Massachusetts Daily Collegian: February 26, 2015

Playoff Prelude Page 8

“If you are reading this” it’s too late

Page 5

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Thursday, February 26, 2015

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SJP, University react to inflammatory posters Message linkened to racist door graffiti

By Aviva Luttrell Collegian Staff

In the wake of the discovery of several posters on the University of Massachusetts campus likening Students for Justice in Palestine to terrorists and anti-Semites this week, SJP members have reached out to the University for support.

SJP Treasurer Evan Scribner said the organization has been in contact with UMass’ Registered Student Organization advising center, known as The SORC, the Dean of Student’s Office and the UMass Police Department.

“Everyone we spoke to took

this really seriously and the University offered their support on the issue and they’re going to be investigating and following up,” Scribner said.

Enku Gelaye, vice chancellor for Student Affairs and Campus Life, said in a statement Wednesday, “This poster was deeply upsetting to members of our student community. We know similar misleading posters have been found on campuses across the country as part of an organized effort connected to an outside group. Such actions serve only to undermine civil discourse and prevent sustained conversations on difficult issues.”

SJP Vice President Annalise Pforr compared the posters to racist graffiti found on residence hall doors last

“This, we feel, is on the same exact level of that. We hope that the same measures are taken here as back in the fall.”

Annalise Pforr, SJP vice president, comparing the posters likening SJP to terrorists and anti-Semites to the racist dorm room door graffiti found in October October.

“This, we feel, is on the same exact level of that,” she said. “We hope that the same measures are taken here as back in the fall.”

Pforr and Scribner said some SJP members feel unsafe on campus, and several have faced verbal and physical harassment at UMass in the past, but declined to give any more details.

“It’s just an awful climate,

honestly, which we’re working to change,” Pforr said.

Scribner added, “It always just seems like something that happens somewhere else, so this is kind of a wake up call to us.”

The posters were found on campus bulletin boards, which are the only designated place flyers can be hung without approval, according to Pforr and Scribner. SJP has called on the University to remove

the posters, but Scribner said the school must consult legal council to find out if it is able to do so.

Both Pforr and Scribner were also quick to point out SJP is not linked to Hamas and does not support the organization.

“We condemn all violence perpetuated by any party,” Scribner said. “SJP is an explicitly anti-violent organization. … And we do not receive money from Hamas.”

The two clarified the purpose of SJP is to serve as a microphone for the Palestinian people and as a channel to get their “ideas and struggles into the American public conscious.”

The organization modeled its strategy after the academ-

ic boycott campaign against South Africa’s apartheid system in the 1980s.

“We use the apartheid analogy because both situations have two different sets of laws for two different ethic groups,” Scribner said.

Pforr said this connection is especially important because UMass and Hampshire College were the first to divest from apartheid South Africa.

Hampshire College was the first of several universities to divest from Israel, she added.

As of Wednesday night, no one claimed responsibility for the posters.

Aviva Luttrell can be reached at aluttrel@umass.edu and followed on Twitter @AvivaLuttrell.

Student files for Student, faculty discuss Palestine federal charges against AMPD cops Senior claims to have been falsely arrested

By Aviva Luttrell Collegian Staff

A University of Massachusetts student filed a civil rights lawsuit in federal court Wednesday against Amherst police officers he said falsely arrested and assaulted him during last year’s “Blarney Blowout” for videotaping them on his smartphone.

The student, Thomas Donovan, currently a senior studying legal studies, saw multiple police officers using what appeared to be excessive force while making an arrest during the March 8, 2014 event and used his phone to record them, according a press release from the Law Offices of Howard Friedman.

The release stated that Donovan was standing 20 to 30 feet away from the scene behind a chain link fence.

According to the release, an Amherst police officer in full riot gear approached Donovan and demanded that he stop recording. When he refused, another officer allegedly sprayed him with pepper spray.

Video from Donovan’s phone shows objects being thrown at police, and Donovan can be heard saying, “I’ve got freedom to f ***ing film,” and demanding to see the officers’ badge numbers.

The release states Amherst Police Sergeant Jesus Arocho then tackled Donovan, knocking the phone out of his hand, which continued to record. Video shows another Amherst officer stomping on the phone.

“The police were well within their rights and indeed should have been directing their attention toward those people (throwing objects), but if it is a dangerous situation and the police feel outnumbered and feel that they need to take steps to regain control of the situation … it is ridiculous for them to be focusing on someone who was recording them from a safe distance,” Donovan’s attorney David Milton told the Collegian Wednesday.

According to Arocho’s arrest report, Donovan approached officers as they were attempting to make an arrest and refused to leave after being told to do so by officers. According to the report, he was sprayed “as he began to close the distance between himself and the officers.”

Donovan was arrested for disorderly conduct and failure to disperse, according to the report.

However, Donovan claims these statements are not true, and all criminal charges against him were later dismissed.

According to Milton, see

BLARNEY on page 3

A screenshot of UMass student’s video shows a police officer at the ‘Blarney Blowout’ last spring.

ANDY CASTILLO/COLLEGIAN

Professor Mary Wilson lectures on the history of and conflict between Israel and Palestine as a part of the “Palestine: Professors Speak” event.

Talk centers on conflict education

By Andy Castillo Collegian Staff

On the heels of recent posters comparing Students for Justice in Palestine to terrorists and anti-Semites found on several campuses across the United States, including the University of Massachusetts, SJP sponsored an educational lecture on the history titled “Palestine: Professors Speak.”

“The creation of the nation Israel meant a displacement of populations for both Jews and Arabs,” said Mary Wilson, a professor of Middle Eastern history. “Everybody suffered.”

The lecture covered a broad range of history, from the initial immigration of the Jewish population, what would become the nation of Israel and to the current difficulties faced by the minority Palestinian population.

Wilson also commented on the ignorance many Westerners about the ongoing tensions, due to heavily biased portrayal by news outlets.

“Framing is very impor-

tant,” she said. “It’s very difficult to think outside of what we are being shown in the media – it’s hard to maintain an independent mind.”

At the same time, awareness is getting better.

When she began lecturing on Palestine, she described feeling nervous and fielding intense arguments from students.

“In the beginning it was very difficult,” she said. “I used to sweat bullets over any lecture on Palestine.”

After the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, the American youth became more open minded, she said.

“Students came to class wide open for information instead of stampeding to warmongering,” she said.

“That was surprising to me.”

“The lecture is one of a couple of events going on this week,” said Annalise Pforr, vice president of SJP, about the groups first Israeli Apartheid Week, which will be an annual series of events held on campuses around the globe.

According the group’s Facebook page, the aim of the week is “to educate see

DISCUSSION on page 3

Female leadership conference slated

By Sorelle Mbakop Collegian Staff

address stereotypes, such as the phenomenon that “women in leadership roles are often regarded as aggressive, while men in the same roles are praised as assertive.”

According to Barrett, the conference will “break down the barriers and expectations placed on self-identifying women.”

She hopes the symposium “will help attendees selfreflect on what expectations society places on women in leadership roles and how we are supposed to behave or act.”

Barrett said this event would not be possible without the help of six other women in SGA: Julie Brunelle, in charge of decorations, Amy Gebo and Queenette Adegbite, who recruited session facilitators, Jen Raichel, responsible for recruiting alumni to attend the event, and Lauren Coakley and Julia Nielsen, tasked with recruiting undergraduate students.

The Women’s Caucus of the Student Government Association is hosting the first Women’s Leadership Symposium, open to the campus community this Saturday from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. in the Cape Cod Lounge.

Sïonan Barrett, speaker of the senate, had the idea to organize the conference about a year ago. The event will be focused on women’s leadership and its styles and stereotypes. Attendees will explore their own leadership styles and have tools to address the stereotypes that are put on women when they are in leadership positions.

“Students should come to the event because it will be the first Women’s Leadership Conference of hopefully a long history of opportunities to empower self-identifying women on this campus,” Barrett said.

The Women’s Leaders Symposium will address many of the stereotypes women often face. Barrett Sorelle Mbakop can be reached at said the conference will smbakop@umass.edu.

2

Thursday, February 26, 2015

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

In 1993, a truck bomb was detonated below the North Tower of the World Trade Center in New York City, leaving six dead and thousands injured, in an apparent effort to get U.S. to pull out of Israel.

AROUND THE WORLD

Germany BERLIN — Greece, at least for the next four months, will remain a part of the eurozone, according to an agreement hashed out by the finance ministers of 19 nations Friday night in Brussels.

Eurogroup Chairman Jeroen Dijsselbloem called the deal “a very positive outcome.” But Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis, perhaps the loudest advocate for sweeping changes to a bailout agreement that Greeks believe has forced the country into unsustainable austerity, was less effusive. “This is not a moment for jubilation,” he said.

“This agreement is a small step in the right direction.”

McClatchy

Ukraine KIEV — A rebel offensive that pushed Ukrainian troops out of the strategic town Debaltseve showed few signs of relenting amid a diplomatic push to preserve last week’s truce.

Pro-Russian separatists attacked Ukrainian positions 49 times in 24 hours, using artillery and focusing on the Donetsk area at night, Ukraine’s Security and Defense Council said on its Facebook page on Friday in Kiev. The continued fighting after the cease-fire agreement was meant to come into force on Feb. 15 underscored the tenuous nature of the deal brokered

by European leaders last week in Belarus.

Bloomberg

Egypt CAIRO — Has the Islamic State struck back?

A string of bombings in a town in eastern Libya killed some 40 people and injured scores more on Friday, officials and news reports said. The speaker of Libya’s parliament blamed militants of Islamic State for carrying out the attacks, saying they were apparently in retaliation for Egyptian airstrikes earlier this week.

The deadly blasts took place in Qubba, 20 miles west of the post city of Derna, which has been taken over by fighters from Islamic State. Egyptian warplanes on Monday targeted Islamic State training camps and arms caches in and near Derna after the group released a graphic video of the beheadings of 21 men, all but one of them Egyptian Christians, who had been working in Libya as laborers.

Los Angeles Times Distributed by MCT Information Services

Correction In the February 25, 2015 edition of the Daily Collegian, a story titled ‘SGA’s election season kicks off ’ incorrectly stated that the debates for student trustee are March 7. The debates are actually taking place on March 3 at 7:30 p.m.

THE MASSACHUSETTS DAILY COLLEGIAN

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Report: Abuses of GOP in House torn over rights continue Homeland Security funding Number of refugees highest since WWII

By Carol J. Williams Los Angeles Times

Shameful milestones in human rights abuses were reached in 2014 as tens of thousands of civilians were killed amid armed conflicts from Syria to Ukraine and the world’s wealthiest countries did little to halt the violence, Amnesty International reported Wednesday.

The number of refugees from the world’s battle zones topped 50 million last year, the greatest human displacement since World War II, the London-based rights group reported. It accused Western nations of an “abhorrent” response to the plight of those driven out of their countries, noting that of the 4 million Syrian refugees only 150,000 have been taken in by European Union countries.

As thousands took to rickety boats to escape the horrors of war in their Middle Eastern and African homelands, at least 3,400 lost their lives in Mediterranean Sea crossings in 2014, the report noted. It appealed to European states to do more to help desperate asylum-seekers.

The United States also came in for harsh criticism in the annual report on the state of human rights in the world.

Amnesty lauded the Obama administration’s disclosure of CIA torture of terrorism suspects in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks but faulted the U.S. government for failing to provide “accountability and remedy for the crimes under international law.”

The report also cited the police killing of unarmed black teenager Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo., as a case spotlighting racial tensions and gun violence in the United States.

Amnesty reserved its harshest criticism for the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council for abuse of their veto power to block action that could alleviate civilian suffering in Syria, Iraq, the Gaza Strip, Israel and Ukraine. Russia and China have cast four vetoes since 2011 to derail international intervention in Syria, where 210,000 people – mostly civilians – have been killed since the conflict began nearly four years ago, the report said.

Security Council vetowielding countries, which also include the United States, Britain and France, have consistently used that authority to “promote their political selfinterest or geopolitical interest above the interest of protecting civilians,” Amnesty International SecretaryGeneral Salil Shetty said in releasing the report.

In its 424-page chronicle, Amnesty International called on the permanent members to renounce their veto power in circumstances where genocide or mass atrocities have been reported. While there is an initiative afoot in the General Assembly to restrict the use of vetoes on proposed actions to protect civilians, there seemed virtually no chance of it gaining unanimous support or of the five big powers voluntarily giving up their trump cards.

Shetty called 2014 a shameful nadir in the international community’s response to the high levels of violence and innocent deaths.

“We must hope that, looking backward to 2014 in the years to come, what we lived through will be seen as an ultimate low point from which we rose up and created a better future,” Shetty stated.

But the report was as grim in its forecast for 2015 as it was in recounting last year’s abuses.

Anna Neistat, Amnesty International’s director of

research, warned that the mounting power of nonstate extremist groups such as Islamic State, Boko Haram and al-Shabab will imperil hundreds of thousands more civilians engulfed in their despotic attacks and territorial seizures.

As the scope of their attacks widens, “more civilians will be forced to live under their quasi-state control, subject to abuse, persecution and discrimination,” she wrote.

In an accompanying photo chronology of last year’s most disturbing developments, the group recounted the worldwide toll on life and liberty: January – Thousands of pro-European protesters in western Ukraine cities were beaten by police and targeted with laws prohibiting free speech and assembly, turning the demonstrations violent and setting Ukraine’s course for the armed conflict that persists today.

February – Russia, as it hosted the Winter Olympic Games, jailed dissidents and political opponents and muzzled the last of its independent media.

March – The Nigerian military summarily executed 640 recaptured militants who had been freed by a Boko Haram attack on the prison where they were held.

April – Boko Haram abducted 276 girls from a state-run boarding school in Chibok, Nigeria, the vast majority of them still missing.

May – Following a military coup in Thailand, hundreds of protesters were arbitrarily arrested and harsh restrictions on free speech and assembly were invoked under martial law.

June – Dozens of peaceful protesters were arrested and abused by police in Brazil as the country prepared to host the soccer World Cup. July – Scores of men, women and children from ethnic minorities in Iraq were kidnapped by Islamic State militants. Many of the abducted Yazidi women and girls were raped, forcibly married or handed over to extremist group’s fighters.

August – Michael Brown, an 18-year-old unarmed African-American, was shot to death by a white Missouri police officer, triggering mass demonstrations across the United States alleging police brutality and racial profiling.

September – In Mexico, 43 teaching students were abducted in Guerrero state by authorities believed to be working in collusion with organized crime networks.

The remains of one student were found in December but the rest are still missing.

October – The top U.N. counterterrorism expert issued a report calling mass electronic surveillance a violation of individuals’ right to privacy as guaranteed by international treaties.

November – The U.N. refugee agency warned of a $58 million funding shortfall in its budget to assist refugees and internally displaced people fleeing conflict in Syria and Iraq.

December – The U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence released a document detailing how the CIA resorted to torture, including “waterboarding” and mock execution, during interrogation of post-9/11 terror suspects in secret detention programs.

Referring to its list as just beginning to “scratch the surface” of the world’s wrongs, Amnesty International’s report on the state of human rights in 160 countries urged the international community not to succumb to a belief that “nothing can be done.”

“This is wrong. It is essential to confront violations against civilians, and to bring to justice those responsible,”

Bill passed in Senate as deadline nears

By William Douglas and Lesley Clark

McClatchy Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON — The Senate on Wednesday forged ahead with a bill to fund the Department of Homeland Security, while House Republicans were at odds over a plan to strip out provisions rolling back President Barack Obama’s executive actions on immigration.

With the DHS budget set to expire Friday, the bill advanced in the Senate on a 98-2 procedural vote after Democratic leaders abandoned a vow not to support it unless they had assurances that it could pass the House of Representatives. Final Senate passage of the bill could come as early as Thursday.

“It’s an important step to be able to send the House of Representatives a bill that funds the Department of Homeland Security,” Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., told reporters.

But the fate of DHS funding remained unclear Wednesday in the House. Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, was mum on how his chamber will address McConnell’s plan.

“I’m waiting for the Senate to pass a bill,” Boehner told reporters after the meeting.

“I don’t know what the Senate is capable of passing. And until I see what they’re going to pass, no decision has been made on the House side.”

Senate Democrats ended a filibuster of the bill after Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., unveiled a two-stage plan to allow a vote on a homeland security bill without the immigration provisions and a separate vote on a measure that would halt Obama’s 2014 executive action to defer the deportation of millions of immigrants living in the country illegally.

While some House Republicans favor a vote on a clean DHS bill, others view McConnell’s plan as surrendering to Obama’s immigration moves, which they believe are unconstitutional.

An evening after some Senate Republicans criti-

MCT

President Obama leaves Miami after a town hall meeting on immigration. cized McConnell’s plan, only Republican Sens. Jeff Sessions of Alabama and James Inhofe of Oklahoma voted “no” on the procedural vote.

If Congress fails to approve spending for DHS by Friday, the agency that helps secure the nation’s airports, coastline, U.S. borders and government leaders faces a partial shutdown. Roughly 30,000 employees would be furloughed. But most of the department’s operations would continue functioning with workers who would not be paid.

“We’re going to do everything we can to make sure it passes by an overwhelming vote,” Reid said.

The Obama administration Wednesday continued its call for a DHS bill minus immigration restrictions.

Hoping to keep the pressure on Congress, Obama traveled to Miami for a nationally televised town hall meeting on immigration.

Obama told the town hall audience, “What we said to Republicans is, ‘Instead of trying to hold hostage funding for the Department of Homeland Security, which is so important for our national security, fund that and let’s get on with passing comprehensive immigration reform.’”

He added that “if Mr. McConnell . . . and the speaker of the House, John Boehner, want to have a vote over whether what I’m doing is legal or not they can have that vote. I will veto that vote because I’m absolutely confident it’s the right thing we do.”

Earlier, White House press secretary Josh Earnest said,

“There seems to be a majority in both houses who are for funding the Department of Homeland Security, so it is up to the speaker and the majority leader to get together and figure it out.”

Boehner told House Republicans during a closed-door caucus meeting Wednesday that he hadn’t spoken with McConnell for two weeks, according to lawmakers who were in the room.

Several rank-and-file Republicans left the session upset about McConnell’s plan and frustrated over what they perceived as no direction from Boehner on what he intends to do in the closing days to the DHS deadline.

“The McConnell plan? You mean the Reid plan,” said Rep. Tim Huelskamp, R-Kan. “It’s putting Harry Reid back in charge of the Senate. A real win is to stop the president’s unconstitutional, illegal amnesty and have some language (in the DHS bill).

That’s the only way we can define victory.”

Rep. Trent Franks, R-Ariz., said he “couldn’t support a clean DHS without addressing the president’s unconstitutional actions,” but he said he is open to yet-to-be determined options. “This is an environment of chaos,” Franks said. “Stay tuned.”

Rep. Mark Sanford, R-S.C., said what the House will do is “the $94 question.”

“How does the impasse get broken?” he said. “A lot of people would simply like it to go away, they don’t want a showdown. This is a bigger question than a fig-leaf, political cover vote to accompany a clean DHS vote. I’m still in holding out camp.”

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Thursday, February 26, 2015

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3 planned to kill in US if they couldn’t join ISIS, FBI says Wire taps picked up multiple threats

By Richard A. Serrano and James Queally Tribune Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON — Two men were arrested Wednesday in New York as they allegedly prepared to join Islamic State militants in Syria, while a third man was arrested in Florida for allegedly helping fund their efforts, after they boasted of their plans on the Internet.

The three, all immigrants from Central Asia who live in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, allegedly plotted to launch attacks in the United States if they were prevented from joining the extremist group, according to a criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Brooklyn.

One of the men repeatedly offered to assassinate President Barack Obama if ordered to do so by the Islamic State group, according to the complaint.

Akhror Saidakhmetov, 19, a citizen of Kazakhstan, was arrested at John F. Kennedy International Airport as he attempted to board a flight to Istanbul, Turkey, and then travel to Syria, the FBI said.

In conversations secretly recorded by the FBI, Saidakhmetov allegedly said he might try to force the

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flight to divert “so that the Islamic State would gain a plane.”

He also allegedly said that if he failed to reach Syria, he was prepared to join the military to kill U.S. soldiers, plant a bomb on Coney Island, the famed beachfront entertainment area in Brooklyn, or shoot FBI agents and New York police.

“We will go and purchase one handgun ... then go and shoot one police officer,” he said in one wiretapped call, according to the complaint.

“Boom ... Then, we will take his gun, bullets and a bulletproof vest ... then, we will do the same with a couple of others. Then we will go to the FBI headquarters, kill the FBI people.”

Also arrested was Abdurasul Hasanovich Juraboev, 24, a citizen of Uzbekistan. Authorities said he had purchased a ticket to Istanbul and planned to follow Saidakhmetov to Syria next month.

The third suspect, Abror Habibov, 30, an Uzbeki citizen, allegedly gave the two money to help them fly to Turkey to join the Islamic State group. Habibov, who owns a chain of kiosks in retail malls in several states, was arrested in Jacksonville, Fla. About 20,000 foreign fighters have joined Islamic State and other Sunni militant groups in Syria and Iraq,

BLARNEY

By Timothy M. Phelps

Tribune Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON — Most legally married same-sex couples will be entitled to take up to 12 weeks leave to care for an ailing spouse regardless of whether the state in which they live recognizes their marriage under a rule issued Wednesday by the Department of Labor.

The new rule is the last major step in a series of moves by the Obama administration to extend federal rights to gay couples under the Supreme Court’s Windsor decision two years ago. It extends the right to medical leave to legally married same-sex couples living in states that do not recognize their marriage.

The rule applies primarily to couples who wed in a state that allows same-sex marriages but who live in one that does not. Under the new rule, marriages for the purposes of the federal law on medical leaves will be defined by the state in which the ceremony occurred rather than the one in which the couple lives.

continued from page 1

occupation, or SodaStream – all their factories are built on Israeli settlements in Palestine.”

The organization focuses on education, awareness and peaceful activism.

Students are encouraged to visit their Facebook page for more information.

Andy Castillo can be reached at acastillo@umass.edu.

continued from page 1

Donovan was suspended from UMass for a semester, effective the following semester, as a result of the charges.

However, his suspension was later lifted after an investigation cleared Donovan of any wrongdoing.

“I think it is important as this year’s ‘Blarney Blowout’ approaches that police officers respect the right of people to record them and ensure that they are accountable for their actions,”

pass information to Islamic State “to help in their attacks,” according to the complaint. Barring that, he said, he “could always open fire on American soldiers and kill as many of them as possible.”

According to the criminal complaint, Saidakhmetov was overjoyed when his travel documents were cleared by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security last week. He opened the package and said “his soul was already on its way to paradise and made the sound of a horn.”

The three were each charged with attempt to provide and conspiracy to provide material support to the Islamic State group. If convicted, they each face up to 15 years in prison.

All three made initial appearances in court, but did not yet enter pleas in the case.

Loretta Lynch, the U.S. attorney in Brooklyn and Obama’s nominee to replace Eric H. Holder Jr. as attorney general, is overseeing the case. A Senate Judiciary Committee is scheduled to vote Thursday on her nomination.

Lynch said the case shows the U.S. efforts to stop people from joining Islamic State, as well as to stop people influenced by the group from using violence in this country.

About 20,000 foreign fighters have joined Islamic State and other Sunni militant groups in Syria and Iraq, including several thousand Europeans and about 100 Americans, according to U.S. estimates. About a dozen Americans are believed to be fighting on behalf of the Islamic State.

“The flow of foreign fighters to Syria represents an evolving threat to our country and to our allies,” Lynch said in a statement.

“Anyone who threatens our citizens and our allies, here or abroad, will face the full force of American justice.”

On Capitol Hill, Rep. Michael McAuley, R-Tex., chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, announced a new congressional task force to strategize how to stop U.S. residents from becoming jihadists. “More must be done to keep them off the battlefield,” he said.

Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, said Wednesday’s arrests were “yet another reminder that even in the United States, (Islamic State) barbarism has found its adherents.”

At a news conference in Brooklyn, New York City Police Commissioner William J. Bratton said the case highlights Islamic

State’s reach on social media, and the group’s ability to motivate sympathizers in the U.S. to act.

“This is real,” he said.

“This is the concern about the lone wolf, inspired, to act without going to the Middle East.”

Bratton made reference to 32-year-old Zale Thompson, a Queens resident who attacked four city police officers with a hatchet in a subway station last year. When officers scoured his computer after the assault, they found he had visited several websites sympathetic to Islamic State, Bratton said.

Asked why Juraboev wasn’t arrested immediately after threatening to kill Obama, Diego Rodriguez, assistant director in charge of the FBI’s New York field office, said agents chose to monitor him instead to obtain more information about his network.

Caregiver rights extended Over 100 die in Gay couples can take “No legally NE Afghanistan up to 12 weeks leave married same-sex

DISCUSSION people about the nature of Israel as an apartheid system and to build Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions campaigns.”

“Our main political strategy is built around BDS,” said Evan Scribner, treasurer of SJP. The boycotts are targeted against companies like HP, who have “been staunchly in favor of the

including several thousand Europeans and about 100 Americans, according to U.S. estimates. About a dozen Americans are believed to be fighting on behalf of the Islamic State.

According to the complaint, U.S. investigators first began tracking the men last August after Juraboev allegedly posted a note on a now-closed Uzbek-language website that sought recruits for Islamic State, offering to shoot Obama if the extremist group ordered him to do so.

“That will strike fear in the hearts of infidels,” the note states. Juraboev repeated his pledge to “execute Obama” in an email later that month to another Islamic State website, according to the complaint.

Special FBI Agent Ryan Singer wrote in the criminal complaint that agents first interviewed Juraboev in August and he openly discussed plans not only to join the Islamic State but to kill Obama.

The investigation spread to Saidakhmetov, and wiretaps were approved to pick up the two men’s conversations. The FBI also placed a paid confidential informant inside the group, who met and befriended Juraboev at a local mosque.

At one point Saidakhmetov offered to join the U.S. military so he could

Milton said. “If police are acting appropriately, then they should have no problem being recorded. In fact, they should welcome being recorded.”

The University and the Amherst Police Department were not immediately able to be reached for comment Wednesday.

Aviva Luttrell can be reached at aluttrel@umass.edu and followed on Twitter @AvivaLuttrell.

Gay rights groups hailed the change. “This is very significant when you think of the myriad ways having your marriage recognized. Being able to take leave from your job to care for your spouse at a time of need is very important,” said Ian Thompson of the American Civil Liberties Union Washington office.

“No legally married samesex couple should be denied their federal family leave rights simply because they happen to live in a state that disrespects their marriage,” said Human Rights Campaign Government Affairs Director David Stacy.

Since the Supreme Court extended legal protections to married gay couples in the Windsor case, the Obama administration has made numerous changes to federal rules to protect same-sex couples who live in states that do not recognize their marriages, including allowing them to file joint federal tax returns.

Two areas where the administration cannot act without a change in federal law are Social Security and Veterans Affairs benefits.

However, a Supreme Court ruling expected in June on gay

couple should be denied their federal family leave rights simply because they happen to live in a state that disrespects their marriage.”

David Stacy, Government Affairs director of the Human Rights Campaign marriage could extend marriage rights nationwide.

The rule announced Wednesday, which will go into effect March 27, applies to the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993, which granted the right to emergency leaves to all government employees and to employees of companies with 50 or more workers.

In addition to caring for a sick spouse, the act allows leaves for caring for a sick stepchild or stepparent.

Avalanche death toll likely to rise

By Ali M. Latifi Shashank Bengali

and

Los Angeles Times

KABUL — At least 100 people have been killed in avalanches following severe snowfall in northeast Afghanistan, officials said Wednesday as rescue crews struggled to reach the affected areas.

The hardest-hit province, Panjshir, about 60 miles from Kabul, saw 100 killed across four districts, said acting provincial governor Abdul Rahman Kabiri. An additional 29 people have been injured.

Mohammad Aslam Syas, the deputy director of the Afghanistan Natural Disaster Management Authority, gave a higher toll, telling the Associated Press that at least 124 people were dead.

The toll was likely to rise as emergency crews get better access to moun-

tainous areas where scores of homes had been flattened or damaged, Kabiri said.

The crews “will be working through the night to clear the roads so aid and assistance can get through,” he said.

Two days of heavy snow and rain have caused damage and casualties in four northeastern provinces, Syas told the Associated Press. Kabiri told the news service that rescuers used their bare hands and shovels in an effort to reach survivors.

Afghanistan’s Tolo News reported that roads to much of northern Baghlan province were closed due to snowfall.

Severe weather, particularly in rugged, remote northern Afghanistan, has periodically caused mass deaths. Last May, mudslides following heavy rainfall in northeastern Badakhshan province buried hundreds of residents in their homes.

Opinion Editorial THE MASSACHUSETTS DAILY COLLEGIAN

Thursday, February 26, 2015

“Sometimes it is neccesary to be lonely in order to prove that you are right” - Vladimir Putin

Editorial@DailyCollegiancom

Keystone XL pipeline sparks Possible Homeland pollution awareness Security shutdown may teach Republicans

President Obama vetoed the Keystone XL pipeline bill Tuesday, and frankly I couldn’t be happier

of view. Everyone wants to find a stable job and thus maintain a stable and potentially happy life.

What we have to ask ourselves Ian Hagerty though, is whether we really want to dig ourselves deeper into the slick, about it. For once, we Americans difficult to climb out of, oil-drained get to see a president using the full hole we find ourselves mucking reaches of his power to do some- about in now. Clean energy projthing truly good. ects on the rise would have their We are entering a new era of purpose striped by further support energy usage. On some level, often and development of the oil industry. too small a level, take hybrid cars Cleaning up one mess and making or solar energy for instance; people another keeps us in the same dirty are trying to change the methods kitchen. we use to produce energy. This gradual and adaptive change has been a long fight, and there are still many bridges to be crossed and battles to be won before a significant dent can be made and we can lower the amount of pollution that we constantly dump into our planet.

Although much of the scientific community says global warm- One of the lines ruptured in ing is real and has proof, there are a suburban neighborhood and still skeptics. These skeptics don’t forced residents from their homes. think the fossil fuel pollution we In another, 8,500 barrels worth of have dumped into our planet’s skies crude oil spilled into the Kalamazoo and oceans could significantly affect River. You don’t have to be told that this grand, large world of ours. To oil spills cause significant environthe naysayers I ask this: Have you mental damage. never seen smog in your life? Does One of the main arguments that the air not smell different in the supported the XL pipeline is that city than it does in the country? pipelines are much safer than trains Even if you don’t believe the earth for transporting oil. Considering is warming, wouldn’t it just be nicer the recent train derailment in West for everyone to have less petroleum Virginia and the deadly train explosion in Canada two years ago, the in our lives?

Of course, we have to consider concern is valid. They both caused the fact that fossil fuels are our environmental damage, and the main source of energy today, and explosion in Canada killed 47 peothings do have to change gradu- ple. ally. We cannot just drop our entire However, some blame the recent method of doing things all at once. train incidents on poor mainteWe also depend on the revenue of nance of railways and train conthese fuels and the jobs associat- tainers that are insufficient to proed with them to help support our tect against spills in the case of a economy. When the supporters of crash. It is also argued that updatthe Keystone XL pipeline argued ing and maintaining our railways the loss of potential job creation, would be much less costly than the it’s easy to understand their point huge expense of building stationary

oil pipelines. Also to be taken into account is the cost of maintaining oil pipelines that pipelines leak every single day in our country.

The railways aren’t about to vanish, so it’s a question of building new structures and maintaining two systems, or just marinating a system that already exists.

There are other pipelines in the United States already. The Keystone XL pipeline gained national attention because its crossing over a national border made it a federal matter. In the short scheme of things, stopping this one specific pipeline probably won’t affect much; oil will still be shipped around our country in many ways, pipelines included. In the long run though, this issue, like all good stories has put light on the subject.

As we push forward into a necessary era of change in our energy usage, people need to know how things work and to see the dangers on both sides of the coin. President Obama’s decision to veto this bill may have angered just enough of the right people to really bring this issue to the table.

His actions also set forth a message of willingness to adapt, that many Americans will probably appreciate. All of the oil industry is dangerous.

I don’t want my home heating bill to increase any more than the next person does but we shouldn’t be further supporting an infrastructure based on oil dependence. Plus, if our railways were in better support, maybe it wouldn’t cost more than a plane ticket to take a train to your next destination; it’s more efficient than flying. It may be slower, but the scenery not yet destroyed by pollution would make for a nice distraction.

Barring action by the United Republican authority, leaders States Senate, the Department in the House and Senate added of Homeland Security will lose a provision to the $1 trillion budget passed in December Sam Fountain that the DHS would only be funded until Feb. 27. its federal funding and shut- The leaders in the House and down on Friday. The departSenate, Speaker John Boehner ment, which in 2014 ran a budand Senator Mitch McConnell get that totaled $60,417,017, runs (R-Ky.), tried to corral enough programs such as the Federal Emergency Management bipartisan support in the Agency, U.S. Customs, the Coast Senate to pass a DHS funding Guard, the Secret Service and bill that includes provisions to the Transportation Security gut President Obama’s immiAgency, among others. The gration reform, but struggled potential shutdown would to find enough votes to prevent furlough all “non-essential” a Democratic filibuster, which staff in the department, some would lead to the shutdown of 30,000 employees, and force the the department. “essential” staffers, the other Senator McConnell, sensing 200,000 employees, to work for that he would not get the votes no pay until the department and hoping to avoid a repeat receives its eventual funding. of the 2013 government shutdown, proposed sending two separate bills to the floor – one that funds the DHS and one that guts President Obama’s policies. However, McConnell is having a hard time convincing his more conservative colleagues to vote on the separate bills, as they represent a sign of “giving in” to the Democrats.

The bottom line: same old, same old. Any of us that have watched “House of Cards” can In terms of day-to-day oper- only imagine Frank turning ations, we citizens may notice towards the camera and mumno apparent changes – TSA bling, “That’s politics.” But in workers will still be scanning all seriousness, haven’t we seen at the airport, the Coast Guard this before? In 2013, the governwill still show up for duty, and the border and immigra- ment shut down over an argution services will all remain up ment about Obamacare, which and running. The issue, how- ended up costing the United ever, is that without the non- States over $20 billion. In that essential staff performing their case, Obama’s approval ratings duties, essential staff will have increased, and if it weren’t for to shift into more administra- the bungled rollout of healthtive roles while also receiving care.gov overtaking the headno pay. Empirical evidence has lines, the Republicans would shown that wage cuts reduce have taken a major hit at the worker morale, not to men- midterm elections. tion the economic burden that If the Republicans want is placed on workers during to roll the dice and defund government furloughs. While Homeland Security, I believe they are a vacation for some, they are taking a major risk. they can devastate others. We After the last shutdown, they also cannot forget these are received a majority of the the very workers who spend their days preventing terrorist blame and failed in repealing attacks, responding to natural Obamacare. Also, with a Texas disasters, protecting our bor- Judge already taking a legal ders and keeping our politi- stand against Obama’s actions, maybe the Republicans don’t cians safe.

Why would our national gov- actually have to do anything ernment purposefully de-fund drastic in this situation and and antagonize one of the most should just let the legal sysvital and protective assets in tem do its job. The Republicans our country? To answer that stand the most to lose here by question we need to first look at playing the “blame game” The how we got to this point.

Democrats already lost their Last November, President majority in the Senate and Obama used the authority House of Representatives, and of his office to make several there is an open Presidential changes to the U.S. immigraelection in 2016. If they play tion policy. Using executive orders, he implemented hardball here and force a shutdeferred action programs for down, they could risk antagparents and children of U.S. onizing Latino voters, who residents, and expanded provi- played a major role in the last sional waivers for temporary two elections, and thereby residency, among others, and reduce their ability to vie for essentially made it possible for the Presidency. millions of immigrants to avoid deportation.

Sam Fountain is a Collegian columnist and

Having bypassed the can be reached at sfountain@umass.edu.

“Also to be taken into account is the cost of maintaining the oil pipelines and the fact that established pipelines leak every single day in our country.”

“Haven’t we seen this all before? In 2013, the government shutdown over an argument about Obamacare, which ended up costing the United States over $20 billion.”

Ian Hagerty is a Collegian columnist and can be reached at ihagerty@umass.edu.

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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 - Patrick Hoff COPY EDITOR - Catherine Ferris WEB PRODUCTION MANAGER - Claire Anderson NEWS DESK EDITOR - Anthony Rentsch O p /E d DESK EDITOR - Ian Hagerty ARTS DESK EDITOR - Alex Frail SPORTS DESK EDITOR - Ross Gienieczko COMICS DESK EDITOR - Tracy Krug GRAPHICS DESK EDITOR - Caroline O’Connor

Arts Living THE MASSACHUSETTS DAILY COLLEGIAN

Thursday, February 26, 2015

“Do I ever come up in discussion over double-pump lattes and low-fat muffins?” - Drake

Arts@DailyCollegian.com

ALBUM REVIEW

‘If You’re Reading This,’ it’s too late for Drake to surprise you

Catchy beats break no molds for Drizzy

By Stefan Geller Collegian Correspondent

Despite uncertainty over whether it should be considered an album or a mixtape, one thing for certain is that Drake’s new 17-song release has already made a huge splash. On Feb. 13, Drake released his surprise mixtape “If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late” on iTunes. Within three days, the mixtape sold 495,000 copies, and debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200.

However, the amount of copies sold does not always correlate to how good the music is. Coming off his groundbreaking 2013 album, “Nothing Was The Same,” Drake’s newest work is satisfactory by his standards, but falls short of excellence.

To its credit, “If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late” has some incredible beats and production value, highlighted by producers Boi1da and PartyNextDoor.

Songs like “Legend,” “10 Bands,” “Used To” and “You & The 6” all have flow that will have you jamming harder than Smucker’s.

Unfortunately, when an artist is as distinguished as Drake, there is an expectation to break some sort of new ground with each released work, and this

makes an appearance on “Used To,” and delivers one of the best verses on the whole release, even though his is the only household name guest feature on the tape. In addition, Drake delivers a heartfelt tale about his relationship with his mom on “You & The 6,” as well as a smooth slow jam in “Jungle.”

Unfortunately, songs like “Madonna,” “No Tellin’,” “Company” and “6PM in New York” bring the mixtape down a few notches.

“Madonna,” for instance, combines uninspired lyrics and a flat-out boring beat into a song that is easily the most skippable. Something else that is disappointing about “If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late” is that its best songs are erratically dispersed throughout the tape, meaning that it has very poor flow from one song to the next.

To be clear, “If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late” is a solid mixtape with its NRK P3/FLICKR fair share of good songs to Drake’s latest release, “If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late,” features catchy tracks, but offers nothing new for audiences. rock to. However, the fact that it does not introduce mixtape fails to meet such have multiple beats com- rapping is and how many askin’ me about the code anything new and has a expectations. Drake revis- bined in one song – a style problems he has to deal for the WiFi, so they can fair share of bad tracks its all the same themes in that was very prevalent on with. While “Legend” has talk about they timeline, too makes it one of Drake’s his songs; namely how awe- “Nothing Was The Same,” a very catchy beat, it comes and show me pictures of lesser works. Drake says, some he is, the millions of and it equates to a great off as nothing more than they friends, just to tell me “If I die I’m a legend,” but dollars he makes, the fact rapper putting out a pretty him tooting his own horn, they ain’t really friends.”

“If You’re Reading This It’s that he too gets lonely and good, yet mostly generic while “Energy” sounds “10 Bands,” “6 God” and Too Late” is far enough like Drake’s version of “Used To” stand out as a from legendary that it ultihow he only cares about mixtape. his close friends and fam- Drake opens with some Jay-Z’s classic track, “99 few of the mixtape’s top mately does not help him incredibly weak lyrics on Problems.” Not to mention, songs, each featuring the validate that statement. ily.

Combine that with the the tracks “Legend” and “Energy” has one of the best beats on the release fact that “Star67” is the “Energy,” in which he over- worst lines on the whole along with some of its most Stefan Geller can be reached at only track on the album to states how legendary his mixtape: “I got bitches fiery lyrics. Lil’ Wayne stefangeller@umass.edu.

ALBUM REVIEW

ALBUM REVIEW

By Troy Kowalchuk

Third album a solid set of original songs

Dragons lose freshman fire Jose Gonzalez returns with Sophomore slump graceful ‘Vestiges & Claws’ sets in on latest disc Collegian Staff

American indie rock group Imagine Dragons has returned, two and a half years after their extremely successful debut album, “Night Visions,” which brought the band’s fresh, eclectic sound all over mainstream airwaves.

From the tense “It’s Time,” to the powerful “Radioactive” and the depressing yet uplifting “Demons,” the group seemed to be an unstoppable force, with each passing single turning into a hit.

Their unique, eclectic rhythms seemed to be the new direction of indie rock music. With this much success, many were waiting to see if their second album, “Smoke and Mirrors” would match the hype. But sadly, the uproarious roar demonstrated by “Night Visions” has fizzled into a racket of broken and confused sounds.

The problem with “Smoke and Mirrors,” released Feb. 17, is that it does not seem to fit in any creative niche. It is often hard to really recognize where the band is going, or headed musically. On “Night Visions,” the band was able to formulate a consistent sound and tone, but there was room at the end of the day for experimentation.

“Smoke and Mirrors” tends to waver back and forth in so many directions that it is hard to classify what the album is really aiming to accomplish. Transitions from the thunderous, and intimidating “Friction” to the light and sweeping “It Comes Back To You,” are far from smooth, and make it difficult to listen to the album in one sitting.

By Jackson Maxwell Collegian Staff

BRIAN BRUEMMER/FLICKR

On “Smoke & Mirrors,” Imagine Dragons went for hits and missed.

The separate pieces that make up “Smoke & Mirrors” simply have no cohesion when added together. As a whole, “Smoke & Mirrors” is far more experimental than the band’s previous endeavor, and it seems as though the band is trying to cram too many different styles into their music at once.

It feels as though the band is throwing things at a wall and seeing what sticks, desperately trying to make each track a hit. Yet by trying so hard to simply duplicate its predecessor’s success the band only manages to create an underwhelming product.

Lyrically, “Smoke & Mirrors” has the same issue.

Many of the album’s songs trail off into disparate themes, while again failing to establish a cohesive whole. There really is nothing unconventional about the lyrics.

“I’m sorry for everything/ Oh, everything I’ve done/ From the second that I was born it seems I had a loaded gun/ And then I shot, shot, shot a hole through everything I loved,” go the leading vocals of the opening track “Shots.” The lyrics feels rather weak and even when

shouted in lead singer Dan Reynolds’ typical style, the song feels hollow. While listening to the album, it is hard to feel any emotional connection to the material, as the listener does not know where to go.

Separately, some of the songs do show promise, yet as a whole the album is mostly incoherent. “I Bet My Life” carries a fun, upbeat and bright tone. “I’m On Top of the World” continues the sound that Imagine Dragons’ legions of fans have come to expect from the band.

Though songs like “Friction” have the same sort of powerful vocals that carried the band’s breakthrough mega-hit “Radioactive,” “Smoke & Mirrors” ultimately goes in too many diverging directions to be as effective and explosive as their debut.

And while the album certainly has the potential to be great, it often seems so focused on living up to its predecessor that even in its more overwhelming moments, “Smoke & Mirrors” is a distant murmur compared to “Night Visions.”

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

If anything has plagued José González over the years, it is that his artistic identity was originally staked in interpretation, and not innovation. His breakthrough came over a decade ago, when his exquisite acoustic cover of the Knife’s “Heartbeats” became a sensation.

His other major commercial success came on his second solo album, 2007’s “In Our Nature,” with another, equally exquisite acoustic interpretation of Massive Attack’s “Teardrop.”

Though both “Nature” and its predecessor, 2003’s “Veneer,” had their share of well-developed songwriting from the man himself – “In Our Nature’s” “Cycling Trivialities” and “Veneer’s” “Crosses” continue to stand the test of time – González’s own songs mostly stood in the shadow of his well-known covers.

Perhaps noting this, González took a lengthy break from his solo work to focus on Junip, a band González had formed years before his solo success with two friends from his native Sweden. Junip’s two albums, 2010’s “Fields” and 2013’s self-titled release showed González exploring more avenues of songwriting, taking more risks and broadening his lyrical and musical scope.

Eight years removed

from González’s last solo album, “Vestiges & Claws,” released Feb. 17, sounds at once reassuringly familiar and refreshing. His first album of all-original material, it is not only González’s most consistent back-to-front LP, but his most personal. Sonically rich, immaculately produced and lyrically insightful, “Vestiges & Claws” is a delightful return.

For starters, there is “With The Ink Of A Ghost.”

From its sublime acoustic riff, González’s soothing voice and plaintive lyrics, even its mysterious title, this is vintage González from start to finish. His playing, as brilliant as it always has been, sounds more full and melodic than ever before. It provides a stirring counterpoint to one of the album’s best melodies and choruses.

“Stories We Build, Stories We Tell,” shows the first sign of a possible blues influence that permeates “Vestiges & Claws.”

In its structure, González’s vocal delivery and the deep, bass-heavy riff that the song is propelled by, the song definitely recalls the American blues-folk tradition. “The Forest” uses subtle strings to its advantage, standing out as one of the album’s most ethereal moments. “Why didn’t I see/the forest on fire behind the trees?”

Gonzalez quietly asks, ruminating on a missed opportunity, or perhaps trying to leave something significant behind.

“Leaf Off/The Cave” is the album’s most energetic

moment, with lively percussion and a restless riff to keep it moving, while the moving “Every Age” almost touches on gospel.

Though “What Will” and the instrumental “Vissel” meander a bit, the jungle rhythms of “Afterglow” set the stage nicely for the album’s lovely closer, “Open Book.”

“Open Book” might be the album’s most notable track, in that it may be González’s most personal and simple to date. “Lately I’ve found myself in doubt,” he muses, “asking myself what it’s all about/ what am I doing here/ what’s this leading to?”

Everyone has asked themselves these very questions once in awhile, but to hear a songwriter who is always so precise and cooly in charge question himself is jarring. But, as a closer, it leaves you more invested in “Vestiges & Claws,” wanting to return to the previous tracks to find clues that led González to the apathy he describes in its closer.

To describe an album as well-constructed and detailed as “Vestiges & Claws” with “easy listening” would be a grave insult. But, it is incredibly easy to listen to. Like all of González’s music before it, it is a record that doesn’t take a whole lot of investment on your part. “Vestiges & Claws,” as González’s first all-original effort, stands out as his finest, most concise and enjoyable LP to date.

Jackson Maxwell can be reached at jlmaxwell@umass.edu.

6

THE MASSACHUSETTS DAILY COLLEGIAN

Thursday, February 26, 2015

Comics Good

weekend everybody.

I

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JOB! JOB! JOB! JOB! JOB! JOB! JOB! JOB! JOB! JOB! JOB! JOB!

TAKE MY JOB FROM ME!!!

BE COMICS EDITOR NEXT YEAR! Put your editing in front of thousands of readers.

Apply to me at: comics@dailycollegian.com IT’S THE BEST I PROMISE!

said good weekend!

D inosaur C omics

P oorly D rawn L ines

B y R yan N orth

B y R eza F arazmand

Sweet Sweet Tuesday

aquarius

HOROSCOPES Jan. 20 - Feb. 18

I feel like Kanye West’s Tumblr and a Google image search of Kanye West look remarkably the same.

pisces

Feb. 19 - Mar. 20

leo

Jul. 23 - Aug. 22

True terror is writing a twenty page paper, not saving it, and knowing that you hit the “postpone windows update” four hours ago.

virgo

Aug. 23 - Sept. 22

It takes a village to raise a chili con carne.

You know, it’s pretty amazing that pickles and cucumbers taste so similar and yet are so completely different.

aries

Mar. 21 - Apr. 19

libra

Sept. 23 - Oct. 22

taurus

Apr. 20 - May. 20

scorpio

Oct. 23 - Nov. 21

gemini

May. 21 - Jun. 21

Effectively, you just spent $9.50 on a giant plate of plain spaghettis with cheese. That is the best $9.50 you’ve ever spent.

Is no one else worried about the very likely evolutionary effects caused by the giant monolith outside of the campus center?

If we’re going to sail away together, where exactly is “away”? The ocean isn’t infinite, you know.

The only way to unlock today’s horoscope is to apply for comics editor.

sagittarius

Nov. 22 - Dec. 21

Guess what? March, known to man as no more snow, is this weekend!

I like my Disney like I like my drinks ... on ice.

cancer

capricorn

Jun. 22 - Jul. 22

I’ve had bean chili four times this week and have found the answer to wide-spread bloating and inflammation.

Dec. 22 - Jan. 19

Perfect the world of breakfast noodles and you’ll go down in history as an international hero.

THE MASSACHUSETTS DAILY COLLEGIAN

DailyCollegian.com

M E N ’ S L AC RO S S E

Minutemen still winless going into matchup vs Brown

On the road again

Minutewomen to travel to Dayton Collegian Staff

UMass lacrosse players gather during a game against Army on February 7.

UMass looks to rebound vs Bears

By Nicholas Casale Collegian Staff

The Massachusetts men’s lacrosse team will return home for the first time in two weeks this Saturday to faceoff against Brown.

Coming off of a 14-13 loss to No. 12 Harvard last weekend, the Minutemen (0-3) will look to win their first game of the season and turn its early misfortunes around.

In order to get the team’s first win, goalkeeper Zach Oliveri thinks the team needs to use the slow start to their advantage.

“Losing three games is tough. You don’t forget about the losses completely, but you have to put them behind you because if you don’t, then you won’t be able to focus on the task at hand, which this weekend is Brown,” Oliveri said. “What we need to do is channel that frustration and anger we have and turn it into something positive.”

Brown (1-0) will enter the contest off the back of a 17-6 victory against Quinnipiac, and will look to maintain its attacking prowess against the Minutemen.

UMass coach Greg Cannella is weary of the

LOSS

threat Brown poses and is taking this week of preparation very seriously.

“Last year, Brown beat us at home, so all those returning players will come back with happy memories,” Cannella said. “We’ll do everything we can to win, but it has to be said that Brown has a great squad with some really strong attacking players, as well as a few talented younger guys, which is why we’re going to have to be extremely focused.”

In addition to preparing for their opponents, the Minutemen’s main focus has been on themselves and on trying to fix the areas of their game where they felt exploited.

Cannella felt the areas that need most improvement are in transition play.

“We’ve had problems winning groundballs, face-offs, and I don’t think we’ve possessed the ball well enough when we do have it. If we don’t win a faceoff, or if we give the ball away cheaply and they score because of it, and then we do it again, it snowballs,” Cannella said.

The snowball effect was exactly what plagued the Minutemen last weekend against Harvard, as the Crimson managed to score three late goals at the very

end of the game within a matter of a few minutes. The Minutemen have shown flashes of quality this season, but haven’t been able to maintain the same level of consistency over a 60 minute game so far.

The inconsistencies present in the UMass’ play can be attributed to lapses in focus, but also to the tough completion the team has faced.

“As much as we need to improve you have to realize that the teams we played are extremely talented,” Cannella said. “(UNC, Army and Harvard) all have players that can do things that at times, you simply can’t defend against.”

Oliveri said leadership throughout the program would be responsible for any potential improvements the team would make.

“I think that leadership has to trickle down to the bottom and I feel like there are a lot of leaders on this team both young and old,” he said.

“Like I said it’s never easy to lose three games, but all you can do is come to practice with a positive attitude and from there you can fix the things we aren’t doing well.”

The game will be played at 1 p.m. at McGuirk stadium.

Nicholas Casale can be reached at ncasale@umass.edu and followed on twitter @NicholasLCasale.

continued from page 8

response following the game.

“I like guys when they’re upbeat and moving around at times. We have to move faster, even if you’re walking from the floor to the locker room.

Like, sit up and look at me.

That’s what I’m looking for.

“Yeah, the guys are disappointed. Everybody’s got their head down and that kind of stuff. For me, it’s late in the

BEMBRY

season. Play. Go out there and compete and use your energy.

You don’t need to wait.”

Kellogg said his team doesn’t need to wait.

“I think it’s a mental approach now and getting everybody around the same page and talking things through and saying ‘Alright, let’s go,’ he said.

“I don’t want to say we

continued from page 8

All those kind of (weekly awards) are great. He would trade all of those for the rings and the nets,” Martelli said.

“No one in this league will hear me scream and shout if he’s not player of the league. I get it. The player of the year should probably come from the best team. That’s not who

we are. It’s not something that he worries about.

When I talk to him about accolades and players of the week and he doesn’t care about that. He looks me in the eye and says ‘did we win.’”

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

have to put that stuff behind us, because it’s there and we all know it’s there. I think the two games last week kind of got us off kilter a tad. Now we have to get our mojo back.”

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

7

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

By Adam Aucoin

CADE BELISLE/COLLEGIAN

Thursday, February 26, 2015

As a somewhat surprisingly successful season nears its end, the Massachusetts women’s basketball team finishes out this season’s road schedule with a matchup against Dayton tonight at UD Arena.

UMass (10-16, 4-10 Atlantic 10) enters the Atlantic 10 matchup following a 65-43 loss against Virginia Commonwealth on Sunday. The Minutewomen will look to take at least one game of their two-game road trip when the game tips off at 7 p.m.

UMass will be the decided underdog as Dayton comes into the contest on a roll. After a slow start, the Flyers (21-5, 12-2 A-10) have rattled off 18 wins in their last 20 games. In that span, only No. 24 George Washington – the A-10 leader – has beaten them.

Currently sitting 13th in the conference stand-

ings, a loss tonight would almost certainly leave the Minutemen playing in one of the two play-in games next Wednesday, March 4.

A win would at least give UMass a chance to avoid a play-in game depending on other conference results.

“Getting a win is always important and picking up wins on the road will only give us more confidence heading into the tournament,” Minutewomen coach Sharon Dawley said.

“There’s a huge pack of teams battling for those last couple spots, so winning will only better our chances for a better seed.”

Recent history is not on UMass’s side tonight. The Minutewomen trail the alltime series with the Flyers 11-10, but UMass hasn’t beaten Dayton since the 2007-08 season. That year, UMass won 56-46.

If the Minutewomen want to win, they’ll have to slow down Flyers senior guard Andrea Hoover, who comes into the game averaging 18.2 points per game – tied for second in the A-10 with UMass senior forward

Kim Pierre-Louis. On top of that, Dayton gets great production out of senior forward Ally Malott, who averages 15.6 points per game.

Both players also average over seven rebounds a game.

The Minutewomen will need a dominant performance from Pierre-Louis if they want any chance of winning. The Ottawa, Ontario native recently reached the 1000-point plateau last week in a game against Davidson, and has scored over 20 points nine times this season.

Dawley knows the team has a tough battle on their hands, but she has confidence in her team to play hard.

“I’m just looking for my girls to fight out there,” Dawley said. “We are looking to gain confidence going into the tournament and a win here would be key in doing do that.”

Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. at UD Arena.

Adam Aucoin can be reached at aaucoin@umass.edu.

TENNIS

UM ready to face Big Green

By Philip Sanzo Collegian Staff

Looking to continue their three-match winning streak, the Massachusetts tennis team will face the task of bringing down unbeaten Dartmouth Thursday evening in Hanover, New Hampshire.

The Big Green – ranked No. 22 in the nation – will most definitely prove to be a formidable opponent; the Ivy League team currently stands at 10-0 and sits at the top of their conference.

UMass catches Dartmouth in the midst of their best start in years. While the Big Green has players who’ve earned national recognition for their talent, they haven’t grabbed all of the Minutewomen’s attention.

Coach Judy Dixon said the team’s main focus is on their own play, as opposed to who their opponent is going to be.

“Instead of focusing on Dartmouth we are trying to focus on ourselves and on being more aggressive,” Dixon said.

Defeating the Big Green is a daunting task no one has been able achieve so far this season. So a loss to Dartmouth would not necessarily tarnish Dixon’s view of her team.

“I’m looking for individual efforts,” Dixon commented. In the last few matches, that’s exactly what the

“Instead of focusing on Dartmouth we are trying to focus on ourselves and being more agressive.”

Judy Dixon, UMass coach Minutewomen have gotten from some of their key performers.

If the past indicates anything, UMass will have a shot against the Big Green.

The Minutewomen faced off against Dartmouth in the Big Green Invitational in the fall season. Though the final results were not favorable for UMass, the Minutewomen received quality performances from a number of players, including Ana Yrazusta, Aarzoo Malik, Anna Woosley and Carol Benito. The UMass doubles team of Yrazusta and Benito was able to take a victory away from Big Green pairing Alexxis Kiven and Taylor Ng, the Northeast’s fifth-ranked doubles team.

The Minutewomen “are not frightened” by the task of taking on Dartmouth, according to Dixon because this will not be the first meeting between the two.

After today’s matchup with the Big Green, UMass will take on Fordham this Sunday in Amherst. And while Dartmouth may be the better team, Fordham is the more important game. Out of 17 total games in the spring season, just three are against

Atlantic 10 opponents, making the matchup against the Rams critical in terms of conference positioning.

Dixon and the Minutewomen know the match against Fordham will be a showdown.

“In the Fordham match the bull’s eye is on our backs,” Dixon said. “Each match you play in the A-10 is critical.”

Upcoming matches against Fordham, Providence and Saint Louis will be important matches as UMass moves into the midway part of the season. It is the time of year that the Minutewomen are going to need to play their best tennis.

With everybody healthy the team is poised to succeed considering the results of their most recent games.

“Everybody is healthy, there are no injuries,” Dixon said. “It is an important time to be good.”

Philip Sanzo can be reached at psanzo@umass.edu or followed on Twitter @Philip_Sanzo.

THE MASSACHUSETTS DAILY COLLEGIAN

Thursday, February 26, 2015

Sports@DailyCollegian.com

@MDC_SPORTS

MEN’S BASKETBALL

‘There are no excuses’

Bembry explodes for career night Minutemen can’t stop Hawks guard B y Andrew C yr Collegian Staff

ALEC ZABRECKY/COLLEGIAN

Jabarie Hinds and Demetrius Dyson walked off the court after an 82-71 loss against Saint Joseph’s.

UMass loses third straight vs St. Joe’s

By Mark Chiarelli Collegian Staff

Cady Lalanne shouted at no one in particular as Jabarie Hinds grimaced. Demetrius Dyson trudged off the floor, his eyes fixated on the ground.

The fans that hadn’t bolted early did so now, even as seconds continued to tick off the clock.

It was over.

Coming off the most taxing week of its season, the Minutemen hoped to respond at home against Saint Joseph’s.

They couldn’t – instead falling victim to a standout individual performance in an 82-71 loss Wednesday night at the Mullins Center.

St. Joe’s (12-15, 6-9 Atlantic 10 Conference) coach Phil Martelli said he questioned which team would have the requisite “spirit” needed to win leading up to the game, as both teams entered on twogame losing streaks to quality conference opponents.

It was clear that the Minutemen are still looking

for theirs.

“There are no excuses this time of year,” UMass coach Derek Kellogg said. “I would say we didn’t play our most energized game of the year.”

It didn’t help the Minutemen (16-12, 9-6 A-10) had to expend significant energy defending Hawks forward DeAndre Bembry – a player Kellogg said is one of the best in the conference.

He scored 33 points, grabbed 14 rebounds and added four assists, playing all 40 minutes in the win. He emphatically capped the victory with 55 seconds left, finishing a dunk in transition following a UMass turnover to make it 80-71.

On cue, hordes of stunned fans took off for the exits.

“We tried to do a lot of different things,” Kellogg said of defending Bembry. “We doubled him a bunch. He got free a few times that was uncharacteristic on verbal instances when guys didn’t speak loud enough and he got open.”

Once Bembry found success, it opened up outlets for other teammates. The Hawks shot 9-of-13 (69 percent) on 3-pointers as a team despite shooting just 29 percent as a

team entering the game.

UMass shot just 25 percent from beyond the arc.

“You can’t go 6-for-24 from the 3-point line and then have them go 70 percent,” Kellogg said. “I think that was a huge difference in the game and then they made a bunch of big plays down the stretch when I thought we had a chance to maybe cut into the lead.”

The Minutemen twice cut the deficit to three, but couldn’t get over the final hump.

A layup from Maxie Esho with four minutes, 42 seconds remaining made it 69-66, but Hawks forward Isaiah Miles immediately answered with a baseline jump shot, Minutemen guard Jabarie Hinds missed a 3-pointer and UMass allowed an offensive rebound on the other end which led to a score.

Suddenly, St. Joe’s was in control again, leading 73-66.

Hinds missed another layup, Demetrius Dyson missed two open 3-pointers and UMass couldn’t find its spark.

“We had two or three opportunities where it was right there,” Kellogg said. “It’s a game about taking advan-

tage of opportunity and we just didn’t do it this evening.”

Cady Lalanne led the Minutemen with 14 points and 13 rebounds, while Maxie Esho added 12 points and Trey Davis had 11 points and 10 assists.

Following the game, only Kellogg showed up at the postgame press conference, as the players remained back in the locker room to talk as a team.

“I think we’ve got to get our guys re-focused and reenergized,” Kellogg said.

“There’s season left to played.

(The Atlantic 10 Tournament) is a little ways away. I thought maybe guys were looking a little ahead of schedule this evening.”

UMass desperately needed wins against either Rhode Island or Virginia Commonwealth last season for postseason purposes and fell short. That deflation carried over into Wednesday, and was evident simply by looking at the Minutemen as they left the floor.

“I’m a body language energy guy,” said Kellogg when asked about his team’s see

LOSS on page 7

The game plan for Wednesday’s game for the Massachusetts basketball team was fairly straightforward and simple: stop Deandre Bembry.

How’d the Minutemen do with that test?

If this were an actually written test, there would be a big, fat capital “F” in red ink written across the top with the message “see me.”

Bembry finished with a game-high 33 points and 14 rebounds to go along with his four assists as Saint Joseph’s defeated UMass 81-72 at Mullins Center. It was the third consecutive loss for Minutemen and their first home loss in over a month.

Bembry’s 33 points were just two shy of the record for a visiting player at Mullins Center.

“If we had a winning record, he would be an AllAmerican,” Hawks head coach Phil Martelli said.

“He seems like this old, mature player but he’s a sophomore in college. I’m delighted for him.”

Bembry played all 40 minutes for St. Joe’s, ran circles around the UMass defense all night long and no matter what it threw at him, he was able to beat it. Kellogg said they tried double-teaming him and had a series of different players try to guard him.

Nothing worked.

“I said it before the game, I think he’s the best player, or pretty close to the best player in our league and at least the two times we played them he looks like a guy that can play at the next level,” Kellogg said.

Bembry scored 20 of his points in the second half and grabbed nine of his 14 rebounds in the first 20 minutes.

His performance was summed up perfectly on

the final two possessions of the game when he single-handedly beat the Minutemen press – finishing with a nifty Euro-step layup on the first, and a two handed dunk on the next.

On both occasions he took the ball 94-feet, breaking the press by himself, weaving in-and-out of all five UMass defenders. The Minutemen knew what was coming and simply couldn’t stop it.

“I love playing in-yourface teams. That’s how I learned to play the game,” Bembry said.

Although it was Bembry who stole the show, both he and Martelli said it was a team effort that helped carry St. Joe’s to victory.

Isaiah Miles contributed with 15 points while Chris Wilson (13) and Aaron Brown (11) followed suit.

This wasn’t the first time Bembry torched the Minutemen as he had 25 points, eight rebounds, and seven assists against UMass in a Hawks win on Jan. 21.

“I can’t point out exactly what I’m doing right, but I’m just playing my game,” Bembry said about his success against the Minutemen. “I like the pressure. I like going by players and making plays for other players or myself. I can’t really tell you why it’s UMass.”

Entering Wednesday’s game, Bembry was just a 60.2 percent free throw shooter. But he went 10-11 from the line in the contest, and was 3-4 shooting from 3-point range and 10-16 overall from the field.

Despite the numbers and awards Bembry’s received (and will receive as he moves forward), Martelli said none of that matters to him.

“At the end, he’ll be all-league but that doesn’t mean anything. He’s a champion. He was on the championship team and won rookie of the year. see

BEMBRY on page 7

HOCKEY

Finale vs. UConn looms before HEA Tourny UM will end year in Connecticut

By Jason Kates Collegian Staff

With the Hockey East tournament set to begin next week, the Massachusetts hockey team will head to Hartford, Connecticut Friday night for the final game of the regular season against Connecticut.

Coming off a dramatic overtime win against No. 12 Providence last Saturday, the Minutemen (10-20-2, 5-15-1 HEA) will look to split the season series against the Huskies, who have won just one of their last six contests.

Last time these two teams were pitted against each other, UConn scored two goals in the opening period, putting UMass in an early hole.

Senior captain Troy Power knows that can’t happen again.

“It’s huge,” Power said regarding the importance of not falling behind. “We definitely want to score the first goal of the game. We talk about trying to get to three as fast as possible and if we do that, we have a decent chance of winning.

“We definitely want to get off to a good start. Any time you’re on the road the first 5-10 minutes of the game is a big part, and we just want to be ready to go.”

In the midst of a four-game losing streak, the Huskies have given up an average of 6.25 goals per game, including a 9-0 loss to Northeastern.

UMass coach John Micheletto addressed the significance of playing with a lead, and the struggles that come when trying to come back.

“You invest a lot of energy if you’re playing from behind, so it’s no different this weekend than any other,” he said.

“One of our goals is always to score first, and we’ll keep that

in mind for Friday night.”

Besides getting an early jump on the opposition, Micheletto knows there are several areas his team will need to control in order to get the win.

“We need to play on the inside. We know that they can pack it in around (Rob) Nichols and have done a nice job of him being a really, really good first-save goaltender and then clearing out the rebound opportunities,” Micheletto said.

“We’ve got to drive the net and get pucks and bodies going to the net to make sure we get those second and third shot opportunities,” he added. “We need to manage the puck, as with anybody.

You don’t want to feed their transition game and want to make them earn any offense they’re able to get.”

Knowing the Hockey East tournament is rapidly approaching, Power understands getting a victory and heading into the postseason

with momentum is huge.

“Pretty much ever since break we’ve talked about just building off every game and I thought we had a very good weekend last weekend,” he said before practice Wednesday. “Obviously it would’ve been nice to get that one on Friday night but I thought we regrouped, got a big win on Saturday, and we’re looking to carry that through this week of practice and onto Friday and once the tournament starts.”

Micheletto also said getting two wins in a row heading into the conference tournament would be nice, and from a confidence standpoint, it’s important for the team to play their game regardless of what the scoreboard reads.

Although the Minutemen have one game this weekend, the rest of the conference has two. With teams still fighting for positions in the standings, Micheletto said there will be scoreboard watching to see who UMass will take on in

CADE BELISLE/COLLEGIAN

Shane Walsh handles the puck in a game against UConn January 2nd. the opening round of the conference tournament.

“Especially with the night off on Saturday, there will be a lot of interest from our standpoint,” he said. “With so many teams in the mix, it’s so hard to even know what the possibilities are other than at this point, it looks like it will be one of five teams.

“You have five teams fight-

ing for third and four and fifth place, so we’ll be watching as much as we can and then getting our game plan ready for where we will be traveling to.”

Jason Kates can be reached at jkates@ umass.edu and followed on Twitter @Jason_Kates.