American Health Care Act stopped in its tracks â–ş Page 3
THE UMASS LOWELL
Serving the Student Body Since 1976
March 28, 2017
Hockey season ends in overtime thriller
In This Issue
Brock Johnson
‘Beauty and the Beast’ remake review
Connector Editor
â–ş Page 4
LARP Club gets students moving
â–ş Page 6
Women’s lacrosse extends win streak ► Page 8
Final River Hawk Scores Team
Score
Overall Record
Hockey vs. 12 Notre Dame
L 3-2
27-11-3
Hockey vs. 9 Cornell
W 5-0
27-10-3
Women’s Lacrosse vs. LIU Brooklyn W 12-8 5-2 Men’s Lacrosse at Albany
L 21-11
2-8
Event planned to discuss legitimacy of news sources Alex Salucco Connector Editor
Over the past few months, portions of the media have been scrutinized and their credibility has been questioned. With the term “fake news� being used frequently, consumers are left with a dilemma: which source should I trust? Omicron Delta Kappa will look to help people understand the media consumer relationship by presenting Beyond Headlines & Memes on March 29 in Maloney Hall at 6:30 p.m. Among the panel is Dr. Jonathan Silverman, Dr. Jenifer Whitten-Woodring and journalism student Adeja Crearer. English major Abby Crossley will play a moderating role. With an endless amount of information in the palm their hands, consumers tend to rely on accessibility and personal beliefs to choose their sources. Crossley said she believes this is a problem and that the panel will offer solutions from multiple angles. “The perspective from Dr. Silverman and Adeja [Crearer] will speak to why things get covered in the media how we cover them,� she said. With a focus in international political communication, Whitten-Woodring’s experience will help fill in the gaps and provide insight to why credible sources are vital in the political realm.
UMass Lowell looked to win its sixth game in a row to make it to the Frozen Four, but was thwarted in an overtime thriller by Notre Dame and their talented freshman Anders Bjork. At 2:44 of the first overtime period, Notre Dame sophomore Andrew Oglevie scored the game-winning goal. Anders Bjork assisted the game winner to score his fifth point of the Northeast Regional, earning himself the MVP of the tournament. Bjork had the game-tying as well as the game-winning goal against Minnesota in the Regional Semifinal. He added to those two goals with three assists in the Final, propelling Notre Dame past UMass Lowell.
Matt Dwyer/Connector
Cam Morrison scored for the Fighting Irish to tie the game at 2-2 in the third period.
UMass Lowell freshman goaltender Tyler Wall looked to follow up his Semifinal shutout against Cornell with another great performance and did not disappoint. Although allowing three goals, two of them were impossible to stop. His 25 saves kept UMass Lowell in the game.
“Hockey East has got a number of great goalies and it seems to be a number of great freshman goalies as well‌ both goalies played well tonight‌ I thought they were equal to the task,â€? said UMass Lowell head coach Norm Bazin. Wall’s season ended with 26 wins, a school
record for a freshman goaltender during UMass Lowell’s Division I era. Junior Cal Petersen of Notre Dame also played very well, stopping numerous quality chances from the River Hawks. He followed up his 31 save performance in the Regional Semifinal with â–ş See “Hockey,â€? page 7
‘13th’ exposes slavery through prison system Jess Kergo Connector Staff
The 13th Amendment of the United States constitution says, “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.�
This past Friday, the UMass Lowell Office of Multicultural Affairs hosted a screening of Ava DuVernay’s award-winning documentary “13th� in Olney 150. Compelling, thorough and at times heart-wrenching, “13th� journeys through black history in the United States and the significant role the prison system has played. Beginning Courtesy of Netflix
â–ş See “Credibility,â€? page 3
Sections News.............................3 Campus Life..................6 A&E.............................. 4 Sports........................... 7 The 2016 documentary ‘13th’ was directed by Ava DuVernay.
with a look at the portrayal of black men in D. W. Griffiths film “The Birth of Nation,â€? leading to the terror and triumphs of the civil rights movement, then diving into a painfully honest look at the war on drugs over the years, DuVernay calls to attention somewhat of a loophole in the 13th Amendment. The 2016 documentary makes the bold claim that slavery is still alive and well in the United States through the guise of the prison system. The film explores the history of the United States justice system as it pertains to black Americans from the abolition of slavery all the way up to the 2016 presidential election. Amplifying the fact that the United States holds the record for the highest rate of incarceration of any country, the film delves into the beginning of racial discrepancies within the justice system and links them to the since abolished concept of slavery. â–ş See “13th,â€? page 5
UM ASS L OWELL C ONNECTOR
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March 28, 2017
OPINIONS & EDITORIALS Letter to the editor: “Salt in the Wound� Dear editor, The American Healthcare Act (AHCA) is a deeply flawed piece of legislation that threatens to undo the increases in health coverage and benefits that were made available under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), also known as Obamacare. Both the Congressional Budget Office and inJ. Scott Applewhite / AP
Speaker of the House Paul Ryan presents the American Healthcare Act.
ternal White House committees have predicted that enacting the bill would end coverage for at least 20 million citizens. This hardship would fall heaviest on individuals and families who are most financially vulnerable and rely on Medicare for health services. It is unconscionable and fiscally unsound to deprive the poor of medical care and force them to rely on emergency rooms instead of cost-effective preventative treatment. AHCA promises to remove the “individual mandate� that establishes a tax penalty for individuals who choose not to purchase insurance, but stealthily replaces it with a similar policy. Individuals who go without coverage for 63 days or more are required to pay a 30% increased insurance fee if they ever decide to purchase coverage. This provision increases the profits of insurance companies instead of public funds and promotes the risky behavior of going without coverage until an emergency occurs.
This favored treatment of insurance companies continues in a clause allowing for unlimited tax deductions for executive pay, as long as that compensation is “performance-based�. In effect, executives would be able to enrich themselves while depriving the government of tax income. The conservative policy of cutting taxes and benefits extends to the capital gains and marginal income taxes that would be eliminated by the AHCA. The average American does not own substantial stock or financial assets and will not benefit from the tax elimination, whereas the government will lose millions of dollars in revenue that could be used to support public aid. In summary, the AHCA will reduce healthcare coverage for millions of Americans, end expanded Medicare availability by 2020, and subsidize the fortunes of millionaire business executives at the expense of public health. The underlying “logic� of the general conservative program is to cut
public spending under the assumption that unregulated private industries will provide lower-cost and better quality services to the public. In reality, citizens pay less for Medicare coverage than they would for comparable private coverage. The profit motive of private insurance leads to colossal wasted spending on executive pay without any observable benefit in results. Allowing AHCA to pass would be a dire mistake for 99% of American citizens, and it is a prime example of the short-sighted cuts to public benefits that are also proposed in the Trump budget. Let your legislators know how much you stand to lose from AHCA; an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Alex DePalma Editor’s note: This letter to the editor was submitted to The Connector on March 22 before the American Healthcare Act was repealed.
THE UMASS LOWELL
Serving the Student Body Since 1976
UMASS LOWELL CONNECTOR
EDITORIAL BOARD OPEN Operations Manager
MARLON PITTER Editor-In-Chief
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TAYLOR CARITO ANDREW SCIASCIA News Editor HANNAH MANNING KATHRYN LEEBER Sports Editors BROCK JOHNSON MARILYN SAHA Campus Life Editors BRENDAN JACQUES Arts & Entertainment Editor OPEN Multimedia Director JONATHAN SILVERMAN DAVID MCGRAW Advisers
Staff RYAN DELANEY OWEN JOHNSON CONNOR KENNEDY JESSICA KERGO CHRISTOPHER ROMANO
Email | Connector@uml.edu Website | www.UMLConnector.com Phone | 978.934.5017 ext. 45017 Address | University Crossing, Room 241 220 Pawtucket St. Lowell, MA 01854 General: The UMass Lowell Connector is a non-profit student public forum serving the University of Massachusetts Lowell community. The paper is published weekly and distributed to the university community every Tuesday. Business hours are 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday. Please be aware that members of the University community are entitled to free newspapers. Please take one! All UMass Lowell students, regardless of major, are invited to join the Connector staff. Interested students should contact an editor or manager listed above, or visit the Connector Office in University Crossing 241. Advertising: The UMass Lowell Connector advertisements reach an estimated 16,000 UMass Lowell students--their friends and families. To tap this group of
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UM ASS L OWELL C ONNECTOR
March 28, 2017
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NEWS The American Health Care Act: How it compares Brendan Jacques Connector Editor
On Friday, March 24, Republican Speaker of the House Paul Ryan announced that the American Health Care Act was being withdrawn from Congress without a vote. The bill was designed as a replacement for the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, which is more commonly known as “Obamacare.” Republican leadership opted to withdraw the bill after opposition from conservative party members made it clear that it would not receive the necessary votes to pass through the House. To explain what the American Health Care Act was attempting to accomplish, it is important to understand the main problem with The Affordable Care Act that the new bill is trying to fix: the rapidly ballooning price of insurance premiums for programs that comply with the law. Under the current system, insurance companies are not allowed to deny coverage to potential customers because of pre-existing medical conditions, which results in those companies losing revenue from needing to pay for more claims then they would have with an overall healthier clientele. To make up for this, companies usually increase the premiums for their insurance coverage for all customers. That way, the money they receive from their healthier clients can be used to pay for the customers that need the coverage. This model is further supported by the individual mandate, which requires all U.S. citizens to be applied for a health care plan, further increasing the number of healthy customers paying and, in theory at least, decreasing overall premiums for everyone in the system.
An issue with this system is the people providing a majority of the money supporting it are the ones that benefit the least from it. This model also does not consider the naturally rising cost of medical equipment and drugs. While the Affordable Care Act does provide government-funded subsidies to lower-class insurance holders to offset these costs, customers that are not eligible for these subsidies have to pay out of pocket for the increasing costs. This problem is further compounded by the law’s insistence that all health care programs purchasable through government websites, such as healthcare.gov, adhere to a list of essential health benefits, which restricts the types of health care plans available and allows insurance companies to increase premiums thanks to a lack of competition. This is what the American Health Care Act appeared to be most concerned with fixing, though the way in which it would go about decreasing the cost of insurance premiums seems questionable at best. The bill’s most publicized feature was the abolishment of the individual mandate, replacing it instead with a 30 percent charge on new insurance plans if the applicant has previously lapsed out of coverage. This change comes alongside the removal of the essential health benefits provision, thus allowing insurance companies to flood the market with more barebones coverage plans. While this design would result in an overall decrease in insurance premiums and would give customers a greater degree of choice over the coverage they want, it could lead to inadequate coverage overall. While the overall price of insurance premiums would technically decrease under the above system, the amount
that premium insurance holders would have to pay skyrockets due to changes to how the government distributes tax subsidies. Under the new law, the current system, which grants subsidies that scale based on the recipient’s income and the overall cost of their healthcare plan, is replaced with one that gives a flat tax break based almost entirely on the age of the recipient. While this change theoretically gives older insurance owners more money to cover their medical needs, the size of those tax breaks in comparison to those given on average by the Affordable Care Act. According to the Kaiser Foundation, the average premium price of the second lowest available plan that qualifies for the ACA’s Silver tier in Massachusetts is about $247 per month, or $2,964 annually. Under the ACA, this average price is steadily increased based on the age of the recipient, with patients over 64 paying triple the average amount, in this case around $8,892 annually. If the patient receiving this health care plan has an annual income below 400 percent of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL), which is currently $11,880, then the patient will only be expected to pay an amount of that annual premium equal to a certain percentage of their annual income: 2 percent for those close to the FPL, to 10 percent for those at 400 percent of the National Poverty Level (NPL). This means that, under the ACA, a customer over 64 years old with an annual income at 400 percent of the NPL (around $47,520) will pay $4,752 for their health insurance and save $4,140 in total. On the opposite end of the spectrum, the same customer with an income at 100 percent of the NPL ($11,880) will pay $237 for their
health insurance and save $8,655. The American Health Care Act would have given this same customer $4,000 in savings regardless of where their average income lies while also changing the average price scale by age from one that increases the average premium threefold ($8,892) to one that increases it fivefold ($14,820). Compared to that, these changes would make standard health insurance programs difficult for lower-class citizens and the elderly to reasonably afford. This plan works to the benefit of those who can afford to pay for it. Since people living on the poverty line as well as the elderly often require medical services more than the wealthy and healthy, it stands to reason that the fewer of those people an insurance company needs to cover, the less money they would need to spend on insurance claims, decreasing the price of premiums overall. Because of this, there is no real incentive for the GOP to fix this issue since its outcome helps to support one of the key promises they made about the bill, even if those premium savings will not apply to nearly as many people as the Affordable Care Act. The Affordable Care Act is a flawed health care law that requires improvement in order to make high medical expenses more palatable. However, the American Health Care Act does not appear to be an improvement of the law or even an effective replacement; it is a bill that, if passed, would have led to a health care system that would have benefitted the wealthy while denying support to the least fortunate on top of leaving behind almost all the problems Republicans had with the ACA in the first place.
‘Beyond Headlines and Memes’: Establishing credibility ►Continued from front page
Due to the rapid change of media, she said she believes that determining credible sources is not obvious but, with proper research, can be done effectively. “To get the best information you cannot rely on any one source,” she said. “You have to go to different sources and you should probably look at sources that don’t reflect your point of view.” Whitten-Woodring primarily deals with cases overseas. But with recent scrutiny of the media on United States soil, she has taken an eye to what President Donald Trump is saying about fake news. “What I am seeing right now is that Donald Trump is using tactics with the media that is very similar to not democratic countries,” she said. “I’m starting to look more at what is going on in the [United States].” Crearer said she views it similarly and uses her experience at the inauguration to help understand why there is a heightened mistrust of the media. While attending the inauguration in January, Crearer said she witnessed firsthand the importance of credible sources and the effects they can have on consumers.
“I got a lot of questions from home saying, ‘Are there really riots there? We heard the whole city was on fire, how does it actually look?’ and I remember explaining to them I don’t feel unsafe,” she said. She said that the burning of the Starbucks and other acts of violence were minor things that happened in a section of a big city. Crearer said she credits the
“How do we fact check news sources?” questions she received to a 24-hour news cycle. “I think is it important to look at how the media portrays things,” she said. “Whether or not the way [the media] portrays things is wrong or right, it is us as consumers that have to determine whether the
way we interpret the media is right or wrong.” The media has taken a lot of backlash recently. Headlines and memes do not tell the whole story, their only purpose is to grab the reader with a phrase tailored to their liking. “It is similar to books,” Crearer said. “Have you ever taken a book and read it first page to last page and you go back and look at it and say why is it even titled that? It is just marketing and it is all about the consumer. What do they want to see? What will grab them?” But deciphering these sources can be difficult, says Whitten-Woodring, especially when news sources are publishing false information. “How do we fact check news sources?” she said. “The only way to really do that is to look at different types of news sources. Not just the ones that you are comfortable with, but the ones that do not reflect your own opinions.”
UM ASS L OWELL C ONNECTOR
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March 28, 2017
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
‘Beauty and the Beast’: Another pointless remake Owen Johnson Connector Staff
The new “Beauty and the Beast” is the equivalent of the special editions to the original “Star Wars” movies: they are still the same movie as the original, but the few changes that have been made either do nothing to improve the movie or end up being a detriment. A young girl named Belle (Emma Watson) trades herself to be an enchanted prince-turned monster’s (Dan Stevens) prisoner to save her father (Kevin Kline). During her time as the beast’s prisoner, the two begin to fall in love. Outside of being live-action, the movie is almost scene for scene, visual for visual, the same movie as the original “Beauty and the Beast” from 1991. It is impossible to treat this as its own stand alone movie because it is not even a remake; it is a shameless copy of something most people loved with superfluous detail added in. This movie basically contains two sets of scenes: scenes they copied from the original movie, and scenes they changed which the original did much better. Most of the songs used in the movie are the same ones used in the original
movie from 1991, but a few new songs have been added in. These new songs break the cardinal rule for movie musicals, which is that a song should move the story along and not bring it to a standstill. These new songs mostly do not convey any new information and stop the show dead in its tracks. Some changes are mild, but they end up robbing scenes of their importance. Here is an example: in the original movie, Beast giving Belle access to his library was meant as a moment to advance the relationship between the two. In the remake, Beast just disagrees with Belle on a book and brings her to the library to show her better books. When he sees her reaction to the library, he decides to give her access. Both of them have the same end result, but the latter one is robbed of its purpose because the gift is originally based on the Beast’s emotional reasoning, and in this it is just an afterthought after the two disagree on a book. Then, there are changes which are just plain sloppy. The most obvious one is Gaston (Luke Evans). In the original version, Gaston is an arrogant narcissist. In the remake, he is a mild version of that but seems more like a well-meaning guy who has ultimately
March 28, 2017
UM ASS L OWELL C ONNECTOR
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
‘The 13th’ brings some harsh truths to light ►Continued from front page
Courtesy of Disney
As of March 24th, “Beauty and the Beast (2017)” has grossed over $300 million.
been given bad information on how to act. Then, since this new personality makes it hard to view him as a villain, he suddenly becomes insane halfway through the movie for no reason. It should be noted that there are a couple of changes that actually work in favor of the movie. These changes being slight tweaks to dialogue to explain a few minor questions that the first movie raised, like why no one in the village knew about the castle and what happened with the Beast’s par-
ents. This new version of “Beauty and the Beast” fails to provide anything that enhances what was already great about the original. While it technically has enough new content in it to avoid being a pure live-action remake, all that new content brings to the film is 40 extra minutes of screen-time. Those interested in seeing it are better off just renting the original. Final Grade: C-
Page 5
The documentary suggests that by allowing indentured servitude in an unequal prison system, the United States government is condoning slavery all over again. By raveling horrific archival forage of Ku Klux Klan rallies, lynchings and brutal police tactics during the civil rights movement with interviews from an array of experts including The New Yorker’s Jelani Cobb, civil rights activist Angela Davis, former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, Harvard University Professor Henry Louis Gates, Representative Charles B. Rangel, and conservative tax reform advocate Grover Norquist, the film bombards viewers with a wave of emotion and statistics large enough to make one question their entire understanding of the United States prison system. Less commonly known issues like many politician’s ties to the American Legislative
Exchange Council (ALEC), a political advocacy group with corporate interest, are also addressed in depth to provide an extensive background for
ling aspect of the film are its ties to the 2016 presidential election. Interviewees comment unfavorably on Secretary Hillary Clinton’s previ-
of President Donald Trump calling for the death penalty to a group of black teenagers convicted of rape who were later proven not guilty
Courtesy of Netflix
“The 13th” was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary, but lost to “OJ: Made In America.”
DuVernay’s argument that politicians, corporations and private prisons all benefit from mass incarceration. Perhaps the most compel-
ous advocacy for taking down what she referred to in the ‘80s as “super predators” with “no conscience and no empathy,” while also displaying footage
ed States at one point in time and the number some years later to portray the drastic increase as years go on and as political influence continues. Similarly, DuVernay includes songs and displays the lyrics of popular music from the decade being addressed like “The Chain Gang” by Nina Simone and “Reagan” by Killer Mike in order to show the lyrics’ connections to the oppression and inequality. DuVernay has modeled her documentary on her argument that there is still plenty of work to be done in improving the United States Justice department and its ties to political interest. The film reaches its viewers by informing them and attempting to empower them to see a new side to what they may have been told about the 13th amendment.
through DNA evidence. The documentary also incorporates cuts to a black screen that reads the number of prison inmates in the Unit-
Gambino’s ‘Awaken, My Love!’ is a journey to the ‘70s Jen Desrosiers Connector Contributor
Even if one has never listened to Childish Gambino, also known by his legal name Donald Glover, it is more than likely that they have still been exposed to the musician, actor, screenwriter, comedian and producer in one form or another. Glover has appeared on FX’s “Atlanta,” NBC’s “Community,” his Netflix stand-up special “Weirdo” and most recently, his third studio album, “Awaken, My Love!” as Childish Gambino. “Awaken, My Love!” can be looked to as a direct follow up to “Atlanta,” which Glover himself described at the TCA press tour last year as, “to show people how it felt to be black.” This idea is explored again in “Awaken, My Love!” as Glover departs from his role as a rapper and takes listeners through his personal exploration of soul, funk and R&B, drawing obvious influences from memorable 1970s black musicians such as Earth, Wind & Fire, Smokey Robinson and the Ohio Players. The album blurs the line between Glover and his Gambino alias and results in a piece of work that is finally able to push him outside of his above-average rap career and into the role of an acclaimed musician. Opening track and lead single, “Me and Your Mama,” features a gospel chorus that provides the listener with six minutes of slow burning soul that becomes a dazzling audio acid trip, before introducing Glover’s impressive falsetto around the two minute mark. This song, like nearly every song on “Awaken, My Love!” features both visually descriptive and imaginative lyrics like “This is the end of us/Sleeping with the moon and the stars/ I know where you’ve been,” which tells the story of someone reminiscing over a long lost love (“Let me into your heart/oh, this ain’t no bullshit/I really love you girl”). When
paired with Glover’s vocals, he easily convinces listeners that they too are longing for something or someone. In “Boogieman,” the third track on the album, Glover sheds light on the current state of race relations plaguing the United States. With lyrics that Courtesy of Glassnote
This is the cover art for “Awaken, My Love!”.
directly allude to police brutality such as, “If you point a gun at my rising sun/Though we’re not the one/But in the bounds of your mind/We have done the crime,” Glover compares the imaginary “boogeyman” figure that is feared by children to the phenomena where black men still strike fear in
the hearts of many Americans. Like many of the lyrically layered songs on this album, “Boogieman” presents a racially-charged double entendre, commenting on the love for black culture that America has, juxtaposed with the less than subtle fear of minorities that are still prevalent. “Every boy and girl all around the world/Knows my n-----’ words/But if he’s scared of me, how can we be free?” “Redbone,” the second single off of the album and sixth track following “Riot,” is another track which showcases Glover’s expansive vocal range. The funky love ballad which samples “Portraits of Tracy” by Jaco Pastorius could easily fool listeners into thinking they are listening to a song from the 1970s. Later on in the album, “Terrified” is a track whose slow and ominous funky instrumentals perfectly match its title. Ending the album with “Stand Tall,” a track that starts off quietly as Glover reminisces on his parents words of wisdom to him and ends with yelling and howling vocals, Glover expertly ties up “Awaken, My Love!” with a parting message to the black community: “Keep on your dreams keep standing tall/ If you are strong you cannot fall.” “Awaken, My Love!” is certainly one of Glover’s stronger musical pieces of work up to date and demonstrates his vast musical palette that can be heard through the various influences on each track. Although a complete turnaround from the usual eye-brow raising lyrics that Glover has written on his previous albums, “Awaken, My Love!” has proven itself to be an exhilarating journey into the land of funk that listeners of all backgrounds can find a connection with.
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March 28, 2017
CAMPUS LIFE
Art Student Union molding young artists on campus Taylor Carito Connector Editor
The award is given to a student organization dedicated to growth both within the organization and at UMass Lowell. They are dedicated to student involvement in the organization and participants on campus as well. They also arrange off campus excursions such as trips to art gallery openings around Lowell and surrounding areas, and a team from ASU participates
win the Lowell Kinetic Sculpture Race. These events are free to members of the organization. However, their larger excursion is a three day trip to New York City every spring semester. On this trip, the ASU stays at a hotel in N.Y. and explores several art galleries and museums such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art. ASU meets every Thursday at 7 p.m.
Recipient of the Student Leadership Award the Rising River Hawk in 2016, the Art Student Union (ASU) at UMass Lowell makes an effort to help young artists better their skills regardless of abilities. It is open to all students and meets once a week. “We’re able to make art that might not be as accessible as say painting and drawing,” says Secretary Anna McCarthy. ASU has access to school funding and equipment and does additional fundraising to afford more complex things such as printmaking and Turkish marbling. This allows students to further their artistic abilities in an unprofessional setting. Every Thursday, ASU hosts different workshops on campus for any student interested in art. “We’ve had workshops with paper and wire sculptures, painting, printmaking, business and marketing strategies, drawing, a lot of things,” says McCarthy. These workshops are adjusted for all artistic levels. ASU periodically organizes events around campus. “We hosted a paint night during opening week as a fundraiser for the New York trip, and we donated 10 percent to St. Jude,” says McCarthy. The student organization also collaborated with the Association of Students of African Origins for “No Face No Race” campaign which included face painting of students’ flags of origin for AIDS awareness. As a result of this event and their efforts on and off campus, the ASU received the Rising River Hawk award. Students of ASU participating in their annually scheduled paint night.
in Dugan Hall room B8. Supplies are provided for those who do not have any, but personal supplies are also welcome. The leaders of the group post what subject the workshop of the week will cover on their homepage at uml.edu/clubs. “Art Student Union is a club for anyone interested in art and gives members the opportunity to make art in many different mediums,” says McCarthy.
Courtesy of Art Student Union
L.A.R.P. Club offers a fun way to exercise and socialize Tim Clark Connector Contributor
The clamor of sword against sword fills the second floor of Coburn Hall. There is no steel or knights here; only students and their foam weaponry. UMass Lowell’s L.A.R.P. Club members put “sword” skills on display while sparring with teammates. L.A.R.P., short for Live Action Role Play, is a sport in which players act out characters. Members act out characters such as fighters, mages and healers in battle. Many members of the club participate in weekend events like large-scale battles between imagined clans and nations, as part of Clan River Hawk or even on their own accord. There are many different types of L.A.R.Ps to take part in ranging from a heavily role-play based game to a more strict combat style event. The L.A.R.P .Club on-campus has a balanced mix of both. The Club plays by lightest contact rules: any contact between sword and body will result in a successful strike for the offender. General rules for the sport are simple. When a weapon strikes the body, the contacted part of the opponent is rendered useless. Witnessing duels between single-legged warriors hopping around with aim to deal a “lethal” blow is not uncommon. During the cold winter months, the club practices at 7 p.m. on Tuesday nights on the second floor of Coburn Hall. When warmer weather arrives, the
club will move practices outside to the South Campus quad and “hopefully add practices on east campus by the Rec Center,” said Ben Grossman, newly appointed president of the club. UMass Lowell’s L.A.R.P. club is diverse in its members with L.A.R.P. enthusiasts who travel to events across New England every weekend to newcomers who have never handled the foam weapons. This sport offers a unique way for students to get active, meet new people and, most importantly, have
fun. “[The club] is open to everybody,” says Grossman, “and has many different benefits. For those who want to do exercise, there is a lot of exercise involved. For those looking for a more social aspect to it, you can make a lot of friends. You can act; you can play a character that you develop yourself. It’s not a heavy time commitment either. Some of our members only show up to the practices instead of traveling to events. It’s just a lot of fun.”
Tim Clark/Connector
L.A.R.P. club members practicing on the second floor of Coburn Hall.
March 28, 2017
UM ASS L OWELL C ONNECTOR
Page 7
SPORTS
River Hawks meet bitter end in NCAA tournament
► Continued from front page
a 27 save game in the Final. UMass Lowell brought a strong power play into the tournament, but failed to convert during the Final. In the second period the River Hawks had three power play opportunities with five shots on the net, but no goals. “I thought they let the kids play today, they let the kids play… overall you get three power plays you have to convert on one and we didn’t convert,” said Bazin. UMass Lowell freshman Ryan Lohin continued his strong play in the tournament, making an impact on the ice and contributing an assist to add to his two Semifinal goals. Lohin’s contributions during the tournament landed him on the All-Tournament Team. Notre Dame struck first in the contest at 11:49 of the first period. Freshman Cam Morrison, who is only 18 years old, scored his 10th goal of the season with an assist going to junior Anders Bjork. Continuing his hot tournament, Bjork tallied his third point of the Regional Tournament with the assist. The River Hawks generated multiple chances in the first, but were struggling to finish the job. Junior forward Ryan Collins answered Notre Dame’s goal with 1:02 left to play in the first period.
The second period saw the River Hawks go on the power play three times. Although being third ranked nationally on the power play, UMass Lowell failed to capitalize against Notre Dame’s stout, 12th-ranked penalty kill. The River Hawks’ top line of junior C.J. Smith, senior Joe Gambardella and junior John Edwardh mounted the pressure in the second. The first line accounted for four total shots in the period with help from the power play. The second period went scoreless thanks to the efforts of Notre Dame’s junior goalie Cal Petersen and UMass Lowell’s freshman Tyler Wall. Wall faced nine shots in the second, while Petersen faced eight. One of Wall’s saves was impressive, as it came during a Notre Dame 2-on-1. With UMass Lowell going winless (0-5-0) trailing after the second period, the save was crucial. The tie that began with 1:02 left in the first period finally ended at 11:38 of the third period. UMass Lowell junior John Edwardh scored a deflection off a shot from junior Tommy Panico. Notre Dame began to push hard to tie the game once again, eventually doing so with another goal from Morrison. Morrison’s second score of the game restored the deadlock at 2-2 with
Matt Dwyer/Connector
Nick Master curls the puck around the Notre Dame net.
5:17 left to play in the third. “If I had to change anything I felt we went into too much of a lull with seven minutes to go and starting playing defense hockey only. When we don’t attack we’re not as good,” said Bazin. Momentum clearly shifted the way of Notre Dame after the game-tying goal, but both teams had quality chances in the third period. However, both goalies answered and the game went to overtime. Bjork found Andrew Oglevie in front
of the net who shot past senior defenseman Dylan Zink, who no longer had his stick as well as Wall to seal the victory for Notre Dame. UMass Lowell’s seasons ends as Notre Dame moves on to the Frozen Four. “This one, for us, stings. I felt that the group inside that lockeroom was good enough to be the best team at the end of the year… We find ourselves on the outside looking in,” said Bazin.
March 28, 2017
Page 8 UM ASS L OWELL C ONNECTOR
SPORTS River Hawks win fifth straight, take 12-8 victory against LIU Brooklyn Hannah Manning Connector Editor
The River Hawks came into Saturday afternoon’s contest against LIU Brooklyn hot with four straight wins behind them. With their best start in their Division I history, UMass Lowell met the Blackbirds with a 4-2 record. Despite a slow start by the River Hawks, UMass Lowell maintained its streak with an eight-goal second half to power past LIU Brooklyn 12-8. With the win, the River Hawks advanced to a 5-2 record, while sending the Blackbirds back to a 2-6 record. “I was really excited we were able to make some adjustments from [the] first half to the second half,” said UMass Lowell head coach Carissa Medeiros. Three UMass Lowell players earned hat tricks in the scoring onslaught brought on by the River Hawks, by sophomore attack Rebecca Idson, junior attack Taylor Sokol and junior attack Austin Trasatti. Junior midfielder Kaylan DiModugno tallied two goals of her own. Capitalizing off of a slow start by the River Hawks LIU swooped into action, thanks to the herculean efforts of senior midfielder Jenn Peters,
who tallied four goals, all of them unassisted, in the first half. Peters would finish the game with five goals, bringing her season total to 25. Peters struck first blood by scoring an unassisted goal coming just over six minutes into the game. However, UMass Lowell roared back just 11 seconds later with Idson’s 15th of the season, with an assist coming from freshman midfielder Hana Caster. Although LIU Brooklyn then went on to score two unanswered goals, making it a 3-1 game in the first ten minutes of the half, UMass Lowell came back to tie the game at four thanks to some clutch goal scoring. Coming off of a timeout, the River Hawks struck for their second goal of the game with Idson’s second goal of the game. Play in the first half ended with the River Hawks spending a bit more time in their offensive zone and the buzzer sounded right after a UMass Lowell shot on net. Down 5-4 heading into the second half, the River Hawks needed to assert themselves in the coming 30 minutes. “We came out a little slow, a little sloppy. I think we were riding a little high from our last couple of wins,” said Medeiros.
U P C OM I N G
River Hawk Games
Coming off of those Tuesday, March 28 3 p.m. BB at CCSU first 30 minutes, the River Hawks dominatWednesday, March 29 4 p.m. SB at Boston College ed the second half after a halftime discussion Wednesday, March 29 3 p.m.S WLAX vs. Bryant with coach Medeiros. “At halftime, we Friday, March 31 3 p.m. XCTF at Stanford kind of just talked about needing to actuSaturday, April 1 12 p.m. BB vs. Maine ally show up and play the game and execute, 3 p.m. BB vs. Maine Saturday, April 1 and that they had 30 For more sports information and full game schedules visit goriverhawks.com more minutes to turn it around,” said Medeiros. Medeiros attributes the River The River Hawks scored just a minute into the second Hawks’ start, to two early losses. half with sophomore midfielder Ken- “We played really, really close with dyl Finelli potting her sixth goal of the two very, very strong teams. I think that even though we came out on the season on an unassisted effort. From there, UMass Lowell revved losing side, there were plenty of wins their engines and scored four unan- for us in those games that it really inswered goals, one of them off of a free stilled a true sense of confidence in a position shot, coming from behind to lot of our girls,” said Medeiros. The River Hawks will face their next make it a 9-5 game not even 10 minchallenge against Bryant University utes into the half. The Blackbirds were able to get on on Wednesday, March 29 at 3 p.m. the scoreboard after a timeout but the “We have to figure out a way to play River Hawks charged back and scored a full 60 minutes against Bryant… I’m looking forward to a highly competthree straight. Although LIU Brooklyn then scored itive game if we can make some adtwo straight, the River Hawks’ point justments that we need to make and cushion proved to be too much for show up from the first whistle,” said Medeiros. them to overcome.
River Hawks shut Cornell out of NCAA Tournament 5-0 Brock Johnson Connector Editor
The UMass Lowell men’s ice hockey team came in hot to the semifinal, winning the Hockey East Tournament and 11 of their last 12 games and maintained their streak with a 5-0 win over Cornell. For the eighth time in the school’s Division I history, the River Hawks made the NCAA tournament with a chance at securing their second Division I Frozen Four appearance at the Northeast Regionals held in Manchester, N.H. Sophomore forward Ryan Lohin found himself on the scoresheet twice, scoring an important goal to go up 2-0 and adding some insurance to put Lowell ahead by four later on. The two goals brought Lohin to 14 on the season. Freshman goaltender Tyler Wall, starting in his first ever NCAA Tournament game, shut Cornell out making 19 saves. Cornell had gone the whole year without being shut out. “You talk about a young goalie getting a shutout in a crucial game, it’s very important and I think it’s
Matt Dwyer/Connector
The River Hawks celebrate C.J. Smith’s goal.
going to help his confidence. Tomorrow’s another challenge and he’s going to have to put this one behind him,” said UMass Lowell head coach Norm Bazin. The River Hawks maintained puck possession for most of the game. Active sticks and forechecking allowed for Lowell to force turnovers and score off of them. “We wanted to keep moving, move the puck and move our feet. We were able to do that throughout the game and we benefited from it. We created some chances off the forecheck and were able to put a couple in,” said Lohin. It looked as if Cornell had a good start, but the goal scored by senior Eric Freschi at 0:54 of the first period was waved off due to a high stick. “No matter what happened, if they would have scored… we were confident just to get back to our game plan and stick to the process there,” said senior defenseman Michael Kapla. Cornell started the second period off hot, recording shots at a fast pace and forcing UMass Lowell’s defense to make errors. But UMass Lowell quickly responded, returning to dictating play like they did in the first. Lohin scored a goal to put the River Hawks up 2-0 at 6:09 of the first period. His 12th goal of the season was assisted by Kapla, earning his 30th point of the season. “I don’t think we ever felt safe… It’s always easier playing with a lead, and chasing a game against Cornell would be a recipe for disaster because they’re very good defensively,” said Bazin. After going up 2-0, the River Hawks continued to mount the pressure on Cornell. The majority of the second period was spent in Cornell’s end of the ice as Lowell set up their offense and maintained possession of the puck.
Matt Dwyer/Connector
Michael Kapla celebrates with Mattias Göransson.
“I thought as the game went on we got better from that standpoint. I think it’s about guys moving their feet and not pushing for hope passes,” said Bazin. Junior forward C.J. Smith was active on the ice all game lifting sticks, forcing turnovers and generating chances for the River Hawks. After receiving a tape to tape pass from linemate John Edwardh, Smith scored to make it 3-0. Joe Gambardella was also given an assist on the score. “We saw several things in the pre-scout we were trying to alleviate… [Cornell] has some outstanding set breakouts, and they have some timing associated with those. So we tried to break some of that,” said Bazin. UMass Lowell ended up adding their only two power play goals towards the end of the third period on a five-minute major on Cornell, resulting in a 5-0 score line. The River Hawks went 2-5 on the power play for the game.