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New policies and regulations for McGuirk Stadium Concerns include parking, tailgating By Catherine Ferris Collegian Staff
Beverages must be consumed from non-glass containers, and drinking games involving excessive alcohol consumption are prohibited. The site also reminded fans that UMass is a tobacco free campus. Guests are invited to participate in the activities on MinuteFan Way, which will include live entertainment, mini golf, video game trailers and face painting. MinuteFan Way is scheduled to be open to the public four hours before game time. Medical Services will be located in the southwest corner of the stadium, as well as in a marked tent on MinuteFan Way next to Parking Lot 11. Parking policies were also outlined in the release, noting that season ticket holder parking is available in Lot 11 for the upcoming football season, while handicapped parking will be available inside the stadium on the scoreboard end in Red Lot. Any other traffic will be directed to lots 22 and 23, which are across from the Southwest Residential Area. Cars must find a lot to park as, “Roadside parking is prohibited unless otherwise directed.” Players and fans alike are excited for the atmosphere around football games on campus. “A lot of people on campus are talking about how they can’t wait to come,” offensive tackle Tyrell Smith said at practice Wednesday. “Everybody always complains like ‘I don’t want to come all the way to Gillette,’ now all they have to do is get up, come out, tailgate and walk over to the game.” The return to McGuirk begins with the homecoming game this Saturday at 3 p.m., followed by two other games on Oct. 18 and Nov. 12.
For those in attendance at this year’s Homecoming game, new responsibilities and regulations will be enforced at the event, taking place at the recently renovated McGuirk Stadium this Saturday. The return to McGuirk Stadium has prompted a number of new policies for tailgating and parking on game days. University of Massachusetts Athletics laid out the regulations, drinking policies, parking, medical services and traffic plans on the UMass Football website. Tailgating is permitted four hours before the game starts, and may continue 90 minutes after the end of the game. Fans are not allowed to remain in the parking lot during the duration of the game, and will be asked to either enter the stadium, or leave the tailgate area. Both UMass Police as well as UMass Parking Services will be on site to make sure traffic will flow smoothly. In addition to ensuring that traffic will be safe, the UMPD will also be enforcing state laws. These are outlined on the website, specifying that those under the age of 21 years of age who are holding or drinking alcohol or driving a vehicle that contains alcohol are subject to arrest. The UMass Football website also noted that those under the influence of alcohol while driving, as well as those who create a dangerous situation are subject to arrest. UMPD will be able to check the identification of campus guests, students and football patrons who are drinking alcohol. Students are also held accountable for on-campus rules and regula- Catherine Ferris can be reached at tions that are to be associated caferris@umass.edu and followed on with these legal violations. Twitter at @Ca_Ferris2.
CADE BELISLE/COLLEGIAN
UMass football returns to campus this Saturday. The game begins at 3 p.m.
Grand opening for Springfield Center Opportunity awaits at new UM campus By Brianna Zimmerman Collegian Correspondent
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — The University of Massachusetts Center at Springfield held its grand opening event on Wednesday, marking the start of a chance for those in the area to better their education. The event took place in Springfield Tower Square in order to emphasize the positive impacts of higher learning on the city. A variety of distinguished speakers were present, including UMass President Robert L. Caret, UMass Board of Trustees Chairman Henry M. Thomas III, Governor Deval Patrick, Chancellor Kumble Subbaswamy, UMass Building Authority Chairman Philip W. Johnston, Mayor of Springfield Domenic J. Sarno and Senator James T. Welch. Each speaker commented on the benefit of the loca-
tion of the UMass Center at Springfield. “For me, this center is not an abstraction,” Patrick said. “It’s not even just about the 300 students who have already oversubscribed to this space… it’s about what is represented and what is possible for the people of Springfield and the people of the Commonwealth.” The UMass Center’s 26,000 square-foot facility was funded completely by the state for $5.2 million dollars. The Center offers 40 courses across ten programs including liberal arts, nursing and education. These programs were chosen based on the necessity for these industries specifically in Springfield. Students from both Holyoke Community College and Springfield Technical Community College have benefited from the presence of the UMass Center in Springfield. “All of the students at the Center belong to whatever campus they are already enrolled in. They pay those tuitions, those fees and noth-
It’s about what is represented and what is possible for the people of Springfield and the people of the Commonwealth.” Governor Deval Patrick ing else,” said Dr. Lynn Griesemer, executive director of the UMass Donahue Institute. The UMass Center simply provides a place for classes to be taught. Nursing students at UMass attend classes weekly at the new facility in Springfield, according to Clare Lamontagne, undergraduate program director of the College of Nursing. There is a simulated lab at the facility, specialized for future home health aids and visiting nurses. UMass nursing student Fay Khudairi said she enjoys the new facility and can see its convenience for people who live in the area. Lucy Carvalho, a native of Springfield, is a new faculty
member at the facility. “I’m so excited,” she said. “I’m using what I learned from working in the community as a volunteer, and my nursing, and I’m hoping that my students will make impacts in other ways.” Chancellor Subbaswamy concluded his speech by saying, “The distance between Amherst and Springfield just got a lot shorter,” with so many professors from the University’s flagship campus in Amherst teaching classes in Springfield. The Center is expected to double in size in the future. Brianna Zimmerman can be reached at bzimmerman@umass.edu.
Record enrollment attained Mass shootings in US across all UMass campuses have tripled, says FBI
State residents and students to benefit By Brendan Deady Collegian Correspondent
The University of Massachusetts five college campuses are collectively projected to serve a record number of students this fall, according to a UMass press release This surge in enrollment contributes to an overall growth in the UMass system that not only serves Massachusetts residents, but also stimulates the state’s economy, according to a report by the Donahue Institute of the Isenberg School of Management. Enrollment numbers throughout UMass’ Amherst,
Lowell, Dartmouth, Boston and Worcester campuses are projected at 73,614 students for this academic year, a 30 percent surge from a decade ago. “Over the past decade, families across the Commonwealth have realized that UMass is the smart choice on so many levels. … I am very proud that UMass has become the home for so many sons and daughters of the Commonwealth,” President Robert L. Caret said at a meeting with the UMass Board of Trustees on Academic and Student Affairs last week in Boston. The increase in just the number of applications alone was likewise at a record high this year for the UMass system, caus-
ing acceptance standards to rise throughout the system. The average SAT score for the University of Massachusetts Amherst’s entering freshman class rose ten points from last year to 1218 and the average GPA rose from a 3.73 to a 3.78 according to the press release. “The number of applications and the quality of our students is rising throughout our campuses as more and more students and parents recognize the excellence and affordability of UMass and the value of their public university,” Caret said. Ann Scales, director of communications at UMass, attributes the rising number see
ENROLLMENT on page 2
B y R ichard A. Serrano Tribune Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON — The number of sudden mass shootings in the United States has nearly tripled in recent years, the FBI said Wednesday, prompting the bureau to expand its work with state and local officials to identify potential gunmen before they attack. In a study of activeshooter incidents, FBI officials said there were 160 cases from 2000 through 2013, with the numbers growing from an average of 6.4 incidents in the first seven years to 16.4 in the last seven years. Seventy percent of the shooters attacked in schools or
workplaces, and 60 percent of the shootings happened so fast that they were over before the police arrived. “How do we prevent these?” said James Yacone, FBI assistant director. “We want to engage with these people early and start a dialogue, and get the person off the path to violence.” Yacone was the top bureau official in Colorado in July 2012 when 12 people were killed and 58 wounded at an Aurora, Colo., movie theater. That incident topped the FBI’s survey with the most casualties. It was followed by the 2007 shooting at Virginia Tech (49 killed and wounded); the 2009 Fort Hood,
Texas, shooting (45 killed and wounded), and the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. (29 killed and wounded). Authorities gave several reasons for the rise in mass shootings, including copycat killers and the availability of firearms. Andre Simons, supervisory special agent assigned to the FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Unit in Quantico, Va., said the bureau has the resources to help local authorities identify potential shooters, many of whom have “deeply held personal grievances” and often quietly start planning an “act see
SHOOTINGS on page 2
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Thursday, September 25, 2014
THE RUNDOWN ON THIS DAY... In 1992, NASA launched the Mars Observer, a $511 million probe to Mars. This was the first U.S. mission to the planet in 17 years. Eleven months later, the probe failed its mission.
AROUND THE WORLD
JERUSALEM — Israel on
THE MASSACHUSETTS DAILY COLLEGIAN
SHOOTINGS of catastrophic violence.” Simons said many are troubled at work or school, while others follow the news of shootings and seek similar notoriety. “The copycat phenomenon is real,” he said. “They often become inspired by past incidents.” But they can be spotted early by police, ministers or teachers, and Simons said his unit receives up to three requests a week from local authorities seeking help evaluating potential gunmen. “We
continued from page 1
want to get the person the help they need,” he said. “It’s our job to help them find alternatives to violence.” The FBI report found a total of 1,043 casualties during those 14 years, with 486 killed and 557 wounded. All but two of the shootings involved single gunmen; six of the shooters were female; in nine cases the shooters killed family members first; and five gunmen in four shootings remain at large.
Tuesday shot down a Syrian fighter jet that it said had flown into Israeli–controlled airspace over the Golan Heights.
The Russian-made
Sukhoi-24 fighter was targeted with a U.S.-supplied Patriot ground–to–air missile after it had “infiltrated into Israeli airspace,” the Israeli army said.
Israel captured the Golan
Heights from Syria in the 1967 Middle East War and later annexed the territory, a strategic plateau overlooking northern Israel. -McClatchy Foreign Staff
JERUSALEM — After an
extended manhunt, Israeli security forces on Tuesday tracked down and killed two Palestinians suspected of abducting and slaying three Israeli teenagers in the West Bank in June, the army said.
The kidnapping, blamed
by Israel on the militant Islamist group Hamas, set in motion a sequence of events that led to the recent war in Gaza, in which more than 2,000 Palestinians and 72 Israelis and a foreign worker died.
In public remarks after
the suspects were killed, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had told the parents of the slain teenagers that “justice had been done.” McClatchy Foreign Staff
BEIJING — A Chinese
court convicted a moderate Uighur scholar of separatism and sentenced him to life in prison Tuesday following what human rights advocates called “a show trial” likely to worsen ethnic tensions in the far west of China.
The scholar, Ilham Tohti,
had operated a website critical of Chinese policies against Uighurs, Turkicspeaking Muslims who call China’s Xinjiang region their homeland. Authorities arrested him at his home in Beijing in January, following several years of detentions and official harassment.
McClatchy Foreign Staff
Distributed by MCT Information Services
ENROLLMENT of students and applicants to the quality and affordability that a UMass education provides, particularly in a time where attending college is becoming increasingly expensive. “People want the best quality in their product for the best price and with education it’s no different,” Scales said. “The surge in enrollment is recognition of the amazing value for an amazing quality of education offered by the University of Massachusetts.” Anthony Desalvo, freshman biology major from Boston, reinforced this sentiment. “One of the main reasons I chose UMass Amherst was because of the cost, it made the most sense to go to an affordable school. Also UMass is known to have a strong science program. The College of Natural Sciences is ranked in the top 100 in the country,” he said. Desalvo is one of 9,314 freshman expected to have enrolled into the four undergraduate program of the UMass system at this year, an slight increase from last year according to the press release. “We’ve had to respond by building new academic facilities, new residence halls and other facilities to serve new students,” Caret told the Boston Globe in early September. UMass spent $3 billion over the past decade on construction. The unprecedented level of expansion is one of many beneficial effects that the growth of the UMass system has played on the Massachusetts economy. Spending tied to UMass
continued from page 1
employees, operations, research, students and construction as well as a $6.1 billion contribution to the Massachusetts economy in the Fiscal Year 2013 was responsible for establishing over 45,000 jobs, according the report released by the Donahue Institute. “This report demonstrates that in addition to providing academic excellence…the University of Massachusetts is a significant economic driver for the Commonwealth,” President Caret said according to the UMass press release. UMass’s economic contributions are assisted by the fact that so many of its graduates utilize their educations in surrounding communities. According to Daniel Fitzgibbons, associate director for Media Relations at UMass, the University has the highest percent of graduates that stay instate than any other university in Massachusetts “Our graduates put their education to use in Massachusetts, they work here, consume, pay taxes and contribute to an intelligent work-force,” Fitzgibbons said. “This is why the record number of enrollment is such great news,” Scales added. “It leads to a more qualified student population that graduates ready to assist our state’s economy. And the construction of new facilities and the new facilities themselves provide jobs for people of many communities. Everyone benefits from a growing and stronger public education system in Massachusetts.” Brendan Deady can be reached at bdeady@umass.edu.
DailyCollegian.com
Eisenhower memorial design passes one more hurdle By Maria Recio McClatchy Washington Bureau WASHINGTON — The Eisenhower Memorial Commission, under fire from lawmakers and critics over a controversial design to honor the nation’s 34th president, Dwight D. Eisenhower, decided Wednesday in an unusual email vote to proceed with a revised design by famed architect Frank Gehry. The 8-2 vote means that the commission, which has been dogged by disputes over the design and funding for the last several years, will return to the National Capital Planning Commission with the revised design Oct. 2. Earlier this year, the commission, one of the memorial’s approving bodies, rejected the original Gehry plan. The Eisenhower memorial, first approved by Congress in 1999, has barely moved off center since Gehry’s design was unveiled in 2010. Critics blasted the design, and the late president’s grandson, historian David Eisenhower, resigned from the commission, though he had been supportive of Gehry’s design. The family, however, was split. David Eisenhower’s sisters, the former president’s granddaughters, Susan and Anne Eisenhower, emerged as vocal opponents of the original design. They now speak for the family, and in a letter Sept. 15 they said it would not support the revised Gehry design,
Wednesday’s vote may give momentum to the world-renowned architect’s revised vision and jumpstart the process after critics had been arguing for a complete overhaul of his design. either. Congress has cut back on the memorial’s funding because of the ongoing controversy. N o n e t h e l e s s , Wednesday’s vote may well give momentum to the world-renowned architect’s revised vision and jumpstart the process after critics had been arguing for a complete overhaul of his design. Gehry’s willingness to compromise with opponents has won over some of the stiffest opposition. The modified design removes two of the metal tapestries that have been the center of controversy, leaving one large tapestry along the length of the memorial space and two bas-relief sculptures in the middle. Gehry eliminated the two tapestries, which the planning commission said diminished the sight lines to the U.S. Capitol, and left two 80-foot columns to frame the four-acre rectangular space. The memorial is designated to be built on a tract on the National Mall across from the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum and in front of the Lyndon Baines Johnson Department of Education Building. Planning commission
members were generally favorable to the revised design when they first saw it at an informational meeting earlier this month. Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., who is on the planning commission, had asked that the Eisenhower commission members consider an alternative that removed the remaining tapestry altogether and left only the so-called memorial core _ a bas-relief of Eisenhower as supreme allied commander on D-Day, another of him as president, and a sculpture of him in the middle as a young cadet at the U.S. Military Academy. However, the commission rejected that option Wednesday, and it separately rejected an option to delay a decision until November, also by a vote of 8-2. Drama over the memorial continued Wednesday when it was disclosed that Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., one of the original commission members who had served since 2001, had resigned on Sept. 17, the day of the Eisenhower commission’s annual meeting. At that meeting, there were not enough commission members for a quorum, so the staff proposed a virtual vote for Sept. 24.
Arts Living THE MASSACHUSETTS DAILY COLLEGIAN
Thursday, September 25, 2014
“Are you suggesting that coconuts migrate?” - Monty Python
CONCERT PREVIEW
Arts@DailyCollegian.com
TELEVISION
Father-son duo Tweedy to The titans of premium TV HBO rock the Calvin Theatre Showtime, spar for eminence
Wilco’s front man promotes new LP
By Alexander Frail Collegian Staff
By Jackson Maxwell Collegian Staff
This Saturday night, Jeff Tweedy, the lead singer of Wilco, will hit the stage of the Calvin Theatre in Northampton with his son Spencer. As Tweedy, a band titled for their shared last name, they will show off the electric musical chemistry they shared on their debut album “Sukierae” which was released on Sep. 23. The band serves as an outlet for the elder Jeff Tweedy to explore previously unseen talents and to expand his already immense profile as a songwriter. His son, rather than giving his father’s songs an extra level of cozy domesticity, pushes the tracks to heights they may have not reached if Jeff Tweedy had recorded them either by himself or with Wilco. Tweedy is a thrilling combination of youth and experience. While Jeff Tweedy is incredibly comfortable in his approach to the band’s songs after 25 years in music, Spencer Tweedy’s drumming is almost impatient. Whenever it seems that his father’s songs may be slowing their pace too much or becoming too complicit, Spencer Tweedy interjects a thrilling rhythmic statement that throws the song off its axis. Although Spencer Tweedy is only 18 years old, his aspirations extend far beyond the band he has with his father. His drumming on soul legend Mavis Staples’ 2013 album “One True Vine” won him much admiration, with critics noting his extensive talents and abilities behind the drums despite his young age. Jeff Tweedy’s musical resume more than speaks for itself. Before Tweedy or Wilco, Jeff Tweedy was a part
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Jeff Tweedy at the Shoreline Amphitheatre on Oct. 25, 2008. of alternative country legend Uncle Tupelo with Jay Farrar and Mike Heidorn. Although they never achieved commercial success, Uncle Tupelo was enormously influential with albums like “No Depression” and “Anodyne,” easily establishing themselves as cult favorites. Even if Jeff Tweedy had never gone on to form Wilco, his reputation would have already been cemented. Around the ashes of Uncle Tupelo, a short-lived, but incredibly creative alternative country genre was formed, combining the angry energy of punk with the emotional songwriting of folk and Americana. It was with Wilco, though, that Jeff Tweedy truly cemented his reputation as one of the most gifted songwriters of his generation. Wilco’s run of albums from 1996 to 2002, which saw the release of the double album “Being There,” “Summerteeth” and “Yankee Hotel Foxtrot,” was a streak of brilliance that few rock bands before or since have come close to emulating. On those three records, Tweedy took the genre bending he had toyed with in Uncle Tupelo to its thrilling extreme. Fighting through both personal and professional troubles, Tweedy added to his already potent mix of folk, country and punk, ele-
ments of avant-garde and noise rock. Showing a clear evolution with each passing album, Wilco became one of the most critically acclaimed rock bands in America, and has remained so ever since. The father-son collaboration on “Sukierae” was a prolific one, with Jeff Tweedy claiming he had 90 songs up his sleeve during the sessions. The 20 that eventually made up the record are a tantalizing exploration of the genres Jeff Tweedy has spent his entire career taking cues from, with fascinating interpretations and turns from his son. Jeff Tweedy’s wife and Spencer Tweedy’s mom, Susan Tweedy, recently battled with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. This casts a subtle but noticeable shadow on the songs and gives them an extra palpable tension. “Sukierae” is a fascinating document of an even more intriguing premise for a band - a rock star father and his teenage son, mostly recording by themselves. Sure it has happened before, but no father-son duo has ever produced a record that is close to this good. You can come see this fascinating dynamic play out at the Calvin Theatre this Saturday night. Tickets range from $39.50 to $49.50. Jackson Maxwell can be reached at jlmaxwell@umass.edu.
Showtime or HBO? It’s an argument my friends and I have more often than I can tell you. Few shows have achieved the excellence in writing like Showtime’s “Masters of Sex” or “Episodes.” Then again, HBO is king of the Emmys. Just this year it raked in 19 trophies, buoyed by the excellent “True Detective.” Comparatively, Showtime won four. Regardless of which network reigns over television, our debate has been misguided. Together, the TV titans have churned out a generation of riveting television. Showtime’s programs have failed to gain as much traction as many of their HBO counterparts. “Party Down,” a comedy that should be listed with immortal names like “Arrested Development” and “30 Rock,” failed in its sophomore season despite critical raves. Low Nielsen ratings killed the show’s chance at a third year. Despite the strong cast led by Adam Scott, Lizzy Caplan and Jane Lynch, the catering comedy lurked in obscurity for its two seasons. Both Scott (“Parks and Recreation”) and Lynch (“Glee”) opted for more promising parts on basic cable. The mishandling of comedic gold seems to be a fixture of the network’s past. In 2011, the British/ American crossover “Episodes” premiered to stellar reviews. Three years later, the program still draws raves and Showtime has renewed it for its fourth year. The show stars Matt LeBlanc as a fictionalized version of himself, a role that earned him a Golden Globe for Best Actor in 2012. The “Episodes’” pilot contains more laughs than most basic cable sitcoms accumulate in a season’s run. Showtime also draws the
star power that once was reserved for HBO. Claire Danes famously said to NPR that she “wanted to be a part of that Renaissance,” referring to her return to television and taking on the role on “Homeland” as CIA analyst Carrie Mathison. Similarly, both Kristen Bell and Don Cheadle pursued the small screen in “House of Lies.” Before his fatal overdose in February, revered actor Philip Seymour Hoffman had signed onto a Showtime pilot. HBO has long drawn actors to its hallowed screens. Steve Buscemi abandoned the silver screen for the Atlantic City of “Boardwalk Empire” and “True Detective” nabbed three A-listers with Matthew McConaughey, Woody Harrelson and Michelle Monaghan. The network recently confirmed that season two would star both Colin Farrell and Vince Vaughn. While maintaining this magnetic draw for actors, HBO has also maintained its vise grip on award season. The network’s prominence comes from its high profile programs. Most recently, “Game of Thrones” grew from a promising fantasy crossover to a culturally significant behemoth. Its pilot, viewed by 2.2 million viewers, enticed audiences worldwide so much that its fourth season finale amassed over 7 million viewers. The adaptation of George R.R. Martin’s “A Song of Ice and Fire” also scored a whopping 94 on Metacritic this year. Showtime’s analogous shows, namely “Dexter” and “Homeland,” struggled to reach such a reception. “Dexter’s” series finale, despite dismal writing and a complete mishandling of Dexter and Deb’s fate, reached its highest ratings ever with 2.8 million people tuning in. Similarly, “Homeland’s” third season finale drew 2.4 million viewers. Another Showtime favorite, “Ray Donovan,” started strong with 1.56 million view-
ers in its second episode, but dropped to .7 million this year. Its critical reviews were little more than lukewarm. Showtime’s magnum opus of the moment, “Masters of Sex,” finds itself in the best position to challenge HBO. With stellar ratings and a blooming fandom, the period piece about Dr. William Masters and Virginia Johnson has the most promise for the network. The series also gives Lizzy Caplan the shot at TV excellence she should have received on “Party Down.” Numbers and ratings will never end the rivalry or the debate over which network reigns supreme. Important to take away, however, is the caliber of television from both camps. Even if Showtime falls short of HBO’s ratings and awards, the networks complement each other by demanding excellence in writing. We’ll soon see once again why these networks have fundamentally changed television. “The Affair,” already acclaimed prior to its release, debuts on Oct. 12. The drama will star Dominic West from “The Wire” and examine the psychological trauma attached to extramarital affairs. Over on HBO, the mere rumor mill of “True Detective’s” sophomore outing has kept bloggers and magazines awake at night for months now. That’s a powerful testament to writer and creator Nic Pizzolatto’s masterpiece. Now that Farrell and Vaughn have been confirmed, there’ll be months more of anticipation leading up to season two. So, Showtime or HBO? I choose both. The decades’ long rivalry has revolutionized television for us lucky viewers and the fierce competition promises years more of entertainment and ingenuity to come. Alexander Frail can be reached afrail@umass.edu.
FILM REVIEW
Tom Hardy lifts ‘The Drop’ with empathetic performance Lehane’s adaptation uneven in the end By Nathan Frontiero Collegian Staff
Make no mistake – “The Drop” is not a crime thriller. The titular drop, which refers to a bar picked for discretely depositing mob money each night, is just suspenseful padding for the more intimate focus beneath it. A title card in the end credits notes the film is based on a Dennis Lehane short story titled “Animal Rescue,” and indeed the film exudes a smaller, atmospheric feel. To accomplish this, Dennis Lehane adapted the script himself and Michaël R. Roskam’s direction hews to the tighter narrative scope familiar to the short story form. The ever-transformative Tom Hardy holds the film together like an iron vise. Here he disappears behind Bob Saginowski, a Brooklyn bartender at Cousin Marv’s, one of the many drop bars controlled by Chechen mobsters. Hardy’s narration introduces the neighborhood’s rule and the exposition isn’t grating. Roskam puts the brunt of the film on his star’s shoulders, and boy, can Hardy lift. You’ll
recognize the actor instantly. Beyond his character’s wardrobe, there isn’t much in the way of changing Hardy’s typical rugged look. The magic is in his dialect and physicality. Bob is a lonely, soft-spoken man and Hardy nails his every stiff, restrained nuance. It’s practically enough to only watch him. Hardy is mesmerizing. I found myself hinging on his every gently rasping word, waiting for him in every scene. He speaks with an impeccable Brooklyn accent and makes each line resonate like a riddle gradually unspooling. Bob is rather enigmatic and the film’s refusal to spell him out offers more satisfying suspense than the mob subplot. In the overall scheme, Bob’s arc carries far more heft, which is great since beneath the film’s laboriously suspenseful plotting is an aching empathetic core. Roskam pushes us to feel for Bob, to identify and align with him, and then pulls up the mirror to show us what we have become. The effect is jarringly divisive. I left the theater unsure if I wanted to cry out of deep sadness or recoil in utter horror. This emotional duality resonates in a way that the larger plot simply fails to. Luckily,
Roskam and Lehane understand how to tip the balance appropriately. They focus the story on its most arresting elements. Particular attention is paid to the train of events that spin out after Bob finds a pit bull puppy abandoned in a trashcan. We see Hardy’s burly, quiet man cradle the injured dog and it’s heartbreaking. Nicolas Karakatsanis’ cinematography hibernates within the chilling intimacy of these scenes. He expertly traps the palette in the dingy urban frost of the winter weeks at the tail end of the holidays. I was reminded of how stunningly quiet the season is. The temporal backdrop is as repressed as the film’s protagonist. Roskam makes only subtly pointed gestures to underline critical details. At one point, Bob stands in a doorway in the back of the bar, shrouded entirely in red. The impression is dark and it’s probably the most direct window we get into deciphering his character until the denouement. The director knows to restrain himself and simply allow his lead to bring the audience into the icy shadows. Amid the unnecessarily elusive events, some pieces and players fall to under-
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Tom Hardy and Noomi Rapace star as Bob and Nadia, respectively, in “The Drop.” played beats. The most disappointing of these is cousin Marv himself, the bar owner played with gruff commitment by the late James Gandolfini. Marv is a thinly sketched character, brusque and stuck, and constantly complaining about the stature he once had in the neighborhood, a power that time and change have stripped from him. It’s hard to watch Gandolfini relegat-
ed to such a beat part. You’ll want to squint your eyes and look away as Marv himself does in one of his final scenes. Gandolfini’s character, like the crime plot that involves him, ends up being almost entirely inconsequential. “The Drop” tries and mostly fails to build a bigger situation into a smaller scale. Credit falls inextricably to Tom Hardy, who again deliv-
ers a devastatingly immersive performance and thus holds the film afloat. When Bob delivers his bookending narration and this story disappears like winter water under the Brooklyn Bridge, “The Drop” reaches somewhere inside your heart and hurts in the right way. Nathan Frontiero can be reached at nfrontiero@umass.edu.
Opinion Editorial THE MASSACHUSETTS DAILY COLLEGIAN
“You can observe a lot just by watching.” -Yogi Berra
Thursday, September 25, 2014
You should probably move off-campus Have you ever thought about living off-campus instead of in the dorms? I
Ian Hagerty think it’s a great idea. If you find the right situation for yourself off of the University of Massachusetts campus, you can usually pay less for housing, have a more relaxing life style with more options and have more freedom. The least expensive housing option that is available at UMass, which you can find listed on the UMass Amherst Residential Life website, is about $2,600 per semester and if you so choose, you can pay up to about $5,400. We can do a bit of simple math and come to realize that at $2,600 a semester, a student would be paying about $650 a month. To put this into perspective, I rented a cottage in downtown Amherst for $650 a month last year. That’s the same price for an entire cottage, compared to a shared dorm room. That was also a situation in which I was living on my own, which is one of the least desirable financial situations a student could ask for when living offcampus. Of course I did have to pay for heat, electricity and internet to bring my home up to the same standard of living as a dorm. This cost me, on average, an extra $150 a month. However, my home also had its own kitchen. This means that I was able to cook my own meals. This may not seem like a very big deal, but from a financial perspective, a kitchen can be very helpful. If you know how to shop with a keen eye and how to prepare food in the right ways, you can cook and eat happily for far less than it costs to pay for a meal plan at the dining halls. I can make a pot of chili with rice on the side for less than $30 and have it last me at least seven or eight meals. That’s about four dollars a meal, which is definitely cheaper than eating at the dining hall. Now, considering rent and utilities versus a standard dorm fee as well as considering the cost of a meal plan compared to the cost of cooking your own food, you may still break even between the two options if you decided to live on your own off-campus. Simply finding a roommate can guarantee you will live for less. This year, I managed to rent a house with two other friends, and we each pay between $400 and $450 a month, which comes to about
$600 total per month with utilities each. In this house, we also have an entire living room, a huge kitchen and our own private back yard. All of this and we are less than a mile away from campus. I’m not saying that there are thousands of houses just like this one, but it was not difficult at all for us to find. We even waited until the week before school started. I know of at least a dozen other people that are in very similar
“That’s the same price for an entire cottage, compared to a shared dorm room.” situations themselves. If the copious amounts of money one can save by living off-campus isn’t enough motivation for you, consider your quality of living. When you live in a dorm, you have to follow a distinct set of rules set by the school. You have to be quiet at certain hours, you have to sign friends in to have them over and you can’t even have a friendly gathering without worrying about getting written up. We aren’t angels. If there are rules many of us will break them and probably get in trouble at one point or another. Even studying can present a challenge because of the unstoppable noise of hundreds of people living within close proximity of you. Of course, UMass requires that all freshmen spend their school year in on-campus housing. I think that this is an odd and somewhat pointless rule, but there can definitely be some benefits to staying on-campus your first year. If you come from living at home for your entire life, living amongst your peers, especially random ones can be an enchanting, enlightening and educational experience. Everyone should live with his or her fair share of strangers to get a feel for the world. There is no doubt this can be helpful. So, if you are a freshman, enjoy your year on campus and make some good friends. After all, they are potential roommates. If you aren’t a freshman, go save some money, gain some freedom and make noise as late as you want. Why pay more for less?
Editorial@DailyCollegiancom
Fixing the SGA is our responsibility The mission statement of the University of Massachusetts Student Government Association is “to establish and protect the democratic system for undergraduate university governance.” The organization prides itself on these grounds. In their attempt to play government and pretend democracy, the SGA hosts two elections each year, for senators in the fall and the executive cabiin the spring. Emily Devenney net At the time of the spring 2014 election, there were 19,697 undergraduate students at UMass Amherst. The SGA Elections Commission counted 2, 324 votes in the undergraduate SGA election for president and vice president, for an overall undergraduate turnout of 11.8 percent. Just over ten percent of the undergraduate student body elected their leaders. Fortunately, the fall 2014 elections saw slight improvement with a turnout rate of 16 percent. However, if you are familiar with these two election reports released by Elections Commission, you’ll notice that these numbers do not match those that were formally reported. But the discrepancies for both have simple explanations. Last spring, the Elections Commission invalidated 1,304 votes for president and vice president, dropping the turnout numbers. This fall, the Elections Commission reported, without a source, a student population of 22,000, which is noticeably higher than the Office of Institutional Research’s enrollment projection of 20,880. I choose to use the numbers that I feel is accurate. Another hallmark of recent SGA elections is controversy, and no matter how slight, it happens every time. This fall, there was a complaint filed – apparently anonymously – against a candidate, Anthony Vitale. The complaining party alleged that candidate Vitale prematurely posted campaigning material, thus “insinuating the use of his own funds to create flyers.” Luckily for now-Senator Vitale, his 250 votes constituted 31.8 percent of the total cast, though voters could cast ballots for up to three candidates in Orchard Hill Residential Area. Last spring opposing presidential candidates filed similar complaints against the invalidated candidate ticket. On one occasion, an opposing candidate complained that another had announced their candidacy early, resulting in a 24-hour suspension from campaigning, and just days later, they filed another complaint inferring that another candidate had used their own funds to produce materials. The Elections Commission later invalidated the ticket, of which I was a part of, based on these complaints. In that case, we received 35.9 percent, with a 4 percent margin of victory.
Senate elections have a significantly higher number of candidates each year, but somehow far fewer complaints are filed against the candidates. This indicates political apathy surrounding the SGA, but also that the SGA has an inability to conduct outreach and is averse to bylaw reform. Insider influence is pervasive in the SGA. In the spring 2014 elections, numerous mistakes and incompetency in the Elections Commission caused high tension between candidates and the commission. So it’s no surprise to me that they took swift action and were quick to enforce rules and sanctions against candidates. However, infractions committed by the Elections Chancellor himself, including soliciting votes, went overlooked; they regarded it as harmless. Elections that consistently report less than a 20 percent turnout are a joke. A set of archaic and self-contradictory bylaws is a joke. Claiming to be a representative organization with a senate largely composed of English and political science majors is a joke. The joke is on us, the constituent students. We are the
“The joke is on us, the constituent students. We are the ones impacted by policies moved through SGA. We are the ones enchanted by the idea of running for office ourselves, only to meet a snarky, exclusive system.” ones impacted by policies moved through the SGA. We are the ones enchanted by the idea of running for office ourselves, only to meet a snarky, exclusive system. We are the ones too apathetic to vote because we haven’t seen the apparent fruits of our great leaders’ labors. I don’t hate our SGA, but I do care about it. And I want to empower the students who are questioning an institution that is too comfortable with mediocrity, pressuring an invisible student trustee and leading a campus that belongs to us. Emily Devenney is a Collegian contributor. She can be reached at edevenne@ umass.edu.
Ian Hagerty is a Collegian columnist. He can be reached at ihagerty@umass. edu.
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The Massachusetts Daily Collegian is published Monday through Thursday during the University of Massachusetts calendar semester. The Collegian is independently funded, operating on advertising revenue. Founded in 1890, the paper began as Aggie Life, became the College Signal in 1901, the Weekly Collegian in 1914 and the Tri–Weekly Collegian in 1956. Published daily from 1967 to 2013, The Collegian has been broadsheet since January 1994. For advertising rates and information, call 413-545-3500.
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Thursday, September 25, 2014
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Comics I
don’t know,
“fall”
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doesn’t really sound too much like pumpkin to me.
Your comic here! Your comic here! D inosaur C omics
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Brownie shaped cupcakes
XKCD
B y R andall M unroe
aquarius
HOROSCOPES Jan. 20 - Feb. 18
leo
Jul. 23 - Aug. 22
Your propensity to buy a watermelon, canned Improperly dressing for a bike ride is what tuna, and a jug of milk everytime you grocery leads to flip flops and several articles of shop says more about you than anything. clothing obstructing said lane.
pisces
Feb. 19 - Mar. 20
virgo
Aug. 23 - Sept. 22
There’s a fine line between thinking a toy car The tailgate this weekend is meant to be rug is cool and making your college room look a fun time for all! Grills and burgers, not exceptionally creepy. included.
aries
Mar. 21 - Apr. 19
taurus
Apr. 20 - May. 20
gemini
May. 21 - Jun. 21
libra
Sept. 23 - Oct. 22
scorpio
Oct. 23 - Nov. 21
You live your life in complete confusion all the The person you’re speaking to on the phone time, mostly due to the fact that you’re in in the bathroom can hear exactly what you’re college, not the preconceived collage. doing.
If the world was honest, ramen would only come in the flavors, “salty,” “super salty” and the “dead sea.”
You can take away my dignity and pride, but you can never take away my weekend pizza.
sagittarius
Nov. 22 - Dec. 21
The bendability and flexibility of your new iPhone are no match to the power of inevitably dropping it.
Just when you thought the Pita Pit sadness at hatch was over, your blue wall burrito just broke it’s one soggy retaining wall.
cancer
capricorn
Jun. 22 - Jul. 22
Dec. 22 - Jan. 19
You may be Type B if you take a thirty minute You’ve just got your soup perfectly balanced shower. You may be Type A if you set goals on your notebook and an open cup in the for that shower. other hand, and suddenly, you must sneeze.
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The newly renovated McGuirk Stadium and Football Performance Center, taken on Sept. 23 and 24. TOP: CADE BELISLE/ COLLEGIAN LEFT: CADE BELISLE/ COLLEGIAN RIGHT: CADE BELISLE/ COLLEGIAN BOTTOM: ROBERT RIGO/ COLLEGIAN
FOOTBALL
Notebook: UMass adds opponents through 2022 Frohnapfel seeks some improvments By Mark Chiarelli Collegian Staff
The Massachusetts football team announced a host of scheduling agreements through 2022 Wednesday, officially laying the groundwork to operate as an Indepe ndent after its agreement with the Mid-American Conference ends in 2015. In total, UMass announced 19 new games – which includes nine games in both the 2016 and 2017 seasons – and several multiyear agreements with prominent national programs. UMass announced four-year series with both Brigham Young University and Army. The series with Army will extend as far as 2022. The Minutemen will also face Troy in 2016, as well as BYU, Hawaii, Old Dominion and Appalachian State in both 2016 and 2017. UMass is scheduled to face Tennessee and Ohio in 2017. The Minutemen will officially play 2016 and 2017 as an independent while they look for a new conference home. All scheduled home games could be played at either Gillette Stadium or McGuirk Stadium.
Despite steady defensive pressure from the Nittany Lions, Whipple said Frohnapfel made some “NFL throws” under duress. Whipple didn’t want to contemplate where UMass would be this season if it didn’t have Frohnapfel under center. According to Frohnapfel, he’s measuring his personal growth this season on a weekly basis. “The game to game improvements that I was looking for, it was almost like the theme of the week,” Frohnapfel said. “It feels good to have that vote of confidence from your coach but there are still plays I need to make and games we need to win.” Through four games, Frohnapfel’s completed 49.6 percent of his passes for 882 yards, six touchdowns and two interceptions. Entering conference play, his hope is that UMass’ diverse offense will catch opposing defenses off guard and result in increased production. “A lot of (MAC) teams are pretty similar with spread looks and it’s good that when teams face us, they’re going to face more of a multiples set and it will cause problems for them,” Frohnapfel said.
Abrokwah returns
Frohnapfel eyes weekly Sophomore running back improvement Shadrach Abrokwah is eligi When UMass coach Mark Whipple revisited tape following his team’s 48-7 loss to Penn State, he came away impressed with his quarterback Blake Frohnapfel.
four games too long,” Abrokwah said with a smile after Tuesday’s practice. Abrokwah appeared in two games as a freshman and ran for 203 yards on 51 carries. Whipple said Abrokwah would receive ingame reps and should play a role in the running game moving forward. His emergence comes at a time when UMass could desperately use a boost at running back. The Minutemen haven’t had a rusher go over 47 yards this season and ran for just three total yards against Penn State.
Wylie remains starter Whipple also noted Wednesday that freshman kicker Matthew Wylie would still handle kicking duties against Bowling Green. Wylie – who supplanted original starter Blake Lucas after three games – missed his first collegiate field goal attempt against the Nittany Lions. Wylie didn’t make strong contact on his 39-yard attempt, pushing it wide to the right. But Whipple isn’t giving up on Wylie yet. “He missed one,” Whipple said. “It’s not a career. A lot of guys have missed one.” Wylie and Lucas competed for the starting spot in training camp and continue to do so each week in practice. Lucas will handle kickoff duties Saturday.
ble to play Saturday against Bowling Green after being ineligible for the first four games this season due to a “non-disciplinary, non-foot- Mark Chiarelli can be reached at ball” issue. mchiarel@umass.edu and followed on “Let’s just say it’s been Twitter @Mark_Chiarelli.
Thursday, September 25, 2014
7
THE MASSACHUSETTS DAILY COLLEGIAN
September 25, 2014
Sports@DailyCollegian.com
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FOOTBALL
A HOME OF THEIR OWN UMass remains focused on BGSU By Andrew Cyr Collegian Staff
CADE BELISLE/COLLEGIAN
McGuirk Stadium will host its first game since 2011, concluding three years of renovations to improve the facility.
UM excited to perform in front of peers
By Mark Chiarelli Collegian Staff
Massachusetts football offensive tackle Tyrell Smith was in the midst of the short walk to practice from campus to McGuirk Stadium, when a car stopped next to him and two other teammates. The driver inside was a local UMass fan and excitably told Smith that he couldn’t wait to bring his children to Saturday’s Homecoming matchup against Bowling Green. For Smith, those types of encounters with fans are as unusual as they are are exciting. “I’ve never heard so much football talk in my three years here,” Smith said. “It’s exciting. The campus is excited, the team is excited, so it’s going to be a great time.” Saturday marks the first game at McGuirk Stadium in three seasons, as the Minutemen played their home
games at Gillette Stadium since making the jump to Division I FBS football. For many players and fans alike, it’s the first true on-campus football experience of their college careers. “I never really got to play here except for spring games and practices,” Smith, who is a junior, said. “So I feel like it’s going to be a great environment. A lot of people on campus are talking about how they can’t wait to come.” As of Wednesday, students inquiring about tickets at the box office were turned away. Entering the week, UMass was 3,000 tickets shy of a sellout. And as the buzz intensifies, players are experiencing the excitement firsthand. Minutemen quarterback Blake Frohnapfel – who is a graduate student – said Tuesday that one of his classes of 30 people started a Facebook group titled “Blake’s first game at McGuirk.” Safety Joe Colton noted that when he drove by the Stadium, he saw a line of porta-potty and hoped to see the entire field filled with tailgaters. Many players are eager to play in a more comfortable
environment. “UMass is kind of looked at as the zoo,” redshirt senior linebacker Stanley Andre said. “(It’s) just a large, populated community in which we’re really excited to perform in front of. We’re excited to play here, it’s been a while.” Andre is one of the few players who remember what it’s like to play a game at McGuirk. He played in 11 games as a freshman and although he can’t vividly recall his playing time at McGuirk, he fondly remembered the atmosphere. Minutemen receiver Marken Michel also played three games at McGuirk as a freshman in 2011. “Honestly, it feels like it was yesterday,” Michel said. “The stadium was always packed, so for a freshman coming in it was kind of overwhelming being in a college atmosphere.” Michel said that he’ll notice the crowd when the team first runs onto the field – he believes that’s the only time the crowd truly makes an impact – but the true draw is trying to impress his peers which he sees around campus. He’s also doled out advice to
younger players on the team who haven’t played a true home game at McGuirk before. “The young guys always come up to me and ask me, ‘How was it?’, Michel said. “I always tell them it was great. We had a lot of fun. It’s just a thing when you’re playing in front of your classmates and the people you see on campus all day, it’s a different feeling.” When fans file into McGuirk, they’ll see a stadium with drastically different aesthetics after three years of renovations. According to Colton, the new performance center, press box and field turf will only enhance the atmosphere. “When I first got here, what this place looked like … the old field was cement,” Colton said. “It wasn’t painted, it was rusting all around. To have it be like this now and have everyone coming back, everybody’s ready for a new beginning and a home game, it’s great.” Mark Chiarelli can be reached at mchiarel@umass.edu and followed on Twitter @Mark_Chiarelli.
last in the country in a laundry list of categories including total yards against (2464), yards per game (616), and total passing yards against (1349). Over its first four games Bowling Green has allowed a total of 176 points, an average of 44 points per game, which is sixth worst in the country. Blake Frohnapfel will be the first to let you about his inconsistency with his deep ball this season. He’s hit Tajae Sharpe for two 77-yard touchdown receptions, but Frohnapfel’s missed plenty more open targets downfield. One major correlation for his struggles has been the change in offense. Frohnapfel has played his entire career in a spread formation before this season. Now under center, the offense runs a series of different formations that not many MAC teams will be accustomed to seeing. “It’s almost like the spread (offense) is the norm now,” Frohnapfel said. “Running this pro-style, multiple-set offense is different for teams because they haven’t much of that at all.” The Falcons on the other hand, is an offense that loves to push the tempo. Bowling Green loves to run the nohuddle, hurry up offense and use a combination of running backs and receivers to keep the team fresh. Running backs Travis Greene and Fred Coppet lead the offensive charge with four rushing touchdowns apiece. “We just have to play full speed in practice and prepare yourself not only as an individual but as a defensive unit as well. At the end of practice we did a ton of pursuing drills with a lot of running. That’s the only way we can prepare for an offense like that. … They run a play about every 18 to 20 seconds so we have to be ready for that.” The wait is over, and the return to McGuirk is set to kickoff at 3 p.m. Fans may be excited, but for the Minutemen, this is just another football game.
By now, just about everyone on campus is aware that the Massachusetts football team is returning back to McGuirk this stadium for the first time in three years on Saturday. However, lost in all the commotion of Homecoming weekend and the pregame tailgate festivities, there’s one major thing that people are forgetting: there is still a football game to be played. And although the storyline is setting up perfectly for a win in the “return to McGuirk,” the defending Mid-American Conference champion Bowling Green aren’t going to give in too easily to make this a sweet homecoming for the Minutemen. On paper, UMass’ hardest part of its schedule is behind them. With four games against teams from “power five” conferences to open the season, the Minutemen are returning to conference play against the MAC, a conference that better fits UMass’ style of play. “I don’t necessarily agree that the hardest part of the schedule is the beginning,” said Colton. “Although those were great teams with bigger schools, the MAC is not an easy conference. (Bowling Green) is a bowl team, and there are plenty of other teams that went to bowls in this conference.” The Falcons entered the season as preseason favorites to repeat as MAC champions, however after Matt Johnson – 2013 MAC Championship MVP – injured his hip in week one, sidelining him for the entire season, Bowling Green has experience more hurdles than it expected to this season. “We saw what they did to us last year, and their returning guys have been flying all over the field making plays,” Head Coach Mark Whipple said. Although Johnson’s injury has slowed down the Falcons offensive production, the major concern for Bowling Green head coach Dino Babers has been his Andrew Cyr can be reached at arcyr@ team’s defensive woes. umass.edu, and can be followed on The Falcons rank dead Twitter @Andrew_Cyr.
MEN’S SOCCER
Minutemen ready for weekend tilts with Harvard and UNH By Ross Gienieczko Collegian Staff
After Friday’s 2-1 overtime win against Fairfield, it’s not hard for the Massachusetts men’s soccer team to feel good about themselves. “(The win) was nice,” UMass interim coach Devin O’Neill said.”There was some pressure lifted.” The comeback victory showcased how much potential the Minutemen have on their roster. UMass played team-first soccer and showed tenacity and perseverance after overcoming a late 1-0 deficit against the Stags last Friday. This weekend, the Minutemen (1-5) look to build off their first win of the season when they host Harvard
Friday afternoon and New Hampshire on Sunday. Forward Josh Schwartz has been the leader for UMass offensive this season,, his 14 shots are double the anyone else on the team, and his two goals include the overtime winner against Fairfield. Midfielder Luke Pavone and forward Mark Morris have also been notable contributors on the attack as well. Defensively, the Minutemen are anchored by the heart and soul of its team, senior Matt Keys. He’s started every game for the Minutemen since he arrived as a freshman, and despite his designation as a defender, will play all over the field. Late in the game against the Stags, with his team trailing
“They’re both very physical teams. They’re going to challenge us in the defending area. ” Devin O’Neill Interim UMass coach 1-0, Keys moved up to forward and headed in the game-tying goal. In net, sophomore Ryan Buckingham has started the last five games after sitting out the season opener, and has given the Minutemen solid, sure-handed play in goal. The Crimson (4-3) enters the contest on a four game winning streak, and they seem to be hitting their stride early in the season. They’ve scored 13 goals during the winning streak, which is led by a balanced offensive attack. Ten different players have com-
bined to score 15 goals on the season for Harvard. “We’re very impressed with what we’ve seen from them. They play very hard. … They’re big and physical and they’ve been quite prolific,” O’Neill said. The road has not been pleasant to the Crimson, whose three losses have all been away from Harvard’s historic Soldiers Field. The Wildcats (3-4), enter Sunday’s contest on a downward trend. They’ve lost two of their last three games and are also winless on the road this season.
Both teams however were victorious when they played UMass a season ago, as O’Neill pointed out the similarities between the two teams. “They’re both very physical teams,” O’Neill said. “They’re going to challenge us in the defending area.” The weekend is full of opportunity for the Minutemen. They have an opportunity to build their first winning streak of the season and set the tone for Atlantic 10 conference play, which starts one week from Sunday. To beat either team – something that would qualify a significant upset at this point in the season – UMass needs to be better at capitalizing on their scoring chances. In the first half of Friday’s
game against the Stags, the Minutemen squandered several opportunities that would have changed the tone of the game. O’Neill said the team is not reading too much into those missed chances, and instead needs to work on getting better as an offense overall. “Sometimes, it just doesn’t happen.” O’Neill said. “We just want to improve the quality of scoring chances we get.” Fridays contest against Harvard will take place at Rudd Field and is scheduled for 3:00 p.m., while Sundays’ match against UNH will start at 2 p.m. Ross Gienieczko can be reached at rgieniec@umass.edu and followed on Twitter @RossGien.