Massachusetts Daily Collegian: Feb. 13, 2014

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DAILY COLLEGIAN DailyCollegian.com

Thursday, February 13, 2014

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Calling all UMass CoMedians Living Routes shuts down Program responds to safety concerns

According to their website, Living Routes was a study abroad provider focused on giving students an environmental experience where By Marie Maccune they could work with the Collegian Staff land they lived on. Students Study abroad provider lived around the world in Living Routes has shut what the non-profit organizadown after suspension of tion called “eco-villages.” Their website also said its Affiliation Agreement with the University of that the organization is Massachusetts following expecting to legally dissolve an incident that occurred by March 31st.In an open last semester involving a letter, the student involved student participating in a in the incident talked about

“(UMass Amherst) has grave concerns regarding Living Routes’ ability to fulfill its contractual obligations to be responsible for all health, risk and safety issues that may arise during a program’s term.” Jack Ahern, Vice Provost for International Programs CADE BELISLE/COLLEGIAN

UMass students can show off their comedic talent at the club’s bi-weekly stand up events in the UPub. Anyone interested is welcome to perform.

New RSO brings stand up to campus By Patrick Hoff Collegian Staff

When you think of stand up comedy, certain names come to mind. Maybe it’s George Carlin’s and his “Seven Words You Can Never Say on Television” or perhaps Bill Cosby’s “Chocolate Cake for Breakfast.” There’s also Aziz Ansari, Ellen DeGeneres, Bo Burnham, Wanda Sykes—the list is

endless. In an effort to bring a sliver of this stand up talent to the University of Massachusetts, senior Thomas Bachman, communications major and economics and Portuguese minor, has started a Registered Student Organization. Holding bi-weekly events in the UPub, the RSO invites any student interested in doing a five-minute stand up act to try it out. “There’s no barrier to entry, so anyone who wants to try (can),” said Bachman.

The RSO is yet unnamed, but is working with the title “Slamherst Comedy” on their Twitter page. Bachman said that another possibility is “Comedy Zoo.” Previously, the group was called UMass Comedy Night, but they were told that they had to remove the word “UMass” from their name upon becoming an RSO. “I wanted to make it an RSO so that it would survive after I left, because it’s so fun,” Bachman said. “If there’s not someone carrying the torch, it’s just going

Southern states paralyzed by continuous winter storms Flights cancelled, six deaths reported By MicHael Muskal Los Angeles Times

Much of the South on Wednesday again awoke again to the nastiness of a winter storm, needle-like freezing rain, growing piles of snow and biting temperatures that turned roads into a deadly, slippery mess and cut off power to tens of thousands of people. The storm, which spread from Texas to the Carolinas, was described in nearapocalyptic terms by the National Weather Service, which in a morning memorandum labeled the weather “an event of historical proportions.” The service went on to use phrases such as “catastrophic ... crippling ... paralyzing” in describing the potential dangers. At least six deaths have

been reported in Texas and Mississippi. The storm will head north throughout the day, bringing from between six inches to more than a foot of snow as it moves through Washington, D.C., squeezing the New York metropolitan area and into New England. “A major winter storm is affecting parts of the Southeast with dangerous ice and snow and is expected to intensify Wednesday evening as it moves up the Eastern Seaboard, affecting locations across the midAtlantic and Northeast. More than one inch of ice accumulation is possible from central Georgia into South Carolina through Thursday morning,” the weather service warned. By Wednesday morning, Georgia Power reported more than 85,000 customers were without electricity in 471 separate outages. Outages in other states

brought the tally to more than 175,000 customers without power. Just two weeks ago, a storm stunned Atlanta, stranding thousands in vehicles in a region generally not accustomed to dealing with such adversity. This time, officials positioned equipment and spread salt on roads as a precaution. Roads were generally empty Wednesday morning as most people heeded the advice of their elected officials to stay off of the roads and out of the muck. This season has already been the winter of discontent and it appears likely to get worse before spring breaks through the frozen ground. The Northeast has had a series of major storms, including two just days apart. But the current storm see

SOUTH on page 3

to die.” Bachman said that the idea to start the group began sophomore year when a student in his public speaking class was doing similar types of events. But when the student graduated, the events died out. “I wanted to do something similar—a place where people could have the environment of a stand up club where it’s like in a bar, people can talk but there’s an hour and a half where you see

COMEDY on page 2

Living Routes program at the Monteverde Institute in Monteverde, Costa Rica. On Dec. 27, UMass suspended the agreement, which had enabled students to receive academic credit while abroad with a Living Routes program. The office, located in Amherst, shut down late last month, according to an article by the Associated Press. Twenty-eight students have been affected by this suspension, according to an article published by Inside Higher Ed. Living Routes is responsible for finding these students alternative programs to participate in.

being raped while abroad. According to her letter, the director of the Monteverde Institute, Deborah Hamilton, forced the student to sign legal waivers and report the assault, telling the victim that it was her “legal obligation” to do so. In Costa Rica, only the victim of a crime has the right to report that crime, but he or she is under no legal obligation to do so, according to a document released by the Pan American Health Organization. According to a letter sent by Jack Ahern, Vice Provost for International Programs see

ABROAD on page 3

Low ratings for gov’t Recent poll reveals lack of approval B y D aviD l igHtMan McClatchy Washington Bureau WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama and Congress get dismal approval ratings from the American public, as most people see little hope Washington can improve the economy or their lives, a new McClatchy-Marist Poll finds. Obama’s approval rating remains stuck at 42 percent, with 52 percent disapproving. The latest approval figure is down from 43 percent in December. His low point came in September 2011 at 39 percent. The mild economic rebound has barely helped Obama. Fifty-four percent disliked his handling of the economy. Forty-one percent approved, up from 40 percent in December and 37 percent in July. The president got similar

low marks this month on foreign policy - half disapproved, 43 percent approved. The approval number was down from December’s 46 percent. Overall, voters were nearly split on their overall impression of Obama, with half seeing him unfavorably and 47 percent favorably. Congress fared worse. Seventytwo percent registered disapproval of the job congressional Republicans were doing, while 22 percent were pleased. Sixty control 55 of the 100 Senate percent disapproved of congressional seats. “People around the counDemocrats’ performance. Republicans have a 232- try just have a miserable view 200 majority in the House of Representatives. Democrats see POLL on page 2


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