Massachusetts Daily Collegian: Apr. 30, 2014

TAKING WHAT UMASS WINS 5-4 THEY CAN GET

FAKING it

REVIEW

PAGE 8

PAGE 5

THE MASSACHUSETTS

A free and responsible press

DAILY COLLEGIAN DailyCollegian.com

Wednesday, April 30, 2014

Serving the UMass community since 1890

News@DailyCollegian.com

UMass Dining proposes changes Response from students is mixed to meal plan

By Marie Maccune Collegian Staff

University of Massachusetts Dining Services announced a new Residential Meal Plan on Monday, which includes three options for on-campus students that are different from the current ones.

The changes include two different plans that offer unlimited access to dining commons options as well as a “basic” plan of 200 DC swipes per semester, according to a handout provided by UMass Dining.

On-campus students will no longer have YCMP swipes and instead use Dining Dollars at retail services. Commuters, on the other

hand, may choose from various YCMP plan options.

Though prices are tentative, they do indicate an increase in cost from the current Value Meal Plan offered.

Executive Director of Auxiliary Services Ken Toong said the 2014 Residential Meal Plan is a product of “extensive” planning.

“We started the process back in November during the budget planning process, when we interviewed our student ambassadors, listened to the feedback from students through comments cards, surveys, social media and emails, and talked to our peers at UNH, UConn and URI,” he said.

“We also received recommendations addressing flexibility, convenience and value for the meal plan from external review peers from the Administrative Quality Assessment and Development.”

Toong emphasized that plans are subject to change, noting a town hall meeting that will occur on Thursday at 7 p.m. at the Worcester Dining Common that will be open to students to discuss the meal plan changes.

“We are aware of the questions and concerns on social media and have received comments from students about the new meal plan these past couple days,” he said.

“We appreciate all of the student input and take it all into consideration. I encourage everyone to come to the town hall meeting and ask questions. Our goal is always to put students first as we strive to offer you the best dining program in the nation.”

Director of Residential Dining Services Garett DiStefano said that the move toward unlimited meal plans follows a trend in

dining across the country, especially at UMass’ peer schools.

DiStefano also said that survey data reported students wanting more flexibility of when, where and how many times they could eat.

“Food is a big deal here at UMass,” he said. “Students don’t want to lose a swipe with a small purchase, they want stronger buying power. We want our students to be able to utilize dining commons as a home kitchen away from home. We want to build a community around food.”

In terms of price increases, DiStefano said, “Every year, unfortunately, food prices go up. We are faced with higher and high costs from suppliers, operations, etc. But we are not a forprofit organization. Our bottom line is student satisfaction.”

According to DiStefano, UMass

Child survivor relives her experience

Dining hopes to move rapidly in finalizing options “so that when you look at your SPIRE bill you know exactly what you’re getting.”

The new meal plan has not come without reactions from the student body.

“It bothers me that they’re trying to market something as a regular meal plan that doesn’t even constitute more than 1.8 or 1.9 meals a day,” UMass freshman Dan Riecker said.

Becca Brossoit, a junior studying psychology, also had reservations about the changes.

“I think they should put careful reconsideration into changing the meal plan so drastically, as well as increasing prices,” she said.

Serena Thomas, a freshman see

MEAL PLAN on page 2

UMass doctor to tell Marathon story Staff physician will share experiences

ROBERT RIGO/COLLEGIAN

Henia Lewin talks about her time during the Holocaust at the UMass Institute for Holocaust, Genocide and Memory Studies.

Holocaust speaker tells UM her story

By Marleigh Felsenstein Collegian Staff

Henia Lewin, a child survivor of the Holocaust, spoke at the University of Massachusetts Institute for Holocaust, Genocide and Memory Studies on Tuesday night as she shared her experiences living through the genocide.

Before Lewin spoke, there was a candle-lighting ceremony in which UMass students lit six candles.

Each candle represented one million Jewish people that died in the Holocaust.

Lewin, who speaks at various events and schools, discussed her time as a child in Lithuania during the Holocaust. Born in January 1940, her family was forced to move into the Kovno Ghetto on Aug. 15, 1941.

When they lived in the ghetto, her father, who worked in the wall paint business, built a fake wall with shelves that housed a

space for her to hide while he and Lewin’s mother went to work. Some of the men in the house also dug a hole in the ground as another hiding option.

“The main thing was to get a job assignment,” Lewin said. There was a “round-up of intellectuals.”

She said this consisted of 526 men who spoke different languages because the Germans needed them to translate certain documents. When they were taken, however, they never returned.

Many of Lewin’s family members were killed in these round-ups, including an uncle who was among the 526 volunteers. She remembered these roundups always occurred on Jewish holidays.

A priest in a local seminary helped her mother for a while. When she had to leave because it was unsafe for her to remain in the ghetto, she was sedated and smuggled out of the ghetto in a suitcase.

Lewin was then given to the Stankevicius family,

“I’d like to think that Hitler is turning over in his grave. Shoah is not just your normal genocide. The kind of things that were done to Jews in history is unique and it shouldn’t happen to anyone ever.”

Henia Lewin, Holocaust survivor Christian family friends of Lewin’s family. She remained in hiding with them under a fake name for almost two years. Her parents ran away in 1944 and hid on different farms until they were reunited.

Lewin’s family also adopted her cousin Shoshana, who also had been in hiding with Lewin. She was given to a different family when they had to flee the ghetto, and moved out of Lithuania. They first went to a refugee camp near Frankfurt, Germany, then moved to Israel and later moved to Montreal, Canada, so her mother could be somewhere cold because of problems with climate.

Before the war, there were 250,000 Jews in

Lithuania. Out of 40,000 Jews in the Kovno ghetto, only 2,000 survived.

“Being one of them (a survivor) makes me cry,” Lewin said.

In 1995, Lewin returned to Lithuania to find the mother of the Stankevicius family that had helped to hide her years ago. She returned to all of the places that she had been to as a little girl, and paid her respects to the deceased.

Jonas Stankevicius had died 11 years prior to her return, but upon the ceremony that was held in honor of the Stankevicius family, Lewin obtained Jonas’ medal of honor to pass on to her family.

“I’d like to think that see

HOLOCAUST on page 2

A year ago, University of Massachusetts staff physician Pierre Rouzier was at ground zero of the bombings that rocked the 2013 Boston Marathon.

One year later, he was back at the 2014 Marathon.

On Wednesday, he’ll be among those to share their experiences about being in Boston one year later.

Rouzier, along with select runners and volunteers who participated in this year’s Boston Marathon, will speak about their experiences at a talk called “The Boston Marathon: One Year Later” in Herter Hall Room 227 on Wednesday night at 7 p.m.

Rouzier, who has been in the medical field for over 30

years –17 of them at UMass –was volunteering as a triage doctor at a tent less than 100 yards from the finish line when two bombs exploded on Boylston Street during the 2013 Boston Marathon, which killed three and injured more than 200 others.

Rouzier immediately rushed to the scene, using belts that he transformed into tourniquets to try to save lives of those injured by the explosions.

On April 21, Rouzier returned to the scene where his and many other lives were impacted as he worked triage near the finish line at the Marathon for a sixth straight year.

Collegian News Staff

Death toll rises to at least 30 in southern storms Storms keep raging through the South

By Michael Muskal Los Angeles Times

After leaving a trail of death and destruction across at least six states, a series of violent storms that spawned dozens of tornadoes continued to move through the South on Tuesday morning.

It was the third day of deadly weather to rip from the Midwest through the eastern portion of the nation, bringing severe thunderstorms, fierce winds and large hail.

In all, at least 30 deaths have been reported since Sunday in a swath from Oklahoma and Iowa to Alabama and including Arkansas, Mississippi and Tennessee. Hundreds of injuries have been reported as homes and buildings

toppled, mobile homes were tossed like confetti and heavy vehicles twisted in the wind.

More than 70 million people live in the area identified by the National Weather Service, but the number in the prime danger zones were about a fifth of that.

“The NWS Storm Prediction Center is forecasting a risk of severe weather Tuesday afternoon and into Tuesday from the Great Lakes southward to the central and eastern Gulf Coast and eastward to the Carolinas and Virginia,” the National Weather Service warned. “The greatest risk is from eastern Mississippi to central Alabama, where a Moderate Risk is in place.

Several tornadoes, large hail and straight line damaging see

STORMS on page 3

2

Wednesday, April 30, 2014

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

In 1803, the United States purchased the Louisiana Territory from France for $15 million. This led to the nation’s size growing more than twice its size.

AROUND THE WORLD

European Union LONDON—The European Union on Tuesday named Russia’s military chief of staff, deputy prime minister and other members of President Vladimir Putin’s inner circle as new targets of sanctions in response to the worsening political tumult and security crisis in Ukraine.

Also added to the EU’s blacklist were two deputy chairmen of the parliament in Moscow, the head of military intelligence and pro–Russian separatists accused of fomenting unrest in eastern Ukraine, where militants have seized government buildings, detained official international monitors, threatened journalists and shot a mayor in the back.

Foreign ministers from the EU’s 28 member states had agreed Monday to slap sanctions on 15 more individuals but did not publicly identify them until Tuesday.

The move came after the United States also expanded its list of high–profile Russians under sanction.

Los Angeles Times

Lebanon BEIRUT —At least 50 people were killed and scores injured Tuesday in Syria during a series of mortar and car–bomb attacks targeting progovernment districts in Damascus and the central city of Homs, the state media and a pro-opposition monitor reported.

The deadliest strike was a car bombing near a busy intersection in war–ravaged Homs that left at least 36 people dead and 85 injured, Syria’s official news agency reported. Some reports indicated that two car bombs may have been involved and that the death toll reached 45.

Los Angeles Times

China BEIJING — One of the largest churches in the Chinese coastal city of Wenzhou, an 85,000–square– foot edifice with soaring cathedral ceilings, stained glass and spires dominating the landscape, was demolished Monday on orders of Communist Party authorities.

Chinese officials said the demolition of the $5 million Sanjiang Church was ordered because the church was four times the size for which the building had been permitted. However, activists say it is part of a campaign against churches taking place throughout Zhejiang province.

Los Angeles Times Distributed by MCT Information Services

THE MASSACHUSETTS DAILY COLLEGIAN

MEAL PLAN electrical engineering major, had mixed feelings about commuter options.

“I think that this is a great effort by UMass and would be a great convenience to commuters, but it is just way too expensive,” she said. “I would never pay that much for a few meals a day when it’s cheaper to buy your own food.”

Not all the responses have been negative, however.

“For me, I liked the new unlimited plan because I’m on unlimited now,” freshman Jon Meyer said. “And yes, I’ll get less guest swipes I don’t use them all now and it provides me with more dining dollars than YCMP’s which gives me a greater variety of where I can go.”

DiStefano called the amount of feedback from students “overwhelming,” saying that the “number one thing we have to do now is go to the town meeting to

continued from page 1

vet out what would be the best situation. We want to explain that these changes are not coming out of thin air.”

Added DiStefano: “We consistently try to have an open dialogue. We did do our due diligence. Now, we want to see how we can adjust.”

DiStefano sees the new meal plan as an opportunity for a “great partnership (with students) to improve our program even more than before.”

“We want to empower our student with a voice in planning,” he added. To any students: please feel free to reach out to me. We want this to be as transparent as possible. All this student concern is actually a great thing. It is a testament to our students’ passion.”

Marie MacCune can be reached at mmaccune@umass.edu and followed @MarieMacCune.

HOLOCAUST Hitler is turning over in his grave,” Lewin said.

“Shoah is not just your normal genocide. The kind of things that were done to Jews in history is unique and it shouldn’t happen to anyone ever.”

The event was sponsored by UMass Hillel and the UMass Institute for Holocaust, Genocide, and Memory Studies.

The exhibition inside the Institute, titled “A Reason to Remember,” was donated by the Jewish Federation of Western Massachusetts to the Institute in November 2010.

The Institute was officially opened in 2011 by Lara Curtis, the assistant director of the Institute and a PhD candidate in comparative literature at UMass, and James Young, a distinguished professor at UMass in Judaic and Near Eastern Studies, as well as English.

Curtis and Young were both involved in bringing the exhibit and establish-

continued from page 1

ing the Institute. Carrie Lieberthal, the engagement outreach coordina-

“I hopes this becomes a tradition This had a very good turnout.”

Lara Curtis, assistant director at UMass Institute for Holocaust, Genocide and Memory Studies tor for UMass Hillel, also helped organize the event.

“I hope this becomes a tradition,” Curtis said.

“This had a very good turnout. Thousands of people have come through here since the opening in 2011. I’m hoping that an event like this brings more people. It’s good to see a high level of interest among the University students.”

Marleigh Felsenstein can be reached at mfelsenstein@umass. edu.

DailyCollegian.com

Support dwindles for repeal of Obamacare Surveys show there is greater approval

By DaviD Lauter Tribune Washington Bureau WASHINGTON — By a substantial margin, Americans disagree with the Republican argument that President Barack Obama’s healthcare law should be repealed and replaced, but several weeks of relatively good news about the law have done little to change entrenched, partisan views of it.

Those are the conclusions of two newly released public opinion surveys, one by a nonpartisan organization, the other by a leading Democratic polling firm.

They suggest that the potency of GOP arguments against the law have waned, but that it continues to be a risk for Democrats in key congressional races, particularly in the South.

Nearly 3 in 5 Americans said they would prefer to see their representatives in Congress “work to improve” the healthcare law rather than “work to repeal the law and replace it with something else,” according to the latest Kaiser Family Foundation healthcare poll.

Kaiser, which has surveyed public opinion about the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, each month, found impressions of it warming slightly from the low points of November through January. Overall, however, opinions of the law remain negative, with 46 percent now having a generally unfavorable view of it and 38 percent generally positive, the poll found. Those views are sharply divided by party, as has been the case since the law passed.

A survey by Democratic pollster Stanley Greenberg found a similar division on the question of fixing the law versus repealing it. Among likely voters in competi-

tive congressional districts, 52 percent say the country should “implement and fix the healthcare reform law” while 42 percent say they want to “repeal and replace” it, he found.

Compared with December, support for the “implement and fix” position has grown and sentiment for repeal has shrunk in the roughly 80 congressional districts that Greenberg surveys to analyze the battleground for this fall’s midterm election.

Independent voters in those districts, who favored repeal in December, now favor going ahead with the law, his polling indicated.

Key Democratic constituency groups, such as college–educated women, have become more ardent in their support.

But one group stands out as bucking the trend: Voters in battleground districts in the South now support repeal by a bigger margin than they did in December, Greenberg found.

Southern opposition to the law could pose a significant problem for Democrats because three of the most competitive races in the battle for control of the Senate are taking place in Southern states: North Carolina, Arkansas and Louisiana.

The battleground districts that were surveyed include very few from those three states, so the poll doesn’t shed direct light on the Senate contests. But it does reinforce what other polling has shown about the intensity of Southern opposition to Obamacare.

The Kaiser survey found that almost 6 in 10 Americans believe that the number of people signing up for coverage under the law fell below expectations, even though enrollments actually beat the forecasts by about 1 million people.

About 4 in 10 people in the survey correctly said that about 8 million people had signed up. Even among that group, however, about half said the result had been

below expectations.

Partisan divisions had an effect on people’s beliefs about enrollment numbers.

More than 1 in 8 Democrats significantly overestimated sign–ups while about onethird of Republicans significantly underestimated them.

The number correctly choosing the 8 million figure was similar in both parties.

Those who correctly identified the number of enrollments were somewhat more likely to say the law was functioning as intended, but even among those who significantly overestimated enrollments, a majority said the law was still not working as planned.

The most reliable predictor of whether a person thought the law was working was not whether he or she could correctly identify the number of enrollments, but partisanship.

Almost 80 percent of Republicans said they believed “it’s clear the law is not working as planned.” By contrast, just more than 60 percent of Democrats took the opposing position, that “there were some early problems that have been fixed, and now the law is basically working as intended.”

Among those who remain uninsured, Kaiser found, about 40 percent said they had not signed up for coverage because of cost. Another 12 percent said they had tried to get coverage but were unable to. Only 7 percent said they would rather pay a fine than buy insurance coverage.

On another controversial aspect of the law, Americans by about 2 to 1 said they supported the requirement that health plans cover the costs of birth control. Support for that requirement was particularly strong among women and Democrats. Americans over 65 and Republicans were less likely to support it.

The Supreme Court is expected to rule later this spring on a challenge to the contraceptive requirement.

THE MASSACHUSETTS DAILY COLLEGIAN

DailyCollegian.com

STORMS

continued from page 1

winds are likely.”

This week’s tornadoes come near the anniversary of the 2011 outbreak that left more than 350 people dead across the South over several days beginning on April 25 during the annual tornado season. More than 250 people died in Alabama alone on April 27, 2011, when more than 60 tornadoes crisscrossed the state.

This year’s tornado season has been much less severe but still deadly for some. Hundreds of tornadoes have touched down in recent days, including 13 reported in Alabama in the last 24 hours.

Arkansas - especially in Vilonia and Mayflower was especially hard hit on Sunday, with 15 deaths in three counties.

“The state’s in a state of shock right now,” Republican Rep. Steve Womack, whose Arkansas district northwest of Little Rock was spared much of the damage, said in Washington on Tuesday.

“These will try your souls.”

The dangerous storms moved through Mississippi, where tornadoes began to strike Monday afternoon through the evening.

Tupelo, a community of about 35,000 in northeastern Mississippi, was hard hit and every building in a two-block area was damaged, officials told television reporters.

Officials said seven people died in Mississippi’s Winston County, where Louisville is the county seat, with about 6,600 people. Another person died in Mississippi when her car either hydroplaned or was blown off a road during the storm in Verona, south of Tupelo. As of Tuesday morning, Mississippi Emergency Management

confirmed at least nine deaths across the state.

Two weather-related deaths were confirmed in Alabama. One of those tornadoes destroyed the Kimberly Church of God in Kimberly, Ala. Pastor Stan Cooke was using the church as a community shelter, keeping about 25 people safe underground.

“I cried. I cried,” Cooke said to television reporters. “The church is not the people, the people are the church.”

In southern Tennessee, two people were killed in a home when a suspected tornado hit Monday night, Lincoln County Emergency Management Director Mike Hall told The Associated Press. The winds destroyed several other homes as well as a middle school in the county that borders Alabama, Hall said.

The storm even sent the staff at a TV news station running for cover.

NBC affiliate WTVA–TV chief meteorologist Matt Laubhan in Tupelo, Miss., was reporting live on the air at around 3 p.m. when he realized the twister was approaching. He warned not only viewers but his 35 co-workers to get to safety.

“This is a tornado ripping through the city of Tupelo as we speak. And this could be deadly,” he said in a video widely tweeted and broadcast on YouTube.

Moments later he added, “A damaging tornado. On the ground. Right now.”

The video showed Laubhan peeking in from the side to see if he was still live on the air before yelling to staff off-camera to get down in the basement.

“Basement, now!” he yelled, before disappearing

Wednesday, April 30, 2014

3

Pro-Ukrainians worry about views Opinions may be lost among protest

By Matthew Schofield McClatchy Foreign Bureau

DONETSK, Ukraine — Katarina Butko smiled Monday evening as she looked at what she’d organized: a line of 15 cars decorated with the yellow and blue flag of Ukraine.

They were seconds away from leaving on a motoring campaign around town, “to wake the sleeping pro–Ukrainian people.”

The idea was simple: Polls consistently show that residents of this region of southeastern Ukraine bordering Russia overwhelmingly believe in a united Ukraine.

But a small, loud and violent minority has grabbed international headlines and scared residents into hiding their beliefs.

The driving, honking tour was scheduled to last an hour.

It had to be abandoned about 30 minutes later, though, when pro–Russian separatists, some wearing masks, some not, some stumbling from drink, attacked the caravan with baseball bats and more.

Butko’s car was put out of service when a Molotov cocktail smashed the front window.

But a later rally attracted what Ukrainian media reported to be 5,000 people, a reflection of a reality that many here believe the international media misses by focusing on the violence with which such gatherings have ended.

“There really aren’t many active pro–Russians around Donetsk these days,” said Yuri Temirov, vice dean of international relations at Donetsk National University. “But those few are very aggressive.

The aggressive pro–Ukrainian side tends to focus more on petitions and legal frame-

works for ending the crisis here. This doesn’t make for very exciting newscasts.”

There have been two recent polls of Donetsk residents on the notion of separating their region from Ukraine and joining Russia. Both indicated that 27 percent of locals support seceding from Ukraine and joining Russia (or for all of Ukraine to be consumed by Russia). Both also founded that the majority of respondents (53 percent in a poll done by a national group, 66 percent in a poll done by a regional group) support remaining part of a united Ukraine.

The 66 percent number was collected in late March, the 53 percent number in April; the latter poll didn’t show an increase in support for joining Russia, but it did indicate that a greater number of people had fallen into the “don’t know” category, an indication that months of protest and the flight of former President Viktor Yanukovych, who is from Donetsk, had shaken confidence in Kiev.

Those numbers, however, are the only ones likely to come out of this tense situation.

Pro–Russian separatists have insisted they will hold a Crimea–style referendum on joining Russia on May 11. But at this point there have been no concrete moves to organize a vote, and there is no evidence that the separatists control the workings of governance, even though they now occupy several government buildings.

In Crimea, Russian forces nicknamed “little green men” controlled city streets, airports and government offices. But those offices remained open and operational. Two weeks before the March 27 referendum that Russian President Vladimir Putin said proved Crimea was Russian, workers and volunteers were printing

ballots and arranging to open and staff polling places, while across the region billboards were covered by election slogans.

None of that sort of groundwork has happened here.

“There is zero chance the separatists will actually pull off a vote here,” said Temirov.

“The difference between Donetsk and Crimea is that there, the separatists appeared to have a plan and a plan of action. Here, they’re just looking to destabilize.”

Still, Viktor Sokolov, first vice president of the Gorshenin Institute, a political research group in Kiev, said he finds it worrying that the number of people who favor joining Russia in the states of Donetsk and nearby Lugansk where 30 percent favor joining Russia – while still a minority, appears to be growing.

“We can see that internal problems in Ukraine and proRussian propaganda increased these numbers,” he wrote.

“Pro–Ukrainian residents are more passive and more peaceful. They can hardly withstand attacks of pro–Russians.”

Experts on the situation here agree that the most active, and violent, pro-Russians appear to be paid for their efforts. The local legend is that regional business and political leaders actually had a hand in beginning the separatist movement, thinking they could use it as a bargaining chip in negotiations for more local autonomy, particularly over government spending.

Greater control of the budget could both enrich businesses and score points for politicians, experts noted.

“But after creating the monster, they lost control,” said Volodymr Kipen, head of the Donetsk Institute for Social Research and Policy Analysis, which conducted the March survey.

Kipen said the common belief is that the separatists, who locals insist have a surprising amount of money to spend in local bars on vodka, are now being bankrolled by Yanukovych and his family.

Media reports and experts say Ukrainian intelligence forces have intercepted a number of couriers, each carrying millions of Ukrainian hryvnia (11 hryvnia equal $1) and credit cards tied to Yanukovych family banks, intended for the separatists.

Separatists now controlling a number of village and state buildings around Donetsk are thought to total just a few hundred, according to Ukrainian officials and media reports. Ukrainian officials insist that the separatists have been trained and directed by as many as 100 Russian special forces. But those numbers are far fewer than local residents who support staying in Ukraine, analysts here believe.

Among those favoring Ukraine, apparently, is the country’s Muslim community, which is the largest religious minority in a country where most people are Christians.

Said Ismagilov, who’s the top religious figure in the Religious Administration of Ukrainian Muslims, an organization that oversees Islamic religious matters, said the reasons are simple.

“We remember well what life was like for a Muslim in the Soviet Union, where we were outlawed and our leaders were hunted down,” he said. “It’s now Russia, and not the Soviet Union, but is there much difference? We don’t want that life again. Ukraine, to us, means freedom. Dictatorships destroy even our history.”

Opinion Editorial THE MASSACHUSETTS DAILY COLLEGIAN

“Alright, that’s it for me! Be good everybody!” - George Costanza

Wednesday, April 30, 2014

Editorial@DailyCollegiancom

More than good enough Everyone else was gone, and I sat there all alone.

It was about quarter after

I possess a complete and dowless Campus Center utter perfectionist mental- basement office that has ity, so much so that it’s prob- more or less become my second home, during the earlymorning hours of March 17, I wanted to do some more.

This was my perfectionist ably annoyed the people I nature at full display. work with on more than a So what was next? I made few occasions. Among other a newspaper front page comthings, I may be best known for pestering and driving my copy editor and good friend Cameron McDonough on the brink of insanity by pointing out tiny AP style errors that probably could have been better left without mentioning.

N o t h i n g is ever good enough to me.

It’s why I hate almost every story I file because I think I could have done better. It’s why whenever I see a mistake I made in a certain day’s memorating the basketball paper, it bothers me for the team’s big moment.

Never mind that there rest of the day. It’s probably also why it took me so long was no actual newspaper to write this senior column being printed for the next – sorry, Hannah – as I tried day, never mind this page to think of the perfect way to wouldn’t be seen by more approach it. than a few eyes since it would So as I sat there by myself just go online. I didn’t care. I in the Collegian, that win- pulled up InDesign, opened

Stephen Hewitt 2 a.m. in the early morning of March 17 of this year, and hours had passed since the University of Massachusetts men’s basketball team was officially selected to the NCAA Tournament – its first selection since 1998.

Myself and fellow Daily Collegianites Mark Chiarelli, Patrick Strohecker and Taylor Snow had stuck around campus – this was during spring break – to capture the historic moment.

We went to Amherst Brewing Company, where the team gathered for the selection show, witnessed the celebration unfold and then made our way back to the Collegian’s newsroom, where we went to work – Mark and Pat writing their stories, Taylor uploading the pictures he took.

The timing eludes me, but at some point in the night, the work was done. Stories were published, photos were uploaded. Everything looked tremendous and Mark, Pat and Taylor took off to do their own thing. It was spring break, after all. I couldn’t blame them.

For one reason or another, though, I stayed.

If there’s one thing I’ve learned about myself over the last four years, it’s that

a blank page and went to work. I placed the stories, threw in a few photos, even created a tournament bracket and – hours later – the page was complete.

A few minutes later, to my surprise, a janitor whose name eludes me but who I’ve had several late-night con-

spring break and no physical newspaper to be made, was I working at the Collegian at 2 a.m. on a Monday morning?

“Good question,” was all I could mutter back to her.

Eventually, she left, and I sat there in the office alone again. But I couldn’t stop thinking about her question. Why was I at the Collegian, doing what I was doing, at that hour? Am I just crazy? Probably, but there was something more to it.

Simply, the Collegian has done so much for me that it would feel wrong to not give my strongest possible effort back. It’s where, as a wide-eyed freshman almost four years ago, I walked down to the newsroom and found my comfort place in this scary world of college. It’s where I’ve written seemingly hundreds of stories and held leadership positions that have helped me get valuable internships and (hopefully, and eventually) a job. It’s where I’ve made countless mistakes – let them ruin my day – and then learned and grown from them. It’s where I’ve met some of my best friends.

And then, of course, there are the memories, the truly

“Why was I at the Collegian, doing what I was doing, at that hour?

Am I just crazy? Probably, but there was something more to it.” versations at the Collegian with over the course of the year, walked into the newsroom. She looked at me as if I had six heads and asked, “What are you doing here?”

It was certainly a logical question to ask. Yes, why exactly, with 99 percent of UMass students gone for

incredible experiences that I’ve been blessed with and will never forget because of this newspaper.

There was the Michigan game, where we drove 17 hours to watch UMass football get demolished at The Big House, then drove back.

There was Madison Square Garden, where I got to cover a game as a sophomore, go toe-to-toe with Ray Lewis on an elevator and almost got stranded in New Haven, Conn., at 3 a.m. on the way home. There was the Bronx, where we got lost and lived to tell about it.

There was Atlantic City. The Barclays Center. The NCAA Tournament. The list goes on and on.

None of it would be possible without the Collegian.

There’s a saying that I first heard at some point during my junior year that you should leave the Collegian in a better place than it was when you found it.

That’s certainly up to interpretation, but in the meantime, I like to think the Collegian left me in a better place than when it found me four years ago. And as I’ve come to learn, that’s more than good enough for me.

I’m finally satisfied, and for a self-proclaimed perfectionist, that’s saying something.

Stephen Hewitt was the Collegian’s Editor in Chief. He can be reached at srayhewitt@gmail.com.

‘And miles to go before I sleep’

Malea Ritz When I look back at my four years at the University of Massachusetts, I am in awe; I’ve accomplished so much, experienced so many things.

I made Dean’s List. I tried out Greek life. I dabbled in a few different residential areas. I worked events at the Chancellor’s house. I traveled to Sicily for a class.

I learned a new language.

I lived in another country for four months. I became managing editor of the Daily Collegian. I attempted scuba diving. And my next big feat?

I’m graduating.

It’s hard to believe it’s

time for me to write a senior column. For the past few years, I’ve sat back and watched some of my best friends graduate and move on to bigger and better things. And whether I’m ready for it or not, now it’s my turn.

When it comes down to it, my college experience would have been nothing without the people I’ve shared it with. Many of my best memories have come from time spent with my friends in the Cance basement, SAA, PSP, the Townehouses and the Collegian.

Freshman year was

a time of transition and adjustment. I spent most of the year trying to determine where I fit in amongst 22,000 undergraduate students. During first semester in Webster Hall, I spent the majority of my time studying, rather than socializing – an unlikely start to college for most.

Within the first couple of weeks, I dove right in to writing for the arts and living section at the Daily Collegian, writing mostly film reviews. Powered by coffee and pumpkin milkshakes, I achieved the most, academically, that semester. The following semester, I changed residential areas and moved into Cance Hall, where I spent nearly all of my time with my ‘Basement Katz’ and occupied most weekend nights with frat parties or frequent attempts at a good night at Diva’s.

I pledged a co-ed honor fraternity, PSP, and joined SAA, a student and alumni event planning organization, with a focus on making my resume look as impressive as possible.

By first semester sophomore year, I was burnt out.

I quit PSP and SAA, and instead focused all of my time on the Collegian and my social life, while saving a small amount of consideration for academics. I became an arts and living assistant editor at the Collegian and

met one of my best friends there. From that time on, I spent more time hanging out at her apartment in the Townehouses than I spent in my dorm in Washington Hall. Between the rum ham dinners, quad parties, movie nights and the Snowstorm Halloween Weekend, it was hard for me to stay away.

There, I met one of her next door neighbors, who would later become my boyfriend.

Many other memorable nights were spent working on special issues at the Collegian with our section, along with the rest of the staff, working into the early hours of the morning, after we were long past any semblance of sanity.

Junior year was difficult at first. After I had finally moved to the Towenhouses, many of my best friends had graduated and left Amherst,

Four months and six countries later, it had come and gone faster than I could have expected. I had some amazing adventures surrounded by fun people.

At the beginning of senior year, I was still transitioning my way back into American life, but was really struck by how much I had missed UMass, my friends, my family and my boyfriend. I returned to the Townehouses, and Collegian, this time as managing editor. Although everything felt very foreign in the beginning, I readjusted quickly.

My spring break was memorable; I had a great stereotypical “college” spring break in Panama City Beach, surrounded by my good friends from the Townehouses, past and present. Many of my favorite memories this year were spent with Collegian

I was spending time with my best friends. Between the legendary ‘80s party, 4 a.m. post-production Route 9 Diner runs and getting to know everything about each other in the wee hours of the morning, I wouldn’t trade any of it for anything in the world.

It’s been an incredible journey. And looking back at my 18-year-old self freshman year, I’ve come a long way. And I have a lot of that to be thankful for due to my family. I could never have done it without their support and encouragement along the way and, for that, I am truly grateful.

It’s hard to leave behind a period of your life that is commonly referred to as “the best years of your life,” especially when you have a feeling it very well might be. There’s definitely something frightening about having no plans for the foreseeable future, but there’s also something exciting about it. friends, both in the office and Although nostalgic and sad to leave, I have faith that elsewhere.

It’s nearly impossible to ahead of me await equally explain to an outsider the exciting experiences and logic behind my time there. adventures. ‘And miles to go Long hours, minimal pay before I sleep.’ and high stress don’t sound very appealing to most peo- Malea Ritz was Managing Editor of ple. But in this windowless the Massachusetts Daily Collegian. basement office, I wasn’t just She can be reached at malea.ritz@ adding clips to my resume, gmail.com.

“When it comes down to it, my college experience would have been nothing without the people I’ve shared it with.” and my boyfriend had left for the Navy. I turned 21 that year, but many of my friends were still underage by the time I had left at the end of the semester to go to Spain. With high expectations, some uncertainty and no friends to accompany me, I boarded a plane to Granada alone and hoped for the best.

t h e m a s s a c h u s e t t s D a i ly C o l l e g i a n BUSINESS

GRAPHICS

EDITOR IN CHIEF - Stephen Hewitt MANAGING EDITOR - Malea Ritz MANAGING EDITOR/DAILYCOLLEGIAN.COM - Maria Uminski

Business Manager - Omer Sander Advertising Manager - Andrew Carr Distribution Manager - Henry Liu Advertising Production - Molly Couto

Production Manager - Gabe Scarbrough Special Issues Manager - James Desjardin

NIGHT EDITOR - Stephen Hewitt COPY EDITOR - Cameron McDonough

NEWS

OPINION & EDITORIAL Op/Ed Editor - Hannah Sparks Op/Ed Producer - Zac Bears

Arts Editor - Tommy Verdone Arts Producer - Shaina Mishkin

Sports Editor - Nick Canelas Sports Producer - Jesse Mayfield

Photo Editor - Justin Surgent

Comics Editor - Tracy Krug

NEWS ASSISTANTS

O p /E d ASSISTANTS

ARTS ASSISTANTS

SPORTS ASSISTANTS

PHOTO ASSISTANTS

GRAPHICS ASSISTANTS

News Editor - Patrick Hoff News Producer - Conor Snell Katrina Borofski Catherine Ferris Kate Leddy Aviva Luttrell

PRODUCTION CREW on staff for this issue

Jillian Correira Maral Margossian Brandon Sides

ARTS & LIVING

Emily Brightman Jackson Maxwell Jake Reed Cory Willey

SPORTS

Mark Chiarelli Cameron McDonough Patrick Strohecker

PHOTOGRAPHY

Cade Belisle Shaina Mishkin Robert Rigo

COMICS

Randy Crandon Taylor Smaldone

The Massachusetts Daily Collegian is published Monday through Thursday during the University of Massachusetts calendar semester. The Collegian is independently funded, operating on advertising revenue. Founded in 1890, the paper began as Aggie Life, became the College Signal in 1901, the Weekly Collegian in 1914 and the Tri–Weekly Collegian in 1956. Published daily from 1967 to 2013, The Collegian has been broadsheet since January 1994. For advertising rates and information, call 413-545-3500.

WEB PRODUCTION MANAGER - Shaina Mishkin NEWS DESK EDITOR - Catherine Ferris O p /E d DESK EDITOR - Maral Margossian ARTS DESK EDITOR - Cory Willey SPORTS DESK EDITOR - Mark Chiarelli COMICS DESK EDITOR - Tracy Krug GRAPHICS DESK EDITOR - Randy Crandon

THE MASSACHUSETTS DAILY COLLEGIAN

DailyCollegian.com

Wednesday, April 30, 2014

5

Series finale

Maria Uminski

I hate it when TV shows end.

I hate it when it’s premature like “Happy Endings,” and I hate it when it’s long overdue like “How I Met Your Mother.” I hate it when it ends horribly like “Dexter,” and I even hate it when it ends perfectly like “Breaking Bad.” If you haven’t caught on, I just plain old hate the fact that they end.

Yes, I can catch “HIMYM,” “30 Rock,” “The Office” and even “Happy Endings” in syndication – thank you VH1 for picking up “Happy Endings.”

Yes, I know I can buy the DVD boxset of any of those shows. And yes, I know I can catch most of them, if not all, on Netflix at some point.

Regardless of all of those forms of watching it, they all still end. The shenanigans.

The jokes. The drama. The lessons. The journey these characters go on together all end.

I grew to love the characters on these shows. I loved relating to Liz Lemon’s awkward life choices on “30 Rock.” I loved partaking in

the “HIMYM” inside jokes with the MacLaren’s gang and my friends, and I loved the dynamic in the Dunder Mifflin offices I saw mirrored down at the Collegian.

It’s almost as if all of these shows I love, and always will love, have been preparing me for my own series and eventual series finale.

I was lucky enough to spend four seasons with a stacked cast of characters and situations I could not have written any better on a show about a girl trying to navigate her way through school work, impending adulthood, friendships and life with her group of friends while they also try to

ine my life at the University of Massachusetts without the people that filled the walls of that dingy old basement.

Not many people can call “an asbestos filled bomb shelter” their home but I couldn’t imagine my home being anywhere else.

From those that graduated, those that I met this year and those who have been there from the start, I don’t think I could have ever surrounded myself with a better group of talented, fun and supportive people. So many of them have been a part of my favorite episodes of this series I call college, whether it has been in the Collegian or outside of it.

Whether it was packing everyone in my car like clowns and screaming to LCD Soundsystem’s “Drunk Girls” as we barrelled down North Pleasant or the late nights we spent down in the office together putting out special issues and then going to Route 9 Diner right after.

But the time has come and now it’s my turn to go off the air and end my series.

I can end on an overdue note, I can end on someone else’s terms or even let someone spoil it for me. Or I can end it on my own terms, the way I have always wanted – feeling content.

I’m content with where I came from and what I became.

I’m content with the mistakes I made and learned from. I’m content with the path I traveled down and the one I am headed towards.

I am blessed to say, as of this moment, I am really pleased with how my series finale is turning out.

Now let’s hope the spin off comes out just as good.

“Not many people can call ‘an asbestos filled bomb shelter’ their home but I couldn’t imagine my home being anywhere else.”

put out the paper every night without killing each other.

But even though there were scenery changes here and there, whether it’s a semester abroad in England, a trip to Michigan or Brooklyn to cover a sporting event, there was always a constant fixture in each show.

Dunder Mifflin in Scranton, Pa., MacLaren’s Pub in New York, N.Y., and 30 Rock, 30 Rockerfeller Plaza in New York, N.Y. The Daily Collegian in Maria Uminski was the Collegian’s Web Amherst, Mass.

I can’t imagine any of those Managing Editor and former Photo Edishows without those places tor and can be reached at muminski@ just as much as I can’t imag- umass.edu.

The low thrum

Søren Hough “Next time you see me, I should be riding in a Rolls Royce giving interviews on success. So long you wageslaves. When you’re crawling up fire escapes and getting kicked out of front doors, and eating Christmas dinners in one-armed joints, don’t forget your pal, Hildy Johnson!

And when the road beyond unfolds.”

So says Hildy Johnson (Rosalind Russell) in “His Girl Friday” as she acerbically bids farewell to her newspaper colleagues. But just as she’s about to leave, gunshots go off outside. Hildy, ever the reporter, immediately rushes for the phones and begins covering the story in real time.

It becomes clear that she can never leave the business for one simple reason – journalism is her life.

In fairness, I’ve never covered a gunfight. I was a Daily Collegian correspondent for a semester before I was hired as the film and television editor.

As such, my “breaking news” was mostly about awards ceremonies, movie announcements and the downfall of once-great television series.

Yet, Hildy Johnson and I do have something in common. The rush of a newspaper room taps into something

deep inside of us. We’re both obsessed with the grind. We thrive off of deadlines. And we’re always looking for that next big story.

Last fall, I knew I found kindred spirits in my fellow Collegian editors. We were on a field trip to a local newspaper producer to learn about the printing process. It was an amazing moment when I and my fellow Millennials, a generation supposedly disinterested in anything analog, laid eyes on the massive newspaper presses.

Our gazes remained transfixed as the low thrum of the machines enraptured our imaginations. An air of consensus seemed to fall over our crew. This was it, we were home.

Every Monday, I had class until 7 p.m. From there, I’d head down to the Collegian offices to edit stories until around 2 a.m. This was true of many of my peers – managing academics and extracurriculars was a constant balancing act in all of our lives.

You might think that getting college students to volunteer for five hours after a long day would be an insurmountable task, but the staff at the Collegian needed no motivation. No matter what had transpired during the day, the palpable enthusiasm in the room always managed to allay any internal moaning and groaning. We were all committed to turning out the best work we could, and in that office, time flew by.

Beyond the Collegian, I’ve had an incredible three and a half years at the University of Massachusetts. In freshman year, BioTAP was an invigorating community of likeminded students that helped kick start our intellectual careers at college. Likewise, the PreMedical Society was an exciting opportunity to guide pre-

professional students as they navigated undergraduate life.

And every Friday, working as a student leader at the Hillel House offered me a spiritual haven.

Still, I think there was something unique about that Campus Center basement.

Night editor Nick Canelas’ infectious laugh and exuberant sports coverage was a godsend. Talking with arts editor Gabe Scarbrough into the wee hours of the morning about obscure experimental animation was revelatory. And of course, meeting with eager students during arts meetings gave me a tangible sense of responsibility.

Now I’m a post-grad.

Though my degrees are in microbiology and film, I’ve set my sights on a job in journalism. Writing is my calling and it’s because of my incredible peers and the dedicated writers at the Collegian that I found my voice. I would be lost without them.

Much of my work for the paper was in film criticism, so you’ll forgive me for summing up my time there with a short review.

The narrative featured compelling character arcs and snappy, cutting dialogue.

Genuine magnanimity permeated every cranny of the experience, facilitating deep relationships and moving chemistry between the leads.

The scope of the story was ambitious, too – it offered a tantalizing glimpse of a fantastic world filled with art, sports, news and opinions.

If I have one complaint, it’s that the runtime was a bit short. Still, that’s all the more reason to look forward to the sequel. I know I am.

Søren Hough was a Collegian assistant arts editor and can be reached at shhough@gmail.com.

2013-2014 Massachusetts Daily Collegian Staff

Arts Living THE MASSACHUSETTS DAILY COLLEGIAN

Wednesday, April 30, 2014

“Boy, a little too much chlorine in that gene pool.” - Jerry Seinfeld

Arts@DailyCollegian.com

TELEVISION

MTV’s seemingly controversial new show is just ‘Faking It’

An interesting premise wasted

By AlexA Hoyle Collegian Staff

MTV’s new show “Faking It” has been receiving a lot of buzz for its controversial premise.

The series focuses on two anonymous high school girls who crave a respite from the obscurity so bad that they feign a lesbian relationship to gain popularity. You can see where some people may be concerned. But does the show really earn all of its detractors?

The short answer is no, not necessarily. The show isn’t too egregiously offensive because it’s not really much of anything. Karma (Katie Stevens) and Amy (Rita Volk) are two best friends at a Texas high school that feels off kilter – the outcasts are the in-crowd and mean girls have no power. It’s a nice idea, but I couldn’t help but wonder why this show was set in Texas and not somewhere like California with a school like that.

The most popular kid at the school is Shane (Michael J. Willett), a

ALBERTO GARCIA/FLICKR

MTV continues its attempts to air edgy programming with shows like “Faking It” and “Awkward.” gay student who immediately assumes Karma and Amy are a couple. It’s not necessarily a surprising mistake to make – the two are very close. When they’re not coming up with schemes to get popular they’re watching “House Hunters” in their pajamas.

They’re soon invited to a party at Shane’s, where he publically outs them to

about a hundred of their peers. This not only felt absurd, but wholly insensitive to the plight of gay teens that have a difficult time coming out. The high school is supposed to be ultra-accepting, but that isn’t an excuse to parade someone’s private life to a bunch of people who don’t even know them.

While the show is very

blah in a lot of ways, there are some pretty problematic issues with the premise.

The goal of the show seems to be to show the normalization of homosexuality in high school – but it’s inauthentic. Karma and Amy aren’t actually dating. And while the point may be to show that they’re pretending to be gay, as opposed to shows where

teens pretend they’re not, they’re assuming a faux sexuality for all the wrong reasons. They’re assuming a sexuality to be cool and something about that rubs the wrong way.

The striking thing is that despite the fact that the girls are trying to convince the school they’re lesbians, the show is still inserting love triangle drama into the mix. Cool guy Liam (Gregg Sulkin), who is a caricature of high school jerkiness, flirts with Karma and even kisses her despite believing she’s a lesbian. It shows another issue the show presents – the idea that lesbianism is a way to attract men.

Karma comments in the episode that you can look at any porno and see that guys love lesbians – the show isn’t trying to dispel the sexualizing of lesbianism.

“Faking It” isn’t all bad, though. It seems that one of the girls may be genuinely struggling with their sexuality as Amy realizes she might actually feel something for Karma. It will be interesting to see this explored further as the show goes on. Amy is by far the only likable character on the show, and Volk

gives the most authentic performance. Her insistence she is going along with the plan just to make her best friend happy feels more real than anything else happening around her.

The show also finds clumsy similarities with its lead-in “Awkward.”

From the bleeped swears to the shoehorned pop culture references, it’s almost as if MTV is trying to cash in on a carbon copy of a show they already have.

It feels as though the two shows could easily exist in the same world, and that might not necessarily be a good thing when it comes to discerning this show as something unique.

“Faking It” isn’t completely awful, but it’s definitely not worth anyone’s time. The show is blatantly uncomplicated in its stereotypical character depictions and that doesn’t make it a fun, soapy watch – it makes it boring. I wouldn’t even fake watching this one.

Alexa Hoyle can be reached at ahoyle@umass.edu.

TELEVISION

The end of NBC’s historic Thursday night comedy block

Network in vital need of change

By Cory J. Willey Collegian Staff

NBC’s reign as the king of Thursday night comedy is over. Gone are the days of dominance for NBC, which spanned 30 years, going all the way back to the “Cosby Show.” NBC’s Thursday nights used to deliver some of television’s best and most popular comedies, including the likes of “Friends” and “Seinfeld.”

So, what’s the deal with NBC’s comedy woes?

Due to misplaced faith in old names and ideas as well as some legitimate competition from other channels such as CBS, we may be seeing the end of the historic NBC Thursday night comedy block.

This past season is a good indication of how the once comedy juggernaut has lost touch with critics and audiences alike.

Rather than trying to find the next comedy hit in some sort of new property, NBC dipped into its past to try to solve its current problems, welcoming back NBC icons such as Michael J. Fox and Sean Hayes by giving them their

own shows (“The Michael J. Fox Show” and “Sean Saves the World,” respectively) in an attempt to catch up in the ratings.

Who doesn’t remember the greatness of Fox and Hayes? Who wouldn’t want them back on the small screen, to return to the good ol’ days of NBC comedy?

The ever-valuable 18-49 demographic, that’s who.

In a giant misstep, NBC placed this season’s chances firmly on the shoulders of “Sean Saves the World” as well as “The Michael J. Fox Show” to take back Thursday night and failed miserably. Both of

MCT

“Seinfeld” was arguably the height of NBC’s 30-year dominance of network Thursday night comedy.

these shows are now cancelled, which is particularly embarrassing with regards to “The Michael J. Fox Show,” as it had been given a full 22-episode order from the start. Only “Parks and Recreation” and “Community,” two of the most consistently brilliant and well-written comedies on TV, stayed afloat and provided some sort of ratings for the network.

“Parks and Recreation” has already been renewed for a seventh season, while “Community,” ever on the bubble, seems to have a better chance than usual to return (six seasons and a movie).

Other networks, sensing blood in the water, have built on NBC’s mistakes. The biggest winner has been CBS, which dealt a devastating blow when it moved TV’s highest rated comedy, “The Big Bang Theory,” from Monday nights to the 8 p.m. slot on Thursdays, effectively destroying NBC’s chance to compete in the time slot or win any sort of lead-in for the rest of the two-hour block. Whether you think “The Big Bang Theory” is a better show than either “Community” or “Parks and Rec” (it isn’t), is a different conversation entirely. The fact is it draws a much larger audience. To put this in perspective, at one point this season “The Big Bang Theory” drew 18.9 million viewers to “Community’s” 3.1 million.

MCT

Jim Parsons plays the eclectic Sheldon Cooper on “The Big Bang Theory.”

The future looks even grimmer, as CBS recently reached a deal with the NFL to air games the first eight weeks of the season this fall. CBS even decided to move “The Big Bang Theory” to a new night for those first eight weeks in order to bring the ratings giant that is the NFL to Thursdays. Nothing NBC puts in that slot will stand a chance. Even though it’s only for the beginning of the 2014-15 season, it is still detrimental to NBC’s chances, as it won’t have the opportunity to establish any sort of audience for Thursday night programming. The best course of action may be to take a page out of CBS’ book, and even take it a step further – move the comedy block entirely and try to bounce back on a new night with

“...at one point this season “The Big Bang Theory” drew 18.9 million viewers to “Community’s” 3.1 million.” less competition.

A network once synonymous with Thursday night comedy now faces a tough decision as to whether it should just give up on the block entirely. Unless NBC makes some major drastic changes, we could see the end of an era that started nearly 30 years ago and has brought us some of the best comedies of all time.

Cory J. Willey can be reached at cjwilley@umass.edu.

DailyCollegian.com

THE MASSACHUSETTS DAILY COLLEGIAN

Comics *weeping*

Wednesday, April 30, 2014

7

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

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

all my friends are leaving me!

CLASSIFIEDS Brandywine Apts. Now Leasing, 1&2 bedroom apts. Leases begin Jun, July, Aug or Sep. First come, first serve. Get them while they last. www.brandywine-apts. com stop by or call 5490600

AW K WA R D S P A C E AW K WA R D S P A C E AW K WA R D S P A C E AW K WA R D S P A C E AW K WA R D S P A C E AW K WA R D S P A C E AW K WA R D S P A C E AW K WA R D

HOROSCOPES aquarius

Jan. 20 - Feb. 18

leo

Jul. 23 - aug. 22

Forget the pencil sharpener and extra pens.

Kleenex and band–aids are the only thing you’ll need for testing.

Clinging to your graduating friends will make them stay, but it will also make them not get their degrees.

pisces

virgo

Feb. 19 - Mar. 20

aug. 23 - Sept. 22

An ice cream float does not blending make.

...and now commences Bill Cosby’s annual migration back to UMass to catch and store lobster from the campus pond.

aries

Mar. 21 - apr. 19

libra

Sept. 23 - Oct. 22

taurus

apr. 20 - May. 20

scorpio

Oct. 23 - nOv. 21

gemini

May. 21 - Jun. 21

Not acknowledging Star Wars: Episodes I– III doesn’t make them disappear.

Shaking a bottle of cream won’t make a milkshake, but it might create butter.

Nose itchy? Hands sweaty? Anxious?

Definitely lupus.

Taping a hair dryer to your head definitely won’t keep sweaty ear buds in your ears at the gym.

sagittarius

nOv. 22 - Dec. 21

The ultimate game of chance: is this a sweat puddle on the weight machine or is it just cleaner?

Read extensively about Gov. Deval Patrick so when you clap for him at graduation, you really know what you’re doing.

cancer

capricorn

Jun. 22 - Jul. 22

Dec. 22 - Jan. 19

Strawberry hummus is a surprisingly good When you pass in your final exam, slide idea. Strawberry humus on the other hand... your teacher a donut and softly whisper “Peace out, Cub Scout.”

8

Wednesday, April 30, 2014

THE MASSACHUSETTS DAILY COLLEGIAN

DailyCollegian.com

THE YEAR IN SPORTS The Top 5 moments of the year in UMass sports

Women’s lax perfect again

5

April 27, 2014

Christina Yacono/Collegian

UM tops Virginia in NCAA’s Nov. 16, 2013

The No. 10 Massachusetts field hockey team knocked off Virginia 4-3 in overtime, advancing to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament on a Charlotte Verelst goal. It was the second straight year UMass reached the NCAA Tournament after winning backto-back Atlantic 10 Conference titles. The Minutewomen lost to Duke 3-1 the next day.

4

Women’s lacrosse finished its regular season campaign with a perfect 7-0 record, marking the fourth year in a row the Minutewomen posted an unblemished conference record.

UMass will move on to the Atlantic 10 Tournament on May 2 against Duquesne. The tournament is hosted by Richmond.

Cade Belisle/Collegian

Molnar fired, Whipple hired

3

Dec. 26, 2013-Jan. 14, 2014

Maria Uminski/Collegian

UM breaks 16-year drought March 16, 2014

The men’s basketball team returned to the NCAA Tournament this season for the first time in 16 years as a No. 6 seed. UMass posted a 24-9 record over the season and traveled to Raleigh, N.C., where it lost to Tennessee 86-67. UMass opened the season with a 16-1 record and was ranked as high as No. 13 nationally, its highest ranking since 1996.

2

After posting a 2-22 record in two seasons, Charley Molnar was fired as the head coach of the Massachusetts football team. UMass conducted a multi-week coaching search before eventually hiring Mark Whipple as the next coach. Whipple coached the Minutemen in 1998 when they won the Division I-AA National Championship.

Taylor C. Snow/Collegian

Derrick Gordon comes out

1

April 9, 2014

Maria Uminski/Collegian

UMass basketball player Derrick Gordon became the first active male Division I basketball player to announce he was gay in a duel-story released by ESPN.com and Outsports.com. Gordon relished in the opportunity to share his story with others and later spoke at a TEDx event on campus later in the month.

THE MASSACHUSETTS DAILY COLLEGIAN

DailyCollegian.com

HUSKIES

Wednesday, April 30, 2014

9

continued from page 10

“We’ve been in that situation a lot of times, and it’s gone the other direction,” UMass coach Mike Stone said. “We were glad to see it go our way today.”

The Minutemen (1026) jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning, only to see the Huskies storm back and score three runs in the top of the third. Starter Ryan Moloney struggled to keep runners off base.

But UMass got an offensive boost from an unlikely source.

STERLING

Freshman leftfielder Dylan Morris, in just his eighth start of the season, singled to lead off the fourth inning. His hit sparked a three-run rally for the Minutemen and put them ahead 5-2.

Morris started the game 2-for-2 with an RBI, but was called on to sacrifice bunt his next two times at the plate. He executed perfectly and was not upset about shelving his hot bat.

“That’s all that really matters in the end, the final score of the game,” Morris said.

“Whatever I can do to get the

Tuesday’s game.

Former Laker Magic Johnson was dragged into the scandal when Sterling made comments about his girlfriend posting a photo with him on Instagram. Johnson reacted by saying he and his wife, Cookie, never would attend another Clippers game while Sterling remained the owner.

“Commissioner Silver showed great leadership in banning LA Clippers owner Donald Sterling for life,” Johnson said Tuesday on Twitter.

Shortly after the announcement, visitors to the Clippers’ website found a black page with only white type reading, “WE ARE ONE” and the team’s logo.

continued from page 10

moving forward.”

Cannella preached Goodhue’s leadership and work ethic and even went as far as saying he was one of the best leaders he’s seen in his 20 years at UMass. In his four years, Goodhue made 22 appearances, all of which came off the bench. Although his numbers don’t back it up, coaches and players spoke highly of his personality

CLUB GOLF and that was kind of part of the reason I came here, because (UMass) had a club golf team,” Sullivan said.

Or so he thought.

“We got here and I was trying to reach the primary contact and he just wasn’t answering me,” Sullivan said. “So I finally called his cell phone and he was like, ‘Yeah, I graduated like two years ago, I don’t know what happened to that thing.’”

Sullivan knew he wanted to continue to play competitively. Luckily, he met fellow sophomore Ryan Reddy, through a mutual friend that semester who lived in the same dorm.

With Sullivan taking the lead, the pair began to analyze options on how to move forward and bring club golf back to campus.

“I caddy during the summer and all the older members were like, ‘Oh, what do you mean UMass doesn’t have a team?” Sullivan said.

They settled on beginning the process of becoming one of over 200 registered student organizations, a process both said was fairly easy. Sullivan stayed in contact with the school throughout the registration process and Reddy assumed more responsibility once they were officially recognized. After just a short time, Sullivan became the president of the club while Reddy took over as treasurer.

Growing the club With the title of an official RSO in hand, the duo was tasked with simply spreading the word about the club. They attended club fairs, spread the news through word of mouth and even tried social media expansion despite mixed results.

“We tried social media but it really didn’t work, surprisingly,” Reddy said.

“The main way we spread it was through Campus Pulse

and locker-room presence he brought to the team throughout the season.

The future of the Minutemen all sits in the hands of their returning players. Cannella said it was solely up to them and the amount of work they put in this offseason to determine success moving forward.

The Minutemen have five graduating seniors in

Goodhue, Whippen, Calvello, James Fahey and Mooney, all of whom were major contributors.“We went through good times and bad times together, but at the end of the day we all still love each other and that’s what I’m going to miss the most,” Whippen said.

Andrew Cyr can be reached at arcyr@ umass.edu, and can be followed on Twitter @Andrew_Cyr.

continued from page 10

and passing it around and talking to people.”

Adding members to the team was a frustratingly slow process and, despite being an official club, the group didn’t play in any tournaments or take serious form until the start of this calendar school year.

It entered the year with 19 members, many of whom shared a common goal – to play in a tournament.

While it seems like the next logical step, competing in a tournament is a difficult task for a new club.

Club golf is recognized by and competes in the National Collegiate Club Golf Association. Each team is required to pay $300 to enter a tournament and then pay an additional $70 for each participating player. A team enters eight golfers into the field.

Club golf wasn’t eligible for University funding this year, so the responsibility of generating funding fell on the shoulders of the team. The club set a goal of competing in one tournament this year, something they worked toward throughout all of 2013-14.

Competition The team finally secured enough money to register in the Northern New England Regional tournament held at The Meadow in Peabody, a two-day event on April 5-6. Just having the opportunity to finally play competitively was a resounding moment for the club.

“The goal (for the year) was the tournament, that was the main goal,” Reddy said. “We’ve been working for a year on that now and we finally got into a competitive tournament. …

That was the first competitive golf I’ve played since high school.”

Eight players traveled to Peabody and were greeted with gusts of wind that reached as high as 30 miles per hour. After a brutally cold winter in which the team couldn’t prac-

Stone had similar praise for the sophomore left-hander.

“Evan pitched well. He hasn’t pitched very often, but he wants to pitch, and he took advantage of his opportunity and did a great job,” he said.

In the eighth inning, Walsh – who started the game at catcher – entered to face the heart of a tough UConn (21-23) lineup.

“I felt it was time to bring in Brandon and face those 3-4 guys,” Stone said. “They’re the best hitters on that team, and he did a great job. It was

nice to be able to piece that one together.”

Walsh pitched a 1-2-3 eighth inning, then induced a game-ending double play in the ninth to secure his second save of the season. After a season where Minutemen hitters and pitchers have often struggled to pick each other up, Walsh was happy with the way his teammates played together in the win.

“It feels great. It was a great team win all around.

We executed when we needed to and had some clutch hits,” he said.

SMALL BALL

continued from page 10

with the NBA players’ association on the Sterling issue.

“This is a proud day for all of us players, for our league,” Nash said.

Several sponsors announced Monday that they were ending or suspending their relationships with the Clippers because of Sterling’s comments. Some groups have planned protests before

LETDOWN

runner in a better position to score, I’ll be glad to do.”

After UMass gained the lead, it turned to the bullpen for the final five innings.

When Moloney exited after four innings and 92 pitches, Mackintosh jumped in and stopped the bleeding, ultimately picking up his first win of the season.

“Mack pitched a hell of a game,” Walsh said. “He was mixing in all his pitches, getting his curveball for a strike, and his changeup looked good as well. (UConn) was way out in front (of him).”

tice – their home course, Mill Valley Golf Links in Belchertown, didn’t open in time for the team to prepare – no one played particularly well. Luke Toomey had the best showing on the team, as he came in a tie for 17th with a score of 174 over 36 holes.

But the experience made it all worth it.

“We have a good time, we have a good group of guys and this weekend was just so fun,” Reddy said.

“We really got to know each other and even driving up there was a blast.”

Moving forward Now, the goal is to get back to a tournament, something the group thinks is attainable for next year.

Club golf is scheduled to receive funding from the University next year and hopes to play in multiple tournaments. It may even consider adding a coach.

The goal is to have at least 30 members next year – the team currently has 26 – and to create a more competitive environment while also helping more students play golf. Reddy pointed out that he taught three members how to play golf this year.

“We would like to become more regimented,” he said.

“Right now, part of joining the club is a membership to Mill Valley. People just play when they want.”

The team organized inter-club tournaments on their own to continue to play as the school year comes to an end. And while the goal is to play even more competitive golf next season, Sullivan still maintains at the end of the day, it’s about enjoying golf.

“That’s the good thing about the club, we’re open to everybody,” he said.

“You don’t have to be good to play or anything, anyone’s welcome.”

Mark Chiarelli can be reached at mchiarel@umass.edu and followed on Twitter @Mark_Chiarelli.

thankfully were able to take advantage of some of their mistakes,” UMass coach Mike Stone said. “It was nice to see our guys take advantage (of their errors).”

Stone has preached small ball all year to the Minutemen. In a game UMass needed to win to keep pace in the Atlantic 10, it played to its strengths perfectly in the fourth inning.

After pitcher Ryan Moloney gave up three runs in the third, the Minutemen battled back doing what they do best: playing small ball. “(Small ball) has been our motto all season,” Stone said. “It’s how we are going to win games and today we executed our plan.”

A Morris single and a Vinny Scifo walk started off the fourth inning, and Kyle Adie followed suit

It was the second win in a row for UMass. The winning streak – just its third of the season – comes at the perfect moment for the Minutemen, as they play six of their next seven games against conference opponents. The outcome of those games will likely determine whether UMass qualifies for the Atlantic 10 tournament at the end of the regular season.

Ross Gienieczko can be reached at rossgieniecko@gmail.com and followed on Twitter @RossGien.

continued from page 10

with a perfectly executed sacrifice bunt. From there, UMass simply took what UConn offered them.

Zapata errantly threw to second base after fielding the bunt and both Minuteman baserunners scored as his throw sailed into center field. Third baseman Nik Campero laid down a sacrifice bunt later in the inning to advance runners as well.

“I was really happy with our execution on bunts,” Stone said. “(The bunts) really helped us and created scoring opportunities.”

Errors and miscues once again haunted UConn later in the inning after Zapata intentionally walked Dylan Begin to load the bases. Newly inserted Huskies reliever Callahan Brown uncorked a wild pitch on the ensuing at-bat allowing Adie, who was on third base, to score.

“They made mistakes and we made them pay,” Stone said. “We did what we had to do with their mistakes.”

The two perfect bunts resulted in three UMass runs.

The Minutemen were also aided by UConn’s struggling defense. The Huskies added two costly errors in addition to the wild pitch.

All of the errors resulted in runs.

UMass has won two straight to stay two back in the Atlantic 10 race for sixth place and a spot in the Atlantic 10 tournament.

“We need to keep winning and doing what we have been doing,” Stone said. “Our execution has to be good every game.”

Tyler Fielder can be reached at tfiedler@umass.edu.

THE MASSACHUSETTS DAILY COLLEGIAN

Wednesday, April 30, 2014

Sports@DailyCollegian.com

@MDC_SPORTS

BASEBALL

SIGH OF RELIEF

UMass hangs on to down UConn By ross GienieCzko

familiar to them this season.

Instead, they broke through for three runs in It was a welcome twist to the bottom of the a familiar story for fourth and the bullthe Massachusetts UMass 5 pen combination of baseball team on Evan Mackintosh Tuesday afterand Brandon UConn 4 noon.

Walsh pitched the After squanderfinal five innings ing several chances as UMass beat UConn 5-4 at in the first three innings and Earl Lorden field. It was the struggling to keep runners first time the Minutemen beat off the bases, the Minutemen UConn since 2007. were on pace to lose another game in a fashion all too see HUSKIES on page 9 Collegian Staff

Small ball key to UM victory UMass also preys on UConn mistakes

By Tyler Fiedler Collegian Staff

CADE BELISLE/COLLEGIAN

Brandon Walsh (above) contributed from the plate (1-4, run) and from the mound in relief (2 IP, 0R) as the Minutemen clipped Connecticut 5-4 on Tuesday at Earl Lorden Field.

CLUB GOLF

By Janis Carr

COURTESY UMASS GOLF CLUB

The UMass club golf team continues to grow in its second official year.

Club golf scene budding this spring

T

Collegian Staff

he wind hits, and it hits hard.

It’s everywhere on the University of Massachusetts campus, an unavoidable detractor to all who attempt foot traffic. It’s at its peak surrounding the library, and the only way to seek refuge from blasts of wind is to scurry into one of the surrounding buildings.

But the views from those buildings, most notably the library, are fairly spectacular. There’s rolling hills which give way to farmlands and densely populated woods, all of which encompass and surround campus. It’s a beautiful sight and appreciated by many.

SMALL BALL on page 9

NBA bans Donald Sterling for life and dan Woike The Orange County Register

By Mark Chiarelli

see

NBA

Clippers owner also fined $2.5 million

Club golf plays in first tournament

The Massachusetts baseball team won a backand-forth battle thanks to two wild throws from Connecticut pitcher Andrew Zapata and timely small ball in a 5-4 victory on Tuesday.

UMass found itself with an early 2-0 lead in the second inning. A walk by

Adam Picard led things off for the Minutemen and he advanced to third on a Brandon Walsh single and throwing error by UConn right fielder Blake Davey.

The mistakes by the Huskies gave the Minutemen a prime opportunity for quick, early runs.

They capitalized on their chance as Mike Geannelis and Dylan Morris hit backto-back RBI singles.

“We had our chances again this game, and

That is, unless you’re trying to golf.

For whatever reason, the golf scene at UMass has remained particularly dormant. It debuted on campus in 1950 as an intramural sport and failed to sustain itself on campus, a mere blip on a fairly broad athletics radar. It’s something that UMass sophomore Sean Sullivan noticed when he arrived on campus as a freshman in the fall of 2012.

A high school golfer, Sullivan wanted to continue to play competitively in college. A quick Google search directed him to what appeared to be the UMass Club Golf website.

Only there was one problem – much like the golf scene on campus, the page was also dormant.

“I looked at the Campus Pulse page before I came in see

CLUB GOLF on page 9

NBA commissioner Adam Silver announced Tuesday that he banned Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling for life. He was also fined $2.5 million.

Silver also said he will urge the NBA’s board of governors to force Sterling to sell the Clippers.

An audio tape of racially charged comments attributed to Sterling surfaced last week on TMZ, and the league acted

quickly to discipline Sterling.

The Clippers’ owner has a history of issues involving race, especially including his real estate holdings, but this is the first time he has been disciplined by the NBA. Silver said in a New York news conference the investigation concluded that it was Sterling’s voice on the recording, and Silver said Sterling conceded that it was his voice.

The commissioner also said that Sterling never was fined or suspended before by the league for any previous actions, but he said his history will be taken into account when the board of governors decides whether it will force him to sell.

Sterling may not attend games or practices or be present at the Clippers facility.

He also cannot participate in any decisions pertaining to the team or attend board of governors meetings.

Silver, in the first major test of his tenure as commissioner, said he expects to get the votes he needs to force Sterling to sell the team.

Silver, in handing down what is believed to be the league’s harshest sanctions, called it a “painful moment” for the NBA. This all is happening as the Clippers are in the middle of their first-round playoff series against the Golden State Warriors, which is tied

at 2-2. Game 5 of the series is Tuesday night at 7:30 PDT at Staples Center in Los Angeles.

Former Lakers center Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, also an Orange County Register contributor, praised Silver’s decision in a gathering of former and current players in Los Angeles.

“I’m thrilled with the outcome,” Abdul-Jabbar said.

“I think most of the players I’ve spoken to since the press conference feel the same way.”

Lakers guard Steve Nash also spoke with the group that included Sacramento mayor Kevin Johnson, who worked see

STERLING on page 9

M E N ’ S L AC RO S S E

Minutemen’s season ends abruptly UMass finishes on four-game skid By andreW Cyr Collegian Staff

On March 15, the No. 14 Massachusetts men’s lacrosse team upset Penn State, the No. 5 team in the country, in State College, Pa., for its first conference win of the season. At the time, sitting at 6-1, the Minutemen looked to be in the driver’s seat in the Colonial Athletic Association.

But the season wasn’t over on March 15. It was over on April 25.

UMass went just 1-5 in its final six games, which included losing its final four games in conference play to miss

the CAA Tournament for the first time since 2008. The Minutemen were outscored 62-44 in those six games.

“In the end, it was very disappointing,” UMass coach Greg Cannella said. “We had a lot of young talent, and losing four in a row definitely left a bad taste in our mouths.”

“It was a tough way to end the season. We had a really good start,” senior Matt Whippen said. “We had a lot of confidence going into the season, but it didn’t end as planned. It’s pretty upsetting the way we went out.”

The 2014 campaign was certainly one that experienced plenty of ups and downs for UMass. From freshman Nick Mariano’s overtime winner

face-off specialist for the past two seasons, won 56.8 percent (147-for-259) of his face-offs this season, but he’s graduating in May. The preseason all-conference player also led UMass with a team-high 98 groundballs.

The team also relied on its seniors to lead a deep group of underclassmen.

“The seniors definitely did a good job of leading some of the younger guys,” senior Reed Goodhue said. “It was great that they got so much experience this early in their careers. We had a lot of young talent, unfortunately we Final goodbyes didn’t make some key plays One of the biggest holes and we lost some keys games the Minutemen will have to and that prevented us from fill moving forward is on the face-off dot. Joe Calvello, the see LETDOWN on page 9

against Ohio State to the 25-10 blowout loss to Albany, the Minutemen saw it all this season.

UMass played nine games against teams that were at one point ranked in the national polls. The Minutemen posted a 5-4 record in those games.

Mariano led all scorers in points (39) and goals (29). Connor Mooney (18), Grant Whiteway (18) and Jeff George (10) rounded out the list of double-digit goal scorers for UMass. Mooney also led the team with 20 assists.