The Massachusetts Daily Collegian: September 22th, 2016

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Thursday, September 22, 2016

By Danny Cordova Collegian Staff

Student advocacy group MassPIRG held its kickoff event for the fall semester in the Cape Cod Lounge on Wednesday evening in which around 55 students attended.

The kickoff event introduced the main campaign for the semester, the New Voters Project, aiming to register 3,000 University of Massachusetts students before the Oct. 19 voter registration deadline.

The event also marked the launch of the organization’s campaigns on homelessness, clean energy and antibiotic-free fast food.

“For the first time in decades, our generation from 18 to 29-year-olds are the largest voting bloc, which is super exciting and

News@DailyCollegian.com

Week three haze

MassPIRG kicks off for semester Group hopes to raise voter turnout

I think it’s an opportunity that we should jump on,” said Julia Seremba, a junior studying nonprofit management in BDIC, chapter chair of MassPIRG and New Voters Project campaign coordinator.

“Not only for (electing) the president, but there’s also important ballot initiatives and local elected official that are to be voted for and it’s really important that we also take that into account.”

The event provided an overview of the New Voters Project. A statistic from the Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning and Engagement was presented that showed that only 45 percent of eligible voters between ages 18 to 29 voted in the 2012 election.

Some reasons why turnout among students is low are failure to update dorm addresses and being uninformed of voter registration see

MASSPIRG on page 2

Serving the UMass community since 1890

JESSICA PICARD/COLLEGIAN

Students walk to class in the fog on Wednesday morning through the tunnel connecting the Southwest Residential Area to the rest of the campus.

UMass Resistance Studies Initiative hosts George Lakey Speaker focused on revolutionizing gov.

By Ian Munnelly Collegian Correspondent Students and community members gathered Wednesday night in Tobin Hall to listen to activist and social movement expert George Lakey. The talk, titled “A Post-Democratic Party Strategy for a Political Revolution” focused on revolutionizing the United States government.

The talk was organized as a part of Resistance Studies Initiative Fall Speaker Series.

Lakey has a long history with social movements including cofounding Training for Change, an activist group dedicated to nonviolent social change.

His most recent efforts have centered on Earth Quaker Action

JESSICA PICARD/COLLEGIAN

Social change researcher, teacher and activist George Lakey spoke on Wednesday for the Resistance Studies Initiative in Tobin Hall.

Team (EQAT), an activist group that was successful in its five-year campaign to have PNC Bank stop financing mountaintop removal of coal in Appalachia.

Lakey began his talk by asking everyone in the room who was frustrated with American politics to raise their hands. Everyone did.

He then focused his talk with the question “What might be possible regardless of who our president is next November?”

According to Lakey, the deep polarization that is occurring within American politics today is the exact catalyst for change that the great social movements of the 1930s and 1960s used as their method to create positive policy change for Americans.

“Polarization is an opportunity...opportunity for us to make change. However, it is an art form to make that change,” said Lakey. see

LAKEY on page 2

Astronomy department head Professor speaks on topic of American Indian Oppression to host autumn equinox Gatherings at the UMass Sunwheel

By Megha Srinivasan Collegian Correspondent

Stephen Schneider, University of Massachusetts astronomy professor and department head, will be holding events at the standing stones of the UMass Sunwheel during both sunrise and sunset to mark the autumnal equinox. The sunrise event takes place today at 6:45 a.m. and the sunset event at 6 p.m.

Each event will be around an hour long and Schneider will discuss topics such as the cause of the sun’s changing position and the seasonal positions of the sun, moon and Earth.

He will also answer questions from the public pertaining to astronomy and the causes of the equinox.

If the skies are clear in the evening, attendees can expect Schneider to bring telescopes for public use.

The Sunwheel was constructed in 1997 by Judy Young, an associate professor of astronomy at UMass who for over 15 years led seasonal sunrise and sunset gatherings before her death in 2014. The University recognized Young’s work with the Distinguished Academic Outreach Award in 2000.

Schneider said that the purpose of the event is, “to learn a bit about what goes on astronomically and why we say it is the beginning of autumn. It is also to teach people about how the sun

is in the sky and why the seasons are around.”

According to Schneider, “The stones have been set up so (the person) is in the center, and the sun will rise and set over some of the stones. The sun rises on the eastern stones and in the evening it sets on the western stone marking where it is on the equinox. Over the year the sun moves north and south a lot.”

Schneider has been conducting this event for several years along with the winter solstice, spring equinox and summer solstice.

The Sunwheel is located south of McGuirk Stadium, off of Rocky Hill Road and south of University Drive.

Megha Srinivasan can be reached at meghasriniva@umass.edu.

“Assimilation on a grand scale.”

By Danielle Haley Collegian Correspondent Kathleen BrownPérez was 15 years old when she spoke in great detail with her grandfather of their tribe, known as the Brothertown Indian Nation or the Eeyamquittoowauconnuck.

This talk with her grandfather motivated her to study federal Indian law and to inform American Indians of their civil rights.

Brown-Pérez, an assistant professor with the Commonwealth Honors College, held a lecture on the oppression of American Indians on Wednesday evening at the University of

Massachusetts.

She delivered her address, titled “Defined Out of Existence: The U.S. Government’s Continuing Attempt to Remove and Replace American Indians,” at the Institute for Holocaust, Genocide and Memory Studies.

“We are gathered in the town Amherst, named for Jeffrey Amherst. A man who committed biological warfare against indigenous people,” Brown-Pérez said as her opening remarks.

She took this moment to reveal that since 1763 governmental powers have been trying to remove, or relocate Indian tribes across America.

Brown-Pérez stressed the phrase “Assimilation on a grand scale.” She revealed an array of pho-

tos, pointing to one in particular: a before and after photo of a young boy.

His before photo was him dressed in his traditional clothing with his long dark brown hair. The after photo was of the young boy dressed in what was known as “civilized clothes,” his hair is now cut short. This photo also adds higher quality, making it appear as though the boy has lighter, white skin.

The idea of “mass assimilation” became a concept for the United States government to remove any sort of tribes that were still present. The goal was “move to the city and forget who you are,” said BrownPérez.

In order for Americans see

BROWN-PEREZ on page 2

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Thursday, September 22, 2016

AROUND THE WORLD

Karl weakens to tropical depression, but could become hurricane FORT LAUDERDALE, FL — It’s the weather, so it doesn’t always do what people think it might.

That was the case with now-Tropical Depression Karl on Wednesday, which instead of strengthening as expected, thumbed its nose at high-tech forecasting tools and weakened to a tropical depression.

But the weakening was thought to be temporary.

Karl, which on Wednesday afternoon was about 800 miles southeast of Bermuda and not a threat to the U.S., was still expected to become a hurricane, only later than originally anticipated.

“Our earlier forecast did show Karl strengthening more quickly than it necessarily has,” said Michael Brennan, a senior hurricane specialist at the Miami-based National Hurricane Center.

“We are still forecasting it to become a hurricane as we get later into the week,” Brennan said.

According to another forecaster at the hurricane center, global forecasting models “totally failed” when it came to winds surrounding the storm.

Because wind shear _ which blows storms apart _ had been expected to weaken, Karl in turn had been expected to keep strengthening.

However, as of Wednesday, that wind shear was still strong, which meant Karl had lost steam.

“Global models have totally failed so far in forecasting the upper-level winds surrounding Karl,” senior hurricane specialist Lixion Avila wrote in a 5 a.m. Wednesday morning discussion posted on the hurricane center’s website. “The upper-low near Karl which unanimously all models have been forecasting to weaken is still strong and producing shear over the cyclone.”

As of Wednesday at 5 p.m., Karl’s maximum sustained wind speeds were 35 mph, below the 39 mph threshold for a tropical storm.

Expected to pass near Bermuda on Saturday on a boomerang-shaped path, Karl was forecast to be a hurricane by Saturday afternoon.

It was expected to remain a hurricane on Sunday as it continues on a northeast path toward the North Atlantic before diminishing Monday to a tropical storm.

Brennan said any predictions of how intense the storm would be were complicated by differing forecast models of the direction of the wind shear and the amount of moisture in the air around the storm.

“We’re getting mixed signals from the models about what the environment is going to be for the storm,” Brennan said.

“There’s always lots of uncertainty,” Brennan added.

Meanwhile, Tropical Storm Lisa, which also wasn’t a threat to the U.S., was moving northwest in the far Atlantic. Its maximum sustained winds were 45 mph on Wednesday afternoon, and it was expected to start weakening on Thursday and be a tropical depression by Friday, according to the hurricane center.

Beyond Karl and Lisa, the Atlantic wasn’t expected to churn out any new storms in the next few days.

“We don’t have anything in our outlook for the next five days at this point,” Brennan said.

Sun Sentinel Distributed by MCT Information Services

MASSPIRG deadlines.

MassPIRG also hopes to register ten thousand students across Massachusetts before the deadline. To achieve these goals, the organization will hold recruitment drives and reach out to different student organizations on campus to assist them in their efforts.

“We want to make it a campus-wide effort where everyone is working together so we can have a big presence on Election Day,” said Seremba.

Another step is to set up voter registration tables around campus to register voters.

Guest speaker and political science professor John Brigham spoke on the history and dilemmas of voting.

He discussed ID checks for first time voters and an incident in which a student was denied to vote for failing to update her dorm address.

“When I first came to UMass Amherst, I was surprised that in Amherst, a student who changed her dorm room from down the hall wasn’t allowed to vote because she was supposed to change her registration,” said Brigham.

The event concluded with students brainstorming ideas for their campaign.

“People are enthusiastic about the fact that we are actually going to fight for the homeless and not just serve them,” said Issa Sayegh, a sophomore philosophy major and Hunger and Homelessness campaign coordinator.

“So we’re not just allevi-

THE MASSACHUSETTS DAILY COLLEGIAN continued from page 1

ating the problem, but we’re also preventing it from happening in the first place.”

Gabi Mathews, a sophomore political science major and Stop the Overuse of Routine Antibiotics campaign coordinator, discussed the expansion of their social media presence to get fast-food companies like KFC aware of the dangers of overuse of antibiotics. The campaign also has plan to write letters to editors to raise awareness.

“It was really exciting having new people in the room and new ideas,” Mathews said.

Erik Simon Vuoritie, a sophomore mechanical engineering major and 100 Percent Clean Energy campaign coordinator, discussed with students on talking to professors to host events or speak on clean energy.

“There were a lot more people who showed up than I was expecting, so that’s very exciting,” said Vuoritie. “We can go a lot of different directions from here.”

Owen Bragdon, a senior geography and political science major, participated in the New Voters Project session.

“Even though there aren’t any hugely competitive elections in Massachusetts with the exception ballot questions, I think it’s still important to increase voter turnout, especially amongst students,” said Bragdon.

“So, that we can prove that we’re paying attention.”

Danny Cordova can be reached at dcordova@umass.edu.

DailyCollegian.com

BROWN-PEREZ

continued from page 1

JUDITH GIBSON-OKUNIEFF/COLLEGIAN

Kathleen Brown-Perez, a senior lecturer in the Honors College at UMass Amherst, gave the talk “ Defined Out of Existence” at the Institute for Holocaust, Genocide, and Memory Studies on Wednesday afternoon. to have a better understanding of the oppression of American Indians, BrownPérez said that it must start in the classroom. “There is a lack in U.S. history,” said Brown-Pérez, arguing that more courses on the history of indigenous people must be added around the nation.

“I recently moved to Turners Falls, where the first time in my life the mascot is an Indian,” Brown-Pérez said. She revealed that a group of parents created a petition

to change the mascot due the lack of knowledge of what many think they know about American Indians.

This petition argues the removal of all native names and images at non-native schools. Brown-Pérez then went on to reveal that those who want the removal of the mascot are the ones that have an understanding of tradition.

Brown-Pérez concluded “Just because it is tradition does not make it right. We are calling for a change in the Turners Falls mascot.”

LAKEY

“I thought it was really interesting how she has fought for her own tribe and for others,” said Erin Johnson, a junior biology major at UMass.

“It gives you so much insight on what American Indians go through and what’s happening and what could happen in the future,” said Ciya Bresilla, a freshman at UMass studying psychology.

Danielle Haley can be reached at dhaley@umass.edu.

continued from page 1

The variable that links all these time periods of social unrest is deep economic disparity, according to Lakey.

“There is no politician who has anything in place that will reduce economic inequality...no matter who wins, inequality will grow,” said Lakey.

Lakey cited his work in EQAT as an example of the kind of solidarity that is needed in order to make social change.

The mission statement of EQAT reads, “Earth Quaker Action Team is a grassroots, nonviolent action group including Quakers and people of diverse beliefs, who join with millions of people around the world fighting for a just and sustainable economy.”

During their five-year struggle with PNC Bank over mountaintop coal removal, the Quaker group would travel to different bank locations and demonstrate within the lobbies of the banks. They would gather into a circle in the center of the lobby, and would begin to pray and sing.

Lakey said that when they demonstrated in this manner, bank managers would often close the branches of business in order to remove them.

Lakey and other members of EQAT marched 200 miles in protest of the coal removal. It was through this and other demonstrations that influenced PNC Banks to cease their mountaintop coal removal in Appalachia.

After elaborating on his experiences within these activists groups, Lakey outlined the structure of an activist group that can take advantage of the political polarization occurring.

According to Lackey, the creation of a campaign is the first step, as a group has to set its sights on a goal and a specific piece of change they want to work towards.

Then the establishment of what Lakey called “norms of personal empow-

erment” is key in allowing activists to feel accepted and valued within their group. Lakey identified helpers, advocates, organizers and rebels as the main roles within an organization that activists specialize in.

Next lies the point where many organizations in the past failed, the vision of a group, or what they propose to do differently needs to be established. Without a legitimate model of change, there can be no widespread trust and excitement behind the organization’s campaign.

Lastly, an organization and its activists need training and strategy in order to enact their campaign and gain a stage in which to propose their model of change.

Lakey believes strongly in the ability of activists to make change. “It gives people a chance for the future.” In Lakey’s eyes, it is of the utmost importance that we, as a nation, tackle the economic disparity that has devastated entire cities. “You see that disparity in places like Detroit, somewhere capitalism has deserted.”

For Lakey, the answer lies in the Nordic model of living, which is the economic model in Denmark, Finland, Norway, Iceland and Sweden. It includes a combination of free market capitalism with an extensive welfare state and collective bargaining at a national level.

Lakey believes that if we can incorporate aspects of this into our American economic model, we can reduce economic disparity and pave the way to living in a better society.

Lackey has recently written a book on the subject, titled “Viking Economics: How the Scandinavians Got It Right and How We Can, Too.” Ian Munnelly can be reached at imunnelly@umass.edu.

THE MASSACHUSETTS DAILY COLLEGIAN

DailyCollegian.com

Thursday, September 22, 2016

3

N.C officials defend police shooting Fed. holds off on interest rate raise

By Jim Puzzanghera Los Angeles Times

JEFF SINER/CHARLOTTE OBSERVER

A protestor approaches CMPD officers with his arms up on Old Concord Rd. on Tuesday night, Sept. 20, 2016 in Charlotte, N.C

By Maggie Ybarra

McClatchy Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON — North Carolina lawmakers defended the CharlotteMecklenburg Police Department after one of its officers fatally shot 43-yearold Keith Lamont Scott, who was sitting in his car Tuesday while police were searching for a person with an outstanding warrant.

Lawmakers also blasted a call by a local Nation of Islam religious leader for a boycott of businesses in Charlotte, which already has been wracked by protests and violence stemming from public response to the shooting. Scott was AfricanAmerican, as is the police officer, Brentley Vinson, who shot him.

Scott was shot because he was carrying a weapon and refused to drop it, Police Chief Kerr Putney said.

Some members of Scott’s family contend that he was holding a book and not a gun at the time of the incident.

They say Scott had disabilities and didn’t own a gun.

Republican Sen. Thom Tillis said in a statement that the people who took to the streets of Charlotte on Tuesday night had embarrassed the city.

“The response to the shooting that occurred yesterday was utter chaos that resulted in the looting of private property and injuries to

the very officers who were working to protect the safety of the protesters,” Tillis said. “It was an embarrassing moment for the city that was only redeemed by the brave men and women of the CMPD, who demonstrated incredible composure, which likely prevented the violence from escalating further.”

“The emotions are totally understood,” Republican Rep. Robert Pittenger of Charlotte said in an interview. “There’s a loss of life.

A family member is gone, and I deeply understand the emotions, but I think we have to wait and let the facts bear itself out.”

Republican Sen. Richard Burr asked that the turmoil cease and the police be given the space they needed to conduct their investigation.

“I think we can all agree there is no place in America for violence in our streets,” he said in a statement.

But that doesn’t mean the protests need to cease, said Democrat Rep. Alma Adams of Charlotte. It is important for the community to come together over concern about the killing, she said in an interview on CNN. “If people want to protest, then I think they should protest,” she told The Charlotte Observer. “It’s their right to protest. This is clearly an issue that our community is concerned about.”

Adams said she had been in touch with elected officials in Charlotte and was

prepared to return to the city from Washington if her presence was warranted.

North Carolina law allows residents to carry concealed weapons if they obtain permits for those weapons and receive approval from their local sheriffs’ offices. If Scott had a weapon, he should have left it in the car when he encountered the police, Pittenger said.

“You can have a right to have a gun, but not to pull it out when you’re told to stay in the car,” he said. “I mean, look at what occurred.

If you’re being addressed by police officers, you don’t get out with a gun in your hand.

Common sense will tell you that.”

The North Carolina Department of Justice advises concealed carry permit holders that if approached by law enforcement, they should disclose that they are concealed carry permit holders but “should not attempt to draw or display your weapon or your permit for the officer unless and until he/she directs you to do so.”

North Carolina also allows for open carrying of a handgun.

Presidential candidates also weighed in on the Tuesday night turmoil.

Republican Donald Trump turned to Twitter to describe the situation as “tragic” and called for unity and an end to the violence.

Democrat Hillary Clinton implied on her Twitter

account that police had once again reacted disproportionately to a member of the black community.

“I have been privileged to spend a lot of time with mothers who have lost children and young people who feel that as far as their country is concerned their lives are disposable,” Clinton said during a rally in Florida.

“We’ve got to do better, and I know we can.”

Local civil leaders expressed anger over the mistreatment of that community during a news conference Wednesday morning. One of them, the Rev. B.J. Murphy of the Nation of Islam, called for an economic boycott in Charlotte. If black lives don’t matter, then the black dollar shouldn’t matter, he said during the news conference.

Pittenger said his biggest concern for the Charlotte community was people like Murphy “exploiting the problem.”

“If this is somebody trying to incite and agitate, then shame on him,” he said. “You know, we have an AfricanAmerican chief of police who is an African-American officer, so now why does he make this a racial issue?”

Adams questioned whether a boycott would be effective.

“I don’t know that, really, boycotting something would have the kind of impact that it used to have,” she said.

GOP develops voter registration app

By Jennifer Jacobs Bloomberg News

WA S H I N G T O N — Republicans have been quietly building a new social media app meant to enlist ordinary voters to help register friends to vote, make donations or volunteer _ and win prizes along the way, organizers say.

The “Lead Right 2016” app is part of the GOP’s effort to close the gap between Democrats and Republicans when it comes to technology, said Darren Bolding, chief technology officer for the Republican National Committee.

The app is designed to spur Republican voter registration by allowing users to share names in their cellphone contacts file with the app.

The cellphone data will give the RNC a better picture of the people in the users’ personal networks, so the party can ask individuals to reach out to friends and family who may be persuadable targets.

“This is pretty much identical to what Obama’s

campaign was doing in 2008 and 2012 with Facebook friends,” said Thomas Peters, founder and CEO of uCampaign, a tech startup that designed the app and did digital grassroots work for Ted Cruz’s presidential campaign.

The new app is available for anyone to download, Peters said. The app feeds into the RNC’s absentee and early voting programs, Bolding said. The RNC can match the names against voter registration files and alert the user if someone in their address book isn’t registered.

“What we are doing on the data-matching side is showing folks who needs to receive what message _ rather spamming their whole contact list,” Peters said. “This is the trade-off to have an effective tool, and our committed supporters have loved the feature.”

The company uCampaign also developed the Trump campaign’s “America First” app, which has been downloaded

approximately 40,000 times, said Keith Urbahn, founding partner at Javelin, the communications firm for uCampaign.

The new RNC app can work with the Trump app and others as well. It’s an umbrella app designed to bring data and technology for GOP campaigns across the country into one place, Urbahn said.

To protect privacy, the Lead Right app requires users to double opt-in to allow data to be shared.

After users log in to the app, they can choose which campaigns can send them push notifications, send personal invitations to friends and family, help friends register to vote, post messages to a news feed, or “create community among themselves and talk about issues they’re passionate about,” Peters said.

It’s a safe place to vent or debate, he said.

“On Twitter things can get pretty nasty pretty quick,” Peters said.

If users are active with, say, Kentucky Sen. Rand

Paul’s campaign, they get points that make them eligible for swag, such as a free T-shirt, the organizers said.

Peters said the project has been a dream since the night of the 2012 general election “when things didn’t go so well” for Republicans.

Peters said he was sifting through his Facebook feed reading notes about his family and friends in Michigan talking about how they’d tried to do their bit for Mitt Romney, but there just weren’t enough votes. Peters said people don’t have a lot of free time in their day, but they make time for social networking like Facebook, so he set out to create a political app that could compete for their attention.

“The RNC is the first major party to have its own GOTV smartphone app,” Urbahn said. “There isn’t anyone utilizing as much data and offering as many ways for activists to engage as we are with uCampaign’s apps.”

WASHINGTON — Federal Reserve policymakers held off on an interest rate increase Wednesday with a rare level of dissent amid some lackluster economic data but signaled a rate hike is coming before the end of the year.

Fed Chair Janet Yellen also said regulators will be looking at Wells Fargo & Co.’s bogus-accounts scandal to make sure large banks have safeguards to prevent such abuses, even though the agency doesn’t have a direct role in retailbank regulation.

Yellen said Fed officials have been “distressed” to see how some banks respond to problems, such as the improper sales tactics at Wells Fargo that led employees to open as many as 2 million accounts that customers didn’t authorize.

“What we’d really want to see is robust procedures that ensure that employees are always acting in a legal and ethical manner, and that the incentives that are put in place in these organizations are appropriate and don’t serve to foster behaviors that could harm the public,” Yellen said of the Fed, which regulates the holding companies of Wells Fargo and other large banks.

The 7-3 vote to keep the benchmark federal funds rate steady at between 0.25 percent and 0.5 percent showed growing divisions within the Federal Open Market Committee about whether the economy is strong enough to handle a small increase.

The three dissenters, who wanted to inch the rate up by a quarter percentage, were the most for a Fed monetary policy decision since December 2014.

And the tally signaled that Yellen, who voted with the majority, could have trouble holding back a rate hike for much longer.

But the official statement after the Fed’s two-day ratesetting meeting indicated a small boost is coming later this year.

“The committee judges that the case for an increase in the federal funds rate has strengthened but decided, for the time being, to wait for further evidence of continued progress toward its objectives,” the statement said.

Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Yellen sought to downplay the divisions. She said most policymakers were more concerned about triggering a recession by increasing the rate too soon rather than causing inflation by keeping it low for a while longer.

“Our decision does not reflect a lack of confidence in the economy,” she said.

“We’re generally pleased with how the U.S. economy is doing.”

There was upbeat language in the Fed’s official statement about the labor market continuing to “strengthen and grow” and an improved pace of economic growth.

And the policymakers said the “near-term risks to the economic outlook appear roughly balanced.” Fed officials used similar language last fall before raising the rate in December.

A majority of the officials on Wednesday cut in half the number of small, quarter-point rate increases they expect for the rest of the year _ to just one.

Yellen said she would expect to see a rate hike this year “if we continue on the current course of labor market improvement and there are no major new risks that develop, and we simply stay

on the current course.”

Analysts have said a rate increase is unlikely at the Fed’s next meeting in November, just days before the presidential election, so that would indicate one is coming in December.

“I think December is the most likely timing” for a rate hike, said Scott Anderson, chief economist at Bank of the West in San Francisco. The Fed’s official statement “was a pretty big hint they’re going to move” by the end of the year, he said.

But three presidents of regional Fed banks who hold rotating voting seats on the committee this year didn’t want to wait.

Esther L. George of Kansas City, Loretta J. Mester of Cleveland and Eric Rosengren of Boston all “preferred” to raise the rate at this week’s meeting, the Fed statement said.

George dissented on votes to hold the rate steady in March, April and July.

But Rosengren and Mester had sided with Yellen until this month.

More than one or two dissents is rare for the rate-setting committee, which tries to show a unified front to avoid sending mixed signals to financial markets.

Yellen said committee members “struggled mightily” to understand each other’s views at the meeting. But she did not appear concerned by the unusual number of dissents.

“I think it’s a very good thing that the FOMC is not a body that suffers from group-think,” she said.

Analysts and investors had not expected a rate increase Wednesday. Part of the reason is that Fed policymakers do not like to raise interest rates close to a presidential election because they don’t want to appear to be trying to help either major party’s candidate. Since 1984, the Fed has raised its key interest rate only once _ in 2004 _ within two months of election day.

Yellen said politics had nothing to do with Wednesday’s decision and indicated the Fed could raise the rate in November.

“We do not discuss politics at our meetings, and we do not take politics into account in our decisions,” she said.

Yellen also declined to comment on recent statements by Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump that she was holding the rate low to help President Obama and Democrats.

The Fed raised the rate a quarter percentage point in December after holding it near zero for seven years in an unprecedented attempt to stimulate the economy during and after the Great Recession.

Fed officials on Wednesday downgraded their forecast for economic growth in 2016 to just 1.8 percent from a June forecast of 2 percent. And a majority of policymakers reduced their anticipated number of rate increases for the rest of this year to just one.

In June, a majority expected two rate hikes through the end of the year.

Policymakers also signaled the rate would rise more slowly over the next few years than they had forecast in June. Anderson called the pace “glacial rather than gradual.”

The median projection is for the rate to increase to just 1.1 percent by the end of next year and 1.9 percent by the end of 2018. In June, the median forecast put the rate at 1.6 percent by the end of next year and 2.4 percent at the end of 2018.

Opinion Editorial THE MASSACHUSETTS DAILY COLLEGIAN

Thursday, September 22, 2016

“Turn your wounds into wisdom.” - Oprah Winfrey

Stop sweating the small stuff Sitting comfortably, nestled in my chair in a dark room, I cried while watching the Emmy Award-

Ruwan Teodros winning documentary about American war journalist James Foleys’ life. The documentary titled, “Jim: The James Foley Story” was screened at the Integrative Learning Center on Monday night as part of a symposium on Foley’s career and life before he was brutally executed by the Islamic State group in 2014.

Foley was a man that loved life and got everything out of it that he could, beginning his career with Teach for America in Arizona. He would switch his career to journalism later on, getting a degree from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism.

He also shares a particularly special connection with the University of Massachusetts Amherst, as he graduated from its MFA Program for Poets and Writers in 2003 – a fact unknown to me until very recently.

What made the documentary-screening event particularly special was that Foley’s parents, Diane and John, along with Heather MacDonald, his close friend who co-wrote the documentary, sat in the front row and dedicated some time to answering the audience’s questions after it had fin-

ished.

After the first five minutes of the movie and the respectful hush that had silenced the audience and prevented them from so much as peeking at their cell phones, I could tell that Foley had a strong presence even in death.

We watched a young James running around in his backyard and an adolescent James with his three brothers and sister, a glowing smile perpetually on his

Editorial@DailyCollegian.com

In defense of being uncomfortable

coli in the vegetable options for stir-fry at Hampshire Dining Commons. We often become so consumed by trivial issues that we forget that our circumstances could be far worse.

James Foley’s parents, not to mention James Foley himself, along with the other journalists that were kidnapped and held captive for months on end, went through an ordeal that I could not even begin to imagine experiencing. Watching the story play out and seeing the footage of the Syrian civil war and Libyan uprising that Foley bore witness to brought me to reality for a moment and made me self-reflect.

Watching Foley on the screen seeking out danger time and time again, simply so he could get the truth out to the world about what was going on in these war-stricken countries, struck a chord with me; it made me want to get out of my chair and challenge myself.

Although I did not immediately follow through on the bold decision I had made in my head to stop complaining about the little things and try to live a better life, and I instead went home and marathon-watched Netflix for a while, I did nonetheless learn something profound from the documentary – not too bad for a Monday night.

“We often become so consumed by trivial issues that we forget that our circumstances could be far worse.”

face. Later he runs around the house with his nephews, still with a childlike spirit even in adulthood.

The documentary concludes, and there is a burning hope inside of me that Foley will survive his capture and that he will once again be free, but alas, we all know how the story really ends.

Diane and John Foley answered the questions posed to them with grace and strength, sometimes almost bringing tears to my eyes again. Leaving the auditorium, I couldn’t shake this unsettling feeling.

Before I went to the event, I was complaining about some assignment or another, complaining that there wasn’t cold drinking water at the Ruwan Teodros is a Collegian gym and further complain- columnist and can be reached at ing that there wasn’t broc- rteodros@umass.edu.

The first night of a year that I would spend in Istanbul, I sent a desperate text message to a good friend

Laura Handly of mine. I said that nothing was as I had imagined it would be and that I could not possibly stay in this strange place for so long. A year later, that message is now a sweet reminder that discomfort is one of the best catalysts for growth.

If you have ever read the dystopian novel “The Giver,” you have been warned about the danger of feeling no pain – without pain, it is possible to become sheltered from reality. It’s easy to become insulated in the Pioneer Valley, we surround ourselves with like-minded people and are protected from many of the harsher aspects of human experience. Although it’s natural to seek out this kind of comfort, life should incorporate some moments of risk as well.

The message I sent to my friend was genuine: Turkey was nothing like I expected it to be, and I stood out a lot.

One time, I fell over on a bus as it swerved through traffic and had to get off at the next stop because everyone was staring at me in shock.

Another time, I was with a friend who used her head to block the subway door from

closing, which was not at all well received by the public.

I often found myself wearing a T-shirt when everyone else around me was wearing a winter coat. Now people ask me if I was afraid of a terrorist attack while abroad, but honestly I was primarily fearful of the next time I would make a fool of myself in a public place.

Living in Turkey taught me a lot about my privilege.

Never before had I been visibly different from the majority of people around me, and it was sometimes exhausting to feel a constant gaze. So many people experience this on a daily basis in the United States, but I simply could not understand it until I felt it

es you compassion for those who feel the same and gratitude for those times and places in which you are at ease. Taking risks will make you braver as, with each new experience, you continue on: sometimes to thrive, sometimes to struggle, but always with a new story.

You don’t need to move abroad to feel uncomfortable. Growth is possible any time you explore new interests, friendships or classes.

Growing up in a recession, many of us have the tendency play it safe. So many of us feel the pressure to find a good job after graduation and if we don’t, we feel like we’ve failed. That’s a really hard standard to have, especially when we don’t seem to know ourselves very well yet.

We should encourage ourselves and our friends to explore new possibilities and to take risks. It’s okay to try different careers or different majors and in fact, myself. Sharing a city with it’s probably the best gift thousands of Syrian refu- we can give to ourselves. gees further complicated Seeking out these experimy time abroad, demanding ences and attempting to that I deeply consider the determine what we enjoy effects of my own country at and ways we can grow are war. essential aspects to living a Experiencing discomfort rich life. Discomfort is temwill subtly change you. It porary and will make you will show you your bound- more attuned to the world aries and that you are able and your constantly shifting to gently push those bound- role in it. aries further in most situations. It’s something that is Laura Handly is a Collegian both humbling and human. columnist and can be reached at Being uncomfortable teach- lhandly@umass.edu.

“Taking risks will make you braver as, with each new experience, you continue on: sometimes to thrive, sometimes to struggle, but always with a new story.”

Please go to sleep: if not for me, then for your grades As the new semester begins, students from across the country are beginning to shift their sleep schedules. For many students, what was once a 12-hour rest now turns into only four hours of bliss before the rude awakening

Jeffrey Ayers of an alarm clock jolts them upright and into a groggy state in order to begin the day’s work.

Four to six hours of sleep a night is commonplace, and is simply another part of the college routine for many young adults. Anyone with a love of exhaustion can go to the library at 2:00 or 3:00 a.m. and observe the students in a zombie-like state, wobbling back to their dorms in hopes of catching some rest, only to wake up a few hours later to head to lectures. This, however, does not need to be the case, and only getting a few hours of sleep is not only a bad idea for your health, but is also terrible for your grades.

When I first came to college, I was told by countless upperclassmen to prepare myself for long nights and little sleep. Their premonitions were correct, and in my first semester of college I averaged only four or five hours of sleep a night. I am not bragging, nor am I

recommending this. It was a bad idea, and my grades suffered as a result. In fact, I was so beat after a few months of school that during my first week home for winter break I slept for 16 hours each night. The only upside to this was that I learned from my mistakes, and the next semester I ensured that I was getting a minimum of eight hours of sleep a night. As a result, my morale and grades

ing you in the long run.

When it comes time to study I recommend breaking up the work into chunks and doing your homework or studying for an exam over several days rather than trying to do it all at once. Although it may be enticing to stay up until 3:00 a.m. to cram for tomorrow’s exams, you are only shooting yourself in the foot and will not be able to retain that information down the road.

A lot of students tend to treat lack of sleep as a competition, bragging about how little sleep they got the night before only to have their impressively low number outdone by yet another student. This is nothing to brag about, and is not a good thing to try and compete in. You need sleep to perform and without it, you’re ruining improved. your shot at a good transcript and, later on, a good job.

I know some students will argue that sleepless nights Please take this as a warning and forgo the attempts at are essential when they need to study for an exam the infamy for your lack of sleep, and instead be smart about next day or they have to finish their homework for class tomorrow, but staying up all night to do this is not the your choices and make sure you get eight hours of sleep way to go. A study by the American Academy of Sleep a night. But if you’re still wary of my advice, try to sleep Medicine has shown that a lack of sleep will negatively on it. impact your grades, so those three or four hours a night will certainly not help you, and in fact will end up hurt- Jeffrey Ayers is a Collegian columnist and can be reached at jayers@umass.edu.

“You need sleep to perform and without it, you’re ruining your shot at a good transcript and, later on, a good job.”

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The Massachusetts Daily Collegian is published Monday through Thursday during the University of Massachusetts calendar semester. The Collegian is independently funded, operating on advertising revenue. Founded in 1890, the paper began as Aggie Life, became the College Signal in 1901, the Weekly Collegian in 1914 and the Tri–Weekly Collegian in 1956. Published daily from 1967 to 2014, The Collegian has been broadsheet since January 1994. For advertising rates and information, call 413-545-3500.

PRODUCTION CREW on staff for this issue NIGHT EDITOR - Jackson Maxwell

COPY EDITOR - Nathan Frontiero NEWS DESK EDITOR - Stefan Geller O p /E d DESK EDITOR - Tess Halpern ARTS DESK EDITOR - Madeleine Jackman SPORTS DESK EDITOR - Kyle DaLuz GRAPHICS DESK EDITOR - Anna Arscott COMICS DESK EDITOR - Andrew Esten WEB PRODUCTION MANAGER - Dan Mahoney

SOCIAL MEDIA - Serena McMahon

Arts Living THE MASSACHUSETTS DAILY COLLEGIAN

Thursday, September 22, 2016

“If I ran a third time it’d sorta be like doing a third ‘Hangover’ movie.” - President Barack Obama

Arts@DailyCollegian.com

DRINK

An unofficial presidential debate drinking game Team Clinton plays against Team Trump

By Madeleine Jackman Collegian Staff

Chad Stoughton Collegian Correspondent This has already been a long and stressful election season, and as it ramps up for the first presidential debate, we’ve come up with a way for you to wind down.

For those of you of legal drinking age, we present the unofficial presidential debate drinking game.

The opening debate between Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton and Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump will be held on Monday, Sept. 26 at Hofstra University in New York. For everyone not attending, it is crucial to prepare your viewing party ahead of time.

The debate will run from 9p.m. to 10:30p.m.

Eastern Standard Time, and there will be no commercial breaks so keep your beverages close and your sanity closer. You can watch the debate on C-SPAN, Fox, ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox News, CNN, and MSNBC. For those without a television, gather around a laptop because ABC will also be livestreaming via Facebook Live.

The first debate, moderated by NBC news anchor Lester Holt, will be divided into three vague topics: “America’s direction,” “Achieving prosperity,” and “Securing America.”

By the time the show begins, your party must be divided into teams, Team Trump and Team Clinton. If you were planning on supporting a third

MADELEINE JACKMAN/COLLEGIAN

The Capri Sun is added to appeal to the youth voters. Millennials love straws. party candidate like Gary Johnson, Jill Stein, or Deez Nuts, we regret to inform you that unfortunately none of these candidates received the necessary 15 percent in national polls.

Though Deez Nuts did pull an impressive nine percent in North Carolina.

The goals of the game are twofold. First, to become an active and wellinformed participant in the body politic. Second, to win, to win so much, you become sick of winning.

If this is your first election, choose two to three rules from your team section and the common law section to follow. This can be decided individually, by the team, or democratically by the whole group.

However, if at this point you’re already jaded and disillusioned yet can’t stop watching, attempt to follow all rules for your team and common law rules. Because this will be an approximately 90-minute event, and these rules are completely untested, please know your own personal limits and drink responsibly.

Team Clinton

MADELEINE JACKMAN/COLLEGIAN

To disguise tiny hands, pour “The Donald” into the smallest cup you own.

Team Trump

Common law

MADELEINE JACKMAN/COLLEGIAN

The one percent ruins everything. one they were asked, everyone takes a sip from The Moderator, except for the person who called out the pivot.

If a party player says something body shaming toward Trump, including, but not limited to insulting his hands or hair, or a party player says something sexist about Clinton, they have to give up their drink to a member of the other team.

If the moderator factchecks someone, balloons should fall from the ceiling and everyone takes a celebratory sip from The Moderator.

If you’ve made it through the debate, congratulations!

You are now a more politically-educated citizen, but the work is not over yet. There are still three more debates to go, two months until the election, and only moments before we’re speculating about 2020. Until then, be sure to follow the news, register to vote and start thinking about your own rules for the next debate.

Prepare the following Prepare the following This section has rules drink: drink: that affect all players, and commemorates candidates “The Hillary” “The Donald” who have lost along the way.

•Two shots of gin •Two shots of tequila Some rules require “The •Your favorite flavor of •A shot of Fireball Moderator,” or “The Bernie,” Capri Sun (optional: use Whisky although both of these drinks the straw as a stirrer) •Orange juice are optional.

•A shot of lemon juice •Way too much salt lined “The Bernie” Here are the rules for around the rim of the glass Team Clinton: •Crumbled Hot Cheetos •99 percent local craft beer •If she coughs, sneezes on top (optional) •One percent grain alcohol or anyone mentions her Here are the rules for “The Moderator” having pneumonia, say Team Trump: “bless you” and take a sip •If he says, “believe me” •Watered-down vodka of your drink. or vaguely refers to some Here are the common law •If she talks about great people he knows who rules: drones or air strikes, take have happened to say very •If the Republican pritwo sips. helpful things, take a sip mary is mentioned, take a shot in honor of the many •If she says that the rich from your drink. need to pay their fair share, •If he says the same sen- defeated. or reduce income inequal- tence twice in a row, take •If nuclear weapons are brought up by anyone, everyity, take a sip from a Team two sips.

Trump drink.

•If he says that immi- one does a Fireball shot, •If she justifies her pri- grants are deliberately except for the first person on vate email server, text an hurting the US, take a each team who yells “Swiss.” ex something with a wink sip from your neighbor’s •If anyone says “Aleppo,” take a shot of your choice in face, and delete it from drink. your phone immediately •Every time he says honor of Gary Johnson.

•If Trump says that he after sending. A Snapchat “win” clap. will also suffice.

•If he talks about him- can’t be bought, or Clinton •If she responds to self in the third person, rips-off Sander’s higher edu“make America great give yourself a sobriety cation plans, take a sip from The Bernie. again” with a statement slap.

Madeleine Jackman can be reached similar to “America is •When he says, “make If a candidate pivots, at mjackman@umass.edu. already great,” finish your America great again,” fin- meaning they answer a dif- Chad Stoughton can be reached at drink. ish your drink. ferent question than the cstoughton@umass.edu.

H E A LT H

Calling the shots: information about the influenza vaccine Benefits of getting the vaccine this fall

By Lucy Matzilevich Collegian Correspondent

With flu season swiftly approaching, now is the time for students to begin considering whether or not they will choose to be vaccinated against the influenza virus this year.

The flu vaccine remains one of the most highly declined vaccinations recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which recommends everyone over the age of six months be immunized. Unlike other vaccinations, the flu vaccine is reviewed annually and sometimes updated due to the changing nature of the virus, resulting in a procedure that is surrounded by both controversy and misinformation.

Here’s what you need to know.

Getting a flu shot does

not guarantee immunity against the flu. According to the CDC, trivalent and quadrivalent forms

In order to remain in a prime state of immunity, it is recommended that students get vaccinated in the months of October and November. of the vaccine only protect against three to four strains of the virus, respectively. The influenza virus mutates naturally at a rapid rate, resulting in other strains that may not respond to vaccination.

Recent studies indicate that vaccination reduces flu risk by between 50 and 60 percent. Flu shots remain the most effec-

tive method of protection against both contracting and spreading the virus.

Some students at the University of Massachusetts believe that the flu shot should be added to the list of mandatory vaccinations that undergraduate and graduate students must receive before coming to campus.

Ellen Burton, a mathematics major, believes the rule would be in the best interests of those who are unable to be vaccinated themselves. Burton stated, “We need to protect the people who cannot receive the shot because of medical conditions.”

One common misconception of the vaccine is that it has been known to actually cause the flu in certain cases. While some individuals who receive the shot may experience symptoms of headache, mild fever and muscle soreness, the virus inside the vaccine is inactivated, mak-

ing it impossible to cause infection. On occasion, recipients of the shot who already had the flu virus in their system mistook their illness to be a result of the vaccine itself.

Most people who receive the shot can expect some redness, soreness and possible swelling at the sight of the injection. The vaccine is prepared in hen’s eggs, which may rarely cause an allergic reaction for those with an egg allergy. While the shot is usually available in a nasal spray, the CDC warns that it may not be an effective form of immunity for the coming season.

While students are encouraged not to delay, getting a flu shot too early may result in a less effective form of immunity.

The increase in the number of in-store clinics and a recent law that allows pharmacists to administer vaccines led to a frenzy of clients lining up for their

shots months in advance this past summer. Some studies suggest that getting the flu shot too early may result in a loss of protection by the time flu season hits. In order to remain in a prime state of immunity, it is recommended that students get vaccinated in the months of October and November.

Although the flu shot doesn’t guarantee a clean bill of health for the upcoming season, there are many other precautions that can be taken to help fight any strain of the virus.

Maintain good hygiene and exercise regularly. And be careful with what you eat: A diet heavy in fried foods, sugar and white flour can weaken the immune system.

While declining the flu shot won’t result in you becoming patient zero of a national pandemic, you may want to consider if you are in a position that is more likely to put yourself

or others at risk. Are you frequently in the presence of very young children or the elderly? Do you spend time with anyone who may be immunocompromised as a result of HIV, AIDS, diabetes or other conditions that put the body’s defenses at risk? Do you spend ample amounts of time at a hospital, nursing home or other healthcare center?

Students at UMass may receive their shot right on campus. From October through December, the University offers vaccinations through walk-in clinics at multiple locations including the Recreation Center, Berkshire Dining Commons and the University Health Center.

A complete list of locations, dates, and times is available at UHS’ website.

Lucy Matzilevich can be reached at lmatzilevich@umass.edu.

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Thursday, September 22, 2016

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QUARTERBACK than Ford fully healthy?

Probably not.

Ford needs this test.

Aside from the interception on his first drive, Ford played well against FIU, finishing 28-for-42 with 278 passing yards and three touchdowns passes – with a would-be fourth score dropped in the end zone late in the fourth quarter.

Comis was forced jumped head-first into the shark-infested deep end of the pool in weeks one and two, playing at Florida and against Boston College, while Ford had the luxury of dipping his toes in the shallow end.

Through three weeks of the season, the Gators defense currently ranks first in country in both total yards (389) and yards per game (129.67), on top of allowing an FBS-low of 14 points (4.7 points per game). Last year, the Eagles finished the season with the nation’s best defense.

“I’m not taking anything from FIU, but (Mississippi State) is a different animal,” Whipple said in his weekly coach’s conference call Monday. “We’re back to playing a Florida-like

STANFORD

continued from page 8

team.”

The Bulldogs (1-2, 1-1 Southeastern Conference) have allowed only 58 points to their opponents this season and have registered seven sacks on opposing quarterbacks. Comis took a beating – with a capital B – in weeks one and two where he was sacked a combined 12 times. Against a slower and less-deep FIU defense, Ford was sacked only twice.

Whipple needs to see how Ford handles the pressure of playing a Power Five defense. Ford proved he could play as a fourstar recruit coming out of high school and again at Lackawanna Community College, and did so last Saturday with his performance against the Panthers, but he’s never faced a test like this – not a defense of this caliber.

FIU was good in terms of getting Ford’s feet wet, earning a victory in his collegiate debut, but Saturday’s game against Mississippi State will provide much more insight to the future of the quarterback position of the 2016 Minutemen.

In terms of a timeframe of making the decision, last

week it was Thursday before a walkthrough when Ford found out he was starting.

When asked if quarterback is a position he would wait until game day to decide if a player was healthy enough to play – linebacker Shane Huber and cornerback Jackson Porter are both game-time decisions – Whipple responded with this: “I think it just depends how much experience the guy has got. One’s got two games under their belt and one’s got one, so you might as well flip a coin,” Whipple said. “It’s not like we’ve got a six-year veteran. Both guys are really capable and good players, so it’s a good situation.”

We likely won’t know who is getting the starting nod until game day.

Whipple’s a smart guy; he knows better than to reveal his game plan against the Bulldogs.

So until then, per Whipple, we write!

Izzie Delario, who was just named the Atlantic-10 player of the week, along with Melanie Kreusch, will need to be aggressive when it comes to penalty corners.

Delario recorded eight points last weekend and UMass will look for the senior to continue her hot play.

“Izzie is a seasoned player with a lot of speed,” Robertson said. “I would like to see the combination of her, Sarah Hawksaw and Nicole Miller feed off each other.”

For Stanford, its offensive attack is led by freshman Jessica Welch, who leads the team with three goals and six total points. Goalkeeper Kelsey Bing has ran into some tough opponents on the season. She is 2-4 but has a 1.81 goals against average and a .706 save percentage.

The Minutewomen and Stanford are set to faceoff Friday in Amherst at 3:00 pm.

Thursday, September 22, 2016

7

continued from page 8

Sunday brings a different test for the Minutewomen as they travel to Boston to take on the Eagles.

After losing three of its first four games, BC has rebounded nicely, winning three straight to jump over the .500 mark for the first time this season. Two of the three wins have come against ranked opponents.

They defeated then No. 14 Stanford, 3-2 and followed it up with a win over No. 3 North Carolina, 2-1.

It will be a challenge UMass will not shy away from.

“We need to stand our ground and step up,” Robertson said. “This is a team that is not intimidated by anyone and is up for any challenge so it is a huge opportunity for us to get to where we want to go.”

Brittany Sheenan leads the Eagles offensively. The senior has eight goals in seven games to go with two

assists. Offensively, they have seven players with at least one goal.

“When playing teams with speed you have to work as a complete unit,” Robertson said. “Everyone has to do their job.”

Goalkeeper Audra Hampsch has been outstanding in net for BC. She has allowed 1.57 goals against with a .800 save percentage.

The Minutewomen are getting the Eagles at the wrong time, having outscored opponents 13-4 over their last three games.

The weekend will be a big test for a young UMass team that has been playing great hockey of late.

Sunday’s game at BC is scheduled to begin at 2:00 pm.

Tyler Fiedler can be reached by email tfiedler@umass.edu and followed on Twitter @Tyler_Fiedler.

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

ELIZABETH MANSER/COLLEGIAN

Anne Dijkstra (8) tries to evade defenders in the Minutewomen’s match against Harvard on September 18.

VIKINGS JUDITH GIBSON-OKUNIEFF/COLLEGIAN

Ross Comis (2) drops back to pass during the Minutemen’s home opening defeat at the hands of Boston College.

MLB

Red Sox, Buchholz sweep Orioles at Camden Yards Benintendi powers Boston to victory

By Peter Schmuck The Baltimore Sun

BALTIMORE - It was a week ago Wednesday night that the Orioles scored an uplifting victory over the Boston Red Sox and seemed focused on winning the American League East title.

Seven days later, they seem determined to play their way out of the postseason entirely.

The Red Sox scored five runs in a disastrous sixth inning and moved to the threshold of a deflating fourgame sweep at Camden Yards with a 5-1 victory Wednesday.

The loss dropped the Orioles six games out of first place.

They are now badly exposed to the group of teams behind them that are trying to scratch their way into the two wild-card playoff slots.

The only question is whether Chris Tillman can salvage the final game of the

series and give the Orioles (82-70) a chance to regain their equilibrium during the upcoming interleague series against the last-place Arizona Diamondbacks.

Nothing, it seems, can be taken for granted at this point, not after Chris Davis scooped up a soft bouncer in the sixth inning and made an inexplicable two-run throwing error to keep the dominoes tumbling hard in the wrong direction.

To that point, the Orioles were scuffling along with a 1-0 lead after starting pitcher Ubaldo Jimenez pulled a couple of great escapes against the relentless Boston offense.

The Red Sox (88-64) had runners all over the place through the first five innings, but were cruising on karma.

Four of their six hits were either infield roll-outs or soft fly balls and the other five base runners came on three walks and a catcher’s interference call. Even the decisive swing by catcher Sandy Leon was just a slow bouncer that should have ended the

inning with the Orioles still ahead.

Maybe it’s all just meant to be for the Red Sox, who parlayed a similarly odd defensive screw-up by New York Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia into an unlikely victory Sunday. Both times the error was followed by a game-breaking home run _ this time a three-run shot to the flag court by No. 9 hitter Andrew Benintendi.

The Sox won for the seventh straight time and the Orioles dropped to a 2-5 on the homestand everyone hoped would propel them into the final week sprint with the Toronto Blue Jays and Red Sox for the chance to skip the wild-card round and open in the Division Series.

Instead, the Orioles’ power-packed offense has taken much of the past week off and they now have to contend with the Houston Astros, who have crept to within a game of the second wild-card berth, and the Detroit Tigers, who could sneak even closer with a victory at Minnesota.

continued from page 8

the NFL banned him following child abuse charges he faced in Texas.

As a team, the Vikings ranked 11th in the league in yards per carry that season and 14th in rushing yards overall. McKinnon, who averaged 4.8 yards as a rookie, had settled into the lead back role when a back injury ended his season. Asiata, meanwhile, was among the league leaders in rushing touchdowns with nine.

McKinnon will start and likely play at least 60 percent of the snaps. But Asiata would get carries, too, and probably handle goal-line duties. Both

have had a role on passing downs this season while backing up Peterson, with McKinnon running routes and Asiata being trusted in pass protection.

“It’s been a tough couple weeks for us as far as guys going down, key guys going down,” Robison said. “But the thing that’s great about this team is we’re still hungry to get what we want to get.

We’ve got guys that have bought into this system, bought into everything we got going on here. We got guys like Jerick and Matt Asiata that are going to step in and we’ve got confidence in them they’ll get

the job done.”

So far this season, the Vikings found a way to win both of their games despite Peterson getting off to the least productive start of his career. He had only 50 rushing yards on 31 carries in his first two games and his 1.6 yards-per-carry average was the lowest for any player with at least 30 rushes since 1970 NFL/ AFL merger, according to ESPN. Peterson is making $12 million this season and is scheduled for a $6 million roster bonus in March for next season if he is still on the roster.

THE MASSACHUSETTS DAILY COLLEGIAN

Thursday, September 22, 2016

Sports@DailyCollegian.com

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FOOTBALL

UMass, Whipple Minutemen prep for Miss. St. face QB dilemna UM has hands full Surging Ford, hurt Comis spark debate Editor’s note: This story is pure speculation and based on hypothetical situations.

The New England Patriots and Bill Belichick aren’t the only team-coach tandem playing at Gillette Stadium this week that have question marks surrounding the team’s starting Andrew quarterback.

Massachusetts Cyr football coach Mark Whipple has a decision to make. After Andrew Ford relieved the injured Ross Comis last Saturday, earning UMass (1-2) its first win of the season, injuryrelated or not, Whipple would not comment on the Minutemen’s plans at quarterback moving forward.

Instead, Whipple did the media all a favor when he self-created the storyline of the week, saying in the postgame press conference after FIU, “it gives you guys (the media) something to write about.”

Without further ado, allow me to put on the headset and describe how I would handle the Comis-

Ford dilemma if I were in Whipple’s shoes making the decision for this week and this week alone – taking into account both the present and future longevity for UMass in 2016.

So, taking the first snap under-center against Mississippi State on Saturday will be …

Andrew Ford.

That aside, Comis’ health is the single most important aspect of making this decision. Even if the Minutemen’s training staff clear him to play, I would still give him another week to heal. Comis’ health throughout the season as a whole far outweighs the cons of rushing him back to face the heavily-favored Bulldogs (24.5 point favorites). It might sound obvious, but UMass is better with both Comis and Ford healthy.

As of Tuesday, Whipple said Comis still wasn’t throwing any deep balls in practice, after he didn’t make any throwing attempts during warmups prior to the game against the Panthers.

However, Whipple did acknowledge that Comis was making progress at practice this week. While a lot can happen from Tuesday to Saturday, would Comis at sub-100 percent give UMass a better chance of winning see

QUARTERBACK on page 7

JEDIAH ZURAW-FRIEDLAND/COLLEGIAN

Andrew Ford fires a pass in UMass’ 21-13 victory Saturday afternoon over FIU.

against SEC power

By Adam Aucoin Collegian Staff

The Massachusetts football team is no stranger to being the clear underdog.

Since its jump up to FBS play in 2012, you would be hard-pressed to find a consistent stretch of games where UMass (1-2) was favored to pull out a victory.

Over the past five seasons, the Minutemen have taken on teams such as Penn State, Notre Dame and Florida, just to name a few.

Saturday’s game against Southeastern Conference opponent Mississippi State (1-2, 1-1 SEC) is no different for UMass as the Minutemen are a heavy 24.5 point underdogs to the Bulldogs.

Saturday’s matchup will be the second of three games UMass will play against SEC opponents during the 2016 season.

Minutemen quarterback Andrew Ford made his collegiate debut last weekend against Florida International, throwing for 278 yards and three touchdowns. Most people expect him to get the start again this week with quarterback Ross Comis recovering from injuries that sidelined him last Saturday.

Ford knows UMass will have a large challenge ahead of them taking on Mississippi State, but that won’t affect the team’s preparation going in.

“Mississippi State is a great team. They have a great defense. They’re really well coached,” Ford said. “So we’re just going to have to have even that much better of a week of practice. I don’t think there’s anything I can do differently than preparation from last week. You have to treat every week the same and prepare no matter who you’re playing for the same thing.”

The man on the receiving end of many of Ford’s passes last Saturday, was old friend

FIELD HOCKEY

CAROLINE O’CONNOR/COLLEGIAN

The Minutemen and FIU Panthers jump on a loose ball during Saturday’s contest at McGuirk Alumni Stadium. and tight end Adam Breneman.

Breneman hauled in 10 rece ptions in the victory and is aware that opponents may key in on him more after his previous performance and he is prepared for that against the Bulldogs.

“They are big, strong and physical and obviously an SEC defense,” Breneman said. “But after 10 catches, I’m assuming (Mississippi State) will be keying in on me a little bit, but that opens some things up for some other guys so they can make some plays. I’m expecting it, definitely.”

A major focus for the Minutemen on the other side of the ball will be slowing down Mississippi State quarterback Nick Fitzgerald.

Bulldogs coach Dan Mullen has always been drawn to dual-threat quarterbacks, whether it was Tim Tebow during his Florida days or more recently Dak Prescott at Mississippi State. Fitzgerald fits that dual-threat mold and he’s had a very strong early

With the Minutemen coming off their first win, confidence is high around the team. Despite their high spirits, they know there is little margin for error on Saturday if they want any chance of winning.

“We played Florida International and they are a great team, some mistakes were made against them and we won’t be able to get away with them against Mississippi State,” Breneman said. “A team like that can flip a game that’s 10-7 to 28-7 in a heartbeat. The margin of error is really small, but it’s a good test for us.”

Ford knows it’s going to take a lot to pull off the upset.

“We know we have to play our best game of the year this week against Mississippi State to have a chance,” Ford said. “They’re a great football team. It’s going to take our best. We’re going to have to be firing on all cylinders to have a chance.”

“They run a lot of the read option, so it’s option football. We’ve got to be assignment sound...We think we’re getting better on defense, but we’re not LSU.” Mark Whipple UMass coach

portion of the season.

In the passing game, Fitzgerald has thrown for two touchdowns, but it’s been his impact in the running game that has made him a major threat. The redshirt sophomore leads the Bulldogs with 219 rushing yards, averaging 73 yards per game.

UMass coach Mark Whipple understands the importance of containing Fitzgerald.

“They run a lot of the read option, so it’s option football.

We’ve got to be assignment sound,” Whipple said. “He’s a good player. We think we’re getting better on defense, but we’re not LSU. We got to try to get him in third down and come after him and get some interceptions.”

Fitzgerald’s backup Damien Williams has seen significant action as well, throwing for 118.5 yards per Adam Aucoin can be reached at game and 88 yards on the aaucoin@umass.edu and followed on ground.

Twitter @aaucoin34.

NFL

Minutewomen face tough Vikings’ Peterson to miss time RB out after tests against Cardinals, BC Minn. meniscus tear Sun.

UM hosts Stanford, travels to BC Sun.

By Tyler Fiedler Collegian Staff

The Massachusetts field hockey team faces a tough weekend against two collegiate powerhouses in Stanford and Boston College.

Friday, the Minutewomen will welcome Stanford to Gladchuk Sports Complex.

The Cardinals have had some tough games this season.

Coming into Friday, Stanford stands at 2-4 on the year but has faced three top 10 teams in the Division I field hockey rankings. Losses against Connecticut, Boston College and Syracuse have hurt their season but has shown how good of a team Stanford can be – losing by one in two of the three games while hanging tough 3-1 against the Orange, the No. 1 team in the country. “(Stanford) is a really high paced, high skilled team,” UMass coach Amy Robertson said. “They’ve played some really good teams and it will

ALEC ZABECKY/COLLEGIAN

Izzie Delario (9) was named last week’s Atlantic-10 Player of the Week. be a good test for us.”

Stanford has played their opponents extremely evenly through six games – scoring 11 goals while surrendering 11 to its opposition. Their goals per game are also the same as their opponents on the season at 1.83 goals per game and goals against. However, the Cardinals have outshot their opponents, but only by four goals.

The biggest differential is

Stanford being out penalty cornered 32-23 thus far. That can be a big advantage for the Minutewomen as they have 44 penalty corners while allowing 33.

“We need to put the ball where we will have the most success (on penalty corners),” Robertson said. “Stanford has a really good defense on penalty corners so we just need to have good execution.” see

STANFORD on page 7

By Andrew Krammer Star Tribune

Adrian Peterson will have surgery on Thursday to repair the torn meniscus in his right knee, a surgery that could end the Vikings running back’s season.

Coach Mike Zimmer confirmed the surgery plans at his Wednesday news conference, but did not elaborate on a timetable for Peterson’s return.

“I have no idea ... we’ll find out during surgery,” Zimmer says. “It depends on if the (doctor) has to repair it or mend it. Could be season ending, could be three, four weeks, I don’t know.

“Have to talk to the doctors. I’m sure they’ll let us know after the surgery.”

Peterson has not been placed on injured reserve.

The Vikings signed veteran running back Ronnie Hillman, who played the past four seasons for Denver, appearing in 48 games for last season’s Super Bowl

champions. He had 863 rushing yards last season.

The team also put left tackle Matt Kalil on injured reserve as he will have hip surgery.

ESPN reporter Josina Anderson interviewed Peterson on Wednesday and was told he has what is known as a “bucket handle tear” and could be out for three to four months.

Peterson told Anderson he was recovering with “faith and optimism.”

The Vikings will proceed without the All-Pro tailback under new quarterback Sam Bradford, who said Wednesday that “I’ve got all the confidence in the world in the guys we’ve got in the locker room right now.”

Bradford replaced starting quarterback Teddy Bridgewater after Bridgewater tore his anterior cruciate ligament, and later had surgery, before the team’s final preseason game. Bradford came from Philadelphia in a trade that included the Vikings’ first draft pick next year.

“We just have to understand that’s the NFL _ every-

body’s going to get injured; nobody is going to feel sorry for you,” said defensive end Brian Robison. “You never want to see a guy go down, but at the end of the day, time is not going to stop. We just have to keep moving forward.”

Peterson suffered the injury Sunday night on his 12th carry of the Vikings’ 17-14 win against Green Bay after he was tackled from behind with his cleat pinned to the U.S. Bank Stadium turf. He immediately grabbed his lower right leg, though, and sat back down on the turf when he was unable to keep weight on his leg.

This is not the same knee Peterson injured late in the 2011 season. That was the ACL in his left knee that he tore before nearly setting the NFL’s single-season rushing record in 2012 and being named league MVP. Jerick McKinnon and Matt Asiata are the other running backs, along with Hillman, on the roster.

McKinnon and Asiata split snaps in 2014 when Peterson played only one game after

see

VIKINGS on page 7