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“Hold UMass Administration accountable for racially charged attacks.”
‘Walking Dead’ gives no sanctuary for Rick and Company
- Columnist Josh Odam
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UMass students targeted with racial slurs
Some say culture change is needed on campus By Anthony Rentsch Collegian Staff
When Josh Odam, a University of Massachusetts sophomore and the Secretary of Diversity of the Student Government Association, returned to his dorm after a long weekend of representing the UMass and the United States Student Association in Ferguson – “lending support to bring justice to the family of Michael Brown,” according to Odam – he was faced with racist graffiti on his dorm room door in Coolidge Hall. The Black Student Union said in an email that the phrase, “Kill These N*****s,” had been written on the door of one of its members, although they do not explicitly men-
tion the names of Odam, a member of the BSU or any other UMass student. An email from Chancellor Kumble Subbaswamy to students on Tuesday said that two students were targeted. Odam added that, “a lot of his colleagues were targeted” by similar acts. The act of racial vandalism did not go unnoticed on a UMass campus abuzz with talk of racial diversity. “(The acts of racial vandalism) are very problematic. It shows that we are nowhere near where we need to be,” Odam said. The significance of these actions has not been lost upon top school leaders either. “As the President of the SGA, and as a fellow student of color, I am utterly disgusted by these racist and violent acts of vandalism,” Vinayak
Rao said. “Such expressions of hate and intolerance have no place on this campus,” the chancellor said in his email. This racially charged graffiti makes its way onto the UMass scene at a time where racial awareness is peaking – this semester alone there was a rally protesting the death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, and the SGA proposed a plan to increase the presence of underrepresented minority students on campus. The Diversity Strategic Planning Steering Committee is holding a University Town Hall Meeting to discuss issues regarding diversity, equity and inclusion Thursday from 4:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. in Thompson Hall room 106. Rao, a member of the committee, said that the acts of racial vandalism would be a priority at this meeting.
These actions caught the UMass community completely by surprise. Both Rao and Edward Blaguszewski, the executive director of UMass News and Media Relations, said that such actions are uncommon. Kylie Fox, a junior at the University, was similarly surprised to hear the news. “We are a pretty liberal campus,” Fox added. However, this one action, many said, does not undermine all of the work that UMass has done to address issues of race. “One action is not indicative of the plans and strategies to increase racial diversity,” said Rao. What these acts do suggest, Rao said, is that this campus is in need of a “culture change.” “There needs to be a culture change on campus with how people value and appreciate other people
for their differences,” he added. “We should not be taught to tolerate other races, but to value people who are different. We need this culture to permeate through campus.” The UMass Police Department has launched an investigation into the acts of racial vandalism. Although the investigation is ongoing, these acts will most likely fall under the disturbing behavior section of the Code of Student Conduct, which prohibits “threatening violence to others” and “damaging or destroying property.” Rao said that the SGA would also be taking action in response to this incident, although he is not sure what that action will look like yet. Anthony Rentsch can be reached at arentsch@ umass.edu.
Racist message prompts meeting ‘Walk this Way’
aims to reduce noise in Amherst Program launched According to Toce, during spring 2013 this program has By Patrick Johnston Collegian Correspondent
BRYN ROTHSCHILD-SHEA/COLLEGIAN
Chancellor Kumble Subbaswamy spoke with students at Wednesday’s meeting to discuss the diversity issues at UMass in response to recent vandalism.
By Catherine Ferris Collegian Staff
On the heels of a racist message scrawled on the dorm room door this past weekend, a meeting was held for students by the University of Massachusetts National PanHellenic Council to have the opportunity to speak out, not only about the incident, but also about the general feeling of race relations on campus. One point that was brought up throughout the meet-
ing was first mentioned by Durryle Brooks, who said, “I don’t think I’ve ever seen this many people of color gathered together.” This was touched upon in several students’ statements to those in attendance. The meeting was split into two sections. The first part allowed students to vent and talk about personal experiences with racial disparity, addressing both Chancellor Kumble Subbaswamy and Vice Chancellor of Student
Affairs Enku Gelaye. The second part focused on suggestions those who attended the meeting made in regards to making the campus community more racially aware. “I think it’s time to talk about such a topic. A topic that’s so manifested in where we live. We live under an illusion that it’s in the past, but it’s 2014, and it’s still huge. We’ve pushed it under the rug. It’s time to dig it up and deal with it,” said Elkhansaa Elguenaoui, a junior.
Shianne Grace, a junior shared a similar sentiment to Elguenaoui. “I felt disappointed when I found out,” she said. “I think so highly of UMass, and to see something like that is unexpected. I felt let down there are still people like that.” The Chancellor spoke, saying his first feeling when he heard of the incident was being disheartened. “I want to believe in the see
MEETING on page 2
The Walk this Way program is an organized effort to reduce noise and litter produced by students of the University of Massachusetts in the neighborhood near the Southwest Residential Area. The program started in the spring of 2013 as a way to encourage students to respect the neighborhood that many walk through when returning to campus during the weekends. Walk this Way is headed by Dr. Sally Linowski, the assistant dean of students, and is supervised by Jillian Toce and Nicole Rau, both graduate assistants. The program currently has nine undergraduate students involved. Those in the program can be seen wearing their signature green t-shirts in the neighborhood adjacent to campus at intersections on Fearing, Nutting and Phillips streets between 10:30 p.m. and 2:00 a.m. on Friday and Saturday nights. “Walk this Way is important because many neighbors and students have felt the impact of noise, trash, public urination and vandalism on weekend evenings. Our overarching goal is to minimize the impact of
received a great amount of respect from students and the residents of the neighborhood alike, and she expressed the belief that this positive attitude will continue. these issues on the neighborhood,” Toce said. “Our main goal is to encourage students to be mindful of their noise level and respectful of the neighborhood.” When the program began last year, this goal was accomplished by encouraging students returning for the night to take an oncampus route back to their dorms and stay off the residential streets of the neighborhood. While this is still encouraged, the program has shifted its approach. “As the program has evolved, we have recognized that people prefer to go from point A to point B the fastest way possible and for some see
WALK on page 2
Obama calls for a ‘SWAT team’ to combat Ebola By Kathleen Hennessey and Noam N. Levey Tribune Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama said Wednesday evening that he directed the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to create a “SWAT team” to be ready to deploy anywhere in the country to help local health care systems respond to any Ebola cases. “As soon as someone is diagnosed with Ebola, we want a rapid response team, a SWAT team, essentially, from the CDC to be on the ground as quickly as possible, hopefully within 24 hours, so they are taking the local hospital step by step through exactly what needs to
be done,” Obama said after meeting with top health officials at the White House. At the same time, Obama assured Americans once again that the risk of a widespread Ebola outbreak in the U.S. remains very low and that the best way to prevent its spread is to control the outbreak in West Africa. “It is very important for us to understand that the investment we make in helping Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea deal with this problem is an investment in our own public health,” he said. The president also talked via videoconference Wednesday with the leaders of Britain, France, Germany and Italy about stepping up
the international response to the Ebola outbreak in West Africa. Obama postponed a campaign trip to New Jersey and Connecticut to hold the meeting with top officials to ensure that the federal government is deploying all its resources on Ebola, the White House said. The postponement came after the CDC announced that a second health care worker had contracted the deadly virus while caring for a patient at a Dallas hospital. The hospital has acknowledged there was a breach in protocol that may have affected other health care workers. Obama has called on the CDC to investigate
the cause of the breach, while also tightening protocols and improving preparation at hospitals around the country. The news of a second infected worker increased the pressure on the administration to respond more aggressively. The new diagnosis “indicates the seriousness of this situation, and the president believed it was important to convene the senior members of his team who are responsible for coordinating this response,” White House spokesman Josh Earnest said. Earnest announced the unusual schedule change just hours before Obama was to set out on his first public campaign appearance before the midterm elections.
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that is through the neighborhood. That is why our focus is on noise level and being respectful in the neighborhood,” Toce said. That is not the only way the program has evolved. Walk this Way began as a “volunteer based initiative” but since then, it has developed paying jobs students can sign up for. Students receive nine dollars per hour and average four to eight hours each week. According to Toce, the program recently hired some students, but is not accepting more at the moment. She also said if more students will be able to be hired, information will be available on the UMass Amherst Student Employment website. According to Toce, this program has received a great
amount of respect from students and the residents of the neighborhood alike, and she expressed the belief that this positive attitude will continue. “As we continue getting our name and message out there, I am confident that we will continue to receive positive feedback from neighbors and students alike. Some of the Fearing Street neighbors had the Walk this Way staff over to thank us for the work that we did last fall,” she said. “I absolutely feel that the program has been successful and am proud of the work that the staff has accomplished thus far.” Patrick Johnston can be reached at pejohnston@umass.edu.
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goodness of people. That people can rise above snap judgments. Whenever I see these meaningless, cowardly acts, I feel disheartened, and this is followed by anger. How dare they do this in my community? We have to have the discipline to turn that anger into positive anger, and make the community a better place,” he said. Subbaswamy said he did not have the answer as to how to prevent this incident in the future, but believes in building a positive community where that kind of behavior will not be acceptable. One student said, “That’s my door and the other people there. It goes further than vandalism. For centuries, we have never been given a chance. It is not as abstract as it has been made. Ferguson
isn’t that far. It’s right here. It’s in Boston. It’s in New York.” Debora Ferreira, the executive director for equal opportunity and diversity, came forward and talked about her own experiences she had as an undergraduate student. “What was most hurtful was the fact that the person who was calling me that was my neighbor,” Ferreira said. “We all are being triggered by this. That’s why I do the work I do here on campus.” Other students talked about the way this incident alerted students on campus. “You have to rear its ugly head and show what it really is. If it’s racism, call it racism,” said Danielle Laroque, the associate speaker of diversity of the Student
Government Association. The students then divided into several groups to talk about different ideas to bring forward to lessen the racial divide. Many students felt there should be a greater push toward offering classes about diversity and inequality. There were some students who felt their classes that fulfilled the diversity requirement lacked the discussion about diversity itself. “We should go beyond what is required,” a member of the audience said. Justin Kilian, a freshman, noted the lack of intersections in advertising various things on campus, and in general. “I see a lot of intersections that are not being recognized. I’m not seeing any queer peo-
ple of color. I’m not seeing any disabled people of color. We need to bring intersections to attention,” he said Josh Odam, a victim of the racist graffiti, stepped forward as well during the meeting. “I personally am not a victim. I am a survivor. People have tried to shake me before. Better folks have tried, and better folks have failed. We can’t let one individual win. Anger and hate are cheap emotions. We’re not going to put up with that. I work too hard to put up with that shit. I’m going to work to make sure this shit won’t happen again.” Catherine Ferris can be reached at caferris@umass.edu and followed on Twitter at @Ca_Ferris2.
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Senators continue their Dallas nurse with Ebola discussion of CI policy broke proper protocal By William Keve Collegian Staff
The Student Government Association came to a consensus on the confidential informant program this past Tuesday night at its weekly meeting. Throughout the four hour meeting, much debate took place over the confidential informant program, where the final voting revealing 19 votes for, 14 votes against and one abstention in regards to the support of abolishing the program. “When you have a body of students that represent the whole campus, (this resolution) is supposed to represent the opinions of the student body,” said Jennifer Raichel, chairwomen of the Undergraduate Experience Committee, on the resolution. “I also think that making a statement shows that we are informed on the issue.” The resolution was intended to serve as a public stance on the confidential informant program that was recently suspended at the University of Massachusetts. The SGA’s official stance is that no reform that can be made to justify the confidential informant program, and that it is the recommendation of the SGA that the program should be permanently discontinued. SGA Attorney General Ritika Kumar, a sponsor of the resolution, added that there was a great need for an official statement from the SGA. Kumar argued that the statement would influence SGA President Vinayak Rao’s position on the issue at administrative meetings he
sits in on. Rao backed up that statement saying, “As the executive officer of the SGA, I need to stand by whatever acts as the best interest of the student body.” Rao added that the resolution, as well as the opinions of dissenting senators, would shape his views on the issue and would have influence via his role in university policy.
Other business
nation was Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs and Campus Life Enku Gelaye, who praised O’Day for “doing a significant amount of great work in the past year.” O’Day was replaced by new Chairwoman Emily O’Neil in a resolution sponsored by Speaker of the Senate Sïonan Barrett. “(O’Neil) hopes to reaffirm the mission of diversity on campus and within the committee,” said Barrett, who gave a speech as to why O’Neil would be the right fit for the position. Senators also discussed an opinion column in the Massachusetts Daily Collegian recently published an opinion piece written by Senator Josh Odam titled, “Male Privilege and the SGA: How We’ve Been Overrun by Megaphone Guys.” The column described Odam’s understanding of unequal statuses for men and women in the SGA. Although it was only discussed briefly during Tuesday’s meeting, Odam’s piece was universally supported by those who spoke about it. Senator Ryan DiZoglio’s “horse project” also saw a breakthrough Tuesday night. Although the project is still clearing a few liability based hurdles, it seems likely that at some point this year UMass home football games will be preceded by someone dressed as Paul Revere riding around on horseback warning that the away team is coming.
At some point over the weekend, an incident was reported to the UMass Police Department that a hate crime was committed on campus. A student’s door was vandalized with written racial slurs, and these acts were condemned by the members of the SGA who spoke about them. UMPD is currently investigating the incident. “I, as president of the SGA and a student of color, condemn this act” Rao said when speaking on the incident. “I want to make it clear that the SGA does not condone this. This disgusting act of hatred will not go without consequence, I can promise you that.” Several others, including Kumar, Vice President Jacob Schissel and SGA Adviser Lydia Washington all described frustration with the act itself, as well as the apparent lack of a public response from the University or UMPD. There was also a number of people in the room who were unaware of the vandalism. Tyler O’Day resigned from his position as chairman of the Diversity and Student Engagement Committee. The William Keve can be reached at first to comment on his resig- wkeve@umass.edu.
By Geoffrey Mohan, Molly Hennessy-Fiske and Michael Muskal Los Angeles Times
DALLAS — One of two nurses at a Dallas hospital who tested positive for Ebola should not have flown on a commercial airline, officials said Wednesday, and she is being transferred to Emory University Hospital in Atlanta for treatment. The nurse, who had treated Ebola patient Thomas Eric Duncan, traveled on Frontier Airlines Flight 1143 from Cleveland to Dallas, arriving Monday night, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The woman reported symptoms of Ebola early Tuesday and went to the hospital, where she was placed in isolation. The woman was among a group of as many as 76 health care workers at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital involved in treating Duncan, who died Oct. 8. CDC Director Tom Frieden said the nurse should not have been traveling by air and he pledged that his agency would work to ensure that others in the group heeded CDC guidelines on self-monitoring. “The second health care worker reported no symptoms and no fever,” Frieden told reporters in a news briefing. The nurse arrived in Ohio on Oct. 8, according to the Cleveland Department of Public Health. CDC officials said she developed a fever in Ohio. Because the second nurse was among those known to have been exposed to Ebola, “she should not have traveled on a commercial airline,” Frieden said “The CDC guidance in this setting outlines the need for what is called controlled movement. That can include a charter plane; that can include a car; but it does not include public transport. “We will, from this moment forward, ensure that no other individual who is being monitored for exposure undergoes travel in any way other than controlled movement,” Frieden said. According to the CDC, about 50 health care workers entered Duncan’s room during his hospitalization and about 25 other health care workers are being monitored. In general, such monitoring focuses on fevers, a key first symptom of Ebola. “We’re reviewing those and ensuring intensive follow-up of those individuals,” Frieden said. “We are also planning for other eventualities in case we get additional cases in the coming days.” The group of health care workers being watched is in addition to the 48 people who originally had contact with Duncan, who stayed with family and friends in a Dallas apartment after he arrived in Texas on Sept. 20. Of the original group, four people, including Duncan’s fiancee, are in quarantine in Dallas until this weekend. None of the original group has developed symptoms, health officials said. The second nurse was identified by her family as Amber Vinson. The first nurse who contracted Ebola, Nina Pham, remains in isolation at the Dallas hospital. A man who was in contact with Pham is also isolation, but has not tested positive for the virus, officials said. Vinson will be cared for in the same isolation unit at Emory University Hospital where three Ebola patients have been treated. The first two patients, medical missionaries, were discharged
in late August. A third patient, who arrived Sept. 9, is being treated there, the hospital said Wednesday. Pham may also be transferred, Frieden said. ‘“She is in improved condition today. We will assess each hour, each day, whether (the Dallas hospital) is the best place for her or somewhere else might be.” Frieden said. Laura Smith, secretary
The CDC has asked the 132 passengers on the plane to contact the agency to be interviewed. Experts have said that only someone with symptoms could spread the virus, which has killed more than 4,400 people in West Africa. Passengers are asked to call the CDC at (800) 232-4636. for Vinson’s father, Ronald Shuler of Akron, Ohio, said the family was informed by the hospital and did not have any comment. “She’s just a lovely person and I’m sad,” Martha Shuler, 80, a relative, told the Los Angeles Times. “I hope and pray when she gets better. I want her to leave Texas.” Vinson is a registered nurse who grew up in Ohio, Shuler said. She was a graduate of Kent State University, receiving degrees in 2006 and 2008, the school said. Without naming the nurse, the school said that she had three relatives who were working at Kent State. The family members have been asked to stay off campus for 21 days while they are monitored for symptoms. Vinson did not visit the campus on her trip to Ohio last week, before Pham was diagnosed with Ebola. “At that point she was undergoing self-monitoring,” Frieden said of Vinson. He said she had a fever of 99.5 before she departed Ohio to return to Dallas, a bit higher than normal, but not alarmingly so. Hence, she reported no symptoms or fever and boarded the flight, he said. However, because she was in a group of exposed people and had even a low-grade fever, she should not have been traveling, the CDC director said. “So by both of those criteria, she should not have been on that plane,” Frieden said. “I don’t think that changes the level of risk of people around her. She did not vomit; she was not bleeding, so the level of risk of people around her would be extremely low, but because of that extra margin of safety, we will be contacting them all.” The CDC has asked the 132 passengers on the plane to contact the agency to be interviewed. Experts have said that only someone with symptoms could spread the virus, which has killed more than 4,400 people in West Africa. Passengers are asked to call the CDC at (800) 2324636. In a statement, the airline said the plane remained overnight Monday at the airport and “received a thorough cleaning per our normal procedures which is
consistent with CDC guidelines,” the airline said. The plane returned to service Tuesday and was cleaned again in Cleveland that night.” The plane has been taken out of service, the airline said. Officials quickly sought to calm Dallas residents. Judge Clay Jenkins, the top elected official in Dallas County, said local authorities are now fighting a “twofront war” against Ebola. “At the hospital, we have a situation, where two tested positive for Ebola. We have prepared contingencies for more,” he said at a Wednesday morning news conference. “You can imagine the anxiety of these people. You can imagine the gut shot that this is to the hospital that has taken care of the community for many, many years.” Dallas officials said they were issuing orders to the 75 people, mainly health care workers, who had been asked to self-monitor because they were “in a zone of risk because of their calling.” Jenkins said the orders were not a quarantine, but are intended to make clear the county’s expectations of what the people should do clear. The 75 have been not asked not to use public transportation while they are being monitored for Ebola symptoms, he said. Jenkins said the penalties for violating the order would be the same as any other civil order, but he expects the group to comply. Public health officials will be visiting them daily to take their temperature and quiz them about any possible symptoms, he said. “These are health care heroes – they have put their lives at risk to take care of the sick. Ebola is new to America - there has never been a case of transfer of Ebola from an asymptomatic person,” he said. The 75 include the 10 highrisk contacts: seven health care workers, Duncan’s fiance, her son and a man staying with them, Jenkins said. The family and friends are currently in quarantine. City officials deliberately announced the new case in time to alert and reassure people as they were waking up, Mayor Mike Rawlings told reporters at the televised briefing. The city has already begun decontamination efforts at the home of the woman most recently infected, Rawlings said. She lives alone and has no pets, he said. Outside the massive complex of two-story, stucco apartment buildings called The Village Bend East where the woman lives, residents jogged and snapped photos of news crews and helicopters circling. Dallas police guarded the entrances. Neighbor Ja m e s Coltharp, 50, said this was the second time he was awakened by helicopters related to an Ebola case. The first was when Duncan was diagnosed. On Wednesday morning, Coltharp, who works in real estate, took his two Boston terriers for a walk and stopped at the police tape barricade. “Obviously they’re on high alert. Hopefully they’re able to contain it,” he said, “I’m just worried about other health care workers, that maybe they can contain it. I see a lot of people in scrubs here. We’re near the hospital, a lot of them live over here.”
Opinion Editorial THE MASSACHUSETTS DAILY COLLEGIAN
“Whoever debases others is debasing himself” - James Baldwin
Thursday, October 16, 2014
Editorial@DailyCollegiancom
#WrongDoor: Ethno-stress and racially charged attacks on the UMass campus As James Baldwin said, “If I love you, I have to make you conscious of the things you don’t see.”
Josh Odam When I have the opportunity to speak with older brothers and sisters (many of whom were active in the civil rights movement after Brown versus Board of Education), I ask them about their views on compulsory school desegregation. The narrative, according to them, is that integration was one of the worst things for students of color in the United States. I spoke to my great aunt Edna ad nauseam about this topic when I was younger. She reminisced about her elementary school days when her and my grandmother had to walk over three and a half miles (and past two white schools) to get to her one-room school. It goes without saying that the “separate but equal” doctrine was inherently flawed in that Black schools were criminally underfunded and underresourced compared to white schools. However,
the qualitative data behind segregated schools is not always discussed. My grandmother went into detail about her classroom environment – she frequently coordinated study and reading sessions with her classmates. Her teacher was attuned to her struggles in mathematics and tutored other students on Sundays after church. She provided my great aunt with higher-level books when she noticed her reading level was equivalent to that of a tenth grader’s. Her teacher had a rapport with my great-grandmother – they discussed her classroom performance in church, in the supermarket and even in their dining rooms. If my grandmother was not performing up to her potential, my great-grandmother was the first one to know. She even connected her to various professors at Spelman College to prepare her for the college application process. So what happens when you remove the child from such a nurturing environment to one where the administration believes the melanin in your skin is an
Two days ago, this was waiting on my dorm door when I returned from Ferguson. This cowardly act of hate speech not only violated my space, but permeated the “harambee” community we have worked so hard to build. This is where that ethnostress rears its ugly head. When situations such as these occur (slurs written on the wall, nooses hung on trees, etc.) it prevents students from focusing on academics as they should as paying students of the University. The self-awareness and hypervigilance is increased because it is a natural defense mechanism. However, when students of color act on the “fight or flight” response, we are stigmatized whenever we do either. To be blunt, whoever did this messed with the wrong one. They went to the wrong door, the wrong floor and the wrong community. We will not stand for this ignorance on our campus and will hold the University and ourselves directly accountable to ensure the safety of Black students, students of color and the entire popula-
We will not stand for this ignorance on our campus and will hold the University and ourselves directly accountable to ensure the safety of Black students, students of color and the entire population. indicator of intellectual inferiority? Not only that, how does one navigate through a labyrinth composed of racial slurs and threats hurled at you by your alleged “peers”? Before I lose anyone, I am not calling for a resegregation of public schools. However, it does not take a policy analyst to understand such hostility is not conducive to academic success.
We refer to such a phenomenon as ethno-stress – mental and social pressures students of color face while in predominately white spaces. Being one of eight Black students in lectures halls of 300 students is a direct example. If that’s stressful, try to imagine how I felt when I walked back to my dorm and found this waiting for me.
COURTESY OF JOSH ODAM
tion. The anger and confusion soon subsided as the community rallied around me and other colleagues who were also targeted over the weekend. Last night’s town hall meeting in Coolidge Hall proved that people are also fed up and are ready to mobilize. I implore all stakeholders with a vested interest in this situation to attend the Diversity Town Hall Meeting in Thompson Hall room 106 today, Thursday, from 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. This will be a place to ask questions to our administration about their plan to combat racism and increase diversity on campus. It is my hope these unfortunate events snap the University out of the idea that we are so far removed from race. Audre Lorde once said, “Your silence will not protect you.” Your ignorance will not either. Josh Odam is a Collegian columnist. He can be reached at jodam@umass. edu.
Distorted body image in America In a typical Scooby Doo episode or movie, the mystery gang encounters various supernatu-
As a cartoon, Scooby Doo targets a younger audience with impressionable minds. This particular movie sends the message that being fat, a “fat” size eight mind you, is appalling and so outlandishly gross that a supernatural creature curses her to the size. This distorts young girls’ notions of what it means to be healthy and normal. The girls internalize these messages, which potentially lead to body image problems when they get older.
Maral Margossian ral phenomenon and searches for clues to solve the mystery. Usually Warner Brothers chooses monsters, zombies, ghosts or other classic horror characters to provide the scare factor, but in the new Scooby Doo movie, “Scooby Doo! Frankencreepy,” they decided to take an unconventional route. When Daphne encounters the monster, it places a horrifying curse on her. She balloons from her size two frame all the way up to a size eight. Clearly Warner Brothers takes women’s body image issues to heart. They depict the cursed Daphne comically rotund – think Aunt Marge in the third Harry Potter movie after Harry accidently curses her. Perhaps not that large, but close. For those of you who don’t know, a size eight is smaller than the average size of an American woman, which ranges from a 12 to 14. For visual representations, celebrities Kate Winslet, Miranda Lambert, Kim Kardashian and Mindy Kaling all claim to be a size eight. On a side note, the sizes of celebrities are mostly speculated and their accuracy is dubious at best. If you visualize Aunt Marge against any of these celebrities, something doesn’t add up. Warner Brothers portrays a healthy and normal size eight as not only obese, but as undesirable and repulsive, as Daphne’s reaction indicates.
“We should encourage kids to be healthy and active, but not promote destructive notions of body image.” According to the National Eating Disorders Association, “81 percent of 10 year olds are afraid of being fat,” and “42 percent of first through third grade girls want to be thinner.” At 10 years old, I was obsessed with pirates, climbing trees and reading books. The only concepts of body image I had when I was ten were of scraped knees and calluses on my palms from playing on monkey bars. Girls as young as six should not be concerned with being thinner. Children’s lists of fears should include ghosts, the dark or monsters under their beds, but not being fat. We should encourage kids to be healthy and active, but not promote destructive notions of body image. As a nation struggling with
obesity and rising obesity rates in children, we want to instill healthy habits in children – not that what Warner Brothers did with Daphne is remotely associated with instilling healthy notions – but sometimes our efforts end up having negative, unintended consequences. What kids see on TV or other media helps shape their understanding of social norms. Then as they get older, they reflect the norms they learned, good or bad. According to BodyImage3D, “54 percent of women would rather be hit by a truck than be fat.” Take a minute to digest what that means. The potential harmful outcomes of being hit by a truck range from a few broken bones to paralysis to death. Assuming the women surveyed presumed they would survive the truck accident, they still said they would choose potential paralysis over being fat. We unquestioningly have a grossly warped idea of what it means to be healthy. Not only should we stop stigmatizing certain sizes and placing value on smaller sizes, we should encourage more women and men to express positive views toward their bodies. We easily express dissatisfaction toward our bodies, but rarely talk about what we like about them. To fight the rising rates of both obesity and eating disorders, we need to encourage health over size and positivity over criticism. Maral Margossian is a Collegian columnist and can be reached at mmargossian@ umass.edu.
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Arts Living THE MASSACHUSETTS DAILY COLLEGIAN
“Sand is overrated. It’s just tiny, little rocks.” - Joel Barish
Thursday, October 16, 2014
TELEVISION REVIEW
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TELEVISION REVIEW
‘Walking Dead’ awakes with a bang ‘Korra’ opens a ‘No Sanctuary’ gives darker chapter show new direction By Alexander Frail Collegian Staff
Editor’s Note: The following review contains spoilers for the fifth season premiere of “The Walking Dead.” For a show that shakes up its format each season, “The Walking Dead” adheres to a surprisingly rigid pattern. Following an amazing promo that drops late summer, it erupts onto the small screen in October with a climactic premiere sustained by cinematic effects and a pivot in a new direction. Then, like the titular walkers, wandering dialogue rises from the dead and sinks the show to mediocrity by midseason. True to form, season five kicks off with a bang. Scott M. Gimple, the showrunner and occasional writer, penned last Sunday’s premiere, which picks up right after last year’s finale. It closed out a dull season with one of the show’s best episodes, “A,” and marooned Rick’s (Andrew Lincoln) group in the train car of a cannibalistic settlement. It was a promising finale. Finally out of the prison and off of the road, the program suggested it was about to determine a purpose four years in the making. Gimple, who has written most of “The Walking Dead’s” finest hours, opens this season with an epic assault on Terminus. The opening shots of six men leaning over a trough turn into the most grisly and uncomfortable sequence yet. Expressionless, two men bash their heads and slit their throats to prepare them as food. Brutality is no stranger to “The Walking
Dead.” It’s the apathy and placidity with which these Terminians slaughter other humans that unnerves. Meanwhile, Rick’s personality continues to skitter around like water on a skillet. At first a reluctant leader, then a dictator and finally a farmer, the former sheriff’s deputy mutates into a ruthless warrior by the premiere’s end. We saw the foreshadowing of this last year when he ripped out a man’s throat. Last Sunday, in a sequence that eerily echoes the Governor’s (David Morrissey) roadside slaughter, Rick guns down an entire group of Terminians who are distracted by walkers. Since the first season, the show has revolved around Rick’s warping morality in the apocalypse. Perhaps that has been “The Walking Dead’s” Achilles’s heel. While a strong character, mostly because of Lincoln’s stalwart performance, Rick has never been “The Walking Dead’s” most interesting. Others, like Carol (Melissa McBride), Daryl (Norman Reedus) and Hershel (Scott Wilson) are the glue that keeps us stuck to our television screens. The premiere follows suit. Although Rick’s escape thrills at every turn, Carol’s complete dismantling of Terminus binds the episode together. Singlehandedly, she sets off the show’s most epic explosions to date and shrewdly masks her entrance to Terminus with a herd of walkers. Without Carol, the show would be far less interesting. Carol also represents the best of the show’s writing. Bolstered by McBride’s excellent performance, Carol transforms from an abused victim to a pragmatic actor. When she kills Lizzie in “The Grove,” noth-
Book Four lines up a thrilling endgame By Nathan Frontiero Collegian Staff
MCT
Rick (Andrew Lincoln) and Daryl (Norman Reedus) stare down a new threat. ing of the helpless survivor from season one remains. The writing has seen success with Carol, but it still falls short overall of its popular peers like “Game of Thrones.” Both programs contain rousing action and meditative dialogue, but whereas “Walking Dead” excels in only the action sequences, “Thrones” can slow down without getting bogged down. Five seasons in, “The Walking Dead” has yet to find a team of writers who can discuss the world’s philosophy effectively. Nearly every time characters find themselves in a room without a gun or without a walker, that room starts to feel very claustrophobic. Chances are, you’ve already heard what you’re about to hear. Tyreese’s (Chad Coleman) subplot exemplifies the writing’s weaknesses. Trapped in a remote cabin with a Terminus scout and Judith, the narrative goes nowhere fast. Tyreese hears how his kindness will get him killed, how Judith is like an anchor without a boat and how ruthlessness equals survival. The conversation is akin to one we heard between Daryl and Beth (Emily Kinney) last
year, before Rick excommunicates Carol, and between Rick and Shane (Jon Bernthal) in almost every episode in season two. The scripts need some new material. You might wonder why the writers haven’t used new material. After five years of dialogue contemplating the same philosophical conundrums, you’d think the writers would be willing to explore fresh ideas. Instead, they seem content to count on the zombie decapitations to draw weekly viewers. The late addition of Sergeant Abraham Ford (Michael Cudlitz) and Dr. Eugene Porter (Josh McDermitt) holds the key to success – Porter knows how to cure the virus. The revelation hands “The Walking Dead” an integral purpose. The premiere soars because of the brilliant execution of Terminus’s downfall, courtesy of director Greg Nicotero, but not every episode can rely on the same tactics. So to the writers I say, leave behind the tired dialogue. If you do, “The Walking Dead” will be more alive than ever. Alexander Frail can be reached at afrail@umass.edu.
FILM REVIEW
Benson’s inventive look at love and loss ‘Eleanor Rigby’ is a strong debut effort By Nathan Frontiero Collegian Staff
Heartache has never looked so beautiful. Ned Benson makes his filmmaking debut with an audacious splash, releasing “The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby” as not one film, but three. The writerdirector debuted two other versions of the movie, subtitled “Him” and “Her,” told from the male and female protagonist’s perspectives, respectively, at the Toronto International Film Festival last year. The Weinstein Company picked up distribution rights for the films to the tune of $3 million and will release “Him” and “Her” together in art house theaters. It’s a compelling experiment. For now, we have the more conventional “Them.” As the third part of Benson’s thesis, it truncates and combines the perspectives of the first two films. Benson puts a complicated spin on the romance genre. His film isn’t quick to divulge its secrets. Early scenes are purposely disjointed. Details come into focus slowly. We don’t explicitly learn important facts – like the rela-
tionship between the main characters – until roughly halfway through the film. And Eleanor’s “disappearance,” which is more emotional than physical, isn’t explained before the film’s final moments. All this confusion is strangely seductive. In “Them,” style gels excellently with subject. The film thrives on its heavy, ethereal atmosphere. We follow the characters as if in a dream. This is thanks largely to Christopher Blauvelt’s cinematography, which captures New York in gorgeously hazy, soft-focus images. Son Lux’s ambient musical themes swell whenever the estranged couple are near each other. His score is pained and simple, a sonic current that guides the audience. Jessica Chastain sutures everything together. She bares Eleanor’s soul in the truest sense. She wears every emotion in her eyes. Eleanor yearns for an anchor to try to make sense of her world again. Chastain moves nimbly through her harrowing canyons of grief. She makes you hurt and care for her story. The film is not quite as consistently organic. Benson’s motives are too apparent. As an auteur, he is ever-present but not always invisible. His script does a
nice enough job balancing the dual perspectives that I didn’t find myself wondering which parts of “Him” or “Her” were paired down to form “Them.” Still, his dialogue shifts oddly between stilted and subtle which does break immersion. At times it seems the characters are reading philosophical cue cards. At others, they share insights that couldn’t sound more devastatingly candid. Eleanor’s mother tells her, “I don’t want you take our relationship too personally.” The sentiment is so cold it’s jarring. Benson weaves an oversized grab-basket of emotional tensions. When the film isn’t focusing on Eleanor, it drifts to character arcs that aren’t as convincing. In particular, Conor’s (James McAvoy) strained relationship with his father parallels Eleanor’s strange mother-daughter dynamic a little too well. Professor Friedman (Viola Davis) is similarly underdeveloped. She is estranged from the idea of having children, and equally cynical in her views on relationships. Most of the supporting cast is pigeonholed into these trite sob story side plots. They’re all earnestly presented, but don’t do much except offer unneeded supporting arguments to the
notion of universal pain. Thankfully the film invests most in the loneliness beneath the protagonists’ love. It takes careful time to reveal the circumstances that broke them apart. Yet when we do finally learn the truth, it doesn’t explain anything that transpires before that point. Benson doesn’t use the reveal to dismiss or excuse any of the characters’ rash decisions. He resists the urge to paint either main character as a moral authority, and shows us two people struggling for resolution in the face of chaos. Eleanor and Conor remain real people and don’t devolve into melodramatic caricatures. A woman searches for a compassion that an unnatural tragedy has stolen from her. A man searches for a connection that may have faded away. Best of all is that Benson never gives us answers. Instead, he paints in broader, vaguer strokes, devoting himself to a reality that brushes your hand like a stranger in a crowded city. This debut poses questions that ache, and by the time you’ve traced its footsteps through that sad urban nighttime, the film has already disappeared.
more complicated conflicts. Book Four is taking that trend into interesting new territory. Enter Kuvira (Zelda Williams), a metalbender appointed interim president of Ba Sing Se, and the greater Earth Kingdom. Deemed the “Great Uniter,” Kuvira has morphed from a “blink and you’ll miss her” side character into a fearsome military leader. Through her, the first episode, “After All These Years,” offers a glimpse into compelling political tension. The anarchist undercurrent so important to the Red Lotus of last season has been swapped for a chilling military domination arc. If Kuvira is fated to be book four’s primary antagonist, it will be intriguing to see her ideology play out in contrast to the villains of last season. In all aspects, it seems clear that the concluding chapter of “The Legend of Korra” will be its darkest. The fourth book’s title is “Balance,” which registers as more than a little foreboding. Korra has faced increasingly higher stakes in the first three books–she lost contact with her past lives in Book Two and nearly lost her life at the end of last season. How far can the writers push her character? How much can she take? And what manner of balance will we see by this book’s conclusion? All of these remain arresting questions after the season premiere. Most compelling of all, however, is the Avatar herself. When we finally see Korra, she is noticeably disturbed, and doesn’t look remotely ready to jump back into the world-saving limelight. The show has tremendous potential to dig deep into the psychological implications of living with messianic responsibilities. What is it like to try to save the world at 18 years old? Korra is now 21, an ostensible age of maturity. The showrunners have the opportunity to explore her depression in a way that they never did in previous seasons or in “Avatar: The Last Airbender.” That level of investment in the character would add significant heft to this season and a new dimension to Korra. The possibilities are certainly exciting, but after this episode, which direction will the season take with her development? As Korra herself says, “I wouldn’t know.” The premiere certainly promises a darker final chapter to come, and I look forward to watching the legend unfold from here.
Oh time, what change you leave in your wake. Barely two months after an intense finale to an emotionally and physically charged third season, “The Legend of Korra,” the sequel series to “Avatar: The Last Airbender,” has returned for its last season. Three years have passed since the end of Book Three, and the show is embracing all facets of the time jump. An aged black and white film reel catches up the audience to the goings-on in Republic City. The citizens have accepted the Spirit Wilds and integrated them into a tourist attraction. Korra (Janet Varney) also seems to have garnered far more approval from the greater community – the city erected a statue and dedicated a park in honor of her defeat of Zaheer and his gang. Yet notably absent from this introduction is the Avatar herself. Moreover, the opening sequence feels starkly saccharine compared to Book Three’s bleak fadeout. Republic City is apparently doing better than ever, but I can’t help but feel a sense of vacancy beneath the placid façade. Showrunners Bryan Konietzko and Michael Dante DiMartino certainly haven’t forgotten their tremendous attention to detail. They underline the passage of time with varying levels of subtlety. We’re quickly shown both cosmetic and character updates, the latter coinciding with new responsibilities for the peoples of the “Avatar” universe. The air nomads have spiffy, streamlined bodysuits with snap-out wings. The kids are taller. Kai’s (Skyler Brigmann) voice is deeper. Opal (Alyson Stoner) exhibits more agency. Mako (David Faustino) is still a Republic City cop, but he no longer wears his hair in that familiar spiky coif. Bolin now sports a tamely gelled hairstyle and an Earth Kingdom army uniform. The former “mover star” emanates maturity, even if he still possesses the abhorrent ability to make inane, humorless jokes at the most inappropriate moments. These aesthetic shifts help make the three year gap in the story more believable, even if the actual delay between seasons was rather short. The creative team behind “The Legend of Korra” and “Avatar: The Last Airbender” has always Nathan Frontiero can be reached at sought to explore darker, nfrontiero@umass.edu.
COURTESY OF NICKELODEON
Nathan Frontiero can be reached at nfrontiero@umass.edu.
“The Legend of Korra” enters its fourth and final season.
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THE MASSACHUSETTS DAILY COLLEGIAN
Thursday, October 16, 2014
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Side effects of watching the entire “Gilmore Girls” Netflix include a desperate need for hamburgers and coffee. We’ve all been there.
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Even if you finished it a week ago, turn your midtem in a 11:59 on Moodle tonight just so you can feel the rush of a procrastinator.
The easiest way to make yourself a nice cold glass of water is to put the ice cube tray out the night before so it has time to defrost.
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Would a melting snow creature be called “De-Frosty the Snowman”?
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While you might cry from eating hot sauce because it’s so spicy, you will also cry because putting it on everything is a miracle.
If you skip breakfast in the morning due to lateness, sit your cereal in milk in the fridge the night before for an effective pre-soak.
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Bored on your bike ride? Take time to catch up on e-mail and text messages, especially if you’re not wearing a helmet.
Facebook Messenger allows you to contact your friends when they’re not online in a way that’s 100 percent more annoying than a text.
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MEN’S SOCCER
UMass ready for pair of weekend matchups Dayton, SLU on tap for Minutemen By Anthony Chiusano Collegian Staff
While a tie last Saturday against Virginia Commonwealth left the Massachusetts men’s soccer team still searching for its first win since Sept. 19, senior captain Matt Keys said the Minutemen are heading into Friday’s game against Dayton with a heightened sense of confidence. “I think just from a mindset standpoint, it was a huge confidence boost for us,” Keys said. “Being able to steal some points from them, with VCU being the favorite in the game, was just great for our team.” UMass (1-9-1, 0-1-1 Atlantic 10) struggled out of the gate in nonconference play this season, opening its year on a five-game losing streak before its only victory to date over Fairfield on Sept. 19. However, with six of the Minutemen’s last seven games of the regular season coming in A-10 play, Keys said that Saturday’s double overtime tie was a positive sign moving forward in their pursuit towards a spot in the conference playoffs. “It makes us feel better that we are progressing. Compared to last year, that’s a huge thing to take away,” Keys said, referencing last season’s 4-0 loss to the Rams. “We know that we can compete with the best teams in the league.”
According to UMass interim coach Devin O’Neill, the team’s performance against VCU was not very different compared to what the Minutemen were able to do in its previous four games, in which UMass finished 0-4. O’Neill said that the only change was that the team “finally got something out of (the game).” One positive aspect that O’Neill said he saw was a quicker offense that displayed sharp passing. “It was more of a complete performance over 110 minutes, which was good to see,” O’Neill said. “I wouldn’t describe us right now as a prolific team, but we’re working towards that.” Keys said that increased passing accuracy allowed the Minutemen to have consistent scoring opportunities, especially on crossing plays. Keys scored the only goal of the game on Saturday for UMass off of a crossing pass from Brandon Vazquez. According to Keys, continuing to show crisp passing in or near the opponent’s goal box will be crucial heading into the game against the Flyers (5-3-3, 1-0-1 A-10). “We’ve been trying to get a lot more guys in the box whether it be on set pieces or just on running plays like crosses,” Keys said. “The more chances we’re making, the more runners we’re getting in the box, the better opportunities we will have to score.” Sophomore midfielder Luke Pavone added that ball possession will be important in the matchup against
Dayton, as the team’s offense will look to produce additional scoring opportunities. “I think against Dayton we won’t have to buckle down on defense as much and we’ll be able to go after them a little more,” Pavone said. “We want to get the ball and move it up the field quick to catch their defense off guard.” O’Neill acknowledged that this task will be difficult, coming against the Flyers, who are currently situated in third place in the A-10 and boast the third best goals against average (0.79) in the conference. “We expect them to be physically very tough,” O’Neill said. “They’re a big team physically, so restarts are always a concern.” Saturday’s matchup against VCU marked the start of a crucial five-game string of conference games for the Minutemen. After facing third place Dayton at home on Friday, UMass will embark on a 4 a.m. flight to Saint Louis to face the Billikens (8-31, 1-1-1 A-10) on Sunday. The Minutemen will then travel to Rhode Island and Fordham the following weekend to play the first and second place A-10 teams, respectively. “That’ll be a tough travel schedule, but I think we can handle whatever is thrown our way at this point,” Pavone said. “We’re definitely moving in the right direction.” Anthony Chiusano can be reached at achiusano@umass.edu, and can be followed on Twitter @a_chiusano24.
TENNIS
UM Freshmen on fire
Yrazusta making a home of UMass B y Victor Pusateri Collegian Correspondent
The Massachusetts women’s tennis team is off to a solid start to the season, having won many singles and doubles matches, with its most recent win coming against Connecticut in a non-conference matchup that the Minutemen won 5-2. Although UMass has had great play across the board, much of its early season success can be accredited to freshman Ana Yrazusta Acosta. At this point of the season Yrazusta has accounted for numerous single and double victories, including an 8-7 (4) doubles victory with Benito that sparked a rally against the Huskies. Yrazusta came along way from home to play tennis at the collegiate level for the Minutewomen leaving her hometown of Las Palmas, Spain, where she has lived her entire life. “Massachusetts (has) been difficult, I’m really home sick, I miss my family.” Yrazusta said when asked about how she’s adapting to a new lifestyle. “But the team has been so supportive of me and because we have international players, they have helped me a lot.” Making the decision to continue to play tennis in college was no easy one for Yrazusta. There are
no college tennis teams in Spain so she had to make the tough decision of staying home and no longer playing tennis or travel to a new country, away from her family and friends to continue to do something she loves. She decided to do something that not many have the courage to do and UMass is very fortunate she did. Coming into the season neither Ana herself, nor head coach Judy Dixon expected much out of the freshman’s first season. When asked if her early success was surprising Ana replied, “Yeah. I’m pretty surprised … I didn’t expect to do that well so I’m very happy and I’m going to try to keep doing it.” Although Dixon believed in her ability, she didn’t know what to expect from her first season. “Coming in, Ana was under the radar. I didn’t know how she was going to perform… I’m very happy with how she’s done thus far.” There is still plenty of room for improvement in Yrazustra’s game, however, as Dixon believes the talented freshmen still has work to do. “In practice we’ve been working on her double’s positioning and the placement of the ball, so that she just doesn’t hit it as hard as she can every time” “I just don’t want her in big pressure situations to be too intense that it affects her game.” But Yrazusta says she needs to play with that
“Massachusetts has been difficult. I’m really homesick. I miss my family. But the team has been so supportive of me.” Ana Yrazusta Acosta intensity and energy because it’s how she copes with her nerves. “Basically I’m really loud on the court because I’m really nervous so I try to be loud to forget I’m nervous. … I need to be intense to play well because when I’m quiet I do not.” Dixon has very high expectations for Yrazusta for this season and beyond. She believes Ana should be one of the top rookies in her conference. “I really like how Ana plays with such intensity and energy on the court, she’s the vocal leader for the team even though she’s just a freshman, said Dixon.” Coach Dixon’s praise doesn’t end there though, as she expects big things from the freshmen moving forward. “Ana has the potential to be one of the best players the school will ever have.” The next time Ana Yrazusta and the rest of the Minutewomen will be in action is on Friday when UMass participates in the ITA Northeast Regionals. Victor Pusateri can be reached at vpusateri@umass.edu, and can be followed on Twitter @VictorPusateri.
SHARPE
Thursday, October 16, 2014
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CADE BELISLE/COLLEGIAN
Tajae Sharpe looks in a pass against Bowling Green. facing,” Whipple said. “So you try to find when you’re breaking down tape, it’s not like we’re totally spread so we’re not looking as much at the spread teams. We’re trying to find some teams that do things similar to us.” Whipple also said most teams don’t face a receiver of Sharpe’s ability, either. “A lot of guys don’t have one receiver like Tajae so you don’t know if they’re going to double him or how they’re going to do it,”
HOCKEY
Whipple said. “So you just have to make adjustments as the game goes on.” Whipple explained that the added emphasis on Sharpe, especially doubleteams, creates one-on-one matchups for other players on the team. It also negates a safety from playing closer to the line of scrimmage and defending the run, which should open up holes for UMass’ run game. Ultimately, the Minutemen are at their best when Sharpe is con-
tributing consistently. But Sharpe’s content to do whatever is needed for the offense to continue to succeed. “We can be an electrifying offense when we have 11 guys on the field doing the same thing, coming together as one,” Sharpe said. “When we do that, there’s no limit to what we can do.” Mark Chiarelli can be reached at mchiarel@umass.edu, and can be followed on Twitter @Mark_Chiarelli.
continued from page 8
something that we definitely work on, it’s something that we pride ourselves in and something that we definitely have to be better at.” The series against Michigan State is a huge opportunity for the Minutemen. They have two
chances to rebound from their season opening loss in a low risk, non conference setting. But according to Power, the goal for this weekend is still the same – to win. “If everyone comes to work… and to win a hock-
ey game, we’re hopefully going to take care of business on Friday.” Ross Gienieczko can be reached at rgieniec@umass.edu and followed on Twitter @RossGien.
THE MASSACHUSETTS DAILY COLLEGIAN
@MDC_SPORTS
Thursday, October 16, 2014
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FOOTBALL
FOOTBALL
IT’S TIME FOR TWO
Adjusting to the double coverage Sharpe amongst nations top WRs By Mark Chiarelli Collegian Staff
CADE BELISLE/COLLEGIAN
Blake Frohnapfel stands in the pocket earlier this season against Bowling Green.
UMass football seeks second victory
Reginald Bell Jr. to give UM defense fits By Andrew Cyr Collegian Staff
The Massachusetts football team has had to prepare itself for a number of talented quarterbacks in the 2014 season. Whether it was the dual-threat Tyler Murphy – a transfer from the University of Florida – or future NFL quarterback Christian Hackenberg from Penn State, the Minutemen have had their hands full on multiple occasions. However, when UMass makes its final trip to Gillette Stadium of the season Saturday, there will be a new quarterback that people will be talking about and that’s Reginald Bell Jr. Earlier this week on the MAC coaches teleconference, Minutemen head coach Mark Whipple compared Bell to former Heisman trophy winner Robert Griffin III from Baylor.
Last Saturday against Buffalo, Bell put up Heismanlike numbers, throwing 8-for-13 with 144 yards and a touchdown. However, it was Bell’s rushing performance that made a name for him. The former Los Angeles City 110m high-hurtles champion ran for 202 yards and for three touchdowns on 17 carries, including a big touchdown run from 71-yards out and another from 72-yards. “He impacted that game as much as I’ve seen any one player do all year,” said Whipple. “If you make a mistake maybe last week or a couple of other weeks, it was 10 or 15 yard (gain), but this week it can be a touchdown.” “He’s a tremendous athlete. He’s not just a runner, and he can throw really well too,” cornerback Randall Jette said of Bell. The Eagles (2-4, 1-2 MAC) have struggled both offensively and defensively in the 2014 season. Aside from their win against the Bulls, the only other win was against 1-AA opponent Morgan State
in week one. Although Bell has burst onto the scene as of late, Eastern Michigan coach Chris Creighton has mixed and matched his quarterbacks this season. Bell is last on the team in pass attempts (35), behind Rob Bolden (76) and Brogan Roback (41). “Discipline is definitely huge (this week). You all saw what he did to Buffalo, he’s a really good player. He’s really fast and electrifying. He can change games,” linebacker Stanley Andre said. Creighton has used Bell in multiple read-option looks this season, as he leads the team in rushing yards (250) and touchdowns (three). Running back Ryan Brumfield also has three rushing touchdowns this year for the Eagles. Jette spoke highly of his team’s ability to stop the run following the Minutemen’s 40-17 win against Kent State last Saturday. UMass allowed 150 rushing yards and 341 total yards, the second fewest yards given up
since week three against Vanderbilt. “As much as we stepped up on the run defense, people stepped up in the passing game too. Jackson did great last week, and Trey Seals did a good job with underneath pass coverage especially on third downs,” he said.
Injury Report Whipple told reporters on Wednesday that J.T. Blyden, Shadrach A b ro k wa h , M a rke n Michel, Matt Sparks and Fabian Hollier have all made improvements this week and all have a legitimate shot of playing on Saturday. Whipple also mentioned that he won’t know their official status for the game until later in the week. Kickoff from Gillette Stadium is at 2 p.m. and can be seen on ESPN3.com. Andrew Cyr can be reached at arcyr@ umass.edu, and can be followed on Twitter @Andrew_Cyr
Massachusetts football receiver Tajae Sharpe’s 2014 campaign is earning him a significant amount of attention. The 6-foot-4 junior leads the team with 697 receiving yards through seven games. He’s caught four touchdowns, reeled in 43 catches (20 more than the next receiver) and made a number of impressive catches. The production earned him a spot on the Biletnikoff Award Watch List, as he was one of nine receivers named as the potential most outstanding receiver in college football. He’s undoubtedly UMass’ top receiving threat – and other teams are now taking notice. In Saturday’s 40-17 victory over Kent State, Sharpe caught only two passes in a relatively quiet day. The reason? For the first time this season, an opposing defense specifically ran coverages designed to take Sharpe out of the offensive equation. “That was something we were really trying to figure out,” Minutemen quarterback Blake Frohnapfel said of Kent State’s defensive decisions. “You look over there and there’s four guys on him and Jean (Sifrin) and you’re like ‘what are they doing?’ It’s kind of shocking at first when it’s the first time in a passing situation and they’re doing something like that.” The Golden Flashes combined multiple defensive looks to stymy Sharpe. At times, they would place two defenders on him. Kent State also rolled coverages in his direction, and forced Frohnapfel to look for other options. He did, and found success utilizing receivers Alex Kenney and Jalen Williams. Kenney finished with five catches for 76 yards, while Williams caught four passes for 64 yards and a touchdown. According to Frohnapfel, he wanted to
get Sharpe involved more, but Kent State’s defense didn’t allow it. “There’s certain situations where, on this play, I may go to him,” Frohnapfel said. “But with the way the coverage is, you can’t do it. With the changes we got, I tried to get him the ball.” “I’ll tell you that it’s not fun,” Sharpe said of facing increased defensive attention. “You want to make plays for your team every single week, so it’s definitely not fun. It’s exciting watching my teammates get the opportunity to make plays and they definitely did that.” Sharpe said both he and the offense adjusted on the fly. “Last week was the first week where I really got a heavy dose of seeing things that I haven’t seen before,” Sharpe said. Saturday marked the first time in 2014 that Sharpe failed to amass at least 70 yards receiving in a game. UMass coach Mark Whipple’s discussed Sharpe’s immense talent in the past, and noted that the Minutemen have seen more coverages “rolled” toward Sharpe in recent games. Whipple said, at least initially, he was surprised by Kent State’s decision to completely focus on Sharpe. “A little bit, yeah, because (Kent State) hadn’t done that to anybody,” Whipple said. Whipple noted that it’s difficult to determine how defenses will face UMass because the Minutemen play a pro-style offense, which is significantly different than the rest of the Mid-American Conference. “We’re probably a little bit different than a lot of teams offensively,” Whipple said. As you see, there are so many spread teams, so you don’t know what you’re going to get.” Because of the stark differences – and Whipple’s relative inexperience facing other MAC coaches – he’s adjusting as it goes. “I don’t know the coaches in this league, I really don’t know the backgrounds and how they’re see
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HOCKEY
Minutemen ready for MSU in weekend series UM ready to put BU loss in the past By Ross Gienieczko Collegian Staff
There are two ways a team can respond to blowout loss: one is to look back at the game, study it and see what broke down, and the other is to forget it ever happened and move on completely. In wake of its 8-1 loss to Boston University on the opening night of the season, the Massachusetts hockey team is doing a little of both. “You have to separate yourself from the emotional part of (the loss),” head coach John Micheletto said. “(We need to) look back and use video, and make sure that in the early part of the season you’re addressing the things that need to be
addressed.” Senior captain Troy Power agreed. “We have to take the good and the bad, we have to learn from our mistakes,” Power said. “But we have to move forward.” Moving forward means a weekend trip to East Lansing, Michigan for a two game set against Michigan State. UMass (0-1, 0-1 Hockey East) won twice against the Spartans last season, when both games were played in Amherst at Mullins Center. This time, the Minutemen will be on the road and in a more hostile environment – it’s the season opener for the Spartans. “Last year, we took two from them here, and I’m sure they’re going to be looking to do the same,” Power said. “So we’re going to have to make sure we’re ready to go … It’s going to be a business
trip.” It was a fortuitous weekend for several Minutemen in the two game series last year. Goaltender Steve Mastalerz picked up both wins in net, allowing just three goals on the weekend. On the offensive side, Power, Steven Iacobellis and Ray Pigozzi all had three points in the wins. After a thrashing by the Terriers last Friday night, UMass would like to get back to the level they performed at last year against the Spartans. Although, the Minutemen are not there yet, Micheletto has liked the way his team has responded in practice after their season opening defeat. “For three days in a row we’ve gotten after it,” Micheletto said. “Guys have had good energy and good competitiveness.” Part of that competi-
tiveness, according to Micheletto, stems from the lingering effects of the loss against BU. “(The team) didn’t like it, they were embarrassed by it,” Micheletto admitted. “The only thing you can do at that point is turn around and have a little bit of a chip on your shoulder and want to prove everybody wrong the next time out.” One area the Minutemen hope to improve their power play, which was 0-3 against the Terriers that could have changed the complexion of the game before BU’s third period explosion – UMass ranked seventh in the country last year in power play. It was also a big part of their wins against Michigan State, as the Minutemen scored five power play goals against the Spartans, including four in the second game of the back-to-back.. While it’s not
ALEC ZABRECKY/COLLEGIAN
Freshmen Keith Burchett rushes the puck down the ice last Friday agasint BU. realistic to expect five power play goals every weekend, both Micheletto and Power said it was important for UMass to get consistent production on the man advantage. “It’s very important,” Micheletto said. “Teams are
going to take penalties, and you want to make them pay.” “Any time you can win the special teams battle, it’s going to be beneficial to your success as a team,” Power added. “(Our power play) is see
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