Massachusetts Daily Collegian: Jan. 28, 2015

A BOND OVER

BASKETBALL

Bjork scales it back on the personal ‘Vulnicura’

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Wednesday, January 28, 2015

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Dining services nominated for seafood award University eyes stronger sustainability, innovation

By Anthony Rentsch Collegian Staff

The U n ive r s i t y of Massachusetts Dining Services is up for another award – and this may be its biggest yet.

Last fall, UMass Dining Services was nominated for the Seaweb Seafood Champion Award in the Innovation category. According to the Seaweb website, UMass has identified itself as one of the top four institu-

tions or individuals worldwide that “applies creative new solutions to address: ecological challenges, existing market needs and barriers to sustainability.”

The other three nominees are Project: Inshore from the United Kingdo., Dave Kellian, a pelagic fisher from New Zealand and Anova Food’s Fishing and Living of the United States.

The winner will be announced on Feb. 9 at the SeaWeb Seafood Summit in New Orleans. And while Ken Toong, executive director of Auxiliary Enterprises, admitted he was humbled by the nomination, he was excit-

ed UMass Dining Services was being recognized for their work.

“We always take a leadership role,” Toong said of UMass’ involvement in the food services industry. “Sustainability and providing healthy and delicious food – those are our core values.”

They are values that have been present in UMass’ recent commitment to incorporating seafood into its dining halls. One of the strategies that Toong said highlights the importance placed on sustainability is the use of local, underutilized fish.

According to Toong, most of the seafood we eat – particularly

salmon and cod – comes from Alaska. Within the last eight years, Toong said UMass has made a concerted effort to serve fish caught in New England, purchasing over $1 million of sustainable seafood every year.

“It is important for us to strike a balance,” he added. “We want fish to be available tomorrow, too.”

In the past, some varieties of local fish were too flaky and too difficult to prepare, according to Toong. With improved culinary training and innovative ideas like the seafood taco, Toong said seafood is on the menu almost

Sledding the snow day away

every day.

Not only is UMass Dining Services doing its part to support sustainable seafood, it is also working with students to refine their menus. Toong said student input has led to a gradual reduction in the appearance of beef on the menu and a heavier focus on white meat and fish. And the numbers do not lie – UMass students eat an average of 21 pounds of seafood per person per year as compared to the national average of 14 pounds, according to a press release.

see AWARD on page 3

UMass receives research honor UM recognized for campus initiatives

By Elizabeth Kane Collegian Staff

CHRISTINA YACONO/COLLEGIAN

Students take advantage of the snow day Tuesday as they sled down the hill at the Central Residential Area.

The University of Massachusetts received a research honor from the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching this past month, recognizing the University as a community-engaged institute.

The University received the honor due to its many student and faculty-run initiatives that benefit both the college curriculum as well as the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, according to a press release. This is UMass’ second time receiving the honor, as it was previously recognized in 2008.

According to John Reiff, director of the office of Civic Engagement and ServiceLearning, benefitting the University and the state through knowledge and

community engagement has been a focus of UMass since its founding, emphasizing the honor’s importance for the University.

“This honor is important for UMass for two reasons,” Reiff said. “One is that it recognizes an important element of our character as an institution that has been here for decades. UMass was founded as a land grant college ... and the idea of a land grant college is that people in the college are working to learn about the world, and the idea of a land grant mission is to take ideas and benefit the people outside in society, in the Commonwealth.”

In addition to honoring the University’s past, this award also supports community engagement as a future goal for UMass.

According to Reiff, community engagement was named as one of three goals see

HONOR on page 2

MASSPIRG pushes Boston takes brunt of blizzard beating against purchase New York and New Jersey not hit as hard of antibiotic meat

Students take aim at fast-food giant

By Cecilia Prado Staff Writer

It’s no secret the popular fast-food chain McDonald’s has been selling meat raised with antibiotics. But the MASSPIRG Education Fund has recently launched a campaign it believes can pressure the powerful franchise to end it once and for all.

The movement involves spreading awareness about the practices of local businesses, and encouraging millennials to ask McDonald’s for an antibiotic-free menu.

Beth Ramey, the MASSPIRG organizer at the University of Massachusetts, said this strategy has the potential to work because of McDonald’s sensitivity toward public opinion.

“We want people to know that this isn’t too big of a

problem to tackle. They can make a difference,” Ramey said.

The organization is also starting an advertising campaign, organizing press events encouraging young people to boycott the food establishment and using social media to state their opinion about its practices.

Students who are participating in the campaign are increasing their social media presence. Some students have already participated by uploading pictures on the UMass MASSPIRG Facebook page with the McDonald’s logo and signs with hashtags such as “#MeatOurNeeds” and “#NotAHappyMeal.”

An official report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention stated that at least two million Americans fall ill from antibiotic resistant infections each year, causing at least 23,000 deaths see

CAMPAIGN on page 3

By Tina Susman and Vera Haller Los Angeles Times

NEW YORK —Travel bans were lifted in New York City and New Jersey and mass transit churned back to service Tuesday after a storm predicted to be a crippling monster proved far less threatening than forecast.

But to the north, blizzard conditions in New England on Tuesday were pummeling Boston and airline travel in the northeast was all but paralyzed with thousands of canceled flights.

Schools were closed in Boston, where snow accumulation could exceed two feet, and coastal residents, especially in Cape Cod, braced for the possibility of damaging floods. Maine and New Hampshire had declared states of emergency.

However the nation’s largest city, which officials virtually shut down Monday night in anticipation of anywhere from a foot to three feet of

snow, woke up to cold temperatures and a several inches of snow.

The nation’s largest city, which officials virtually shut down Monday night in anticipation of anywhere from a foot to three feet of snow, woke up to cold temperatures and a several inches of snow.

In other words, it was a typical winter morning.

Further east, on the tip of Long Island and along the northeastern coast, blizzard warnings remained in effect through Tuesday as a result of the storm, which moved into the area on Monday.

The storm tracked 50 to 75 miles farther east than expected, the National Weather Service said, resulting in less snow than predicted in many areas, including Manhattan.

Snowfall totals illustrated the storm’s fickle nature. Islip Airport on Long Island, about 50 miles east of Manhattan, reported more than 20 inches of snow. La Guardia Airport, about eight miles from Manhattan, reported 11 inches, while John F. Kennedy International Airport had about eight inches.

MCT

A cross-country skier in the fresh snowfall on the campus of Trinity College on Tuesday afternoon, Jan. 27, 2015 in Hartford, Conn.

New York’s Central Park had 7.8 inches. Farther north, Worcester, Mass. had 25 inches of snow.

In New York and New Jersey, city and state officials defended their decisions to impose travel bans, close schools and take public transit systems off line, saying they did it in response to dire warnings of record-breaking snow that began Sunday as the storm moved toward the region.

“I was being told as late

as 9 o’clock last night that we were looking at 20-inch accumulations in parts of New Jersey,” Gov. Chris Christie told WABC-TV on Tuesday, after his state and New York lifted their travel bans. “We were acting based on what we were being told.”

“Fortunately,” Christie added, “they were wrong.”

At a news briefing Tuesday morning, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo noted see

BLIZZARD on page 2

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THE MASSACHUSETTS DAILY COLLEGIAN

Wednesday, January 28, 2015

THE RU N D OW N

Conservatives take credit for derailing border bill

ON THIS DAY...

B y Matt F uller

In 1979, CBS News Sunday Morning debuts with the original host and cocreator, Charles Kuralt.

Kuralt retired at the age of 60 and was the longest tenured on-air personality at the time.

WASHINGTON — With inclement weather grounding planes across the country Monday, GOP leaders pulled a border security bill from the floor schedule this week, citing the weather and an already condensed schedule.

One day later, though there are no blizzards conveniently scheduled for next week, Speaker John Boehner wasn’t about to commit to a timeline for resurrecting the border bill – a delay that some hard-line conservatives are already chalking up as a victory.

“We’re going to continue to talk to our members about these issues,” Boehner said following a Tuesday morning conference meeting. “When you look at it, it wasn’t the border bill itself. Frankly, it was issues that weren’t even in the committee’s jurisdiction.”

The Ohio Republican was asked when the House would vote on the contentious border bill, but that wasn’t the question he answered. “We’re going to have to walk through all of this with our members, and when we’re ready to move, we will,” he said.

Boehner acknowledged that leaders had already

AROUND THE WORLD

Saudi Arabia Greeted by a crowd of royalty and a band playing the U.S. national anthem, President Obama landed in Riyadh on Tuesday for a hastily planned visit to Saudi Arabia, a key U.S. ally.

Obama cut short a trip to India in order to pay his respects during the mourning period for King Abdullah, but the visit is also intended to start the reign of the late monarch’s successor and half-brother, King Salman, on a positive note for the U.S. Los Angeles Times

Lebanon BEIRUT — A video released Tuesday purports to show a Japanese hostage saying he and a captive Jordanian pilot will be killed within 24 hours if Jordanian authorities do not release a jailed female bomber.

Both men are believed to be in the hands of Islamic State militants, who control large swaths of Syria and Iraq.

Los Angeles Times

Cuba Fidel Castro lent his support to a thaw in U.S.Cuban relations, the first public comments by the former president since the agreement was reached last month, according to a letter published in state media.

“We will always defend the cooperation and friendship with all peoples of the world, including our political opponents,” Castro, 88, wrote in a letter published Monday in staterun Granma. “The Cuban president has taken the appropriate steps according to his prerogatives and the powers granted by the National Assembly and the Communist Party of Cuba.”

Bloomberg News Distributed by MCT Information Services

DailyCollegian.com

CQ-Roll Call

BLIZZARD

that officials had not mandated massive closures last November during a storm in Buffalo because they had not expected a huge snowfall. However, seven feet of snow came down, paralyzing the city and causing a dozen deaths.

“You can have significant loss of life in these situations,” Cuomo said, emphasizing that he preferred to err on the side of caution.

Nevertheless, officials were sure to be criticized by locals, many of whom had no way of getting to work or other appointments due to the disrupted transit system.

Officials said it would take several hours to bring the subways back to full speed.

At 7:30 a.m., Manhattan’s Upper West Side was eerily quiet for a weekday morning.

Streets were empty and the only sounds were the buzzing of snowblowers and the crunch of shovels hitting the pavement as building workers cleared sidewalks.

On Broadway, the neighborhood’s main commercial artery, vehicles had been replaced with a trickle of people who were walking to work. They walked in the well-plowed street, which was clearer than most sidewalks.

faced a couple of revolts in the early weeks of the 114th Congress. “Yeah, there have been a couple of stumbles,” he said, referring to an abortion bill leaders pulled last week and the border bill they pulled this week – but he said it was all in an effort to listen to the American people.

“It’s all about working with our members, listening to our members, and working through what are some very difficult issues,” he said.

But as Republicans continue to work through the issues on the border bill, and as many rank-and-file members maintain that pulling the border bill was a reflection of the weather cutting an already shortened week shorter, conservatives coming out of the GOP conference meeting Tuesday claimed they were the real storm that brought down the border bill.

“I know there were several people who raised concerns with us moving forward this fast,” Rep. Raul R. Labrador told CQ Roll Call.

Specifically, Labrador said conservatives were concerned that the Department of Homeland Security funding bill still hadn’t been taken up in the

continued from page 1

One man who declined to give his name said he was walking from his home on West 113th Street to his finance job in TriBeCa, a distance of several miles, because he had no alternative.

Most businesses were closed with the exception of a McDonald’s restaurant and a few 24-hour delis.

Jose Padilla, 47, said he had come down from his apartment to see if the subway stop at West 96th Street and Broadway had reopened.

It had not. He said elected officials had overreacted to the storm by shutting down all transportation.

“This is too much drama,” he said. “They’re making it difficult for everyone.”

Nikki Stark, 70, said she had come down to West 94th Street and Broadway to look for an open newsstand. She couldn’t find one.

“I’ve lived through worse,” Stark said of the storm. “But I did the usual, buying enough food for an army when I could have just crossed the street.” She pointed to a deli open for business.

As for shutting down the subway system, she said, “I think that was over the top.”

Senate, nor had a number of immigration proposals been heard in the House Judiciary Committee.

“It sounds like they’re going to wait on the Senate to work their will on the DHS funding bill, which is what we should have been doing all along,” Labrador said.

The Idaho Republican said some of the credit for holding up the border security bill belonged to the new group conservatives have been putting together for the last few weeks, the House Freedom Caucus.

The HFC held its first official meeting Monday night, and while the roughly 40-member powwow was supposed to be about bylaws, the meeting ended up largely being about immigration and the border security bill.

“We have 40 conservatives with 40 different ideas,” Labrador said, explaining the rationale for the new group. “And we’re less successful because we’re taking 40 different ideas to the leadership. It’s better to have 40 conservatives working together to take one idea to the leadership.”

Whether those 40 conservatives can actually coalesce around a single idea may prove difficult,

HONOR

“It sounds like they’re going to wait on the Senate to work their will on the DHS funding bill, which is what we should have been doing all along.”

Rep. Raul R. Labrador but Labrador said they were already having an impact on the border measure.

The bill has been dubbed

by Homeland Security Chairman Michael McCaul of Texas as “the toughest border security bill ever,” but many conservatives believe it doesn’t do enough to enforce immigration laws.

Other c o n s e r va tives, like Mo Brooks of Alabama, just want to see whether GOP leaders will fight President Barack Obama on his executive action on immigration.

“Whether the House and Senate leadership will live up to those representations, only time will tell,” Brooks said.

Indeed, many House Republicans are waiting to see what the Senate can pass on the DHS funding bill. The House-passed bill blocked the executive action, but it seems unlikely that Senate Republicans could find enough - or any - Democratic votes to go along with such a plan. And it seems just as

unlikely that Obama would sign a measure effectively blocking his immigration action.

Homeland Security A p p r o p r i a t i o n s Subcommittee Chairman John Carter of Texas said he planned to meet with his Senate counterparts, “this week or next,” to see what they could accomplish.

“We’re going to fund the Department of Homeland Security,” Carter said. “I can guarantee you.”

But while Republicans wait on the Senate, the question remains whether McCaul’s border security bill will make it out of the House, which could portend further action on immigration.

According to House Appropriations Chairman Harold Rogers, R-Ky., the border security bill was “alive and kicking.”

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approved by the faculty senate and made part of its new strategic plan in May 2013. “(The strategic plan says that) one goal for UMass is to become seen as a destination of choice for high-achieving high school students from across the state because what we offer in terms of education is really excellent,” he said. “The second big goal is that we be seen as an investment of choice for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to put tax dollars into us because what we do benefits the state.”

The future goals of UMass, in addition to its past, prompted the University to re-apply for the research honor last year.

According to a press release, “the classification follows a year-long documentation and application effort by the UMass Amherst Faculty Senate Council on Public Engagement and Outreach and the office of Civic Engagement and Service-Learning, along with members of the faculty, leaders of major campus engagement initiatives, deans and associate deans.”

The application included 15 major initiatives that are connected to the University

“We could have substituted every one of those listed and the application still would have been really good. All the partnerships (associated with UMass) are very good.”

John Reiff Director of the office of Civic Engagement and Service Learning and its mission of community engagement. Among those was the Center for Women and Community, which has provided free counseling among other services for Hampshire County residents for over 30 years, and the Adoption Mentoring Partnership, which aims to pair UMass students that were adopted with similar children in the community.

While 15 initiatives were focused on in the application, over 500 community engagement projects are associated with UMass, and the selection of which projects to showcase was challenging, according to Reiff. “(During the application process) a group of us looked at a much larger list. We wanted to showcase examples that came from different parts of the campus,” he said. “We could have substituted every one of those

listed and the application still would have been really good. All the partnerships (associated with UMass) are very good.”

Reiff, who was heavily involved in the application process for the research honor, hopes the honor will inform more people about the initiatives that UMass undertakes for community engagement.

“This might catch people’s attention and see that UMass is into that,” he said.

“Having said that, new initiatives will happen anyway.

They are driven by our students, our faculty and our administration. The value (of the honor) is to let people outside of the community realize that this is an important part of the campus.”

Elizabeth Kane can be reached at erkane@umass.edu.

THE MASSACHUSETTS DAILY COLLEGIAN

DailyCollegian.com

Wednesday, January 28, 2015

A3

Obama plays India card Democrats have Heck to lead in dance with China hunt for 2016 candidates

By Anita Kumar

McClatchy Washington Bureau

NEW DELHI — Behind the pomp and largely behind closed doors, one issue lurked in the background of President Barack Obama’s visit to India: China.

The United States is working to renew its relationship with India in part because the White House hopes that New Delhi’s increasing economic and military strength could tip the power balance in Asia, as China continues to rise.

Obama has engaged Chinese President Xi Jinping in recent months, but he still sees Xi’s country as an economic rival and an aggressive neighbor that’s picked territorial fights with the Philippines, Vietnam, Japan and others.

“It’s always the elephant in the room,” said Sadanand Dhume, a resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute who studies South Asia issues. “Both the U.S. and India will suggest they are not ganging up on China. But both countries are profoundly worried about China.”

In size alone, India – slated to surpass China to become the world’s most populous nation in two decades – is a major player on the globe. But it will be a long time before India can compete with China in other crucial ways, including economic and military power, in part because it has far more poverty and deficiencies in infrastructure.

In talks with India’s new prime minister, Narendra Modi, Obama pledged to help India work toward becoming a global leader in a variety of ways: $4 billion in trade and investment, a compromise that clears the way for U.S. companies to help build India’s energy sector and a new 10-year defense framework.

There’s still much to do.

India accounts for only 2 percent of U.S. imports and 1 percent of its exports.

Annual bilateral trade has reached $100 billion, but that’s still less than a fifth of U.S. trade with China.

Ashok Wadhwa, 55, a longtime business owner who has a car and motorcycle shop in New Delhi,

AWARD

said he hoped Obama could help boost manufacturing in India. He said China took India’s manufacturing ideas on everything from clothes, electronics and toiletries, and then undercut India’s products.

“China has killed the India market,” he said.

“Business is finished.”

Obama, who left India for Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, didn’t mention China much publicly, if at all, on his three-day trip to India. But he often spoke of the values shared by India and the United States, the world’s largest and oldest democracies, respectively.

“My confidence in what our nations can achieve together is rooted in the values we share,” Obama said in his final speech in New Delhi on Tuesday. “For we may have our different histories and speak different languages. But when we look at each other, we see a reflection of ourselves.”

Obama’s trip to New Delhi was being watched closely in China, which has become increasingly aggressive in trying to counter U.S. influence in Asia.

Even before Obama arrived, Chinese state media attempted to play down the significance of his visit.

“The shortened three-day visit is more symbolic than pragmatic, given the longstanding division between the two giants, which may be as huge as the distance between them,” China’s Xinhua news agency said in a commentary Sunday.

In a separate piece, China’s Global Times newspaper, an arm of the Communist Party, warned China not to “fall into the trap of rivalry” with India set by the West. “This fixed pattern of thinking was created and hyped up by the West, which, with ulterior motives, regards the ‘Chinese dragon’ and the ‘Indian elephant’ as natural rivals,” according to the commentary published Monday.

In response, deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes said the United States and India weren’t looking for confrontation with China or even to contain China, but that they were committed to the rule

of law.

“The purpose of that cooperation is to ensure stability in this part of the world, to ensure balance in this part of the world ... that you don’t have a situation where bigger nations can bully smaller ones, but you’re working cooperatively,” Rhodes said.

For years, the United States had prodded India to become more involved in the region to counter China.

Modi appears to want to use the relationship with the United States to counter China, benefiting from the increased access to American technology that could help him develop his country.

But despite India long considering China competition and a neighbor it shares a border dispute with, India had been reluctant to act.

“The U.S. is naturally interested in India stepping up to the plate and taking a greater interest,” said Robert Hockett, a professor at the Cornell University law school who studies global economics. But, he said, India has long been worried about being “used” just to counter China.

Stumbling blocks remain in the India-U.S. relationship.

India remains concerned not only about the United States’ relationship with rival Pakistan, but also its relationship with China.

Obama and Xi started to build their own relationship through a summit in California in 2013 and then in China last year, when they announced landmark new targets for greenhouse gas emissions intended to help curb climate change.

Rep. Ami Bera, D-Calif., the nation’s only IndianAmerican member of Congress, who accompanied Obama to India, said the United States and India had important trading relationships with China that shouldn’t preclude the United States and India from having a close relationship.

“It doesn’t have to be India or China playing off each other,” he said. “It can be how do you find that mutually beneficial nexus for all three countries.”

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As a leader in the field, UMass Dining Services has also assumed a role as an educator. According to Seafood Champion Awards website, UMass, in the long run, is working toward creating an environment where other institutions can easily and affordably utilize local seafood, thus “(reduc-

CAMPAIGN per year. According to CDC director Tom Frieden, humanity could be facing a “post-antibiotic era” if no actions are taken.

One of the biggest causes for the emergence of antibiotic resistant bacterial strains is the overuse of antibiotics in agriculture. According to the Food and Drug Administration and the Natural Resources Defense Council, 80 percent of all antibiotics sold in the United States are used on livestock and poultry.

Despite the public health consequences, farmers routinely administrate the drugs to otherwise healthy animals in order to pro-

ing) their environmental impact, (saving) endangered fish populations and (increasing) the resiliency of the New England fishing industry.”

This all makes for a pretty compelling resume in the judges’ eyes.

Although Toong has his fingers crossed that UMass will win, he has his

eyes on the future, looking for ways to continue providing sustainable and healthy food at the dining halls.

“If you do the right thing you will be rewarded,” he said. “It tells us, in many ways, that we are on the right course.”

Anthony Rentsch can be reached at arentsch@umass.edu.

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mote growth, and prevent contracting infections caused by the unsanitary conditions they live in. The FDA also mentioned in its 2012 annual report that the amount of antibiotics crucial to human health sold to farms grew by 16 percent from 2009 to 2012.

McDonalds is the single largest purchaser of meat products in the United States. Each year, it serves about one billion pounds of beef. In 2003, the company launched a policy asking providers to reduce the amount of antibiotics used in their animals.

However, it does not apply to all suppliers and does

not include the use of antibiotics to prevent disease from unhealthy living conditions.

According to a press release, MASSPIRG activists believe that tacking this company’s practices would significantly reduce the unnecessary use of antibiotics in the nation, and lead toward the eradication of the problem.

“Being a public health issue, this wouldn’t only benefit McDonald’s costumers,” Ramey said. “It would benefit all of us.”

Cecilia Prado can be reached at sprado@umass.edu.

By Rob Hotakainen McClatchy Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON — The new Congress is not even one month old, but Washington state Democratic Rep. Denny Heck is already looking ahead to the next session, making plans aimed at reviving his party in the 2016 elections.

After taking a beating in 2014, Democrats in the House of Representatives have tapped Heck to lead their 25-member recruitment committee for next year.

It’s a big assignment for Heck, 62, a second-term congressman from Olympia.

With 247 members, Republicans now enjoy their strongest majority in the House since the Great Depression, and Democrats will need to pick up a net of 30 seats to take back control.

But Heck, a former state legislator, is off and running in his new job with the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, known as the DCCC, eager to lead a comeback and already wooing candidates.

“I can think of nothing more important than getting good people to run for office,” Heck said in a statement released by his office.

It’s uncertain exactly what Heck will do in his new role, where he will travel or how much time it will take away from his regular duties.

The congressman could not be reached for comment.

Heck’s spokeswoman, Kati Rutherford, said that any request to talk to Heck had to go through the DCCC. And DCCC spokesman Josh Schwerin said that Heck was not available for an interview.

Republicans were puz-

zled by Heck’s appointment, expecting the post to be filled by a Democrat with more experience in tightly contested congressional districts.

“In order to regain the majority, Democrats needs to recruit candidates that can win in 30 swing districts,” said Ian Prior, national press secretary for the National Republican Congressional Committee, known as NRCC. “Therefore it is a curious decision to place Denny Heck - a Democrat sitting in a district Obama twice won by 16 points - in charge of recruiting candidates that can win in tough, competitive districts.”

Heck, a member of the House Financial Services Committee, won his last two congressional races easily, with 59 percent of the vote in 2012 and 55 percent in 2014. He lost his first bid for Congress in 2010, receiving 47 percent of the vote in a race for an open seat won by Republican Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler.

Heck won praise from fellow Democrats, who said he was a good choice for the job.

Washington state Democratic Rep. Derek Kilmer, one of Heck’s closest allies in Congress, said Heck has had “a long history of inspiring folks to get focused on solving problems” and serve their communities.

“He will be a big part of bringing in a new group of legislators dedicated to getting our country and our Congress back on track,” Kilmer said.

And Democratic Rep. Ben Ray Lujan of New Mexico, the DCCC’s new chairman, said Heck has been “tireless in his efforts to recruit candidates” who will fight for the

middle class.

“Democrats are on offense heading into 2016 and Denny is playing a critical role in making sure we have strong candidates running all across the country,” he said in a statement released by the DCCC. Roll Call, a Capitol Hill publication, said that Heck already has made his first recruitment trip, going to Illinois on the weekend of Jan. 10-11 to meet with potential candidates to challenge two Republican congressmen, Rodney Davis and Mike Bost.

And two weeks ago, The Hill, another Capitol Hill newspaper, said that Heck had met in Washington, D.C., with Annette Taddeo, a former lieutenant governor nominee from Florida who is considering a run against freshman Republican Rep. Carlos Curbelo in his Miamibased district.

But Republicans noted that the DCCC is off to a tough start in New York, struggling to find a candidate for a special election to fill a seat held by former GOP Rep. Michael Grimm, who announced his resignation in December after pleading guilty to tax evasion.

After New York Assemblyman Michael Cusick on Sunday became the latest Democrat to decide not to run for the vacated seat, Prior said that DCCC officials had “put their incompetence on full display,” failing to line up a candidate in the first big test of the 2016 election cycle.

Opinion Editorial THE MASSACHUSETTS DAILY COLLEGIAN

“Here’s to feeling good all the time.” - Cosmo Kramer

Wednesday, January 28, 2015

Editorial@DailyCollegiancom

Narendra Modi and the US forge strengthening ties President recent visit lucrative for States and

Barack Obama’s to India proved both the United India. Bilateral

Julian del Prado trade between the two countries will increase five-fold, and a long-awaited nuclear deal will allow U.S. based companies to supply India with civilian nuclear technology. Furthermore, the trip was symbolic success. Obama’s appearance next to India’s Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, at the Delhi Republic Day celebration sent a clear message of unity to go with concrete diplomatic actions.

The U.S. agreed to sell further military hardware to India, while a military parade showed off India’s current strength. Modi in particular has stressed the alignment of India with the U.S., and his

was removed in an election.

According to Reuters, “diplomats and politicians in the region say India played a role in organizing the opposition against pro-China Rajapaksa.”

Regardless of the truth of these allegations, Modi saw serious gains as a result of new leadership in Sri Lanka.

The new President of Sri Lanka, Maithripala Sirisena, has promised to make India a focal point of his foreign policy. Additionally, he will be reviewing all projects given to Chinese firms. In particular, a sea reclamation development in Colombo would be of strategic value to Beijing. At the very least, India has a chance at building more trust with the Sri Lankan government, which twice lied about the docking of a Chinese submarine in Colombo under Rajapaksa.

In the context of these

“…an international community in which the U.S. and India have a more prominent...role in the creation of international law is more appealing to me than law created by competition between the U.S. and China.” diplomatic actions as Prime Minister coincides with his rhetoric.

Modi appears to be one of few world leaders whose relationship with Barack Obama has a personal element.

Breaking protocol, Modi met Obama at the airport personally when he arrived, setting the tone for Obama’s visit.

These types of actions from both leaders convey a message of unity and trust.

Modi said that he and Obama “have forged a friendship,” and that “there is openness when we talk.” Obama hasn’t been shy about his relationship with Modi, either. He said at a joint press conference that India and the U.S. “had declared a new friendship to elevate our partnership.”

Particularly important in the context of global affairs, Modi is moving India away from its history of nonalignment in favor of an alliance with the U.S. Agreements reached during Obama’s trip to India are part of a larger diplomatic pattern being implemented by Modi.

This diplomacy, known as “Act East,” is mainly focused on checking China’s increasing regional power. As part of “Act East,” Modi has strengthened relations with Japan and Vietnam, who have territorial disputes with China. With the force of the Indian military behind them (which in turn involves the U.S., depending on the strength of U.S.-Indian relations), these nations decrease the risk of being steamrolled by the increasingly robust Chinese military in the future.

India has also had either a stroke of good luck or a very successful covert operation in Sri Lanka, where pro-China president Mahinda Rajapaksa

gains and diplomatic moves, Obama’s visit to India is the beginning of a new alliance framework as world leaders look to the Pacific. In order to counter China as a rising military power while still fostering global economic growth, the governments of the U.S. and India need more than an economic and military relationship. Modi has proven popular in the U.S. when he has given talks there, and Obama has been portrayed favorably in India for the most part as well.

The relationship between the two countries, at every turn, is portrayed with emotion by media sources.

I happen to think that the relationship between the two largest democracies on Earth should be somewhat emotional. With the challenges that “Act East” and the United States’ Pacific pivot will bring for global stability, a united populace is just as important as a united government.

Because of this, I am happy for the media circus surrounding their interactions.

Furthermore, an international community in which the U.S. and India have a more prominent (i.e. powerful) role in the creation of international law is more appealing to me than law created by competition between the U.S. and China.

The history of the Cold War indicates that a bipolar world is rather unstable, or at least has the potential to be.

However, because it is far too early to tell the future of U.S.-Indian relations, I can only say that we are off to a strong start for now.

Islamophobia is a form of racism that needs to be stopped The Charlie Hebdo offices in Paris were attacked on Jan. 7 by Islamic extremists, leaving 12 dead. The French satirical magazine received death threats over its cartoons depicting the prophet Muhammad.

Alisina Saee-Nazari Global reaction to the terrorist attack has been overwhelming, but the hateful and Islamophobic retaliation remains undiscussed.

Coverage of the Paris attacks in the United States left the world power mute, and this silence speaks volumes. The U.S. has a Muslim population between five to seven million people, and rather than seizing the opportunity to condemn Islamophobia, our nation remains hesitant to reject its Islam-bashing narrative, popular amongst politicians and constituents. This fear is ill received, not only giving a religion the responsibility of its followers, but also giving Muslims the responsibility of other Muslims.

Growing up in post 9/11 America, I’ve learned that the war on terror is the war on me. As a child of Iranian parents, I’ve been racially condemned, despite not being religious.

Islamophobia not only affects Muslims, labeling them as fundamentalists, but also creates racist images of what a Muslim looks like, affecting those who fit the stereotype.

This stereotype of a Muslim is often portrayed with brown skin, covered in hair, and wearing a turban or burka. Non-Muslims have fallen victim to anti-Muslim hate crimes and remain targets to racial profiling because they fit a certain description.

Since the Charlie Hebdo attacks, 54 anti-Muslim hate crimes have been documented throughout France. China recently banned burkas in Urumqi, the capital of Xinjiang, where the largest Muslim population in China can be found.

“Xinjiang officials later banned students and civil servants from fasting for Ramadan, and authorities in the Xinjiang city of Karamy barred anyone wearing burqas, niqabs, hijabs or simply ‘large beards’ from taking public buses,” Lily Kuo wrote in a Quartz article.

Many people have resorted to Twitter to hash out and hashtag their concerns. #JesuisAhmed has been trending in support of Ahmed Merabet, a Muslim police officer killed in the Paris massacre. Other recent campaigns have also tried to counter the trend towards public societal distrust of Muslims.

Non-Muslim residents of Sydney, Australia responded to a Muslim hostage-taker with #illridewithyou.

An act of solidarity in response to heightened Islamophobia in the wake of an incident, Australians offered to protect those who might have been targeted by Islamophobes

have been stripped of their right to practice their religion and build mosques.

Around the same time of the Paris massacre, an NAACP building was bombed in Colorado Springs, but barely received news coverage.

This act of terrorism wasn’t deemed “significant” enough despite being in the U.S. and a race-based hate crime. The coverage it did receive from ABC, NBC and FOX referred to the gender and vehicle of the attacker, but failed to infer his religion and ideology. A 40-year-old white man committed an act of terrorism, yet his race and religion wasn’t held accountable.

And why should it? Christianity and its followers aren’t responsible for this man as they aren’t responsible for the Westboro Baptist Church.

We have so elegantly succeeded in distinguishing extremists from Christianity, but continue to be victims of our ignorance once that religion is Islam.

Incidents like Charlie Hebdo prove that Islamophobia is simply racism. Disguised as rational thought, integrating Muslims with terrorism is toxic.

Unifying the majority through fear is effective until people realize that violence and fear are products of the unifier. Warmongering rhetoric, such as “war on terror,” has been our national narrative for the past decade and this cancer has mestasisized, affecting the whole country.

As a victim of Islamophobia, I’m sick and tired of feeling like I don’t belong. I would like to step into Logan Airport in Boston without the constant stares or fear that I’m perceived as a threat. Our rhetoric needs to reflect reality, which is Islam, like any religion, doesn’t promote violence or peace. Society can’t define a violent person by a single characteristic, such as their religious beliefs.

“#Jesuischarlie has succeeded in creating a universal symbol to protect our First Amendment rights, but has failed to protect American Muslims who have been stripped of their right to practice their religion and build mosques.”

by walking with them on the street and riding with them on public transport.

Campaigns like these are necessary in order to reverse the popular presumptions that fundamentalism is the face of Islam, something that #Jesuischarlie has failed to do.

Many supporters have risen to the occasion to stand in solidarity with Charlie Hebdo in exercising their free speech, but failed to support the Muslim who gave his life protecting their right to do so. #Jesuischarlie has succeeded in creating a universal symbol to protect our First Alisina Saee-Nazari is a Collegian Amendment rights, but has failed contributor and can be reached at to protect American Muslims who asaeenazari@umass.edu.

Julian del Prado is a Collegian columnist and can be reached at jdelprad@umass.edu.

t h e m a s s a c h u s e t t s D a i ly C o l l e g i a n BUSINESS

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ARTS ASSISTANTS

SPORTS ASSISTANTS

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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 - Mark Chiarelli COPY EDITOR - Jaclyn Bryson WEB PRODUCTION MANAGER - Christina Yacono NEWS DESK EDITOR - Catherine Ferris O p /E d DESK EDITOR - Maral Margossian ARTS DESK EDITOR - Erica Garnett SPORTS DESK EDITOR - Andrew Cyr COMICS DESK EDITOR - Tracy Krug GRAPHICS DESK EDITOR - Noa Barak

Arts Living THE MASSACHUSETTS DAILY COLLEGIAN

Wednesday, January 28, 2015

“Don’t cry because it is over. Smile because it happened.” - Dr. Seuss

Arts@DailyCollegian.com

MUSIC

Björk gets personal on new breakup album, ‘Vulnicura’ Artist gives tragic recount of love

By Jackson Maxwell Collegian Staff

Leave it to Björk to go from one subject matter on one album to its complete and utter opposite on her next. The Icelandic songstress’ last album, 2011’s “Biophilia,” focused almost entirely on her fascination with the laws of science and how they play into the ways of the universe.

It was an album that could not have looked further outward – with skygazing lyrics and instrumentation that were at times distant to a fault.

With its extensive iPad app tie-in, “Biophilia” seemed to be so focused on being a piece of technology that it sometimes forgot to be an actual album.

On “Vulnicura” however, the subject matter snaps – painfully – back to earth.

A song cycle detailed, with gut-wrenching candor, the demise of Björk’s longtime relationship with artist Matthew Barney.

“Vulnicura” is a breakup album in the truest sense of the word. Musically, it is mournful and cavernous. Lyrically, it is simply devastating – with every

stage of the relationship’s demise on prominent display.

As always, the beats Björk creates – with the help of renowned Venezuelan producer Arca – sound entirely like the future, creating the perfect amount of space for her tortured vocals. The other prominent musical feature of the album though, reaches back to past centuries.

The strings that are a constant presence throughout “Vulnicura” intensify the album’s most painful moments. When put together, the two elements work fluidly together, always giving each other enough room to make their own statements alongside Björk’s.

“Vulnicura” was originally intended for a March release, but its leaking led to the album being rush-released on Jan. 20.

Though it is unfortunate that “Vulnicura” was leaked before Björk intended for it to be heard, it was a fortuitous twist of events in other ways.

Make no mistake, this is not an album of danceable summer jams. It’s an album of nine scattered slow burners, each operating in its own, massively scaled sonic world. With its

self-examination, glacial tempos and dark lyrics, this is the sort of record that makes the most sense in the dead of winter. It def initively examines the end of a relationship and its immediate aftermath and is a record that demands to be pondered and listened to alone.

Opener “Stonemilker” has a musically optimistic tone compared to the rest of the album, but the bright strings that provide the song’s main melody are a bit misleading. Even right off the bat, the listener is cast right into the throes of what is clearly a declining relationship.

“Moments of clarity are so rare / I better document this,” Björk croons over the song’s lonely strings.

One can sense a bit of restrained optimism in Björk’s tone and singing on “Stonemilker,” but right from the start of “Lionsong,” even that smidgeon of optimism is fading. Entirely unaccompanied, Björk’s lonesome voice opens the track by singing “Maybe he will come out this / maybe he won’t / somehow I’m not too bothered either way.”

But just when it seems that she has moved on, Björk spends the entirety of the devastatingly spare

H E A LT H

ALEX4C/FLICKR

Björk is embodied as a saint in her notable eccentric fashion choices.

“History of Touches” searching for answers. “I wake you up in the middle of the night / to express my love for you,” Björk croons at the song’s beginning.

During the song, she seems to realize that the romantic history her and her partner have shared have become just that – history.

It is a powerful realization, one that perfectly sets the stage for the album’s centerpiece, “Black Lake.”

From the opening drawn out chord changes of “Black Lake,” one gets the immediate sense that Björk has nothing left of her relationship to cling on to, and that she is now alone. The 10-minute song is a stunning exploration of her feelings of emotional

are an emotionally taxing listen would be the understatement of the century.

That is why the fascinating rhythms and restlessness of “Notget” are such a refreshing change of pace and tone.

“Atom Dance” is also off-kilter, with nervy strings and Antony Hegarty’s unmistakable vocals. “Mouth Mantra” and “Quicksand” serve as effective codas – continuing the album’s final sonic shift, while never giving the listener any complete answers. The latter ends on an incredibly abrupt note, with one last, fittingly unpredictable twist.

“Vulnicura” is an impressive work – an album that is both incredibly simple in concept and enormous in scope.

Completely unforgiving in its depiction of the demise of a relationship, it is an incredibly difficult listen for those not in the midst of the experience themselves. For those who are currently going through, or have been through a situation like this though, it is a widescreen panorama of the entire process. Love has never sounded so painful.

emptiness. It rises and falls with Björk’s own feelings, shifting from a strings-led ballad one minute to an EDM piece the next.

Musically and lyrically, it shares quite a bit of DNA with “Family,” which is equally as lengthy and deep. With some of the album’s most unique musical moments, including a startling cello solo around the halfway mark, “Family,” shows Björk at both her most lost and her most angry. “Is there a place / where I can pay respects / for the death of my family?” she asks, sounding accusatory, confused and desperately sad.

To say that those two tracks, clocking in at a Jackson Maxwell can be reached at combined 18-plus minutes, jlmaxwell@umass.edu.

FA S H I O N

Starting at your computer Fashion at SAG Awards screen has negative effects brings both good and bad Symptoms include vision problems

By Erica Garnett Collegian Staff

As college students, staring into computer screens and smart phones are as necessary to our daily routine as brushing our teeth or eating breakfast. However, according to the American Optometric Association, anyone who continuously stares into a screen for more than two hours a day is at risk for developing Computer Vision Syndrome. CVS does not refer to one specific eye problem, but encompasses a whole range of eyestrain and pain. The most common symptoms include eye strain, headaches, dry eyes and neck and shoulder pain.

CVS is usually caused by poor screen lighting, glares from the computer screen, an inappropriate viewing distance and unhealthy seating posture. When the eyes are continuously having to focus and align with what they are seeing, simply looking back and forth to a piece of paper when doing homework causes them to constantly refocus, putting a lot of strain on the eye muscles.

Mark Rosenfield, a professor at the State University of New York College of Optometry, was quoted in the Washington Post and stated there are many problems with computer screens, such as the dramatic decrease in blinking when viewers stare at a screen as well as the viewing position of a computer screen being relatively level with someone’s eyes, causing them to stare

Computer vision syndrome does not refer to one specific eye problem, but encompasses a whole range of eyestrain and pain. The most common symptoms include eye strain, headaches, dry eyes and neck and shoulder pain. straight ahead. This leads to severely dry eyes.

Diagnosing the syndrome is dependent upon patient history and susceptibility. WebMD explains that the syndrome is more likely to occur in those who already have an eye problem. Also, as people continue to get older, the lens of their eyes becomes less flexible, causing the ability to focus on near and far objects to diminish. Tests can be done by an optometrist to determine whether or not someone has CVS. Dr. Matt Gardiner, an ophthalmologist at Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary in Boston and director of ophthalmology emergency services, said he sees a lot patients seeking treatment for CVS, according to the Boston Globe.

He says, “At least every eighth patient has this complaint – it’s super common.” This holds true in research showing that 50 to 90 percent of those who work with a computer show at least some symptoms of eye trouble.

CVS and its symptoms will worsen without change of computer usage and without a consultation from a doctor. However, most of these are temporary, treatable and will go away. The American Optometric Association recommends obtaining regular eye care exams,

blinking when using the computer, making sure your feet are resting flat on the ground, positioning the computer screen at about four to five inches below eye level and 20 to 28 inches away from the eyes, purchasing a screen glare filter and taking 20 second breaks every 20 minutes by staring 20 feet or so away to give the eyes a break.

There is even technology that ironically caters to improving eyesight and preventing CVS, such as the free app created by Gang Lou, an Associate Scientist at Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary. The app is called SuperVision Magnifier and helps magnify images and provide extra light by using the phone’s camera. It includes an image stabilization feature so that the enlarged type or images don’t cause the eyes to shift and move around so much. Part of being tech savvy as young adults also includes being smart about the ways in which it is affecting the body, so make an appointment at University Health Services or with your primary care physician if you experience symptoms of CVS, or simply start by implementing these tips to be preventative and proactive about your eyesight as a college student.

Erica Garnett can be reached at egarnett@umass.edu.

Rewarding risks and gaudy mistakes

By Booth Moore Los Angeles Times

LOS ANGELES — We saw dull (Felicity Jones in a blush-pink, off-theshoulder Balenciaga column), dowdy (Julia LouisDreyfus in a subdued black Monique Lhuillier gown with long black lace sleeves) and disappointing (Julianne Moore in an emerald-green beaded Givenchy that lacked that extra oomph).

And we saw more plunge fronts than a water park in high summer.

We also saw a lot of just plain dark outfits, a veritable blackout on an 80-degree day. Lorelei Linklater looked as if she were auditioning for the role of Morticia Addams in a black velvet Honor gown with bell sleeves. Why so serious? It’s January in L.A., not New York.

And poor Rosamund Pike, pilloried for her sidescooped white Vera Wang gown at the Golden Globes, didn’t even stop to talk to the TV cameras about her ruffled black high-low Dior gown.

But the SAG Awards red carpet Sunday wasn’t a total dud.

ReeseWitherspoon looked modern and confident in a one-shoulder white Giorgio Armani gown with matte sequin detailing and a deep scoop back. The gown was fitted to perfection, and her sleek ponytail was the right accompaniment. Another white light? Maggie Gyllenhaal in a slinky crepe gown with a sheer bodice panel

by Thakoon Panichgul.

MCT Jennifer Aniston wore a vintage gold gown by John Galliano at the SAG Awards.

Pregnant or not, Keira Knightley was one of the best-dressed in a deep-plum gown by British designer Erdem Moralioglu. The dramatic hue offset the gown’s delicate lace tiers.

If you were looking for unusual, Emma Stone wore a Dior design that was one part tuxedo dress, one part sheer ball skirt _ altogether sassy and different.

Another cool customer, Claire Danes, chose a Marc Jacobs gown that was anything but standard issue. In olive-drab green, the column dress was embellished with sparkly cabochons. It was a riff on Jacobs’ spring 2015 runway collection, which riffed on uniforms of every stripe. And it was the first time I’d seen a Jacobs design on a major awards show red carpet, maybe ever. (Jacobs left his job as creative director of Louis Vuitton after 16 years in 2013 to focus on his own label in New York, and this has to be a feather in his cap.)

When it came to stripes, always a joyful choice for the red carpet when it’s nice and warm, Tatiana

Maslany wore a sideflounced gown with allover stripes that recalled beach umbrellas in St. Tropez. The gown was an Oscar de la Renta from 2013. Lupita Nyong’o was thinking along the same lines; she wore a cheery striped and watercolor floral, long sleeve Elie Saab gown.

The biggest fashion risk taker of the night was probably Jennifer Aniston, who chose a vintage gold gown

by John Galliano for the simple reason that she’d fallen in love with it, as she told E! Vintage was a big trend on the red carpet in the late 1990s and early 2000s, but lesser so now that luxury labels pay stars big bucks to be walking billboards. Aniston also took a gamble on Galliano, the designer who lost his job at Dior after being caught making racist comments on a camera phone and who recently restarted his career at Maison Martin Margiela.

The dress itself wasn’t tremendous, but at least Aniston proved that when it comes to fashion, she’s her own women.

B6

Wednesday, January 28, 2015

THE MASSACHUSETTS DAILY COLLEGIAN

Comics

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

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Snowmageddon? More like “no”–mageddon!

D inosaur C omics

B y R yan N orth

Bah–Ball

W ondermark

B y D avid M alki aquarius

HOROSCOPES Jan. 20 - Feb. 18

leo

Jul. 23 - Aug. 22

Sometimes you just got to look up the way to I cannot believe we only get a delayed spell “armageddon” to make the title quote opening. I guess I’m going to have to dig out more professional. my snow shoes now. *sigh*

pisces

Feb. 19 - Mar. 20

virgo

Aug. 23 - Sept. 22

Childhood joy is lost when yesterday you thought “a snow day would be more productive homework-wise in March.”

Quick, go plant all your legume seeds while the powder is still fresh! If you do it right now, you’ll have snow peas ripe by May!

aries

Mar. 21 - Apr. 19

libra

Sept. 23 - Oct. 22

taurus

Apr. 20 - May. 20

scorpio

Oct. 23 - Nov. 21

gemini

May. 21 - Jun. 21

Hey. Hey you. Yes you. You should read the advertisements above and do what they suggest. Tell your friends.

Pouring sugar onto the snow under a maple tree is also maple sugar snow, but I assure you does not taste anything like maple snow.

There’s approximately nothing good about the sound of hearing “millions of genetically modified mosquitos to be released in area”.

Chesnuts roasting on an open fire or cold pizza? Honestly, I think it’s pretty obvious the best snow day appetite quencher.

sagittarius

Nov. 22 - Dec. 21

It’s not very good sportsmanship to have the architecture major hoarded for your team at the igloo building contest.

It’s quite amazing, really, that the world has not yet perfected and manufactured the “iPod flea.”

cancer

capricorn

Jun. 22 - Jul. 22

Light snow flurries have an extreme bias against those sufferers of dandruff. It’s sucha cruel, cruel world.

Dec. 22 - Jan. 19

It’s pretty realistic thing to stay indoors on a snow day to avoid being eaten alive by the hoards of rogue yetis.

THE MASSACHUSETTS DAILY COLLEGIAN

DailyCollegian.com

NFL

continued from page 8

there.”

There were plenty of football questions for the Patriots, who will face the Seattle Seahawks in the Super Bowl Sunday. Players were asked to evaluate their opponent and talk X’s and O’s.

But this day was more about personality and absurdity. Rob Gronkowski was asked who is the worst (Julian Edelman) and best (himself) dancer on the team.

He was also asked for a Super Bowl guarantee. “The game will be on Sunday,” Gronkowski said.

Edelman was asked about Gronkowski. “A big goofball, a big baby,” Edelman said.

And Belichick, the guy who reveals so little about himself, happily answered the question about the last three movies he has seen.

“Unbroken, American Sniper,” Belichick said. “Those two for sure. I think back to what I saw in the summer, but those two for sure.”

His favorite movie starring Joe Pesci?

“Home Alone,” Belichick said. “Definitely ‘Home Alone.’

No question about that. ‘Home Alone’ and ‘Home Alone 2’ ... [and] ‘My Cousin Vinny.’ Put them all in there.”

Belichick, of course, referenced “My Cousin Vinny” during the Saturday NEWS conference in which he attempted to explain the ball-deflation issue.

This time, he was smiling.

Other players were asked about owner Robert Kraft’s Monday night defense of his team and about the issue causing a distraction.

“I’ve tried to ignore it,” Shane Vereen said. “I’ve paid special attention to my TV and my TV channels and I’ve stayed away from a lot of the ESPN and a lot of the sports channels, but we’ve done a good job as a team to stay focused and just keeping our eyes and our head on the prize.”

The arena floor was full of ex-NFL players working for media outlets, including Willie McGinest, Kurt Warner, Deion Sanders and Michael Irvin.

Comedian J.B. Smoove was in one corner of the US Airways Arena, a guy dressed as a super hero in another corner.

Olympic commentators Tara Lipinski and Johnny Weir, in town as NBC’s tailgating correspondents, were roaming around and asking fashion questions.

They also declared their love for the Patriots and Brady.

Players were asked to sing, read from books and pose for selfies. There were questions about facial hair and their choice of numbers.

Brady was asked where his wife, Gisele Bundchen, was.

“Home with the kids,” he said.

Belichick was asked by Jerod Mayo’s daughter _ of course it was Jerod Mayo’s daughter _ what his favorite stuffed animal is. “I like a little puppet that you can kind of put your fingers in _ it’s a little monkey _ and then he can talk and move his fingers and nod its head,” Belichick said. “So he can kind of talk back to you.”

Brandon Browner later said he doesn’t like talking to the media, so he was apprehensive about Media Day. “But I’ve enjoyed it,” Browner said.

The Seahawks availability was highlighted by Marshawn Lynch’s five minutes at the microphone. Wearing a hat and sunglasses, he fielded 29 questions and offered the same answer for each.

“I’m here so I won’t get fined,” he repeated, again and again.

But other Seahawks happily participated. Coach Pete Carroll took on all questions, quarterback Russell Wilson was his usual smiling self and other players answered one request after another.

For Brady, his sixth Super Bowl appearance and Media Day is simply part of the drill. It beat not being at the Super Bowl.

“This is pretty awesome,” Brady said. “This is special. This is a great experience for these players. It means we’re doing something pretty special and to get a chance to play in a big game, to play in the Super Bowl, is all of our dreams growing up.”

Wednesday, January 28, 2015

B7

FRIENDSHIP

continued from page 8

said.

Davis was already impressing Washington when Coleman arrived.

“Trey Davis is one of the toughest jokers I’ve ever coached,” Washington said.

“Looks are very deceiving. He is unquestionably one of the hardest workers I’ve ever seen. He’s relentless man. Trey would get up and go to the gym at 5 a.m. – now this is at 10th, 11th and 12th grade – every morning. He’d be there from 6-6:30 a.m. Then he’d go home, get cleaned up, come to school, go to the gym at lunch, get a workout in and then workout or practice after school. And he did that religiously for three years.”

The prospects of adding Coleman to the mix – Woodrow Wilson is one of the strongest programs in the area – was tantalizing.

But Coleman and Davis never got a chance to fully play together. Coleman didn’t play during his freshman year (Davis’ junior season) and he missed his entire sophomore season after tearing his ACL in his left knee.

So they made a name for themselves in a less conventional manner.

Finding their way Is Davis a pickup basketball legend? Well, it depends on who you’re asking.

Upon hearing the question, his mother, Melissa Davis, chuckled and rolled her eyes in a way only a mother could. His father at least gave the idea some credence, referring to his son as a “big time” pickup player.

Washington seemed pretty sure.

“Trey was a legend in pickup games here,” Washington said. “He didn’t lose a bunch of games, man … I’ve watched that kid play pickup games where, going to 10 (points), he may miss one shot.”

Davis initially agreed. “Yeah,” he said, a grin slowly forming. His trademark confidence quickly followed.

“Yeah, pickup legend man.

Trigga Trey.”

Davis may have been a legend on his own. But combined with Coleman? Well, the Dallas pickup basketball circuit had issues on its hands. According to Davis, they’d play with other Division I players such as LeBryan Nash (Oklahoma State), Keaton Miles (Arkansas) and Thomas Gipson (Kansas State).

On occasion, college coaches would watch. What they saw was Davis, an undersized and fearless scorer and Coleman, a skilled big with high basketball IQ. One instance formed the idea of both Coleman and Davis playing college basketball together.

“I think that was a real pivotal moment,” Coleman said. “Because on that particular day we were on the same team. We were playing real good and it was just like ‘Yeah man, we need to do this for real.’”

Around that time, Kellogg was looking for a point guard at UMass.

Kellogg knew Washington from his time as an assistant coach at Memphis under John Calipari. He

STYLE

Trey had some of the raggediest bodies I’ve ever seen when they left.

“Man, it is amazing to see what those kids look like now.”

A ‘Special’ bond

CADE BELISLE/COLLEGIAN

Trey Davis (12) is averaging 10.7 points in 31 minutes per game as a starter for UMass. recruited Woodrow Wilson product Anthony Randolph – who instead chose LSU and was later selected in the first round of the NBA Draft.

But Kellogg and Washington stayed in touch and it was Washington who directed Kellogg toward Davis.

Davis initially committed to Atlantic 10 rival George Washington, but requested a release from his scholarship when the Colonials made a coaching change. Kellogg said he spoke with Washington, who thought Davis would be a good fit. Davis agreed and after spending a year playing at two different prep schools, arrived in Amherst.

Now it was time to sway Coleman.

Coleman initially committed to Missouri, but Davis was undeterred. After months of his friends’ UMass recruiting pitch, he succumbed.

“When I went back home me, him and (Washington), we just sat down and talked,” Davis said. “I told him ‘I think it’d be a better fit here.’ We looked at it, kept talking when I went back home and over the phone and he ended up decommitting … I really kept nagging him until then, but it worked.”

“Just seeing how the school was and the program and the style of play, and also he was here, it was a no-brainer that I was going to come here,” Coleman said.

Washington wasn’t surprised.

“As soon as (Coleman) changed his mind, it was like boom, Trey and Zach were talking,” Washington said. “They were probably talking all along. Trey may have been the biggest recruiter for UMass.”

“From growing up together and playing at the rec center or things like that, we always played well together,” Coleman said. “It was like, ‘Man, one day we could go to college together.’”

Coleman committed to UMass and the plan was set. At last, both had decided on a school. And while UMass wasn’t the first choice – it turned out to be the best one.

A pair of ‘jokester and pranksters’ The Minutemen knew they had a point guard who could score in bunches and a skilled forward

capable of playing multiple positions. But what wasn’t on the scouting report was Davis and Coleman’s ability to hone in on a practical joke.

“Trey is a jokester and a prankster and Zach is a jokester and a prankster,” Washington said.

“Maybe most people don’t know that. I think it’s one of the reasons those guys get along so well, because they’re always thinking of things.”

Washington fell victim to their jokes firsthand.

He was traveling with the pair earlier this season to watch UMass face LSU. When Washington went through security metal detectors at the airport, Davis and Coleman hatched a plan.

Davis schemed to hide Washington’s shoes as they passed through the detectors. Coleman would stand lookout, hoping Washington wouldn’t catch on.

They almost got away with it too, but Washington caught him out of the corner of his eye at the last moment.

According to Washington, it wasn’t Davis’ first time trying to pull off a trick.

“Trey Davis was thinking about being a magician some time,” Washington said. “He was doing magic tricks at school. This joker would do magic tricks at school.”

“There’s so many, man,” said Coleman of Davis’ hijinks. “His funniest days were in high school in that locker room.”

Of course, Davis also remembers Washington getting the upper hand. One time, Davis and a teammate thought they’d skip out on running with the rest of the team.

They returned to their lockers to find them stuffed with basketballs.

Washington instead provided them makeshift lockers in a storage closet.

It’s something they can all laugh about now. According to Washington, their sense of humors haven’t changed as they’ve grown up. But he certainly wasn’t going to give up an opportunity to sneak a joke in at their expense, either.

“I’m going to say this,” Washington said. “I’m giving a big shout out to (UMass strength trainer) Rich Hogans. Because Zach and

Following games, UMass produces a video highlight of important plays from the previous game to play in the locker room for the team called “Specials.” Prior to the Rhode Island game, none of Coleman’s plays ever made the final cut.

“Zach’s always like, ‘Man, I can’t wait for my plays to be on Specials,’” Davis said.

Coleman laughed when he heard Davis’ comments and admitted it was a good feeling to finally earn recognition from game experience. Coleman’s seen Davis’ plays make the highlight reel before and, after spending nearly 18 months on campus, could finally say the same, much to the excitement of Davis.

“It was exciting,” Davis said of Coleman’s performance. “Just to have him have the crowd excited for him, to see him and smile and be happy … I’m just happy for him and to see him smile. I told him to be patient and his time came.”

As the season progresses, the pair should have more opportunities to showcase their bond.

Davis is averaging 10.7 points per game in 31 minutes per game while Coleman continues to see an increase in playing time and is averaging 11.2 minutes per game.

It’s just another area for the pair to be seen together. They live together off campus and always lead UMass’ pregame layup lines.

“As they grew older, the bond grew stronger,” said Curtis Davis.

“Zach’s just like a nephew to me, he’s been in our house forever. He’s family to us.”

The relationship’s foundation is rooted in Texas and if plans worked out initially, there’s a chance neither would be at UMass. But to those around them, everything’s worked out perfectly.

“I’m absolutely ecstatic that they’re (at UMass),” Washington said. “It was a great choice for both, I think they’re going to do extremely well.”

The Minutemen often preach a family atmosphere centered around a “brotherhood.” Davis and Coleman may offer UMass’ strongest example.

“They’re good friends man,” Washington said. “They’re like, really, really good friends. They’re like brothers.”

“We do everything together,” said Davis of his relationship with Coleman, who doubles as his roommate at school.

“When you see him, you see me. That’s just really how it is.

I got his back, he’s got mine. We work together and do different things like that, not just on the court but off the court. It’s probably the biggest relationship I got.”

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

continued from page 7

ties up for them.

But wait, this system can work in the NCAA, just look at Kentucky. The Wildcats are currently ranked No. 1 in the polls and are one of only two teams left unbeaten, sitting at 19-0 on the season.

Well obviously it will work for Kentucky. When you have coach John Calipari and handfuls of the nation’s top recruits waiting at your doorstep, then yes, you can get away with it.

I’m sorry Mullins Militia.

I hate to break it to you, but that type of talent isn’t coming through Amherst any time soon.

But didn’t it work for the Minutemen last year? They did make it to the NCAA tournament and were ranked as high as No. 13 nationally.

Again, that system can be effective to a certain degree.

However, last year when UMass showed stretches of success – primarily in the beginning of the season – once teams started to slow down the tempo, making it more of a chess match, the Minutemen struggled. They aren’t a team that thrives off half-court sets. That just simply

isn’t how they operate.

They also don’t have Mr. Do Everything, Chaz Williams.

As a matter of fact, the overwhelming art of team-basketball is slowly becoming a lost art form across the NCAA, and you can partially thank the Amateur Athletic Union for that.

AAU basketball is slowly becoming the downfall of good basketball in America. It turns a 5-on-5 game into a 1-on-1, who’s better contest. No teamwork, no passing, no fundamentals – just the “me show.”

Even one of our generation’s greats, Kobe Bryant believes that AAU basketball is ruining our youths’ ability to understand the game at a complete level.

“AAU basketball,” Bryant said to ESPN on Jan. 3. “Horrible, terrible AAU basketball. It’s stupid. It doesn’t teach our kids how to play the game at all so you wind up having players that are big and they bring it up and they do all this fancy crap and they don’t know how to post.

They don’t know the fundamentals of the game. It’s stupid.”

Maybe it’s me. Maybe I need to change with the times and

CADE BELISLE/COLLEGIAN

The Minutemen are 10-9 on the season and 3-3 in Atlantic 10 play. stop hoping for another version of the 1986 Celtics or 2014 Spurs to come walking through the doors at the Mullins Center every night to play pass-first basketball.

Who knows, maybe UMass’ newest point guard recruit Luwane Pipkins kid can find a way make it work like Williams

did But please, if this style of play isn’t leaving the game anytime soon, can we at least get some sort movement to change things up every once in a while?

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

THE MASSACHUSETTS DAILY COLLEGIAN

Wednesday, January 28, 2015

@MDC_SPORTS

‘They’re like brothers’ MEN’S BASKETBALL

Trey Davis and Zach Coleman grew up together in Dallas, shined on the basketball court and are now continuing their journey in Amherst.

By Mark Chiarelli

Z

Collegian Staff

ach Coleman officially introduced himself to his teammates, Massachusetts men’s basketball fans and the Atlantic 10 Conference on Jan. 17.

Those who know Coleman weren’t surprised to see him explode for 13 crucial points in a comeback victory over Rhode Island. Neither was Coleman, who patiently bided his time to make a significant impact for the Minutemen.

But the 5,273 fans in attendance?

They were surprised.

Coleman first nailed a 3-pointer to cut the URI lead to 53-50 with five minutes, 34 seconds remaining.

The next possession, he forced a steal and missed a breakaway dunk only to end up with an open 3-pointer from the wing which he made to draw UMass even at 53-53. The Mullins Center roared in approval.

It was a rousing hello from the redshirt freshman.

Coleman added a fadeaway jump shot to narrowly beat a shot clock violation to push the UMass lead to 57-53 in what is, to date, his best collegiate performance. It came as such a surprise, Rams coach Danny Hurley simply referred to Coleman as “a freshman” in the postgame press conference.

“My confidence is through the roof,” Coleman said following the game. “It was great to have the little opportunity and I think it was good for everyone else to see it from me as well.”

But those closest to Coleman – such as UMass guard Trey Davis, who assisted on his last three shots – are the first to say it’s been a long time coming. If anyone knows Coleman’s game, it’s Davis, who Coleman affectionately refers to as like a family member.

“To see Zach out there do what he did was really big for the team to let us know that he’s here,” Davis said.

“It was special,” Coleman said.

“It was like (Trey and I) had been there before, we had been there done that. It was a good feeling to be able to do that with my brother.”

Davis and Coleman often work on those plays together in practice. But their chemistry runs much deeper than a handful of two-hour practice sessions.

No knows them better than their high school coach Pat Washington, who still talks to both regularly.

His relationship with UMass coach

CADE BELISLE/COLLEGIAN

Trey Davis uses a crossover move to get past a defender in UMass’ 75-69 win over Florida State on Nov. 23.

Derek Kellogg, which stemmed from an earlier relationship via a recruit, helped bridge Davis and Coleman to UMass – albeit in unconventional manners.

It allowed the pair to continue to play together and continue to develop a bond which formed around basketball. In the case of Davis and Coleman, they’re practically family.

“Kids know each other from the time they walk out of the crib,” Washington said.

Growing up Davis would never let Coleman drive to school.

According to Davis, Coleman, who is two years younger, would catch a ride with him every day to Woodrow Wilson High School in Dallas, Texas, where both were students. Davis said Coleman would try and negotiate his way into the driver’s seat.

“He used to try and drive but I was like nah, nah, nah,” Davis said.

The pair would get breakfast on the way – preferably donuts – and go straight to school. They’d eat lunch and often play basketball together and then go home. Davis said he spent most of the day with Coleman in school.

ALEC ZABRECKY/COLLEGIAN

Zach Coleman (13) is averaging 3.1 points and 2.1 rebounds per game this season.

Coleman, who at 6-foot-7 is seven inches taller than Davis, often followed Davis’ path as they grew up.

“Zach, believe it or not, was smaller than Trey at one point,” said Curtis Davis, Trey’s father.

“He used to come watch Trey play and watch Trey work out. They had the same trainer when they were younger … as they grew older, the bond grew stronger.”

Davis met Coleman in the third

FOOTBALL

grade, when the two would go through drills together at a local church and played together at local recreational centers.

Davis was already two years into his tenure at Woodrow Wilson when Coleman decided to join him.

They reunited.

“When Zach knew Trey was here, he said, ‘Hey, maybe it’s a good place for me,” Washington see

FRIENDSHIPon page 7

Sports@DailyCollegian.com

The UMass way isn’t a good way

A

nyone that’s watched the Massachusetts men’s basketball team play over the past few seasons has certainly noticed its highmotor, run-n-gun, frenzy of entertaining basketball.

You might have even caught a fast break, halfcour t alleyoop on ESPN’s Sportscenter Top 10 Plays when Andrew you sat down with your mornCyr ing cup of coffee and breakfast.

And as exciting as that style of play may be – when it’s working – at its core, the UMass brand of basketball isn’t a good one. It’s playground basketball.

It’s by no means fundamentally sound, and at times it’s difficult to watch when nothing is happening on the court.

It doesn’t take a basketball expert to understand what the Minutemen are doing offensively. The center or power forward sets a high ball-screen for the guard, the guard then looks to either drive to the basket or have the center post up on the block. And what is everyone else doing during this as the two-man game unfolds?

Standing, watching and waiting.

Far too many times UMass players stand along the perimeter and watch the play develop with the hope that the basketball will somehow fall into their hands for an open shot.

And with a 29.5 percent 3-point shooting percentage, opposing teams aren’t flying all over the place to close out on outside shooters.

There needs to be more offball movement, screens or frankly anything that gets players moving off the ball. This standing-and-watching fiasco only works with a point guard whose style of play is drivethen-kick. The offense is a standstill and there is no fluidity whatsoever. The Minutemen aren’t taking advantage of players like Derrick Gordon and Maxie Esho, who have proven the ability to finish at the basket. Maybe a few off-ball screens would open opportunisee

STYLE on page 7

NFL

Marcel Shipp named RB Belichick’s on to Seattle coach of the New York Jets

By Paul Doyle The Hartford Courant

By Mark Chiarelli Collegian Staff

The Massachusetts football team will soon need to make its second new hire in advance of the 2015 season.

The New York Jets announced Tuesday that Marcel Shipp will become its new running backs coach, a role he held at UMass under Mark Whipple in 2014. Shipp will join the staff of newly hired Jets head coach Todd Bowles.

Shipp was a Minutemen fan-favorite.

He played at UMass from 1997-2000 under Whipple and helped the Minutemen win the 1998 Division I-AA National Championship. He’s currently the program’s career leader in rushing yards (6,250), rushing attempts (1,215) and touchdowns (58) and went

on to play for the Arizona Cardinals from 2001-07, where he rushed for 2,197 yards and 11 touchdowns.

Bowles and Shipp worked together for one year (2013) when Bowles was the defensive coordinator with the Cardinals and Shipp worked as an intern.

Shipp oversaw a UMass rushing attack that compiled 1,312 yards and 16 touchdowns in 2014 and was held in high regards by the running backs.

“Coach Shipp is not just a coach, he’s more of somebody you can talk to,” Minutemen running back Lorenzo Woodley told the Daily Collegian in August. “He’s more of a person you can talk to from experience because he’s done it before, he’s been in our shoes and been to the

next level where we’re trying to go.”

Jamal Wilson, who missed most of the season due to an injury, appreciated working with someone who had once been in his shoes.

“He’s the coolest coach I’ve ever had,” Wilson said. “He gives you a lot of tips and details on how to do certain things that he did to help him out in his career and he just feeds that down upon us.”

The Minutemen announced they added Mark Michaels to the staff last week as the special teams coordinator and outside linebackers coach. He also arrives with previous UMass ties, as he coached special teams under Whipple in 1998.

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

PHOENIX — With a bank of cameras focused on him, Bill Belichick sauntered to his seat as Media Day began Tuesday at US Airways Arena.

Dressed in a blue hooded sweatshirt, jeans and flip flops, Belichick smiled as settled behind the microphone. If he was apprehensive about managing more talk about deflated footballs, Belichick wasn’t showing it.

Sure enough, the first question was about the media coverage of the story.

Calmly, Belichick answered.

“We’re just focused on Seattle this week,” Belichick said. “It’s all about Seattle, it’s all about us getting ready to play Sunday and that’s where all of our attention is. I’m not really worried about the rest of that.”

He didn’t seem to have too many worries as he sat through the NFL’s annual performance art show.

There would be more questions about the controversy and Belichick skillfully swatted them away, always saying he was focused on Seattle.

The Patriots didn’t engage in discussions about football air pressure, so the questions dissipated and it became just another Media Day. The arena floor was packed with former NFL players, entertainment reporters, guys in costumes, folks with puppets and women in cheerleading outfits. It was, as always, Fellini meets football and there was little news value.

Quarterback Tom Brady was asked early in his session about the challenge of handing the air pressure

issue and he managed to provide an answer without addressing specifics.

“There’s always different things to overcome and I think as an athlete you have to have mental toughness and you have to be able to compartmentalize things,” Brady said. “It’s challenging at times because, you know, you’re a human, you have emotions. But regardless of what people say, good or bad, you also understand the people that are in your corner and to have a lot of support and love, is a great thing.”

Later, Brady was asked if he saw the “Saturday Night Live” skit that featured him.

He has not.

“I’m sure it was pretty good,” Brady said. “I guess people watched it and liked it. They’re pretty good over see

NFL on page 7