Sun Kil Moon’s ‘Benji’ delivers
UMass snaps its road losing streak PAGE 8
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THE MASSACHUSETTS
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Monday, February 10, 2014
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Massachusetts rep. speaks on student debt Mark discusses college financials By Michael Turner Collegian Correspondent Representative Paul Mark met with thought leaders and student representatives from the University of Massachusetts Amherst community this past Friday to discuss student debt. A passionate advocate for Massachusetts college students, Representative Mark made it clear that student debt debate needed to be reframed as a lifetime burden. “College education needs to be looked at as part of a lifelong process,” said Mark. Thus began the discussion to liberate Massachusetts students from this financial drudgery. High college debt strangles graduating college student prospects in terms of future employment, opportunities and entering independent adulthood, according to Mark, who came to the University to reach out and find alternative solutions to the student debt crisis. One of the highlights of the discussion was a presentation by Anastasia Wilson, a University of Massachusetts Amherst economics graduate student, whose findings quantified the relationship between state investment in higher education and a measurable decrease in tuition. Her research indicated that every dollar in increased appropriations per student results in a $.30 decline in
tuition per student; a relationship that had not been quantified before. The chief culprits of high student debt were also revealed during her presentation. Wilson observed that predatory mid-tier private universities are the foremost drivers of high debt for instate Massachusetts college students. These schools concentrate scholarships and financial aid during freshmen year then pull a bait and switch. Remaining years are much more costly, indebting these students beyond any reasonable level. Wilson’s presentation also noted a class discrepancy between student debt in “elite” universities, such as Harvard, Boston College and Tufts, and public institutions. These “elite” schools, with low state enrollment often below 20 percent, have near-zero default rates. Meanwhile, schools with a majority of in-state students, both in public and private colleges, have graduated populations with around 10 percent default rates. These students are also expected to make considerably less than their “elite” counterparts despite amassing significantly higher debt. These finds were particularly troubling as evidence was also submitted strongly indicating that high-debt graduates earn significantly less over a lifetime. High student debt decreases consumption and eliminates the possibility of graduates taking out other loans and see
STUDENT DEBT on page 2
JUSTIN SURGENT/COLLEGIAN
Students collaborate during Shakespeare Trivia Night hosted at the Renaissance Center.
A, B or C? ThAT is The quesTion Renaissance Center holds trivia night for students to compete over Shakespeare By KaTe leddy Collegian Staff
On Thursday evening, the University of Massachusetts Renaissance Center took a trip back to the 16th century for Shakespeare Trivia Pub Night. Five teams gathered in the fire-lit Reading Room to compete through seven themed rounds of trivia read by UMass senior Daniel Kadish and local theatre director Dori Robinson. Chips, peanuts, cookies and other snacks were served along with various beverages and tea in the center’s own
teacups. The emcees requested that participants come up with team names. The five teams were “Team Scalywag,” “Slan Clan,” “The Tudors,” “Eliza Preston” and “Bard Goes Hard.” The first round of trivia was titled “baby names a la Shakespeare,” which asked the names of Shakespearian characters based on the personality of a theoretical child. “If you name your princess this,” read Kadish, “she might think she’s a little king.” For each round, teams received
a sheet with ten blanks corresponding to the questions. Those who knew the correct answer fervently jotted down “Regan” on their papers. “Make up anything if you don’t know the answer,” announced Kadish, successfully encouraging some humorous responses from the teams. Robinson laughed and joked throughout the night, frequently high-fiving the participants and making comments on the trivia questions with Kadish. “We disagree on this one so
there may be two answers,” said Robinson about a multiple-choice question regarding Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Arthur Kinney, the director of the Renaissance Center, watched the event and supplied his own answers at times to clear up various wonderings that arose about the Bard. “It’s my job,” said Kinney simply when complimented on his knowledge. A ten-minute break was taken halfway through the see
SHAKESPEARE on page 2
Grad student creates 9/11 memorial Olympic threat Campus installation for master’s thesis By PaTricK hoff Collegian Staff
Although Sept. 11 happened over 12 years ago, the effects of the terrorist attacks can still be felt around the country and around the world. UMass PhD student in regional planning Soroush Farzinmoghadam designed an installation, currently in the lower level of the Campus Center, to memorialize the tragedy and all who died. Farzinmoghadam is also studying for his masters in architecture, with the UMass 9/11 Intervention is his master thesis project. Farzinmoghadam is an immigrant from Iran and he was in his first year of college when 9/11 occurred. “One thing that was very shocking, surprising for me was the different reaction that I got in my community,” he said. “Some people were shocked and they went over and turned on a candle in some major square in Iran. But others … One
was my classmate, (and) he said he was happy. It’s kind of odd. For me, I couldn’t accept it.” As time passed after the attack, Farzinmoghadam realized that the attack had many consequences on the world, and “started feeling like that wasn’t just a moment … there are many consequences.” “I tried to just show that it did not just affect one community – I think that it’s something that affected all the communities,” Farzinmoghadam added. “It’s a small effort, a very small effort, but I tried to bring two sides together somehow to talk because … the consequence affected all of us and the people on the other side (are) affected (just the same as in) the U.S. It’s created more hate between two sides and I think that some type of these artistic … works could actually break the ice between those two sides and help to (facilitate) communication and talk.” The installation encompasses two different elements: the structure of the frame and the fiber optic cables hanging from it. The
frame, comprised of seven columns, has dimensions that signify the date of the terrorist attack. The seven columns also represent the four planes and three buildings that were attacked on 9/11. The fiber optic cables represent the 3,000 victims in the attack. “Soroush’s biggest concern was having everybody, every individual represented, every single human being because we are dealing with human beings. Every single human being is something that’s unreplaceable, the loss is something great,” Mostafavi said. He added, “We’re not just dealing with a simple explosion or something. We’re dealing with people who are facing tables with an empty place at the dinner table or something. They’re big losses, so it has to be effective. … They’re intertwined and … their paths sometimes cross and sometimes they don’t as a sign that people from different places and different ages, their paths sometimes cross during their lives and sometimes they don’t.” The original intent was to have the installation pre-
pared for last September, but due to finances and the time it took to obtain permits, it became impossible. The permits were very time-consuming, Farzinmoghadam said, because of the strict safety regulations in Massachusetts. With the help of many people, the project overcame the obstacles. The project also had to be modified from its original idea. Originally, the installation was a linear exhibit to show the effects before and after 9/11 but the budget did not allow for that and it had to be slimmed to its current design. “I think this process somehow helped the progress of this thing,” Farzinmoghadam said. “When I started thinking about this, there wasn’t that much detail, (but) this whole process helped us make that.” In order to complete the project, Farzinmoghadam received help from many people, including his friend Nariman Mostafavi, a PhD student in construction and technology. see
MEMORIAL on page 3
details withheld By Brian BenneTT Tribune Washington Bureau WASHINGTON — U.S. intelligence officials are frustrated that the Russian government is withholding information about threats to Olympic venues coming from inside Russia, several lawmakers said on talk shows Sunday. “We aren’t getting the kind of cooperation that we’d like from the Russians in terms of their internal threats,” Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., a member of the House Intelligence Committee, said on “Fox News Sunday.” “It means that we’re less effective in protecting our people, and that’s a frustration,” Schiff said. More than 70,000 Russian security officers have been deployed to protect the Olympic venues in Sochi. Russian President Vladimir Putin describes the layers of security around Sochi as the “ring of steel.” The United States has set up a command center in
Sochi with about 150 security personnel from the FBI, the State Department and the Department of Homeland Security. The American ambassador to Russia, Michael McFaul, said the U.S. is “quite satisfied” with the cooperation coming from Russian security officials. “We always want to know more and if you work in the intelligence business you always want more information from any interlocutor, from any partner country,” McFaul said. “That said, we do not have an interest in embarrassing the Russians. We have exactly the same interests with them when it comes to the security of everyone here in Sochi,” he said, speaking on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” Last week, the U.S. Transportation Security Administration banned passengers flying from the U.S. to Russia from bringing liquids in their carry-on bagsee
OLYMPICS on page 2