Massachusetts Daily Collegian: April 19, 2016

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Tuesday, April 19, 2016

‘Trap Queen’ laTe To The parTy

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UMass Divest to continue ‘action campaign’ Tues.

Whitmore sit-ins may come to end B y Stuart F oSter Collegian Staff

ROBERT RIGO/COLLEGIAN

Rapper Fetty Wap, who headlined the 2016 Spring Concert, kept attendees waiting in extra anticipation before he took the Mullins Center stage Sun.

Bike Share Program to expand its stock Demand keeps the initiative growing

By HannaH tran-trinH Collegian Correspondent

As spring slowly thaws out the Pioneer Valley, more and more people are taking the initiative to enjoy the outdoors, especially on the University of Massachusetts campus. Students are congregating on grassy lawns, kicking around soccer balls, setting up “KanJam” outside residence halls, sunbathing on “Southwest beach,” and lighting their grills. And as temperatures rise, more and more bikes are showing up on campus roads, transporting students to and from classes.

Five years ago, the Student Government Association established the Bike Share

Program and made bike rentals to and from the Student Union available for up to 24 hours. Thirty bikes were given as a class gift from 2010 alumni, along with a bike rack that is positioned outside of the building. The SGA set up a program where students could sign out bikes directly, receive a key to unlock the bike of their choice, and return it within a 24 hour time span to avoid late fees. The bikes can be used anywhere on and off campus, as long as they are returned within the rental limits.

Jennifer Raichel, the sustainability secretary for the SGA and leader of the program, said users of the program aren’t limited to the undergrad population.

“It’s very common for staff, grad students and international students to use to program. …Bike travel is

very common everywhere but the United States, where it is so car-cultured,” Raichel said.

According to Raichel, Chancellor Kumble Subbaswamy put forth a long term plan that includes revisions to the University’s road system in order to allow for better accessibility, safety to bikers and to promote a greener campus.

“The campus plan for the next 50 years has integrated a plan to do changes to the roads on North Pleasant Street to Massachusetts Avenue,” Raichel said. “The biggest change infrastructure-wise was that more of the roads are shared roads or more of them are pedestrian-focused. There won’t be as many cars coming through campus and hopefully that will help expand the Bike Share Program.”

“Out of all the things

that the SGA does and the programs that we run, the Bike Share Program is constantly used when it’s open,” Raichel said. “We usually have a waitlist almost every day.”

The program is currently relatively small, it offers 16 rentable bikes to a student demand that exceeds the available stock, according to Raichel. She said that many people do not know about the program right now because they haven’t done a lot of outreach. There is no need to advertise because of the program’s inability to meet already high levels of demand.

The Bike Share Program will gain about 20 more bikes within the next six months, according to Raichel. The SGA was able to allocate $7,000 to purchase more see

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Serving the UMass community since 1890

After a week which saw daily sit-ins held in the Whitmore Administration Building and 34 Five College students arrested for trespassing after the building closed, the University of Massachusetts Fossil Fuel Divestment Campaign is planning to continue their protest on Tuesday.

UMass Police De par tment of f icers arrested 15 students Tuesday and an additional 19 on Wednesday for trespassing after protesters refused to leave Whitmore after closing time. Divest UMass did not have any students arrested on Thursday and Friday, although the sit-ins continued.

After all demonstrators left Whitmore on Friday, UMass Divest organizer Sarah Jacqz told supporters that the campaign would continue into the next week, although she implied that the occupation of Whitmore might not continue.

“We might not keep sitting in that building, but we’re gonna keep this escalation going,” Jacqz, a sophomore BDIC major, said.

UMass Divest is demanding that the UMass Foundation, which oversees the University system’s endowments, cancel their investments in the top 200 publicly traded fossil fuel companies.

UMass News and Media Relations Director Ed Blaguszewski released a statement last week saying that UMass system President Martin Meehan and UMass Board

of Trustees Chairman Victor Woolridge support the campaign’s goals and will advocate for them to the Board of Trustees.

However, UMass Divest is seeking an immediate commitment to act on their demands and expressed dissatisfaction with the pledge of President Meehan and Chairman Woolridge.

“They told us maybe we’ll get you what you want,” senior Kristie Herman, a Divest UMass organizer who studies psychology, told supporters after Whitmore closed on Friday. “But we don’t have any more time.”

Earlier in the day, Herman said that UMass Divest had created a five-year plan for the University to divest from the top 200 publicly traded fossil fuel companies, and that the campaign was not demanding the UMass Foundation to divest all of their investments immediately.

Herman emphasized that, given the length of time necessary for the plan to be implemented, it is important that the steps to totally divest are taken as quickly as possible.

“We understand that it is a long process,” Herman said. “We need this plan to be put in now because we are outlining a five year process.”

In December, the UMass Foundation announced it was divesting from coal companies. UMass Divest now hopes that the Foundation will continue the process of divestment by agreeing to divest from the remaining fossil fuel companies, which profit from oil and natural gas.

Herman said that the UMass Foundation has see

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Two UM professors SCOTUS may split over immigration bill Outcome rests on land climate grant legal technicality

Research to send staff to Greenland By triStan tay

Collegian Correspondent

The National Science Foundation awarded $348,218 to two faculty members of the geoscience department at the University Massachusetts to investigate whether fluctuating temperatures in Greenland’s past had a role in causing the disappearance of Viking settlements in the 1400s.

Professor Raymond Bradley and assistant professor Isla Castaneda, along with third-year graduate student Greg de Wet, are traveling to Greenland this summer to reconstruct an archive of temperature changes over the last

1000 years for their study. The researchers will analyze the layers of sediment found at the bottom of Greenland’s lakes to document these changes over time.

The Norse people successfully populated southwest Greenland until population numbers declined around the 1400s. De Wet challenged the conventional explanation for the displacement of those settled populations. “…(In) the (1980s,) the hypothesis was that (the disappearance) was due to this little ice age…there was this cooling that occurred and the environment became untenable to farming and survival. Recent research by archeologists have challenged this view,” de Wet said. see

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By DaviD G. SavaGe Tribune Washington Bureau WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama’s far-reaching plan to ease life for millions of immigrants in the U.S. illegally ran into solid conservative opposition at the Supreme Court on Monday, putting its fate in doubt.

The administration’s supporters were left to hope that justices – evenly divided between Republican and Democratic appointees since the death of Justice Antonin Scalia – might dismiss the Texas case on a legal technicality by finding the state of Texas cannot show it would be sufficiently harmed by the president’s program.

But the comments and questions during Monday’s argument suggested the court’s four conservatives will likely side with Texas and 25 other Republican-led states, while the four liberals will vote to uphold Obama’s plan.

If so, the 4-4 split would be a defeat for the administration, keeping in place a federal judge’s order that has blocked Obama’s plan from taking effect.

At issue is whether the president has the authority to temporarily remove the threat of deportation and offer a work permit to more than 4 million immigrant parents of children who are U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents.

Obama’s lawyers argued that U.S. immigration laws give the chief executive broad leeway in deciding who to deport, including the authority to take no action

against millions of working immigrants who have families here and no serious criminal records.

But in the opening minutes of arguments Monday, Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and Justice Anthony M. Kennedy said Obama’s order appeared to go further by effectively changing the law and reclassifying millions of immigrants so they may stay and work legally in the U.S. Roberts asked the president’s attorney if there were any limits to executive authority when it comes to deportation. “Could the president grant deferredremoval to every unlawfully present alien in the United States?” Roberts asked.

No, replied U.S. Solicitor Gen. Donald Verrilli, noting that the law still calls for arresting criminals.

“Okay. So not criminals.

Who else?” Roberts contin-

ued.

Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. interjected to say that, under the administration’s legal theory, a future president might decide unilaterally on an “open borders” policy, regardless of what Congress decided.

Verrilli disagreed.

“That’s a million miles from where we are now,” he said.

Kennedy, whose vote is seen as crucial for the administration, leaned forward. “Well, it’s 4 million people from where we are now,” he said. “What we’re doing is defining the limits of discretion. And it seems to me that is a legislative, not executive act.”

Allowing the president to take the lead in defining which immigrants can stay is “backwards,” he continued. “The president is setting the policy and Congress see

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THE MASSACHUSETTS DAILY COLLEGIAN

Tuesday, April 19, 2016

THE RU N D OW N

DIVEST

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ON THIS DAY...

In 1897, John J. McDermott of New York won the first Boston Marathon, finishing with a time of 2:55:10.

AROUND THE WORLD

School district sued over handling of atheist essay options LOS ANGELES — Two groups are suing the Antelope Valley Union High School District for allegedly not informing students about scholarships aimed at non-religious students.

According to a lawsuit filed in federal court last week, the Freedom from Religion Foundation, based in Madison, Wis., and the Antelope Valley Freethinkers asked district officials to include descriptions of their competitive scholarships in lists distributed to students.

The Freedom from Religion organization offered $17,950 in scholarships to college-bound students last year, according to the suit.

Its essay topics were “Young, Bold and Nonbelieving: Challenges of being a nonbeliever of color” or “Why I’m Good Without God: Challenges of being a young nonbeliever.”

The Antelope Valley Freethinkers planned to offer $1,750 to students who wrote essays about “being a young freethinker in Antelope Valley,” according to the suit.

Officials with the district, north of Los Angeles, allowed descriptions of overtly religious scholarships in their lists, according to Freedom from Religion officials, including the “Playing with Purpose Award,” which requires applicants to describe “how and when you accepted Jesus Christ as your personal savior.”

But Jeff Foster, a deputy superintendent with the district, told David Dionne, the Freethinker’s president, that the wording of their essays “would upset parents,” according to the suit.

Later, district officials told both the Freethinkers and the Freedom from Religion Foundation that their scholarships would not be advertised in school lists, the suit said.

Questions “appear to promote anti-religious expression and contain argumentative undertones toward religion,” an attorney with the district wrote in one email.

Distributed by MCT Information

DANIEL MALDONADO/COLLEGIAN

Organizers plan to continue their Divest campaign this week. roughly $5 million invested directly into fossil fuel companies, although she said that the figure is not exact.

“That number is gleamed through public information, that’s not public information,” Herman said.

Since UMass Divest be g an to occupy Whitmore last Monday, the campaign has been endorsed by political figures such as State Representative Marjorie Decker, Massachusetts State Senators Benjamin Downing and Jamie Eldridge and Green Party Presidential Candidate Jill Stein.

The campaign has also been endorsed by vari-

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ous departments within UMass, such as the Department of Women, G e n d e r, Sexuality Studies, the Social Thought and Political E c o n o my P ro g r a m and the Department of E nv i r o n m e n t a l Conservation.

“This is the largest civil disobedience our generation has seen at this University,” Herman said on Friday. “They are not making the decision, we are.”

Stuart Foster can be reached at stuartfoster@umass.edu or followed on Twitter @Stuart_C_Foster.

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bikes to expand the program.

CrimsonBikes, a bike share program in Cambridge, reached out to the SGA and offered a discounted price on the extra bikes that are to be purchased.

The offer by CrimsonBikes isn’t the only bike program expansion initiative on the

table. UMass and the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission have teamed up to plan for a bigger program to rent out bikes around the area. They plan on modeling it after popular city bike rental programs such as Hubway in Boston or Citi Bike in New York City. People will soon be able to sim-

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De Wet believed the recent discoveries indicated that the Vikings were adept at coping with climate change and the cause of their displacement may be due to some other external factors such as a breakdown of trade with Norway.

De Wet further challenged this explanation by questioning the reliability of the data used to arrive at the climate change explanation.

He said that most of the data on climate change used for those studies comes from “Greenland ice cores which are thousands of kilometers away and at a much higher elevation. In the proposal, we argue that that’s not an appropriate comparison and we need local paleoclimate records to confirm what the archeologists say.”

De Wet said that the goal of this research team is to use a more comprehensive approach to attempt to arrive at a clearer explanation for the cause of displacement.

“We want to be able to show how temperature was changing and how the human presence was changing in the same time period…[which] is pretty novel, there’s really only been one other study like this in Norway,” de Wet said.

The research teams have several ways of identifying how the human presence in Greenland changed over

time. De Wet said the team will analyze specific compounds in the lake’s sediment produced by the combustion of organic matter as a way to track changes over time. De Wet also said the researchers aren’t above analyzing fecal matter.

“Another unsavory, and maybe funny thing we look for in the sediment are fecal sterols…produced in the digestive tracts of humans and grazing animals…so literally looking for Viking poop,” de Wet said.

De Wet said another way to track temperature is to analyze the change in the property of bacteria that have been present in the lake’s sediment.

“One of the ways is looking at bacterial membrane lipids. These are bacteria living in the lake that…change the structure of their cell membranes based on the temperature that they are living in. We go back through time and analyze the concentration of these lipids and use a transfer function to get the air temperature at that point in time,” de Wet said.

The sediment samples will be obtained using a process called “coring,” where a hollow five- meter cylinder is manually hammered into the lake bottom. The researchers will be located on a floating platform on the lake surface, and lift a

weight around the cylinder using ropes and manpower, before dropping the weight to slam the cylinder into the mud.

De Wet said that the Artic is a good region to focus climate study “because it is extremely susceptible to climate change. There’s a term called ‘Arctic amplification’ where climate changes happening closer to the equator are magnified at higher latitudes and Greenland is obviously important because of the large ice sheet there.”

De Wet said that any melting of Greenland ice will accelerate over time due to a decrease in “albedo”, or the reflection of the sun’s energy off the Earth’s surface. White surfaces such as snow and sea ice reflect more energy and help stave off temperature increases, according to De Wet. De Wet said that climate change can lead to a dramatic reduction in sea ice, which he said has already occurred over the past 30 years. This reduction can result in more energy being absorbed by the ocean rather than reflected by the ice that was once there.

“Greenland is breathtaking with its mixture of snow, ice and beautiful mountains…”

Tristan Tay can be reached at ttay@umass.edu.

Clinton ramps up effort in NY Bill visist the state to support Hillary

By Bridget Bowman CQ-Roll Call

BUFFALO, N.Y. — Former President Bill Clinton visited western New York for the second time in two weeks, rallying volunteers Monday for his wife’s presidential bid.

In a final push ahead of Tuesday’s New York primary, Clinton addressed a packed room at Hillary Clinton’s campaign headquarters in Buffalo. The former secretary of state has been leading her rival, Vermont Sen. Bernard Sanders, by double digits in recent polls. But Bill Clinton’s appearance highlights the importance of energizing her base of support upstate.

“We need you,” Clinton told the crowd. “We need every single vote.”

The Erie County Democratic Committee hosted the Clinton campaign at their headquarters in the Larkinville neighborhood, a burgeoning business district on the outskirts of downtown.

Clinton first stopped by

a small room with about a dozen volunteers working the phones at tables and thanked them for their work. Other volunteers lined the walls of the room, taking selfies and shaking hands with the former president as he worked his way around the tables.

He then addressed the crowd of roughly 100 volunteers in a small room adorned with Hillary Clinton campaign posters.

The excitement among the group was palpable, with volunteers holding up their phones and cheering loudly when Clinton spoke.

New York’s Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo joined Clinton at the rally, along with the city’s mayor, Byron Brown, Rep. Brian Higgins and other Democratic officials. Cuomo echoed what Clinton supporters in Buffalo have been saying about the candidate: “We know what she can do.”

The surprise rally was Clinton’s second appearance in western New York this month. Nearly 1,000 people packed a recent event in the suburb of Depew to hear the former president, who has long enjoyed support in the Buffalo area.

“When times were tough

for him in Washington, this was the first area he came to,” Democratic Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul said in a brief interview Saturday.

The former congresswoman recalled attending a rally for the former president in January 1999 when he came to Buffalo amid his impeachment trial for lying about his affair with Monica Lewinsky, a White House intern.

Hillary Clinton joined her husband at the 1999 rally, along with Vice President Al Gore and Tipper Gore.

“Buffalo’s always been there for him, and certainly for Secretary Clinton as well,” Hochul said.

Now the former president is back campaigning for his wife, reminding volunteers of her work bringing jobs back to the Rust Belt city when she served as New York’s senator from 2001 to 2009.

“If you think that a lot of what Hillary did for economic development not just in Buffalo, but in all sections of New York, when there was a Republican Congress and and a Republican president, think what she can do for America when she is the president of the United States,” he said to cheers.

THE MASSACHUSETTS DAILY COLLEGIAN

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IMMIGRATION is executing it. That’s just upside down.”

The sharp exchange served notice that the court’s conservatives are not likely to uphold Obama’s order as being within his executive authority.

The administration’s fallback argument is that the case should be dismissed because Texas suffered no injury, and therefore, has no standing to sue. The state has complained it must shoulder the cost of issuing driver’s licenses to the immigrants.

Roberts, who previously has been skeptical of granting standing to states to challenge federal policies, said Texas looks to have a real complaint. “Texas says: Our injury is we have to give driver’s license here, and that costs us money,” the chief justice told Verrilli.

Standing is sometimes a wild card in cases where the justices are deeply divided.

In 2004, eight justices were split over whether public schools could have students recite the phrase “one nation under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance. Justice Antonia Scalia had recused himself and a tie vote would have affirmed the 9th Circuit Court’s ruling that the practice was unconstitutional.

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Instead, the justices defused the controversy by deciding that Michael Newdow, the father who sued on his daughter’s behalf, did not have standing.

The most important recent test of a state’s standing came in 2007 when Massachusetts, California and a coalition of “blue states” sued the Bush administration for failing to take action on climate change under the Clean Air Act. By a 5-4 ruling, the court’s liberals, joined by Kennedy, upheld the state’s claim on the theory that rising seas could damage their coast lines.

Roberts dissented in that case, but he mentioned the ruling twice on Monday.

“We said in Massachusetts vs. EPA that we have a special solicitude for claims of the states,” he said, a comment that suggested he was not ready to throw out the Texas case on standing.

Thomas Saenz, president of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, joined Verrilli in support of Obama’s order, known as Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents, or DAPA. He said he was there on behalf of three Texas

mothers who seek “relief from the daily fear they will be separated from their families and detained or removed from their homes.”

Arguing on the other side, Texas Solicitor General Scott Keller called Obama’s order an “unprecedented unlawful assertion of executive power” and potentially “one the largest changes in immigration policy in our nation’s history.”

He ran into sharp questions from the court’s liberal justices. They steadily defended the president’s executive action and said it was consistent with past presidents who extended relief to large groups of immigrants.

“We still go back to the basic problem: 11.3 million people,” said Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Congress has not appropriated the money to arrest and deport millions of otherwise lawabiding immigrants, she said, so it makes sense to allow some of them to work legally and raise families.

The justices will meet later this week to discuss the case of United States vs. Texas and to vote on whether to affirm or reverse the lower court. A decision is like to be announced in June.

US troops set at Iraq border President’s order is to further ‘advise’

By AngelA greiling KeAne And Tony CApACCio Bloomberg News

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama’s approval of Pentagon efforts to intensify the U.S. effort in Iraq may matter less for the small contingent of troops being added than for the decision to allow them closer to the front lines of the war against the Islamic State.

Obama has agreed to send 217 more U.S. troops, bringing the authorized total to 4,087, and to let them “embed at the battalion level,” a step closer to the fighting than previously, Capt. Jeff Davis, a Defense Department spokesman, told reporters at the Pentagon on Monday.

In addition to advising Iraqi forces, the Americans will provide “force protection, fire support and aviation support,” Davis said.

That includes U.S.-operated Apache helicopters for the coming battle to retake Mosul, an Islamic State stronghold, Defense Secretary Ash Carter told troops during a visit to Baghdad.

At the White House, the challenge was to describe the moves as a significant step but not one that undermines

Obama’s pledge that he won’t embroil U.S. ground forces in sustained combat in Iraq.

“This has to be a fight that is led by local forces,” White House press secretary Josh Earnest told reporters.

The moves “were announced after Secretary Carter had an opportunity to confer with Iraqi government officials” on backing their efforts, he said.

“What was announced today were ideas for intensifying that support in a rather tangible way, but it does not change the basic elements of the strategy,” Earnest said.

The decision was deemed inadequate by Sen. John McCain, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee and Obama’s opponent in the 2008 election.

McCain, R-Ariz., has long pressed Obama to send more U.S. troops and authorize them to play a more direct role in fighting the terrorist group.

“While the deployment of an additional 217 U.S. troops to fight ISIL is welcome, this is yet another example of the kind of grudging incrementalism that rarely wins wars but could certainly lose one,” McCain said in an emailed statement, using an acronym for the Islamic State.

The AH-64 Apache helicopters expected to take part in a battle for Mosul were built by Boeing Co. They can attack

multiple Islamic State targets at night with Hellfire missiles while hovering behind cover from miles away.

The U.S. also will continue to use its High Mobility Rocket Artillery System, Davis said. The long-range launch system is made by Lockheed Martin Corp.

Asked in Iraq if putting U.S. troops closer to combat will add to the risk of casualties, Carter told reporters “we have troops at risk here in Iraq right now every day.”

But he said the forces would receive adequate protection.

The Defense Department has acknowledged that the previous limit of 3,870 U.S. military trainers and advisers was often exceeded because troops rotating in and out of the country frequently overlapped and the total doesn’t include some troops, such as those that guard the U.S. embassy in Baghdad.

In a visit to the Central Intelligence Agency’s headquarters last week, Obama said the U.S.-led coalition fighting the Islamic State militants are on the offensive and have the upper hand.

“We have momentum and we intend to keep that momentum,” the president said, as he ticked off the names of several top leaders of the group who have been captured or killed.

Tuesday, April 19, 2016

Communist framework still strong within Cuba

Party ties could be as strong as ever

By MiMi WhiTefield Miami Herald

The 7th Congress of Cuba’s Communist Party seems intent on keeping the type of state the older revolutionary generation, now mostly in their 80s and 90s, wants after they’re gone.

The work of the Congress seems to be to ensure continuity. It is establishing a model for “sustainable and prosperous socialism” and adopting a strategic plan that will last until 2030.

Although Cuban leader Raul Castro outlined age limits for party leaderships pots and for term limits, they aren’t expected to go into effect until the next Congress in 2021.

“The next five years, for obvious reasons, will be defining,” Castro said. But it won’t simply be a hurried process on the run that replaces a party stalwart with someone 10 years younger, he said.

The methodical approach outlined by Castro and highlighted Saturday and Sunday diminishes hopes by some observers that the party gathering would speed up changes that began during the 6th Congress in 2011.

“Party leaders are trying to set up continuity in the context of reform, but it will be the type of reform managed by conservative politicians,” said Arturo Lopez-Levy, a lecturer at the University of Texas, Rio Grande Valley, and a former Cuban intelligence analyst.

Congress delegate Julio Camacho Aguilera expressed faith in continuity. “The oldest of us can leave here calmly with the certainty that these young people will know how to follow the revolution,” he said.

Monday afternoon, delegates voted on a slate of presumably younger candidates for the Central Committee, the Political Bureau and for the first and second secretaries of the Politburo. The new look of the party and its leaders will be revealed Tuesday, the last day of the Congress.

“Generations do matter.

Their formative experiences are different,” Lopez-Levy

said. The younger leaders will take up their posts at a time when the party is becoming more nationalist and less Communist. Younger militants also are less adverse to market mechanisms in the economy than their elders, he said.

But even though Cubans can now buy and sell homes and cars, self-employment has been expanded, fledgling private enterprises can hire workers and there is a new foreign investment law, Castro made it clear that Cuba isn’t returning to capitalism.

“The recognition of the existence of private property has generated honest concerns among not just a few of the participants in discussions leading up to this Congress, who expressed worries that doing so was taking the first steps toward the restoration of capitalism in Cuba,” he said. “I’m obliged to tell you that this is in no way the goal.”

During the debate, Miguel Diaz-Canel, first secretary of the Council of State and Castro’s heir apparent in 2018, when the Cuban leader has said he will retire, said the private sector is intended to complement the state sector and to contribute to the development of socialism.

“The introduction of the rules of supply and demand aren’t at odds with the principles of planning,” Castro said.

“Both concepts are able to coexist and complement each other in benefit to the country, as has been successfully demonstrated in the reform processes in China and the renovation in Vietnam.”

The last Congress adopted 313 guidelines designed to update the economy and allow a limited opening toward a free market. Since then, only 21 percent of the guidelines have been implemented, 77 percent are in the process of being implemented and no progress has been made on 2 percent.

“The fundamental obstacle that we’ve confronted, just as we expected, is the weight of an obsolete mentality that takes the form of an attitude of inertia and lack of confidence in the future,” Castro said.

Some have been nostalgic about the days when the

3

old Soviet Union was Cuba’s benefactor, he said. “On the other extreme, there have been masked aspirations for the restoration of capitalism as a solution to our problems,” Castro said. He said the international financial crisis, the U.S. trade embargo and Cuba’s cumbersome dual-currency system also have slowed implementation of the guidelines.

For the next five years, there will be 268 guidelines _ 31 with the original wording, 193 that have been reworked, and 44 new ones, Castro said.

He also noted that Cuba’s focus on foreign investment has changed. Five years ago, he said, investments in infrastructure and production represented 45 percent of the total. Now such investments are 70 percent of the total.

Even though officials said economic growth from 2011 to 2015 averaged only 2.8 percent annually _ not enough to advance economic development _ and Castro himself said that salaries and pensions are still insufficient to meet the needs of Cuban families, economic changes will likely proceed at the same “without haste but without pause” pace of the previous five years.

For the first time, delegates also debated what is being referred to as the “conceptualization” of the economic and social model that Cuba intends to follow. Eight different versions of this model were analyzed before party leaders came up with the one submitted to Congress delegates.

Castro called it a “theoretical guide” that will clearly outline the principles of Cuban socialism.

Although it had been hoped that the strategic development plan through 2030 would be finished by the time of the Congress, Castro said work will continue on the plan with the hope of completing it by next year.

Both the model and the 2030 plan will be widely debated and will be open to suggestions after the Congress, Castro said, before being submitted to the National Assembly of People’s Power, Cuba’s parliament, for approval.

Opinion Editorial THE MASSACHUSETTS DAILY COLLEGIAN

“A life which does not go into action is a failure.” - Arnold Toynbee

Tuesday, April 19, 2016

Retirement ‘tours’ are a distraction

On November 18th David Ortiz, the beloved Red Sox player, announced that he

Michael Agnello will retire after the 2016 season. The decision came as a surprise to many considering the high-level of production Ortiz has continued to contribute. What has become clear, with the start of the Red Sox season, is that announcing retirement prior to the season of his retirement creates unnecessary distractions and diminishes sports’ fundamental backbone of collective effort.

Every act is celebrated; the last game at JetBlue park, the last opening day, the last opening day at Fenway; it’s melodramatic really. Over the course of the season there will be five promotional giveaways of Ortiz related apparel, ranging from a fake gold chain to a canvas print of him wearing a gnome hat. Obviously, Ortiz has had a remarkable career with the Red Sox, but continuously devoting time to glorify an individual contradicts every lesson sports

Letterstothe edItor

Editorial@DailyCollegian.com

on teammates and leadership, essentially asking, was this player’s presence beneficial to the organization? But if that presence is dominated by egoism and distractions, which farewell tours represent, then no, the player has not positively impacted their team.

On a surface level, baseball is seemingly based on individual performance.

When an individual is at-bat, it is perceived as the pitcher versus the batter. However, there is an intense amount of collaboration that needs to occur for a team to win. The pitcher needs the catcher to help call pitches and establish locations and the batter needs to observe the at-bats of teammates to understand the pitcher’s approach and various pitches.

Placing extra emphasis on the individual can mislead younger players to develop the mindset that the individual trumps the team.

A teammate who does not understand the importance of collaboration brings down the overall effectiveness of a team.

Yes, the way every player

To the Editors: As the Divest UMass campaign nears victory, are they properly confronting coal powered cars? Before I clarify the purpose of that question, let me sincerely state how impressed I am by the commitment of those involved in the demonstrations on campus. The willingness to protest to the point of being arrested shows the passion of these individuals. These actions speak loudly, and undoubtedly have gained an added attention from those with the actual ability to make these changes. I would not be surprised to see the decision to fully divest in the near future.

This victory would hardly be final. The fossil fuel industry contributes enormously to the horrific pollution of our environment and to the unparalleled problem of climate change. Here I think there are some obvious actions that must proceed in due time, to decelerate the impacts of climate change.

1. Stop allowing gasoline powered cars on campus.

2. Stop the use of diesel powered buses, since diesel pollutes even more than gasoline.

3. Stop allowing electric cars on campus. These are essentially coal powered cars, since the burning of coal is a major producer of electricity in this country.

4. Eliminate Spring Break. Vacations are fossil fuel intensive.

5. Eliminate all air conditioning on campus. Again, significantly powered by the burning of coal.

6. Reduce the maximum indoor temperature for campus buildings to 55 degrees in winter. With proper thick layered clothing for students and faculty and staff, this is absolutely doable.

7. Eliminate all sports programs. To travel to away games, UMass teams and visiting teams contribute greatly to the usage of fossil fuels.

Yes, the above list may be impractical, but it gives a perspective that illuminates the enormity of the fossil fuel situation here at UMass. Throughout this entire season of protests, we should remain mindful that divestment alone will not reduce the amount of fossil fuel usage by even one molecule.

On this practical side of the situation, I suggest that the Divest UMass organization should stop using any products that are manufactured by the use of fossil fuels, which of course is basically all products. The delicious irony of using these products to produce signage for their cause is easy to see. I can imagine there may be substantial cognitive dissonance as well when they use their electric powered laptops and cellphones.

“...continuously devoting time to glorify an individual contradicts every lesson sports supposedly teaches players.” supposedly teaches players, like teamwork, camaraderie and sportsmanship.

And while other players would not likely vocalize it, fetishizing an active player is distracting for teammates as it disrupts the goals of coaching. A manager is responsible for making decisions that will place the team in a position to win. Sometimes those decisions require the removal of a big name player who is not producing results, but during a retirement tour, such a maneuver is more difficult to execute because there is a public pressure from the fans who want to see the player “one more time.”

Though one could argue that if the fans demand such treatment of retiring legends then it shall be done because they fund sports, there is undoubtedly detraction from the communityoriented mindset that predicates teamwork. Noteworthy too is that the Hall of Fame voting is “based upon the player’s record, playing ability…and contributions to the team(s) on which the player played.” Contributing calls to mind a player’s influence

Editorial@DailyCollegiancom

Also, I suggest that Divest UMass members adapt some of the above steps in their personal lives, and use all available means of communication to let the university community know what they are doing to actually reduce their usage of fossil fuels, as examples for all of us to follow. UMass is the biggest polluter in Amherst, and one of the biggest institutions in Massachusetts. Isn’t it hypocritical to benefit from fossil fuels here and at the same time to protest UMass investment in companies that produce them?

decides to retire is his choice, but professional athletes are role models for not only their younger teammates but also the young fans who look up to them. Each action on the field is observed and often emulated, which is why the city of Boston recently banned tobacco from baseball parks.

The only benefit of announcing retirement prior to the season is that it provides an organization time to plan for the loss of a player.

New players can be tested at the departing player’s position or the player himself can mentor a replacement.

But if that is a player’s reasoning, then it makes far more sense to simply inform the front office privately and avoid the distractions.

Retirement tours are becoming the new norm for great athletes, however the effects can prove distracting to teammates and disillusion future players’ thoughts about sports, ultimately proving to be in poor taste.

Michael Agnello is a Collegian columnist and can be reached at magnello@umass.edu

This initial victory will be the final result of just one small battle in the larger war against the fossil fuel industry.

Confrontation must continue.

David Fitzgerald, concerned UMass employee

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Bernie’s undeniable authenticity

Although you may not agree with ins at the University of Chicago to proBernie Sanders, at least respect him for test segregation and defended the idenhis compassion and authenticity. The tity and rights of the LGBTQIA community on the House floor in 1995. Bernie Emilia Beuger is accepting of people of any religion, of any group, or any color. Bernie preaches outspoken senator from Vermont is a lot love and tolerance as ways to treat othof things, but he is truly a morally sound ers. person.

He is known as one of the nation’s When asked what he would want poorest senators. He understands to be known for in one word, Bernie money should be used to help people Sanders told Diane Sawyer, “compas- live, but having excessive amounts of sion.” Compassion is exuded throughout money is not necessary. When one has Bernie Sanders’ demeanor and policies. much more money than necessary, they He believes in being compassionate to should do their part to support others people of all backgrounds and fighting who do not have as much as them. He against systems that do not show com- also does not want to let money influpassion toward people. ence him. He donated all of his earnings Much of what Bernie Sanders says from his paid speeches to charity last resonates for a number of reasons. Some year, and donated the proceeds from his people agree with his politics, while book, about his eight-hour filibuster, to some are simply inspired by his mis- charity. His rejection of material wealth sion. While I’m drawn to Bernie for both shows that he does not want to implicate his positions and his demeanor, I want himself in the system nor does he want to focus on his morals and attitudes, wealth to control him. This behavior although they do impact his political should be admired. leanings.

He wants people to be able to live. He Sanders has been a supporter of equal believes that everyone has basic, fundarights for all. He has championed for the mental rights as humans. He goes about rights of women, black Americans and his policies in this way, focusing on the the LGBTQIA community. He marched necessities that citizens of the United with Martin Luther King Jr., staged sit- States need. He wants people’s lives to

improve because he believes the system is rigged toward a certain portion of the population. He believes in making life fairer for everyone and wants everyone to help. What’s wrong with wanting to help others and asking others to do the same?

Bernie Sanders went to the Vatican this past weekend to speak about the possibility of a worldwide moral economy. He spoke about the “globalization of indifference to the needy.” Bernie praised the humility of Pope Francis and that is something I think the two have in common. Bernie displays a humility that is not seen with the other presidential candidates. Bernie often speaks about the failing morals of the nation to not care for its downtrodden.

People need to be cared for and Bernie expresses that. That’s why he was invited to the Vatican. Not because of his specific religion, but because of his moral compass that guides him through his life and his career. You don’t have to agree with Bernie Sanders’ policies, but you can’t argue that he is a good person who cares deeply for the welfare of all people and this country.

Emilia Beuger is a Collegian columnist and can be reached at ebeuger@umass.edu

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CONCERT REVIEW

Spirit Ghost rocks the Iron Horse with Calico Blue Crowd showers local bands with loving praise

By Will Sennott Collegian Correspondent Thursday night at the Iron Horse marked a historic point in the careers of two local Amherst bands. Calico Blue sparked the fuse for Spirit Ghost’s explosion into their first ever cross-country tour, which will reach as far as Rock Island, Illinois.

The venue was packed with UMass students, friends and family of the bands, teeming with anticipation to show their support.

Spirit Ghost sat among the crowd, indiscreetly at the table closest to the stage. As Calico Blue set foot on stage, they were immediately showered in hometown acclamation.

“We love you Sarah!” echoed through the floor as lead singer Sarah Addi humbly shied away from the center stage mic. Without a word, drummer Billy Hickey led the band into a preluding jam session, giving the audience brief insight as to what was in store.

After a few sincere words of appreciation to the audience, Calico Blue opened their set with “Postman,” the first song they wrote together as freshman while living in the UMass dorm, Van Meter.

Addi’s cavernous voice resonated across the sea of swaying heads, her eyes drifting to the upper balcony. The tension in the song built to the final verse, breaking with an 8 bar riff from guitarist Eli Ayres, revealing the blue side of Calico Blue. As the riff melted into the final chorus, Addi matched Ayres’ energy, improvising the inflection of the traditional Motown jam.

The vivacity of Calico Blue’s set continued to build as John Bergin’s thick bassline led the band into “Annie,” his calico dress flowing with the melody.

With Ayres’ use of off-beat triads over Hickey’s loose percussion, Addi was able to display her full vocal range. Each woeful strum of Ayres’ guitar and deep cry from Addi’s chest contradicted the pink lights above, dancing off Hickey’s symbols with each crash.

Calico Blue followed “Annie” with debut tracks off their unreleased album, hinting at a subtle shift in tonality.

“Sarah’s all about tone,” Ayres explained. In the unreleased songs, her leaden voice seemed to have developed a sharper and more refined timbre.

Ayres’ use of the guitar also evolved. He has gone through “20 pedals this year alone, trying to find the right sound.” The new tracks maintain the same sway and reverb, while “sounding a little less dark,” Ayres said.

The band is slowly finding their voice and will continue to do so in local shows over the next few months.

As Calico Blue’s set slowly swooned to an end, Spirit Ghost could be found in the basement of the venue, building their energy with a primal pre-show ritual.

The band immediately transferred that energy to the stage, kicking off their first cross-country tour with “Broken Glass Kids” from their 2015 album, “Kicking Gravestones.”

Alex Whitelaw, lead singer and sole composer of Spirit Ghost’s music, initiated the song by sliding his pick up the guitar strings, signaling Andrew Wang into the preluding bassline. A suspenseful pause followed the introduction, breaking with a Whitelaw yelp and Stephen Kerr snare kick. With Kerr’s robotically right-angled elbows and distant eyes, he kept the beat like a soulful machine.

The signature pick slide continued throughout the song, mimicking the distinct hiccup of Whitelaw’s voice. With every reverb heavy power chord,

Whitelaw shook his guitar by its neck, pumping every last bit of sound out into the audience.

Against the grain of most live shows, the energy of Spirit Ghost’s set list gradually descended, culminating in the emotional climax of Whitelaw’s repertoire, “The Last Castle Song.”

The pain on Whitelaw’s face was illuminated by the lights as he preached his personal tale of the internal departure of love lost.

The song faded out in the same resonant way it faded in, leaving only the aching heartbeat of a bassline for a final measure before resolving with a soft cymbal crash.

The band immediately revived their energy with more garagesurf tracks like “Krawn the Destroyer” and “Social Animal” before descending into a hypnotic final song, “Spirit Ghost.”

Lead guitarist Mike Cozzo’s rhythmic strum with Whitelaw’s otherworldly howl cast a spell on the audience, too entranced to respond as the song echoed out.

The band was cheered into an encore, joined onstage by Sarah Addi and John Bergin of Calico Blue. All singing into the same microphone, they swayed in time with each other and the audience.

Friends and family continued to scale the stage, augmenting the harmonized chorus with endearing roars.

As the final chord reverberated through the air of the local concert venue, Spirit Ghost ascended from their title of local band.

Spirit Ghost is now officially on tour, performing six shows on their way out and one on their way back from recording with indie music website Daytrotter in Illinois. The tour will go full circle, culminating with a final outdoor show at The Bowl on Orchard Hill.

Will Sennott can be reached at wmsennott@umass.edu.

SHANNON BRODERICK/COLLEGIAN

Spirit Ghost began their first national tour last Thursday with other local band, Calico Blue.

ALBUM REVIEW

All Saints’ ‘Red Flag’ leaves a long lasting impression By troy KoWalchuK Collegian Correspondent All Saints have reunited once again with their new album, “Red Flag.” After nearly a decade since the release of their third studio album, “Studio 1,” the spunky English-Canadian girl group proclaim their immortality through the energetic and brash track, “One Strike.”

“One Strike,” the debut single of the album, carries a punch. It begins with a smooth synthesizer overtone.

The song begins to build as a steady percussive rhythm, and a single open voice layered over one another. The song begins to feel hollow and open as all four women break into the chorus.

The women’s harmonic chants over a groovy bass line create a powerful chorus. The lyrics create a bitter, wrathful, sassy tone that is empowering to anyone listening to it. It’s a ballad about burning bridges to dust, a swift blow that ends a relationship. It’s simple, yet its honesty produces a compelling anthem. “One Strike” sets the listener up for an album full of angry diss tracks directed at past lovers, but as the time goes

ALL SAINTS OFFICIAL FACEBOOK PAGE

The female rock group offers an honest, refreshing look on pop with their album released after a decade long hiatus. on more emotions unravel.

From what started as invincibility moves to vulnerability with the following track, “One Woman Man.” The women chant desperately for their lover to give them a chance and reciprocate the feelings they’ve had. They recognize their vulnerability, they recognize the man’s lies and commitment issues, but still proclaim their loyalty.

“One Woman Man” still clenches onto the bitterness of “One Strike,” yet this time it does the opposite. Instead of leaving the relationship, these women are trying to string together whatever pieces they can find to keep it alive. It creates a narrative all too familiar: knowing something is toxic but hoping it can be changed.

This theme continues

through the rest of the album. “Make You Love Me” and “Summer Rain” each recognize the women trying to rekindle the love left behind, stating their importance for this man’s livelihood. As the album keeps moving to “This is a War” and “Who Hurt Who,” the women are recognizing how hard it is to keep this man interested.

The album is a constant conflict between giving up on love and holding onto its last few strings. It resembles the story of a classic breakup, but these singers put their own twist on it. Each track carries their own style that samples from a number of genres. At first it may seem like the tracks lack cohesion, but All Saints keep it together through the narrative they’ve created.

“Red Flag” has its flaws.

The girl group is never able to keep the momentum that began with “One Strike.”

While each song can hold itself up on its own, not a single track on the album parallels the energy found in the debut single.

There are moments where the women are honest, but at times it seems as if they are attempting to stay modern after a long hiatus. “Ratchet Behavior” feels contrived. Its tone doesn’t fit well with the rest of the album and the song feels cluttered underneath experimental bass notes combined with a few reggae influences.

“Red Flag” is filled with impactful metaphors and images that create very powerful pieces of work yet sometimes they fall flat

and can leave the song feeling awkward. Despite these instances, “Red Flag” is a successful pop album.

This success is apparent through the genuineness and solidarity these four women hold together.

What makes “Red Flag” even more impressive is the background. It’s hard enough to see female rock groups succeed in the industry, but for this group to release another album after ten years and two breakups is almost unheard of. All Saints find a way to crash through the mold.

All Saints is a group that has been around for decades, and “Red Flag” is a testament to their longevity and talent and to the maturity they have developed. The group isn’t wasting time trying to write music for sales, they create music to heal over heartbreak.

“Red Flag” is a refreshing pop album that carries uncommon styles and voices.

It doesn’t hide behind gimmicks, it remains moving while at the same time reflective of past and present.

Troy Kowalchuk can be reached at tkowalchuk@umass.edu.

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‘96 BASEBALL and recalled that Stone looked just as he did when he was managing the team 20 years ago.

“He hasn’t changed one bit,” Dagliere said. “He looks like he’s 35 years old. He’s really an amazing person. He does it right.

Times change but morals and values don’t. He deserved every bit of this.”

Giglio had similar praise for the 29-year coach’s appearance.

“He looks exactly the same, it’s kind of crazy. He doesn’t age.”

Stone has been the one constant between the winningest team in UMass history and the present day squad. The coach took the field unannounced to pose for a picture with the members of the 1996 team that he led to the regional final.

Tuesday, April 19, 2016

7

continued from page 8

“They’re a great bunch of guys,” Stone said following Saturday’s defeat. “It’s a great bunch of competitors and obviously a real good team. It’s all special guys and it was real good to see them.”

Stone has been at the helm for 29 years as coach of the Minutemen.

Bamford and his current and former players had much praise for the winningest coach in the program’s history.

“He’s influenced over 29 years a lot of men who have gone on to do great things in their lives,” Bamford said. “I think one of the things he really appreciates obviously being a former student athlete here is the power of the University of Massachusetts. He perpetuates that over the 29

years that he’s been the baseball mentor. For him to have those guys come back I know means a lot.

Because of their influence on this program and the effect that they’ve had, it’s a really special thing for him and I know he was looking forward to this weekend especially.”

“He’s seen it all,” Jennings added.

“He knows what he’s doing. It’s nice having someone with a lot of experience to show you the way.”

When asked about his longevity during his tenure at UMass, the coach didn’t appear as nostalgic at first, but then touched upon his nearly 30-year run as a coach of the Minutemen.

“Sometimes it feels like there’s no way it could be

29 years. But when you think about it in a numbers perspective and I guess it does seem like it’s a long time. I’m still active and part of the pregame deals – throwing batting practice and hitting fungos,” Stone said. “So I don’t feel as old as I guess I am. I still feel as if I have a good contribution to offer. I try not to think – I mean 34 years as a Division I head coach – it’s a long time I guess.”

“My goal every year is to focus on getting the most out of the team that we have and try and teach these guys one or two things along the way.

I don’t get that sentimental, really. I hope that this ball club gets on track and can have some fun, experience some success,” Stone added. “I don’t feel

like we’re far away, we just need to do a little bit more.

We need to get a little bit more offensively to get this team in a position to win more often.”

Bamford and Giglio were still happy to represent the University Saturday and recalled the memorable team from 1996 that won 18 consecutive games, an NCAA season record, and 40 total games for the first time in school history.

“It was a fun year,” Giglio said. “It was a good team. We were fortunate to be as successful as we were. When you’re doing it you’re kind of in the moment, but when it kind of settles down and you kind of look back on the overall numbers and where we stood in the nation, it’s pretty special.”

Bamford added: “We talk to our student athletes about understanding what our past is, what our history is and appreciating it because you can’t figure out where you want to go until you figure out where you’ve been. Having our ’96 come back, any time we get a chance to bring alums back to be around our young people and to celebrate the success that we’ve had is really important to our organization and to the development of our future. It’s great. I’ve met a bunch of these guys.

It’s a special weekend for us and in our baseball program especially.”

Kyle DaLuz can be reached at kdaluz@umass.edu and followed on Twitter @Kyle_DaLuz.

THE MASSACHUSETTS DAILY COLLEGIAN

Tuesday, April 19, 2016

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TENNIS

Red-hot Minutewomen win ninth straight Dixon ends season with over 300 wins

By Chris Marino Collegian Staff

The Massachusetts tennis team ended the regular season in style on Sunday afternoon in Bronx, New York.

The Minutewomen cruised to their ninth straight win with a 6-1 victory over Fordham and delivered coach Judy Dixon her 302nd win with the program in their regular season finale.

“It seems to have gone very fast,” said Dixon, now in her 24th season at UMass.

“I remember each team as they come through, there hasn’t been one team that is more special than the others, we had some years

where we struggled a bit but I still thought that we really had made some strides in growing the program into a very big contender in the conference and nationally.”

“I don’t remember all 300 of those wins, but I certainly remember each team… that’s what has made it more special to me, not the wins but the student athletes that have come through the program.”

After a brief moment of nostalgia, Dixon returned to the task at hand and talked about her team’s growth after a slow start to the season.

“We are a team that the more we play the better we get,” Dixon said.

“Historically, that has been true for us. There are some teams that need to rest and come back refreshed, we

need to play.”

After getting off to a 5-6 start, the Minutewomen (146, 3-0 Atlantic 10) have rattled off nine straight victories in a row to conclude the regular season. For their coach, a lot of that success can simply be attributed to getting more reps on the court against good competition.

The rigorous schedule has led to an advantage in fitness versus their competition, according Dixon.

“Our fitness levels are very good, and that showed up in Charleston when it was hot and we were playing three set matches,” she said.

“If you look at our three-set match record over the year, we are above 60 percent in winning those, and that I think has to do with fitness.”

The Minutewomen won

three of those matches on Sunday, with Ruth Crawford (7-6, 6-7, 10-2), Ana Yrazusta (6-3, 4-6, 6-0) and Arielle Griffin (6-7, 6-2, 6-2) each fighting through to earn victories in singles play.

“I think the confidence comes from (winning three set matches),” Dixon said.

“What we can struggle back or hang in or pull it out in the end… That gives you confidence when you get to the end of a close match knowing that you’ve done that before.”

Minutewomen cruise to easy win on Senior Day In the final home match of the season, and of the career for graduating seniors Carol Benito and Arielle Griffin, the Massachusetts tennis team dominated Rhode

WO M E N ’ S L AC RO S S E

Island 7-0 in Amherst on Thursday.

Keyed by strong starts across the board, the Minutewomen won every single set of the match and each of the first sets by a minimum margin of 6-2.

“Letting our seniors go out on a high note is always great,” Dixon said. “I think it was wonderful for them, but better than that they’ve got bigger fish to fry, they’re looking ahead to this coming weekend.”

Griffin won her No. 2 singles match 6-2, 3-2 as her opponent, Taylor Holden, retired in the third set.

Meanwhile, Benito won her match versus URI’s Ariel Haber 6-1, 6-0, only giving up a single point.

It was the eighth straight win for UMass, but Dixon said the winning streak isn’t

UMass honors historic 1996 baseball team

By Kyle Daluz Collegian Staff

Editors note: this story originally appeared online at dailycollegian.com on Sunday, April 17th.

KATHERINE MAYO/COLLEGIAN

Callie Santos (23) carries the ball towards the net in Friday’s 23-2 win against St. Bonaventure at Garber Field in Amherst.

By ThoMas JohnsTon Collegian Staff

Editors note: this story originally appeared online at dailycollegian.com on Monday, April 18th.

The Massachusetts women’s lacrosse team followed up its 23-point scoring outburst against St. Bonaventure with another high-scoring performance against La Salle Sunday afternoon, winning 19-6.

The Minutewomen (13-1, 6-0 Atlantic 10) have been forced to find different players to step up in the absence of Nicole Troost, who has not played since injuring her wrist against George Washington on April 10th.

Troost’s injury left a big hole for UMass to filled, as her 42 goals this year are the most on the team.

With the Minutewomen expecting everyone to step up to replace Troost’s production on the field, it has been the Florida transfer Hannah Burnett, who has stepped into that role. Her effort has not gone unnoticed by the rest of the team and coaching staff.

Chris Marino can be reached at cmarino@umass.edu.

BASEBALL

THE GREATEST SHOW ON TURF

UMass explodes for 42 goals in two wins

something the team is paying attention to.

“I’m not sure that they think about it that much,” Dixon said. “I mostly think about getting better every day and I mostly think about what’s going to happen April 22-24.”

While the winning streak has given the Minutewomen a great record for the year, the focus remains on the A-10 Championship meet, as it has all year.

“I said to them this morning that they’ve had a good year, but I don’t think that they think it’s enough.”

The A-10 Championship will be played this Thursday through Sunday and will take place in Cincinnati, Ohio.

“Everyone is stepping up, Hannah Burnett especially.

She is getting into (Troost’s) role and Nicole’s teaching her as we’re going along and she’s really stepped up,” Erika Eipp said.

UMass coach Angela

Minutewomen penalties, scoring two free-position goals within the first two minutes of the game. The Explorers then scored an easy breakaway goal from Brittany Edwards, putting them up 3-1 with 21 minutes,

“We like to play fast, so when we do that things seem to click. I think our connections on the field, having a ton of assists on goals make it hard to defend us.”

Angela McMahon, UMass coach McMahon added: “Hannah Burnett stepped right into that role and has been fantastic. I would say it’s almost seamless in terms of the transition.”

Burnett has had the hot hand since replacing Troost, scoring six goals Friday against the Bonnies, and continued her scoring tear Sunday finishing with four goals as well as adding an assist.

It was a slow start for the Minutewomen, as the Explorers (4-9, 2-9 A-10) were the team that seemed to come out of the opening whistle with more energy. La Salle capitalized off

seem to click,” McMahon said. “I think our connections on the field, having a ton of assists on goals make it hard to defend us.”

The Explorers answered the Minutewomen run with a goal from Katelyn Fay to end the half, sending it to the intermission with UMass leading 10-4.

The Minutewomen picked up where they left off in the second half. Despite allowing a Anna Kelly goal 1:09 into the half, UMass increased its intensity with an 8-0 run spanning across a 20-minute stretch.

The Minutewomen put pressure on the La Salle goalkeeper Sarah Gallagher all day, outshooting the Explorers 29-18.

“Our goal going into every game is to get shots off. In the beginning of the season we were slacking and in the last couple games we’ve been sticking to our game plan and we’re getting a lot of shots off which are turning into goals,” Eipp said.

UMass looks to continue its winning streak Friday when it travels to Virginia to face Richmond.

25 seconds remaining in the first half.

After the slow start, the Minutewomen’s talent took over the game, hitting another gear that their opposition simply couldn’t match. UMass exploded for a 9-1 run to end the first half, sucking any energy left out of La Salle.

McMahon sees the speed her team plays with as the main reason they have blown out opponents this year.

“We play a lot of people, we’re always running people in and out of the box. We like to play fast, Thomas Johnston can be reached at so when we do that things tjohnston@umass.edu.

It wasn’t alumni weekend, but the sense of Minutemen pride was prevalent in Amherst when the Massachusetts baseball team paid homage to its 1996 team that finished with a 40-13 record en route to Atlantic 10 regular season and tournament championship titles.

The current Minutemen paid their respect to the ‘96 team and newly inducted UMass Hall of Fame member Doug Clark from the late 90s teams by donning throwback hats featuring the former UMass logo, honoring the former championship players on the field before Saturday’s 6-1 loss to Saint Joseph’s.

The middle infielders for the championship team – shortstop David Giglio and second basemen Muchie Dagliere – were two members on hand for the ceremony and were excited to be back on their old stomping grounds at Earl Lorden Field.

“It’s awesome (to be back),” Giglio said. “It’s been a few years since I’ve been back here, so it’s pretty awesome. The field looks amazing. It’s good to see some old faces and see some of these guys (that you haven’t) in actually 20 years. It’s an exciting day.”

“Being back in this environment, this is where we gained our relationships with our buddies,” Dagliere added. “We went through blood, sweat and tears on the sidelines and these are your buddies that last a life time. To be all together after 20 years or so, it makes it very special for us.”

The hats donned by UMass in yesterday’s affair were the hats worn by the Minutemen through the 90s.

Adidas and athletic director Ryan Bamford were behind bringing back the familiar logo to pay tribute to the historic team 20 years later.

Bamford did the same thing

earlier this year when the UMass basketball team honored the 1996 Final Four team by wearing throwback jerseys for select games this season.

“It’s cool,” said Bamford of the tribute. “It’s a neat little touch for us. Anytime we can do that – Adidas is a good partner in helping us with our uniforms – it’s always a great situation.”

“It was awesome,” said UMass senior captain John Jennings after Saturday’s game. “I’ve seen a couple of them come back for alumni game in the fall. It was exciting, I thought it would fire us up a little bit more than it did. I thought we’d put up some more runs and a better fight. But, it was definitely awesome having them here.”

The Minutemen lost the game 6-1 to St. Joe’s in the middle game of their threegame series.

Giglio was still appreciative of the gesture of respect paid to them with the hats from UMass administration. “It’s kind of a cool little surprise,” Giglio said.

“It’s awesome.”

Dagliere’s bond with the 1996 team goes a bit further than other members on the roster. After their victories in the A-10 tournament, the second basemen went out and got a tattoo of the “UM” logo that the Minutemen featured on Saturday on his right shoulder to honor and remember an unforgettable season.

“When they broke out the new hats coach (Mike) Stone asked if I still had it, I said, ‘Yes I do, coach,’” Dagliere said. “That’s what this program meant to us.

This was our life. We lived with each other, we ate with each other, we traveled with each other. You can’t beat the experience that we had here.”

Dagliere attended Taft Prep school in Connecticut prior to spending his playing days at Earl Lorden Field. During that time, the second basemen played under Stone’s father, and went on to play under him at UMass in the late 1990s see

‘96 BASEBALL on page 7