February 17, 2017

THE GATEPOST VOLUME 85 • ISSUE 16

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FEBRUARY 17, 2017

Sean Huddleston to leave position at end of semester

By Julia Sarcinelli Associate Editor President F. Javier Cevallos announced in an email to faculty and staff that Sean Huddleston, chief officer of diversity, inclusion and community engagement, will leave his position to be the vice president for equity and inclusion at the University of Indianapolis.

According to Cevallos, Huddleston will stay until the end of the semester, and the administration hopes to start the search process for a replacement soon and hire by August.

Huddleston said in an email his family is originally from Detroit and most of his family still lives in Michigan, which “in many ways” influenced his decision.

“While we originally had plans to be in Massachusetts long-term,

Allie Gath/THE GATEPOST Students pose with Boston author Tamara Leigh for a selfie.

See HUDDLESTON page 3

FSU students receive national award for social action

The flu hits FSU Bailey Morrison News Editor FSU has been affected by the worst flu outbreak since 2009, according to Melinda Stoops, dean of students.

Stoops sent emails out to all FSU students regarding the flu “in response to increased cases and we encourage students not to go to class when they’re sick,” she said.

Stoops urged students who are symptomatic to go home if possible so as not to infect other students with the virus.

Ilene Hofrenning, director of the Health Center, said there have been between 80 to 90 documented cases of the flu on campus since Jan. 25.

She said it began with maybe 25 percent of the Center’s patients

complaining about flu-like symptoms in the first week and by the second week, approximately 45 percent of the patients were exhibiting symptoms.

She said students who have the flu who are unable to make it home should “self-quarantine” and they can coordinate with Dining Services to have meals brought to them by a friend or roommate.

Hofrenning contacted the Department of Public Health and learned that the MetroWest area currently has the highest rate of the flu in Massachusetts.

She added, “We’re in the middle of it. … We’ve been really inundated with it for the past couple of weeks.”

Stoops said when the flu first arrived on campus, it “wasn’t unusu-

See FLU page 4

By Jillian Poland Assistant News Editor Two FSU students received the national Undergraduate Social Action Award from Sociologists for Women in Society (SWS) for creating an organization for women of color, said sociology professor Virginia Rutter.

SWS is an organization dedicated to gender scholarship. The social action award is given annually to a student or a team of students who make substantial contributions toward improving the lives of women in society through activism, according to the SWS website.

This year, the award went to senior sociology majors Adebusola Ajao and Kenetra Hinkins.

Ajao and Hinkins were chosen for their work co-founding the organization BGMT, which aims to

create an empowering environment for women of color. The organization has held a series of “radical” photoshoots “that focus and valorize black women,” said Rutter in her nomination letter.

BGMT was originally an acronym for Black Girls Matter Too, but the letters now stand for Brilliance, Guidance, Melanin, Togetherness, said Ajao and Hinkins in their nomination essay.

The organization has also held a talent showcase, photoshoots on multiple campuses and an all-city protest on police brutality in Boston, according to Ajao and Hinkins.

The award is presented at the SWS winter meeting, a large-scale conference with presentations from sociologists across the country. The award includes a $700

See STUDENT AWARD page 3

INSIDE: OP/ED 7 • ARTS & FEATURES 9 • SPORTS 15

2 | NEWS

THE GATEPOST

Gatepost Interview

Editorial Board

Vincent Ferraro

Editor-in-Chief Alexandra Gomes Associate Editors Brittany Cormier Julia Sarcinelli Interim Associate Editor Cesareo Contreras News Editors Bailey Morrison Asst. News Editors Kayllan Olicio Jillian Poland Arts & Features Editors Andrew Willoughby Asst. Arts & Features Editors Tessa Jillson Allison Wharton Sports Editors Matt Ferris Mike Ferris Asst. Sports Editors Jose Carrasquillo Opinions Editor Phil McMullin Photos Editors Allie Gath Amanda Martin Darian O’Donnell Asst. Photos Editors Erin Fitzmaurice Design Editor Shayna Yacyshyn Asst. Design Editor Emily Robinson Copy Editor William Mills-Curran Staff Writers Cass Doherty Amelia Foley Jen Fortin Liam Gambon Nick Murphy Linday Nixon Jesse Sannicandro Sarah Sousa Richard Tranfaglia Staff Photographer Nick Cunningham Joe Rydzefski Athena Venetsanakos Advisor Dr. Desmond McCarthy Assistant Advisor Elizabeth Banks Administrative Assistant Debra Fowler Clare 100 State Street McCarthy Center Room 410 Framingham, MA 01701-9101 Phone: (508) 626-4605 Fax: (508) 626-4097 gatepost@framingham.edu fsugatepost.com @TheGatepost

FEBRUARY 17, 2017

Assistant Professor of Sociology

By Jesse Sannicandro Staff Writer What is your educational background?

I did my bachelor’s at University of Connecticut/Storrs. I did my master’s and my Ph.D. at Northeastern University in the department of sociology.

What areas of research are you drawn to?

Broadly, issues of inequality and more specifically, I focus on immigration and crime, which is kind of a misnomer because most of the research shows, and most of mine does as well, that there’s no effect of immigration on crime, or where there is one, it’s a negative effect. … More immigrants means less crime.

What inspired you to study immigration?

In undergrad, I was really interested in deviance, which is a course I teach now, and the ways in which certain groups or populations are marked as dangerous or deviant, or whatever the term may be. And in some other research I’ve been doing, I sort of kept coming across white supremacy.

I’ve worked with hate crimes as well and so I kept coming across a lot of discussions that were framing immigrants as dangerous in terms of crime to “American culture.” So, the more I looked into it, the more I found that none of those attitudes was backed up by evidence. And in fact, going back to the late 1800s, the evidence suggested that immigrants were no more likely to engage in crime than were native-born Americans, and if anything, they were less likely to do so. So, that’s when it became this puzzle for me. Why do we hold these attitudes? Why do we hold these beliefs when centuries worth of research suggest that it’s patently, demonstrably false? I don’t have an answer to that one yet, though.

Allie Gath/THE GATEPOST

economists that work in the area, and psychologists, and sociologists and criminal justice folks.

How would you hope your field of study could affect legislation that’s being proposed?

I was just at the annual meeting for the American Society of Criminology (ASC) and I spoke at a panel with a guy by the name of Walter Ewing, who heads the AIC, American Immigration Council. … He and I got to talking and he suggested that what we need are more pieces on policy approaches. And I’m actually working on one now and I guess, overall, my hope is that the rhetoric that we’re seeing now that posits immigrants as threats and that advocates for building a wall or shutting people out that that’s in no way going to reduce crime because there’s really no need for it. And if anything, the rhetoric itself might be contributing to higher incidents of anti-immigrant hate. … My hope is that my research might bring a more informed, sensible and evidence-based approach. This idea of building a wall, there’s quotes from the first Chief Justice, John Jay, where he calls for building a wall against Catholic invaders.

So, we’re talking a century ago, by which he’s advocating against Catholics, effectively Irish and Italians. So, this is not a new idea. The groups are different but the idea is the same.

would imagine, a couple of years, before we have a good body of evidence.

But I think that the preliminary research is suggesting that … we saw a spike right after the election, which has been interpreted as giving license to those who hold hateful, racist views.

We saw the same thing right after Obama’s election. We saw spikes there as well. … The 9/11 ones were tough.

It was interesting. … I was in the same panel I was at at ASC. The anecdotal evidence was strong, that after 9/11 there was an increase in anti-Muslim, racist incidents. But part of the problem was that the FBI records were super poor in terms of recording hate.

And so, when you looked at those data and just how they were coded by the FBI, it’s sort of undercounted … the incidents of anti-Muslim attacks. But at this conference I was at in November, one of the panelists had investigated some of those data and what she found was that those accounts had been coded as anti-other ethnicity, which was this catch-all category. So, it seemed that there was sort of an unwritten policy. It’s hard to say why it was happening, but some of the attacks were basically getting miscoded at some point in the process. So, I think when we look at those, even now if we were to go back and do some analyses with some of those anti-other hate crimes, we’d see the evidence for a spike after 9/11 was probably even higher than originally had been thought.

What is one book, regardless of major, that you think every student should read?

That’s a tough one. I’d say, of recent books I’ve looked at right now, Alex Rios’s “Punished: Policing the Lives of Black and Latino Boys.”

It’s interesting both of your fields of research seem to be connected to anti-Muslim sentiment. What would you say about that in relation to hate crimes?

I think we can trace that and it’ll be, I

Have you traveled anywhere lately?

Well, last summer, I had a trip to Montreal for a few days, which was good, but that was about the extent of it. I was in New Orleans, too, for the conference. … My uncle lives down there, and I got to see him, but it was a trip where I was in and out, but I mean, that’s a beautiful city. And I suppose that was my biggest regret. I hadn’t been down there since Katrina, and I didn’t get to see much of the area. I saw a little bit of the French Quarter. …

I know they built up a new village for… musicians. I wanted to get over there, but I never saw it.

Friday, February 10

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Wednesday, February 15

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Is this a common field of study?

The immigration and crime nexus, as it often gets called, is … a specialization within criminology. It’s certainly grown in the last, I’d say, 15 years.

When I was first starting there were only maybe a handful of folks who were doing any research in the area and it’s really exploded, again, over the last 15 years. Criminology is an interdisciplinary field, so there are

Police Logs

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NEWS | 3

Huddleston Continued from page 1 I think we underestimated how the distance would impact us.

Our time here has been amazing though, and we expect to come back and visit frequently,” said Huddleston.

Since coming to his position in 2015, Huddleston said he is “so proud of all the work” he has accomplished.

“The Center for Inclusive Excellence (CIE) was called the Multicultural Center when I first arrived, but I wanted to change the name to better reflect it as a

Brother to Brother (B2B) and M.I.S.S., along with partnering with the Black Student Union, to focus on creating a sense of belonging and improving outcomes for students of color. Huddleston also worked on the 100 Males to College program.

Kevin Peña, a junior and finance chair for B2B, said working with Huddleston helped him grow as a leader and individual.

“He was the man that helped bring B2B together and allowed us to become a brotherhood.

Even though things won’t be the same without him, the initiative

“He was the man that helped bring B2B together and allowed us to become a brotherhood. Even though things won’t be the same without him, the initiative he helped us start will continue to grow due to the foundation he helped us set.”

- Kevin Peña, junior place where students could find, strengthen and use their voices in a way that inspired them to see themselves and others in the most powerful ways possible,” he said.

Huddleston said working with students “was a very high priority for me coming into the job two years ago.”

The Office of Diversity, Inclusion and Community Engagement worked to create the groups

he helped us start will continue to grow due to the foundation he helped us set,” Peña said.

Huddleston’s work supporting LGBTQ+ students, faculty and staff through introducing a preferred name policy and expanding gender-inclusive restrooms was also something he said he was “very proud of.”

Jackson Stevens, a junior and previous intern for the CIE, said he views Huddleston as a “men-

tor.”

He added, “His remarks after our Hope in Action rally have left a great impact on me. He will be truly missed on campus.”

Jace Williams, a junior, said they met Huddleston when they began working at the CIE, adding he has “been incredibly helpful on this campus.

“One time I went into a meeting with him, and he asked me my opinions on gender identity and preferred name forms, and it felt great to know that someone cared about what I had to say,” Williams said.

Cevallos said Huddleston has been “an asset for this institution” and his concept of inclusive THE GATEPOST ARCHIVES excellence has been embraced by Sean Huddleston has accepted a job the FSU community.

“I’m happy for him because at Indiana University. he’s done a really tremendous job for a smooth transition to the for us here,” he said. next person, so that the work that Cevallos said Huddleston has needs to continue will be able to been active in bringing inclusive- do so without interruption,” he ness to campus. said.

When he first met Huddleston, As for his successor, he said Cevallos said he had “a lot of they will bring their own ideas energy and a very clear plan of and plans. what to do and how to do it. … I “I hope that person falls in love was impressed with his clarity of with Framingham State Univerthought, his understanding of the sity the way that I did, and their issues and, of course, his whole vision includes some of the work inclusive excellence approach.” that has already been started. …

Before he leaves, Huddleston They will benefit from a campus said he plans on seeing through community that has embraced events such as the Women Mak- achieving inclusive excellence as ing History Now Awards in March a strategic priority,” he said. and the commencement ceremony in June.

“I also just want to make sure CONNECT WITH JULIA SARCINELLI that the division is in good shape jsarcinelli@student.framingham.edu

Student Award Continued from page 1 grant and a plaque or memento, according to the SWS website. Additionally, the winners’ registration and banquet fees are waived, and they are given the opportunity to receive an added $300 to assist with the costs of travel and lodging.

Hinkins said winning the award “felt like all our hard work was being recognized on an institutional level. We know we’ve made a social impact on people, but it felt amazing to see that our work was being acknowledged by such a big organization.”

The SWS winter meeting was held Feb. 9 to Feb. 12 of in Albuquerque, New Mexico, said the SWS website.

Ajao and Hinkins were slated to give a presentation Feb. 10 on creating an independent organization with a focus on intersectional feminism.

Unfortunately, severe weather

Courtesy of Kenetra Hinkins BGMT was recognized for their “radical” photoshoots that focused on the recognition of the power of black women, said Virginia Rutter, sociology professor.

conditions prevented the pair from attending the conference.

Rutter said, “There were all these professors, senior professors, from all around the country who were on the program and here were these two undergraduate women with an incredible model that got put on the program with their own

workshop to teach other people.”

Rutter, who nominated both students and would have accompanied them on the trip, said, “I worked all day Wednesday when I realized the storm was coming. I was on the phone for hours … trying to get flights. First, our flights were postponed, and then they

were cancelled and then there were no more flights.”

Hinkins said, “Initially, we were disappointed, but we’ve been afforded the opportunity to be a part of a larger conference, so maybe things happened the way they did for a reason.”

Ajao and Hinkins will now be presenting at the August SWS conference in Montreal, Canada. The August SWS meeting occurs in tandem with the American Sociological Association meetings, and it is considered a “big event,” according to Rutter.

Hinkins said, “BGMT wouldn’t have been able to grow and get this award if we didn’t have such a strong support system, and we appreciate everyone who has supported us.”

CONNECT WITH JILLIAN POLAND jpoland@student.framingham.edu

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4 | NEWS

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FEBRUARY 17, 2017

Stoops receives national student affairs award

By Bailey Morrison News Editor Melinda Stoops, dean of students, has received an award for her “outstanding” work in student affairs, said President F. Javier Cevallos.

Stoops said she was nominated for the Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education’s AVP/ Senior-Level Student Affairs Professional Award by her colleagues and staff.

The award will be given to her at a ceremony held by Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education, known as NASPA, in March.

According to the NASPA website, the group awards student affairs professionals for their “outstanding commitment to the profession,” which includes the development of programs and “creation of a campus environment that promotes student learning and development.”

Cevallos said this award is a “great recognition of the work she has done and continues to do for such a long time. She is a very committed individual and she works very, very hard for students.”

He added, “Having NASPA recognizing the work she has been involved in is a great way to thank her at a national level for every-

thing that she does. She’s also quite involved in the organization itself, so not only does she give her time on campus, but she gives her time off campus working for the NASPA organization.”

she had been nominated for the award until she received a phone call from the NASPA Board Director, Lori White, informing her of her nomination in December.

She said her staff and colleagues

Courtesy of Framingham.edu Dean of students Melinda Stoops was awarded for her commitment to student affairs and involvement with the development of University programs.

secure six nomination letters for the award so NASPA “could see she is worthy of winning” it.

“She’s fantastic. She really cares about the students. Her first question is always, ‘So, how is this going to affect the students?’ and she’s a good person who supports our staff in any way she can and is all around just a great boss.”

Stoops said, “In many ways, this award is very humbling. When I see the award recipients, to be among that pool of people is humbling.

“In my role as dean of students, I’ve been involved with NASPA for a number of years for professional development, but part of the reason is because it’s a good way to get Framingham State’s name out there in the world, to tell people where you’re from and the work you’re doing. … It makes the school look good,” said Stoops.

She added, “Framingham State is being recognized at a national level by this large organization of student affairs and I think it’s good press for Framingham State. The fact is that I’m being recognized, my name is on the award, but this is because of my staff. It’s a collective recognition.”

He said this award reflects positively on the University because “anytime we have our faculty, staff or students recognized at the national level, it reflects very positively upon the University.”

Stoops said she had “no idea”

wrote letters of nomination to NASPA and she was later able to read the letters they wrote. “They kept it quiet. I was shocked when I won it.”

David Baldwin, associate dean of CONNECT WITH BAILEY MORRISON bmorrison1@student.framingham.edu students, said he “ran a gambit” to

McNeil said she had the suspected symptoms such as exhaustion, fever, sore throat and dizziness.

She added she did not have to miss any classes because she was diagnosed late Thursday, but said her part-time employer at the Ad-

agnosis, she wasn’t sure what was wrong, so she “quarantined” herself in her room and “was too nauseous to eat or stand or sit.”

She added the urgent care facility gave her an inhaler and Tamiflu because she couldn’t breathe.

Jimenez left campus on Tuesday and has not returned.

“Now I’m just stressed out because of classes and missing assignments, but I’ll figure it out,” she said.

The Center’s webpage has compiled a list of tips for avoiding the flu, helping a roommate who has caught the flu and knowing what to do if infected with it.

Hofrenning urges students to wash their hands frequently, stay hydrated and watch for symptoms such as a sore throat or fever. She added that while the virus has been somewhat “resistant” to the flu shot, students can still receive it at urgent care facilities near campus.

Flu Continued from page 1 al. February is usually when we get the flu. It was really two weeks ago that I felt, all of a sudden, we’re seeing more documented cases of the flu.”

She added, “For the past couple of weeks, it’s been really bad.”

“We’re in the middle of it. … We’ve been really inundated with it for the past couple of weeks.”

- Ilene Hoffrenning, director of the health center

Senior Maggie McNeil said she was diagnosed by the Health Center on Thursday, Feb. 2 with a “flulike virus.”

She said the Health Center told her “if possible, due to the fever, I should make the attempt to leave the University.”

missions Office was “very accommodating” of her illness.

She left campus that Friday and returned the following Monday.

Junior Amber Jimenez was diagnosed with the flu at an urgent care facility on Monday, Feb. 13.

Jimenez said before her official di-

CONNECT WITH BAILEY MORRISON bmorrison1@student.framingham.edu

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Flu Facts • FSU has been affected by the worst flu outbreak since 2009 • There have been between 80 to 90 documented cases of the flu on campus since January 25

Flu Tips • Stay home and get rest • Drink plenty of fluids and make sure to stay hydrated • Consider using a humidifier to breathe in steam • See your doctor

FEBRUARY 17, 2017

THE GATEPOST

NEWS | 5

All University meeting focuses on Re-Imagining the First Year

By Kayllan Olicio Assistant News Editor At the All University Meeting held on Wednesday, Feb. 15, faculty, staff and administrators discussed plans for Re-Imagining the First Year (RFY).

President F. Javier Cevallos said, “It’s always an important thing to be part of the community coming together for different topics.”

He added, “We decided to do something different this time. We have a number of really important initiatives going on during third semester. … We have a very important project going on that will make a big difference for the future and that is re-inventing the first year.”

According to Cevallos, the University is part of a select group of 44 institutions of higher education that is working on this project at a national level. The project goal is to improve the first year for students.

He said, “Being selected to be part of that is a very good reflection of the work that has been happening here because not every institution that applied got selected to be part of this.”

Linda Vaden-Goad, provost and vice president for academic affairs, who has been leading the RFY efforts, said it “is aimed at ensuring success of all students but especially … those who are underserved.

So, low-income, first-generation and students of color.”

She added “We hope to begin to share our data on an annual basis, so that every year as we all work together to help our students be successful.”

The program’s logo was re-designed by a student, Sydney Wood, in a senior graphic design capstone course, said Vaden-Goad. The goal for the logo was to make “students and everyone here realize they do belong and they are an important part of our institution.”

Sean Huddleston, chief officer of diversity, inclusion and community engagement, said the student subcommittees primary focus is “looking at how students achieve a sense of belonging on campus. …

We really want to get down to some of that qualitative data.”

Vaden-Goad said, “Part of this project is about sharing data with people who have the need to know and from our point of view around the students’ success data. Everyone here has the need to know.

Everyone here does something significant in terms of the students’ success.”

All the metric in the data gathered by the program addresses the cohort. According to Vaden-Goad,

Darian O’Donnell/THE GATEPOST Linda Vaden-Goad discussed future plans for the Re-Imagining the First Year program.

the “cohort are new students that are coming in that are here for the very first time. They are full-time students, in other words are at least taking 12 credits.”

She added, “Our cohort is 739 students for this year and we hope they will be retained and start next fall again.”

The University’s retention rate has flatlined and is steady, according to Vaden-Goad.

She said, “One of the things we are trying to do is to really make some changes there. This is an incredible University. Everyone who is here does so many good and important things, and I would love for it to show more, as would you, in the students’ data.”

Vaden-Goad added, “When we lose cohort students, we lose graduation rate students. … The students came here really wanting to do something important and we need them.”

The University’s cohort retention rate is at 74 percent and the graduation of the cohort is at 54.5 percent, according to Vaden-Goad.

There are three progression metrics that go with RFY, VadenGoad said.

The first metric is credit accu-

mulation. The administrations goal for students is to earn 26.5 credit hours. “We want them to take about four credits every semester. … With this metric, they want us to increase what we currently have by 5 percent compared to our benchmark year that was 2014. We want our students to accumulate credits and 5 percent added to that seems like a good idea,” Vaden-Goad added.

If the University increases by 5 percent, students will have to take 27.62 credits per year, according to Vaden-Goad. “That’s our aspiration. That’s where we are trying to get. We want the students that matriculated at our University to stay on track.”

The second metric is “called credit completion and we are supposed to increase that by 2 percent each year that we are part of this project. We want our students to pass courses they attend that’s our overall goal,” Vaden-Goad said.

In the benchmark year of 201415, the University had 63 percent of course completion in the cohort.

During that year, 509 of 804 cohort students passed all the courses they attended. The University wants to increase the course com-

pletion rate to 65 percent, according to Vaden-Goad.

The third metric is success in high enrollment courses, which administrators hope to increase by 4 percent. Those courses are gateway classes to the first year, VadenGoad said.

She added, “We’ll find a way to work with and do faculty development with whomever it is who teaches the classes. The students in their first year are sitting in those classes and whoever is teaching the class is somebody we believe should be teaching the class.”

The courses are Principles of Microeconomics, Introduction to College Writing, Nutrition Sciences and Application, Introduction to Statistics and General Psychology.

Eighty-eight percent of students in the cohort passed those courses in the benchmark year and the administration hopes to bring it up to 92 percent.

Vaden-Goad said, “Depending on how well this works, we’ll be able to share this with our partners in other countries, colleges in other cities and towns and universities.”

Randy Swing, consultant and mentor in the RFY program, said, “The idea of improving the first year of college is something that a lot of schools work on and try and they do it in lots of different ways. I don’t know that I have ever seen an institution pull together a bunch of people to look at the same time broadly across the data to start to figure out what you should be doing. … So, I’m watching this unfold as something we would want to be sharing with the other 44 campuses as a model practice.”

According to Vaden-Goad, the RFY program is happening at the right time. “We are doing the strategic plan and so we can plan on that. We budget on that and have great conversations about how that will go.”

She added, “As we think about our next strategic plan we have to think about student support in very new ways. ... I think we really need to pull that together and make it a big part of the next five year [plan].”

According to Cevallos, the first year is crucial to students and it makes or breaks their college careers. “We want all of them to succeed and having the entire campus involved in the process of re-inventing the first year is crucial to us.”

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FEBRUARY 17, 2017

SGA discusses Wi-Fi problems

By Kayllan Olicio Assistant News Editor Students voiced concerns about the University’s Wi-Fi at the SGA meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 14.

During the open forum, several senators expressed concerns about the Wi-Fi on campus. Senator Steven Demeo said, “I think the WiFi has gotten even worse. It has not improved at all. … I think it’s ridiculous. We literally can’t get anything done. So, I wanted to see if there is anything else that can be do to get that fixed.”

Demeo added he has spoken to student who have had IT workers come to their dorms in an attempt to fix their Wi-Fi. “The IT people … basically looked at the room and said, ‘Oh yeah, the Wi-Fi is bad,’ and didn’t do anything and walked out of their room. So, I think it goes to show that they aren’t doing anything.”

Senator Fallon Soye said IT has come to West Hall on several occasions. “They come during the day, which is super inconvenient, because the Wi-Fi is OK during the day. The problem has been between 8 and 11 p.m. … I feel like IT should come during those times

just to see the problem.”

Soye also expressed concerns about the library being closed Monday, Feb. 13 until classes began at 4:30 p.m. due to the snow day. She said “So many people walked to the library and came back because online it said they were still open. So, it’s great if something could be done for future snow days.”

The Mixed Martial Arts Club was allocated $1,280 for their practice and administered instruction.

The Comic Book Club was allocated $1,625.50 for their SuperMegaFest Comic Con trip.

The Dental Club was allocated $865 for T-shirts with their logo and $510 for toothbrushes.

The Wildlife Club was allocated $1,043.66 for their trip to the Wildlife Society Student Conclave and $1,212.05 was allocated for their trip to the New England Aquarium.

The Gaming Club was allocated $2,000 for their murder mystery dinner.

Equestrian Club funding request of $534.46 for knit pom beanies was denied. The club was allocated $145.80 for promotional pens.

M.I.S.S was allocated $300 for

Kayllan Olicio/THE GATEPOST SGA President Ezequiel De Leon swears in Senator Bridget Green.

their West African dance workshop.

LUNA was allocated $1,400 for their Carnival event, $834.59 for their T-shirt event, $2,750 for their promotional items pending they change the date of their event to one that isn’t Accepted Students’ Day and $1,522.16 was allocated for their trip to the National Do-

minican Student Conference.

Senator Bridget Green was sworn in as SGA Secretary.

Senate Chair Jack Capello presented the U-Rock award to senator Mike O’Brien.

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Getting Ahead

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My Way

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Register now for 2017 summer classes.

Framingham State University offers undergraduate and graduate classes that fit your schedule.

• 5-week, 8-week & 12-week sessions • Morning, afternoon, evening, hybrid and online courses • Over 100 courses offered entirely online Learn more at www.framingham.edu/summer or call the Continuing Education Office at 508-626-4603

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THE GATEPOST

FEBRUARY 17, 2017 THE GATEPOST EDITORIAL

The need for neutral news What do we do with the information we don’t want to believe?

This was the question posed last night by world-renowned journalist Jeanne Marie Laskas, who spoke in DPAC about her book “Concussion.”

“Concussion” is the story of Dr. Bennet Omalu, his discovery of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), his subsequent defamation by the NFL and his journey to the truth.

When Omalu first published his findings in a scientific journal, the NFL rejected his research and wrote a letter asking for a retraction, calling his research “completely wrong.”

People simply did not want to believe that their favorite, all-American sport was not only dangerous, but potentially fatal.

Unfortunately, this way of thinking has become increasingly common over the last few years.

Conservatives watch the famously rightwing Fox News and share politically charged memes from Breitbart on Facebook. Liberals read the left-wing Huffington Post and share memes from “Occupy Democrats” or “Being Liberal.”

Everyone, it seems, is getting their news from people who share their same beliefs.

We at The Gatepost urge the FSU community to educate themselves on media and journalism, and find a neutral source for news.

News and media are the only resources the public has to keep track of the government and community. By depriving yourself of an unbiased news source, you are depriving yourself of the truth.

As Laskas said last night, it takes courage to be curious. It’s hard to read about how driving that Wrangler you love is harming the environment. It’s hard to be told that store you love to shop at makes all of its clothing in a sweatshop in China.

It’s hard to realize that not everything you’ve been told by your government is the truth.

But that’s what the Fourth Estate is for.

Journalists keep our elected officials in check.

They keep us informed on the issues and allow us to make educated decisions during elections.

If you don’t already have a trusted source of unbiased news, find one. In the era of misinformation, fake news and “alternative facts,” we need all the truth we can get The Gatepost’s trusted news sources: • Associated Press • The Boston Globe • The MetroWest Daily News • The New York Times • The Washington Post • BBC • NPR

OP/ ED | 7

OP/ED The Not-So-Healthy, Health Center Experience The flu has hit campus hard this season, and like most students, I have been diligent about hand washing and disinfecting. However, it seemed as though all of a sudden, I came down with flu-like symptoms such as a sore throat, muscle aches, headache and fever. I turned to the on-campus health center, where I knew many students had gone to be diagnosed. A nurse practitioner took me to the back room to be assessed. I didn’t have a high fever, but that was credited to me having received the flu shot. With no swab, or other formal testing, she determined that I had the flu based on my symptoms. My treatment was to consist of pain killers, cough drops and rest. I was told that a letter would be sent to the Dean of Students, and that I would have to leave campus or have friends deliver meals to my room. I opted to head home, and was sent off wearing a facemask to prevent the spread of the flu.

My mother picked me up an hour later and was shocked to hear that the nurse practi-

tioner did nothing to confirm the diagnosis.

We headed straight for my primary care physician. My doctor ordered a sample to be taken from my nose to test for the flu and my throat to do a rapid strep test. Within 15 minutes, the doctor came back into the room and said “Good news! You don’t have the flu, you actually have a strep infection.” I was promptly given antibiotics.

It turns out leaving strep throat untreated can cause complications such as rheumatic fever. I was shocked that the health center misdiagnosed me, but even more shocked that this could have easily been prevented with a quick swab. It makes me wonder how many other students have been misdiagnosed as well. Let this be a lesson to all students who use the health center. Make sure you are properly diagnosed.

Kathleen Schipelliti Class of 2018

Campus Conversations What are your thoughts on student debt?

By: Crystal Stevens and Darian O’Donnell

1

“Obviously Trump’s presidency, the economy, probably people’s debt and the stock market.”

-Victoria Brown, sophomore

2 1

“Towards the middle of [Trump’s] presidency there will be a chance for major decline.”

-Cari Schlossberg, sophomore

2 3

“People are definitely paying more attention to the news, especially in America with the current president.”

-Jay Knight, junior

4 3

“I feel like its going to be very controversial, especially with Trump.”

-Tanaja Jordan, sophomore

4 5

“Hopefully it gets more popular, just as a way people can be more informed about what is going on in our world.”

-Mychael Gonzalez, sophomore

6 5

6

“They’re going to be facing a lot of backlash and censorship and they’re going to have to fight.”

-Alyssa Joy, senior

Op/Ed submissions reflect the opinions of their authors only and do not necessarily reflect those of The Gatepost or its staff.

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8| OP/ED

THE GATEPOST

FEBRUARY 17, 2017

Coming home to realize a new kind of privilege Check your American privilege. Pretty intimidating, right? Almost offensive, even.

No one wants to be told they are privileged, it can feel like an attack. I know I am given different opportunities because of the way I look and because of what I have - but I’m not rich.

I’m not spoiled. I know loss and I work hard for everything I have. I work two jobs so I can pay my bills. I’m not privileged in the sense that everything gets handed to me without reason or hard work, like some of the friends with whom I’ve grown up.

Recently, I was standing in line at Marshalls and looking at all the crap they try to sell you while you’re trapped in the checkout line. I thought of Sneha Chettri, a 10-year-old girl who lives at the 13th mile marker in Kalimpong, India.

She’s beautiful, she’s caring and she’s full of love.

After staying in her home for two days, she tried to give me the only headband she owns and wears every day.

Each morning, she wakes up and walks down 800 stairs to school, and up those same 800 to get home. She is one of the smartest and top-performing students in her class, and she wants to be a history teacher someday. Her bed has no mattress, and the few pieces of clothing she owns have grown tattered. Yet, she wanted to give me her headband.

Her home is colorful and well-kept. The kitchen is a separate building from the bathroom, which is a separate building from the three bedrooms, which is a separate building from where they eat dinner. When the power goes out, as it often does, the entire family continues to prepare dinner by a single candle, cooking outside before sitting on the kitchen floor to eat.

Standing in line at Marshalls, looking at iP-

hone 6 Plus Cases with ironic one-liners and cheeseburger cartoons on them, I thought of Sneha, walking up and down 800 stairs to get to school.

Emily Robinson/THE GATEPOST

Put her in this Marshalls. Show her this department store. Give her a bike, an iPad, a badminton set that isn’t broken like the one she has and loves anyway. How might she react?

The look on her face when she was given a new jump-rope was indescribable.

This is privilege. Going to Marshalls is priv-

ilege. Owning a car is privilege. Getting water from a bubbler, getting on a bus to go to school, having access to tampons, turning the heat up at home, taking a long hot shower when your sinuses are clogged - all of this is privilege.

Privilege is having what others do not. Privilege is being rich in America, or being poor in America. It’s having opportunities others do not simply because of how you look or where you live. It’s walking into an air-conditioned Target and picking out pretty produce or nicely boxed cereals and placing them in those clean, red shopping carts.

It’s being white in a society that values whiteness over colored skin. It’s being a man and automatically getting paid more because of what’s between his legs. It’s being able to use public bathrooms and not having to worry about being kicked out or assaulted in them.

Privilege is shopping the iPhone cases in the checkout line of Marshalls and having the opportunity to have met Sneha.

No one is asking you to feel bad about your privilege or to be sorry for it, but you should be aware of it. If your name is Eric, know that you have a better chance of being hired than D’quan, and if you’re impulse-buying a cheesy case for your phone that’s worth several hundred dollars, know you have it better off than others. This isn’t supposed to make you feel bad about something you can’t help, like the color of your skin or where you come from, but to ask you to check your privilege, to be aware, give back and be the change you want to see. If you don’t, who will?

Emily Robinson Editorial Staff

The new Secretary of Christmas:

Burgermeister Meisterburger

Interested in illustrating a comic about campus life, politics, or other issues? Contact Design Editor Shayna Yacyshyn at syacyshyn@student. framingham.edu!

Have an opinion about something happening on campus? Send it in 500 words or less to gatepostopinions@gmail.com.

Anyone can submit.

We look forward to hearing from you!

Raysam Donkoh-Halm/ THE GATEPOST Op/Ed submissions reflect the opinions of their authors only and do not necessarily reflect those of The Gatepost or its staff.

FRAMINGHAM STATE UNIVERSITY’S INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER SINCE 1932 | FSUGATEPOST.COM

FEBRUARY 17, 2017

THE GATEPOST

ARTS & FEATURES | 9

ARTS & FEATURES Investigative journalist discusses her critically acclaimed book “Concussion”

By Cesareo Contreras Interim Associate Editor

Omalu found an abundant amount of tau protein in Webster’s brain, a condition boxers develop after sustaining repeated blows to the head over an extended amount of time, Laskas said.

After Omalu published his work in a medical journal, he learned there was already an age-old debate going on between scientists and the NFL, she said.

“In 1997, The American Academy of Neurology - all independent scientists - came out with guidelines

ily’s name Omalu, which translates to “If you know, come forth and speak,” Laskas said.

Omalu “came into this subject completely with no agenda,” she said. “It wasn’t a fight for, ‘Oh I don’t like the NFL.’ He hardly knew who they were. It was a fight for truth in his mind, and for light, and for God and for justice. It was really a pure fight.”

Laskas said as the NFL was demanding the paper’s retraction, football players who were display-

When four-time Super Bowl champion “Iron Mike” Webster, a former center for the Pittsburgh Steelers, retired from his beloved football team in the 1990s, nobody could have guessed that his death would be the center of a medical breakthrough so many years later.

Investigative journalist Jeanne Marie Laskas shared details about her New York Times bestselling book “Concussion” to a sizable crowd in DPAC on Wednesday, Feb. 15.

“This is a story I wrote, and like most good stories, it’s about a relationship. In this case, it’s a story about two men,” Laskas said.

The two men were Webster and the doctor who ended up doing his autopsy - Dr. Bennet Omalu, the main subject of Laskas’ book.

Although Omalu was easily able to confirm that Webster died because he had suffered a heart attack, he was interested in understanding Webster’s sudden mental deterioration after he retired at the age of 38, she said.

Not only did he start to lose his memory at a rapid rate and become uncharacteristically violent, but Webster also eventually lost all understanding of his financial status and started living out of his truck, Allie Gath/THE GATEPOST she explained.

“He would pull his teeth out and put them back in with superglue,” “Concussion” is a continuation of Laskas’ 2009 GQ article, “Game Brain.”

Laskas said. “He was sadly demented.”

Omalu, a studious and deter- for football players, for profession- ing the same symptoms as Webster mined man at heart, made it his al football players at every level, for were suffering from the same conmission to understand the former what to do when you get a concus- dition.

“Terry Long - he was a Steelathlete’s perplexing condition, sion and the NFL said ‘no,’” Laskas said.

“That doesn’t apply to profesers guard who played right next to guided by a deep sense of spiritualMike Webster. In 2005, at 45 years ity which was instilled in him while sional football players.”

Laskas explained how the NFL reold, he ends up drinking antifreeze he was growing up in Nigeria, Lasfused to take into account any data to kill himself,” Laskas said. kas said.

When Omalu obtained Long’s “In his widely spiritual sense of collected by scientists who weren’t himself, Bennet talked to the dead,” on their payroll. She said they had brain, he found tau protein, just like Laskas said. “He talked to Mike developed their own publication he had in Webster’s, Laskas said.

In 2009, when Laskas began inWebster. He talked to his spirit and that provided data which showed said, ‘Mike, I’m gonna figure this there were no adverse effects asso- vestigating the topic, she said she had only found Omalu “by chance,” out. We are going to do this togeth- ciated with playing football.

“When Bennet walks into the since many of those she interer.’”

Upon inspecting Webster’s brain, door with this study - now he’s a viewed never brought him up.

When she mentioned him in Omalu saw nothing out of the ordi- weirdo in their mind, he doesn’t fit into any group and says, ‘Hey conversation, since he was the man nary, Laskas said.

Frustrated, Omalu packed up guys, look what I found, scientific who wrote the study that started it Webster’s brain and brought it proof!’ He was not well-received,” all, many said he was no longer tryshe said. ing to prove his work. home with him for further testing.

Laskas said the NFL demanded a “When I found him in Lodi, CalAfter performing a series of exifornia working out of his garage, I tensive self-funded experiments for retraction of Omalu’s paper.

Omalu fought for his work, as he said, ‘Dr. Omalu, I heard you weren’t around six months, Omalu eventuhad made a promise to Webster and in it anymore.’ He said, ‘Bennet ally had a breakthrough. was determined to live by his fam- Omalu is in it. Bennet Omalu is in

it.’”

So she told his story in her widely read GQ article, “Game Brain,” which she expanded into her book “Concussion” a few years later.

Laskas’ story prompted a larger conversation about football and the adverse effects the game could have on its players’ health.

Laskas said wives of NFL athletes began reaching out to her to discuss how their husbands had been experiencing symptoms similar to Webster’s and his peers’.

In the following years, after a series of congressional hearings and as more cases like Webster’s began to make headlines, the NFL had no choice but to confront the problem, Laskas said.

“Right now, they have 29 medical officials at every game in the stands,” she said. “Teams of physicians, spotters, and they’re charged with enforcing the NFL’s concussion protocol, which is you remove a player who might have suffered a concussion - end of story.”

Even with these measures, football players are still being driven to insanity, Laskas said.

A former St. Louis safety, Benny Perrin, had shot himself in the head only a week ago at the age of 57.

Laskas said since the NFL is such a major form of entertainment for so many Americans, little substantive change has happened.

Americans don’t want to give up their favorite sport, something she is guilty of too, she said.

“We’ve heard this news,” she said. “There was a Hollywood movie about this news. There’s been more media than you could ever ask for. … We know this, and we’ve been outraged, and our response is more football.”

Laskas ended her talk by posing a question to the audience.

“What do we do as a society, as a culture, with the stuff we don’t want to believe in?” Laskas asked.

“Do we call this fake news? Do we call this alternative facts? Do we call this fake science?”

For her, she often seeks clarity by taking note of the value of Omalu’s “pure fight.”

“I really think of his story and his journey - his pure search for answers that weren’t clouded by political agenda or corporate agenda,” she said. “He wanted to know why a guy went crazy and he searched.”

CONNECT WITH CESAREO CONTRERAS ccontreras@student.framingham.edu

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10| ARTS & FEATURES

THE GATEPOST

FEBRUARY 17, 2017

An interview with Jeanne Marie Laskas

By Cesareo Contreras Interim Associate Editor What made you want to go into journalism?

I wanted to pursue the one thing I felt confident in, which was telling stories. I was a really shy kid so it was a big deal for me to kind of talk to strangers and part of it was sort of overcoming that too - talking to strangers and writing about them in my field.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a journalist?

Oh boy. It’s changed, honestly, in the last couple of months.

It really has. I think it was always rewarding to be paid to do what you love, for me personally. I just love the work so much. It’s like an artist getting to be a sculptor.

Like, “Oh, you are going to pay me to do this?” I feel a little bit that way, personally. As we move into this strange time of so called fake news, and our political discourse pushing back on this world of reporting, it just put in relief how important real stories are and the responsibility of journalism, of journalist to doubt and to stay curious and to not accept the first answer and to be skeptical and to push until they get to the truth.

Maybe I took that for granted before, but now I don’t take it for granted. Now I’m so grateful that there are those kind of reporters out there doing that kind of work.

When you say reporters doing “that kind of work,” what do you think constitutes good journalism? Do you have an example of a recent report you’ve read that shows why journalism matters right now?

Well, it’s hitting me in the face right now with all the political reporting - the events of the last week and the reporting going on in the White House. I don’t do that kind of work, that daily journalism. So that kind of stuff is in the foreground right now, but longer, wider lens is more the work I do.

Equally important in this longform journalism ... is that I need to now learn about my neighbors in the Rust Belt and who they are and what their issues are and what they are so desperate about that led us into this current climate. It’s something not to make fun of. It’s something the cultural elites don’t understand - the Rust

Belt. And now we need to. I need to, as a journalist, get in there and be a translator for that world, and I feel like that is just vital in this climate. So yeah, it matters.

How do you decide what topics you are going to delve into?

You said it takes you around six months to produce a story.

So how long does it take you to really get into a topic?

Well sometimes, things are a lot shorter than that. ... Sometimes, it’s just a really specific thing. ... I did a story about a guy who got a face transplant and my question in that was, “So, what’s it like to walk around with someone else’s face?” It wasn’t really a wide lens. It was really narrow.

So, that’s like specific, but these wider lens stories, like this Rust Belt story I’m thinking about, are a little bit like a coal mining story I once did where I didn’t know exactly what I was looking for. I just need to understand this culture.

And so I will dive in and find the characters who I will follow that will help me tell the story of this culture and what moves it, and what matters to it and what the values are.

What prompted you to investigate the concussion story?

It was a little hidden piece. Dr. Bennet Omalu’s story was a hidden, unknown piece of that whole concussion conversation going on, and it ended up being the key piece - the guy who figured out the disease. So, when I found him and found that he had been ousted, I just couldn’t believe the world didn’t know about him. I just couldn’t believe it. I almost felt obligated to tell his story and it opened up the conversation in the way that hadn’t yet been open.

You’ve worked in the industry for 20 years and worked for a range of publications, and have had a variety of different audiences. What do you think you’ve gained from those experiences?

I think it keeps you fresh. ... I’m writing for GQ magazine. I’m a woman writing for a men’s fashion magazine, what is that? Who are these readers? But, some of the best writing is in that magazine, GQ and Esquire. But, that audience is really specific. It’s

Allie Gath/THE GATEPOST Jeanne Marie Laskas’ work has appeared in The New Yorker, GQ and The Washington Post.

male. It’s young usually, wealthy.

And I try not to think about who I’m writing for because I want to say to myself, “Well, they are just like anybody, ultimately. If I care about a coal miner, they’ll care about a coal miner. We’re going to meet in the middle somewhere.”

So that’s really a specific audience, but when I’m writing for the New York Times Magazine, it’s so much broader. There’s women. There’s children. There’s academics. There’s just a much wider swath, and you’d think that would be freeing, but in fact, sometimes, it’s more narrowing. You have to appeal to so many different people. I feel the danger is that your writing can get bland. You take fewer risks when the audience is giant like that. I do, but it’s good experience.

Is there any piece of journalism that you are particularly proud of?

I did a profile of Joe Biden for GQ, and it took me forever.

I spent so much time with that guy. We went to see the Pope, for God’s sake, but the story was really boring. It was just politician, politician, politician, even though I knew he was so much more interesting. I couldn’t get a moment with him when he was real, and so I wouldn’t write it

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until finally, the key to the whole thing ended up being him going to Wilmington, to where he grew up, and I got invited along to go on that trip and it literally was just walking around Wilmington, his boyhood home, where he used to swim, where he used to walk into the woods. He just opened up and he became this lovable character, no longer a politician. I got to write that story.

What advice do you have for writers, more specifically upcoming writers who want to enter your field?

The two biggest things are to write like crazy, constantly, no matter if you are publishing it or not. Just to get practice. Just like piano-playing - you don’t start with a symphony. You just got to play and play and play. It’s the same thing. Write and write and write and read and read and read.

Specifically, find writers, journalists, whose work you admire and follow them and read them. ...

Study them. Copy them. Try and write like them for a while as you hone your own craft. And I think you should publish online no matter who will publish you, even if it’s your own blog.

CONNECT WITH CESAREO CONTRERAS ccontreras@student.framingham.edu

FEBRUARY 17, 2017

THE GATEPOST

ARTS & FEATURES | 11

Celebrating Black History Month through poetry

By Cass Doherty Staff Writer Students joined Boston author Tamara Leigh for a poetry slam on Tuesday, Feb. 14 in DPAC. The event was co-sponsored by the Black Student Union (BSU), The Onyx and the Center for Inclusive Excellence. It was part of FSU’s Black History Month celebration, according to Cassandra Teneus, an FSU senior and BSU president.

Leigh said, “I’ve been writing poetry since I was a little girl.”

She said she “likes the sound of words.”

Leigh said she had recently written a book called “Base,” and had originally planned to read an excerpt from the book. However, she said once she was told the event was being held as part of a Black History Month celebration, she instead wrote a piece specifically for the event.

She said when she received the invitation, she started thinking about what she wanted to write about. “The way that I enjoy writing is that I like to research words,” said Leigh.

“I started to research the word ‘black,’” she said, “and I got to related words, like ‘black widow,’ ‘bad luck,’ ‘black cat’ and ‘black

lies.’” She started looking deeper into the word, beyond the definition, and said she “came across words like ‘anger,’ ‘evil’ and ‘unhappy.’”

Lee said she was confused, because she was looking for a definition and felt she wasn’t finding what she was looking for. She said that was how she came up with the piece she was going to share with the audience - a piece she called “Defintion.”

“No plantation, segregation or abuse, no servitude, whips, chains nor noose, define me,” Lee read. “I carried America on my back.”

Following Leigh’s performance, FSU students shared some of their original works.

Ymahri Brown, a senior, read an untitled poem celebrating her skin color in accordance with Black History Month.

“They called me tar, burnt toast, purple, like, ‘you so black you purple,’” read Brown. “My dark skin does not define who I am, where I will go, who I will meet or the type of revenge I will seek.”

Megan Muise, a senior, read a piece she wrote “in the spirit of Valentine’s Day. “With each breath I tried to let pieces of how I loved you go, to disappear into the darkness above,” Muise read. “Another

spark, another hit, another minute suffocating by the memory of you.” senior Alejandra Estrella closed the event with a Valentine’s Day poem she said she wrote in high school. “Why don’t you like me?

Never realize I’m in class?” Estrella read. “Dear Valentine, do you enjoy your view now? From beneath my bed? … Yeah, you love me now, don’t you? Sincerely, Crazed Lover.”

Teneus hoped the event would

give students the courage to speak up and “to vocalize what they want versus being afraid, especially students of color.” Teneus said the poetry slam was a chance for every student to have their voice heard. “Although it’s Black History Month, we feel it’s very important for every student of every color to voice their opinion,” she said.

CONNECT WITH CASS DOHERTY cdoherty1@student.framingham.edu

Emily Robinson/THE GATEPOST BSU president Cassandra Teneus introduced Tamara Leigh, whom the BSU invited to read at the poetry slam on Tuesday.

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12| ARTS & FEATURES

Across the Ocean Food brings the world together

By Allison Wharton Asst. Arts & Features Editor A few big obstacles I’ve had to unexpectedly overcome during my time in Ireland are the different phrases and slang, and, most of all, the overall different way of living.

For instance, grocery stores.

Prior to my arrival, I believed every grocery store was the same - give or take pricing and product placement.

Here in Ireland, it’s a whole different story.

First off, the Irish love organic food. However, my preconceived stereotype regarding organic food revolved around it being way too expensive and therefore useless.

The more processed, the cheaper, and that agreed with my wallet.

I spent two hours exploring one massive store called Tesco, which was as intimidating on the outside as the inside. When a store includes a cart (trolley) escalator, that’s when you know the store means business.

While one of the crucial points of this adventure is to step out of my comfort zone, purchasing groceries is where I wanted to stand my ground.

For example, I wanted to make pancakes via Bisquick for one Sunday morning, but was discouraged to find that not only is breakfast unimportant to the Irish but the stores also only sell pre-made pancakes that are not frozen. I found packages of them sitting next to the organic potato chips (crisps).

I proceeded to search for ingredients to make the pancakes from scratch when I came across a plastic bottle labeled “American Pancakes,” which advertised the familiar just-add-water instructions.

“American Pancakes” settled my desire for familiarity.

Thankfully, since organic food is so common the prices are relatively low. However, the expiration date is often just a week after purchase so you have to buy what you need and consume it quickly.

Another aspect of food I have yet to comprehend revolves around my favorite food - cheese.

Again, the Irish love organic cheese, but it often comes in a large variety. An entire row at the store is dedicated to cheese - slices, blocks, shredded. You name it, the common grocery store has it.

Except for American.

While Ireland puts cheese on everything from fries (chips) to potatoes, there are two important products they do not sell - cheese crackers and grilled cheese.

Apparently, Europeans think a grilled cheese is placing a slice of cheese in between bread and inserting it into the toaster.

My roommates (flatmates) were flabbergasted at my simple creation and begged me to teach them.

These small differences played a much bigger role in my transition from Cambridge, Massachusetts to Maynooth.

They are lifestyle changes. The brands and the phrases I grew up with are not only removed from my surroundings, but are also completely foreign to my international peers.

This adventure is not only forcing me out of my comfort zone, but completely eliminating it. I need to convert twelve-hour time to twenty-four-hour time and Fahrenheit to Celsius.

My trip to the grocery store forced me to reflect on how hesitant people are towards a different culture, and I admit I was subconsciously one of them.

Therefore, I am encouraging myself to not be too quick to judge a new culture, but instead adapt that culture into my own in hopes of expanding my worldview and applying it to my everyday life back at home.

CONNECT WITH ALLISON WHARTON awharton@student.framingham.edu

FEBRUARY 17, 2017

THE GATEPOST

“Nothing feels natural” on Priests’ debut LP

Priests

By Cameron Grieves Staff Writer “Nothing Feels Natural” is perhaps the most aptly named debut release of any major punk band in quite some time.

Priests, the D.C. punk four-piece responsible for the ten-song album released in late January, eschewed much of the founding principles of their sound in order to elevate their critique of social and political norms to a darker stage.

Unlike their 2015 EP, “Bodies and Control and Money and Power,” their LP debut practically bursts at the seams with genre-bending melodic fusion and instrumental orientation sharply divergent from punk norms.

Qualities of freejazz instrumentation are notable from the opening song, “Appropriate,” which builds and crashes basslines and drum beats with frantic and unraveling energy. This confused and undulating melody present throughout the album is complemented by Katie Alice Greer’s powerfully emotive vocals.

On the catchy surf-rock-esque single, “JJ,” Greer abruptly infuses the opening lines with the dark lyrical elements that run through the album.

“When I met you, you were just a bad attitude / You dated a model, one time she stuck her finger in a light socket / About things like that people were always so mean and rude but I always felt like, ‘Oh Veronika, baby, I think I know what you mean,’” Greer sings.

Such a casual mention of suicide seems like an odd way to begin one of the catchiest singles on the album, but the first half of “Nothing Feels Natural” is indeed rife with this sort of anxiety and personal introspection - a realignment of the artist’s relationship with established social norms.

“Whoever deserves anything anyway?

What a stupid concept,” poses Greer at the end of the song, a loaded question that both affirms the listener’s expectations of Priests’ nihilism while also reinforcing their anti-establishment political message.

The social criticism continues to prog-

ress through a decidedly feminist lens on “Nicki” and “Lelia 20” -both songs that utilize dark reverberating bass and tight, spastic drums that build a confused melodic progression against twangy surf riffs.

“Got more appetite than a bear or a forest full of mouths to feed / So save your paltry dowry / I’m gonna buy you before you buy me,” Greer sings on “Nicki.” The naturalistic imagery invokes a primal undoing of expected gender binaries and a militant refusal to accept the societal expectations of women.

“No Big Bang” is a long, dark and nihilistic spoken-word poem interspersed with a haunting choral chant - “No (words, crash, birth), no big bang, no big bang, no big bang.” The classical interlude that follows this disorganized disintegration accentuates the shift from the anxiety and introspection in the first half of the album to the actively engaged social anger that pervades songs like “Pink White House” and “Puff” in the second half.

Hauntingly long and deeply emotive vocals contrast short simplistic melodies on “Pink White House” while actively giving force to the repetitive lyrical elements.

Greer sneers at the political and social establishment in banner-waving protest fashion that recalls punk’s ideologically leftist past.

“A puppet show in which you’re made to feel like you participate / Sign a letter, throw your shoe, vote for numbers 1 or 2 / Consider the options of a binary,” Greer belts out as the song shifts to an irreverent parody of American consumerism and pop-culture in the second half.

“Come on sitcom, come on streaming, come on nostalgia, nineties TV / Oooh baby my American dream oooh baby my American dream,” Greer sings sarcastically.

The ending chorus, “Anything you want, anyone you want, anywhere you want, anyway anyway,” reinforces the societal decadence that Priests seek to mock and undermine.

The last song on the album, “Suck,” is also the strangest by comparison, as it doesn’t synchronize lyrically or sonically with the majority of the preceding songs - taking on a more pop-oriented approach with a jarring brass addition.

A better ending song would have been “JJ” or “Pink White House,” the respective ending lines of which highlight the conflicting societal ideals that Priests so masterfully deconstruct and critique.

CONNECT WITH CAMERON GRIEVES cgrieves@student.framingham.edu

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FEBRUARY 17, 2017

THE GATEPOST

Netflix fortunately succeeds with “A Series of Unfortunate Events”

Netflix

By Julia Sarcinelli Associate Editor If you enjoyed reading as a child, you may have picked up “A Series of Unfortunate Events.”

The 13 books, about 100 pages each, were written by Daniel Handler under the pen name Lemony Snicket. The length made for easy reads despite the depressing tale of the orphaned Baudelaire children and their fight against a villain set on getting their large fortune by any means necessary.

The Netflix series adaptation succeeds over the 2004 film, and not just because each book has about 98 minutes to delve into the details with accuracy the film completely missed. Handler’s involvement with the script’s writing process shines through.

The casting of Neil Patrick Harris as Count Olaf, the infamous villain and “vastly untalented actor,” seemed like an odd fit when news about the series dropped. But, as soon as he is introduced, it is obvious Harris’ take on the series’ main villain is true to the books.

Harris’ Count Olaf is childish and ridiculous, just as he should be. The fact that only the children can see through his schemes but the adults are blind to his horrible disguises is translated well by the series.

However, at the end of each episode, it is hard to forget that Count Olaf is a madman obsessed with stealing the Baudelaire fortune - coerced marriage, blackmail and premeditated murder just being a few of his schemes.

The introduction of up-and-coming actors Malina Weissman and Louis Hynes

as Violet and Klaus Baudelaire may have been risky, but it paid off with a refreshing portrayal of the characters with only a few poorly delivered lines.

The division of two episodes per book is every book lover’s dream. It’s like watching your imagination come to life with how true to the books the episodes stay.

Although this first season has been extremely successful, with a 94-percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes from critics, there are moments when it falls a bit flat.

Something that may get a love-hate reaction from fans is Patrick Warburton’s portrayal of Snicket. Instead of acting as an omnipresent voice as in the 2004 film, the author Snicket physically comes into the scenes but the other characters don’t see him or hear his little asides about definitions of words.

This break of the fourth wall is obvious, and it is done successfully most of the time, but there are moments when it’s overdone and Snicket seems, at times, to be a bit too funny and not serious enough.

This seems to be a problem for the adaptation as a whole. The books have moments of dry humor and dramatic irony, but ultimately this is the story of a murderer chasing three children ranging from pre-teen to toddler.

The jokes and doses of light-heartedness help to alleviate the tense plot, but at times it goes too far and for too long.

Additionally, the random injections of musical numbers are entertaining simply because you can hear Harris sing.

However, as he sings the opening theme song that changes depending on the episodes, it’s a minute or two that could be better used elsewhere.

As for Mr. Poe, well, just expect a lot of cringe-worthy coughing.

And then, to die-hard fans, be warned that the introduction of Mother and Father and other spy-like characters might throw you off. But trust me on this one, finish the series. It may seem like an unfortunate failure, as the whole plot rests on the Baudelaires’ parents being dead, but see it through.

At the end of the day, the artistry and intense attention to detail can’t be denied. Whether a fan of the books or just interested in a new Netflix show to binge, “A Series of Unfortunate Events” should definitely be the next show in your queue.

CONNECT WITH JULIA SARCINELLI jsarcinelli@student.framingham.edu

ARTS & FEATURES | 13

The Pawgress Report The little lion dog

Photo courtesy of Dan Tursky

By Nick Murphy Staff Writer Introducing Kingsley, senior Dan Tursky’s lion-hearted, shaggy-bearded Affenpinscher mix.

The Turskys had initially planned on adopting a dog named Scruffy however when they went to visit the pup, they fell for another even scruffier pup.

“I had always wanted a dog, so while I was away at college, my family went to look for a dog through Save a Dog. When my mom and sister first saw Kingsley they thought he was so cute. When my dad came to see him, it was a sealed deal because Kingsley would not stop licking his face,” said Tursky.

“The lady at the kennel said we were the only people to look at him. It was probably because he had an ugly picture on the website and he looked just like the Grinch,” he added.

Despite an unflattering website picture, Kingsley stole the Tursky family’s hearts with his hyper demeanor and signature endearing underbite smile.

Built like a little lion and packing enough attitude to back his looks, Kingsley has no problem hunting down and shredding the fiercest of squeaky toys.

“He loves playing with his toys, yet he usually ends up tearing them apart in the process. He grabs hold of his toy and shakes it side to side until he destroys it. … He even goes right through the ones labeled “indestructible,” said Tursky.

When he’s not actively hunting down his next stuffed zebra, Kingsley is prowling for any unattended food he can snoop into. And don’t let his small size fool you, the little guy can eat.

“He’s definitely food-obsessive and he will pretty much eat anything and everything he can get into.

This one time I had left a sandwich on a table in the den while I walked away to get a drink and by the time I got back, Kingsley had snatched and devoured the sandwich right off the counter. Another time, he ate an entire lunch portion of chicken tenders,” added Tursky.

When Kingsley is bored of hunting stuffed toys, he sets his sights on more prized game - the elusive squirrel. While he’s never actually caught a bushy-tailed rodent, he sure tries.

“This one time there was a squirrel in the backyard and Kingsley decided to chase after it, only to run into a large pile of leaves. Before long, he was completely buried and not too long after he poked just his head out and it looked so ridiculous,” he said.

Move over lions - we’ve got a new king of the jungle and his name is Kingsley.

Editor’s note: “The Pawgress Report” is a bi-weekly column featuring FSU students and their dogs.

CONNECT WITH NICK MURPHY nmurphy5@student.framingham.edu

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14| ARTS & FEATURES

FEBRUARY 17, 2017

THE GATEPOST

Edited by Timothy Parker February 17, 2017 NO, NO, NO, NO! By Timothy E. Parker ACROSS 1 “Kevin Can Wait” network 4 Hoard 9 Hardcover book part 14 The grampus, e.g.

15 Capital of Vietnam 16 Second-largest Great Lake 17 Thick, slimy substance 18 Transmitting nerve-cell extensions 19 What to leave well enough?

20 Incising, as on a gunslinger’s belt 22 Make corrections to 23 “Hasta luego” 24 Handel work 26 Aprimary color 27 Accepted principles of right and wrong 30 It seeks intelligence 31 Pays to a church 33 Plank of wood 35 Like some winds 38 Some effervescent beverages 39 Raven’s spring counterpart?

40 “The Twilight Zone” creator Serling 41 Imitative of the great masters 42 Essence 46 Feeling sorrow

49 Chocolate and espresso drink 50 Immobilizing stunner 51 Having zero chapters?

54 Mouthwash instruction 55 Clean up, as computer code 56 Jailbird 57 Milk squirter 58 Shuttle’s round sealing gasket 59 Perjure 60 Assays 61 Lichen-covered 62 Where many enter a line DOWN 1 French brandy 2 Seriously thoughtful or meditative 3 Nova ___ 4 Old Iranian monarchs 5 Member of a fleet 6 Shortly, to a bard 7 Top 40 entry 8 Masculine possessive 9 Deceptions 10 Whines in a thin voice 11 Humorously sarcastic or mocking 12 Like some creamers 13 Dallas-to-Boston dir.

21 Classic “Konami code” video game

Last issue’s solutions

FRAMINGHAM STATE UNIVERSITY’S INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER SINCE 1932 | FSUGATEPOST.COM

22 Common Market’s letters 24 “A___ as good as a mile” 25 Owned 27 Biblical verb attachment 28 Possible explanation 29 Valentine shape 32 Neutral possessive 33 “The Fresh Prince of ___-Air” 34 Locale of Grants Pass 35 Midday, to the fancy 36 They know the ropes 37 Buy for a puppy or toddler 38 Grand ___ (wine label term) 41 Truth-in-lending abbr.

43 It spikes in winter?

44 No-doubt winner 45 Like any good beach bum 47 It’s not a liability 48 They’re a lot like you 49 Summer forecast word, sometimes 51 Fiddling Roman emperor 52 Bowed sashes 53 Cloistered sisters 54 Monotonous lifestyle 55 DeLuise of film

FEBRUARY 17, 2017

THE GATEPOST

NBA All-Star Weekend Predictions

from the Gatepost Sports Staff

SPORTS | 15

SPORTS HOCKEY

Rams’ season continues to spiral downward with another loss

BBVA Rising Stars Challenge Richard - United States Liam - United States Jose - United States Mike - World Matt - World Taco Bell Skills Challenge Richard - Isaiah Thomas Liam - Isaiah Thomas Jose - John Wall Mike - Anthony Davis Matt - John Wall JBL Three-Point Competition Richard - Klay Thompson Liam - Eric Gordon Jose - Kyrie Irving Mike - Klay Thompson Matt - C.J. McCollum Verizon Slam Dunk Richard - Aaron Gordon Liam - Aaron Gordon Jose - Derrick Jones Jr. Mike - Derrick Jones Jr. Matt - DeAndre Jordan NBA All-Star Game Richard - West Liam - West Jose - West Mike - East Matt - West NBA All-Star Gane MVP Richard - Kevin Durant Liam - Russell Westbrook Jose - Russell Westbrook Mike - Paul George Matt - Kawhi Leonard

Darien O’Donnell/ THE GATEPOST A Framingham State player looks to move past a defender while controlling the puck, but begins to get hit.

By Richard Tranfaglia Staff Writer Framingham State was shutout 3-0 by Plymouth State on Saturday, Feb. 11.

The Panthers scored a goal in each period. In the first, Caleb O’Brien fired a rocket shot off the one-time pass from Tim Larocque.

In the second period while the Rams were on the power play, Tord Thoresen stole the puck from a Rams’ defender and passed it ahead to Chris Zuccaro who scored a short-handed goal.

The Rams had a good chance to score late in the third period on a Tyler Colacchio breakaway, but he was stuffed by Panther’s goalie Evan Morelli.

Plymouth State added an insurance goal with five minutes left in the game. Riley Flanagan tipped in Larocque’s shot on net for his first goal of the season.

The Panthers outshot the Rams 68-22. Rams goalie Greg Harney made 65 stops in the loss

and Morelli saved all 22 shots he faced.

Colacchio led the Rams with five shots on goal and three players for the Panthers tied with eight shots each on net.

The Rams fall to 2-20 on the season and 1-14 in their league.

PLYMOUTH STATE FRAMINGHAM STATE

3 0

CONNECT WITH RICHARD TRANFAGLIA on Twitter using the handle @GatepostSports

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16 | SPORTS

THE GATEPOST

FEBRUARY 17, 2017

Erin Fitzmaurice/THE GATEPOST

Framingham state Hockey Creative Commons & FSU Rams

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THE GATEPOST

FEBRUARY 17, 2017

SPORTS | 17

WBB

Rams’ streak of eight in a row snapped by Lancers

Allie Gath/ THE GATEPOST A Framingham State player looks to move past a defender while controlling the puck, but begins to get hit.

By Liam Gambon Staff Writer The Framingham State Rams entered the game on an eight-game winning streak, only to have it snapped by Worcester State.

The point that really put Framingham behind the eight ball was at the end of the first quarter when it trailed 19-8. The Rams would fight hard to try and make up ground after the lopsided first quarter, but would fall short losing 62-55.

The Rams saw a huge game from standout center Alycia Rackliffe who dumped in 17 points while collecting 10 rebounds for anoth-

er double double. She dominated defensively by stealing the ball five times and coming up with six blocks.

Raegan Mulherin scored 17 points and came away with three assists and three steals. Monta Connolly scored six points and pulled down six rebounds while also stealing the ball twice. Tiphani Harris benefited the team off the bench with eight points, three rebounds, three assists, a steal and two blocks.

The Rams struggled shooting as they shot a percentage of 36.4 to Worcester State’s 37.

A huge reason for the loss was the difference in free throws between the two teams. Framingham shot 33.3 percent, making 4-of-12,

while Worcester State shot 76 percent, making 19-of-25.

The Rams will face Fitchburg State on Saturday to end the regular season.

FRAMINGHAM STATE WORCESTER STATE

55 62

CONNECT WITH LIAM GAMBON on Twitter using the handle @GatepostSports

NCAA Bubble Watch this weekend Texas Tech Red Raiders

Seton Hall Pirates

Wake Forest Demon Deacons

17-9 (5-8 IN BIG 12)

16-9 (6-7 IN BIG EAST)

15-11 (6-8 IN ACC)

BPI RANK - 37 SOS RANK - 60 RPI RANK - 84

BPI RANK - 57 SOS RANK - 32 RPI RANK - 44

BPI RANK - 35 SOS RANK - 7 RPI RANK - 35

THIS WEEKEND: AT #9 WEST VIRGINIA SATURDAY 2/18, 2:00 PM, ESPN2

THIS WEEKEND: VS. #2 VILLANOVA SATURDAY 2/18, 12:30, FOX

THIS WEEKEND: AT #12 DUKE SATURDAY 2/18, 1:00 PM, ACCN

CURRENTLY - NEXT FOUR OUT

CURRENTLY - LAST FOUR IN

CURRENTLY - FIRST FOUR OUT

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THE GATEPOST

18 | SPORTS

FEBRUARY 17, 2017

MBB

Rams drop to 4-7 in MASCAC with tough 12-point loss at Worcester State

By Matt Ferris Sports Editor Framingham traveled to Worcester State on Feb. 15 to take on the Lancers in a MASCAC game.

The Rams came out slow, missing their first five field goal attempts of the game, while the Lancers came out making two of their first three shots attempted.

Framingham started to heat up midway through the first half. The Rams went on an 8-2 run to pull ahead by eight points with around eight minutes left in the half.

Worcester State countered the run by the Rams with one of its own. The Lancers ended the half on a 13-3 run to take a two-point lead into halftime.

Tony Alexandre led the way for the Rams in the first half with six points and seven rebounds.

Paul Brooks went for five points and seven rebounds to lead the Lancers.

The second half started with both teams going back and forth. Both teams traded baskets for the first five minutes of the half.

The back-and-forth play continued for much of the second half.

With around eight minutes remaining in the game, the Lancers started to pull away.

Up 50-48, the Lancers went on a 12-3 run to put themselves up by 11 with two and half minutes remaining.

Framingham cut the deficit to eight, but this was the closest it would get.

The Lancers earned a 66-54 victory over the Rams.

Alexandre finished with 14 points and 12 rebounds for a double double for the Rams. Brooks finished with a double double for the Lancers, scoring 10 points and grabbing 13 rebounds.

Wesley Ogbevoen scored 12 points for Framingham and Tim Mangano finished with nine points and five rebounds.

The loss dropped the Rams to 7-17 on the season and 4-7 in the conference.

FRAMINGHAM STATE WORCESTER STATE

54 66 Amanda Martin/ THE GATEPOST

CONNECT WITH NATT FERRIS on Twitter using the handle @GatepostSports

Framingham State’s Tyri Hampton goes up for a contested layup against a Fitchburg State defender in a home game earlier this season.

Trivia

?

?

?

Name the top 10 rookie scorers in the NBA since the 1999-2000 season.

?

?

1. Los Angeles Clippers (2010-2011) 2. Denver Nuggets (2003-2004) 3. Cleveland Cavaliers (2003-2004) 4. Chicago Bulls (1999-2000) 5. Seattle Supersonics (2007-2008) 6. Portland Trail Blazers (2012-2013) 7. Memphis Grizzlies (2008-2009) 8. Minnesota Timberwolves (2015-2016) 9. Sacramento Kings (2009-2010) 10. Memphis Grizzlies (2001-2002)

check back next week for answers

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FEBRUARY 17, 2017

THE GATEPOST

SPORTS | 19

Tweet of the Week

TWITTER

Agree to Disagree Mike Matt NO

ADRIAN PETERSON WILL BE A VIKING NEXT SEASON...

YES

NO

RUSSELL WESTBROOK IS THE FRONT RUNNER FOR MVP...

YES

YES

KLAY THOMPSON WILL REPEAT AS 3-POINT SHOOTOUT CHAMP...

NO

NO

THE WEST WILL WIN THE NBA ALL-STAR GAME...

YES

YES

THE CONNECTICUT WOMEN WILL GO UNDEFEATED AND WIN THE TITLE...

YES

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20 | PHOTOS

THE GATEPOST

The Suit Jacket Posse Presents...

FEBRUARY 17, 2017

12 Confused Math Students

Amanda Martin/THE GATEPOST

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