The Massachusetts Daily Collegian: September, 6th, 2017

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THE MASSACHUSETTS

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Wednesday, September 6, 2017

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Northampton vigil Students ‘chillax’ at wellness night held to protest slashing of DACA 300 gathered in rain, by candlelight By Jackson Cote Collegian Staff

In protest of the Trump administration’s sudden reciscindment of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, and to stand in solidarity with the undocumented immigrants affected by the controversial action, approximately 300 gathered in rain and by candlelight in Northampton Tuesday night. Eduardo Samaniego, a volunteer with the Pioneer Valley Workers Center and a thirdyear student at Hampshire College majoring in constitutional law and education, was one of the organizers of the event. Samaniego himself, along with a few of the other event’s organizers, is a recipient of DACA. “Taking this away goes against everything really that’s American. It is economically unsound,” Samaniego said. “There is no argument to take DACA away, other than that it’s part of a white supremacist agenda.” Samaniego also reasoned that DACA is supported by Democrats and Republicans alike—as it was passed with bipartisan support— along with 73 percent of the American public. “This being taken away goes beyond the will of the people,” he said. According to a press release sent from “Immigrant Youth and the Pioneer Valley Workers Center,” the scheduled vigil and march was organized “in sup-

to be vocal and stay informed about the Trump administration’s actions. “You’re basically leaving people on the streets. It’s crazy to be a human being and just tell people, ‘You can’t have this. You can’t work to survive,’” Guevara said. “I’m not sure how this is going to affect my life,” he added. The announcement to end DACA was made on Tuesday morning by U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions. The end of the program means that the Department of Homeland Security will stop processing any new applications for DACA. It will also mean, “close to 800,000 students and young immigrants will lose legal status, work permits and driver licenses over night,” according to the press release for the vigil. During the event, Samaniego and three other recipients of DACA shared their personal struggles in immigrating to the United States—working tirelessly to make ends meet and live their lives in a new country. Samaniego discussed how he immigrated from Mexico to rural Georgia. In his senior year of high school, he became homeless and was eventually taken into the home of a pastor. He also recalled how, despite being the student body president of his class—in addition to his resume of many extracurriculars and recommendation letters—he was still prevented from applying to college. He did not have a social security number. During the vigil, Samaniego and other organizers urged

JACKSON COTE/COLLEGIAN

Students attend a vigil on Tuesday, Sept. 5, protesting the end of DACA. port of Undocumented and DACAmented youth who are threatened by the ending of DACA.” Additionally, the event was intended to be a response to the termination of DACA and a call on congress to take action against the end of a program that had protected approximately 800,000 young undocumented immigrants—otherwise known as Dreamers, who were brought to the U.S. as children—from deportation. “My future is up in the air. I have no assurance,” Luis Guevara, a Hampshire College sculpture and Latin American studies major, said. Guevara, who will graduate from Hampshire College in 2020, is a recipient of DACA. He believes that it is important

participants to reach out to their local state representatives. At one point, Samaniego gave out the phone number of Massachusetts State Senator Stanley Rosenberg. He read Rosenberg’s phone number in both English and Spanish, telling those listening to demand justice. Of the 300 people who turned out for the event— which took place at 20 Hampton Ave., the location of the Pioneer Valley Workers Center—many were students from the five-college community. Some of the participants carried signs, and almost all carried candles. One participant’s sign read, “Don’t be a caca. Defend Daca.” Another’s read, “We’re see

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ERICA LOWENKRON/COLLEGIAN

Ashley Ritter, Olivia Beaudette, Isabelle Giuttari and Madison Su (left to right) made wax hands during UPC Wellness Night on the Haigis Mall on Sept. 5, 2017.

UMass student honored for saving a life Lifeguard saves a young boy at pool By Abigail Charpentier Collegian Staff

On June 11, UMass sophomore John Stewart saved an 11-year-old boy’s life at the Oakley Country Club in Watertown, Mass. The finance major worked at the Oakley Country Club for the last four summers and is an American Red Crosscertified lifeguard, swim coach and camp counselor. Stewart said in an email he was working at the deep-end of the pool at the Oakley Country club when one of the younger members, Brian, swallowed a deadly amount of water after staying under water too long in the shallowend. When he heard com-

motion, he hurried to help. “As I turned the corner of the shallow-end of the pool, I laid my eyes on a dad cradling his young son while the child looked limp with his eyes receded to the back of his head,” Stewart said. “I took this lifeless boy into my arms and laid him down onto the pool deck, fully aware of the magnitude of the situation.” Stewart was able to perform CPR, as he had learned through his Red Cross training. After two rounds of rigorous CPR, Brian began to throw up the water and was able to fully recover. The incident on June 11 was the first time an ambulance had ever been called to the pool at the Oakley Country Club. A bb i e P i n g i t o re, Clubhouse Manager at the

country club, described Stewart as a “valued, longtime employee of Oakley Country Club,” in an email. “[He] is great with the kids, has patience and a quick wit!”Pingitore added. “We, the Oakley Family, tip our hat to Jack Stewart,” Pingitore said. After Stewart saved the child at Oakley Country Club, he was honored by the Watertown Police Department on Aug. 14. Michael Lawn, Chief of Police in Watertown, recalled through email numerous officers immediately suggesting honoring Stewart for his actions. Lawn described how at the ceremony, Stewart was presented a with plaque from the police department and took pictures with some of its’ members.

Other officers, Stewart’s family and local press were in attendance. “It is unbelievable how a 19-year-old responded to such a stressful situation. It speaks volumes on how calm he stayed and dealt with the situation that ultimately saved a 11-year-old’s life. Truly remarkable for a 19-yearold,” Lawn said. Months after Stewart was able to save Brian’s life, he shared how the danger Brian was in and his ability to respond to it continues to impact him. “The event on June 11 was a true inflection point in my life, ushering me into adulthood,” Stewart said. Abigail Charpentier can be reached at acharpentier@umass.edu and followed on Twitter @abigailcharp.

Students and community react to removal of gender inclusive bathroom Stalls were changed over the summer

theater major and a current resident of Spectrum, shared how having a gender-inclusive bathroom is “one of the main reasons” B y R ebecca W iesenberg they chose to live in Baker. Collegian Staff “I find having to choose Over the summer, a between men’s and wombathroom on the first floor en’s rooms oppressive and of Baker Hall, home to the uncomfortable,” Gourlay, who is gender non-conSpectrum LGBTQ+ desigforming/nonbinary, said. nated residential commu Spectrum residents, nity, was reassigned from along with their allies “gender-inclusive” to one from across the University just for “women.” of Massachusetts, the Five Some residents on the College Consortium, and Spectrum Floor have people in general Amherst responded ne gatively communities, have been toward the re-assigning emailing Dawn Bond, the of the bathroom, saying it director of student sergoes against the purpose vices at Residential Life, of the residential area to denounce the change and its message of gender as oppressive and regresinclusivity. sive. In a formatted email Ethan Gourlay, a junior template being spread on

Facebook for students to use when emailing, those in support of the genderinclusive bathroom on the Spectrum Floor reiterate its’ significance for trans students at UMass. “I am expressing my support to recrate the space as safe and affirming for all residents, and hope that the signage is in place to fulfill student’s needs as quickly as possible,” the email sample states. In his own email, CJ Harper, a psychology student at UMass, stressed that not only he, but “all other transgender and non-binary individuals benefit greatly from having gender neutral bathrooms available to us.” Bond and Diana

Fordham, the operations manager at Baker Hall, both declined to comment. In a letter sent out before the start of the school year from Jean MacKimmie, Director of Residence Education at Residential Life, Spectrum residents were informed of the bathroom re-signing and the reason behind the decision. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts Plumbing Code, according to MacKimmie, currently stipulates that all multistall bathrooms or restrooms “be designated as either male or female.” “The previous ‘all gender’ sign was installed without consultation with Residential Life Directors, see

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