THE GATEPOST Framingham State’s independent student newspaper
Volume 86 • Issue 13
FSUgatepost.com
January 26, 2018
FBI out of hate crime investigation González announced change during trustee’s meeting By Shanleigh Reardon News Editor The FBI will “not be able to assist any further” in the investigation of the six hate crimes that occurred last semester, according to Millie González, interim chief officer of diversity, inclusion and community engagement. She announced the update during a Board of Trustees’ meeting on Jan. 24. González said while she had been informed of the FBI’s decision she was not aware of the reason at the time of the meeting. She said she would be reaching out to the offices of Senator Elizabeth Warren and Congresswoman Katherine Clark to ask for their assistance in moving forward with the
See TRUSTEES page 3 Allie Gath / THE GATEPOST Students marched throughout campus on Jan. 16 in response to the six hate crimes that occurred last semester.
News MEG NOWAK pg. 2 HATE CRIME pg. 5
Opinions TRUSTING MCCONNELL’S WORDS? pg. 7 FAKE NEWS pg. 8
Arts & Features PAWGRESS REPORT pg. 12 BJÖRK REVIEW pg. 13
Students participate in protest on first day of semester By Cesareo Contreras Editor-in-Chief By Nadira Wicaksana Asst. News Editor On Jan. 16, approximately 100 members of the FSU community participated in a student-led march and rally in response to the six hate crimes targeting students of color last semester. Students, administrators and faculty gathered at the main steps of Dwight Hall around 12 p.m. before
Sports WOMEN’S BASKETBALL BEATS BRIDGEWATER pg. 15 FERR OR FOUL: BONDS, CLEMENS SNUBBED pg. 16
and tell the school that we’re fighting for equality here on this campus,” she said. Last week’s protest took place on the first day of the spring semester and was a day after the Martin Luther King Jr. national holiday. “Dr. King once said, ‘I’m not interested in power for power’s sake, but I’m interested in power that is moral. That is right. That is good,’” said Driggs, using her megaphone during the rally shortly following the march. “Let us use this power that we came with today to take an even bigger
See PROTEST page 4
FSU students talk to ISS astronauts By Zach Colten Asst. Arts & Features Editor
One Little Indian Records
marching throughout campus. Junior Iyla Driggs, the main speaker at the rally, addressed the growing crowd, stressing she wanted a nonviolent protest and calling for them to join in “peaceful action as we begin to march.” Driggs, who was also the lead organizer of the October protest, said the FSU community has not been given “any answers” that would lead to the arrest of the perpetrator(s) of the hate crimes. “So, we’re here to continue the fight that we left off back on Oct. 31
Floating into view onboard the International Space Station (ISS), Joe Acaba, educator, geologist and 14-year NASA astronaut, turned on the microphone on Friday, Jan. 19 at 12:15 p.m. He and fellow astronauts, Scott Tingle and Norishige Kanai, went live to answer Framingham State students’ questions about space and the ISS. The annual event celebrates the legacy of space travel in the context of the tragic Challenger incident over
three decades ago. The incident took the lives of all seven crew members, including FSU alumna and teacher Christa McAuliffe. This year, the event was hosted by FSU in the Forum and brought together over 100 students, teachers and community members to hear from the three astronauts, as well as from a panel of innovators and workers in the space-tech industry. Downlink with Space Station
International
The ISS Downlink was successful. Despite some minor technical diffi-
culties at the outset of the conversation, and a microphone mishap midway through, several students were able to ask the orbiting astronauts questions ranging from, “How do you stay in touch with family from space?” (A weekly 30-minute video call) to “What was your first thought at seeing the Earth?” (“Wow”) to “Do you sweat in space?” (“You bet!”) Sophomore Kathryn Chamberlain, one of the students whose question was selected to be read at the event, explained that she asked her question, “Do you sweat in space?”
See NASA DOWNLINK page 11
INSIDE: OP/ED 7 • ARTS & FEATURES 10 • SPORTS 15