than anyone gave them credit for leading up to the game. The fitting and cliché narrative in the two weeks leading up to the big game was the No. 1 defense trying to slow down the No. 1 offense. You probably heard the phrase “something’s got to give” an exhausting amount of times from a number of media outlets.

Little did we know it would be Denver “giving” Seattle the ball. Again and again.

The Seahawks were big, strong and fast. With one dominating performance, a 43-8 rout, they jumped from the best defense in the league to perhaps one of the best in the history of the league, drawing worthy comparisons to the 2000 Ravens and 2002 Buccaneers.

And there wasn’t one player that stood out. All who watched probably would’ve liked to award the Super Bowl MVP to the entire defense, or perhaps quarterback Russell Wilson by default, but it ultimately went to let-me-get-out-mysmart-phone-and-checkwho-the-hell-is Malcolm Smith. Not even Richard Sherman, the man who received so much unwar-

ranted criticism following his postgame rant in an interview with FOX’s Erin Andrews, could stand out, except for his frequent and unfortunate visits from the training staff.

If you’re like me, it was refreshing to see a team excel at tackling in the open field instead of watching crossing receivers pile up on yards after the catch, which Patriots fans have become all too accustomed to seeing their defense give up with ease over the past few years. Anytime Demaryius Thomas or Wes Welker went across the middle, they were drilled and swallowed up, never more evident than when on a third and six inches, Thomas took a quick screen and proceeded to start backwards to try to avoid the oncoming swarm of tacklers instead of falling forward for the easy first down.

The Seahawks showed once and for all that defense is still what matters in the postseason. High-flying, record-setting offenses make for nice airtime on SportsCenter and talk radio, but physical defenses will more often than not prevail over finesse offenses. Just ask the 2007-08 Patriots.

Now ask these 2013-14 Broncos. It wouldn’t have mattered if the 49ers showed up instead of Seattle. The result would have been the same. Nothing came easy for the Broncos, which leads me to the inevitable discussion of Peyton Manning.

Sunday could easily have been the day Manning cemented his legacy and shut up all the doubters if he went out took care of business and notched his second Super Bowl ring. Had Denver prevailed, there wouldn’t be much more of an argument against ranking Manning as see

MANNING on page 7

T R AC K & F I E L D

UMass men and women Minutemen doomed by bad penalty killing shine at Harvard Invite UM allows five power-play goals By roSS Gienieczko Collegian Staff

Despite holding a clear advantage in even strength play, the Massachusetts club hockey team was doomed by an ineffective penalty kill, as it fell to William Paterson University 6-4 in New Jersey on Saturday night.

The Minutemen (15-9) outscored the Pioneers by a 4-1 margin in five-onfive play throughout the game, receiving goals from Miguel Rojas, Ryan Daigle, Allan Haynes and Jared Stone.

However, it was the WPU power play that was ultimately too much for UMass to handle. It scored five goals with the man advantage and capitalized on several bad penalties from the Minutemen, who took 11 penalties in the game.

“Five on five, we dominated the play, even though we were missing two starters offensively due to illness and injury. All in all, the team played well, but came up short” Jamie Magarian, UMass coach “Five on five we dominated the play, even though we were missing two starters offensively due to illness and injury.” UMass coach Jamie Magarian said. “All in all, the team played well, but came up short.”

Rojas kicked off the scoring less than a minute into the game, giving UMass an early lead. But two goals on the power play fueled the Pioneers to a 2-1 lead after the first period.

Another power play goal made it 3-1 WPU early in the second. It added another tally on the man advantage to stretch its lead to 4-1 after 40 minutes.

Two quick goals from

Stone and Daigle made cut it to 4-3 early in the third, but that was as close as UMass would get, as the Pioneers scored two more goals to put the game out of reach.

WPU improved its record to 24-2-2 on the season. The Pioneers are the top ranked club team in the American Club Hockey Northeast division.

The Minutemen will look to rebound this weekend, as they stay on the road for a pair of games.

They’ll play Siena in Albany on Friday night and Connecticut Saturday night in Storrs.

Ross Gienieczko can be reached at rgieniec@umass.edu.

Stoyle sets program triple jump record By arthur hayden Collegian Staff

Both the Massachusetts men’s and women’s indoor track and field teams competed in the unscored Harvard Invitational in Cambridge on Saturday and came away with impressive results.

The Minutemen had arguably their best meet of the season so far, finishing with four firstplace finishes against a handful of highly competitive Northeast schools including Boston College, Northeastern, Holy Cross, Quinnipiac and the host school Harvard, whose indoor team is ranked 25th in the nation.

Sophomore Michael McNaughton led the Minutemen with a victory in the 800-meter dash (one minute, 55.55 seconds), an event in which the UMass men had four top-eight

ALEX ARITAN/COLLEGIAN FILE PHOTO

Becky Stoyle broke her own school record over the weekend in the triple jump. finishers. Stephen Ness, a junior, was close behind in third (one minute, 56.97 seconds).

UMass coach Ken O’Brien orchestrated another great performance from the top 4x440 yard relay team, finishing in three minutes, 26.59 seconds, the best time at the meet.

The other two first place finishes came from senior Antony Taylor and explo-

sive freshman Lamont Gooden. Taylor finished at the head of the pack of the 3000-meter run (eight minutes, 22.45 seconds) while Gooden took first place in the long jump (22 feet, seven inches), leaping almost a full foot further than any other competitor in the field. O’Brien referred to Gooden as “the best surprise so far” this season. see

DOMINANT on page 7