The Equinox 2.27.20

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THE EQUINOX The student voice of Keene State College

Vol. 73, Issue #19

Thursday, February 27, 2020

Local author discusses his book for students

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KSC hosts fourth annual teach-in

KELLY REGAN

seNior News reporter

HUNTER OBERST

equiNox staff Keene State College gathered in the Alumni Center to celebrate local author Jim Rousmaniere and his book “Water Connections,” which details the push-and-pull relationship between humans and water. The Sidore Lecture Series held its latest meeting on Tuesday, February 18, where Rousmaniere spoke about his recent book and how humans can take steps to help and preserve water in appreciation for what water has done and continues to do for them. “Water Connections” focuses on how bodies of water have been affected by changes in technology, economic values, pollution and consequences of human action. After graduating from Harvard, Rousmaniere said he served in the Peace Corps in India, where he worked with and surveyed irrigation canals. It was in India where he said his interest in water really began to take hold. After his work in India, Rousmaniere began a 43-year career in journalism and was eventually named editor and president of the Keene Sentinel, from which he is now retired. “In journalism, I did periodic cover stories about water, but I did not consider myself an environmentalist. I always thought I was a journalist,” Rousmaniere said. Rousmaniere obtained much of the research and information in his book from reading extensively about water as well as by talking to lots of different people and attending several conferences. He also added that he was thankful for technology and the internet, which made the process easier. “The internet allowed me to access important documents online, which was not possible in the past due to limits on technology. I was able to learn new things every day and see new dimensions of the problem,” Rousmaniere said. The Alumni Center not only hosted author Rousmaniere but also many audience members who had read his book and wished to voice their appreciation. One woman in the audience said she enjoyed reading about the different people and how they interacted with water. “I found the book very interesting and appreciated the use of stories to reinforce the ideas and concepts about water and how it’s affected by humans,” the unnamed woman said. Program Manager for Provost Kimberly Schmidl-Gagne said that when reading the book it’s almost like she’s speaking to Rousmaniere because “Water Connections” is written similarly to how he speaks. According to Schmidl-Gagne, she and Rousmaniere have known each other for more than 10 years. “It’s less like reading a book and

» SEE LOCAL AUTHOR A2

BENAJIL RAI / MULTIMEDIA DIRECTOR

KSC President Melinda Treadwell speaks about the college’s revised value statement at the opening reception for the teach-in on Friday, February 21, in the Mabel Brown Room.

What does it mean to be a part of a healthy and engaged community? RACHEL VITELLO

News editor What does it mean to be a part of a healthy and engaged community? That was the question that the theme of this year’s teach-in aimed to answer. On Friday, February 21, Keene State College hosted its fourth annual teach-in event. The teach-in consists of a series of lessons, lectures, activities and tutorials that happen all across campus throughout the day that connect back to the chosen theme. The teach-in was organized collaboratively by Associate Vice President for Diversity and Inclusion Dottie Morris, Dean of Mason Library Celia Rabinowitz and Executive Assistant for the Office of the Provost Kim Harkness. KSC President Melinda Treadwell kicked off the teach-in with a discussion around the Keene State value statement, which lays out the importance of the free exchange of diverse perspectives on a college campus. “My role was to first and foremost say it’s really important and that we should be doing this, we should engage across a lot of conversations,” Treadwell said. “My role today was to launch the session with a discussion of our value statement and to sit it in on as many sessions as I could. It’s nice to feel a sense of community conversation that’s not structured.” The actual planning for the teach-in began

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LR-100 used as a heat source on campus

back in November, according to Rabinowitz. When it came to picking the topic, Morris said it was important to make sure that it felt inclusive to everyone across the community. “We had to make sure the description spoke to everyone, from people in music to people in the counseling center,” Morris said. Morris also said their hope for those attending the teach-in was that everyone would walk away with a sense of community, as well as some new ideas and skills. “I’m hoping people meet new people that they didn’t know were in the community and develop deeper relationships with them, or desire to,” Morris said. “We have really dynamic and amazing faculty, staff and students right here on campus. We have a couple people who are alums coming back to present with faculty members they had while here. That helps send the message of, ‘once you’re a part of this community, you’re always a part of the community.’ It’s not just physical space on 229 Main Street, it’s the experiences you had that tie back in and the memories you take with you.” Rabinowitz also said that the teach-in aims to get people interacting with those they may not meet in their typical, everyday routine. The teach-in was also bring your own lunch, titled ‘CommUNITY BYO Lunch,’ but had desserts offered in the Mabel Brown Room. “A lot of the time we’re thinking about how

A4: Challenging societial norms A8: Concert band strikes a chord B1: Teach-in brings students together B8: All about the heart

we could encourage settings that are interactive for the whole community and would get people interested and engaged,” Rabinowitz said. “Food is just another great way to create community.” The teach-in hosted many different kinds of sessions. There was a community walk and talk, where people gathered to walk around campus and talk about being a healthy and engaged community, as well as a cooking lesson held in the Dining Commons. There were also multiple lectures given relating to racism, the global climate crisis and nature, among many other topics. “What I love about the teach-in itself is it feels like an ‘unconference’ to me,” Treadwell said. “It’s a place where people can bring ideas, stand them up quickly and get community members from around campus involved.” Rachel Vitello can be contacted at rvitello@kscequinox.com.

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Keene State switched to purified waste vegetable oil, LR-100, as their heat source in October 2016. Staff at Keene State College worked together to convince the college to switch to a cleaner fuel source. Supervisor of Plumbing and Heating Plant Operations Bill Rymes worked closely with Director of Campus Sustainability Cary Gaunt and Coordinator of Energy and Utility Services Diana Duffy during Keene State’s transition to LR-100. The decision to switch fuel sources at Keene State College was influenced by the woodstove changeout campaign that the NH Department of Environmental Services and the City of Keene ran from October 26, 2009, to June 30, 2010. “There had been an incentive by the state for woodstove buyback program in Keene,” Rymes said. According to the final report on this campaign, prepared by the NH Department of Environmental Services, “Residential wood combustion was identified as a primary and significant contributor to the high particulate matter levels in Keene.” The town’s efforts to reduce air pollution encouraged Keene State College to consider cleaner heating sources. At the time of the woodstove changeout campaign, the college used No. 6 heating oil as its fuel source. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, No. 6 fuel oil is a residual fuel oil. Residual fuel oil is one of the lower-value petroleum products. It’s a heavy oil used in power plants or industrial boilers. “Heavy oil is like muck,” Duffy said. “It’s called bunker fuel cause it’s heavy, dirty oil.” “If we had just burned No. 2 oil, like a residential home, as opposed to No. 6 heating oil, it was going to cost us a million dollars more each year for our heating oil,” Rymes said. “But at the same time we had this idea that we needed to do something.” Liberty Gas contacted Keene State with an offer for natural gas as a fuel source. Gaunt had recently been hired by the college and was looking for cleaner fuel options. “Natural gas is, in fact, a fossil fuel. It burns much cleaner than other kinds of fossil fuel, but it’s still a fossil fuel,” Gaunt said. “When I arrived here, I had a clear vision that I wanted to move the campus to be a fossil-free institution.” Fossil fuel is a non-renewable fuel source that is currently considered the “world’s primary energy source” by the Environmental and Energy Study Institute. The United States Environmental Protection Agency considers fossil fuels to be a major contributor to air pollution. “We were at a point where we knew we needed to do something better,” Duffy said.

» SEE LR-100 A2

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News / A2

Thursday, February 27, 2020

LOCAL AUTHOR cont. from A1

more like reading an old friend,” SchmidlGagne said. Schmidl-Gagne said that the book is especially important now because of the climate crisis. Schmidl-Gagne also said that she thinks people take water for granted and underestimate its value as a natural resource. “Water is plentiful, but the quality of the water comes into question because of pollution and that can have a huge impact on us,” Schmidl-Gagne said. Rousmaniere added that humans need to be more responsible and conscious when they interact with the environment. “Our problems with nature are becoming more acute,” Rousmaniere said. “We can’t engineer nature; we can only work with it as a partner.” Hunter Oberst can be contacted at HOberst@kscequinox.com.

PAIGE KARAVAS / EQUINOX STAFF

Local author Jim Rousmaniere, as part of the Sidore Lecture Series, discussed his recent book “Water Connections,” the connection between humans and water, in Norma Walker Hall on Tuesday, February 18.

Documentary on the refugee crisis screened at the Redfern TEDDY TAUSCHER

Equinox Staff On Friday, February 21, students and community members came together to watch and discuss the documentary “Human Flow” directed by artist and activist Ai Weiwei. The documentary was released in 2017 and follows different refugee groups across the globe. Coordinator of Multicultural Student Support Kya Roumimper was the orchestrator of the event. “We started with a conversation with Sharon Fantl about the performance of ‘Babylon’ and we wanted to scaffold some engagement opportunities for students, faculty and community members to really do the educational component that comes along with engaging in these refugee experiences,” Roumimper said. Assistant Director at the Redfern Arts Center, Sharon Fantl, was also attending the screening. According to Fantl, this film, while important in and of itself, was to serve as an introduction for “Babylon,” a puppet show about refugees, coming to the Redfern Arts Center. Roumimper said an important part of the documentary for her was making connections between the lives of refugees and the daily struggles we all go through. “We obviously don’t struggle with this at that level, but [we all have] these inherent human needs that range from person to person and that stark end of it and how large this is. We thought it would be a good introductory piece so that people can watch it and start to think about some of the more thematic elements, to think about what social justice looks like in this case, what humanity looks like and hopefully then encourage people to go to the Redfern performance of ‘Babylon,’” Roumimper said. Other attendees commented that it made their daily struggles seem small and insignificant compared to the hardships refugees face. Fantl said there was a certain beauty to how the film shot refugee camps and other places where the refugees were staying. “There’s

moments where, in terms of landscape, it almost looks beautiful,” Fantl said. Associate Vice President for Diversity and Inclusion, Dottie Morris, said the film made her question a common criticism of allowing more immigration. “I think what kept with me was the illusion of scarcity, that there’s not enough to go around. I think because the distribution of wealth and resources are so skewed, it creates an illusion that there isn’t enough to go around and there is,” Morris said. The documentary showed a tiger that had been found in Gaza. It portrayed how Gazans had worked together with other governments, including Israel, to help get the tiger to South Africa where it could be released. The group discussed how this was a metaphor for all the refugees who feel trapped in their current situations. Roumimper chose the documentary because she was impressed by how beautiful and deep it was. “I had seen ‘Human Flow’ when it came out in 2017 and was really struck by the cinematography, by the jarring nature of the individual stories. I think the more time you spend processing the more you pick up on the metaphors we talked about in our discussion. Going from the big picture down to the individual, realizing how systematic much of this oppression is, and how, at the heart of it, there is just this fight to recognize humans and recognize humanity and to give love and empathy to the community,” Roumimper said. “Babylon” will be at the Redfern Arts Center on Thursday, March 12. Teddy Tauscher can be contacted at

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ttauscher@kscequinox.com.

KIRSTEN SOMERO / EQUINOX STAFF

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News / A3

Thursday, February 27, 2020

Campus Safety Press Log

Safety job fair

2/17 Theft from a building- Carle Hall 2/17 Assault- simple- Mason Library 2/17 Animal complaint- Holloway Hall 2/17 Medical non-emergency- LLC 2/17 Odor of drugs- Carle Hall 2/19 Suspicious activity- Sidewalks 2/19 Harassment- LLC 2/20 Health and safety concernBrickyard Pond 2/21 911/Blue lightactivation- Butler Court 2/22 Unauthrized use of Emergency exits 2/22 911/Blue light activation- Media Art Center 2/23 Assault- aggravated- LLC 2/23 911/Blue light activationPondside 2 lot 2/23 Theft from a building- Carle Hall 2/23 Suspicious person- Winchester lot 2/23 Odor of drugs- Huntress Hall and Carle Hall CAROLINE WARE / EQUINOX STAFF

On Thursday, February 20, the safety and occupational health applied sciences department at Keene State College held their career and internship fair in the TDS Center. The fair featured an array of companies recruiting for a variety of opportunities. Students dressed professionally, met with professionals and handed out their resumes with hopes of securing either post-graduation jobs or internships.

COLLEGE SENATE

STUDENT ASSEMBLY

JACK HANSON

BuSineSS Manager

The President’s Cabinet is currently looking for two students to be a part of the Student Advisory Committee, according to Interim Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs Ockle Johnson. Johnson presented President Melinda Treadwell’s Sustainability and Vitality Plan along with Chief Enrollment Management Officer MB Lufkin to the Student Assembly on Monday, February 25. There are three goals in the plan regarding recruitment and retention rates, fiscal planning, student-centered experiences and more. The first step of the plan is bringing in Huron Consulting Group to analyze and give recommendations to Keene State on certain areas where they see potential development or changes. Johnson said there is an open call for two students, one junior and one senior, to sit on the Strategic Advisory Committee where they will work with faculty and staff to provide guidance for the cabinet about making decisions concerning their strategic priorities. Their first job would be to work

KELLY REGAN

Senior newS reporter

with Huron and give the cabinet students’ perspectives on what Huron recommends. Johnson said the two students should be selected within the first few weeks of March. Student Body President Davis Bernstein provided information on Student Government elections for the 2020-2021 year. According to Bernstein, petitions will be available for all students on Monday, March 30, and will be due by Wednesday, April 8. Elections for all classes will be held in person on Wednesday, April 15, in the Student Center. For more information on President Treadwell’s Sustainability and Vitality Plan or the Strategic Advisory Committee please contact president@keene.edu or provost@ keene.edu. For more information on Student Government elections, please contact Davis Bernstein at davis.bernstein@ksc.keene.edu. The Student Assembly meets every Monday at 6:30 p.m. in the Mountain View Room.

College Senate met in Rhodes S203 on Wednesday, February 19. The meeting was called to order at 4:06 p.m. The sub-committee, the Senate Curriculum Committee, moved to approve the changes to the B.S. in biology, the B.A. in biology and the in minor biology. The motions were approved unanimously. There was no new business. The meeting was adjourned at 4:12 p.m. Kelly Regan can be contacted at kregan@kscequinox.com.

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Jack Hanson can be contacted at jhanson@kscequinox.com

LR-100 cont. from A1

Gaunt worked with Duffy to explore other heating fuel options. Duffy and Gaunt analyzed the college’s energy data and looked for alternative heating fuels. LR-100 had recently been introduced to the market as a cleaner, more sustainable energy source. “We did a lot of research on the pros and cons, the environmental concerns, the financial implications of these various fuel sources,” Gaunt said. “The LR-100 product kept coming up, clearly a winner every time.” Duffy and Gaunt made a pitch to college leadership to switch to the cheaper and more environmentally green fuel oil LR-100. “We put together a really compelling briefing on why we should explore LR-100 more,” Gaunt said. The college decided to have a test run of LR-100 on boiler 4 over the summer. Lifecycle Renewables is located in Boston, MA and provides the college with LR-100. The college then decided to switch over boiler 2. In 2016, the college had completely switched over to LR-100. “When you’re trying to push innovative change, you need to engage hands-on, on the ground people who will be doing the work,” Gaunt said, “but you have got to engage and include the decision-makers. Without both sides of that coin, it won’t move forward.” “When the delivery of No. 6 oil came, sometimes the people around Fiske would complain because it just stank,” Duffy said. “It’s kind of toxic. With this vegetable oil, we could eat it. So when that is delivered, people don’t complain.” The dining services on campus, Chartwells, has a contract with Lifecycle Renewables for cooking oil removal and grease trap management. “When you’re in the fossil oil biz, you’re dealing with a source that you don’t really know where it comes from,” Duffy said. “It can come from any

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one of the major oil producers. It can come from somewhere with an ocean between us and then you’re subject to geopolitical shakeups.” These geopolitical conflicts can affect the price of oil. The college is locked into a contract for fuel oil, but the price of oil can change. Vegetable oil is collected regionally and nationally and converted to LR-100, therefore the price of LR-100 is more consistent. “I don’t have to worry about geopolitical shakeups when we’re investing in a recycled product,” Duffy said. “The grease that we produce goes to the same firm. Shortly after the time that we contracted with Lifecycle, Chartwells wanted a different vendor to pick up their grease.” “The reason I’m so proud of this particular project is because we really did do something innovative and unique,” Gaunt said. “We did it because we were strategically clever and because we backed up our ideas and our vision with really solid data.” Kelly Regan can be contacted at kregan@kscequinox.com.

NEWS EDITOR RACHEL VITELLO (781)812-7461

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OPINIONS

Opinions / A4 Thursday, February 27, 2020

EDITORIAL

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Challenging societal norms

SEAN KEOHANE/ EQUINOX STAFF

The Equinox’s opinion on transgender athletes competing in sports As the transgender rights movement progresses, there has been an increase in the number of transgender athletes in sports. It has also, however, raised a debate that transgender athletes have an unfair advantage against born male or female athletes. As a result, three female high school runners in Connecticut along with Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) have filed a federal lawsuit seeking to prevent transgender athletes from participating in girls’ sports, according to an article in the New York Post. According to the website of ADF, the Alliance exists to “keep the doors open for the Gospel by advocating for religious lib-

THE EQUINOX

erty, the sanctity of human life, freedom of speech and marriage and family.” An article from CNN says, “Selina Soule, Chelsea Mitchell, Alanna Smith and their mothers claim in their lawsuit the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference’s (CIAC) policy is a violation of the Title IX act—which bars discrimination on the basis of sex.” While we understand both sides to this complex issue, The Equinox believes forcing individuals to compete as a gender they do not identify as can be emotionally harmful to those people. Especially at the high school level, where students may be just

To contact the Equinox, e-mail pthapha@kscequinox.com or emcnemar@kscequinox.com

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transitioning and not feel comfortable in their skin yet, we should be understanding of their struggles. Another aspect of this situation is that sports should be a safe place from discrimination. If sports were one of the things that a person genuinely enjoyed doing before transitioning, then nobody should try to take that away from them. This is supposed to be a free country and if somebody wants to play sports they should be allowed to regardless of gender, sexual orientation, etc. Additionally, claiming that transgender male-to-female athletes have a greater advantage against born female athletes

supports the assumption that women are weaker than men. We believe that that is an unfair assumption to make. In another argument against the people who do think the transgender female athletes have an advantage, they should understand that physical advantages are very much a thing in all sports. If we’re not making everybody in sports be the same build, height and speed then why should we try to exclude transgender athletes for the same thing? There may be no real compromise to this issue right now, but we believe both parties can work toward a solution, whether that be

EQUINOX NEWSROOM

EDITORIAL POLICY

Faculty Advisor

The Equinox is a designated public forum. Student editors have full editorial control over the entire content of the paper. All articles and opinion pieces are assigned, written and edited by students without censor by administrators, faculty or staff. The Equinox is published Thursdays during the academic year with dates immediately preceding and following holidays omitted. The advertising deadline is 5 p.m. on the Friday prior to publication. The Equinox reserves the right to refuse advertising for any reason. Advertising is not accepted until it appears in the paper. Letters to the editor must be written exclusively to The Equinox and are due by noon on the Friday prior to publishing. All letters must include name and phone number for verification. The Equinox reserves the right to edit for style and length, and refuse any letters to the editor. For clarification and additional information on any above policies call 358-2414. The Equinox business office is open Monday-Friday from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

Rodger Martin, Journalism faculty (rmartin@kscequinox.com ) Julio Del Sesto, Journalism faculty (jdelsesto@keene.edu)

Equinox Staff: Sean Keohane, Alex Harvey, Matthew White, Simon Clarke, Caroline Ware, Kirsten Somero, Andrew Chase, Rowan Heard, Lydia Mardin, Jeremy Landers, Alex Dube, Isabella Echavarria, Dylan O’ Connell, Jillian River, Matt Holderman, Hunter Oberst, Tyler DaRosa, William Pruett

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hormone tests similar to what athletes go through to compete in the Olympics, creating co-ed sports or eliminating gender in sports all together. The issue of gender discrimation is an issue that no one should ever have to face. In the end, this is just another issue that we need to figure out together. This is another example of norms being questioned and therefore indicates that we are continuing to evolve as a society. The Equinox trusts that Connecticut, Keene and our country will do the right thing for transgender people.

Copyright © 2017: All rights reserved Reproduction of The Equinox in whole or part in any form written, broadcast or electronic without written permission of The Equinox is prohibited. The Equinox is published each Thursday during the academic year by the editorial board of The Equinox, which is elected every spring by the members of the editorial board and acts as joint publisher of the paper. The Equinox serves as the voice of the students of Keene State College and does not necessarily reflect the opinions of the faculty, the staff and/or the administration. One copy of The Equinox is available free each week. Anyone removing papers in bulk will be prosecuted on theft charges to the fullest extent of the law. Inserting items into printed copies of The Equinox is considered theft of services and will result in prosecution.

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Opinions / A5

Thursday, February 27, 2020

STAFF COMMENTARY

‘Vote Blue No Matter Who’

Discussing the newest Democratic movement to defeat Trump LYDIA MARDIN

Equinox Staff The primaries have been in full swing since the Iowa Caucus on February 3, 2020, and surely there is a lot of anticipation to see who will be running against Trump for the presidency. Surrounding all this we have been able to see myriad candidates drop out; for example, Andrew Yang. It is pretty fair to say that we will be seeing more leave before the primaries are over. Once candidates drop out, what will happen to the votes of the people who supported them? The newest movement to sweep the nation can offer a notion as to what will happen to these votes. “Vote blue no matter who,” while not necessarily being the daring political chant it wants to be, does offer an interesting take when looking at the ways in which the Trump presidency has affected the Democratic Party. So many Democrats are upset over his victory in 2016 and, subsequently, his presidency that the Democratic Party is trying to unify itself in this movement to remove sitting President Trump from office. This chant essentially states that in order to reclaim the presidency they must unify behind a single candidate. Personally, this movement makes sense to me and really is not unique to any other of the multitude of political movements that are around right now. History proves that unification behind a party really is not a new idea. While there are numerous examples, my mind immediately thinks of the election of 1864 when the Republicans in the North, during the time of the Civil War, unified to reelect Abraham Lincoln. You can also extend this example to more modern-day experiences when the Republican Party unified under Ronald Reagan in 1980, and again in 1984, because we wanted to battle communism. Thus, with his outlook on the presidency and the way he looked at foreign affairs, the Cold War came

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to an end. This eventually also happened in 1991 under the presidency of George H. W. Bush, who was coincidently Reagan’s vice president and also exemplifies party unification within the country, specifically in the Republican Party. It is also not rare in the Democratic Party, for instance, keeping Lyndon B. Johnson in office in 1964 and in 1976 to keep Jimmy Carter in office against the incumbent Richard Nixion, who was elected into office in

1972. I think that modern-day politics take a lot from past outcomes so the fact that this “Vote blue” movement is of any actual concern to anyone is insane. Political parties are the way they are to give people who are not as involved in politics the chance to vote without needing to look into the background of every candidate. Essentially, it simplifies the way voting is approached, while it is important to look into certain candidates, mainly around the

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SEAN KEOHANE/ EQUINOX STAFF

times of the primaries, for the presidential election it makes sense to just vote along when it is not. party lines. For example, most, if not all, RepubliDISCLAIMER: This article is the sole cans will support Trump over a Democrat opinion of Lydia Mardin because of how his ideas and beliefs will most likely align with those who agree with Lydia Mardin can be contacted at Lydia. the Republican Party over a Democrat’s Mardin@ksc.keene.edu views on certain issues. Party unification is prominent on both sides, whether it is explicitly stated or not, and there is no need to think this a groundbreaking revelation

STAFF COMMENTARY

STAFF COMMENTARY

An age-old struggle of adaptation Follow the money, find the crime KSC student shares his thoughts on the ‘Elite Pass’

WILLIAM PRUETT

ANDREW CHASE

Equinox Staff

Equinox Staff

When you are in a place like college, where people are constantly changing and schedules are always unpredictably busy, it can be challenging to find the time to meet a group of friends that make you feel like you belong. Many college students also meet one group of friends early on in their college experience and stick with them because they simply feel like it is easy, not because they want to. For many people in their lives, the thought of reaching out and trying to make new friends every day sounds like an incredibly difficult task to follow through with. College students will sit next to someone all semester and barely speak more than a couple of words to them when that person could have been their future best friend, for all they could have known. Sparking up the smallest of conversations can lead to relationships that can last for ages. Many college students also tend to fall into the routine of doing everything by themselves and never bothering to try and talk to anybody new at all. They will go to their classes without speaking a word more than they are required to, then go to the gym and do the same, and so on and so on. Some people enjoy

On Thursday, February 20, 2020, a federal judge sentenced Roger Stone to three years and four months in prison for obstruction of proceedings before departments, agencies and committees. Roger Stone is a very well-known American political consultant. Stone has been a friend and ally to President Donald J. Trump for over 30 years, according to Stones’ website, TheStoneZone.com. Also on February 20, Trump tweeted out: “‘They say Roger Stone lied to Congress.’ @CNN OH, I see, but so did Comey (and he also leaked classified information, for which almost everyone, other than Crooked Hillary Clinton, goes to jail for a long time), and so did Andy McCabe, who also lied to the FBI! FAIRNESS?” Many political projectionists are saying that Trump will issue a presidential pardon for Stone. If Trump does in fact issue a pardon to Stone, then it would be another case of someone with power, wealth and connections receiving what I call the “Elite Pass.” The “Elite Pass” is when someone with wealth, power and connections are given an incredibly less harsh sentence or no sentence at all for doing something wrong or illegal. The sad part of the whole “Elite Pass” situation is that if an ordinary average Joe did the same thing, they would most likely be given the normal sentence or a harsher sentence. Some of you may be wondering, “Why does this happen?” Well, in the end it all boils down to two major components of the machine that runs the globe: Money and Power. Both of these components go hand in hand because as someone amasses more and more wealth, they gain more and more influence as their profits continuously rise.

KIRSTEN SOMERO/ EQUINOX STAFF

living this way more than having many friends, but, for a lot of these people, they have just been doing it for so long that they do not know how to get out of the cycle. It can be nearly impossible to break out of their antisocial shell and start to talk with the strangers that they see for weeks on end but never bother starting a conversation with. Once it’s finally broken, it will be revealed pretty quickly that people can be kind and interested in what you have to say and they might even agree and want to get to know you even better. Essentially, you never know which people in

the room share the same beliefs and ideas of fun that you have until you start to get to know them. It is all up to the effort of each individual person on how many friends they would like to have in their life. The more quality friends that you have, the more helpful people you have to fall back on when you are in a stressful state. Despite the positives that reaching out and talking to new people can bring, it is still far easier said than done. Some people just have too much anxiety or are just too nervous to talk to new people because of fear of rejection or being disliked. For these people, it

is better to just stay to themselves, rather than to just try and at least see if they will be disliked or rejected. When you see these people in your classes, at the gym, or eating at the Dining Commons alone, it is the outgoing person’s job to invite them over or just spark up a short conversation. It could go a long way for that quiet student and make them realize that everyone has a friend out there, they just have to find them. DISCLAIMER: This article is the sole opinion of William Pruett William Pruett can be contacted atwpruett@kscequinox.com

Once someone gains enough wealth and influence, they start to gain power over the product that they supply to the world and, depending on the popularity and importance of their product, they could use their product as ransom to make the illusion of them being untouchable by everything. In reality this illusion, like all illusions, is false and deceiving because no one is truly above the rule of law. Yet, not many people have been able to break away from the line and fight against the elite class, at least until recently. Today, the name Harvey Weinstein usually gives the feeling of disgust to most people for the atrocious crimes he clearly committed. As of February 22, 2020, the trial against Weinstein is still going on, but rumors are surfacing that the jury for the case are struggling to reach a unanimous vote on the case. My question is, why is this happening when the evidence is clearly there? My theory is that there is some sort of backroom deal-

ings going on, aka Mr. Weinstein is attempting to receive the “Elite Pass.” I have a feeling that in the end Weinstein will receive a slightly less harsh sentence, but it will still be significant enough to send out a message to other elites that says that they aren’t untouchable. In the end, the best way to sum up how to figure out how the “Elite Pass” works is a quote from one of my high school forensics class teachers, “Follow the money and the crime will show itself.” DISCLAIMER: This article is the sole opinion of Andrew Chase Andrew Chase can be contacted at achase@kscequinox.com

Once someone gains enough wealth and influence, they start to gain power over the product that they supply to the world and, depending on the popularity and importance of their product, they could use their product as ransom to make the illusion of them being untouchable by everything. -Andrew Chase

Making new friendships in a new environment

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Thursday, February 27, 2020

'The Bachelor' divides students CRISTIAN VALENTIN

called a “Bachelor” bracket, so we pick who we want to win the rose each episode and it kind of keeps everybody together,” said Spooner. “Bachelor” season is in full swing and Keene State students Mamish said the show can be an acquired taste. “It matters are anxious to see which contestant Peter Weber ends up with. what type of genre of a television show you like, so if you’re some“The Bachelor” is an ongoing television show on its 24th body who likes a good drama, I would definitely recommend it. If season and is about one man (the bachelor) who has several you like watching cringey people being cringey, I would also defiwomen candidates who want to be his wife. As each episode goes nitely recommend it,” said Mamish. on, women are slowly eliminated until there’s only one left, who You can join the excitement and catch “The Bachelor" every will be the bachelor’s wife. Monday at 8 p.m. on ABC. For junior childhood education major Katelyn Mello, the drama is her favorite part. “I like it because there’s never a dull Cristian Valentin can be contacted moment on ‘The Bachelor’ and there is always some girl making at cvalentin@kscequinox.com more and more drama,” said Mello. Senior communications major Molly Spooner said this drama is what got her into the show in the first place. “I also had a lot of my friends watching it, so I decided to hop on the bandwagon and kind of got sucked in like everybody else,” said Spooner. Junior criminal justice and sociology major Valerie Mamish said she likes the outrageous aspects of the show. “I like how cringey it is, honestly. It’s such a cringey show and I just like reality television [in general]. It’s a guilty pleasure for me and it’s just fun to watch. I always look at the spoilers before so I know what’s going to happen, but I just like the relationships they create in the show,” said Mamish. According to Mamish, this new season offers a new sense of unpredictability. “I’m looking forward to seeing what happens because nobody knows who wins this season. It’s a lot different this year when usually, [because of] the spoilers, you know what’s going to happen at the end, but this time nobody knows. When the finale happens, it’s going to be live and everybody, including Peter himself, will be finding out what happens and I think that’s pretty cool.” Spooner said she is rooting for the contestant Madison. “I hope he picks the right person. Personally, I love Madison and I want Victoria to go home. That’s my personal opinion and I’m excited for her to go home,” said Spooner. Mello said she enjoys seeing the interactions between everybody. “I would recommend the show because I think it’s interesting to see how different girls react to dating the same guy, since it’s so many people.” For Spooner, “The Bachelor” serves as a way of bonding with her friends. “I think if you’re looking for something to do with a group of friends, no matter who’s in your group of friends, the show really appeals to everybody and especially this season. For some reason a lot of guys are watching it too, so I think it’s a good thing to do in a common room. My friends and I do something

OpiniOns EditOr

Fun Fact!

All contestants on 'The Bachelor' have to provide their own dresses.

Achievements in history FETIM OF A LI Y R O T THE S THIS IS

The Black Power

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Mixtape 1967-1975

GRIFFIN ELL / ART DIRECTOR

'Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening' By Robert Frost

Maya Ange

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STILL GHT MOONLI

GRIFFIN ELL / ART DIRECTOR

The Putnam celebrates Black History Month ALEX DUBE

EquinOx staff Around the world, the month of February is recognized as Black History Month, dedicated to taking extra steps to remember the achievements and history of people of color. This month here on campus, the Putnam Theatre is remembering the achievements of African-American actors, directors, producers and stories alike. The Putnam kicked off celebrating black history with the critically acclaimed “12 Years a Slave,” directed by Steve McQueen, from January 31 to February 5, recognizing the tragic but inspirational story of a free African-American man and his struggle when he is suddenly captured and enslaved. Senior film production major and public outreach specialist for the Putnam Jack Callahan said that

the Putnam Theatre’s Black History Month is all about representation in finding the most effective works that best showcase African-American culture. “Obviously we would have the history of slavery with ‘12 Years a Slave’ and ‘Harriet’ with the Underground Railroad, but I think more contemporary films like ‘Moonlight’ and ‘Sorry to Bother You’ are very effective in telling of the plights of African-American culture,” said Callahan. The Putnam Theatre continued its trek into Black History Month with screenings of the nationally recognized film “Moonlight,” directed by Barry Jenkins, and “Sorry to Bother You,” directed by Boots Riley, as their more contemporary counterparts to the films depicting specific historical events. Lauren Peyser, senior at Keene State and attendee of the sparse audi-

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ence screening of “Sorry To Bother You,” said, “I think we’re really community based here at Keene State so its nice that we’re trying to expand out and recognize black history.” The Putnam’s Black History Month film showcase concluded with “Harriet,” directed by Kasi Lemmons. The film is an outstandingly strong representation of abolitionist Harriet Tubman and her escape from slavery, and how she liberated hundreds of AfricanAmerican slaves through the Underground Railroad along the way. Keene State senior and President of the KSC Film Society Corinn Colford said that in the process of forming the showcase, the idea of representation comes first in recognizing the achievements and heroes of black culture, especially through the medium of film. “It’s significant because we need to show representation, especially

in Keene, because, let’s be real, it’s not super diverse [in Keene]. Film in general lacks diversity, but now it’s getting better,” said Colford. The Putnam Theatre has been recognizing Black History Month for years and will continue to do so, according to Film Society members Jack Callahan and Corinn Colford. The Putnam Theatre is located by the Putnam Arts Lecture Hall, next to the Redfern Arts Center, and screen films at 7 p.m. Friday through Monday, and Wednesdays. For a complete schedule of the theater’s showtimes and film selections, visit www.keene.edu/arts/putnam or pick up a schedule pamphlet from the theater or from a member of the KSC Film Society.

The woods are lovely, dark and deep, But I have promises to keep, And miles to go before I sleep, And miles to go before I sleep.

Alex Dube can be contacted at adube@kscequinox.com

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Thursday, February 27, 2020

Celebrating diversity

HENRY HOBSON / EQUINOX STAFF

The Mason Library hosted a display celebrating New Hampshire's cultural diversity through photographs and books written by and about immigrants. The display began on February 7 and will stay until mid March.

Mason Library hosts immigration display JILLIAN RIVERS

Equinox Staff The lives of immigrants in the United States have never been easy. Despite being on the East Coast, there are nearly 80,000 immigrants living in New Hampshire alone, according to the American Immigration Council. Photographer Becky Field currently has an exhibit at the Cheshire Medical Center, the Mason Library and the Redfern Arts Center called “Different Roots, Common Dreams,” which includes photographs of immigrants and refugees in New Hampshire and captions to describe what the photos are. Her exhibit has been here at Keene State since February 7, but it will leave campus when spring break begins in March. There is also a book on display in the front of the library that includes Fields’ work as well as essays written by the immigrants.

The faculty at the Mason Library are thrilled to have Field's exhibit here at Keene State, including the dean of the library, Celia Rabinowitz. Rabinowitz has actually met Field a few times, and said she is very energetic and enthusiastic about having her work here. Rabinowitz also touched upon how the library decided to set up Field's exhibit. “We [the library] like having the photos where they are because lots of times people will sort of find them by accident,” Rabinowitz said. “It’s nice to have them here and at the Redfern… we’re looking for ways to sort of spread that kind of thing around so it’s not just in one place.” Rabinowitz is exactly right about people finding them by accident. First-year student Lauryn Quintana comes from a family of Cuban immigrants and said the displays certainly caught her eye, especially since she

said she doesn’t typically notice things like that. “It’ll definitely show [people who visit the library] how much it has been in New Hampshire’s history, especially considering Keene State and New Hampshire are predominantly white, so it shows people different cultures and how long they have been here,” Quintana said. Field's work has not only been greatly appreciated by passersby but also allows people to learn more about how immigrants in New Hampshire live. The library access service manager Jeff Kazin said Field's clearly has much respect and passion for cultural awareness, especially on the issue of immigration, which is what her book is based on. He said she spent a lot of time making sure everything was just right for everyone who was involved in creating her exhibit, out of respect. “It’s her way of making a case to everybody and

showing a story of immigrants… Her artwork allows all these people to show what they’ve gone through and show what it’s like for them to immigrate here and their personal experiences with it,” Kazin said. With all the issues of immigration going on in this country, it is important to shine a light on those most affected by it: the immigrants themselves. Immigrants have been viewed as a burden in the past and the present, but Field's exhibit demonstrates how much immigrants have been doing for this country. Jillian Rivers can be contacted at jrivers@kscequinox.com

Equinox Music Choices

Arts and Entertainment Editor Tom Benoit (361) 571-1989 KSCEQUINOX.COM

Shallow Trisha Paytas

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Thursday, February 27, 2020

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Concert band strikes a chord

STAFF COMMENTARY

Revisiting 'The Greatest Showman' CLAIRE BOUGHTON

sports Editor

BENAJIL RAI / MULTIMEDIA DIRECTOR

Thursday, February 20, members of the Keene State Concert Band performed a concert in the Redfern Arts Center, conducted by Dr. John T. Hart Jr.

Concert band aims to make a change at Keene State TOM BENOIT

Arts & EntErtAinmEnt Editor “The majority [of the] culture doesn't have a monopoly on what constitutes good music,” Dr. John Hart Jr., conductor of the Keene State College Concert Band, said of the music selection performed at the concert. Hart continued, explaining the subject of the selections. “I’m trying to push for more socially responsible and culturally responsive music. The music is from cultures from those that have been colonized or have allowed themselves to be colonized. So part of that is to take the first step, to recognize the histories of, frankly, oppression that have existed throughout history that influence how we think of music,” Hart said. According to Hart, this is the beginning of something new with the concert band. “Every February is going to be a part of our social justice series. The music depart-

ment will be commissioning new works from marginalized and under-represented groups of people, such as the LGBT community, composers who are people of color and women composers who have not had a lot of say in the production of culture, let alone music throughout history,” Hart said. The aim of this social justice series has less to do with the music department itself and more to do with encouraging other departments to do the same. Hart said, “The social justice series is going to be a large component of what I do here and I'm hoping that it will encourage other departments on campus to get involved, as well as the diversity, equity and inclusion office to get involved. I see it as a great way for creating a sense of unity around the campus, but also as a great way to [not only] recruit and retain students but to also bring in the outside community as well. It's something that speaks to our core mission as a college.”

The Keene State College Concert Band is made up of community members as well as students. The performers have prepared for the concert for months. “I’m very lucky,” said Hart, “[the performers] come in every Tuesday and Thursday and lay it all out there most nights. They leave large portions of their soul in the room. I expect every human is capable of great artistry, and that's something I try to convey with this group and that's something that they latch onto really well and I'm very proud of them for that. They're busy people too, somehow.” Concert Band member, guest conductor and junior Madison Shimko spoke about her experience with this year’s concert. “It’s really interesting [for us] to pull something together in the last four weeks of school and really put together a pretty awesome concert. I think I’ve grown from the pieces we’re playing. They’re very fun to play, challenging to play, it's very stereotypical music.”

Sophomore Amanda Smith, who attended the concert, said, “It was awesome. I haven't done band in two or three years and this made me really miss it.” Sophomore Jaden Rogers, who also attended the event, said, “I’ve never really been a proponent of concerts, but hearing the dynamic instruments really gave me a love for it, especially the last piece, ‘Bali.’” Junior Sam Kingsberry said, “The concert really restored my appreciation for this kind of art form. I originally came to Keene [to study music], but switched to a different career path, and this concert was good enough to make me miss it.” Tom Benoit can be contacted at tbenoit@kscequinox.com

Piti Theatre Company

“The Greatest Showman” is a beautifully orchestrated piece of work that captures what is, in all honesty, a very dark true story. The movie loosely and musically follows the life of P.T. (Phineas Taylor) Barnum, who is played by Hugh Jackman, aka Wolverine, aka Jean Valjean, aka the voice of Memphis from “Happy Feet.” For a little background on Barnum, I ended up going to his page on biography.com where I found out he was born in Bethel, Connecticut, a town that I live only about an hour away from (I like to imagine that he possibly traveled through my town at one point or another, although that seems unlikely). Continuing with my research on biography.com, I found out that Barnum moved to New York City as a young adult and began working for a variety of businesses, trying to find his calling. However, it wasn’t until 1835 that his calling would seemingly come. Barnum ended up paying an elderly slave by the name of Joice Heth $1,000 so he could promote her as the outstanding, 161-year-old ex-nurse for George Washington throughout the Northeast. Barnum ended up racking in about $1,500 a week from people wanting to view Heth. When Heth passed away, Barnum continued to use her as a source of income by making her autopsy open to the public for the low price of just 50 cents. If my math is correct, that would be right around $14 in today's currency. The movie begins to follow Barnum’s real-life timeline right around 1841, when Barnum purchased Scudder’s American Museum in Manhattan. Barnum transformed the museum into Barnum’s American Museum, which ended up showcasing over 850,000 odd exhibits of questionable authenticity. When this is happening in the movie, Barnum is joined by his wife, Charity, and two young children, Caroline and Helen. While ages don’t quite match up when it comes to his family (for example, Helen, who is a walking, talking, singing and dancing eight-tonine-year-old in the movie, would’ve actually been one at the time—yikes), the addition of the older children is still a good add-on to the movie that allows deeper conversations that pull at your heartstrings. When it comes to Barnum’s actual timeline, it was right around this time that he met the four-year-old, 25-inch tall child who would soon be known by the world as “General Tom Thumb.” And that was what launched the life of “The Greatest Showman.” Barnum would end up founding the Ringling Bros. and the Barnum & Bailey Circus, both of which only stopped holding performances three years ago in 2017. “The Greatest Showman” is, and probably always will be, one of my favorite movies. And although P.T. Barnum, when you dive deeper into his business ventures, is a very bad person, the way the movie portrays him makes him appear to be a truly inspirational person. With songs like “This is Me” included in the soundtrack, the movie drives home the fact that no matter who you are, you are you and there’s nothing to be ashamed of. A movie that seeps self-acceptance following the life of someone who publicized and made a profit on the things that made people different is ironic in and of itself. However, I do not believe that the life of the real P.T. Barnum should spoil the fact that the movie is a perfect portrayal of people learning to accept themselves and teaching others to do the same. Claire Boughton can be contacted at cboughton@kscequinox.com

PUJA THAPA / ADMINISTRATIVE EXECUTIVE EDITOR

The Piti Theatre Company came to Keene State on Saturday, February 22. They performed at the Redfern Arts Center. The company performed 'Sammy and Le Grand Buffet.' Pictured here is Jonathan Mirin performing a scene.

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STUDENT LIFE

» ALUMNI B3

» GREEK HONOR SOCIETY B2

Student Life, B1

Thursday, February 27, 2020

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Teach-in brings students together

BENAJIL RAI / MULTIMEDIA DIRECTOR

Keene State College professor Dottie Morris speaking at one of the various teach-in sessions on Friday, February 21. Some events included a talk on Burnout and InterACTion. There were over 18 events held.

Annual teach-in aims to teach students in different subjects around campus ABIGAIL LASHWAY

Equinox Staff From 9 a.m. to 4 p.m on Friday, a multitude of students filled the student center to participate in the annual Teach-in. There were many interesting topics displayed and not only students but staff members of the school attended these events. The events consisted of talking about indigenous people, addressing racism, community crafternoon and much more. There were 18 events, ranging from an hour to an hour and a half each. These events brought staff and students together to work and listen to each other. Shannon Mayers and Jon Miron hosted InterACTion. This was a way to use theater to teach people to be aware of body language and communication skills. This made students and staff realize the importance of eye contact and body language when speaking. Participants acted out scenarios where conflicts were about to occur, but then came to resolutions by approaching the topic with less threatening body language. The scenarios suggested staying calm, cool and collected even when faced

Alumni speak to students about future careers LONNIE HILTZ

Equinox Staff A panel of KSC alumni spoke at the Mason Library about careers in banking for the latest addition to Keene State’s Career Speaker Series of lectures on preparing students to become professionals. Starting in 2014, Keene State College has hosted a series of lectures about pursuing careers in various fields and how the college prepares students for work after graduation. On the evening of Tuesday, February 18, 2020, Careers in the Industry of Banking became the latest lecture in this series, as well as the first one to take place in the Spring 2020 semester. Later events planned to take place this semester will host discussions covering careers in the fields of journalism and education, as well as a generalized lecture on how to approach starting a new career. As the Keene State website describes, the event sought to highlight the variety of careers available in the field of finances and the large

» SEE ALUMNI B3

with annoying situations. “Actors use body language to play status,” Miron said. In an argument, your body language can come off as unintentionally aggressive. If the message being portrayed can be fixed to be less aggressive, the people involved become more approachable. No students participated in this event, but quite a few staff members came and learned new tips for themselves. Caroll Lothrop, who is the administrative assistant in the student conduct office, came to learn more about body language and help students solve their conflicts more efficiently. “Eye contact is important,” Lothrop said. “If the person isn’t looking at you then you start to feel unimportant. That’s when mixed messages are sent.” The next teach-in event was Crafternoon. More than 10 students gathered together to take time to do crafts and become more social, even making a few friends along the way. Crafternoon was intended to be a destressor after a long week and turned out to be a hit with students. There were five tables of different craft activities to do. One student even stated that after having a

long week this is really what they needed. The person running this event was Hunter Kirschner, who was very excited to see the students having fun and relaxing. He walked around and complimented art and made sure everyone was happy and doing well. Kirschner talked about how important it was to have taught in and how crafternoon was a great way to get students out of their shell and socialize. “Shared activities are essential. It helps build community and gives the students a safe space to socialize and feel welcomed,” said Kirschner. The next and final teach-in was by a group of students called 3 Ways ‘Til Sunday, a group of students who were energetic and wanted to get the crowd involved as much as possible. President Justin Park guided the team and a few students in the ABC’s of Improv. The group played games that kept everyone on their toes. In improv nothing is scripted; you have to think of something right off the top of your head. After the teach-in, Park talked about how he did improv his whole life and wanted to bring that sense of love and wonder to the group.

Michael Costa talked about how improv really brought him out of his shell and turned him into the person he is today. “At first I didn’t participate at all. I hated it, but, eventually, I came out of my shell and next year I’ll be taking over as president when Justin leaves.” 3 Ways ‘Til Sunday meets every week in the Redfern Arts Center lobby, Mondays at 9 p.m. They encourage people to come, participate or watch. The teach-in wasn’t just teachers talking to other students and staff but a well-rounded group of students and staff teaching others what they are passionate about. They bonded over crafts, worked on communication skills and had some fun goofing off and opening up to more possibilities. Mayers stated, “These things are essential; we want to talk to students and staff and make them interested in what we have to say.” Abigail Lashway can be contacted at ALashway@kscequinox.com

Connecting with students through music Singer-songwriter Chad Browne took the NOC stage on Sunday night DENISE RONAN

Equinox Staff Sunday night, the Night Owl Cafe held SAC’s annual Coffee House. Around 7 p.m., students joined at the NOC for some hot chocolate and to listen to Chad Browne perform. The club was handing out free travel mugs while also offering fruit and melted chocolate to everyone. Halfway through his set, Bowne did an interactive game for the audience to win prizes. He did a cover of a familiar song and the first to guess the name of the song or artist won! At least five people had the chance to take home their very own signed CD. Junior Megan Palmer expressed that her favorite part of the experience was “the chocolate fountain and the snacks.” Palmer explained that she has been to the coffee house events in the past. “I’ve always enjoyed the artists, so I wanted to see who they had for this year,” she said. With music and snacks, the NOC had a relaxing vibe with the enchanted forest theme. The coordinator of this event, KSC junior Jenaé Graham,

PUJA THAPA / ADMINISTRATIVE EXECUTIVE EDITOR

Singer-songwriter Chad Browne preforming for students in the NOC. This event was part of the coffeehouse event.

described that she was happy with the outcome. They went with this new theme and exciting performance for everyone to enjoy, making it a different experience from past years. Graham and other members of SAC discovered Chad Browne at a NAKA event in Hartford, Connecticut. Picking from other show-

case acts preforming, they thought Browne was “really cool and different.” After the show, Browne answered some questions about his music style. “I have always created music to be as honest as possible, and I found the most connectivity, visibility and expression through my voice,” he

said. Through singing and being on stage, Browne said that the world is strange, but it gets easier when he sings. “So, I talk about relationships, or pain, death or happiness, whatever sort of stimulant inspire from life is what is worth writing about,” stated Browne. He aims to write a story with his

music, and in between each song he takes the time to give the audience a little background before listening. “[I like to] talk and look people in the eye and be human for a second,” Browne said. “It’s nice to be human with other humans.” This allows him to really connect with the audience with relatable stories, along with some jokes. Senior Theresa Derry liked “seeing everyone come together and just relax on a Sunday night.” The coffee house event is her favorite event SAC puts on and she tries to go every year. This year she was truly impressed that Browne was able to “improv right in front of [them].” Impressed with this year’s performance as well, senior Daniella Giese said her favorite part of the night was “seeing [Browne] create the songs as he went [because] it was very unique.” Giese is a part of SAC, which is how she heard of this event. “I have never heard of [Chad Browne] before, but now I really want to check him out,” Giese said. “Don’t miss out on other SAC events,” said Graham. “There are a lot of cool things coming up!” Denise Ronan can be contacted at dronan@kscequinox.com

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STUDENT LIFE / B2

Thursday, February 27, 2020

Greek Honor Society Order of Omega is a fraternity and sorority honor society that puts academic success first KIANA JOLER

group is currently only accepting juniors and seniors, but they are reworking their process to allow second semester freshmen and sophomores to apply. They can take in 15 members a year and are looking to add another four people at the end of this semester. Applications require students to list their GPA, which sorority or fraternity they are a member of and their graduation year. There are also questions on community service, extracurriculars, scholarships or honors the applicant has received, what their qualifications are to be a member of an honors society and what they believe the three most important values are as a leader. “It’s a really good opportunity and something that I’m glad to be a part of,” said Lynch.

Equinox Staff

Can you guess what this is?

Kiana Joler can be contacted at KJoler@kscequinox.com

Being in Greek Life, we have so much going on all the time, and our grades are really important to us. Being able to balance activities and GPA really shows on a resume what you’re capable of doing

Students involved in Greek Life are encouraged to apply for Order of Omega, a Greek Honor Society at Keene State College, to demonstrate their leadership qualities. “Being in the group, you really get a strong leadership opportunity,” said the treasurer of the club, Hannah Bower. Order of Omega is a select group of students who are in Keene State fraternities or sororities. These students must maintain a 3.2 grade point average and must be involved with the college and community. Bower said being a member of an honors society can make a student stand out within a pile of resumes. Not only would students be able to say they are a member of a fraternity or sorority, but they would also be able to show how they balanced that commitment with academic work. “Being in Greek Life, we have so much going on all the time, and our grades are really important to us. Being able to balance activities and GPA really shows on a resume what you’re capable of doing,” said Bower. Additionally, current advisor of the group Jennifer Ferrell said that being accepted into the group is an honor. “If someone is eligible, it shows that they have a high level of service to both the community and beyond,” said Ferrell. Casey Lynch has been a member of Delta Phi Epsilon since her freshman year and she is now president of Order of Omega. She spoke about her initiation into the club and said she was eager to be accepted. “It was just so exciting to be accepted into the club and meeting everyone who was in it. It made me think about all that I’ve done to get into an honors society,” said Lynch. Lynch also spoke about the Greek Graduation event the club puts on. They hold it every year to honor the Greek graduates in all Keene sororities and for their efforts. Greek Graduation last year. “There was fraternities. Bower, a member of Phi Sigma Sigma, a lot that went into the event planning to Greek Graduation involves catering and said that she and Lynch worked to throw make sure that the seniors were happy. We giving gifts to the seniors as a parting gifts

- Hannah Bower

GRIFFIN ELL / ART DIRECTOR

wanted to make it a good moment,” said Bower. According to Bower and Lynch, the

COLUMN

Going vegan at the DC

Digging into to life without animal byproducts ABIGAIL LASHWAY

Equinox Staff

SAM REINKE / EQUINOX STAFF

This is something found around campus. If you have a guess, dm The Equinox Instagram @KSCequinox Look for the answer in next weeks paper!

Last week’s answer: Cover of the steam vents that are painted like a mushroom! OUR TOP Guess: The salmonella Virus!

SAM REINKE / EQUINOX STAFF

The dining hall has a multitude of food stations: the salad and fruit bar, the grill and homestyle food areas. The most controversial station, however, is the vegan and vegetarian option area. Everyone seems to have different opinions on it so this week I’m going to exclusively eat at the vegan and vegetarian section to get the scoop on the quality and variety of the food. They take food from different cultures and try to replicate it to the best of their ability and even try to make vegan comfort foods like mac and cheese and chicken nuggets. Executive Sous Chef at the Zorn Dining CommonsJacob Denning handles all the vegan meal planning. Growing up, his family ate a vegan diet and then when he left for culinary school he decided to break off from that lifestyle. Now, he takes all the knowledge he’s acquired and his history of home-cooked vegan meals and brings it to the dining hall. He uses history to observe other diets, like the Aztecs, who never ate meat, or the monks in India, who survived for centuries never eating meat. Denning stated, “Cooking vegan is easy, but we face a lot of changes to know what the students like and dislike. We want more feedback.” Recently the dining hall has started making plant-based milk an alternative option. When asked what the most popular dish was, the first thing that came to mind for Denning was Beyond Burgers. Beyond Burgers are made from Beyond Meat, which means they are made of plantbased material. They seem to be a constant favorite. Dragon burgers, vegan chicken nuggets, and vegan chicken parmesan are also favorites at the vegan and vegetarian station. Dennings said, “The biggest challenge is gluten-free and we try to do our best because a lot of students have serious allergies. We want to make sure

everyone is included and their needs single member of the dining haIl. are met.” Dining hall cook Josh ErickAbigail Lashwy can be contacted at son does lunch rush prep for the vegan ALashway@kscequinox.com meals. He has been vegan for 11 years because he saw footage of a slaughterhouse and decided he didn’t want anything to do with hurting animals in any way. Erickson said, “Vegan is easier to cook than people think. When they think about the transition over, they are worried about cooking meals and it’s really not that hard.” Erickson talked about how vegan food is an art form and gives you a lot of leeway to explore and be creative with your food. Erickson stated, “We have a sizable crowd and a lot of regulars. Some people come here because they know we make healthy food, so if they don’t like the healthy options at other stations they come here.” Erickson also talked about how every day is a challenge to cook the food because, even though it’s not difficult, they want to make it special for the students and make sure they are happy with the quality of food. Keene State student Bailey Saddlemire has been vegetarian for six years. When asked about the food for the dining hall, she said she expected it to be a bit more flavorful. “I wish the food was more creative,” said Saddlemire. She also talked about how she wished they would use more Source: SentientMedia forms of protein like tofu or soy products. However, not all the foods are awful, in her opinion. Saddlemire said her favorite dish they made was the spinach sweet potato vindaloo, which is an Indian curry dish. Overall, Saddlemire is hoping for the vegan and vegetarian food station to branch out a bit more in dishes and flavors. If you are looking to give your own feedback about the food of any kind, (617) 294-5250 you can send any comments, questions, and concerns too. This number accepts texts and distributes them to all the staff and personnel who work for the dining hall. Every text is sent to every

Fun Fact: Somewhere between 1% and 2% of the population in the United States consider themselves vegan

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STUDENT LIFE / B3

Thursday, February 27, 2020

ALUMNI Cont. from B1

PUJA THAPA / ADMINISTRATIVE EXECUTIVE EDITOR

On Tuesday, February 21, four Keene State alumni spoke to a lecture hall full of students about careers in banking. The event is part of the career speaker series to inform students on different career options after graduating.

network of people who work to make banks successful. The event occured in the lecture hall on the second floor of the Mason Library’s Cohen Center. The event began slightly after 6 p.m. Tom Cunningham, a Tampa University graduate also involved in finance and economics, joined a panel of the four alumni from Keene State College: Sarah Rosley, Heather Scheck, Danielle Ruffo and Heather Paight. The lecture hall filled quickly with interested students in majors ranging from communication to biology and nutrition. After introducing themselves, the speakers each described briefly their career histories, the jobs they have held in the field of banking and how their interests in banking in developed, as well as their experiences at Keene State and how their majors and studies have aided in them in their current roles. “Look to your strengths,” Ruffo said when she gave her advice. “Find something that you’re really good at or that really interests you.” Daniel Henderson, who began the Career Speaker series and intended to host the event, could not attend because of

an injury, and substitute Steve Fortier led the discussion instead. Fortier prompted the guest speakers for more information about their times in college, sparking a story from Rosley about her struggles with public speaking and how she has pushed the boundaries of her comfort zone in her career. When asked what they considered the most important takeaway from the evening’s seminar, Rosley and Paight both named the need to network and communicate, and Paight emphasized how career development can become a major stepping stone for overcoming shyness and social anxieties. “I kind of got into this job because I knew it was a great opportunity to get out of my box,” Paight stated. “I’m pretty much comfortable with it now, but still, I did struggle. It’s like with any skill.” Scheck described her experiences as a non-traditional student and taking time off from school to gain work experience. “There’s no straight path,” she said when asked what she considered the most important advice. “I really didn’t have a clear career path.”

Cunningham highlighted the importance of extracurricular activities and parttime jobs in developing practical skills, describing how his past summer jobs and internships helped him gain experience and begin to build his career. A small discussion occurred about the software and programs used on the job and how skills with technology have become critical to banking in the current era. The speakers took various questions from the audience and spoke about the importance of being willing to start a conversation and reach out to potential employers. Scheck and Rosley both brought up how much those who work in smaller banks value community and courtesy, stating small gestures can have a large part in building good communication and working relationships. “Small talk,” Scheck said. “Basic small talk. It sounds small, but it can lead to more.” Rosley mentioned the importance of efficiency on the job, considering the competition with larger banks faced by local ones. The discussion with the alumni also addressed various factors that can affect the

workplace, such as mental health, culture and social media, as well as offered advice on how to prepare for a job interview. The event wrapped up around 7:15 p.m. Among the students in the audience, Heather Schofield attended along with her biology professor, Karen Cangialosi, and several other students taking the course. Schofield said she first heard about the lecture from Cangialosi and hopes to attend other events in the series in the future. Schofield described the discussion as an introduction to the world of business, as it gave advice applicable to many fields of employment. “The panel kept mentioning how having a solid background with extracurricular activities, gaining a mentor, working while in school and networking are all important aspects to build your career platform, regardless of what field you go into,” Schofield said, summarizing what she took away from the event. Doris Martino, from the same biology class, also attended the lecture. Martino stated she had no plan to enter the field of banking, but hoped to learn more about it.

BRIEF

Students learn about coming out

“I was surprised to learn about the strong sense of community in banking,” Martino said. Much like Schofield, Martino said she appreciated that the advice given at the lecture could apply to those working in other fields of employment as well, such as how the panel emphasized the importance of networking and communication. tant aspects to build your career platform, regardless of what field you go into,” Schofield said, summarizing what she took away from the event. Doris Martino, from the same biology class, also attended the lecture. Martino stated she had no plan to enter the field of banking, but hoped to learn more about it. “I was surprised to learn about the strong sense of community in banking,” Martino said. Much like Schofield, Martino said she appreciated that the advice given at the lecture could apply to those working in other fields of employment as well, such as how the panel emphasized the importance of networking and communication. Lonnie Hiltz can be contacted at LHiltz@kscequinox.com

T h i s

W e e k

a PUJA THAPA / ADMINISTRATIVE EXECUTIVE EDITOR

A group of presenters presenting at the safe space session. A total of seven students attended the event which is held once a month.

t

During this semesters safe space session, students learn about various LGBTQ topics CONNOR CRAWFORD

This safe space session gave students the opportunity to grapple with those realities that surround the coming out process, and give them “Fear, stigma and violence that many people tools to challenge them. experienced then are still very present for those Kirschner said, “To create a campus commucoming out now,” Hunter Kirschner, the program nity where everyone feels like they can belong, we support assistant for LGBTQ students, said about must work together to understand and care about the safe space session that was held on Tuesday, one another.” February 18. There will be two more safe space sessions held The event was focused on the coming out pro- this academic year. cess and why and how it is necessary to support The next session will be titled “Pronouns and someone who is coming out. Identities: A Safe Space Session.” Seven students attended the event as well as The event will be held in the Cohen Center faculty members Celia Rabinowitz, Jayme Hines room 142, inside of the Mason Library, on Friday, and Gloria Lodge. March 13, at 10:30 a.m. Discussed at the event was Ellen Degeneres The session will last about an hour. coming out on live television in 1997 and how The objective of these safe space sessions is people understand the coming out process. to dive deeper into core concepts to support and

Student Life editor

KSCEQUINOX.COM

understand the LGBTQ identities and experiences around campus and around everyday life. Kirschner stresses that all students, staff and faculty are encouraged to attend these sessions to build upon previous knowledge about the topics. If you have any questions, comments or concerns about the safe space sessions, or want to contact Kirschner directly, he can be contacted at Hunter.Kirschner@keene.edu. Connor Crawford can be contacted at CCrawford@kscequinox.com

Fun Fact: 4.5% of Americans identify as LGBTQ

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-Source: new.gallup.com

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STUDENT LIFE / B4

Thursday, February 27, 2020

Like to write? Interested in life on campus?

Contact Connor Crawford Student Life Editor ccrawford@kscequinox.com (603)-554-2781 KSCEQUINOX.COM

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WORLD NEWS

World News/ B5 Thursday, February 27, 2020

Cleaner water in NH

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NH eyes lifting time limits on sex abuse claims HOLLY RAMER

AssociAted Press

Bill to require bottled water to be chemical-free MICHAEL CASEY

AssociAted Press Bottle water companies may soon have to ensure their products meet the same standards as public drinking water in New Hampshire for a range of compounds. The move follows a scare last year in which high levels of perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, collectively known as PFAS, were found in bottled water of a Massachusetts company. The water was sold in stores in New Hampshire and other states. The company closed down in August over what it described as unwarranted attention and changing regulations. Rep. Renny Cushing, a Hampton Democrat, told a House committee Friday that a bill he is co-sponsoring would amend existing law to

require bottlers to meet standards for more than 100 compounds regulated under the the state's safe drinking water act. Among them are arsenic and MTBE, a petroleumbased gasoline additive that has been used since the 1970s to reduce smog-causing emissions. It would also require testing for several PFAS chemicals after the state set standards last year limiting one chemical in drinking water to a maximum of 12 parts per trillion and another to 15 parts per trillion. "It should already be happening," Cushing said of the proposal, which would apply to in-state bottlers and those from other states registered to sell their water in stores. "This will just make it clear that you can't sell bottled water in the state that doesn't meet the maximum contaminant levels," he said. "You go to a restaurant. You

want bottled and or do you want the tap water? You will know they meet the same standards of healthiness or safeness." The only opposition to the proposal came from the bottle water industry, which said a myriad of state regulations could confuse companies and potentially impact the supply of their products in New Hampshire. "A patchwork of bottled water regulations would cause significant production and distribution complications for manufacturers," James Toner Jr. the director of government relations for the International Bottled Water Association, said in a statement presented to the House Commerce and Consumer Affairs Committee. "It would also make it difficult for companies to provide needed bottled water products during

emergencies or natural disasters in a state that has standards that are different than those required by the FDA." The bill is part of a growing push by states to ensure bottled water is free of emerging chemicals, particularly PFAS which has been linked to range of health problems. The FDA, which has broad authority over food including bottled water, has not established regulatory levels for PFAS. Vermont is requiring bottled water approved for the sale and distribution of water to be tested for PFAS, according to Bryan Redmond, director for the drinking water and ground water protection division of the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation. The deadline is by the end of March. The instate suppliers have already been tested and no PFAS was found.

In Massachusetts, the state has asked the bottlers to voluntary monitor their supplies for PFAS. The state is proposing to set a drinking water standard of 20 parts per trillion for six PFAS compounds. It held a public hearing on the proposal Thursday. The bottled water industry, too, is trying to get ahead of the push to regulate PFAS. Starting last year, the International Bottled Water Association required its members to test their water for PFAS and ensure levels were below 5 parts per trillion or 10 parts per trillion for more than one compound. ___ Associated Press writer Lisa Rathke in Montpelier, Vermont, contributed to this report.

Facts muddled in gun destorying debate HOLLY RAMER

AssociAted Press A discussion about destroying guns provoked strong emotions Tuesday at a public hearing where both sides stumbled over the facts. The House Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee heard testimony on a bill that would allow state agencies to destroy weapons voluntarily surrendered by the public. Current law prohibits state police and other state agencies from operating such programs and instead requires them to sell such firearms at auction or keep them for their own use. The bill's sponsor, Rep. Renny Cushing, said his goal was to prevent the vile practice of "murderabilia." "It's when someone takes instruments and things related to

killers and makes it an object of desire to buy and sell and hold as trophies," said Cushing, D-Hampton, whose father was murdered in 1988. "The idea that we would venerate and celebrate weapons that kill people is incredibly disturbing." But the law in question only pertains to voluntarily surrendered weapons, not those used in the commission of crimes. Rep. Jason Janvrin, who opposes the bill, brought up the case of Pamela Smart, whose husband was shot to death by her teenage lover in 1990. The murder weapon belonged to Vance Lattime, the father of a teen accomplice, and a few years ago, he went to court to get it back. Janvrin said that gun "will remain in police custody forever," but that's not true. While the state objected, a judge ruled that Lattime could get his gun back. Doug Marino, the advocacy director for 603 Forward, which

encourages political activism among young professionals, said it's appropriate for the state to provide a safe option for those who may want to surrender guns, but may not have the ability to destroy them safely themselves. But former state Sen. David Wheeler, R-Milford, who wrote the law the current bill seeks to repeal, said there's no reason for the state to get involved. "If someone wants to give up their gun and wants to chop it up themselves, I'm not sure a Second Amendment right is violated, but certainly the government should not be involved in destroying perfectly good firearms," he said.

Sexual assault victims deserve the right to come forward when they are ready, survivors and other advocates told lawmakers Thursday in support of repealing New Hampshire's civil statute of limitations for such cases. "We stand on the precipice of an important opportunity to open the door to justice for victims of sexual abuse," said Lyn Schollett, director of the NH Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence. Under current law, civil claims must be filed within three years of an assault if the victim was an adult, or by the victim's 30th birthday in cases involving children. The bill before the Senate Judiciary Committee would eliminate those timelines. Schollett said repealing the statute of limitations would help identify otherwise hidden predators, shift the cost of abuse from victims to abusers and contributing institutions, and prevent future abuse by educating the public. And such measures are gaining momentum — at least 15 states have revised their laws in the past two years extending or suspending statute of limitations to allow child sex abuse claims. Some states have established "lookback windows" in which people can sue no matter when the alleged abuse occurred, while others have raised the age limit for such lawsuits. Neighboring Vermont eliminated its age limit last year. No one testified against the New Hampshire bill, which has the support of Gov. Chris Sununu if it makes it through both the Senate and House. Supporters included abuse survivors, several of whom gave emotional testimony about being assaulted by clerics, family members and in one case, a stranger on the campus of a private prep school. "Other states that have abolished or increased the statute of limitations in these cases acknowledge the reality: that the effects of trauma are long lasting, life altering and take time for an affected individual to unpack and understand, let alone act on," said Julia Gray, who said she was assaulted at age 15 at Phillips Exeter Academy. The Associated Press generally does not identify victims of sexual assault, but those who spoke at the hearing have gone public with their stories. David Ouellette said he was in his 40s when he first told his wife in 2002 he had been raped by a priest at age 15. The prospect of testifying before lawmakers brought up a lot of trauma and even caused him to start having night terrors again, he said. "But this is a way for me to take my life back and continue my healing," he said. The committee also heard from attorneys who have represented abuse victims and a psychologist who treats victims and said eliminating the statute of limitations would help chip away at a culture that silences victims. "They've all said, 'I want to be believed,'" said Elizabeth Howell Woodbury. "To put a time limit on it — I don't see the logic in that, and I think that makes us complicit."

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Sports / B6

Thursday, February 27, 2020

Hyde School graduates MATT HOLDERMAN

Equinox Staff

SOREN FRANTZ / PHOTO EDITOR

If one were to choose a single word to describe the players who compete on NCAA sports teams at Keene State College, “diverse” would certainly be in the mix. At Keene State, student-athletes come from a wide variety of different countries, backgrounds and schools, and Miguel Prieto and Edwin Ezedonmwen, two players on the Owls men’s basketball team, are no exception to this fact. Before coming to KSC, Prieto and Ezedonmwen both went to high school at Hyde School, a college-preparatory school in Bath, Maine that is far more unique than an average, everyday high school. According to Ezedonmwen and Prieto, one of the primary aspects of Hyde School that makes it stand out from other high schools is what they focus on teaching their students. “I would say it’s more of a characterbased school,” Ezedonmwen said. “They focus on education, but education is really secondary. They focus on things like who do you identify yourself as?” “They’re big on yourself and finding yourself,” Prieto said. “We had a lot of character building at that school, that was the biggest priority.” Hyde School’s motto, “Be the best possible you,” speaks volumes to Ezedonmwen’s and Prieto’s statements about the school’s priorities. Furthermore, the school’s logo has a banner on it that lists the school’s five values: courage, integrity, leadership, curiosity and concern. “You don’t really know what to expect, because it’s not so much about education,” Ezedonmwen said. “Like I said, education is always second when it comes to Hyde. They care more about your integrity. They even have their own five words as soon as you get there. It’s courage, integrity, leadership and others, but those things come first. We’d even have meetings every Monday and it would be student-run, so it’s not teachers talking, it’s student-led. Everybody’s really close. It’s a community. You know everybody, everybody’s family.” Since it is a prep school, a day at Hyde School is much more structured than a day at a typical high school. “One thing they help you with there is time management, because from 7 in the morning to 9 o’clock at night you had something to do, like it was all planned out,” Prieto said. “You wake up at 7 o’clock in the morning, you go to breakfast, you go through your school day. After school you have an hour to rest, then you go to dinner, and then after dinner you’ve got

study hall for two hours, then you have half an hour free and then you’ve got to go to sleep. So, it’s very structured.” Another part of Prieto and Ezedonmwen’s school day was sports, including the sport they play at Keene State: basketball. However, Prieto and Ezedonmwen explained that being a student-athlete at Hyde School sounds a bit more intense than at any ordinary school. “After school, you have your mandatory sports. We had to play three sports there,” Prieto said. “I played basketball, football and track.” “I played cross-country both my years there,” Ezedonmwen said. “I didn’t play a spring sport my first year there because I was playing travel basketball, getting recruited by Keene State. That’s when I first met Coach Cain, that spring. But, my senior year I did track. Another thing is the school’s small. The school is only about 150 kids I think, at most. So, for everyone who goes there, it’s a mandatory three sports.” While Hyde School may have been a difficult school for Prieto and Ezedonmwen to attend, in some ways, the duo said that they both learned extremely valuable life lessons during their time at Hyde. “The most valuable thing they taught me there was relationships,” Prieto said. “To me, that was the biggest thing because I came from a completely different environment. When I actually went for the first day, I woke up the very next day and wanted to leave. But, I realized that there were a lot of relationships happening there that I would not have had at home. I wouldn’t care to build those relationships, I didn’t care for relationships like that. But, that school gave those relationships value, that somebody that I don’t know I can talk to and learn something from, and that’s when I really, really learned that. That’s a powerful tool for me,” Prieto said. “I would say relationships, too, because it’s like entering a new environment, just having to be doing something, having your day planned out for you enough as a kid,” Ezedonmwen said. “The relationship aspect changes because once you’re on campus it’s like everything changes; you’re not just in yourself, you know? Being on campus and at the school, they bring everybody closer so you can’t just be within yourself. You have to make those connections or you’re just going to be by yourself.” After graduating from Hyde School in 2017, Prieto knew he was college-bound, and wanted to continue playing basketball into college. Once the time to select a college rolled around, Prieto said Keene State came to him. “Keene State kind of found me, I’m not even going to lie,” Prieto said. “Coach Cain drove out there to talk to me, and that’s like an eight-hour, really long drive. But my coach at Hyde was very

adamant about Keene State. As soon as it popped on my radar he told me: ‘They are a very respectable team. If I let you go anywhere D3, that’s where I want you to go, because I know they’re elite.’” Ryan Cain, the head coach of the Owls men’s basketball team, said he didn’t have much history with Hyde School before meeting Prieto. “I didn’t do a ton of recruiting from the Hyde School until Miguel was there,” Cain said. “That was kind of our first real interaction with someone from Hyde. That kind of built our relationship with Hyde, the recruitment of Miguel. So we made a couple trips, laid the process out. I went up there and spent a pretty good amount of time with Miguel, just kind of going over everything, watching him play basketball and then just sitting and talking with him and going over lots of different things.” Then, when Ezedonmwen graduated from Hyde School in 2018, the path had already been laid out for him to go to Keene State too. “Really, Miguel led me to Keene State,” Ezedonmwen said. “Honestly, [it was] just the bond I had with him at Hyde, because I went through everything with him. His senior year, he missed a couple games being hurt. Even right now I’m hurt, and going through the things I’m going through right now, he’s there to help me with them too. So I came here just having him, family, someone else here that is going to be on my side and have my back.” Now, Prieto and Ezedonmwen are both valuable components of the Keene State College men’s basketball team, and a lot of that could be thanks to their time at Hyde School. “For those guys to have that type of background, I was just very impressed with them as individuals and I’ve been equally impressed with their time here about their ability to grow on and off the court,” said Cain, the coach of Prieto and Ezedonmwen. Matt Holderman can be contacted at mholderman@kscequinox.com

SOREN FRANTZ / PHOTO EDITOR

Right to run, play and participate PUJA THAPA

adminiStrativE ExEcutivE Editor “Three Connecticut high school girls, represented by their mothers, have filed a lawsuit over a policy which allows transgender athletes to participate in sports based on their gender identity,” according to an article in CNN. “The lawsuit, filed Wednesday [February 12] by the conservative nonprofit group Alliance Defending Freedom, claims that the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference [CIAC] policy allows ‘biological boys’ to beat them at track events and deprives them of possible scholarships,” according to an article in the New York Post. The transgender policy according to CIAC’s Reference Guide for Transgender Policy says, “the CIAC is committed to providing transgender student-athletes with equal opportunities to participate in CIAC athletic programs consistent with their gender identity.” The CIAC has concluded that it would be fundamentally unjust and contrary to applicable state and federal law to preclude a student from participation on a gender specific sports team that is consistent with the public gender identity of that student for all other purposes. Keene State College follows the

National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) dialogue and the Little East Conference (LEC) championship regarding transgender policies, according to Director of Athletics Philip Racicot. According to Assistant Athletic Director for Sports Information Compliance & Operations Abraham Osheyack, “Transgender athletes need to fall within the acceptable policies for competition as it relates to any other student-athlete in terms of their eligibility, academics, team rules, things like that.” Osheyack added, “We do not treat them any differently than any other athlete.” The diversity and inclusion policy of the LEC describes “transgender” as an individual whose gender identity (an internal, deeply held sense of one’s gender) and gender expression differs from what is typically associated with the sex they were assigned at birth. Commissioner of the Little East Conference Dr. Pamela Samuelson said, “They are as inclusive as they possibly can [be] with any kind of underrepresented student population.” She added, “...and that would certainly include transgender athletes and we would welcome transgender student-athletes in our competition.” Osheyack said, “Not every transgender student is ready to take the hor-

mones of the gender that they are, but if they wish to, they need to get that approval from the NCAA first before they can compete.” The NCAA Policy on Transgender Student-Athlete Participation says, “a transgender female [male-to-female] student-athlete being treated with testosterone suppression medication for Gender Identity Disorder or gender dysphoria and/or Transsexualism, for the purposes of NCAA competition may continue to compete on a men’s team, but may not compete on a women’s team without changing it to a mixed team status until completing one calendar year of testosterone suppression treatment.” The CNN article said that the Connecticut high school girls and their families claim in their lawsuit that the CIAC policy is a violation of the Title IX act— which bars discrimination on the basis of sex. Osheyack doesn’t think allowing transgender female athletes to compete with born female athletes is a violation of Title IX. “We recognize the identified gender of the person. So if a person is identifying as male when they were born with female organs or vice versa, then that’s the gender we recognize and we will include them as on the team of that gender, so in that way, we are not

treating them any differently than a cisgender athlete on that team,” Osheyack said. Racicot said it is important to have an open, honest discussion and stick to facts and to determine the best outcome for everybody. “You certainly don’t want to exclude people based on their gender expression,” said Racicot. Keene State athletes are extremely welcoming, inclusive and respectful to people from different backgrounds, according to Osheyack. “The word that’s constantly used is ‘family,’” said Osheyack, “and there is a very strong feeling of that within this department no matter who you are and where you come from and that includes our transgender athletes.” Osheyack said gender is one of the many social matters that is getting changed over time. Stigma around marijuana, attention toward mental health and sexuality are some other social matters that people were uncomfortable about 10, 20 and 30 years ago, according to him. Osheyack added, “As more and more young people change and their viewpoints become more and more accepted, more things will start to be knocked down.” Puja Thapa can be contacted at pthapa@kscequinox.com

GRIFFIN ELL / ART DIRECTOR

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Sports / B7

Thursday, February 27, 2020

STAFF COMMENTARY

Usain Bolt’s world record broken by Kambala jockey

‘Miles to go before I sleep’

Editor’s P I C K

CLAIRE BOUGHTON

sports editor When the name Usain Bolt is heard, it’s recognized. He is the 6-foot-5-inch, eighttime Olympic gold medalist who also holds the world record in the 100-meter sprint (9.58 seconds) and 200-meter sprint (19.19 seconds). Let’s just say he has earned the title of “the greatest sprinter of all time.” But what if someone had finally outsprinted the man whose last name has been etched into record books time and time again? Crazy, right? No way! Impossible! Well here’s how it happened according to a February 15 Youtube video by Indiatimes titled “Meet Srinivasa Gowda, Kambala Buffalo Jockey India’s Own Usain Bolt.” A 28-year-old construction worker out of Moodabidri, India, named Srinivasa Gowda sprinted 142 meters in 13.68 seconds during a traditional Karnataka festival called Kambala. In an article published by Native Planet titled “10 Facts About Kambala Buffalo Race,” the festival is explained. Kambala is a race in which two farmers, alongside their respective sets of water buffalo, sprint through long fields of slush. There can be anywhere between 20 to over 40 Kambala races between the months of November and March in various coastal regions of Karnataka, a state in south-west India. Kambala racing has received a large amount of scrutiny from animal activists in the past who claim that it is a form of animal cruelty and that water buffaloes’ bodies are not meant to be raced at such an aggressive level. In November of 2014, India’s Supreme Court decided to ban Kambala racing. However, it has recently returned to Karnataka with strict rules and regulations now put in place to ensure good care of the water buffaloes before and after racing. Kambala jockeys have assured onlookers and animal activists throughout the years, however, that the water buffaloes are well taken care of. They explained that they are beloved animals that are also extremely healthy because of the diet and exercise the Kambala racing provides them. But back to Srinivasa Gowda. You know, the guy who just broke the world record. When mathematicians, who are far more skilled in the field of numbers than I, calculated his time at 100-meter mark of the 142-meter race, they found that it was 9.55 seconds.

FOR MORE OF THE STORY GO TO KSCEQUINOX.COM

SOREN FRANTZ / PHOTO EDITOR

JERIC CICHON

Men’s BasketBall sophoMore Guard

SOREN FRANTZ / PHOTO EDITOR

First-year distance runner Jacob Pearl (left) receiving his LEC Rookie Runner of the Year with Athletic Director Philip Racicot (right).

First-year Jacob Pearl is making a name for himself in the LECs ERIN MCNEMAR

ManaGinG executive editor After demonstrating a competitive fall season by being named Little East Conference (LEC) Cross-Country All-Conference Rookie of the Year, first-year Jacob Pearl has continued that momentum into indoor track. On Saturday, February 15, Pearl qualified for the New England Division III Championship in both the 3,000 meter (8:40.84) and the one-mile (4:23.26). While Pearl grew up playing a variety of different sports, he did not begin his running career until middle school. “I really get so much enjoyment out of running and I love competing. Just the vibe and the energy is something that I’m really drawn to,” Pearl said. His passion for running carried him through middle school, high school and now to college. “I knew I wanted to run in college, so I kind of just kept at it and kept working hard,” Pearl said. During his cross-country season, Pearl was named Rookie of the Week four times and placed third at the cross-country Little East Championship. Additionally, he was the fastest finishing first-year. When Paige Mills took over as head cross-country and track and field coach in January, she said she began with a focus on strength building for the athletes. However, with championship season approaching, the team’s workout focus has shifted. “Now that we are getting closer to championship season we have been adding more speed work. For Jake, we have really been focusing on his paces he needs to hit moving forward,” Mills said. “I do not rush speed work. I make sure that we have the strength and the fitness is there. That’s where doing all those thresholds come into play, because that’s a really good place to work from. You’re not flirting with injury. You’re keeping it safe and recovering faster so you can have more quality days.” As the season has progressed, Mills

said Pearl’s long runs have begun coming together and getting much stronger. Mills also said this was what indicated that Pearl was ready to start the speed work. Senior Lynne Hebert, who practices distance with Pearl, said Pearl demonstrates a lot of discipline in workouts and races. “He’s always the person to surge at the end of the race. He’s strong the whole race and the strongest at the end of the race. During workouts, he’s going to hit the paces no matter what day it is. He doesn’t really have a bad day,” Hebert said. On the day of competition, Mills said the original plan for Pearl was to run a powerful mile and then see what he could do in the 3,000 while running on tired legs. However, after a last-minute schedule change, Pearl ended up running the 3,000 before the mile. “I’d never run [the 3,000] before, so I wasn’t too sure how it was going to play out. I just tried to stay up toward the leaders and basically tried to hang on,” Pearl said. Mills explained the strategy for the 3,000 was to stay aggressive. “I was so happy with his performance. That race could not have gone better. Jake has a great way about him. He is calm, he is cool, he is collected. Then when he steps to the line, he’s a total animal. He sends it and it’s awesome,” Mills said. After running a New England Division III Championship qualifying 3,000, it was on to the mile. “The mile was just purely hanging on for dear life,” Pearl said. Once he crossed the finish line, Pearl had achieved another New England Division III Championship qualifying time and ran a lifetime best. “It was a dream come true to see him as a double-qualifier and do so well with a huge lifetime PR (personal record). It was such a great moment and we were all so happy,” Mills said. After spending a large part of the season focusing on building a strong foundation of fitness, Pearl said he was really happy to see his

hard work paying off. “It’s always nice when you put in the work and you do everything and you get good results. The equation works and it’s very fulfilling,” Pearl said. For the rest of his indoor season, Pearl said his goals are to set a personal best in the 3,000 and the mile again, do well in upcoming championship competitions and continue having fun. As for his career, Pearl said he would love to be an All-American Athlete. Mills also has ambitious goals for Pearl. “Jake is really strong and that was clear from day one. He is an incredible athlete. He’s national caliber. Jake has such range it’s hard to say right now what his real niche event is going to be. I think he’s going to be able to put together a really strong mile to 5K. Maybe by senior year 10K. It’s hard to say because he is really so talented,” Mills said. Erin McNemar can be contacted at emcnemar@kscequinox.com

As the basketball season winds down, many Owls are still putting up some impressive numbers game in and game out. Jeric Cichon, who has been featured in the Equinox before, is one of those players. Cichon recently hit a career-high 20 points during the team’s away game against Eastern Connecticut, which ended in a win for Keene State with a final score of 74-60. Cichon has seen a large amount of playtime throughout his sophomore season beginning over winter break. Ever since the Owls traveled to Ohio for the Great Lakes Invitational, Cichon has been seeing more and more minutes on the court. With the increase of game play, Cichon has been seeing a large growth in his number of points produced during contests. Cichon has had high scoring games leading up to his February 19 career-high performance. Jeric Cichon is this week’s Editor’s Pick because of his performance against Eastern Connecticut and his increasing ability to produce points throughout the season. Editor’s Pick is the sole opinion of the Sports Editor. Claire Boughton can be contacted at cboughton@kscequinox.com

Ever Heard of Robert Frost? The Phrase “Miles to go before I sleep” appears in one of his most famous works: Go to the Arts & Entertainment

Section to Check it out!

This Week for the Owls Thursday 2/27

Friday 2/28

Indoor Track & Field: NCAA New England DIII Championship [Mens Team in Springfield, MA, Womens in Middlebury, VT No Contests

Saturday 2/29

Sunday 3/1

Monday 3/2

Tuesday 3/3

* - Home Contest

Wednesday 3/4

Men’s Lacrosse VS. Bates @ 5:00 PM

Women’s Lacrosse VS. Wheaton @ 1:00 PM

Women’s Lacrosse VS. Connecticut College @ 5:00 PM No Contests

No Contests

No Contests

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Thursday, February 27, 2020

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All about the heart

BRIEF

MLAX loses home and season opener to RPI CLAIRE BOUGHTON

SportS Editor

COURTESY OF DYLAN RICHARDS

Sophomore Rob St. Laurent, who won the 3,000-meter event, running his leg of the 4x400-meter relay at the Little East Conference Indoor Track & Field Championships.

The T&F team proves it isn’t always about the numbers CLAIRE BOUGHTON

SportS Editor When a team gets a new coach, a turbulent transition period is more often than not expected. Changes in the workout, the team dynamic, even just the times practices are held at; everything is subject to change. However, the indoor track and field team has taken what could’ve very easily been a rocky season of adjustments and turned it into a season of success. With a new head coach, Keene State alumna Paige Mills, assistant coach, Keene State alumnus Jared Hannon, and only 15 competing athletes, the Owls traveled to Gorham, Maine, on February 22 for the Little East Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships. And boy, did they show up. Both the men’s and women’s teams finished in fifth place out of nine in the conference with a multitude of athletes placing first in a variety of track and field events. “I was absolutely in awe of all of them this weekend,” said Coach Mills. “To put it together at LECs like that, especially with such small numbers, I think we really made an impression and it’s evident to the rest of the conference that we’re coming for them.” On the women’s side, junior Skyler Gauthier competed in five events throughout the day. Her most notable event was her performance in the 55-meter hurdles, where she placed first with a time of 8.78 seconds. Gauthier was also a member of the 4x400-meter relay

that placed first with a time of 4:13.65. She also competed in long jump where she placed tenth with a jump of 4.47 meters, high jump where she tied for fifth with a height of 1.48 meters, and the 800-meter where she placed second with a time of 2:27.02. First-year Sarah Bialkin participated in the 800 meter alongside Gauthier, placing seventh with a time of 2:37.73. Sophomore thrower and now Keene State record holder in the shot put Shannon Parks also had an impressive showing in Maine. Parks landed herself in the winning spot in shot put with a throw of 12.15 meters, only .05 meters away from her recent record-breaking throw. Junior Christina Martin placed fifth in the 5,000-meter with a run of 19:57.57. Martin also competed in the 1-mile, placing seventh with a time of 5:57.09. First-year Hannah Jones snatched sixth place in the 5,000-meter with a time of 20:31.04 and came in fifth in the 1,000-meter run with a time of 3:32.87. Senior Lynne Hebert came in second in the 1-mile run with a time of 5:16.80, only seconds behind the first place time. Hebert also came in second in the 1,000-meter with a time of 3:08.97, but returned at the end of the meet as a member of the winning 4x400-meter relay previously mentioned. Senior Nicole De Almeida and junior Chloe Page stuck together throughout the meet, coming in first and second respectively with times of 1:42.65 and 1:43.35. De Almeida and Page were also the final two members of

the 4x400-meter relay. As for the men, junior Benjamin Musese had an impressive showing in his home state of Maine. Musese took home the win in the triple jump with a jump of 14.22 meters, which not only was a little less than three feet farther than the second place jump but also broke his own previous Keene State record. Musese also competed in the long jump where he placed fifth with a jump of 6.34 meters. First-year Ryan Sullivan was the other jumper for Keene State competing in long jump alongside Musese and high jump. Sullivan finished in sixth in the long jump event with a jump of 6.27 meters and placed fourth in high jump with a height of 1.85 meters. Sophomore distance runner Dylan Richards competed in the 5,000-meter where he placed ninth with a time of 17:06.97. First-year Jacob Pearl, whose profile is featured in this issue of the Equinox, participated in the 1-mile, the 3000-meter and was a member of the men’s 4x400-meter relay, which placed fifth with a time of 3:39.48. Pearl placed second in the 1-mile with a time of 4:22.96, only .17 seconds behind the first place finish. Pearls 3,000-meter performance had him coming in third place with a time of 8:58.83. The winner of the 3,000-meter was Keene State sophomore Rob St. Laurent. He won with a time of 8:55.95 and was also a member of the previously mentioned 4x400-meter relay team. Junior sprinter Brandon Castor competed

in the 400-meter dash where he placed third with a lifetime best time of 51.39 seconds. Castor’s time also qualified him for the NCAA DIII New England Championships. Castor was also the first leg of the 4x400-meter relay. Junior Cameron Giordano was the final member of the 4x400-meter relay, but also held his own in the 600-meter dash where he came in ninth with a time of 1:31.32. Overall that is a total of eight women and seven men competing. Keene State took home six first-places, five second-places, and two third-places. “The plan wasn’t to come in and throw them in as many events as possible,” explained Mills. “It was more, let’s be realistic, let’s just do well at what we do, let’s just compete tough and have a good time and the results will happen.” Next up for the Owls is the NCAA DIII New England Championships, which will be taking place February 28 and 29 in Springfield, Massachusetts, for the men and Middlebury, Vermont, for the women. “We’re pretty excited about New Englands,” said Mills. “I think they are all feeling like the fitness has come together at the right time, which is giving them confidence. Now we are just tapering in; there’s not much you can do at this point in the season. Just keep them feeling good and they’re all going to have a good day this weekend.” Claire Boughton can be contacted at cboughton@kscequinox.com

Ben Olson makes his last season count JEREMY LANDERS

Equinox Staff Senior for the Keene State men’s basketball team Ben Olson is graduating this May. This season, Olson, a center on the team, has been assisting the team by averaging 4.8 points per game and 5.5 rebounds per game. Olson stated that the team’s Elite Eight run was one of the highlights of his career. “My fondest memory was back in the 2016-17 season when we were making the Elite Eight run,” said Olson. “Just getting passed down all the insight and character that senior class had really impacted my last three years. There are so many memories with those now alums that really taught me how to play hard and channel my heart and passion while being a good person and leader.” Olson, when asked about his stay at Keene State, said it was enjoyable. “Playing here at Keene has been an incredible experience,” said Olson. “I’ve learned how to push through adversity whether it’s in practice, where the coach was pushing us hard to get better, or during droughts in games, where you just put your nose to the grindstone and keep plugging away. It’s taught me how to manage time, as being a collegiate athlete as it is very time-consuming. You have to balance athletics, academics and social life. Playing here has really pushed me to be the best person I can be, and [showed me] that there is always something to work toward every day you wake up.” Olson also said he will miss the community and comradery he shared with his supporters at Keene State. “After I leave, I will miss the people and the community that supported me through some of the toughest but best years of my life,” said Olson. “Whether it was the coaches, my fellow players, family or the members of the community, I always could count on support every step of the way.

It really pushed me to work hard and know I was working for something bigger than myself. There’s such a great support system here at Keene State and you can feel it just walking down Appian Way, and it makes you feel at home; that’s what I’ll miss most.” Men’s basketball head coach Ryan Cain explained what Olson meant to the team. “Ben Olson has grown tremendously as a player, student and person through his four years at Keene State,” said Cain. “It has been a pleasure watching him mature on and off the court and I look forward to following his success following graduation. He plays as hard as anyone that we have had in my five years and sacrifices his body for the team. He is talented and is a capable scorer in the post, but his values go way behind his skills. He is a role model on and off the court for everyone on our roster and on our campus. We will miss Ben as a player, but we will miss his character as a teammate and person even more.” Keene State College Athletic Director Philip Racicot said Ben was a great example of a student-athlete. “When asked about what being a student-athlete is about at Keene State, Ben Olson is an outstanding example,” said Racicot. “On the court, he is both a leader and a great teammate who plays as hard at practice as he does in games… helping to set the expectation of the effort needed to succeed. He has balanced the demands of being a student-athlete very successfully in the classroom as well. We have been very fortunate to have someone of his caliber in our program and I have no doubt that Ben will do great things in the future.”

It isn’t every day that a team gets to have their first game of the season also be the home opener. However, last Saturday, February 22, Keene State’s men’s lacrosse team got to start their season on home turf against the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) Engineers. While the Owls came up short against RPI, ending the game with a loss of 9-12, it was still an exciting home opener with some very notable plays. The Owls were the first to score with senior midfielder Connor Nolan sinking the ball into the back of the net around the eight minute mark of the first quarter. However, almost immediately the Engineers turned the game around. RPI sophomore attack Cooper Urban scored the first two goals for the Engineers, marking the beginning of RPI’s sixgoal scoring streak. It wasn’t until seven minutes into the second quarter that Owls junior attack Joe Nutting scored, breaking RPI’s scoring streak. Nutting’s goal was followed a minute later by teammate and junior attack Jordan Caito’s own goal, bringing the score to 3-6. However, RPI then shut down any chance of a comeback with three more goals. Owls senior midfielder Anthony Marcella sunk one more in the back of the net with 19 seconds left in the second quarter, bringing the halftime score up to 4-9. The third quarter saw an outstanding play from junior midfielder Matthew Lemke, who would win the faceoff and score six seconds later. Lemke’s goal was followed by another score from Caito and a follow-up score from senior attack Dave Wiedenfeld, bringing the score 7-10. However, two more goals from the RPI Engineers ruined the Owls’ efforts to take home a win on the home turf. Even with a last-minute score from Wiedenfeld, the final score saw RPI winning 9-12. Keene State scorers for the game were Connor Nolan with one, Joe Nutting with two, Jordan Caito with two, Anthony Marcella with one, Matthew Lemke with one and Dave Wiedenfeld with two. The next home game for the Owls will be Friday, March 28 against Eastern Connecticut State University at 1 p.m. Claire Boughton can be contacted at cboughton@kscequinox.com

Next Five Games 3/4 Bates 3/15 New Paltz in Florida 3/17 Franklin & Marshall in Florida 3/21 Umass-Boston *3/28* Eastern Connecticut

Jeremy Landers can be contacted at jlanders@kscequinox.com SOREN FRANTZ / PHOTO EDITOR

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