The Massachusetts Daily Collegian: October 20th, 2016

UMass seeks improvement with new coaching staff

By Kyle DaLuz

I

Collegian Staff

t has been two weeks since the Massachusetts hockey team dropped the puck on the 2016-17 season, beginning the Greg Carvel era at UMass.

The Minutemen split their season-opening series against Colorado College – a 3-0 victory on Oct. 7, followed by a 7-4 defeat the following night at Mullins Center.

UMass enters its season with plenty of question marks across the board, with youth and inexperience fogging much of the roster and even the coaching staff.

That uncertainty starts at the top of the pecking order, as Carvel enters his first season as coach of the Minutemen – returning to the university that earned him a master’s degree in sport management. The former St. Lawrence coach and the rest of his staff is ready to brace the challenges that this season presents.

“I’ll gauge this season by whether we can raise our standard of play every night,” Carvel said. “I’m not that worried about wins and losses right now. I’m looking for a team that plays the right way and earns the respect of their opponent every night.”

The way the current roster is constructed, the

A new era

Newily hired head coach Greg Carvel looks to turn UMass hockey around at alma mater.

Young guns look to make impact pA2

Jonny Lazarus, Shane Bear among eight freshmen expected to play significant minutes.

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Steven Iacobellis ready to be role model as program enters turnover

join Wakaluk as the assistant captains. Forward Steven Iacobellis will be the team’s lead captain – the second consecutive season as the Minutemen captain for just the 10th time in program history.

Iacobellis tallied four goals and 17 assists last season, and is joined by line mates Ray Pigozzi and Austin Plevy.

Iacobellis is hopeful he can aid the team in improving on its 8-24-4 record from a season ago, but knows they have a long way to go.

“We have to work on our systems,” Iacobellis said.

“We have to see where we’re weak and where we’re lacking in knowledge.”

The defense will be led by Baxandall, veterans William Lagesson, Ivan Chukarov and Marc Hetnik, as well as freshmen defensemen Shane Bear, who is in no way hesitant to let one fire from the point.

Regardless of the personnel in the room and results the next few months present, the Minutemen are ready to make a concerted effort in making Carvel’s first season a success.

“I feel like the past was in the rearview mirror as soon as coach walked into that locker room,” Chukarov see

PREVIEW on page A5

UM to ride hot hand at goalie

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Leaving his mark

Packing their bags

Minutemen will travel to play in multiple tournaments include the Friendship Four, Mariucci Classic and Frozen Fenway in 2017-17.

Minutemen feature eight freshmen to go along with the remaining returning members of the team, highlighted by the youth of goaltender Ryan Wischow, forward Jonny Lazarus and defensemen Shane Bear.

Carvel and the rest of the UMass coaching staff have yet to name a permanent starting goaltender for the season. The Minutemen, however, did decided they will ride the hot hand and whichever player performs the best consistently will get the nod between the pipes.

Wischow was the victor in the opening game against Colorado College – turning away all 31 of the Tigers’ shots. His effort on back-to-back nights was less than impressive, however, as he was chased from the game after allowing three goals in the first 7:15 of play.

Nic Renyard relieved Wischow and made 28 saves, while the lone goalie yet to see the ice this season, Alex Wakaluk, is an assistant captain. The job is still up for the taking if any one netminder can come in and win it throughout the course of the season.

“We want to give all three guys opportunities,” Carvel said before the start of the season. “It’s always great if one guy makes the decision for you. At this point I don’t think that’s the case.”

Forward Dominic Trento (eight goals, nine assists last season) and blue-liner Brennan Baxandall will

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Alex Wakaluk, Nic Renyard and Ryan Wischow all could see action in net with starting position still up for the taking.

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Cover Design by Anna Arscott

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THE MASSACHUSETTS DAILY COLLEGIAN

Thursday, October 20, 2016

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A NEW ERA H E A D C OA C H

UMass coach Greg Carvel looks to make impact with Minutemen following multiple seasons at the bottom of the Hockey East

By Kyle DaLuz

G

Collegian Staff

of the jobs that Carvel has held he ever thought he’d be occupying. It’s that kind of mentality that makes him appreciate and be thankful for every job he’s been given.

“I could never have imagined I’d be (coaching) in the NHL,” Carvel said. “I never imagined that I’d go back to my alma mater. I never imagined that I’d go back to my other alma mater. When you’re young, you just want a job. You’re not too picky.

What I think I’ve done is that every job that I’ve been fortunate to take on is I’ve proven myself and that’s led me to the next job.”

There are obvious draws to UMass for the 14th coach in its program’s history.

This is where he spent part of his life, the Hockey East Association boasts the most premiere programs in the country and it presents a new challenge for Carvel, who doesn’t always want to take the easiest route.

“Last year, six teams in the league (Hockey East) made it to the NCAA tournament,” Carvel said.

“We had a strong team at St. Lawrence and finished fourth and we didn’t make the tournament. When we recruit against Hockey East teams, we didn’t have a lot of success. Many kids want to play in this league. The travel is a little easier. It’s a higher profile (league).

“I just really felt strongly that there was a vision here.

They wanted to make hockey important and successful. To me it was a challenge. As I said at my press conference, sometimes you don’t take the easy route. Like I said, every job I’ve taken I’ve had to prove myself. I looked at this as a challenge where maybe if we succeed the way I think we can that we’ll be an NCAA team and be a team that plays in the national tournament and can win a Hockey East title someday.”

reg Carvel has come a long way from playing ice hockey at local rinks in his hometown of Canton, New York, right on the Canadian border, and watching “Hockey Night in Canada” on Saturday nights to working the bench as the head coach of the Massachusetts hockey team.

Carvel grew up in a hockey mecca, and that environment has contributed greatly to where he stands today. Watching, playing and coaching hockey—that’s all the 46-year-old St. Lawrence alum has done professionally in his career.

Right down the street from where he grew up, Carvel played collegiate hockey at St. Lawrence—a Division I school in the Eastern College Athletic Conference.

Along with being a captain and the first College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) COLLEGIAN FILE PHOTO Academic All-American in St. Lawrence history, he Greg Carvel speaks at the poduim during his introductory press conference on March 30. Carvel spent the previous four seasons coaching St. Lawerence. was the 1993 Outstanding Defensive Forward awardmaking themselves better hanging up the skates as a the way life works. I fell into him. winner, tallying 38 goals and player. However, it was clear it. Every job I’ve gotten in “I was there (Lowell) for hockey players and main85 assists for 123 points in his that his time around the hockey, I feel like it’s come to a couple years,” Carvel said. taining and staying in the 131 career games as a Saint.

“I got a call and they asked if NHL. It’s pretty impressive game he loved was not over me. I haven’t chased it.”

Carvel thought he want- I’d be interested in going to to work with athletes at the quite yet.

Life on the “I think everybody who ed to be an athletic direc- Anaheim (NHL) and then got highest level of their sport. coaching bench plays at a high level wants to tor, which is where his story a call asking if I’d be inter- It’s a little transition in work Carvel was drafted by stay in. Coaching is ideal,” meets the University of ested in going to Ottawa and ing with kids who have to be the Pittsburgh Penguins in Carvel said. “It’s not easy. Massachusetts. He went to right to this job here. I’ve committed in other areas of the 1991 NHL Supplemental My first job was at a prep UMass to receive his mas- kind of let things come to their life. draft prior to heading over- school where I was an assis- ter’s degree in sports man- me. There was a while when “The talent level is obviseas to play a professional tant athletic director but I agement in 1998. Carvel then I was in the NHL where I was ously not the same, but it’s season in Sweden before coached hockey. But that’s began his career as an assis- scouting, I wasn’t coaching. not that far off. It’s still tant athletic director and The coaching came to me. pretty similar. Division I to assistant hockey coach at This is as close as you can be the NHL—a lot of kids are Canterbury Prep School in to the game without playing. making that leap nowadays.

New Milford, Connecticut.

It’s a fun profession.”

For me, it was adjusting to That job was followed Carvel continued to climb all the administrative parts with a stint in the American the coaching ladder in 2012, of the job and coaching at a Hockey League as the direc- when he was offered the different level. The ability to tor of hockey operations for head coaching position of his execute is different. There the Lowell Lock Monsters alma mater, St. Lawrence. was quite a bit of adjustand professional tenure with Carvel held that post for five ment.” two National Hockey League seasons, compiling a 72-63teams – one as a scout- 15 record. It was there he Back to Alma ing and video coordinator noticed the drastic differMater No. 2 turned assistant coach with ences of being a college level the Anaheim Ducks and the coach compared to standing Coaching the Minutemen never even entered Carvel’s next in the same position on an NHL bench.

Endless possibilities for eight seasons with the “There’s the stark differ- mind back when he was Ottawa Senators. Each posi- ence in the commitment,” he spending his days in the 2016 starts the beginning tion Carvel has had in coach- said. “At one level they’re UMass classrooms with of the Carvel era in UMass ing, he has sat back and let professionals and everything hopes of becoming an athGraphic by Caroline O’Connor the calls be directed toward in their life is focused on letic director. In fact, none see CARVEL on page A5

Graphic by Caroline O’Connor

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FRESHMEN

G OA L I E S

Lazarus, Bear shine in opening weekend

Wischow, Renyard split action vs. CC

Thursday, October 20, 2016

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Minutemen turn to freshmen UMass, Carvel plan to to make immediate impact ride hot hand at goalie

By Ryan Ames

By Ryan Ames

Collegian Staff

Freshmen in college hockey aren’t typically relied upon to step right into a lineup and have an immediate impact. Unless that player is a special talent like former Boston University forward and current member of the Buffalo Sabres, Jack Eichel, most freshmen have to earn their ice time and prove they belong.

This year’s Massachusetts hockey team is in a bit of a different situation though, as all eight players in this year’s freshmen class have been given ample opportunities to establish themselves.

All eight skated in at least one of the two games in UMass’ season opener against Colorado College Oct. 7-8, and Minutemen coach Greg Carvel has already liked what he has seen from his freshmen in the early goings of the season.

“We have four forwards in our top three lines, we’ve got two defenseman playing important roles and a goaltender who’s battling for the (job in) net so I’m happy with the group,” Carvel said. “Not only are they playing on a certain level on the ice, but off the ice, they’re mature and they’re kids that are doing things the way that we need things to be done around here to change the culture.”

Goaltender Rya n Wischow made headlines after he recorded a shutout victory in his first career start in net in the season opener for UMass, clinching a 3-0 win over CC. Jonny Lazarus scored in both contests against the Tigers and leads the Minutemen in goals after two games. Griff Jeszka recorded a goal and assist in the opening series and has also been a force in the faceoff circle winning 68 percent (17-for-25) of faceoff draws. Defenseman Shane Bear has seen significant ice-time as he’s been on the first defensemen pair as well as the first power-play unit, earning an assist in the 7-4 loss to CC on Oct. 8.

“They’re an older group that has had to take not the easiest path to Division I, so those kids come in with good character and they’re not taking anything for granted and they don’t expect anything to be handed to them,” Carvel said.

With a new coach and numerous fresh faces in the program this season, UMass should be an intriguing team to watch, as the underclassmen, including this year’s freshmen class, should largely factor in the success of Carvel’s

Collegian Staff

KATHERINE MAYO/COLLEGIAN

Despite being a freshman, Shane Bear has already risen atop the UM depth chart. first team.

Although the Minutemen are infused with youth, compared to the rest of Hockey East, they are one of the oldest teams in the conference.

BU and Boston College are the two youngest teams in the nation with an average age of 20 years, one month.

The average age of the UMass roster this season is 21 years, eight months, which is the second eldest in the Hockey East, trailing only Vermont.

Again, since this is Carvel’s first year manning the post as head coach of the Minutemen, he’ll be in charge of developing this group for the next four years as they’ll arguably be the most important class involved in turning around a program that hasn’t had much to celebrate the last few years.

“As a group, I really like the group,” Carvel said.

“I think they are going to be important players and help a lot in turning things around here over four years.”

While the positive results might not come immediately for UMass, the progression and transformation of its young players will go a long way in setting up a bright future for Minutemen hockey, and Carvel seems to have solidified that foundation with a group of freshmen that have the potential to lead a new generation of UMass hockey players.

Lazarus’ Lightning Fast Start

there was a lot of doubt sometimes. But I guess everything ended up working out.”

Lazarus credited assistant coach Ben Barr as a major reason he’s a Minuteman on this year’s roster, as Barr was the one who reached out to Lazarus and started to show serious interest in his game.

Heading into this season, Lazarus wasn’t really sure where he would fit in the lineup, but after scoring a goal in each of the first two games, he’s already the team’s leading goal scorer just weeks into his collegiate career.

“Definitely not,” Lazarus said about if he expected to produce right away. “As a freshman, you kind of just want to make any impact you can. I was fortunate enough to be put on a line with [Dominic] Trento and [Patrick] Lee and each of them gave me a beautiful pass both nights and I was just fortunate enough to have them go in.”

Since he’s arrived in Amherst, the Syosset, New York native has been a consistent producer scoring those two goals, as well as earning time on the first power-play unit.

“We brought him in here because he has the ability to score and create offense,” Carvel said of Lazarus. “He needs to play a little quicker, work on his feet a little bit, get stronger in battles because when he’s around the net with the puck on his stick he does a lot of good stuff. Again, if he can find more pace to his game, he’ll be even more dangerous because he does have that ability to score.”

Now that Lazarus has gotten a little taste of college hockey, he wants to use what he’s learned so far to help the rest of the team succeed.

“Whatever I can do to help the team,” Lazarus said. “Whether it be set up them for goals, but if the puck keeps coming to me hopefully I’ll keep putting it in.”

Not too long ago, Lazarus wasn’t sure if his career would extend beyond junior hockey. After playing two seasons for the Wichita Falls Wildcats of the North American Hockey League (NAHL) where he put up 86 total points. However, despite the success, things weren’t looking too promising for Lazarus’ college hopes.

“I was getting looked at a bit but no one really offered me any scholarships,” Lazarus said. “I Bearing the Load wasn’t really sure if I would

play Division I because I Much like a rookie NHL was only talking to Division defenseman, a freshman III schools pretty much, so college defenseman is one

JUDITH GIBSON-OKUNIEFF/COLLEGIAN

Jonny Lazarus (23) leads the Minutemen with a pair goals this season after scoring one in each of UM’s first two games.

When Jonathan Quick signed with the Los Angeles Kings in 2007 forgoing his final two seasons of college hockey, he left the Massachusetts hockey team with a big hole to fill in net.

Almost a decade later, with a brand-new set of coaches leading a reenergized Minutemen hockey program, UMass is still looking for their next marquee goaltender in this year’s trio of Alex Wakaluk, Nic Renyard and Ryan Wischow.

Coming into this season, there was no clear-cut number one goaltender listed on the roster.

Renyard, who started the majority of games last season as a freshman, had an underwhelming season statistically following an exceptional junior hockey career.

After two seasons in the Alberta Junior Hockey league with the Okotoks Oilers, Renyard was named 2015 RBC CJHL National Junior A hockey player of the year, and received the 2015 CJHL top goaltender award as well. As a member of the Minutemen last year, Renyard posted a .898 save percentage and a 3.65 goalsagainst average, a stark contrast from his days as an Oiler.

Wakaluk never got a consistent routine going as he was bounced in and out of

the starting role last season, earning a .862 save percentage and a 4.51 goals-against average in 10 games. Yet his teammates still valued his presence as they picked him to be part of the leadership group as an assistant captain for this year.

Wischow was a late addition to the roster as he was originally committed to St. Lawrence but decided to follow head coach Greg Carvel to Amherst once he was hired in the spring.

Playing in the United States Hockey League for the Fargo Force prior to this season, Wischow put up respectable numbers as he finished the year with a .917 save percentage and a 2.29 GAA. Out of the three, Renyard looked to be the favorite to get the starting gig before the year, due to his game experience last season as well as his impressive junior pedigree, leaving Wakaluk and Wischow chasing him on the depth chart.

However, things seemed to have changed after the exhibition game against Dalhousie when Wakaluk and Renyard had tough showings and Wischow played well in the final period.

This translated over into the first game of the season when Wischow earned the nod in net against Colorado College, recording his first career shutout, however after a rough outing the next night, Renyard came in, and furthered the starting goalie confusion.

It seems as though this position will be a battle

for the foreseeable future and assistant coach Jared DeMichiel believes any one of the three could step up and get the job done.

“All three of them are all really good kids and hard workers,” DeMichiel said. “I firmly feel that all three are very capable of taking the ball and running with it.”

DeMichiel primarily works with the goaltenders in practice, and over the twoweek long break between games, he’s seemed to have gotten a good sense of what each player can bring to the table. “(Wakaluk) is a really good leader who works really, really hard in practice.

With him we’re just working on fighting through to find pucks and things like that,” DiMichiel said. “(Renyard) obviously is a returner who played a lot of minutes last year, and he’s played pretty well for us so far, and Wischow being a freshman started our first game against CC.” Being in the unique situation where all three goalies have the potential to start at any given night, DeMichiel says forming a relationship with all three is critical in getting the best out of each of them.

“I try to spend as much time with them equally, on the ice or off the ice, doing little things whether it’s talking to them in the locker room, or talking to them in between drills,” DeMichiel said.

DeMichiel added: “Obviously they’re different kids and there are different see

GOALIES on page A5

ERICA LOWENKRON/COLLEGIAN

Freshman Ryan Wischow started both games against Colorado College, posting a shutout in his collegiate debut.

TOURNAMENTS

UM set to travel to Ireland, Fenway Park and Minnesota

By Nick Souza Collegian Staff

The Massachusetts hockey team will be focusing on progress through most of the 2016-17 season. The Minutemen and their coaching staff are refraining from being too concerned about who they play, and instead, focusing instead on how they play.

However, it doesn’t hurt to have a few unique and fascinating tournaments and events on the schedule to showcase the progress UMass coach Greg Carvel hopes to make this season.

The Minutemen are scheduled to play the Friendship Four, the Mariucci Classic and Frozen Fenway all in the first season under Carvel.

Each of these events on the schedule will pit the Minutemen against top

national talent and put them on grander stages, but Carvel maintains that the focus will remain firmly on his team and their overall progression through the season.

“We’re at a point where it doesn’t matter who we play,” Carvel said. “We’ve got to prove things to ourselves every night and we’ve got to find some consistency and a standard in our game and see if we can push that.”

The first major tournament on the schedule for UMass is the second annual Friendship Four tournament in Belfast, Northern Ireland, where it will be slated to face conferencefoe Vermont in the first round, followed by either No. 3 Quinnipiac or Carvel’s former team, No. 12 St. Lawrence in the next round.

The tournament is scheduled for Nov. 25 and

26 during the University’s extended Thanksgiving break, which should give the Minutemen faithful a chance to kick after their turkey dinner at home and watch UMass play in this historical tournament.

This will mark on the second time major college hockey has been played outside of North America, and it drew a television audience in the thousands last year across North America and Europe, as well as the 20,000 in attendance.

“I’m sure it’s like an outdoor game,” Carvel said.

“They’re unique so people want to tune in. It’s definitely a chance to expose what we’ve got and we’ve got to make the most of it.”

A month later, on New Year’s Eve weekend, the Minutemen will be travelsee

SCHEDULE on page A5

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LEAVING HIS MARK CAPTAIN

In his final season with the Minutemen, UMass captain Steven Iacobellis looks to lead the program as it transitions into the Greg Carvel era

By Nick Souza

F

Collegian Staff

ollowing the first weekend of the season against Colorado College, Massachusetts hockey senior captain Steven Iacobellis has played 105 games in a UMass uniform. In that time, he’s accumulated 24 goals and 43 assists for a total of 67 points—scoring his first of the season in the second game against the Tigers.

Iacobellis, who is going into his second season as team captain, will play a major role in the transition to the Greg Carvel era for the Minutemen. The new UMass coach recognizes what kind of leadership he has at his disposal for this rebuilding process.

“I knew he was captain as a junior, which is a pretty strong statement,” Carvel said. “You don’t really see that often. I came in thinking we’ve got some good leadership and he’s someone I can lean on and buy in to what we are selling and he’s done that.”

Carvel added, “He’s a quiet leader, you know what you are going to get from him every night and he plays hard.”

Back when Carvel first introduced himself to the team, he and Iacobellis also took time to talk with each

other separately afterward and were able to make their first impressions.

“I don’t remember too much of the conversation,” Carvel said. “But it was similar to most of the conversations we have. We just needed more accountability and more structure and I think (Iacobellis) along with the rest of the team were yearning for that kind of culture.”

“My first impression was that he’s a serious guy,” Iacobellis said. “But also very personable and can have a lot of fun at the same time, and he obviously has a lot of experience in the game and is someone that everyone here can look up to. He expects a lot out the guys. You can sense that in him right a way, and you want to work for him.”

From junior league to the Hockey East The journey from Point Coquitlam, B.C. to Amherst, Mass. really jump-started for Iacobellis at the age of 17. He left home to begin his playing career in the British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL), which is a Junior “A” hockey league in western Canada.

Iacobellis spent his first season with the Penticton Vees, and lived with a billet

Graphic by Matt Merlino & Caroline O’Connor

family—a family that offers housing to Junior League hockey players—five hours away from his home.

“It’s different learning how to be away from home at 17,” Iacobellis said. “It was tough leaving home for the first time, but also at the same time it was really exciting.”

Following his first season with Penticton, the now 18-year-old Iacobellis was traded to the Cowichan Valley Capitals before being traded again the following season to Salmon Arm Silverbacks for his final year in juniors. He would finish his BCHL career playing in 147 games, totaling 106 points (37 goals and 69 assists).

His impressive offensive production was enough to capture the attention of the Minutemen and their-then coach, John Micheletto. However, while in Penticton Iacobellis was initially committed to go to elsewhere.

“I was originally committed to go to Nebraska. but it fell through for various reasons,” Iacobellis said. “I knew another player in Penticton that was committed to UMass, Eric Filiou. I never heard of UMass before that.”

Three-quarters of the way through his final season in the BCHL, Iacobellis had the chance to visit and ultimately fell in love with the University. He quickly committed, just one month after initial talks with the Minutemen.

He also took the time to research both the school and the Hockey East conference, which offers marque opponents with some of the richest history in all of college hockey.

COLLEGIAN FILE PHOTO

Steven Iacobellis enters his second year as UMass’ captain, finishing his junior season with four goals and 17 assists.

Boston University on the road, and on a third-period power play he scored his first ever career goal in Agganis Arena.

“It was pretty cool, I’ve still got the puck and ticket from that game because one of my buddies was in attendance,” Iacobellis said. “ I don’t remember too much of that game. I don’t want to say I blacked out in the middle of it, but it was kind of overwhelming and to think ‘wow that just happened.’”

That goal was the first of 11 for the season for Iacobellis to go along with 10 assists for a total of 21 points and was named the team’s Rookie of the Year after playing in all 34 games.

He then followed a strong freshman season with eight goals in his sophomore year, including 16 assistants to go along with his eight goals.

The Micheletto years His performance and char It’s fair to say that acter on and off the ice Iacobellis’ career opened earned praise and recogniwith a bang at UMass. His tion from his teammates very first career game came as they decided to make against then-ranked No. 19 him team captain as junior, Graphic by Caroline O’Connor

which is a rarity in the college hockey world.

“It was a team vote, and it was nice of the guys to give me that title,” Iacobellis said. “There are so many guys on this team that could be captain or wearing letters, and those guys have helped me get here. It means a lot.”

Iacobellis did see a slight dip in offensive production last year as captain as he scored a total of 21 points and just four goals with a career-high of 17 assists.

This was also the final year under Micheletto, the coach who recruited him.

The transition

more on itself, rather than worrying extensively about its opponents.

The goals for Iacobellis this season have been set at a high level, but are also largely intangible.

“We’ve asked him to act in a way that even though he’s only going to be under this staff for one year, he makes an impact that he can always look back on and say ‘I played an important role in building the culture here,’” Carvel said.

“Just as a team, I’m hoping to really build on the past and leave this place better than when I got here,” Iacobellis said.

“Also, to be someone that the younger guys can look up to and call upon in the future, and I want this place to be something that I can come back to and be proud of, and I think I will.”

Iacobellis is now gearing up for his final act as a member of the Minutemen, and it will be under a whole new system run by the newly-hired Carvel.

Expectations from the outside looking in are not particularly high for UMass, but the focus this season will largely be internal for Carvel, and by Nicholas Souza can be reached at extension, Iacobellis. The njsouza@umass.edu and followed on team as a whole will focus Twitter at @nicksouza27.

SCHEDULE

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ing out to Minneapolis, Minnesota to play in the 26th annual Mariucci classic hosted by the University of Minnesota.

This will be the third time in program history UMass will play in this tournament, and for Carvel this will be his first time returning to the tournament as a coach since playing in it as a member of the 1992-93 St. Lawrence team that lost in the championship game.

KATHERINE MAYO/COLLEGIAN The Minutemen and Golden Gophers will Members of UMass celebrate a goal in its 3-0 win over Colorado College Oct. 7. be joined by AlabamaHuntsville and Mercy Hurst, with No. 7 the fourth installment of “You only get so many out of conference games,” Minnesota being the only Frozen Fenway.

Carvel said. “Hopefully

This will be the second ranked team in the field. we get the chance to play time the Minutemen are With the Golden Gophers failing to capture their set to skate in the famous Minnesota, and teams like own tournament’s trophy ballpark and home of Alabama-Huntsville are in seven of the previous the Boston Red Sox, as teams you don’t get to play nine years, this season’s UMass fell to Vermont 3-2 very often.” perceived softer field of in overtime back in 2012. Carvel added: “The first teams gives the appear- This year Hockey East one being in Ireland is a ance that Minnesota can teams are set to play in all once-in-a-lifetime opporeight Division I match-ups tunity to play with your change their fortunes.

“I think it’s Minnesota with the Minutemen and college team in Europe, and three teams who are Terriers scheduled for the so that’s an easy one.

With Minnesota, it’s fun in the same atmosphere first puck drop. right now and we’ve got The schedule this year to travel to different parts to go over there and prove for UMass is chalk full of the country and we’ve that hopefully by January of opportunities to play got some kids on the team we’ve taken some steps as teams that wouldn’t nor- from the Chicago area and mally play, in places that western Canada so those a team,” Carvel said.

The last major event on wouldn’t normally play. kids get a chance to play the regular season sched- According to Carvel, that and have their families get ule for UMass is sched- is a major reason why to come watch them play.” meticulously uled the following week coaches on Jan. 7 when they face choose which tournaments Nicholas Souza can be reached at No. 8 Boston University at they want to play in. njsouza@umass.edu.

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GOALIES

Thursday, October 20, 2016

CARVEL

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hockey—a program that hasn’t made the NCAA tournament since 2007. It is Carvel’s hope that the team will not just win games, but that the program be reflective of the qualities that his kids and the coach represent themselves.

Years from now, when his time on the bench at the Mullins Center has come to an end, Carvel hopes that the members of the UMass community and all those vested in Minutemen hockey look back at his time fondly with a program that is competing at the highest level.

“I hope that they talk

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about the program,” Carvel said. “That we built a program where kids did things the right way in every part of their life, that we win a fair number of games and became a very respected member of this league.

I think more so when I came in here too, (John Micheletto) left with a reputation of a guy that was involved in the community, was affable and was charitable. I want that to be the reputation of our program.

I hope that we play hard, we play right and we do things for the right reasons.”

Kyle DaLuz can be reached at kdaluz@umass.edu.

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COLLEGIAN FILE PHOTO

Alex Wakaluk, who made seven starts and appeared in 10 games last year, was named one of the Minutemen’s assitant captains for the 2016-17 season. ways to motivate all three of them. As a coach you just try to show them an equal amount of love, and find what buttons to push so they can be successful on the ice.”

DeMichiel also said that he looks for certain things like fire and competitiveness in practice, after the obvious factor of whether they’re stopping the puck, to help him determine who gets the start for the next game.

While DeMichiel admits that it would be nice if all three could play equally well every time they got an opportunity, he realizes that’s just not how goaltending battles play out anymore.

“If all three of them stop the puck when they get the opportunity we’ll be totally fine with that,” he said. “It just seems like in college hockey and in professional hockey usually somebody takes the ball and runs with it.”

At this point, there still isn’t a clear-cut favorite but DeMichiel thinks Wischow and Renyard have the upper-edge at this point in

the year.

“We feel like Ryan and Nick have maybe created a little bit of separation and the two of them are kind of duking it out right now.

Both of them are goalies with good size, good athleticism, and we’re just hoping one of them steps up and takes the bull by the horns,” DeMichiel said.

It’s clear that whoever ends up winning starting nod will have two others waiting in the wings constantly pushing them to maintain their status atop the depth chart.

Wakaluk Wears the Jersey Wakaluk has been through a lot as a senior at UMass.

His time as a Minuteman hasn’t been the most successful being a part of three consecutive losing seasons, however that hasn’t stopped the Bellevue, Alberta native from having a positive outlook towards this season.

“We talked about how before the season our goal as a team was we just wanted to see us leave the jersey

JONG MAN KIM/COLLEGIAN

Nick Renyard made 28 saves against Colorado College in UM’s 7-4 loss Oct.

FRESHMEN of the hardest positions in all of sports to master. The speed of the game is much faster, opposing players are much bigger and mistakes are much more costly.

Despite this belief, Bear has started his career at UMass relatively smoothly.

“It’s been a big adjustment to say the least,” Bear said. “I think something that has made it easier is the group of guys that we have here and how supportive they are.”

Last season, William Lagesson and Ivan Chukarov were highly touted recruits and have since turned into catalysts on the backend for UMass.

Bear admits to looking at both Lagesson and Chukarov as role models during his first go-around in college hockey.

“My (defense)-partner, William Lagesson, he’s a

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“You always want to do well personally, but to me what would make me the happiest is seeing our team grow.”

Alex Wakaluk, UMass goaltender in a better place than it was before we started this year,” Wakaluk said. “Every single day we’re trying get better, trying to do things differently and change the culture around the team.”

Wakaluk’s first two years in Amherst weren’t too taxing as he only played in five total games, but his hard work paid off last season when he started a careerhigh seven games, earning his first career win against Army in a 22-save effort.

He’s also a star in the classroom as he’s been named to the Hockey East All-Academic team every season he’s been a member of the Minutemen.

This year’s goalie battle has transpired into a lively competition Wakaluk feels is necessary for every college team to have.

“I mean in the past three years, there’s always been a battle for the number one starting goalie and that’s the way it should be in college anyways,” Wakaluk said.

“The best goalie, or whatever goalie gives the team the best chance to win is going to play so it’s always healthy to have a little competition between the goalies.”

Being a senior assistant captain, Wakaluk understands that his role on the team is one that pertains more to leadership than his play on the ice, and he has taken it on full-stride so far.

“The guys think I’m a good leader, and I’m incredibly honored for them to

think that about me, so I guess the weight is a little bit on my shoulders a tiny bit to make sure everybody is doing the things they need to do to get better every single day we’re out here,” Wakaluk said.

“It’s been great so far this year,” Wakaluk added regarding the atmosphere in practice among the three goalies during this battle. “I feel like every single practice we go out there and we see the team getting better, we see us as goalies getting better and that’s what we’re pushing for as a team right now.”

Wakaluk won’t get to experience the full rebirth of this UMass hockey program since he graduates this spring, yet despite that, his main goal for this season is to help shape a winning culture of hockey in Amherst.

“You always want to do well personally, but to me what would make me the happiest is seeing our team grow,” Wakaluk said.

While Wakaluk might not be the most important figure on the ice for the Minutemen, it’s clear his off-ice leadership, and guidance will be key as UMass starts its rebuild in this new era of Minuteman hockey.

is really good, he’s a competitive kid who really knows how to play at his size, and he knows what he isn’t,” Carvel said. “That’s important because when you know what you are and what you aren’t, you don’t put yourself in situations where you won’t be successful and he does a real good job playing to his strengths.” Defensemen are one of the most active members on a hockey team, given they usually get the most ice-time every game, and with Bear getting so much playing time so soon, there’s a potential for burnout, especially as a young, inexperienced player. However, Carvel has faith he’ll stay sharp throughout the year.

“I don’t think he’ll have much problem,” Carvel said. ”We’ll have to work to keep him fresh and make

sure he stays healthy and ahead of his school work, but he’s done a great job so far.”

Much like the rest of his teammates, Bear doesn’t have any personal goals this season, instead, he wants to see UMass hockey take a step in the right direction.

“I think the biggest thing for me is setting myself up for success and contributing to the team’s overall goals in terms of success,” Bear said. “I’m very fortunate and very excited about being a part of that change and I’m going to do whatever the coaches ask me to do to make sure that I’m doing everything possible to make that happen.”

Ryan Ames can be reached at rames@umass.edu or followed on Twitter @_RyanAmes.

Ryan Ames can be reached at rames@umaass.edu, and followed on Twitter @_RyanAmes.

KATHERINE MAYO/COLLEGIAN

Dominic Trento (6) is was named one of the assitant captains for 2016-17. said. “We’re all geared up and ready for this season.”

“I think [Carvel’s] doing a great job and all the boys are on board with what he’s trying to lay out for us,” Trento added. “Obviously we’re still learning but that’s the good news. There’s always so much that we can keep getting better.”

“There are things I want these guys to accomplish and I think they will,” Carvel said. “It’s a good group of kids. They work hard. They really try to do what we ask. We just have to keep pushing.”

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

JUDITH GIBSON-OKUNIEFF/COLLEGIAN

Patrick Lee currently leads the Minutemen with three points this season.

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great guy to play with,” Bear said. “I feel like he’s a guy that’s pushed me in the right direction, and I feel like getting the opportunity to play with him is helping me with the transition.”

Bear, who hails from Calgary, Alberta, played his junior hockey for the Brooks Bandits of the Alberta Junior Hockey League, the former junior team of fellow Minutemen Patrick Lee and Austin Plevy. As a member of the Bandits, Bear registered 108 points over 156 career games, and won an AJHL championship.

As a member of UMass’ hockey team, Bear has already catapulted to the top of the defensemen depth chart and is one of the leaders on the Minutemen blue line.

“Shane’s hockey sense

JONG MAN KIM/COLLEGIAN

Freshman Griff Jeszka (11) has one goal and one assist for UMass this year.

THE MASSACHUSETTS DAILY COLLEGIAN

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Thursday, October 20, 2016

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FOOTBALL

WOMEN’S SOCCER

Minutemen face Dukes in home contest Thursday

BATTLE TESTED

By Mollie Walker Staff Writer

CHRISTINA YACONO/COLLEGIAN

The Mintuemen travel to Columbia, South Carolina this weekend after facing both Florida and Mississippi State earlier this season.

UM to face third SEC opponent Minutemen travel to South Carolina

By Adam Aucoin Collegian Staff

In college football, it’s hard enough to prepare for one quarterback, let alone three. That’s the reality the Massachusetts football team faces this week as they prepare for their matchup with South Carolina (2-4, 1-4 Southeastern Conference) on Saturday at WilliamsBrice Stadium.

The Gamecocks have struggled to find any consistent option at quarterback, which has led to lots of uncertainty on who will get the start under center.

USC coach Will Muschamp will not reveal who that man will be come Saturday.

To this point in the season, redshirt senior Perry Orth has gotten three starts and freshman Brandon McIlwain has three starts of his own at quarterback.

Neither quarterback has been particularly effective, and only McIlwain has thrown a touchdown this season, passing for two against Mississippi State on Sept.10.

With neither option running away with the job, freshman Jake Bentley has been getting increased

repetitions in practice this week, leading some to believe he could get the start against UMass (1-6) on Saturday.

Minutemen coach Mark Whipple is aware of the Gamecocks’ uncertainty at quarterback, but his team can only be prepared for whoever may get the start.

“It’s really three different kind of guys,” Whipple said. “I don’t know how much they’ll change the game plan, we won’t know until the game, but I will probably say their game plan is similar with the Bentley and Orth, but with McIlwain they do a little bit more of the read-[option] type of things, so we have to prepare for it all.”

UMass has some experience in the type of situation they find themselves in going into Saturday.

“It was the same with FIU, we weren’t sure if it was going to be their young guy or McGough. Mississippi State had their couple guys.

That’s just kind of the way it is in college football.

They probably have three good ones, they’re in the SEC,” Whipple said.

Muschamp has always been known for being a defensive coach, and although his defense hasn’t gotten the acclaim he is used to this season, they

still have a formidable unit.

USC is led by a strong secondary that has forced six interceptions this season, along with solid pass rush led by defensive lineman Darius English, who has six sacks on the season.

Minutemen freshman running back Bilal Ally ran for 37 yards on six carries last week against Louisiana Tech after starting running back Marquis Young came out of the game following halftime. Ally knows the Minutemen will have a tough task taking on the Gamecocks defense.

“They’re high energy,” Ally said. “We just have to find their weakness and hit them hard.”

“They’re very talented all-around,” quarterback Andrew Ford added. “We know what South Carolina is: a traditional powerhouse in college football. I still think that they’re like that based on the film we’ve watched.”

Saturday’s matchup will be the third and final game UMass plays against an SEC opponent this season. It will also be the second time this season the Minutemen will play in a stadium that can hold over 80,000 people; the other being the seasonopener against Florida at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.

Ford did not play in the

game against the Gators, but he has gotten advice from fellow quarterback Ross Comis, who found a solid amount of success against Florida in a loud, large-stadium environment.

“Ross has been giving me lots of advice on how to handle it,” Ford said.

“There’s nothing we can really do. For practice we can make the music really loud, as loud as we can, but until we get 80,000 screaming fans out there, we’re not going to be able to do too much.”

With the Minutemen now reeling on a four game losing streak, it’s now or never if UMass wants to salvage something out of the 2016 season. Ford narrowed down the Minutemen’s focus to one word: finish.

“We’re in the second half of the season, so our mindset is to just finish,” Ford said. “Whether that’s in the classroom, or the weight room or reps at practice, we’re trying to just finish.

Each rep that we do, we’re thinking about finishing and that’s going to help us in the long run.”

Adam Aucoin can be reached at aaucoin@umass.edu and followed on Twitter @aaucoin34.

Coming off a busy weekend of traveling the East Coast, the University of Massachusetts women’s soccer team prepares for three straight home games before finishing their regular season in Dayton, Ohio.

“It’s good to be home,” UMass head coach Ed Matz said. “I’d say our mood is upbeat.”

UMass (2-9-2, 0-5-1 Atlantic 10) played a total of three overtimes this past weekend, taking a hard loss from a 100th minute goal against Davidson and then settling for a tie after two hard-fought extra periods against Rhode Island.

On the other side of the field, Duquesne (9-4-2, 5-1-0 A10) suffered its first loss after a 6-game winning streak which dated back to Sep. 23. After going up two goals, Saint Joseph rallied back with three unanswered goals to secure the overtime win and hand the Dukes their first A-10 loss.

“These are obviously critical games that are coming up, against some very good teams,” Matz said. “Anything less than three points is going to be very difficult for us.”

Sophomore f o rward Katie O’Connor is Duquesne’s point leader this season, scoring six out of the team’s 29 goals to go along with seven assists.

In contrast, junior forward Gabriela Kenyon is still UMass’s lone multigoal scorer with two goals on the season, but junior midfielder Jackie Miller became the fifth player to find the back of the net for the Minutewomen this season notching her first career goal this past Sunday.

The teams have faced four of the same opponents, but Duquesne has beaten all with the exception of Central Michigan.

Though the Minutewomen’s last win dates back to Sep. 3 against Maine, senior captain Alyssa Fratarcangeli is still pleased with how her team has been playing recently.

“At the beginning Mollie Walker can be reached at of every practice we’ve molliewalker@umass.edu and said we have nothing to followed on Twitter @MWalker2019.

FIELD HOCKEY

Hawkshaw provides unique threat for UMass

By Zander Manning Collegian Staff

When junior Massachusetts field hockey center midfielder Sarah Hawkshaw winds up for a shot, she does so in an unconventional way, winding up for a reverse shot as opposed to forehand shot.

The irregularity of her shot has earned it the nickname “the hawkshot,” a term coined

by Cody Lahl, associate director of athletics communications.

“I don’t know, I don’t know who came up with that,” Hawkshaw said. “It’s always something I’ve kind of had in my back pocket if I’m ever on the left side of the circle, I

always go for it.”

Hawkshaw, a native of Dublin, Ireland, attributes the majority of the shot development to herself and some of her friends from back home.

“I kind of coached myself to do it,” Hawkshaw said. “In school I used to teach myself to do it, I had a friend who used to be pretty good at it and I learned from her.”

In 2016, Hawkshaw has tied her career high for goals in a season (9), but has set a personal record for points (21), and first-year head coach Amy Robertson says that nobody else can take credit for it.

“No one can take credit for Sarah Hawkshaw’s shot

except for her,” Robertson said. “She’s just a natural talent with the ball and she has an incredible backhand, she has incredible elimination skills … She’s just such an asset to the team.”

Hawkshaw started training almost immediately during the summer after returning to campus in June and started playing with any players who were already here, sometimes even playing a pick up game if there were enough players.

“Shooting probably,” Hawkshaw said of what she worked on during individual training. “Any chance I get, I’m there in the circle, shooting against the goal or anyone

I can.”

According to Robertson, the team has not measured Hawkshaw’s shot, but estimates her reverse shot comes in at around 60 mph.

What’s hard about defending Hawkshaw’s shot is not its speed, but the angles at which she takes it.

“A reverse shot is probably the toughest shot you can take in field hockey because you don’t know where it’s going to go,” said redshirt junior goalie Emily Hazard. “[Sarah] has a shot that can go anywhere and it’s really hard to block.”

Hazard says that Hawkshaw will shoot on her every day. Whether it’s in

lose; it’s do or die,” said Fratarcangeli.

The midfielder emphasized the team’s need to work on finishing but believes that starting each game with an unyielding intensity is the key to pulling out a win.

“We need to go out as strong as we can every time, right from the start, and try to get an early lead.”

Despite the Minutewomen’s apparent struggle to pull out a win, the team has proven themselves able to fight tooth and nail until the very last minute of each game.

UMass has faced a total of five overtime games this season, three of which headed into a second overtime, each ending in a tie or loss.

“Losses are losses but when you lose games in sudden death, it’s an even harder way to lose games,” said Matz.

On three separate occasions, the Minutewomen were subjected to play 20 extra minutes of game time, which is almost an extra half of intense play.

Matz expressed his concern for the toll that it takes on his players, both physically and psychologically. He gave the team a day off earlier in the week and is still resting players who play substantial amounts of minutes even more the following practice.

But his captain knows this is nothing new for her team.

“We’ve been there so many times, even in my four years here,” Fratarcangeli said. “It’s something we’re very used to and know how to handle.”

“We don’t even want to have to get to that point, we want to finish it, no overtime. And if it does come to that, we need to be able to get the win and not a loss.”

UMass looks forward to welcoming Duquesne to Rudd Field this Thursday at 3:30 p.m.

practice or not, the two are always looking to perfect their skills.

“You have to be set, but even then you have to have a bit of luck and read it as soon as possible,” Hazard said on what it takes to stop the shot.

When taking a shot, Hawkshaw says she aims for the far post and she then prepares for a ricochet off the goalie.

“Usually try to get far post at least,” Hawkshaw said when asked about her approach.

“Anything into the corners is what I’m going for.”

Zander Manning can be reached at alexanderman@umass.edu.

THE MASSACHUSETTS DAILY COLLEGIAN

Thursday, October 20, 2016

News@DailyCollegian.com

Retrieve my heart

Students discuss MA. referendums Students discuss ballot questions

By Nujhat Purnata Collegian Staff

KATHERINE MAYO/COLLEGIAN

Bright Spot Therapy Dogs were in the Student Union Ballroom on Wednesday, Oct. 19 to help students de-stress in the midst of midterms.

With a presidential election coming up that has left the nation divided, two issues that University of Massachusetts Amherst students could agree upon were the prohibition of certain methods of farm animal containment and the legalization of recreational marijuana for people 21 years old and above.

“That one is a no brainer,” said Avigail Deking, a junior social thought and political economy major, on Question 4. “They should (legalize marijuana) and I don’t know why it’s taking so long. Marijuana is the most important question because it has many benefits. It’s unnatural to illegalize plants. It doesn’t make sense. It’s just nature,”

Deking’s friend agreed.

“I think it could benefit everyone because if it’s legal then they could tax it and we could use that tax money more effectively. Other states have legalized marijuana already and we don’t see any (major) repercussions of it,” said Nam Le, a senior majoring in Biochemistry.

Recreational use of marijuana is legal in Washington D.C., Colorado, Washington, Oregon and Alaska. Come November, Arizona, California, Maine, Massachusetts, and Nevada voters will be deciding on recreational marijuana ballot initiatives.

Sophia Scanlan, a junior psychology major, emphasized the importance of regulation, age-appropriateness and not glorifying marijuana through legalization.

“The age is important because there can be problems with smoking early, such as developmental see

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Area apple crop reduced in UMass political RSOs give wake of statewide drought the tools required to vote Apple yield may be decreased by half

By Hannah Depin Collegian Staff

More than 100 cars full of apple-pickers flocked to Park Hill Orchard in Easthampton on Saturday, just in time to buy the last of this year’s crop, according to owner and operator Russell Braen. The apple harvest is wrapping up earlier than usual for Braen and other Massachusetts farmers, who faced varying degrees of difficulty during the growing season because of the drought and other environmental factors.

“The bottom line is yes, the drought has had an impact,” said University of Massachusetts extension professor Jon Clements in an email. “The drought is not the whole story, though.”

Clements explained that the drought and other factors have resulted in smaller apples this year, which may reduce the overall yield to about 50 percent of its average in Massachusetts.

In addition to dry conditions, an unusually large

apple crop last year predetermined that this year’s crop would be smaller, and a hard freeze in early April damaged apple flowers and fruit buds as they were developing, he said.

The effects have not been evenly distributed, according to Clements.

Some orchards have produced a nearly full crop, while others may have yielded only 10 percent of their average.

Atkins Farms Farm Manager Elly Vaughan said that though her 15-foot trees weathered the drought well, her apples are only 60-70 percent of their usual size.

“The fruit are coming in smaller and some varieties are coming in early,” she said. “Smaller fruit means less poundage and yield.”

Braen said that his Empire and Macoun apples have been as small as golf balls. He also said that the bees are to blame for some of his losses this year.

“They have no fluid during the drought, so they make holes in the apples and suck out the juice,” he explained.

“That’s been the biggest

economic loss.”

However, both Braen and Vaughan said that the drought has brought benefits as well as hardships.

The grass grew slowly during the drought this summer, so farmers saved time and money on mowing.

“I’ve had to mow much less, and that’s not insignificant,” said Braen.

Vaughan said that she did not have to treat the apple trees for disease very often this year, since most of the fungal diseases that pose a threat are brought on by wet conditions.

In spite of these benefits, Vaughan would prefer a more typical growing season and full-sized apples.

“Some of these things saved us expenses, but I’d rather have more yield,” she said.

Clements echoed a similar sentiment. “We’re all looking forward to a good apple crop in 2017,” he said in an email.

Hannah Depin can be reached at hdepin@umass.edu.

Groups prepare for a heated election

By Christina Yacono Collegian Staff

With the upcoming elections the University of Massachusetts Democrats and the UMass College Republicans, have been discussing and preparing strategies for the upcoming national and state votes.

As November draws closer, the two organizations are mobilizing to bring attention to their party’s issues and register new voters. Additionally, they are working to get key speakers to attend rallies. In this election cycle, student leaders see a chance to bring new and more diverse voters into their ranks.

Both groups want to provide the information and the support necessary to vote smart. They have both held meetings not only intended to discuss party and national politics, but also address the upcoming statewide ballot initiatives. As a result of this shift in strategy, voter registration drives have played a key role in the UDems’ toolset.

“One of the positions on the board is Political Director Jonah Carlson, [who] did a lot of research and read-

ing on the ballot initiatives to prepare a presentation of each ballot question, how it would appear, what the pro arguments are, what the con arguments are, and really important actors on each side,” said UDems President Liana Ascolese about the importance of local ballot initiatives.

The UDems have been working locally in Northampton with the 413 for HRC campaign office and have gone to the cities of Keene and Salem in New Hampshire to phone-bank and canvass for Presidential Candidate Hillary Clinton.

They have also been working with Eric Lesser’s campaign who is running for the State Senate in the 1st Hampden and Hampshire District election.

Because Massachusetts has traditionally been a blue state that sometimes swings red, the UMass Republicans have put their efforts into the state election. They have been focusing more on phone banking for Chip Harrington, who opposes Lesser in the 1st Hampden and Hampshire District.

On national issues, the UMass Republicans are divided about a Trump presidency.

However, differences have not

slowed them down.

“We, as the E-Board, try our best to stay as impartial as possible regardless of what we believe, so we can foster as much discussion as possible,” said Alex Gearty, UMass Republicans president. The group has been using the intense discourse as an opportunity to expand the political conversation.

The UDems and the UMass Republicans want to provide anything they can for the students and the local community, so they encourage anyone to contact them if they’re interested in attending their meetings, joining, or going out to canvas.

“My job is to have all these opportunities for people and it’s like a grab bag for them to take whatever they want and to leave whatever they don’t but my job is to make sure they’re there”, Ascolese said.

For the debate, the UDems held a watch party while the UMass Republicans watched the debate during their meeting hours.

“We encourage people from different backgrounds, even though you’re not a Republican, to come [to our meetings],” said Gearty.

Christina Yacono can be reached at cyacono@umass.edu.

Russia extends planned Aleppo pause on Thursday

By Weedah Hamzah dpa

BEIRUT — Russia announced that it will broadcast live images of the evacuation of civilians and wounded people from besieged eastern Aleppo during a “humanitarian pause” it has scheduled for Thursday.

The planned pause would also be extended for an additional three hours to run from 8 a.m. until 7 p.m. Moscow time, General Sergey Rudskoi of the Russian General Staff said in a statement carried by the official ITAR-TASS news agency Wednesday.

The extension is intended to give U.N. and Red Crescent representatives enough time to evacuate sick and injured people and civilians from the rebel-held enclave, Rudskoi said.

For his part, Syrian President Bashar Assad said in a televised interview that the planned fighting pause in Aleppo on Thursday is only a first step to let civilians leave.

“It is an important step as a beginning, but it’s not enough,” he told Swiss television SRF in an interview in Damascus.

Most of the civilians wanted to flee Aleppo, but terrorists prevented them from leaving, he charged.

“We need to attack the terrorists, that’s self-evident,” he says, referring to Islamic extremists as well as armed opposition fighters.

Activists and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a monitoring group, have said that very few civilians made use of humanitarian corridors from eastern Aleppo previously announced

by Russia.

The Syrian Foreign Ministry meanwhile said that troops had pulled back from two designated humanitarian corridors to facilitate the transport of rebel fighters from eastern Aleppo to areas of their choice, Syrian state news agency SANA reported.

Rebels have said they will not leave eastern Aleppo, the last remaining major urban center controlled by opposition forces.

The U.N. has said that security fears, the fear of arrest and the presence of Syrian troops at the corridors designated by Russia have prevented civilians from using them to leave the enclave.

Some 250,000 to 300,000 people are thought to be trapped in eastern Aleppo, with minimal access to food and medical care after hos-

pitals have been repeatedly hit in airstrikes, apparently by Russian or Syrian forces.

Youssef al-Youssef, of the rebel group Noureddine al Zinki, described the new Russian announcement as “mere propaganda.”

“This is not a truce. Eight hours to evacuate Aleppo is a request for surrender. This is totally rejected,” Zakaria Malhafji, a spokesman for the rebel group Fistaqim, said.

“We will not leave the city. We want a total truce and the entry of aid,” he told dpa via WhatsApp. Meanwhile, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, a staunch backer of Syrian rebels, agreed with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to try to drive militant group Fatah al-Sham Front

(formerly the Nusra Front, an alQaida affiliate) out of Aleppo.

“To this end, we have given the necessary orders to our friends,” Erdogan said, without giving further details of his phone conversation with the Russian leader.

He said that Turkey would not be able to bear the burden of an estimated 1 million refugees that could flee Aleppo if the fighting there continued.

The Syrian regime and its Russian allies Wednesday suspended airstrikes on rebel areas in the divided city of Aleppo for the second successive day, ahead of Thursday’s planned humanitarian pause announced by Moscow for later this week.

Aleppo has been the target of see

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THE MASSACHUSETTS DAILY COLLEGIAN

Thursday, October 20, 2016

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

In 1935 Communist forces ended their Long March at Yan’an, in Shaanxi, China, bringing Mao Zedong to prominence

AROUND THE WORLD

Student loses leg after alleged incident with school employee ATLANTA — A 13-yearold boy had his right leg amputated below the knee Tuesday at an Atlanta hospital as a result of an incident with a former school contract worker, the child’s attorney said.

The student was injured in September when he was “thrown to the floor” multiple times by a contract employee at a Columbus school, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

The person involved in the alleged incident no longer is associated with the Muscogee County School District, a spokeswoman said Tuesday.

The boy’s attorney, Renee Tucker, said Wednesday that the boy likely will remain at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta at Egleston, where the amputation took place, for an additional 30 days. Physical therapy likely will be necessary before he can return home.

“He wants to see his siblings,” Tucker said.

It has “yet to be determined” if the student will again attend the school where the alleged incident took place, she said.

The boy was enrolled in an alternative program at Edgewood Student Services Center when the incident allegedly happened, the district said. The program is for students who have been temporarily removed from their regular school because of violations of behavior rules.

The alleged incident happened when the boy was trying to leave the classroom for the main office so he could call his mother to pick him up, Tucker said. The contract employee allegedly stopped the boy and slammed him to the floor to prevent him from leaving. The student said he was thrown to the floor a second time when he tried to leave again.

“It is our understanding that there were issues concerning the safety of the child and others in the room, which called for the use of restraint per state guidance,” the district said in a statement.

“Physical restraint is allowed in Georgia public schools and educational programs in those situations in which the student is an immediate danger to himself or others and the student is not responsive to less intensive behavioral interventions including verbal directives or other de-escalation techniques.”

The Atlanta JournalConstitution Distributed by MCT Information Services

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issues. However, I don’t see marijuana as a harmful substance, especially when starting at the age of 21,” said Scanlan.

For Scanlan, the positives of marijuana legalization outweigh the negatives. She spoke about the responsibility of the authorities and sellers to ensure that marijuana is distributed safely.

“Advertisements should be specific towards older people and the selling, buying, producing, advertising of marijuana should be regulated carefully. Once those things are sought out and researched then (legalization) would be beneficial,” said Scanlan.

Connie Fredrickson, a junior history major who came to UMass from the United Kingdom for study abroad, gave a similar answer. Although she has not had a lot of personal experience with marijuana, she acknowledged a double standard.

“In some ways, alcohol is a lot worse for you (than marijuana) and I don’t understand why it’s not legal, not here or in the UK,” said Fredrickson.

Fredrickson thought Question 3, which would prohibit certain methods of farm animal confinement which prevent basic motions, is the most important question because it is ethical, as did Avigail Deking and Nam Le. “They’re living things so we should treat them with

respect because we are killing them anyways so might as well make their conditions more livable and comfortable,” said Le. Deking echoed a similar sentiment. She said, without hesitation, “Farm animals deserve to be treated better.”

However, the first two ballot questions elicited more unclear responses from students. Question 1 would allow the Massachusetts Gaming Commission to issue an additional slots license and Question 2 would authorize the expansion of up to 12 charter schools.

Fredrickson was unsure about Question 1.

“This a really tough one.

I am guessing it completely depends on the regulation of the casinos and if it is economically beneficial for the area,” said Fredrickson.

Deking was also torn between the options.

“I don’t know how to feel about it because I didn’t have a personal experience with casinos, but I feel like it would increase businesses and more people would come into town. But, it also depends on the location,” she said.

Le and Scanlan are against additional slot licenses because they believe that there are better projects that funds should be allocated towards.

“There shouldn’t be more casinos because construction takes up a lot of money and we should use

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that money to do something more productive,” said Le. Scanlan shared the same ideology saying “there are so many other things that are a lot more important than casinos so it’s silly to allocate resources towards that.”

With her father working in a public school and her mother in charter school, Scanlan seemed to still be on the fence about Question 2.

“I kind of see both sides of it. There is no definite yes or no,” Scanlan said.

Le had a more definite answer.

“No more charter schools, money should be spent better on public schools. I think the quality of education should be more focused as charter schools are for top students and quality of education should be more focused on all students,” said Le. Fredrickson agreed from a global perspective.

“If you take all the top kids from each public school, public schools are going to struggle academically,” she said. “It also does breed this elitist kind of, ‘we are better than you,’ perspective, unfortunately that’s what happens, even in the UK. Those kids get to go into the best universities,” she adds.

These four questions will appear on the ballot of this year’s election Nov. 8.

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an intense campaign by the forces of Syrian President Bashar Assad and Russia since a U.S.-Russian brokered cease-fire in the country fell apart on Sept.

19.

Activists inside eastern Aleppo said the regime planes had dropped leaflets calling on fighters to leave “because they have no other choice.”

Also Wednesday, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova accused Belgium, which is part of a U.S.-led coalition, of unleashing airstrikes on regime areas in the northern countryside of Aleppo in support of rebels.

Belgium angrily denied the claims, with Foreign Minister Didier Reynders and Defense Minister Steven Vandeput saying no Belgian aircraft had been in action in Aleppo province in recent days.

Observatory head Rami Abdel-Rahman said that the bombardment took place as U.S.-backed

Kurdish fighters were battling the Islamic State extremist militia in northern Syria. He did not report casualties.

The area northeast of Aleppo has seen both Kurdish-led forces and Turkish-backed rebels attempt to advance against Islamic State, with the Kurds apparently fearing that rebel advances will cut off their own route to the strategic Islamic State-held town of al-Bab. Capturing al-Bab would allow the Kurds to link up their Efrin enclave north of Aleppo with their main territories elsewhere in Syria, something Ankara says it will not permit.

Elsewhere, a U.N. aid convoy entered the rebelheld town of Douma near Damascus late Wednesday carrying mainly food supplies, UNHCR spokesman Firas al Khateeb told dpa.

The last aid to have entered Douma was in June.

Nujhat Purnata can be reached at npurnata@umass.edu.

Stubborn witness testifies at Guantanamo by video after night spent in Virginia jail

By Carol Rosenberg Miami Herald

GUANTANAMO BAY NAVAL BASE, Cuba — In an unusual war court drama, a demobilized Navy Reserve lawyer testified in the USS Cole case Wednesday by video from Virginia - "under extreme duress," he said - a day after the war court judge sent U.S. Marshals to pick him up.

At one point, a letter from a Virginia public defender arrived at the Guantanamo court, offering witness Stephen Gill legal assistance. The judge abruptly delayed testimony to consult a legal precedent dating to the Civil War, then ruled that Gill could be questioned without knowing about the lawyer's letter.

"He might be detained, but he's not being interrogated. Nobody suspects him of a crime," said Air Force Col. Vance Spath, the judge.

The subject of the testimony was behind-the-scenes exchanges in the office of the Legal Adviser for Military Commissions after the Cole case judge disqualified some lawyers from the case last year.

It's an ancillary issue in the death penalty case of Abd al Rahim al Nashiri, 51, accused of orchestrating al-Qaida's 2000 bombing of the USS Cole off Yemen. Seventeen American sailors died, and dozens more were wounded.

But Gill testified in the first instance at the court in which a judge here reached into the continental United States to order U.S. Marshals to force a subpoenaed witness to court. Lawyers debate whether the war court has the authority to put a civilian on a plane to Guantanamo. But Gill was to testify by video, anyway.

Gill said he was picked up at his home, apparently in Massachusetts, on Tuesday "at gunpoint," he estimated by 20 officers, put in three-point restraints and held overnight at an Alexandria County, Va., detention facility.

He first appeared on the video conference screen looking distraught and wiping his eyes, in a button-down business shirt.

At one point, he sounded like a Guantanamo detainee complaining about conditions of confinement: He was sleep-deprived, he said, because jail guards left the lights on all night, turned the temperatures down to maybe 50 degrees, pumped in "extremely cold air."

Lead prosecutor Mark Miller, a federal attorney on loan to the war court prosecutor, urged Spath to get the testimony over with.

He invoked the victims, sailors killed and wounded in the USS Cole attack, and said to do otherwise would be to allow Gill to make Spath's court "a kangaroo court."

This was Gill's second time testifying by video conference from Virginia at the war court, to wrap up testimony from September that was cut short because he was running for state office. He lost.

Gill balked at coming to Virginia this time in part because, according to arguments in court, war court administrators rejected reimbursing his expenses last time over a missing $3 receipt for a toll. He asked, instead, to testify either from the Navy War College

night, Spath swore out a Warrant of Attachment and Wednesday morning, soon after Gill appeared on the video screen, he declared his testimony potentially unreliable due to lack of sleep.

At one point, Spath told Gill to take a catnap while the judge read a precedent invoked by Eastern Virginia Federal Public Defender Geremy Kamens — Ex-Parte Merryman, a habeas corpus petition dating to the Civil War. The federal defender wrote Gill a letter, and somehow got it delivered inside the courthouse, where the accused terrorist watched silently in a white prison jumpsuit.

"I understand that you've been detained by the United States military, that you are present in the Eastern District of Virginia and that you are a civilian citizen of

him to answer questions from Nashiri's lead defense counsel, Rick Kammen. Kammen, out of earshot of Gill, made clear in court that he was no relation to the public defender, and hadn't alerted Kamens to Gill's detention.

Nashiri's lawyers are trying to show that legal advisers disqualified by Spath last year continued to work on the case. Gill wasn't disqualified and testified that he tried to segregate legal work from the others. Other war court staff described Gill as a troubled employee with marital problems who was fired from war court work for failing to get a security clearance and underperforming.

Gill testified Wednesday that nobody complained to him about

US NAVY NEWS PHOTO/TNS

Port side view showing the damage sustained by the Arleigh Burke class guided missile destroyer USS Cole after a suspected terrorist bomb exploded during a refueling operation in the port of Aden, Yemen. in Newport, R.I., or be mobilized to come to Guantanamo.

Prosecutors, who arrange for defense witness testimony, rebuffed the request and got a subpoena ordering him to appear Monday at a secure feed site in Arlington, Va. He didn't show up. Monday

this country," said the letter, which Gill got only after he finished up his testimony and was released from federal custody.

Spath declared Merryman "wholly inapplicable," found that Gill had no right to counsel, had the audio unmuted and ordered

his work while he was there. In fact, under questioning Kammen about his disagreements with other lawyers inside the Legal Adviser staff at the Office of Military Commissions, he became visibly energized on screen.

THE MASSACHUSETTS DAILY COLLEGIAN

DailyCollegian.com

Thursday, October 20, 2016

B3

Texas voter fraud concerns prompts $5,000 reward

By Anna M. Tinsley Fort Worth Star-Telegram FORT WORTH, Texas — As more and more Texans turn to mail-in ballots to cast their votes in presidential elections, concerns continue to grow over how secure the process is.

The ballots - geared to make it possible for overseas residents, people in the military and senior citizens to make their vote count - are now at the heart of a growing controversy about voter fraud, even prompting an "integrity tip hotline," because they allow people to vote from their homes without any ID or verification of identity.

State officials have been in Tarrant County investigating an issue with mail-in ballots from this year's primary election, but some say the problem with these ballots goes deeper than that. At issue are concerns about "vote harvesting," in which people fill out and return other people's ballots.

"Vote harvesting, a form of voting which is largely unwatched ... (has been) growing in the last

few cycles," said Aaron Harris, a Republican political consultant from North Richland Hills who filed at least one complaint with the state citing election concerns in Tarrant County. "We are getting defeat handed to us in mail-in ballots and we aren't even paying attention to that."

Some say the ongoing investigation, and Harris's separate complaints, are politically motivated; others say it's addressing a practice that has been a problem for years.

Either way, Harris is promoting an "Election Integrity Tip Hotline" - (817) 893-8502 - through which he's offering up to a $5,000 reward for any election fraud-related tip that leads to a felony conviction, prompting concern among some Democrats who say such tips should instead go to election officials.

This is "a systematic and deliberate attempt to suppress votes in the Latino community, specifically attacking the elderly," said Democratic state Rep. Ramon Romero.

Mail-in ballots make up just a fraction of the ballots cast in recent presidential elections in Texas.

In the state's 15 largest counties, fewer than 220,000 of the 3.4 million votes cast in November 2012 were mailed in and fewer than 125,000 of the 2.4 million votes cast in November 2004 were mailed in, state election records show.

"This is not a Republican or Democratic issue," said Steve Maxwell, a former Tarrant County Democratic Party chairman. "Every single one of us has a duty to make sure voter fraud isn't taking place.

"There's a real question of whether fraud is going on," he said. "If there is, I'm going to be the first to help weed it out."

Early voting runs Oct. 24 to Nov. 4. Election Day is Nov. 8.

Some fear local complaints about mail-in ballots come at a time where they might intimidate some voters from casting ballots in this year's presidential election - or just in time to lay the groundwork for the Legislature to enact

SONG QIONG/XINHUA/ZUMA PRESS/TNS

On Nov. 4, 2014, in Sugar Land, Texas, voters arrive at a pulling station. Mail-in ballots are at the center of Texas voter fraud concerns.

more voting restrictions next year.

But voter fraud has become a common theme echoed even by Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, who even tweeted this week that there is "large scale voter fraud happening on and before Election Day." "They even want to try to rig the election at the polling booths and believe me there's a lot going on," he said during a recent Wisconsin rally. "Do you ever hear these people? They say 'there's nothing going on.' People that have died 10 years ago are still voting, illegal immigrants are voting - I mean, where are the street smarts of some of these politicians?"

Others say these concerns are overrated.

"The fact is ... voter fraud is very rare, voter impersonation is nearly non-existent, and much of the problems associated with alleged fraud in elections relates to unintentional mistakes by voters or election administrators," said Jessica Lavariega-Monforti, a political science professor at Pace University in New York City.

"Most allegations of fraud turn out to be baseless - and that of the few allegations remaining, most reveal election irregularities and other forms of election misconduct," she said research shows.

A 1917 Texas law allowed absentee voting, listing ways voters could qualify to vote other than on Election Day. Voting by mail came later, and demand for these ballots has grown through the years.

Many candidates legally reach out to these voters, often sending campaign fliers attached to mailin ballot request forms that are already filled out. Voters can sign and mail these forms to have ballots sent directly to their home.

Harris, who worked with Dallas businessman Monty Bennett to campaign against directors on the Tarrant Regional Water District board, said he and his team sifted through thousands of mail-in ballots.

He claims they found cases where voter signatures on envelopes that contain ballots didn't match the signatures on requests for mail-in ballots. He referred to some campaign workers who

allegedly removed ballots from voters' mailboxes and filled out the forms themselves.

And he referred to a Jan. 22, 2016, letter posted online in which the Texas secretary of state's office referred his "allegations of criminal activity in Tarrant County" to the Texas attorney general's office.

Among the "potential crimes" the SOS letter said might have been committed locally: failure to comply as a witness, improperly serving as a witness for multiple voters, forgery and tampering with a governmental record, unlawful possession of a carrier envelope and improper assistance, according to the letter.

Harris and others say the goal is not to eliminate mail-in ballots.

"But there are ways the system can be improved," Maxwell said.

"We've got to tighten up the laws.

Apparently it's very easy to get away with this.

"We need to put some tough criminal sanctions in the election code," he said. "The mail-in ballot program is extremely well intentioned and there is a real need for it. Surely we can find ways to build safeguards into the system so you're not having massive fraud committed."

County officials have said investigators with the Texas attorney general's office have been in Tarrant County looking into an issue with mail-in ballots from the primary election earlier this year.

The attorney general's office declined to "confirm or deny investigations" or comment on the situation. When asked for the complaints that started the local investigation, attorney general's workers declined to release them, expressing concern that doing so might hamper a criminal investigation.

"Absentee ballot fraud has been and remains the weakest link in Texas's efforts to safeguard its electoral system against election fraud," said Mark P. Jones, a political science professor at Rice University in Houston.

MN. mayor apologizes over police Judge says trans treatment after viral confrontation bathroom hold applies nationally

By Pat Pheifer Star Tribune (Minneapolis)

EDINA, Minn. — The mayor and City Council members Tuesday night told an overflow crowd of about 150 that they were sorry about last week's incident between a white Edina, Minn., police officer and a black man. The apologies followed more than three hours of pointed comments and demands at Tuesday night's regular council meeting.

A bystander video that later went viral on social media caught last Wednesday's daytime encounter between plainclothes Edina police Lt. Tim Olson and Larnie Thomas, 34, of Minneapolis. Olson grabbed Thomas by the back of his jacket and reprimanded him for walking in the street near a construction zone. Agitated, Thomas objected to his treatment, sometimes swearing at Olson.

Thomas ultimately received a citation but was not arrested.

The M i n n e ap o l i s NAACP issued a list of demands following the incident, including an independent investigation, which Mayor Jim Hovland agreed to. But on Tuesday, Hovland said "we learned this afternoon that the state Bureau of Criminal A pprehension did not ­ want to conduct an investigation."

The city on Monday said it believed that "the officers followed established protocol," but that it was

nonetheless dismissing the citation against Thomas.

Hovland spoke briefly at the outset of Tuesday's meeting. "We are here tonight to listen," he said.

"We know the situation has been very difficult.

We know that there are multiple voices and multiple truths, and they're all right."

Hovland repeated his belief that police protocol was followed in the incident, but characterized the video as "disconcerting."

One speaker said Olson "treated Thomas like an animal" last Wednesday.

Others described Olson's actions as "appalling," "disgusting," "indefensible" and "racist."

"Please send a loud, clear message to your police department that this will not be tolerated," said Cathy Jones, of the NAACP's Minneapolis chapter. "I don't want to ever, ever, ever see this happen to another black or brown body in this city again."

Ron Easton, of West St. Paul, said he has lived in Minnesota for 45 years, but "being a child of the Deep South, I'm familiar with police tactics. That man was accosted," he said of Thomas. "What are you going to do to repair his dignity?"

As the mayor and council member listened without comment, Easton said "there are a lot of good police officers in the state. Lt. Olson is not one of them. What that lieu-

tenant did not only put a black eye on himself but on every other law enforcement officer in the state."

Many of those present took issue with Hovland's assertion that Olson's treatment of Thomas was according to protocol.

Carol Overland, who called herself "an older white woman of privilege," grew up in Edina, but lives in Red Wing. "This is protocol? No. Show me the protocol. I hate to think what would have happened if this wasn't videotaped."

Emily Flower of Black Lives Matter Minneapolis said the bystander's 7-minute video of the encounter has had 7.5 million views on Facebook and YouTube as of Tuesday night, and more than 30,000 comments.

Edina resident Kessea Moses, who is white, said, "I hope this officer is reprimanded so we do not need to be embarrassed again by what we saw" last week.

"When I saw this video I was terrified," said the Rev. Carolyn Philstrom, of Bloomington. "In Lutheran services, the first thing we do is confess our sins.

Until we confess our sins, we cannot move forward.

We can do better."

City officials on Monday had declined an NAACP request to suspend Olson without pay pending an investigation, but said they would provide additional training to police and were open to the demand that it collect race data on its arrests and traffic stops.

That response fell short of the formal apology that was among the NAACP's demands.

When public comment concluded about 10:15 p.m.

Tuesday, Council Member Bob Stewart was the first to actually apologize to Thomas.

"I think we can do better," he said. "I will say to Larnie Thomas, I'm sorry."

Stewart added, "we will work to have it not happen again."

The mayor said, "For Mr. Larnie Thomas, I'm going to meet him face to face. It's one thing for me to sit up here and apologize, it's another to meet him face to face."

Responding to demands to suspend Lt. Olson, Hovland said that would be a matter for the city manager and the police chief to discuss later.

While he was at the meeting along with other city officials, Edina Police Chief Dave Nelson did not comment.

Nekima Levy-Pounds of the Minneapolis NAACP said that Larnie Thomas is very upset. If he is unable or unwilling to meet with the mayor, they still want a formal, written apology from the city.

Hovland said that if Olson's actions were in line with protocol, the protocol is wrong.

The mayor also said the city is asking for help from advocates, residents and others to come up with solutions and changes.

By Lauren McGaughy The Dallas Morning News

AUSTIN, Texas — A Texas court ruling earlier this year that blocked the federal government's transgender bathroom rules applies nationwide, the Fort Worth judge presiding over the case said Tuesday.

In late August, Judge Reed O'Connor issued a temporary injunction against the Obama administration's new guidelines that said schools must allow transgender students use the bathroom and locker room of their choice. But the federal government requested a clarification, asking whether O'Connor's ruling truly applied nationwide or just to the 13 states, including Texas, that filed the original lawsuit to block the federal guidelines.

On Tuesday, O'Connor clarified his ruling, saying it applies to every school in the country from California to North Carolina.

"A nationwide injunction is necessary because the alleged violation extends nationwide," O'Connor wrote. "Defendants are a group of agencies and administrators capable of enforcing their Guidelines nationwide, affecting numerous state and school district facilities across the country."

Schools can still choose to adopt the federal guidelines and allow transgender students to use the "intimate facilities" that correspond to

their gender identity. But O'Connor's ruling means they won't have to. When the guidelines were unveiled in May, school leaders worried they would lose millions in federal funds if they refused.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said he was "proud" to lead the coalition fighting against these guidelines, adding that "a nationwide injunction should send a clear message to the president that Texas won't sit idly by as he continues to ignore the Constitution."

Paxton and his predecessor Greg Abbott, the governor of Texas, have spent millions suing the federal government over guidelines and rules with which they disagree. The state is locked in legal fights with the Obama administration on everything from clean air rules to internet domain names.

The state has been at the forefront of the culture war over transgender rights as well, with Paxton and other state leaders criticizing local school districts that have adopted the federal guidelines and proposing to pass anti-LGBT legislation similar to North Carolina's controversial House Bill 2. The day after its August win in O'Connor's court, Paxton filed another lawsuit to block new federal healthcare rules that ban discrimination by doctors, hospitals and insurers against transgender persons.

Opinion Editorial THE MASSACHUSETTS DAILY COLLEGIAN

“Believe you can and you’re halfway there.” - Theodore Roosevelt

Thursday, October 20, 2016

Editorial@DailyCollegian.com

Rape culture on campus: to UMass, with severe concern “What is the best way to tell your mother my bones ached from the cold Atlantic. But you’re at the police headquarters in another on this day, when my head arrived above country?” I wondered, as I dialed her phone water three unfamiliar males approached my friend and I. We quickly swam away but Emily Johnson one, faster than I, pulled me in.

He pushed my body against his and began number and watched the glorious view of touching my vagina. I first asked him to the sun rising and tourists leaving the Old stop and when he didn’t, I screamed, “Stop!”

San Juan cruise ship port with eager smiles. many times before he finally let go. Crying It was almost six in the morning; by this hysterically, I ran to a friend on the shore. time, my mother would have already finished She and I grabbed our belongings and left her first cup of coffee, even on a Sunday. the beach. I pulled out my phone to call a More than 2,000 kilometers from our kitchen cab home and in that moment, the two males table and only a few hours before, I had been snuck up behind me, stole my phone and sexually assaulted, physically assaulted and picked me up like a mother would pick up a robbed by two male strangers on Escambron toddler.

Beach in San Juan.

One of them threatened to use his gun on 18 percent of female college students me, and his friend teased me with my phone. and 21 percent of transgender, genderqueer Both of them then held me and moved my and gender non-conforming college students body toward what seemed to be a ledge, have been sexually assaulted, according to where I feared they’d drop me and leave me Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network for dead. I fought back, I fought back, I contin(RAINN). Additionally, a 2012 study by ued to fight Middlebury College psychologist Matthew back and Kimble found that female students study- e v e n t u a l l y ing abroad were five times more likely to they dropped be raped than female students who did not me to the study abroad. But these numbers do not ground and encapsulate the reality of rape culture. Do sprinted off. not be fooled into thinking that rape culture I spent only exists “over there.” the next few I arrived at the University of Río Piedras, hours sitting at the police station and was Puerto Rico’s flagship public university, introduced to my assailant’s mother by a through the University of Massachusetts’ police officer. I spent the following 24 hours Domestic Exchange program exactly one in the white-walled police headquarters and week before I was assaulted.

I spent the hours after that in a waiting room On Saturday, Aug. 16, three other with my assailants and their families. Hours exchange students and I went to a bar with later, when I went back to my dorm room students from another local university, and to pack up my belongings, the residence afterward one of them suggested we walk to director asked me if I was “that girl,” while a beach. Once we arrived, we jumped in the pulling up an article on his computer about warm ocean water, lit by stars in the dark the incident and insisting that I should have sky. known better than to swim at night.

I was one of the last two to stay in the But despite the moments that characterwater. My most fond experiences in the ize this experience, my trauma has not been ocean were of summer trips to Maine and limited to the early morning of the assault Cape Cod, where swimming lasted until or the following trial process.

It is easy to think that sexual assault is happening “over there,” where we don’t see it, but it happens on this very campus.

In the past two years, UMass has had two notable rape trials. In February, Patrick Durocher was convicted of raping a female student in the fall of 2013. Last fall, Caleb Womack, Emmanuel Bile, Justin King and Adam Liccardi were convicted of raping a female student in her dorm room in the fall of 2012.

It is also important to note that rape culture is not merely rapists within our community, but the daily acceptance of misogyny that feeds this violent masculinity. At UMass, rape culture lives and breathes, a being of its own, just as sexual assault is a living being in my own history, as it is for many of my peers.

About a year ago, I packed a suitcase, brought it with me to my class in Bartlett Hall, and after class I left for Logan Airport and traveled back to Puerto Rico for trial. I will never forget the moment that I locked eyes with my assailants for the first time since my assault.

Although one of them laughed at me during my testimony, I continued. But despite my moment of triumph, my assailants only received probation for the assault.

A few months later, one of my assailants sexually assaulted another female. I don’t know her, nor will I ever have the chance to meet her, but we have a shared experience that connects us and lives inside us both.

My assault follows when I’m walking home at night. My assault holds me tight at bars and at parties. But it is not just with me at night – my assault sits with me in class, in the dining hall, at the library. In the shower.

In bed. In recurring nightmares.

“At UMass, rape culture lives and breathes, a being of its own, just as sexual assault is a living being in my own history, as it is for many of my peers.”

The race to space Last Tuesday, President waiting for the right time to Obama announced that he come out, and that time is was giving NASA the goal now. It is the same feeling our grandparents had when Jeffrey Ayers John F. Kennedy challenged Americans to go to the moon. to land humans on Mars by His speech awakened the the 2030s. This news came a adventurer in all of us, and few weeks after Elon Musk, we got to the moon multiple the founder of the SpaceX times. Now it is time to do rocket company, announced it again, only instead of a his big plan for Mars which moon we’re going to go to a included a short video on the new planet. How are you all process for getting humans to Mars, as well as detailed information on the inner workings of the spaceship he intends to use. These past few weeks have been an excit- not jumping out of your seat ing time, not just for space- with excitement? loving individuals, but for But you may wonder, who the human race as a whole. cares? It’s a lot of money, time We now have both a con- and resources, and we have a crete plan and a timeline to perfectly good albeit dying become an interplanetary planet right here. But let me species. How cool is that? But answer your question with I know many people have a another: when I say the year few questions. Why Mars? “1492,” what do you think of ?

What is there to be gained? I imagine most of you recogIsn’t it a dead planet? nized that year as the year Let me answer all these that Christopher Columbus questions in one sentence: sailed his three ships for Mars is where the future of the new world. This is all our species is and in order well and good, but in actuto grow as a civilization, we ality that was not the most need to go. interesting thing that hap One of my favorite top- pened in 1492. For instance, ics in history class was France and England signed always the explorers, with the Treaty of Etaples, and their daring sense of adven- the Spanish army ended the ture and their willingness siege of the city of Granada, to go to new parts of the which forced out the Muslim world in search of glory and population that had resigned gold. That sense of daring there for over 700 years. is dormant within all of us, These were the breaking

news stories of that era and yet no one, save for some history majors, remembers these events. What we remember is the explorer that sailed into the unknown in search of glory. If we go to Mars, the Martians that live there will not remember which political party held Congress in 2030, or any of the petty events of this decade. The only thing they will remember is what their ancestors did in order to allow them to be alive. They will remember what we do right now to allow the human race to continue.

My reasons are very short, but there are many more. There is the scientific discovery aspect of it, the potential of a safe haven should anything happen to Earth, as well as the innumerable scientific advancements that could occur from a project this size. I know most of us, myself included, will do nothing to directly help this effort, but it is good to know that we can do our small part. Vote for congressmen and women who value NASA, and support the policies set forth by our government in their attempt at forming a space civilization. For us and our children.

“Mars is where the future of our species is and in order to grow as a civilization, we need to go.”

Jeffrey Ayers is a Collegian columnist and can be reached at jayers@umass.edu.

I want to feel safe in this world, in Amherst and on this campus, but it is difficult. A friend tells me she is stopped and groped by a stranger on her walk home.

Another friend wakes up to a friend masturbating in bed next to her. Friends say they are going to “rape” the opposing sports team in the upcoming game. I walked home from campus last night and passed by a group of unfamiliar males who called me a slut and laughed.

I don’t understand the “joke.” The reality is my experience in Puerto Rico was not the first time I was sexually violated. During the fall semester of my sophomore year, I was forcefully raped by a stranger in a bathroom.

For many individuals, they have experienced sexual assault more than once. For many, it is terrifying to admit to themselves what happened. For many, they are not in a space where it is safe for them to tell others.

For many, they try to deny, to forget and to protect themselves. Sexual assault is a body to confront every day as I face the memories and endure debilitating flashbacks.

Perhaps you have not committed sexual assault, but you are likely a contributor to the rape culture present on this campus. I challenge you to examine your conversations, your jokes, your actions. Examine your friends’ jokes and your friends’ actions.

Examine the way you treat and talk about your sexual partners, the media you consume, the privileges you have. What do you feed yourself with and how do you feed the world?

Sexual assault is not a ghost of my past, rather it is a living being, exhaling its breath in my life, my feelings, my relationships, my decisions; it is an experience that never dies.

Emily Johnson is a Collegian contributor and can be reached at emilyjohnson@umass.edu.

Lettersto the edItor

Editorial@DailyCollegian.com

To the Editor, In his rush to discredit public charter schools, James Mazarakis (“Expanding the charter cap is gambling the taxpayer’s money,” published Oct. 18, 2016) misstates several facts.

First, he cites a study by the Center for Research on Education Outcomes at Stanford University to suggest that public charters fall short of traditional public schools.

What he neglects to mention is that in the very same study – and again in 2015 – Massachusetts public charters were deemed the best in the country when it comes to closing the achievement gap between low-income children of color and white children. Not only that, but the latter Stanford study found that Commonwealth public charters provide students with an additional 1.5 months of learning in reading and 2.5 months of additional math learning.

Mr. Mazarakis is also wrong to suggest public charters siphon funding from district schools. First off, public charters are public schools – for profit charters are illegal and there are no investors. In Massachusetts, money follows the student from one public school (the district school) to another (the public charter) and districts are reimbursed for six years after. And while funding in Massachusetts has gone up by 16.9 percent for education, still only 4 percent goes to educate students in public charters in Massachusetts. On top of that, public charters are not eligible to apply for funds from the state’s School Building Authority, which oversees financing for public school construction projects.

He also neglects to mention that in a city like Malden, little over half of kids are reading and doing math at grade level and nearly 1,800 kids are stuck on waitlists.

It is precisely in these communities where public charters are having the biggest impact – because they operate independently of local school districts but with high accountability standards.

So, the real gamble isn’t if we lift the cap on public charters in Massachusetts. With 33,000 kids waiting for access, it’s what happens if we don’t. I urge readers to vote yes on Question 2.

Marc Kenen Massachusetts Charter Public School Association

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Thursday, October 20, 2016

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FOOD

Introducing two of UMass’ new local farm partners Including network for organic meat

By Krystal Kilhart Collegian Correspondent Since signing onto the Real Food Challenge commitment in 2013, UMass Dining has expanded its sourcing of locally grown and raised products. The Real Food Challenge commitment requires the University to purchase 20 percent “real food” by 2020.

Real food, defined by the Real Food Challenge on its website, is “food which truly nourishes producers, consumers, communities and the earth.”

Two of the newest University of Massachusetts farm partners with the potential to meet the Real Food qualifications are King Creek Queen’s Greens out of Amherst and Walden Local Meat Co. out of Burlington.

Both businesses pride

themselves on their relationship with their local communities and see partnering with UMass Dining as an asset to their greater missions.

Queen’s Greens is a small 30-acre farm that was founded during the winter of 2010 as a winter greens producer and has since expanded its growing season to be yearround. Co-founder Danya Teitelbaum shared that the farm’s mission is to grow high quality organic produce and create direct relationships with customers and local businesses.

UMass is practically next door to Queen’s Greens, so partnering with the University aligned perfectly with their vision and offered the largest possible customer base in the area.

Queen’s Greens is currently providing UMass with salad greens for which the University has a standing order. Queen’s Greens also provides produce to

two other colleges in the area, Hampshire College and Smith College.

Teitelbaum also noted that engaging with the community and really getting to know their customers is one of Queens Greens’ greatest priorities. By working with local establishments, farmer’s markets, restaurants, universities, etc., they are able to stimulate the local economy and nourish their neighbors.

Walden Local Meat Co. is a network of about 75 small to medium sized farms across New England that has been running for two and half years. Founder Charley Cummings said that the inspiration for the company came as a realization that there were a lot of farms in New England raising meat sustainably but many of them were struggling with distribution, sales and marketing.

That is where Walden Local Meat Co. stepped in to create a transparent and sus-

tainable meat market in the New England region.

Cummings said that Walden Local Meat Co.’s overall mission is “reinvigorating the local agricultural economy and to support healthier animals, soils and communities.”

Partnering with UMass, the first and only university to source Walden Local Meat Co.’s products, allowed the company to engage with a younger demographic.

Cummings said that he felt young people were mainly responsible for putting the pressure on larger institutions like UMass to source more local and sustainable food, and that student demand was one of the main reasons UMass shifted to Walden Local Meat Co.’s products.

Walden Local Meat Co. is currently providing UMass with ground beef, sausages and hot dogs served at sporting events. All of the beef provided to UMass is grass-fed, organic, antibi-

Young people were mainly responsible for putting the pressure on larger institutions like UMass to source more local and sustainable food.

Walden Meat Co. is not trying to compete with large-scale grocers.

Instead, they hope to encourage their customers not to eat less meat, but to have the meat they do eat be more ecologically and ethically sound. Walden Local Meat Co. hopes to set themselves apart by recognizing where each of their products come from on the label and building a community around the food they’re producing.

UMass is moving toward a more local and sustainable food system.

Partnerships with businesses like Queen’s Greens and Walden Local Meat Co. clearly illustrate this.

However, students must continue to push for more real food on their campus and encourage the University’s continued commitment to food that truly nourishes.

otic and hormone free and humanely treated.

Meeting all of these qualifications can be difficult for farmers as it is much cheaper to raise animals in confinement and on routine antibiotics. But Walden Local Meat Co.’s mission isn’t about cutting corners or placing profits over the well-being of their animals and farmers. The meat produced and sold by their partner farms does generate a higher cost, but it is also higher quality meat and better for all par- Krystal Kilhart can be reached at ties involved. kkilhart@umass.edu.

DRINK

Monday shots at McMurphy’s: an unofficial drink review Sweet specialty shots for fun nights out

By Madeleine Jackman Collegian Staff

By Chad Stoughton

Collegian Correspondent

We weren’t really sure what to expect coming into McMurphy’s Uptown Tavern on a Monday night and ordering a series of specialty shots. We had heard names like the “Drunken Leprechaun” and the “Haymaker” before, but neither of us had tried them.

So we thought we would head over to the watering hole in Amherst Center and see what these specials are all about. For those of you who may have heard rumors about McMurphy’s specialty shots, but were never sure if you wanted to try them, and for those just hearing about them now for the first time, we present to you an unofficial review.

Drunken Leprechaun Chad: We’re here on a laid-back Monday night sampling McMurphy’s great variety of house shots.

Mad: Right, we can’t actually reveal what’s in the shots though, since it’s a pub secret. To find out, readers will have to visit and do some investigating of their own.

Chad: So what did you think of the Drunken Leprechaun, Madeleine?

Mad: Starting off asking me with the question – not fair.

Chad: It’s a nice transition, roll with it.

Mad: I found the Drunken Leprechaun to taste more like coconut than anything else, which I don’t necessarily associate with the Irish, so I ended up being a bit thrown off with the disparity between its title and fla-

vor.

Chad: You’re right, it was sweet, it was coconutty. It had a kind of tropical feel, almost like something you’d get at a tiki bar more than an Irish pub.

Mad: It is green, though.

I think the Drunken Leprechaun would be good as a quick pick-me-up shot after some hard liquor.

Easy to do with friends, fun to order and overall great shot if you like coconut and pineapple.

Rating: Chad 3/5, Mad 3.5/5 What we toasted to: Working on a Monday night

Brain Hemorrhage Chad: Next, we tried the Brain Hemorrhage, an offthe menu trick shot suggested by one of McMurphy’s bartenders.

Mad: So Chad, I’ll ask you first this time, what’d you think of it?

Chad: Honestly, of the ones we tried, I think it was my favorite. It was unique, weird-looking and interesting to watch them make.

This one we are allowed to tell people about. The Brain Hemorrhage shot is layered Baileys sitting on a base of peach Schnapps with grenadine and blue something.

Mad: Right, the blue was Blue Curacao.

Chad: It actually did look like a bleeding brain, the way the shot congealed together and the Baileys hung down from the surface. Perfect for Halloween, super spooky.

Mad: I was surprised by how creamy it was. I don’t think I’ve ever had a shot besides a jello shot that was that thick.

Chad: Even though the Schnapps was the main ingredient, it was the creaminess of the Baileys and then the sweetness of the grenadine at the bottom

MADELEINE JACKMAN/COLLEGIAN

MADELEINE JACKMAN/COLLEGIAN

The Baileys in the Brain Hemorrhage gives it the perfect oozy appearance.

Chad Stoughton ponders whether or not to try a sixth specialty shot.

the Green Tea shot is no exception.

Mad: The Green Tea shot was also very sweet, continuing with the trend of the shots that came before.

Another good one for if you want to take a shot with a built-in chaser that hides most of the alcoholic taste.

It did not, however, remind me of green tea at all, besides the pale green color.

The names seem to be based on appearance.

Chad: It was generally good, but not overwhelmingly memorable. It had a lot of the same elements of the other shots.

Rating: Chad and Mad 2/5 Rating: Chad and Mad 4/5 What we toasted to: Brain What we toasted to: Not hemorrhages, and finally being covered in glitter learning how to spell the Haymaker word hemorrhage

body who enjoys both cranberry juice and bourbon, I would recommend this one.

But you’re right; it could have had a little more kick to it. It, like most of the shots we’ve tried tonight, was smooth and almost too sweet. But… it is a nice break from straight hard liquor.

Mad: Plus, it comes in a nice glass, and the color is a beautiful light red, great for those Instagram shots.

that really came through.

It did sort of have a weird grainy texture which I thought added to the whole brain motif.

Mad: I agree, it’s definitely a cool shot to try.

Great for Snapchat stories and Halloween time.

Another bartender also mentioned other fun trick shots they know, like the Vegas Bomb. These shots make McMurphy’s a great locale for a 21st birthday, or if you’re looking to try something new. Ask the bartender who’s working for the secret shots they know.

Green Tea Mad: Up next, the “Green Tea,” which we were told by the bartender is the second most popular specialty shot in the bar for the students who frequent McMurphy’s.

Chad: While we can’t reveal the specific recipes of some of the shots we tried, we can say that McMurphy’s seems to be a fan of peach Schnapps, and

Chad: What did we have next? The Haymaker, right?

Mad: I know this one is bourbon based, but honestly what I tasted most was the cranberry. I think people who would enjoy this shot are those who like cranberry juice but with a very minor kick. I do have to say, this is coming from a person who isn’t a huge fan of cranberry juice.

Chad: Now, as some-

Rating Chad 3.5/5, Mad 2.5/5 What we toasted to: Late essay assignments

Bomb Pop

the night.

Chad: Like a melted freeze pop with a notable hint of vodka. Appropriately named, I think.

Rating: Chad 3/5, Mad 4/5 What we toasted to: Going downhill from here (especially from the presidential debate drinking game article) Overall, McMurphy’s provides a casual and welcoming atmosphere, with friendly and helpful service. The shots we tried were all good, but did tend to run together, with few that really stood out from the crowd. Like most mixed shots, these won’t get you as drunk as straight liquor, but they are a nice change of pace if you are looking to try something a bit different and sweet.

We were only able to try five of the specialty shots, but for those thinking of heading over to McMurphy’s, you can also order shots like the “Green Monster,” the “Arctic Blast” and the “Trashcan.”

Mad: Alright, so the last one that we tried was the “Bomb Pop.” My first instinct was to smell it because the light blue color reminded me of a slushy. It actually did kind of smell like a blue Otter Pop. Chad: That’s a freeze pop for those of you from this half of the continent.

Mad: The Bomb Pop did also taste almost identical to an Otter Pop, but with the strongest bite to it out Madeleine Jackman can be reached of all of the shots we tried at mjackman@umass.edu. Chad tonight, which I enjoyed. Stoughton can be reached at This one was my favorite of cstoughton@umass.edu.

12

Thursday, October 20, 2016

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If you have problems, try singing or dancing them away. If your problem is not being able to sing or dance, I can’t help you.

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The leaves are turning red, but you would too if you had to change out in public.

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If you’re having trouble making friends, try a club. A large one, made of wood, preferably.

Then just swing it until you hit your new pal.

Sometimes, being stuck in a daily routine isn’t bad. At least you always know what to do next.

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Play-Doh is “non-toxic”, and “fun to play with, but not to eat.” So you can eat it, but you won’t have fun doing it.

You can’t always rely on other people. That’s why you have fingers; you can count on them.

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May. 21 - Jun. 21

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If you can’t answer a question on an exam, try convincing the grader that they’re a robot instead. It usually works.

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capricorn

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What is Pluto’s status? It was a planet, then it A great way to meet your neighbors is to wasn’t, and then it was a sorta-planet. What’s blare pop-punk music really loud until they either complain or thank you. the deal?