Massachusetts Daily Collegian: February 19, 2015 - Spring Sports Special Issue

Workhorses Senior captains Andrew Grant and Conor LeBlanc lead pitching staff A2

Turning up the heat Pitching coach Kaitlin Inglesby has made an early impact on softball team A4

Two of a kind Anne and Kate Farnham anchor defense for women’s lacrosse A5

M E N ’ S L AC RO S S E

THE TWO PILLARS

Nick Mariano and Ryan Izzo lead a Minutemen team itching to bring postseason tradition back to Amherst

Leaving his own legacy

Embracing a new role

By Nicholas Casale

By Anthony Chiusano

n 10, 20 or even 30 years, Ryan Izzo wants to be remembered.

Sports fans often remember past legacies, the major upsets that left them believing in the supernatural, the championship wins and heartbreaking losses, the mesmerizing talent shown off from their favorite players, and if fans regularly fail to dress warmly, then they’ll remember the numbing chill of late night games.

The memories of the athlete are similar to an extent, but unlike most fans, players will remember their teammates, their coaches, and the hours and hours of work put into perfecting their craft.

As consumers of sport, these kinds of values and interpersonal relationships athletes create and rely on for success rarely come into discussion because they aren’t shiny, glamorous or even visible things to the public.

But the fact is, these kinds of characteristics are very often the driving forces behind success, or failure.

For athletes like Ryan Izzo, the senior co-captain for the Massachusetts men’s lacrosse team, these kinds of values epitomize what he wants to be remembered for when he graduates.

“Since my freshmen year I have wanted to leave a legacy behind and to make mark on this program in a positive way, and I think that the best way to do that is to be a leader to every guy on this team,” Izzo said.

“While my goal for the season is to

ied 11-11 in an overtime thriller against Ohio State on Feb. 17, 2014, Nick Mariano quickly cut left from behind the Buckeyes’ net, looking for a final attempt to clinch victory for the Massachusetts men’s lacrosse team. As the freshman made his move, his teammate Grant Consoletti executed a perfect screen to separate Mariano from his defender.

Turning the corner with just enough spacing, Mariano still faced a tough angle in his pursuit toward the cage. But with the game clock quickly winding down, the attacker turned and fired a difficult left-handed shot past Ohio State’s goalie Greg Dutton.

The goal, Mariano’s fourth score of the game, came with 7.9 seconds left in the extra frame. As a result, the Minutemen walked away from the Moe’s Southwest Grill Classic with a victory over the then-No. 14 team in the nation.

“Grant set a good pick for me and I just got my hands free,” Mariano said in recollection of last year’s game-winner. “I kind of just shot the ball at the net and it went in. It wasn’t a planned situation. There was just seven seconds left, so at that time you just have to go to the cage and hope for the best.

“It was probably one of the greatest moments that I’ve had in my lacrosse career.”

Playing in only his second collegiate game at the time, Mariano’s

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Collegian Staff

IZZO on page A5

T CADE BELISLE/COLLEGIAN

Nick Mariano led the Minutemen last season with 29 goals. His 39 points ranked him eighth nationally among freshmen.

CADE BELISLE/COLLEGIAN

As one of only six seniors on the 2015 UMass roster, Ryan Izzo said he anticipates a deep run in the 2015 CAA playoffs.

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Collegian Staff

MARIANO on page A6

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THE MASSACHUSETTS DAILY COLLEGIAN

Thursday, February 19, 2015

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BASEBALL

CAROLINE O’CONNOR/COLLEGIAN

Senior captains Andrew Grant and Conor LeBlanc will be counted on to pitch valuable innings this season for the Minutemen.

VETERAN MOXIE

By Ross Gienieczko Collegian Staff

W

ith 27 years of head coaching experience, 648 wins and eight Atlantic 10 Championships under his belt, it’s safe to say Massachusetts baseball coach Mike Stone has seen it all. So when he decided there weren’t going to be any captains at the start of the last few seasons, it spoke volumes about the team he was coaching and the quality of leadership amongst players.

“We haven’t had a captain in a few years because we didn’t think we had that kind of outstanding leadership available to us,” Stone said.

But for the 2015 season, the Minutemen have two captains – senior pitchers Conor LeBlanc and Andrew Grant –which speaks even louder to the character they bring to

the team.

When talking to Stone, the respect he shows the senior duo and regard he hold them in is obvious.

“Conor is fearless on the mound. He’s a competitor,” Stone said. “He likes to be in a situation in a game that’s important to the outcome.

Andrew is an extremely hard worker and a great kid. He brings positive character to the ballclub every day.

“The combination of those two guys is a pretty good formula for our leadership.”

Grant threw 22.1 innings and posted an earned run average of 5.24. After a relief appearance and two starts to open his career, his ERA ballooned to 15.63.

But after four consecutive relief appearances allowing just one run total, Grant got another chance to start – and delivered. Scattering six hits and one run over 5 2/3 innings, Grant picked up his first collegiate win against George Washington.

Grant reflected on how far he’s come since that year.

“I’ve come a long way A work in progress in four years,” Grant said.

After throwing over 142 “(Pitching coach Mike) innings over three years and Sweeney’s been a great menstarting 22 games, Andrew tor and just from a mechanGrant is one of the pillars of ics standpoint he’s brought the UMass pitching staff. But me a long way.” it hasn’t been an easy road Mechanics are importo the top for the Westboro tant, but Grant’s focus has native. also been on another part of As a freshman in 2012, pitching – the mental game.

“It’s been … the mental side of it,” Grant said.

“Learning how to pitch against different guys, and going out there and just trying to have your best stuff every day.”

Grant’s improvement is a process that has taken years, and Stone has taken notice.

“Andrew has commanded the zone better. He throws harder,” Stone said. “It’s a work in progress – everyone is. But the amount of work that he’s put in has been tremendous.”

Last year, some of Grant’s progress started to show.

After walking 43 batters in 2013, Grant walked just 24 as a junior while striking out 43 in 56.1 innings pitched.

Opponent’s batting average see

PITCHING on page A8

McLam has second chance after tearing his ACL Redshirt senior 2B missed all of 2014

By Victor Pusateri

T

Collegian Staff

he last time Robert McLam took the field for the Massachusetts baseball team was May 18, 2013. He went 3-for-4 at the plate, fell a home run short of hitting for the cycle, drove in three runs in the process and helped UMass finish the season on a high note, beating Temple 11-9.

A couple months after the Minutemen’s season finale however, UMass soon found out that it would be without one of its best hitters for the entire 2014 season.

McLam was playing in a summer league game when he tore his ACL, an injury that would require him to undergo surgery and miss an extended period of time.

“I was at second base and was going up the middle for a ground ball and I planted my back foot and as soon as I turned to throw the ball my knee just popped and my ACL tore,” McLam said in recollection of the injury. “I assumed something happened because there was a loud popping sound.

“I didn’t know whether it was ACL, MCL, but I knew something happened.”

Minutemen coach Mike Stone said that while he was upset about McLam’s diagnosis, he understood

“I’d wake up each day thinking of what I was coming back to, a great season with the boys. Just to be with the team, have one more good year with the team, make the A-10 tournament and win it, that’s the goal.”

Rob McLam, UMass second baseman that injuries are part of baseball and that another guy needed to step up in McLam’s absence.

“It was disappointing but as a coach you try not to be devastated by injury,” Stone said. “You gotta move on and hopefully someone will take over.”

After hearing that he would miss all of his true senior year, instead of finishing his UMass baseball career on injured reserve, McLam received a medical redshirt, allowing him to claim eligibility for the 2015 season.

McLam said the injury took an initial emotional toll because he knew that he wasn’t going to be able to graduate and finish his baseball career with the people he’s known since coming to UMass as a freshman.

“It was tough at first knowing I wasn’t going to be able to go out graduating with the people I came in with.” McLam said.

“Obviously you wanna go out with the guys you came in with.”

The physical process of

healing his knee was also a challenge, as his daily physical therapy regimens really pushed him.

“Each day they had to stretch me out. I had to do six to eight exercises each day to strengthen my knee and get the flexion back.

It was painful as heck.”

McLam said on his physical therapy routine. “It was a struggle waking up and going to physical therapy each day.”

But McLam fought through the pain and struggles because he knew his hard work and determination would eventually pay off once he stepped back onto the field.

“I’d wake up each day thinking of the long-term goal of what I was coming back to, a great season with the boys,” McLam said.

“Just to be with the team, have one more good year with the team, make the A-10 tournament and win it, that’s the goal.”

After eight months of rehabilitation, McLam said his knee is feeling much better and that he is very close to regaining his pre-

COLLEGIAN FILE PHOTO

Rob McLam rounds third base in a game against St. Bonaventure during the 2013 season. injury form.

“My knee is feeling a lot better than it was … It’s pretty close to 100 percent.”

McLam said.

Stone agreed, saying that he has been impressed with McLam’s return thus far.

When asked if there would be any limitations in his play, Stone’s answer was simple: “Absolutely not.”

Stone added that he is excited to get McLam back in his lineup due to the secondbaseman’s consistent offensive production.

“He is a real good offensive player.” Stone said.

“Not only does he hit, he can steal bases, he can bunt, he can hit and run, he just

can do a lot of things with a bat and provide offense. We have missed that part of it.”

McLam’s return can’t come a moment too soon as the Minutemen missed his offense last season in which they struggled through a 14-31 record.

During the 2013 season, McLam led UMass in multiple hitting categories including batting average (.311), hits (55), doubles (11) and on base percentage (.391). He also led the team in batting average (.337) for the 2012 season during his sophomore season.

Now after almost two years since his last baseball game in a Minutemen uni-

form, McLam said he just wants to return to the field and play ball.

“It will be a great thing just to get back out there, just to smell the grass honestly,” McLam said. “It’s just been a while since I’ve played for UMass, it will be a really good feeling and it will be rewarding that I made the full journey back from the ACL surgery.”

McLam will get this chance when the Minutemen return to action on Saturday, March 3, for their season opener at Central Connecticut.

Victor Pusateri can be reached at vpusateri@umass.edu.

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THE MASSACHUSETTS DAILY COLLEGIAN

Thursday, February 19, 2015

Graphic by Randy Crandon

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THE MASSACHUSETTS DAILY COLLEGIAN

Thursday, February 19, 2015

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SOFTBALL

In her first year coaching, Inglesby UMass enters 2015 draws rave reviews from Stefanoni with high hopes

By Tom Mulherin

By Tom Mulherin

Collegian Staff

Collegian Staff

It’s hard to find someone more excited to have firstyear pitching coach Kaitlin Inglesby on board with the Massachusetts softball team than head coach Kristi Stefanoni.

Inglesby comes to UMass straight from her senior season at Washington. During her four-year college pitching tenure, the Portland, Oregon, native dominated the Pacific 12 Conference by posting a career earned run average (ERA) of 2.18 with an 82-34 record. She received All-Pac 12 honors in all four years of playing, as well as two All-American selections, which presents as quite an impressive résumé.

So it’s no wonder Stefanoni has only said positive things about the first-year pitching instructor since her induction to the program, as she notes her high level of pitching insight as one of the characteristics that the recent graduate brings to the pitching staff.

“She brings a lot of knowledge,” Stefanoni said.

“She understands the ins and outs of an actual game.

There’s a lot more to pitching than calling pitches – knowing a batter’s tendencies, and how to get ‘this kid’ out – and she’s really good at that.”

Once the Minutewomen (2-3) started training for the season, the responsibilities of coaching the pitchers were divvied up evenly, with Inglesby only taking some duties so that Stefanoni could shadow her. After all, it was the first time the pitching guru would take to coaching and Stefanoni wanted to see how the new coach would do.

But Stefanoni soon felt comfortable enough to give full responsibility of coaching the pitching staff

ROBERT RIGO/COLLEGIAN

Pitching coach Kaitlin Inglesby observes a softball practice on Feb. 10.

“She understands the ins and outs of an actual game. There’s a lot more to pitching than calling pitches – knowing a batter’s tendencies, and how to get ‘this kid’ out – and she’s really good at that.”

Kristi Stefanoni, UMass head coach to the Washington product, as long as she would run everything by her first.

“Honestly, she has proved to be very mature for somebody that has just gotten out of college,” Stefanoni said. “She’s come out (of Washington) looking like a veteran, which is very unheard of for a lot of people her age getting into coaching. So right now she is in charge of the whole thing.”

“She does run everything by me, obviously,” she continued. “I make sure that (the pitching program) is good, and it’s in the direction I want the pitching staff to go in – but she is in charge of the workouts and running the workouts. So, she’s got a lot of responsi-

bility.”

Last Friday, UMass started its first set of games (five total) of the 2015 campaign at the Houston Hilton Plaza Invitational – the first test for Inglesby and her pitchers. The results of the weekend come in favor of the work Inglesby has put in so far, despite losing more than half of the games, as the team posted a decent 3.18 ERA per seven innings.

While that statistic isn’t exactly jump-off-the-page fantastic, it serves exceptional compared to last year’s 5.19 ERA per seven innings through the team’s first five games, which is over the maximum amount of earned runs (five) in a game from this past week-

end. Two runs per game saved makes a difference, which Stefanoni cites when talking about Inglesby’s impact on the pitchers so far.

“I think she has made a tremendous impact,” she said. “Our ERA is already down by a tremendous amount. I think she’s been able to offer (the pitchers) a look at the bigger picture.

You know, ‘the results we get right now aren’t exactly what we want, but this is what’s going to help you in conference play.’”

“Yeah, her impact’s been huge,” she continued.

“She’s got great energy, and a great sense of humor.

She’s been able to keep the pitchers very light, and not take life too seriously. But, at the same time, she’s a very passionate and intense coach.”

The next test for Inglesby’s pitching staff comes on Friday as a fivegame weekend set in the Cougar Classic, starting with Pittsburgh.

Tom Mulherin can be reached at tmulheri@umass.edu.

order, the pitching staff threw for a decent 3.18 ERA from the hill, which is about two runs under last year’s pitching performance (5.19 ERA) in the opening tournament. While the players deserve applause for the performances they gave, it’s difficult to not credit new pitching coach Kaitlin Inglesby with the change in results.

As a team, the Minutewomen leave Texas averaging more runs scored per game than earned runs allowed per game (5-to-3), a feat that last year’s roster failed to do to start off the season (2.6-to-4.6).

So, how does UMass start to string together wins, the only thing it’s missing?

“The one big thing that we really wanted to focus on (for improvement from last year) was just to bring ourselves back and know who we are,” she said. “Obviously with the mechanical, technical things we wanted to be better on defense, be better from the mound and have a better batting average. I think all that will come as we are outside more.

“For the first time on dirt, I thought we did pretty darn well,” she continued. “We’ve done better than ever before coming out for the first time.

Compare our stats from last year to this year, and everything in every category (is improved). I think we’re on our way up.”

Last season, the team started off the season 3-12.

Then, once the players started to get more time outside and “found out who they were,” the Minutewomen went on a decent 13-7 run to close out the regular season.

Now that the overall game of the team is improving and it is off to a good statistical start, maybe those high expectations don’t appear as improbable.

Kristi Stefanoni, the head coach of the Massachusetts softball team, set high expectations for her squad by saying that she sees the team winning the Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament at the end of the season, and moving on to the regional round of the Women’s College World Series.

For a team that finished last season with a mediocre 16-22-1 record and failed to make a deep run in the conference tournament, these expectations appear improbably high.

However, many starters from last year’s roster are returning, a high-power hitting pitcher-turned-outfielder is getting a real shot at the plate this year and a recently hired first-year pitching coach is already making a significant impact on the pitchers.

With so many factors benefitting the team, Stefanoni is determined that the Minutewomen (2-3) will stick together and turn some heads this go around.

“We’re all on the same page, we’re all marching to the same beat,” Stefanoni said. “We have a very strong pitching staff and we’ve got a lot of kids that can really hit the ball for power numbers. To not have those high expectations, I think I would be selling myself and this program short.”

Those statistics, albeit in a small sample size, back it up.

UMass technically started its season last Friday when it participated in the Houston Hilton Plaza Invitational for a five-game set. By the end of the weekend, three different hitters hit multiple home runs. New outfielder – and former pitcher – Tara Klee did so thrice for a team-high and the team totaled seven dingers in the series. How about that for power numbers?

Tom Mulherin can be reached at Outside of the batting tmulheri@umass.edu.

TENNIS

BEASTS OF THE NORTHEAST

Yrazusta and Benito earn regional acclaim

By Philip Sanzo

N

Collegian Staff

ot many teams are lucky enough to have a regionally ranked athlete on its roster. Fortunately for the Massachusetts tennis team, it has two.

The Intercollegiate Tennis Association, prior to the spring season’s start, ranked Ana Yrazusta and Carol Benito as the 10th best doubles team in the Northeast region.

The two Minutewomen entered the fall season having never played doubles together. Both originating from foreign countries, they share a similar Spanish heritage.

“I’m half Spanish, she is completely Spanish so we both have similar personalities and it matches up really well on the tennis court,” Benito said. “When I’m down she brings me up, when she’s down I bring her up.”

Both Yrazusta and Benito began playing tennis at the age of five, completely unaware of their potential.

But tennis’ impact goes beyond the sport itself. For Yrazusta – a native of Las Palmas, Spain – the sport helped her develop who she is as a person. She says “ten-

nis helped me have an open mind and get along easily with people.”

Benito – an India native – claims that being a tennis player has given her the opportunity to travel and be “exposed to the world at a very young age.”

Their years of practice, determination and global competition readied them for the challenges they face today as collegiate tennis players.

It is arguable that the attitude that they have on the court is just as important as the talent. But attitude can hinder just as much as it can enhance. Yrazusta is an intense player who is filled with passion for what she does, made evident by the way she plays. While her intensity certainly does yield her success, it at times has the ability to hold her back.

Sometimes, the duo balances each other out.

When talking of Benito, Yrazusta says, “she helps me a lot, she has that Indian side, because I’m too intense and I go up and down really easily.”

Yrazusta will learn how to control her intensity as she matures as a player, and much of that will be due to her close relationship with Benito.

Before attending UMass, Benito played for Tulsa University. She found the lack of relationship with her

ALEX LINDSAY/COLLEGIAN

Ana Yrazusta and Carol Benito exchange high-fives during a match against Army on Feb. 13. doubles partner to be a major flaw, a problem she does not have with Yrazusta.

“I couldn’t help her if she needed support, it wouldn’t influence her. This is a lot better than it used to be for me,” Benito said.

No team chemistry is complete without the talent to back it up. The girls’ strengths compliment each other in a way that creates a product that has proved to be almost impossible to beat.

“Our games are matched very well also. I am usually

better at the volleys and more handsy where she hits the ball very hard so it helps me come and volley it out and set up the point,” Benito said.

The Minutewomen finished the fall season 9-3 in doubles play and are 4-1 this season, the sole loss coming against No. 57 Boston College.

In the first few days of 2015, the ITA announced its national and regional rankings. It came as quite a surprise to Benito and Yrazusta when they found out where they had been placed.

Benito said that she “wasn’t thinking that far ahead,” and claimed to keep a “one match at a time” mentality, which Yrazusta agreed with. Not only does this speak to their humbling personalities, but also their focused attention.

In any competition, pressure and expectations have the ability to wear on those trying to perform. But neither Yrazusta or Benito see their No. 10 ranking as stressful. When asked if she felt extra pressure from being

regionally ranked Benito replied: “a little bit but not that much actually. My goal is to be nationally ranked so I’m not looking backwards, rather I’m still looking forward.”

Yrazusta also doesn’t feel much pressure to succeed, and added “since it’s a doubles team, having someone with you, it’s kind of easier.”

So the ranking does not intimidate them, but how about the high-caliber opposition that they face every game? Nope. In fact, they see themselves as the intimidators. The Minutewomen are confident in their talent and ability to take care of whoever dares to challenge them.

Yrazusta and Benito have helped UMass to a 3-2 record early on in a season that everyone has high expectations for. UMass has aimed to challenge for the Atlantic 10 title for a few years now and that season may finally be here.

And with a force to be reckoned with as its top doubles pair, the Minutewomen feel they’re right on the doorstep.

“The whole team is very pumped, we are close, we are very close,” Yrazusta said.

“We all have the same goal and that is win the A-10 conference.”

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

THE MASSACHUSETTS DAILY COLLEGIAN

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WO M E N ’ S L AC RO S S E

DOUBLE TROUBLE

Thursday, February 19, 2015

T R AC K A N D F I E L D

MacLean primed for championships Soph. aims for nationals in 800m

By Adam Aucoin Collegian Staff

ROBERT RIGO/COLLEGIAN

Juniors Anne (16) and Kate Farnham (14) are identical twins that play an important role for the Minutewomen’s defense.

A Special Bond

By Andrew Cyr

A

Collegian Staff

nne and Kate Farnham are more than just identical twin sisters.

The two are carbon copies of each other – one mind in two separate bodies.

Aside from living together, sharing a car and taking all the same classes, above all they think for each other.

“I just feel like we are always together. We’ll just say full sentences at random together at the same time,” Kate said.

“We were doing an interview for UMass Athletics and when we were done the people told us we did a good job and at the same time – not on script – we answered the exact same thing at the exact same time,” Anne said.

The only difference between the two? Kate wears pink while Anne sports blue. The two have matching outfits with their respected colors and to this day, Kate has a pink backpack while Anne has the same exact one in blue.

“I got it down now,” UMass coach Angela McMahon said about telling them apart. “The only thing is if their backs are turned toward me and I can’t see the number on their jersey, because from the back they look exactly the same, but from the front I can tell the differences in the face now.”

IZZO

For the 21 years that Anne and Kate have been together, almost every lasting second has been spent with one another. When the two are separated for only an hour, they start text messaging each other with a series of questions asking what the other is doing. In fact, the only time the two weren’t in connection was the two minutes that Kate had to wait prior to the birth of Anne.

Growing up in Andover, Massachusetts, Anne and Kate began their athletic careers at a very young age and it comes as no surprise they were at the top of their athletic class as kids and throughout high school, where they were named All-Americans.

The Farnhams are an athletic family. Their father, Mark, was an AllIvy league lacrosse and football player at Brown.

Their older brother, Buddy, was an All-American wide receiver – also at Brown – and was later signed as an undrafted free agent signed by the New England Patriots in 2010.

It was Mark that introduced the twins to lacrosse when he helped start a youth league in Andover that he coached Anne and Kate on. From a young age, the two knew they wanted to play lacrosse and doing it together was always something that the pair envisioned.

continued from page

obviously do well and be successful, I want to leave here and have all of my teammates know that everything I did, I did for them.”

While Izzo wants to be remembered as a leader, he also wants to be remembered as a winner.

Ever since the Minutemen failed to qualify for the postseason last fall, Izzo has had one goal in mind – to make a run at the postseason in 2015. He said that the only way to make the playoffs this year is if the team can manage to improve on a week-toweek basis.

“Well it’s been tough because we have struggled that way for the last two seasons,” he said.

“Last year we peaked early and ended up not qualifying for the playoffs because

CHRISTINA YACONO/COLLEGIAN

Anne Farnham brings the ball upfield against UConn on Feb. 18 in a 7-6 double overtime victory.

“It’s unreal. We are so lucky that we get to play together and we get to keep that special bond together,” Anne said. “It’s just nice knowing that we have each others backs on the field constantly.”

Stepping Up Entering the 2015 season, both Anne and Kate are expected to have more significant roles as the staples of the Minutewomen’s defense that ranked second in the country in 2014, allowing a mere 6.3 goals against per game.

Kate saw more action than Anne in 2014, appearing in 20 games and starting 19 of them. While Anne made 19 appearances last spring, she only started in two of those games.

When Anne was asked what improvements she

made to earn her a starting role this year, she struggled coming up with an answer.

Kate, on the other hand, knew exactly the answer she was looking for.

“I can answer this one for her,” Kate said. “I think you’ve gotten better at being more aggressive and with her communication. As a defender, that’s huge. We’re juniors now and those are the two biggest things on defense.”

“You’re even more willing to bring the ball up now.”

McMahon believes that with the offseason work the pair did, they’ve emerged as leaders on the field and off it in terms of setting an example for younger players.

“They are the epitome of our team in terms of being positive but also see

TWINS on page A6

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Nowadays, Heather MacLean has a lot on her plate.

She’s fresh off a prestigious appearance at the Tyson Invitational in Fayetteville, Arkansas, which featured some of the best runners in the nation, and is preparing for the Atlantic 10 Conference Championships next week.

But the pressure hasn’t phased the Massachusetts women’s track and field star, and, according to her, the impact of her family and friends has a lot to do with that Track has always been a family affair for MacLean.

In fact, it’s the main reason she does what she does.

For the sophomore from Peabody, it’s her uncle which provides one of her main sources of motivation.

“My uncle has always had a huge influence on me,” MacLean said. “He had so many records at my high school, Peabody High, and I wanted to get some of those records too, so that definitely pushed me to succeed.”

And succeed she did, as MacLean currently holds the school record for Peabody High School in the 400 and 800 meter races.

She eclipsed those records by a comfortable margin too, besting the 400 by just fewer than three seconds and beating the 800 by just under 11 seconds.

MacLean races at a veteran’s level, but her ability and tenure as a runner aren’t parallel. The standout runner has only been involved in track consistently since her junior year of high school.

“I had joined a couple times, but I would quit within the first couple days,” MacLean said. “I had always wanted to do track and have similar success as my uncle did, but it wasn’t until junior year that I was mature enough to be committed to do something like that.”

Soon, she was one of the best runners on the team.

“When I joined track, I didn’t know the meaning of it, the team dynamic and how close the team got to each other,” MacLean said. “I noticed that our team ranking was going up with the points I had gotten in my races and I really got enjoyment out of watching our team do so well. We had some really good people on that team so being a part of that was

really cool.”

The Peabody team would end up winning the conference meet that year.

Choosing the right track As MacLean improved on the track, more schools started taking notice of her.

During cross country season in the fall of her senior year, MacLean realized this was something that she could do past high school, which motivated her to improve and the results on the track spoke for themselves.

MacLean went on a few recruiting trips as a senior and fielded interest from schools such as Merrimack, Stonehill College and Holy Cross, but it soon came clear to her where she wanted to be.

“UMass was the most up front and real with me, instead of promising me a bunch of empty promises,” MacLean said. “I really liked the team dynamic they have here and coach Julie (LaFreniere) was just awesome. This school has so much to offer so I knew that if I came here I would have a lot of opportunities.”

MacLean stayed with senior athlete Katie Powers on her recruiting trip.

Powers, who was entering her junior year at UMass at the time, was up front with MacLean and laid out all of the legitimacies of the program and made her feel comfortable.

By this point, it was pretty obvious for MacLean where she wanted to go to school.

Strength is Key MacLean’s fueled by her desire to break records and leave her mark on the program she continues to help grow. Currently, she’s well on her way.

MacLean continues to have a masterful sophomore campaign. Already this season, she has qualified for New England’s and the ECAC championships.

On top of that, she broke the record she set in last spring in the 800 meter, with her two minute, 7.36 second time in the race at the Terrier Classic earlier this month.

When asked how she has attained such success, MacLean expressed one major theme: strength.

“Being stronger and our program being stronger has had a huge impact on mine and the team’s success,” MacLean said. “We did a lot more this year than we did last year. Our program’s lifting wasn’t as good last year as it is this year. We are also doing other things like pool running and extra exercises that help our biomechanics.” see

MACLEAN on page A6

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of it, so we need to be able to improve on something each week and grow on a consistent basis. The only way to do that is to stay healthy and you do that by staying on top of your exercises and eating and rest habits because once the season really gets going its impossible to get better if the team isn’t in shape and well rested.”

UMass opened the season 0-2, falling to both Army and North Carolina. Izzo has one goal on two shots through two games.

Izzo’s excelled on a personal level, but it’s another thing for the collective unit to follow in its leaders footsteps, which is why Izzo has shared some words of advice for the younger players on the team.

“Last year we had a lot of

“While my goal for the season is to obviously do well and be successful, I want to leave here and have all of my teammates know that everything I did, I did for them.”

Ryan Izzo, UMass co-captain production from our young guys and we need them to pitch in again, so it’s crucial that we help everyone adjust to the college game,” he said.

“The key for these young guys is to know that you have to put in the work, because you just can’t get away with the things you could in high school, so to have a good attitude and to be able to take constructive criticism will

only make these players better.”

In addition to being a leader on and off the field, Izzo has been focusing on his own game and will be the glue in the Minutemen midfield. The Walpole native was named USILA All-America as a redshirt-junior in 2014, and has also collected NEILA All-Region, All-CAA and CAA All-Tournament

honors in his career.

His decorated resume and talent was enough to catch the eye of pro scouts, as the Ohio Machine recently selected him in the fourth round of the 2015 Major League Lacrosse draft with the No. 27 pick.

Even with a professional career to think about, the midfielder has sworn to not forget his duties as a captain

and as a teammate to his fellow Minutemen, and will be entirely focused on the season until it’s over.

Only time will tell how Izzo will be remembered after he graduates, but even if the Minutemen fail to make the postseason in 2015 his presence will surely continue to resonate with his teammates long after he is gone.

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THE MASSACHUSETTS DAILY COLLEGIAN

Thursday, February 19, 2015

MARIANO

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game-winner launched the highly-touted freshman onto a national stage, as the Sunday night matchup was aired nationally on NBC Sports Network.

According to UMass coach Greg Cannella however, the performance came as no surprise based on what he had seen from Mariano since he arrived in Amherst that fall semester.

“It was on national TV, and he scored a goal in overtime, so you can definitely say that (it was his breakout game),” Cannella said. “But for us as a team, we knew who he was based on what he had done in the fall and what he had done in the preseason.”

Cannella grew accustomed to similar performances from Mariano, who finished his freshman campaign with a team-leading 29 goals and 39 total points, which earned him Colonial Athletic Association Rookie of the Year honors.

“What impressed me was his consistency last year,” Cannella said. “He was able to be composed in each of the games, particularly early in the season when he really established himself as a top player in our program and one of the top freshmen in the country.”

Now with a full year under his belt entering the 2015 season, Mariano said he hopes to continue to lead the Minutemen’s attack and take on new roles as a sophomore at the forefront of a young UMass team.

Getting started Mariano was not the first in his family to get involved in lacrosse.

As the youngest of five siblings, Mariano has two brothers who are currently head coaches at Division II universities. His oldest brother Tom is at the

PITCHING

DailyCollegian.com

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helm of Pace University, and his brother John currently coaches LIU Post.

“My brothers started off playing lacrosse in high school, and that’s when my dad fell in love with the sport,” Nick said. “Then I was the last one, so he definitely pushed me to play lacrosse as much as I possibly could.”

Along with his father’s help, Nick credited both Tom and John in helping him develop his lacrosse skills at the onset of his interest in the sport. Nick said he still keeps in daily contact with Tom, often discussing the sport and his recent performances.

“I text my brother Thomas every day,” Mariano said. “He and I are very close when it comes to playing lacrosse, so he always helps me out. It’s awesome to have someone like that in my life. I can’t complain about that.”

According to Tom, 43, the brothers’ phone conversations range from topics like school to how Tom’s children are doing. But when the subject comes to lacrosse, he said he often discusses upcoming opponents or any small observations he might have seen.

“I’ll kind of look at some of the guys that he’s playing against and we’ll maybe talk about them a little bit or what his thoughts are,” Tom said. “He has great coaches, he doesn’t really need my input. I just try to help with any little things that I may see.”

Despite the wide presence of lacrosse within the Mariano household, Tom said that it was evident that Nick never needed any push to spark a devotion toward the game.

“On his own, he fell in love with it and just the passion and work ethic that he has for it is pretty admi-

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rable,” Tom said. “It’s obviously been around him but no one ever forced him to really fall in love with it the way he did.”

“It’s a great experience to watch him develop into the kind of player he’s becoming.”

Reaching the ‘next level’ As Mariano’s passion for lacrosse grew, he developed into a four-year varsity player at Yorktown High School in his hometown of Yorktown, New York.

During his tenure with the Huskers, Mariano finished with 268 points, sixth all-time in school history. In his senior season in 2013, he led Yorktown to the semifinals in the New York State Regionals en route to earning all-tri state honors.

Meanwhile, Mariano saw similar success on the gridiron as a two-year captain and 2013 all-state studentathlete for the football team.

But when it came down to deciding which sport to pursue in college, Mariano said that lacrosse was always the easy choice.

“I kind of always wanted to just play lacrosse,” Mariano said. “There was never really any doubt in that. I definitely had a good football career but lacrosse was always my sport. That’s what was going to get me to the next level.”

Once the initial path was chosen, Mariano then faced the question of what school to commit to. Ranked as the No. 34 high school lacrosse player in the country by Inside Lacrosse following his senior season, Mariano showed interest in Hofstra, Delaware, Albany, Army, Syracuse and the University of Massachusetts.

But once again, Mariano said his decision wasn’t challenging, as he verbally com-

mitted to the Minutemen during his junior year at Yorktown.

Mariano acknowledged the historical success of UMass’ men’s lacrosse program and the coaching staff as crucial factors in his choice. Led by Cannella, now in his 21st season at the helm, the Minutemen have reached the NCAA tournament 19 times, including a championship appearance in 2006.

“Just the coaches, right from the get-go, they were so straightforward with me and that’s what I was looking for,” Mariano said. “The campus is obviously great and just the tradition of our lacrosse program. It’s probably one of the best in the country.”

Leading by example Despite Mariano’s terrific freshman campaign and UMass’ 7-2 run to begin last year, the Minutemen faltered down the stretch, losing their last four games en route to missing the CAA playoffs.

Mariano said that leading UMass back to the conference tournament and getting his first taste of the postseason is a top priority in 2015.

“That’s a goal of ours every year, to get to the CAAs,” Mariano said. “Last year we fell short of that and for the guys coming back, it definitely set a tone for us.”

The road back to the playoffs won’t be an easy one however, as the young Minutemen –UMass only has 12 upperclassmen on its roster – must endure a challenging nonconference schedule to begin the season.

Through two games, the Minutemen have already fallen to No. 20 Army and No. 5 North Carolina. Their upcoming schedule includes three more ranked nonconference opponents before

heading into always-challenging CAA play.

Recognizing the team’s youth, Cannella said that the sophomore group’s performance, including that of Mariano, will loom large for UMass during its run against nationally recognized teams.

“Especially for the sophomores, they should be making huge strides,” Cannella said. “From the competition they faced last year, they should be very confident, very relaxed and primed to have a better year than last year.”

While Mariano has carried his offensive production from last season into the new year with six goals and an assist through the first two games, Cannella said that it’s been Mariano’s leadership that may be most evolved this season.

Cannella said Mariano’s personal motivation to succeed has proven infectious to the young corpse of attackers around him.

“That’s what we really need from him, particularly on the offensive end,” Cannella said. “Nick is not a rah-rah guy banging his head against lockers, but he is a lead-by-example guy. He needs to continue to do that for sure.”

Tom echoed the point about his brother’s work ethic, bringing up memories of Nick practicing his shot on Christmas mornings, New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day. “I think a lot people go,

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COLLEGIAN FILE PHOTO

Andrew Grant delivers a pitch vs. Northeastern last year. The right-handed pitcher struck out 43 batters in his junior campaign.

Conor LeBlanc has led UMass’ staff with 180 innings pitched in the past three seasons.

against him plummeted from .288 to .236. His ERA was a career best 4.79, and a complete game against Fordham (highlighted by nine strikeouts and just one run allowed) was his best start with the Minutemen.

Stone lauded Grant’s efforts on the mound, but had more to say about his character off it.

“Andrew is an extremely hard worker and a great kid,” Stone said. “He brings positive character to the ballclub every day. That type of guy is what we want to develop our people into, and he’s just a real good example of that.”

starts last season, LeBlanc was consistent. He never went less than 5 1/3 innings, and allowed three runs or fewer in nine starts. In 2015, a year older and more experienced, he figures to be the rock of the pitching staff and number one starter again.

Mentally tough The sheer fact he throws left-handed and stands 6-foot4 means there are a lot of expectations on the mound for Connor LeBlanc. In his time at UMass, LeBlanc has managed those expectations and been a true workhorse for the staff with one key attribute –mental toughness.

Grant, who has been there the whole way, was the first to praise LeBlanc for his mentality on the mound.

“Mentally, he’s one of the best pitchers you’re going to

find in the country,” Grant said. “He goes out there, he’s cool, he’s collected, and so I’ve always been impressed with the way he’s dealt with himself on the mound.”

Leading the Minutemen over the past three seasons with 180 innings pitched, LeBlanc’s bread and butter has been pitching to contact – and pitching fearlessly.

LeBlanc has struck out 65 batters in his time with UMass, but walked just 60, including only 22 walks in 82.3 innings last year.

“He’s always commanded the zone very well,” Stone said. “His secondary pitches are all quality pitches. He likes to pitch against good opponents; he’s not intimidated at all.”

Stone said he usually likes to throw LeBlanc in the first game of a series against a team because the senior won’t be intimidated facing new hitters for the first time.

“He’s strong mentally,” Stone continued. “There’s no question about that. He likes to be in those situations, and hopefully that will wear off on some of the younger guys who haven’t had as much experience.”

With a 3.98 ERA across 13

Role reversal When Grant and LeBlanc joined the team in 2012, they joined an experienced pitching staff. Led by six upperclassmen on the mound (including four seniors), the Minutemen were a solid 22-22.

As freshmen, naturally, they looked to the older group as an example.

Years later, they are the players underclassmen are looking up to, a fact not lost on LeBlanc.

“Me and Andrew talk about it all the time,” LeBlanc said. “We’ll be hanging out just talking about how quick the last few years have gone, how much we used to look up to the seniors and how old they seemed to us. Now, we are them.”

It’s not just younger players that will be looking to Grant and LeBlanc. With over 320 combined innings

pitched in their careers with the Minutemen, the coaching staff will be relying on the duo to be workhorses again this season.

“We’re going to be throwing a lot of innings this year but we have a pretty experienced staff that has already been there,” Grant said. “We have some freshmen that are going to step up, so it’s really just going to be a collective effort.”

Other pitchers who will see innings this year for UMass this year are juniors Tim Cassidy and Brandon Walsh, sophomores Ryan Moloney and Tommy McDonald, and whoever emerges from a group of freshmen early in the season. But in big games and tough situations, one of the senior captains spearheading the staff will likely be called upon to determine the fate of the team.

“We have a lot of older pitchers along with us, and we all take on that role,” LeBlanc said. “We know we need to be the leaders, be the workhorses who eat up a lot of innings and set a good example.”

Ross Gienieczko can be reached at rgieniec@umass.edu and followed on Twitter @RossGien.

Anthony Chiusano can be reached at achiusano@umass.edu and followed on Twitter @a_chiusano24.

continued from page

working so hard. They’re some of the hardest workers,” McMahon said.

“They’re winning every single sprint out there. It’s great that they have each other to push but I don’t think what they realize that when they’re pushing each other, they’re actually pushing the rest of the team because they are setting the standard pretty high for how hard CADE BELISLE/COLLEGIAN

‘Oh he had a great year (last year),’ but I don’t think they realize how hard he works,” Tom said. “He’s an athlete who, whatever success he earns on the field, he definitely earns it. He has natural talent but he definitely works at it.”

Mariano said that he has fully embraced his heightened role, crediting veteran teammates in helping him develop his own leadership style.

“That was definitely a big thing coming into this year,” Mariano said. “We have great leaders in (seniors) Andrew Sokol and Grant Whiteway but I definitely try to lead the team on the offensive side.”

Mariano added: “I’ve had some guys come up to me.

I just try to give the best advice that I can. They work their butts off every day so that’s all I can ask for.”

Now faced with an 0-2 start, Mariano said that he is confident the communal effort he’s observed will soon pay off for the Minutemen and result in an upward trend as the season wears on.

“It’s definitely a different feeling for us,” Mariano said.

“We just got to take it one step at a time and just hope for the best. … All the work you put in is what you get in return.”

MACLEAN What Lies Ahead MacLean has very straightforward goals for the next part of her season.

“My main goal no matter what is to score as many points as I can for my team,” she said. “I want to help this team reach the most success that it can so if I can do my part that is all that matters to me.”

MacLean also has a loftier goal of qualifying for nationals in the 800 meter race,.

She believes she would need to run around a low 2:06 in order to qualify, which is a whole second faster than her current best.

The women’s track and field team has had great success up to this point and MacLean sees no reason why that can’t continue.

“I think as long as we stay strong and continue to do what we’ve been doing we should be fine the rest of the season,” MacLean said. “We can’t let the competition and other things get to our heads.

We need to make sure we keep our eye on the prize.”

MacLean has molded herself into one of the best runners on the team and a leader for the future. She already holds a school record and

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to push.”

Anne and Kate plan on staying together for as long as possible, no matter where their lives take them after college and off the lacrosse field.

For now, though, the two of them are enjoying the moment - just like they’ve done their entire life.

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

continued from page

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continues to impress meet after meet. But she is still hungry to make a bigger mark on the program.

“I hope to have a huge impact on the team and how the University views the team,” MacLean said. “I’ve noticed that since I’ve come in the girls especially in the 800 have gotten so much faster. People aren’t just settling for when they set a (personal record). They continue to shave seconds off and improve.”

MacLean hopes that future girls that come into the program are motivated by the success that she has had.

“I currently hold the 800 record so I want somebody to try and beat that,” MacLean said. “I want to be a figure that people try to chase after and leave a mark and show that anybody is capable of doing that. I hope that when I’m all done with my career at UMass I have done everything I can to help this program grow and motivate the future girls to grow it even more.”

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

THE MASSACHUSETTS DAILY COLLEGIAN

Thursday, February 19, 2015

News@DailyCollegian.com

@CollegianNews

Forum centers on controversy

University revises Iranian student admission policy ‘Less restrictive’ rule for Iranian students

By Marie MacCune Collegian Staff

CLAIRE ANDERSON/COLLEGIAN

Speakers surround the podium during the Iranian Admission Policy Discussion hosted by the International Relations Club and Persian Students Association on Wednesday.

University’s action knocked by students

By Patrick Johnston Collegian Staff

After a controversial week for the University of Massachusetts administration, the campus community gathered in the Cape Cod Lounge Wednesday night to discuss the recent ban UMass had placed on admitting Iranian national students to engineering and science programs.

The evening began with hosts Jessica Berger of the International Relations Club and Nasim Cheraghi, president of the UMass Undergraduate Persian Student Association, bringing the room up to speed on the situation with a short

slide show.

It was announced recently that UMass would revise its decision to not admit Iranian nationals to certain science courses and programs. Berger made it especially clear that “it hasn’t been reversed, it has only been revised.” The slide show also mentioned that 79 percent of Iranian students study sciences, and that this policy will adversely affect many of them.

After the situation was explained, the microphone was turned over to the audience and the group discussion began. Audience members widely criticized the policy and called for a full reversal.

Santiago Vidales, a UMass graduate student,

called the policy, “Racist and Islamophobic.” Vidales went on to say that those in opposition to this policy must “keep the pressure up,” and, “People should be fired over this.” His comments were met with applause.

The original policy was criticized for taking a zealous interpretation of the act it was apparently intended to support.

A state department official told the Boston Globe recently that “U.S. law does not prohibit qualified Iranian nationals coming to the United States for education in science and engineering,” and, “each application is reviewed on a case-by-case basis.”

Michael Havlin, a UMass student, said “(The admin-

istration of UMass) took a very broad interpretation of this policy.”

Beyond criticism of the policy being blatantly discriminatory, even in a revised state, many knocked the administration for enforcing an act that is supposed to be enforced by the secretary of state and the State Department.

Many raised concerns that this perceived overreach might be a slippery slope and more may come if students did not respond.

Many also expressed fear that this policy might validate racist sentiments in members of the student population.

Another criticism that was brought up was the fact that the policy was not see

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ment, said of the revision in the release. “We have always believed that excluding students from admission conflicts with our institutional values and principles. It is now clear, after further consultation and deliberation, that we can adopt a less restrictive policy.”

The Inter national Relations Club and Persian Student’s Association hosted a discussion of the policy Wednesday night in the Cape Cod Lounge with guest speakers ranging from professors to undergraduate students. About 100 students attended the disucssion.

The University could not be immediately reached for further comment.

Mohsen Jalali, a UMass graduate student studying political science and member of the Iranian G r a d u at e Students Association, told the Daily Collegian last week he believed the University is “framing a discriminatory policy as law compliance.”

“It is very specific in the law that is says that it applies to the field of visas … it is not the job of the University and educational institutions to enforce the law,” he said.

“They are policing people, not complying with any law.”

Only two other schools have written policies similar to the one UMass revised – Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in New York and Virginia Commonwealth University.

The University of Massachusetts announced a revision to its admission policy regarding Iranian nationals Wednesday afternoon.

According to a University news release, UMass will admit Iranian students into science and engineering programs with individualized study plans to meet the requirements of the Iran Threat Reduction and Syria Human Rights Act of 2012.

The Act restricts Iranian citizens from obtaining higher education visas in the United States in preparation for research in nuclear or energy related research in Iran.

The release stated that the policy revision follows consultation with the State Department and outside counsel.

P r e v i o u s l y, the University had banned Iranians from certain programs in the College of Engineering and the College of Natural Sciences as disclosed in a policy memo last week. The ban resulted in widespread outrage and debate. A State Department official told the Collegian Monday that this ban came without guidance from the State Department.

“This approach reflects the university’s longstanding commitment to wide access to educational opportunities, Michael Marie MacCune can be reached Malone, vice chancellor mmaccune@umass.edu and folfor research and engage- lowed on Twitter @MarieMacCune.

UM, Amherst get Archaeology Club breaking ground Passionate leaders ready for ‘Blarney’ trying to find legs

Joint efforts hope to avoid 2014 repeat

By Aviva Luttrell Collegian Staff

Officials from the University of Massachusetts and the town of Amherst have begun a collaborative effort to prepare for the annual “Blarney Blowout” St. Patrick’s Day celebration, set to take place March 7.

During last year’s event, police in riot gear arrested 55 students and used pepper spray to disperse a crowd of nearly 4,000 people gathered at North Amherst apartment complexes. The incident prompted the University to commission a report on large, crowd-related disturbances by former Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis.

Over the past several weeks, police, administrators and student leaders have been working to implement recommendations from the Davis report in an effort to prevent a similar incident from occurring this year.

“This is a joint collaboration and partnership which has gotten stronger between the town and the University,” said Amherst

Town Manager John Musante during a press conference Wednesday. “We are focused on implementing recommendations focused on prevention strategies, and also mitigation when those are not adequate.”

Those strategies include working with owners of Amherst bars and liquor stores, rental property landlords and UMass students, according to Musante.

The unsanctioned celebration has typically taken place at bars in downtown Amherst, but has moved to off-campus apartments in recent years. Musante said this year there will be “no bar advertising whatsoever.”

Amherst Police Chief Scott Livingstone said police officers will be visiting off-campus apartment complexes to talk with students about responsible behavior, and have already met with several fraternities, sororities and Student Government Association leaders to discuss preventative measures.

“Those have been very positive (meetings),” Livingstone said.

Following recommendations in the Davis report, the see

BLARNEY on page b2

By Jaclyn Bryson Collegian Staff

For Reba Cohen, it all began on Masada in Israel.

As a junior in high school, she took a nine-hour archaeology class abroad, spending time analyzing the history of the Jewish people of the past who had left their mark on the very earth she was standing on. That’s when she stumbled upon a small, dirtencrusted artifact that reassembled a carriage bolt.

“I thought it was so cool,” she said, recalling her reaction when she found the object. “I wanted to know why it was there, who made it, what it was used for, how long it has been there for. I just wanted to know everything about it.”

Cohen took pride in the artifact, despite the fact that many around her questioned its authenticity. Some thought she was making up the discovery, telling her that someone had planted it there on purpose or that it

was not what she thought it was.

But she did not let others’ doubts stop her from pursuing her newfound passion.

“At this point, I don’t think it really matters what it is,” she said. “What it gave me is so much more.”

Now, she’s taken her love for archeology and brought it to the University of Massachusetts. She is currently the president on the Archeology Club, which has been a Registered Student Organization since the end of last semester.

Among the group of students interested in the field of archeology is Duncan MacIntosh, the current vice president of the club. At 17, MacIntosh restored parts of a ceiling that had been painted over in the Clouds Hill Victorian Museum in Rhode Island. He spent around 30 hours brushing away at the fresco with a toothbrush.

“That was a reassurance,” he said. “I knew that archaeology was what I wanted to do. But when I was scrubbing away, that was when I knew officially.”

According to Cohen, there are currently six executive board members and about 60 people signed up for the club, but only about 20 to 25 people showed up for their first meeting. She is hoping to create an atmosphere where all those who are interested can feel free to talk about

COURTESY OF REBA COHEN

Members of the Archaeology Club attend the first meeting of the semester. whatever aspect of archeology they want.

“Every meeting, I really stress that I want this club to be about us and what you want to do,” she said.

At meetings, Cohen added there is no limit to what club members are passionate about. Members can bring in articles about their interests or bring up specific topics they want to discuss, such as modern archaeology or archeology in Asia. “(We can talk) about different places all over the world, instead of just a specific time period and place,” she said.

“We really want to

reach out and know what people want from the club,” MacIntosh said. “One of my main drives for having the club was that I really wanted people who want to do archaeology or think they want to do archaeology to have the tools to do that …

I try to help by thinking of what I would want, what I want help with, and that’s what I’d like to make sure other people have.”

For now, the goal of the club is simply to get its feet off the ground by organizing a core base of members and coming up with ideas for see

CLUB on page b3

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

In 1859, New York Congressman Daniel E. Sickles is acquitted of murder on the grounds of temporary insanity. This was the first time that this defense had been used successfully in the U.S.

AROUND THE WORLD

Haiti

PORT-AU-PRINCE —

Carnival festivities throughout Haiti were canceled Tuesday after at least 16 people were killed in an accident earlier in the day on the Champ de Mars near downtown Port-au-Prince.

THE MASSACHUSETTS DAILY COLLEGIAN

Thursday, February 19, 2015

Prime Minister Evans

Paul declared a national period of mourning beginning Wednesday until Saturday when funerals will

Ukrainian president admits withdrawal Debaltseve given to Russian separatists

By Nikolaus Von Twickel dpa

KIEV, Ukraine — Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko admitted on Wednesday that Ukraine had given up the strategic eastern city of Debaltseve to pro-Russian separatists, but argued that this proved his forces’ capabilities.

Poroshenko said that the armed forces and the national guard were pulling out of the embattled city and that 80 percent of the troops had already left.

He spoke of a “planned and organized withdrawal” and denied that there had been an encirclement.

Poroshenko claimed that the forces escaped with just 30 wounded to regroup and set up new defenses.

“This is compelling evidence of the combat capa-

bilities of our armed forces,” he said at Kiev airport, from where he was flying to meet troops after their return from Debaltseve.

Ukrainian Security Council spokesman Andriy Lysenko said Wednesday that it was too early to give any casualty figures.

Debaltseve, which has a peacetime population of 25,000, serves a vital transport hub and has been controlled by government forces through much of the conflict in eastern Ukraine.

Russian state television showed footage of fighters raising a separatist flag on a nine-story building in the city center. The separatists said that they had encircled up to 5,000 Ukrainian soldiers in the city, and that many had laid down their arms.

Vladislav Brig, a separatist commander, told Moscow’s Kommersant FM radio that around 1,000 members of the Ukrainian forces

DISCUSSION

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be held.

The tragedy occurred

after a carnival float, transporting fans and members of Barikad Crew, passed underneath a low-hanging power line along a narrow packed street.

Miami Herald

Ukraine

KIEV — Ukrainian troops

and separatists battled for control of the strategic railway junction of Debaltseve on Tuesday, with each side blaming the other for violating a weekend cease-fire meant to end 10 months of combat in eastern Ukraine.

At day’s end, pro-Russia

separatists claimed to control about 80 percent of the city, including the railway station and police precinct.

Their assertion could not readily be confirmed.

Los Angeles Times

Afghanistan

JALALABAD — At

least 22 people were killed Tuesday when a team of Taliban suicide bombers attacked a police station in eastern Afghanistan, officials said.

The complex raid began

when two insurgents dressed as police officers detonated explosives at the entrance to the police headquarters in Pul-i-Alam, the capital of Logar province, and at a security checkpoint inside the compound, said Din Mohammad Darwesh, the provincial governor’s spokesman.

Other bombers then

stormed a canteen where police officers were eating lunch. Twenty police officers and two civilian employees were killed, Darwesh said. Another seven police officers were wounded.

Los Angeles Times Distributed by MCT Information Services

DailyCollegian.com

CLAIRE ANDERSON/COLLEGIAN

Santiago Vidales, a graudate student, speaks during a meeting regarding the recent UMass admission policy regarding Iranian students. mentioned or discussed with any members of the student government. This point made by President of the Graduate Student Senate Adina Giannelli, who referred to the creators of the policy as “rogue administrators.”

Others criticized the administration for not showing up to the event.

The event, according to student and speaker Erin Wolosz, was one that the administration was “very aware of.”

Vidales

further

criti-

cized the administration’s absence.

“Clearly they are too cowardly to come here and face students,” he said.

At the end of the event speakers urged everyone to get involved in combating this policy by using #weareallumass on Twitter.

Patrick Johnston can be reached at pejohnston@umass.edu.

had been let out through a corridor.

Poroshenko accused Russia of “brutally violating” the latest Minsk peace accord and called on the European Union and the U.S. to show a tough reaction.

A French government spokesman said that the leaders of Russia, Ukraine, Germany and France would discuss the latest developments during a telephone conference later on Wednesday.

EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said that the separatists were acting in “clear violation” of the Minsk agreement and demanded that they stop all military activities.

“The EU stands ready to take appropriate action,” if the violations continue, Mogherini said in Riga.

The rebels and Russia argue that Debaltseve is not affected by the ceasefire agreement because it is located inside rebel-held ter-

BLARNEY

ritory.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov reiterated this line on Wednesday.

During a telephone call with his German counterpart Frank-Walter Steinmeier, he blamed Ukraine for the violence.

“Ukrainian forces attempted to break through the siege from inside and outside, which naturally triggered a reaction from the insurgents,” he said, according to a ministry statement.

Speaking in Moscow, he warned Kiev and the West against using Debaltseve as a pretext to tear up the Minsk agreement. “Such attempts happened earlier and we don’t want to see them repeated,” he said.

Last week’s accord stipulated a cease-fire that was to take hold last Sunday. It obliged both separatists and government troops to withdraw heavy weapons at least two days after the ceasefire’s start, but both sides had

refused to do this as they traded blame for its violation.

The separatists said Wednesday that they had begun withdrawing heavy weapons in compliance with the agreement.

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University has also implemented a modified guest policy for “Blarney” weekend.

Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs and Campus Life Enku Gelaye said last year staying on campus was an attraction for many guests and less than half of those arrested during the celebration were UMass students.

From Thursday, March 5 at 8 p.m. to Sunday, March 8 at 11 p.m., no outside guests will be allowed in UMass residence halls. Students will still be allowed to sign in a maximum of four UMass student guests.

UMass implemented a similar policy during Super Bowl XLIX weekend, banning all guests during game day. The post-game celebration that took place in the Southwest Residential Area was largely peaceful, with police observing students from the fringes.

University officials also monitored social media closely before the Super Bowl, a step Gelaye said is also being taken in preparation for “Blarney.”

“We’ve seen everything you’ve seen on social media sites,” she said, adding that administrators are engaging with certain students one on one about the “multi-dimensional” effects of their social media posts.

Gelaye said police and University officials will be “aggressively messaging” on social media March 7, but added, “The goal is to not get to that phase.”

Team Positive Presence, a student community polic-

COLLEGIAN FILE PHOTO

People gathered in large numbers for the “Blarney Blowout” in 2014. ing initiative, will also be out encouraging responsible behavior during “Blarney.”

“I wouldn’t even call it community policing, I would call it community facilitating,” SGA President Vinayak Rao said.

When asked about police presence during “Blarney,” Livingstone said there would be “noticeably more” law enforcement officials present this year. This is due to a mutual aid pact between Amherst police, the UMass Police Department and the Massachusetts State Police, which was not in place last year.

Livingstone declined to discuss specific enforcement strategies, but said police will take lessons learned from this year’s Super Bowl celebration, during which police did not wear riot gear and were talkative and friendly with students.

“We will be having dis-

cussions from the get-go with students who may or may not show up,” he said.

UMPD Chief John Horvath added that while the dynamic differs between the two events, some strategies are transferrable.

Gelaye said that the University will be offering several on-campus activities March 7, including events in the dining halls and possibly an outdoor barbeque, weather permitting. The school is also trying to schedule a musical performance in the Mullins Center for that day.

Despite all of the town and University preparation, Gelaye said that students will be responsible for their behavior.

“Ultimately each student on the ground has to make good decisions,” she said.

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

THE MASSACHUSETTS DAILY COLLEGIAN

DailyCollegian.com

CLUB

continued from page b1

events. According to Cohen, these events include movie nights, faculty lectures, trips to museums such as the Museum of Fine Arts and a dig, hopefully, with the Emily Dickenson Museum.

Some members will also be traveling to Tuscany, Italy over the summer as part of a trip led by the UMass classics department.

With these events and meetings, the club hopes it is offering students an alternative to just taking an archeology class.

“Most classes, I find, are very scripted,” MacIntosh said. “But for the club, we can all kind of get together and talk about what it means to us, or what we think archaeology is and how it affects us all.”

Cohen also added that while archaeology may be a small field of study, the club offers more than just a chance for members to study

artifacts of the past.

“The definition of (archeology) is the study of ancient things … but I think it’s more than that,” she said. “I think it’s the things and the people and how it connected to society and how it had an impact on people.”

The members of the club also stressed that archeology is for everyone, and that all majors are welcome to explore this field with the Archeology Club.

“A lot of different people from a bunch of different majors can feel connected to (the club),” Cohen said.

“Archeology – there’s not a lot of people who are involved with it – but you can connect it to so many things like movies, books, literature and music. I think that is something everyone can find a way to connect to.”

Jaclyn Bryson can be reached at jbryson@umass.edu.

Thursday, February 19, 2015

B3

SGA VP proposes UMass congress Body could address system-wide issues

By Christina Yacono Collegian Staff

At last Monday’s Student Government Association meeting, Vice President Jacob Schissel, introduced the idea of a University of Massachusetts congress, which would convene to talk about common issues that all the UMass campuses have.

The basic structure of the congress would model the current Five College committee that meets to talk about issues pertaining to the schools in the Pioneer Valley. The congress would either meet once a month or once a semester, and it would include the SGA president and vice president, and possibly one other SGA member from each school, if the issue is significant. Each meeting would have a designated agenda, while allowing the representatives to bring up any issues within their school that they feel could be

solved together.

“The four (schools) coming together would be a huge step forward,” Schissel said. “The idea of the congress wouldn’t be a radical one, but (would consist of) a meeting hosted by one of the schools for them to share what’s going on at the school and seeing what help or resources we can offer.”

Like the Five College committee bi-weekly meeting, the four schools have similar issues that they could work on and have a big impact on.

For instance, issues such as St. Patrick’s Day or sports celebrations could be discussed together. If necessary, institution-wide policies could be talked about because it would not just be one school, but a collective voice about a policy that they would like to see in place.

A criticism that has come up in regards to the Five College committee is that UMass is the only public institution and does not necessarily have all the same concerns as the other, private schools. A con-

gress of UMass schools would share similar problems pertaining to public institution policies.

The idea of a joint SGA congress came to Schissel over winter break when he was visiting other northeastern colleges and thought how beneficial it would be if colleges across the area worked together. Coming back to UMass, Schissel came up with a plan to bring together the Lowell, Dartmouth, Boston and Amherst UMass campuses to form a sort of open forum.

Regarding any foreseeable challenges with the congress, Schissel said that for the congress to work, it would require the cooperation of all the universities, especially when dealing with other schools’ administrations.

While Schissel is the only person at the moment working on the project, he is confident that once the other schools are on board with the plan, he will need the

Manzanar in California. But in Hawaii, then a U.S. territory, more than 1,000 people were interrogated and ultimately imprisoned under martial law that was declared after the bombing of Pearl Harbor.

There were 17 internment sites that processed individuals, primarily of Japanese ancestry but also some German and Italian Americans. But Honouliuli was the only one specifically built for prolonged detention, and it held more than 300 internees and 4,000 prisoners of war, according to a National Parks Service study that paved the way for the designation.

Located in a gulch where Hawaii’s tropical heat was particularly oppressive and mosquitoes swarmed, Japanese internees came to refer to the site as Jigoku Dani, or Hell Valley, according to the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawaii, which has played a key role in uncovering the history of the camp.

“Honouliuli gives you that feeling of being so inaccessible, and like you’re closed into this world. But it’s only a half-hour from (downtown) to there,” said Jane Kurahara, who began researching the site’s history in 1998 after a local television station inquired about it. “The sense of place is very powerful.”

“You do get a sense of being trapped by the gulch walls,” said Hawaii Sen. Brian Schatz, a Democrat.

The site itself, which is now on privately owned land, was not identified until 2002.

Just two buildings remain;

they are believed to be a recreation hall and firehouse.

“They’re barely standing.

Every time we go, they’re flatter,” Kurahara said.

In 2008, the Cultural Center took 100 former internees and relatives of others on a pilgrimage to the site, a visit that was “kind of a vindication for internees” and helped build support for making it a national historic site, said Carole Hayashino, the center’s president.

“They knew in the 1940s they did nothing wrong and they had nothing to be ashamed of. But they lived with the stigma for decades,” she said.

The goal with the president’s designation is to eventually create a site akin to what has developed at Manzanar.

“We can uncover the history of Honouliuli just as they uncovered the history of Manzanar, so people 100 years from now don’t forget what happened,” Hayashino said.

“These internment camps have been better-kept and better-resourced in California in particular,” said Schatz, who has continued an effort by his predecessor, Daniel K. Inyoue, and other members of the Hawaii congressional delegation to push for the designation. “It’s great that they’ve gotten that attention and those resources, but Hawaii had a really unique history in terms of navigating through the fact that we had so many Japanese American citizens.”

He added that it was particularly significant for Obama to make the designation as the state’s first native-born president.

CHRISTINA YACONO/COLLEGIAN

Jacob Schissel speaks at an SGA meeting. help of other SGA members to ensure that this project will continue even after this year’s administration.

For now, Schissel is hopeful.

“This should create a sense of community between the SGAs as well as benefit the schools,” he said.

First responders prepare for worst Internment camp to be a monument

Practice shooting tests preparedness

By Carli Teproff Miami Herald

MIAMI — Two men in camouflage storm into a multiplex, head to different theaters filled with moviegoers, and begin shooting.

Moviegoers lie on the floor, screaming in pain as noise and smoke fill the air.

Some can’t move from their seats.

“Help me, help me!” a woman screams. “I need help.”

But the victims –volunteers from Fort Lauderdale’s Community Emergency Response Team – weren’t hurt.

The scene played out last week as part of a joint training exercise between the Fort Lauderdale police and fire departments to practice a new procedure that allows firefighters to get to patients quicker and stop the bleeding as soon as possible.

“Before, we would stage somewhere away from the shooting scene and have to wait until we got the all-clear from police,” said Timothy Heiser, deputy chief of the Fort Lauderdale Fire Department. “This changes everything.”

The department recently spent about $100,000 on 112 vest and helmet sets to better prepare for activeshooter situations. Heiser cited recent mass shootings, including Sandy Hook Elementary in Connecticut and a movie theater in Aurora, Colo., in needing to be ready for the worst.

Fort Lauderdale is one to the first departments in South Florida to buy special gear for all its firefighters and establish a new standard operating procedure. Other departments are discussing protection of their firefighters in shooting scenarios.

Most departments – including Miami-Dade, Miami and Hialeah – have SWAT medics, firefighters

who are trained to handle active situations, but not equipment for everyone.

Coral Gables Lt. David Perez said a draft procedure is inplace and the department has purchased nine sets of protective equipment for rescue crews.

“We did it in abundance of caution,” he said. “We saw what was going on in the nation and we wanted to be prepared.”

The International Association of Fire Fighters, a union based in Washington, encourages standard procedures to deal with “an attack by radicals armed with weapons in public areas, such as schools, shopping malls, churches or any other locations where people congregate.”

Last Wednesday, the Fort Lauderdale paramedics suited up in their protective equipment and entered the long-closed theater in the Riverfront area with police officers before the shooters – firing blanks for the exercise – were apprehended.

Capt. Dana Swisher, the Fort Lauderdale Police Department’s SWAT commander, explained before the exercise that police “will provide the security,” while the paramedics “try to save the victims.”

Wearing vests and pointing their guns, police entered theater No. 6 and quickly determined that the shooters had left that area – even though the sounds of gunfire could still be heard. Officers escorted the paramedics in, who quickly tagged their victims with colors, depending on their injuries.

DeAnna Greenlaw, spokeswoman for the Fort Lauderdale Police Department, said the goal is to “eliminate the threat.”

Using new, lighter stretchers, the paramedics were able to carry a couple of wounded people out of the theater.

The victims were then put in rescue vehicles and taken to the “hospital” – which was just around the corner.

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First responders participate in an active shooter training in Florida.

Obama to recognize Hawaiin WWII plot

By Michael A. Memoli Tribune Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON — For more than half a century, what had once been Hawaii’s largest and longest-operating internment camp was ignored and forgotten. To the hundreds of Japanese Americans who had been forcibly confined at the camp, the experience was a source of shame and rarely spoken of until it was rediscovered by historians more than a decade ago.

On Thursday, President Barack Obama will designate the plot of land in western Oahu that was the site of the Honouliuli camp as a national monument, White House officials told the Los Angeles Times. The designation is intended to bring greater awareness to it and to Hawaii’s unique role in the World War II-era incarceration of Japanese Americans and what the White House calls “the fragility of civil rights during times of conflict.”

The announcement will come 73 years to the day after President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the executive order paving the way for the internment of Japanese Americans, and a few months after Japan bombed Hawaii’s Pearl Harbor and drew the U.S. into the war.

That order ultimately led to the imprisonment of more than 120,000 people of Japanese ancestry on the West Coast at 10 mainland internment cites, including

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

“They knew in the 1940s they did nothing wrong and they had nothing to be ashamed of. But they lived with the stigma for decades.

We can uncover the history of Honouliuli just as they uncovered the history of Manzanar, so people 100 years from now don’t forget what happened.”

Carole Hayashino, president of the Cultural Center of Hawaii “President Obama understands this part of Hawaii’s history and doesn’t need it explained to him,” he said.

The designation of the Honouliuli National Monument is one of three Obama will announce Thursday. He is traveling to Chicago to announce the site of Pullman town as the city’s first National Park Service unit; Brown’s Canyon in Colorado will also be named as a national monument.

Obama has used authority under the Antiquities Act to establish or expand 16 national monuments, including the Cesar Chavez monument in California in 2012.

Opinion Editorial THE MASSACHUSETTS DAILY COLLEGIAN

“The sea is the universal sewer” - Jacques Cousteau

Thursday, February 19, 2015

UMass not working in good faith on diversity plan In late January, the two Americans of differDiversity Strategic Plan ent races.

Steering Committee Moreover, as a white male who grew up in the Nicholas Pappas metropolitan Boston area, I probably have more at the University of in common in terms of Massachusetts released culture and values with its draft of the Diversity many minorities who also Strategic Plan. It con- grew up in my area than tains a lot of interesting with another white person information, and proposes in rural West Virginia. solutions to UMass’ diver- Creating a climate sity problem. of truly diverse people Diversity has become would, to me, mean greata buzzword of sorts. Like ly expanding out of state social justice, equality and other popular terms or phrases, it has no concrete definition and generally means different things depending on who says it.

When I think of diversity in a human context, I think of culture, ideology and worldview. For me, race, which seems to be the focus of the plan, does not enter into my mind.

For example, take two and international enrollindividuals of different ment. If UMass wanted races. If they both grew or needed to do so, that up in America, exposed to is how it should go about the same media, the same creating a “diverse” eduform of entertainment cational experience. In and so forth, does their what way does speaking or difference in skin color interacting with students truly make them diverse? who are fairly close to you Perhaps, or perhaps not, culturally, but look differdepending on the individ- ent physically, advance an education? uals chosen.

But if you took a It doesn’t, and sadly, white person from Iowa, the system values people and a white person from based on what they look Russia, even though they like and not who they are the same skin tone, are in terms of perspecon average, they would tives, ideas or accomplishbe far more “diverse.” In ments. When we examine other words, they would the racial composition of have greater differences a student body and deterbetween them than the mine that we have too

much of one group or too little of another, what we end up doing is removing individuality from the equation. It becomes a game of mixing and matching people, ultimately bringing back the same means which were used in the past, if only for different ends.

Based on its proposals and focus, it’s clear that at the end of the day, the Diversity Strategic Plan primarily amounts to

“When we examine the racial composition of a student body and determine we have too much of one group or too little of another, what we end up doing is removing individuality from the equation.”

Editorial@DailyCollegiancom

Is capitalism bad for your health?

Since whites are 72 percent of the state’s grade 12 population, the fact that they make up 80 percent of that higher achieving category suggests to me that a more selective state university like UMass is disproportionately white due to, at least in part, slightly better academic performances by white students.

The difference is even greater among Asian-Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders who account for 5 percent of Massachusetts grade 12 students, but 10 percent of the higher achieving GPA/SAT category and 12 percent of accepted students.

Increasing racial diversity among the student body can be done in a multitude of ways. Some of the ways mentioned in the plan are good ideas.

However, UMass should be careful not to go down a dangerous road by having different standards and academic requirements for different people based on what they look like.

It could hurt relations between ethnic groups, and risk putting an unfair asterisk on the legitimate achievements of individuals.

Capitalism, an economic structure that relies on private ownership to respond to con-

Michael Agnello sumer demands while simultaneously striving to maximize profit margins, is the backbone of American culture. This, in theory, seems like an ideal model to base a society around as it avoids government intervention and supposedly allows the marketplace to be run by and for the people. But what happens when the capitalist class, as in those who control industry, exacerbate the system by valuing profits over people? The ramifications may not be as harmless as you thought. By sacrificing the integrity of the consumer, those running the system create lasting physical, psychological and social consequences for the population that gives it life.

A couple obvious examples that demonstrate the devaluing of the consumer involve selfdestructive products. The tobacco industry produces a commodity that has been proven to kill its consumers. Capitalistic tendencies lead us to dismiss this, as apparently everyone has the right to earn their profit, even if it comes at the cost of human life. One could argue that the

coded affirmative action.

That’s a fine thing to argue for, as there are many good people on both sides of that issue. But we should be clear that is what it is, since it doesn’t seem like UMass is overtly biased in its admissions process.

Referring to the information provided by UMass if the draft of the Diversity Strategic Plan, 80 percent of Massachusetts students who have a high school GPA over 3.0, and SAT scores over 1000 are white, and 71 percent of students who apply to UMass and Nick Pappas is a Collegian 76 percent of accepted stu- columnist and can be reached at dents are white. napappas@umass.edu.

shambles.

On the less obvious side of the issue, there are the sneaky ways major corporations take shortcuts to deceive the customers.

Let’s take for example, marketing shampoo. One company might develop a product that helps to eliminate dandruff, which can be a big market to tap into. So as a result, a bigger company might want to get its share of the market. But instead of developing a superior product, they just make the advertising more appealing by, let’s say, adding “Number 1 dermatologist recommended,” prominently displayed in bold font next to the company name.

The bigger corporation thus compromises helping the consumer meet their needs by artificially replicating something desirable. The typical consumer has an inherent trust with the medical field and assumes that the label must be true. However, behind the attractive sounding name on the bottle is a deal between the company and the dermatologists, where the doctors are paid to recommend the product to patients. This compromises both the product and

“On the less obvious side of the issue are the sneaky ways major corporations take shortcuts to deceive the customers.” industry has employed generations of people, and eliminating it would result in mass unemployment. But looking in the long run of human existence, wouldn’t it make sense to rid our society of the cancerous business now and save the lives of millions of future smokers, rather than preserve one generation of employees?

Another similar example is the alcohol industry, which relies on alcoholics to fuel its enormous profit margins. Though, this should not be surprising, considering that the message the industry provides its market is that the product they sell is some elixir of entertainment, which guides buyers to believe it cannot be abused. Meanwhile, nearly 17.6 million people in our country are alcoholics. Moderate consumption is fine, yes, but that is not what the business end wants. The business end wants you to purchase their product frequently and in large amounts.

If everyone actually drank moderately, the industry would be in

the doctor, leaving the consumer to be a last ditch thought rather than the primary.

Capitalism is an easy structure to exploit. Selfishness runs rampant and trickles down to directly affect the health of the population. In doing this, it also instills a mindset into millions of people that money is life. This is just as damaging to the psyche as self-destructive products are to the body. It perpetuates a social system that places emphasis around monetary accumulation and in turn, diminishes valuable egalitarian qualities such as compassion. The original system that was implemented was surely not meant to damage, but gradually it has evolved into a radically different environment that paradoxically harms its consumers instead of helping them.

Michael Agnello is a Collegian contributor and can be reached at magnello@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 - Jaclyn Bryson 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 - Collegian Sports Staff COMICS DESK EDITOR - Tracy Krug GRAPHICS DESK EDITOR - James Desjardin, Randy Crandon, Noa Barak, Caroline O’Connor

Arts Living THE MASSACHUSETTS DAILY COLLEGIAN

Thursday, February 19, 2015

“I want to be Bob Denver on acid playing the accordion.” - Nicolas Cage

Arts@DailyCollegian.com

FILM

‘Last Five Years’ Wachowskis’ hit a new creative low Ascending’ hits the right notes ‘Jupiter siblings’ worst work

A superficial yet affective romance

By Nathan Frontiero Collegian Staff

and strong shadows. The colors unsubtly embody the metaphorical death of the relationship. The aesthetic is effective in its simplicity.

Substance, not style, is where “The Last Five Years” runs into trouble.

Jason Robert Brown’s music is lively and irresistible, but his lyrics only skim the surface of Cathy and Jamie’s marital woes.

Only some of the songs address their deeper individual problems head-on, and even then it’s only through a few choice words.

“A Miracle Would Happen” gives Jamie the chance to playfully explain his temptation to pursue other women as his literary career takes off, and the corresponding sequence in the film offers one of the sharpest integrations of Brown’s music into the narrative. But later, the sinister lament “Nobody Needs to Know” fails to identify his issues with the marriage beyond a fleeting mention.

Cathy’s challenges are similarly skimmed over.

The source material’s shortcomings reduce the plot to an unfortunate trope. Jamie’s infidelity is overemphasized, as is Cathy’s devotion to her husband. The musical is meant to identify flaws in both spouses, but the film ends up squarely pegging Jamie and Cathy as respective marital villain and victim. I could dig deep to interpret the hints that Brown’s songs drop about their evenly shared responsibility for the relationship’s collapse, but the film doesn’t present it in a way that makes me care.

Both Kendrick and Jordan deliver vibrant, committed performances, and have excellent musical chops to boot. The rub is that their characters aren’t especially interesting under close scrutiny. The immediate visual medium of film magnifies the musical’s unfortunate lack of depth. I accepted what was happening onscreen on the music’s merit, but the film felt largely like one long music video – an extended montage meant to be accepted without much questioning.

Jamie’s a rising novelist. Cathy’s a struggling actress. They’re falling out of love. I wanted to know them more intimately than that. Instead, I felt as if Brown and LaGravenese meant for me to simply go along with the overview they chose to show with a that’s-just-how-itgoes shrug. In that sense, my genuine enjoyment of “The Last Five Years” feels cheapened.

It’s tremendously easy to fall in love with the idea of someone. This is the reason for most of my romantic problems, and it’s an apt explanation of my feelings for “The Last Five Years.”

I built up an admittedly romanticized idea of what the film adaptation would be and led myself to believe that there was a great deal of extra depth to the musical beyond its catchy collection of songs. The truth is that “The Last Five Years” looks and sounds pretty, but is ultimately a superficial exploration into broken romance.

One of my close friends introduced me to Jason Robert Brown’s “The Last Five Years” when we were freshmen, and I’ve been listening to the original cast recording regularly ever since. I’ve never seen the stage musical itself, and that added degree of separation gave me an uncanny feeling while watching writer-director Richard LaGravenese’s film adaptation. The film was like an interesting person I’d heard lots about from mutual friends but had never directly interacted with. Our long-awaited meeting was pleasant, but not without its disappointments.

The film does succeed in adapting the musical’s narrative structure. The story, based on Brown’s own failed marriage, plays out as a series of vignettes, alternating between the husband and wife’s perspectives. Cathy Hiatt’s (Anna Kendrick) timeline begins at the end of her marriage to Jamie Wellerstein (Jeremy Jordan) and moves in reverse. Jamie’s timeline moves in chronological order from when the two start dating and intersects with Cathy’s at their wedding. The resulting tonal shifts are often wrenching, but they never feel unnatural. The director hews loyally to the arc of the musical and keeps its complicated emotional core intact.

LaGravenese does make one critical departure from the source. Stage productions keep Cathy and Jamie totally isolated until their storylines meet. The film translates this separation into stilted one-sided interactions between the characters. As one lover sings, the other stays mostly silent, reacting with gestures or minimal verbal responses.

I found this stylistic choice bizarrely thrilling. It’s an ingenious way to illustrate two people growing apart.

There’s a great example of this at work that’s one of my favorite moments in the film. During “I Can Do Better Than That,” Jamie is driving with Cathy on his way to meet her parents. The shot is framed from the driver’s side of the car. Jamie is in the right of the shot, closer to the camera and looking off-screen toward the road ahead. Cathy sits against her side of the car and faces directly toward Jamie as she sings. At this point in the film we’ve been heavily reminded that their marriage goes south, and this 30-second shot creates an invisible but undeniable barrier between them.

Cinematographer Steven Meizler’s distinct use of color signals to the viewer which part of the timeline we’re in as the film progresses. Scenes set in the early part of Jamie and Cathy’s marriage are lit in the bright, glossy hues that befit their respective summers in New York and Ohio. As their relationship deteriorates, the color palette becomes noticeably funereal, with heavy Nathan Frontiero can be reached at emphasis on blacks, grays nfrontiero@umass.edu.

By Eli Fine Collegian Staff In “Jupiter Ascending,” Channing Tatum plays Caine, a half-man, half-dog who flies around on magical levitating boots saving Jupiter Jones (Mila Kunis) from a variety of perilous alien-related situations. That sentence alone should convey how ridiculous this movie is. At one point, Caine tells Jupiter that they can’t be involved romantically because he “has more in common with a dog” than with her, and she replies, “But I love dogs.” That should give you a sense of the quality of dialogue in this film.

This is an atrocious movie.

However, if you happen to be interested in the convoluted intricacies of fictional space-politics, this might be the movie for you. If you are intrigued by the idea of watching Eddie Redmayne, who is currently nominated for an Oscar for his portrayal of Stephen Hawking in “The Theory of Everything,” whisper his way through a terrible performance as a villainous immortal royal alien, this might be the movie for you.

If you are curious what Mila Kunis looks like when she is being swarmed by CGI bees that recognize her royal blood, this is likely the movie for you.

The plot is barely worth describing. Suffice it to say, Balem (Redmayne) and his siblings, who are part of a family of ancient alien royals, spend the whole film fighting, or more accurately, standing around and arguing, over control of the Earth. Meanwhile, Tatum flies around protecting Kunis from all manner of aliens who try to, at various times, kidnap her, marry her and kill her.

Why anybody thought

MCT

Mila Kunis as Jupiter Jones in the Wachowski’s latest sci-fi film, “Jupiter Ascending.” this movie was a good idea is beyond me – there are no redeeming qualities here.

The performances are especially bad. Kunis is dreadful as the lowly maid who finds out that she is alien royalty.

She doesn’t seem to know that she’s in a high-budget sciencefiction action movie and she plays it like one of the many awful rom-coms that she’s been a part of over the years.

Not that she’s given much to work with. Her character is so helpless and so lacking in any sort of motivation or action that one wonders why she’s the protagonist of this film in the first place.

Slightly better is Tatum, whose decent, fittingly intense performance is made laughable by his ridiculous costuming. His blond spiky hair and beard, pointy ears and dark eye shadow are eyesores.

Sean Bean shows up for a few minutes, but for no particular reason.

The romance between Kunis and Tatum’s characters is the most cringe-wor-

thy element of this film. This could be chalked up to their utter lack of chemistry, but that’s just excusing the filmmakers for lazy screenwriting, because, in reality, the god-awful script is the issue here. The Kunis-Tatum relationship is barely developed, from the point early in the film when he kidnaps her for his master, to the end of the film when everybody is living happily ever after. We are given no reason to care if they end up together, no reason in fact, to care if they end up alive.

One of the more promising aspects of “Jupiter Ascending’s” marketing campaign was its touting of the film’s visuals. After all, “Jupiter Ascending” is a product of the Wachowski siblings, creators of “The Matrix.” A space epic in their hands surely has potential to be visually interesting at the very least.

Wrong.

The “space” depicted in “Jupiter” is one of the more generic depictions of space that we’ve seen in cinema

recently. With the spectacular space films “Gravity” and “Interstellar” still fresh in our minds, it’s nearly impossible to look past the laziness that went into the space CGI in this film. The alien cities are boring sci-fi futuristic city landscapes. The action is lackluster and couldn’t be less exciting. The aliens are bland and badly rendered – in the moments where they are supposed to be frightening, they come off as silly instead.

“Jupiter Ascending” is two hours and seven minutes long. If I wasn’t reviewing it I would’ve walked out at the halfway point. Hopefully, studios will learn their lesson from this misstep and hesitate before giving the Wachowskis another big budget film. Their career trajectory since “The Matrix” hasn’t been very promising, and this will hopefully solidify their status as filmmakers of the past, not the present.

Eli Fine can be reached at elazarfine@ umass.edu.

All the king’s action for the ‘Kingsman’ Perfect balance of comedy and energy

By Nathan Frontiero Collegian Staff

“Manners.

Maketh.

Man.” So goes the smantra of Harry Hart (Colin Firth), an old school, sharpdressed spy, and one of the many charms of writerdirector Matthew Vaughn’s latest feature, “Kingsman: The Secret Service.” Based on a spy comic series by Mark Millar and Dave Gibbons, “Kingsman” has many of the allures of a modern James Bond flick, but as the director and his cast slyly remind the viewer throughout the film, this isn’t that type of movie.

In the film’s opening scene, a spy plane flies into the frame and fires at a stone fortress as a thick classic rock guitar riff ignites in the soundtrack.

Debris splatters off of the edifice, then bounces forward toward the camera and shifts into the words of the opening credits. These bizarre visuals kick off the film with an absurd swagger that never lets up. This is a movie that hits the ground strutting.

“Kingsman” works as both a giddily energetic action movie and a playful sendup of its broodier genre contemporaries.

Meta references to James

Bond and Jack Bauer alike are peppered throughout the film, goosing its already enjoyable aspects with a welcome touch of self-aware humor. Plenty of laughs abound even when the film isn’t making fun of itself or other movies. Pointed pop culture references show up when least expected, and Vaughn’s script – which he co-wrote with Jane Goldman – is embedded with razor sharp, impeccably timed wit.

The game afoot is this – Gary “Eggsy” Unwin (Taron Egerton) runs himself into trouble with the law, but an unexpected visit from Hart introduces him to the world of the Kingsman, a camaraderie of dapper lads and lasses working in secret to keep Merrie Olde England (and the world) a safe place. Hart sees potential in Eggsy despite his track record.

Cue the training montage.

Vaughn keeps the main action rolling in tandem with the physically and psychologically rigorous Kingman tryouts. It’s endlessly fun to watch Eggsy verbally spar with the gentrified jerks that make up most of the training program’s ranks. Egerton reveals exceptional comedic chops as Eggsy. He effortlessly deflects and serves up snark, and provides some of the film’s biggest laughs.

MCT

Colin Firth as Harry Hart (left) and Taron Egerton as Gary ‘Eggsy’ Unwin (right).

The rampant (and consistently good) comedy throughout “Kingsman” can make you forget you’re watching a high-pulse spy movie, but the jokes often hit as hard as the bullets.

Vaughn directs the violence with a videogameesque grandeur, and also makes phenomenal use of classical music and danceable pop to create hard, hilarious ironies with the grislier images onscreen.

Even though “Kingsman” spends much of its energy gleefully skewering the dourer tendencies of the James Bond films, it winningly adapts the concept of the cartoonish Bond villain. Samuel L. Jackson steals nearly all of his scenes as Richmond Valentine, a batty Internet billionaire with an incredible sense of style and a

particularly dark agenda.

Jackson wonderfully hams it up as Valentine, who brings his own brand of ridiculousness. Valentine frequently vocalizes his fear of both blood and guns, which creates a whole other bevy of ribsplitting moments across the film.

Come to think of it, I didn’t actually know where the plot of “Kingsman” was going for about two thirds of the movie. It doesn’t matter; the film is an absolute blast regardless of how well you follow the espionage. It’s a spectacle of comedy and carnage, and offers a refreshing take on the spy genre.

Nathan Frontiero can be reached at nfrontiero@umass.edu.

B6

THE MASSACHUSETTS DAILY COLLEGIAN

Thursday, February 19, 2015

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