Volume 92 • Issue 4
October 6, 2023
FSUgatepost.com
FSU hosts cross-country meet at Warren Center By Adam Levine Sports Editor Framingham’s cross-country programs hosted the first Rams Invitational at the Warren Conference Center Sept. 30. Framingham’s senior captain, Patrick Walsh, placed first in the men’s division, and freshman Kate Buban placed first in the women’s division, helping to win a team title for the women. Although the event took place at the Conference Center, the majority of the course took place across the street at the Warren Woods - which is owned by the Town of Ashland, not the University. Carl Hakansson, chair of the Ashland Land Stewardship Committee and a member of the Ashland
See CROSS COUNTRY page 9
A winner’s kiss Adam Levine / THE GATEPOST Framingham’s senior captain, Patrick Walsh blowing a kiss to the spectators at the Rams Invitational Sept. 30.
FSU rises in major college-ranking system By Sophia Harris Associate Editor Framingham State University has risen 13 spots in the Top Regional University in the North Region category by U.S. News & World Report, which released its annual college rankings on Sept.18. FSU is now number 80 among all public and private Regional Universities for the north region. The region includes New England, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Maryland. Framingham State has also qualified as a Top Regional Public University in the North Region, coming in at 28, up from number 29 last year. President Nancy Niemi said Fram-
ingham State has continued to improve across the board - from marketing to student engagement - although the U.S. News & World Report ranking is not an accurate depiction of how Framingham State performs compared to other schools. U.S. News & World Report is used by many families across the United States to help determine their college choice, said Niemi, but the ranking itself has a lack of “methodology.” In an email sent by Niemi to faculty and staff on Oct. 4, 2022, Niemi stated, “U.S. News & World Report rankings are perhaps the most influential rankings used by prospective students and their families.” The U.S. News & World Report uses seven weighted categories of ranking
News
to determine an institution’s score: graduation and retention rates the average six-year rates; social mobility Pell Grant graduation rates; undergraduate academic reputation which is determined by a peer survey; faculty resources for 2021-22 many factors including faculty-student ratio; student selectivity for the Fall 2021 entering class; financial resources per student; and graduate indebtedness. Niemi said, “I think the rankings do far more harm than good because they put false measures of effectiveness and excellence into a conversation where that measurement just doesn’t give an accurate picture of everything that goes on at a school.”
Nearly 5-and-a-half miles south of Framingham State University, green plains begin to open up either side of Chestnut Street in Ashland - fields which border the Warren Conference Center. Just inside is Helen Heineman, the 14th president of Framingham State, sitting at a folding table. She is surrounded by friends, family, alumni, and current faculty. Above her, on a gray marble mantle, are two dozen copies of
Opinions RESPECT pg. 6 EM’S GEMS pg. 7
Sports
Adam Levine / THE GATEPOST
Helen Heineman, president emerita, signs copies of her novel her novel - “Emma Redux: Happily Ever After.” Heineman had the opportunity to sign copies of her novel - one of four books continuing the stories of Jane Austen’s characters in her novel “Emma” Sept. 30. Prior to the signing, Heineman spoke on her process of writing the “Emma Redux” series, highlighting the help her family has been and providing background on the project. She said she taught “Emma” to her Adventures in Lifelong Learning class, something which keeps her attached to her love of teaching, and considers the
MFA pg.4
See RANKING page 4
A previous president’s pastime By Ryan O’Connell Associate Editor
PINK PATCH pg.3
novel Austen’s masterpiece. This passion, she said, was the first step toward writing the “Emma Redux” series alongside the outbreak of COVID-19, which forced her to stay inside. “I was immediately sequestered,” she said. “My children told me ‘You can’t go out, stay home, mask if you have to.’ And so there I was, home alone, and one morning I woke up with this thought - ‘I wonder what happened after Emma and Mr. Knightley got married?’”
See HELEN HEINEMAN page 12
CROSS COUNTRY pg. 9
Arts & Features
Ryan O’Connell / THE GATEPOST MARY MILES BIBB pg. 11 ‘SAW X’ pg. 14
INSIDE: OP/ED 6 • SPORTS 9 • ARTS & FEATURES 11