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THE EQUINOX The student voice of Keene State College

Vol. 73, Issue #15

Thursday, February 6, 2020

Affordable childcare in Keene addressed

KSCEQUINOX.COM

Senate candidate comes to campus

HUNTER OBERST

equiNox staff

RACHEL VITELLO

News editor The Child Development Center (CDC) on Keene State’s campus provides daily childcare for both those on KSC’ s campus and those in the area. Faculty, staff and students with children can all utilize the CDC’s services. At the beginning of this semester, a panel was held at the CDC concerning affordable childcare available on campus.

One of the speakers at the panel was former New Hampshire state senator Molly Kelly. Kelly is also a KSC alumna and one of her own children attended the CDC during her time here as a student.

“The panel was made up of teachers at the CDC and the parents of the CDC. They all understood and know the importance of quality child development from zero to five years. It starts with providing for children,” Kelly said.

“Every child needs a shot in their life to be who they are. If we invest in our children while they’re young, it will benefit everyone when they’re older. The mothers talked about what a difference it made in their lives when they knew their children were deeply cared for and that it was affordable to them and they could go to work and actually focus on work.”

When it comes to effective policies at the state and national level to work toward making childcare more affordable, Kelly stressed the relevance of presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren’s plan for universal childcare. Warren’s plan focuses on the importance of valuing early childhood education and paying childcare workers decent salaries. “[Warren] put a plan together, the universal childcare program, that allows 12 million children to take advantage of high quality childcare. Child care workers would also receive a high wage that would be comparable to public school teachers. It’s good for our economy, our children and working parents,” Kelly said.

“We need to be funding and valuing our college students and the degrees they’re obtaining to go into the workforce as well. I don’t see the state doing anything direct to support early childhood education in a way like Warren’s plan addresses affordability and makes sure the workers are being paid adequately.”

According to Keene mayor George Hansel, there is specifically a shortage of people working childcare jobs in this area.

“It’s certainly an issue in the broader community and something that affects our workforce and can take people out of the workforce, specifically a spouse that may think it’s more affordable for them to stay home than to work because of the cost of childcare,” Hansel said. “Especially in

SOREN FRANZ / PHOTO EDITOR

Candidate for U.S. Senate and New Hampshire businessman Bryant ‘Corky’ Messner spoke to attendees in the Student Center.

Bryant ‘Corky’ Messner campaigns at KSC for US Senate ALEX HARVEY

equiNox staff Republican candidate for U.S. Senate Bryant “Corky” Messner came to Keene State College on Friday January 31. This event was catered by Chipotle, a company that Messner has strong ties to and represented as an attorney for years. Messner, who graduated from West Point, went on to have careers as an Army Ranger, an entrepreneur and an attorney. Messner is running against Democratic incumbent Jeanne Shaheen, whom Messner criticized throughout his speech. Messner asserted that he is a man of the people and Shaheen is a “career politician.”

“Twenty years ago a young man came into my office, and he had a dream. He had this restaurant and he asked me to help him grow this restaurant. And that was Chipotle Mexican Grill,” said Messner. Messner went on to provide legal services for Chipotle, including when the company was being investigated for an E. coli outbreak in 2015.

“I’m a job creator and a problem solver,” said Messner. He discussed the jobs created by his law firm, Messner Reeves LLP, and the businesses

funds.

“But Corky actually paid for our tickets and we actually got to sit at the table with him and had the opportunity to ask him some questions.

It was an awesome experience and a great gesture from a candidate that you don’t often see for somebody small like us,” said Iacobucci.

“I’m grateful that this country has afforded me the opportunity to dream and dream big, to live the American Dream. And that can be different for everyone,” said Messner. Messner said that one should pursue their passions and interests while they are young and to not be afraid of failure.

“Keene State is a really great school and I’ve hired a bunch of KSC graduates and they have all been exceptionally good workers,” said local resident Dave DeWitt.

Alex Harvey can be contacted at aharvey@kscequinox.com.

RACHEL VITELLO

News editor On Wednesday, January 29, an email was sent out to all students from the Vice President of Student Affairs concerning coronavirus. This virus was first identified in Wuhan, Hubei Province of China. According to the email, there are no confirmed cases of the virus in the state of New Hampshire at this time. However, two people are currently being monitored who exhibited mild symptoms per the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services.

The email stated: “Reported symptoms of illness have included primarily fever, cough and difficulty breathing. To reduce the risk of spreading virus infection, the CDC [Center for Disease Control] recommends taking precautionary measures similar to those for flu prevention. These include frequent handwashing with soap and water, avoiding sick people, staying home if you are sick, covering your nose and mouth when sneezing or

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All-campus meeting convenes KELLY REGAN

coughing and cleaning and disinfecting surfaces and objects that may be contaminated with germs.”

There is currently no vaccination to protect against this coronavirus strain. The email advised that those who have recently been to China or have been in contact with someone who has been in China and feel sick should contact their primary healthcare provider. Anyone else with questions or concerns can contact the Wellness Center on campus or visit either of these sites for more information: https://www.dhhs.nh.gov/dphs/ cdcs/2019-ncov.htm and https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/index.html.

According to the CDC, as of now, there are over 1,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus in China, including cases outside Wuhan City and an increasing number of other international locations, including the U.S. Investigations into the virus are continuing.

A4: Affordable childcare in the U.S. A8: Creative expression B1: Greek life recruitment week B8: An outstanding performance

Keene State College Assistant Director of Clinical Operations Dr. Mac Brown said farewell to fellow KSC colleagues at a small gathering celebrating his career on Wednesday, January 29.

The staff of the Keene State Wellness Center put together a goodbye reception for Brown where they all gathered in the Wellness Center in Elliot Hall, sharing stories and laughs and commemorating Brown for the work he has done at the college.

Brown came to Keene State as part of his pre-doctoral internship in 2015, and, after graduating from his doctoral program, he eventually became the assistant director of clinical operations. As assistant director, Brown helped oversee the delivery of services to students looking for counseling and also met with students to provide therapy.

Brown said that his interest in his field stemmed from his experience in facing adversity as a Division I rower in college.

“I was injured and experienced this loss of identity at the time and found out that there was a whole field for sports psychology. That led me to pursue general clinical psychology to start, and then specializing along the way for the sports psychology component.

Because my experience happened when I was in college, I wanted to work with the college population,” Brown said.

Executive Director of the Keene State Wellness Center Brian Quigley said that Brown has touched and transformed the lives of many students as a counselor and that he

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that the firm has helped over the years.

Messner is proud of the fact that he was raised in a blue-collar home and his platform is based around his idea that liberals are turning America socialist, which he believes is robbing future generations of their opportunity to pursue the American Dream the way that Messner did. According to the New Hampshire Union Leader, Messner intends to divert funds for Planned Parenthood to organizations that facilitate adoption.

President of the Keene State Republicans Johnny Iacobucci was in attendance at the event.

“I think he has a lot of attributes that would make him a good senator if he were to be elected.

I didn’t know of him until recently. I learned that there were three Republicans running and I decided to educate myself. I found that I agreed with him on a lot of things,” said Iacobucci.

Iacobucci and other members of the KSC Republicans met and ate dinner with Messner in December of 2019. A Cheshire County Republican dinner was held and the KSC Republicans learned that an anonymous benefactor had paid for their tickets. Iacobucci explained that the club would normally not have gone to this event because it is expensive and they have limited

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Dr. Mac Brown leaves KSC

Rachel Vitello can be contacted at rvitello@kscequinox.com.

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Keene State College held an allcampus meeting on Friday, January 31, from 1:30 to 3:00 p.m. in the Redfern Arts Center main theater.

KSC President Melinda Treadwell opened the all-campus meeting by thanking the audience for attending. Going forward, Keene State College hopes to hold an all-campus meeting each month.

“We, as a campus, need to find ways to watch, be engaged, be advised. This is a shared enterprise,” Treadwell said. “We need to be more transparent.”

Treadwell spoke about the awards and recognition that Keene State College has received. She also spoke on the importance of liberal arts colleges.

“If we think about the economy

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Thursday, February 6, 2020

CHILDCARE cont. from A1

this area, we have a shortage of people working in caregiver jobs.”

Something that can be done to combat this issue is more modern policies implemented in workplaces.

“There are a couple things that come up that we should be working on as a community. One would be to promote family-friendly policies in the workplace; having a babies-at-work policy, paid family leave policy, highlighting those sorts of programs at companies that work, and getting those out to different companies that can adopt those same policies and opening up the pipeline of the workforce and trying to connect potential caregivers to the available jobs,” Hansel said.

Hansel also said that KSC offering childcare on campus is a great way to attract talent to the college and is a benefit to those on campus who may need it.

KSC graduate Molly Puchtler utilized the CDC for her daughter while she was a student here.

“I loved [CDC]. While I was in class I could call and ask how she was doing, or they didn’t mind if I stopped by to eat lunch with her or just to see her.

It was kind of an open door policy,” Puchtler said.

Puchtler also said that the CDC was very accessible when it came to helping her figure out how to get her daughter into the daycare. However, the cost of daycare can still present a burden for many.

“The CDC did not have any type of plan for me, but they were really good if I was behind on my bill. They do have payment options. If you backpay they help you with setting up different payments,” Puchtler said. “Every daycare is expensive. It’s hard in general, especially as a college student. It would be nice if there was a discount option for students; even faculty. Or if you could somehow link the CDC cost with your tuition or financial aid.”

According to MarketWatch, the average cost of childcare in the U.S. was between $9,000 to $9,600 annually for one child’s daycare as of 2017.

Rachel Vitello can be contacted at rvitello@kscequinox.com.

BENAJIL RAI / MULTIMEDIA DIRECTOR

ALL-CAMPUS

STUDENT ASSEMBLY

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PUJA THAPA

AdministrAtive executive editor

BENAJIL RAI / MULTIMEDIA DIRECTOR

Keene State College President Melinda Treadwell speaking at the all campus meeting that was held last Friday.

of the future and the technology needs of the this month. ficulty with communication. future, the best investment for a student is a lib“We have more admitted students because “We will not be successful if we’re fighting eral arts education,” Treadwell said. “Losing our we have more applications submitted,” MB said. with each other as we’re working through this,” identity is what puts us at risk.”

“Where we’ve seen progress is in the admitted Treadwell said.

Treadwell spoke about the importance of students area.”

In order to combat the challenges facing the ensuring that Keene State is student-centered.

Keene State introduced several social market- campus, Treadwell spoke about introducing “Those students who are engaging and lean- ing and search campaigns to increase the online more advisory and engagement opportunities. ing in at Keene State love it here,” Treadwell said. and graduate program admissions.

The last 15 minutes of the all-campus meeting “This is why we’re here. We have to be sure that “Our LinkedIn campaign was the most suc- were opened for audience questions. what we do is serving those students.” cessful campaign,” Lufkin said.

One audience member asked about the conKeene State College endured budget cuts in Lufkin also explained the advances in tech- sequences of not meeting the deadline for the 2018. A three-phase plan was introduced on Feb- nology that Keene State is considering. The col- Sustainability and Vitality Plan. ruary 16, 2018, to adjust the campus to a $2.4 mil- lege hopes to make changes to the website in Treadwell explained that if the deadline isn’t lion budget deficit. Treadwell spoke about the order to create an internal website interface. met, the board will step in, but the college won’t three-phase plan and how the goal of this plan “The goal here is to have an understanding of go bankrupt. is to help the college adjust and sustain this new the level of sophistication that is needed to com“We are not at risk of closure,” Treadwell said. budget going forward. pete in today’s higher ed enrollment market,” “We will not blow up.”

“These are the ways we can go from where Treadwell said.

Another audience member asked about how we are today to the college of the future that we An academic program strength assessment one can share their feedback. need to be,” Treadwell said. is being introduced to identify future needs and The campus plans to create a strategic adviChief Enrollment Management Officer MB areas of improvement. In order to identify new sory group and utilize focus groups and surveys.

Lufkin spoke about the enrollment changes at revenue streams, Keene State College is look- The strategic advisory group is in the process of Keene State in light of the KSC Sustainability ing to further develop partnerships with nearby being created, but Treadwell stated that more and Vitality Plan. schools and local businesses. will be shared in the next few weeks.

“The work of my team has been focused on “We need to look more carefully at what we’re the Sustainability and Vitality Plan, specifically doing, why we’re doing it and how we’re doing Kelly Regan can be contacted at focused on admissions and retention,” Lufkin it,” Treadwell said. kregan@kscequinox.com. said.

Treadwell spoke about the challenges Keene Lufkin explained the improvements in State faces when working on the Sustainability enrollment seen at Keene State. Using graphs, and Vitality Plan. The main challenges facing MB presented enrollment data collected from the plan are difficulty with engagement and dif-

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Keene State College Bookstore Manager Drew Nichols presented in front of the student assembly to give an insight on the bookstore contract renewal process. Nichols said that the provider will be chosen at the end of the month.

The finalist providers are Barnes & Noble and Follett Corporation. The student leaders shared their views and opinions on the current bookstore services and expressed what they would like to see in the future.

Director of Campus Life and Student Government Advisor Jen Ferrell said that they are looking for a student-athlete representative and residential assistant representative for the dining student advisory committee.

Ferrell informed the student leaders about the student government panel presentation on Academic Excellence Conference (AEC). According to Ferrell, she will be prompting the student leaders with questions.

Ferrell talked about the preliminary cabinet meeting for the redesigning of the Student Center.

Student Body President Davis Bernstein encouraged the student leaders to get registered to vote for the primary elections.

He also announced that the Student Government elections will be on April 15.

According to Bernstein, the petition will be sent out on March 30 through April 8.

The assembly met on Tuesday, February 4, at 6:30 p.m.

Puja Thapa can be contacted at pthapa@kscequinox.com

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Thursday, February 6, 2020

Wellness Center warns of the flu

Campus Safety Press Log

TEDDY TAUSCHER

Equinox Staff The Keene State Wellness Center has reported that multiple students have tested positive for the flu. According to Wellness Center nurse Deborah Starratt, there has recently been an uptick in students coming in with flu-like symptoms.

However, not all these students will have the flu. Starratt said one way to differentiate between a common cold and the flu is that flu symptoms come on quicker while a cold will be more relaxed.

“Usually with a cold virus your symptoms are gradual. You might have a sore throat one day, a stuffy nose the next day, then you might have a cough.

With the flu, it’s usually very sudden and onset. You might be feeling fine during the day and then that evening you might really feel like you got hit by a truck,” Starratt said.

Infectious disease physician Aalok Khole said the flu will also cause what he calls systemic symptoms, which include muscle aches, chills and general fatigue. “Fevers are sometimes present and sometimes not,” said Khole.

Starratt said the close and confined nature of colleges like Keene State make it a perfect breeding ground for the flu. Additionally, students coming back from break from across the country means that students can be bringing in the flu and different viruses from different locations.

“The flu shot is the best protection against the flu,” Starratt said. However, there are other precautions you can take. Starratt said good hygiene and getting eight hours of sleep each night can reduce your chances of getting the flu.

If you believe that you have the flu, Starratt recommends rest and staying hydrated. Additionally, the dining hall offers sick delivery meals.

The Wellness Center also recommends limiting contact with other people. If there is someone who is diagnosed with the flu who lives in your vicinity then more than likely you also have the flu too, said Tiffany athews, the coordinator of wellness and education at Keene State College..

According to Starratt, it’s not always best to come into the clinic if you feel like you may have the flu.

“We don’t encourage everybody to come over because they all would be sitting out in the waiting room and spreading it around and we might have students who don’t have something contagious and then they’re getting e posed,” Starratt said.

Khole said you should take special care around the young and the old or those who are immunocompromised, as they will be put at risk the most if they get the flu.

The Center for Disease Control recommends that if you are sick with flu-like symptoms you should remain at home for at least hours after the symptoms are gone. athews said while the flu shot might not always prevent the flu, it can still reduce the severity, duration and chance of mortality. According to the American College Health Association, percent of college students reported being vaccinated for the flu in .

The rise in flu cases right now is nothing out of the ordinary. “It’s pretty consistent that we would e pect a rise in the illness rates right now and it sort of tapers down as the months go by,” said Khole.

Students can schedule a flu shot by either going online through the Wellness Center patient portal or by calling the Wellness Center at - .

KIRSTEN SOMERO / EQUINOX STAFF

Teddy Tauscher can be contacted at ttauscher@kscequinox.com.

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greatly impacted the Wellness Center’s structure.

“Mac has done a remarkable job managing operations of counseling services. We could not have operated as successfully without him. He is extremely caring, unbelievably dedicated and thoughtful,” Quigley said.

Training Director of the Wellness Center Dr. Joe Yazvac said that Brown makes things run very smoothly, calling him one of the most organized and driven people he has ever met. Yazvac added that Brown was able to become a leader among the Wellness Center’s staff in a short amount of time, speaking highly of his character.

“It is rare for someone this early in their career to assume the role that Mac did, and he did a phenomenal job with it, keeping everyone else on task and asserting himself in a very respectful way,” Yazvac said.

Assistant Director for Emotional Health Programming Forrest Seymour added that despite being older than Brown, Brown has been a mentor to him in some ways.

Brown, upon reflecting on his career, thought that he had much to be grateful for from his time working at Keene State.

“I feel as though my next step wouldn’t be possible without my time working here. Keene State is such a unique place, and I don’t find that there are many places that truly care in the way that they do here,” Brown said.

Brown is headed to the University of Colorado Boulder. There, he will work in the athletic department, offering counseling services to studentathletes as well as developing a training service for future sports psychologists.

Hunter Oberst can be contacted at hoberst@kscequinox.com.

CLAIRE BOUGHTON / SPORTS EDITOR

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OPINIONS

Opinions / A4 Thursday, February 6, 2020

EDITORIAL

KSCEQUINOX.COM

Affordable childcare in the US THE FINANCIAL IMPACT OF CHILD CARE

31 %

put themselves further into debt

37%

40%

stopped saving money

stopped paying off debt

44% made major budget cuts

INFO FROM CARE.COM -GRIFFIN ELL/ ART DIRECTOR

The Equinox states its opinion on the cost of childcare Childcare can be a very expensive necessity for many parents and guardians across the country. Recently, the issue of affordable childcare on Keene State’s campus was discussed at a panel at the Child Development Center (CDC). The CDC provides care for children of KSC employees and students as well as children from the broader community.

According to a report from Child Care Aware of America, the average annual cost of childcare in the nation is about $9,000 to $9,600. This daily childcare, despite the cost, is not an option for many families with parents who work full-time jobs and don’t have other family to look after their children.

The Equinox believes that childcare is much more

THE EQUINOX

expensive than it should be. While no one wants to pay higher taxes, we believe that some of the taxes we pay should go toward helping people pay for childcare.

However, we also believe that some of the responsibility to pay for childcare should fall on the parents.

It seems like sometimes parents don’t always take into account how expensive childcare is before they have children. Additionally, childcare is just the beginning of expenses. The cost will only continue to go up as parents have to pay for more food, more expensive clothing, college and all other expenses in between as the child ages.

A concerning fact about the cost for childcare is that the people who work at these organizations are some

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

Puja Thapa Administrative Executive Editor Erin McNemar Managing Executive Editor

of the lowest paid workers in our country. This leaves many people questioning where the large costs to send children to these facilities go to, considering the fact that many of these facilities aren’t particularly impressive either.

Another aspect to this is the guilt that many parents face to get their children out into the world meeting other children as soon as possible. If the parents don’t do this before kindergarten, they are often seen as depriving their child of the chance to develop socially from a young age. This is also concerning because it may cause parents to try to do these types of programs when they cannot actually afford the costs.

Our nation’s necessity for childcare comes down

EQUINOX NEWSROOM

EDITORIAL POLICY

Faculty Advisor

The Equinox is a designated public forum. Student editors have full editorial control over the entire content of the paper.

All articles and opinion pieces are assigned, written and edited by students without censor by administrators, faculty or staff.

The Equinox is published Thursdays during the academic year with dates immediately preceding and following holidays omitted. The advertising deadline is 5 p.m. on the Friday prior to publication. The Equinox reserves the right to refuse advertising for any reason. Advertising is not accepted until it appears in the paper.

Letters to the editor must be written exclusively to The Equinox and are due by noon on the Friday prior to publishing.

All letters must include name and phone number for verification. The Equinox reserves the right to edit for style and length, and refuse any letters to the editor. For clarification and additional information on any above policies call 3582414. The Equinox business office is open Monday-Friday from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

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

News Editor Rachel Vitello

Opinions Editor Cristian Valentin

Multimedia Director Benajil Rai

Sports Editor

Claire Boughton

Art Director Griffin Ell

Business Manager Jack Hanson

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Student Life Editor Connor Crawford

Social Media Director Kiana Wright

Equinox Staff: Slesha Tuladhar, Alex Harvey, Matthew White, Simon Clarke, Caroline Ware, Kirsten Somero, Andrew Chase, Tom Benoit, Kathryn Spadafora, Lydia Mardin, Austin Smith, Jeremy Landers, Alex Dube, Isabella Echavarria, Dylan O’Connell, Jillian River, Matt Holderman,

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Lexi Palmer Meeghan Somerset

Senior Reporters Kelly Regan

to the cultural expectations of women. In America, women will have children and then are expected to almost immediately go back to work. In other countries, women are able to take years off of work to raise their children. It becomes a vicious cycle of parents having to work to pay bills, therefore not being able to watch their children, which leads to parents having to work to pay for expensive childcare costs.

The Equinox thinks that if the option is there then parents should not be afraid to ask relatives and family members for help babysitting. This is certainly not an option for everybody, however, so we feel there needs to be a better way to provide and pay for childcare than the current system we have today.

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Thursday, February 6, 2020

STAFF COMMENTARY

STAFF COMMENTARY

Duty to vote in the primary Democratic degradation between past competitors LYDIA MARDIN

Equinox Staff

I VOTED GRIFFIN ELL / ART DIRECTOR

The importance of Keene students voicing their opinions CRISTIAN VALENTIN

opinionS Editor The U.S. presidential primaries are a series of contests between presidential candidates to determine who will represent each party in the presidential election in November. These primaries take place from February to June in all 50 states. The New Hampshire primary will take place Tuesday, February 11.

As a student, I strongly believe that if you are able to vote, then you should make the time to have your say in the election. I believe this because I have noticed that many people my age are very unhappy with the state of our country and want change. To that I respond with: what better way to bring about change than voting on who the next face of our country could be.

Also, for many people who are 18, 19, or 20 years old, this will be the first chance to take part in our democracy. I am firmly of the state of mind that you cannot complain about the way things are if you did not vote because you did not even try to make things change.

One quote that I particularly like is, “If it is to be, it is up to me,” which is basically saying that you need to take charge of the things you want and try your hardest to make those things happen. Some people also believe that their vote doesn’t matter, but in reality so many people feeling that way is harmful and gets in the way of truly influencing an election.

It is especially important to vote in New Hampshire due to it being a swing state, which means that the state can realistically be won over by a Democrat or Republican. This holds particular importance to candidates because they believe the swing states to be the most important, hence why we have seen so many candidates come to Keene to say what they’re about.

Also, when candidates win here it is usually seen as them being highly in favor among people declared as independent.

It also says a lot about how the candidate could do in the general election.

Due to this, New Hampshire makes it easier to vote by not having a closed primary. This means that past party registration has no effect on you being able to vote, which allows

anybody who is already undeclared or recently became an undeclared voter to vote in either party’s primary.

However, New Hampshire is not a fully open primary, which means that people already registered with a party on voting day cannot vote in the other primary.

There will be free transportation to polling locations for all KSC students. The Democratic primary will be between Joe Biden, Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Michael Bloomberg, Pete Buttigieg, Andrew Yang, Amy Klobuchar, Tom Steyer and Tulsi Gabbard.

The Republican primary will be between Donald Trump, Bill Weld, Joe Walsh and Rocky De La Fuente. No matter what candidate or party you vote for, I strongly encourage as many people to do so as possible.

DISCLAIMER: This article is the sole opinion of Cristian Valentin Cristian Valentin can be contacted at cvalentin@kscequinox.com

STAFF COMMENTARY

Why KSC should add time to the drop period CRISTIAN VALENTIN

opinionS Editor This past week, I thought about dropping a class. It was nothing personal against the teacher, or anybody in it, but I just did not think I would like it very much. After some thinking, I decided to stay in it; but something that bothered me was that I later learned the add/drop period ended the day before I would’ve been dropping the class.

The first problem I have with this is the lack of communication about this period ending on the school’s part. It also wasn’t just me; I asked some of my friends and none of them knew it ended either. We all expected it to be at least two weeks long.

This lack of communication is frustrating because this is something that matters, and withdrawing from a course, as opposed to just

dropping it, can seriously impact things such as financial aid and scholarships.

Another problem I have with this is that the class I considered dropping was on Mondays and Wednesdays. As we are all aware, KSC students got the first Monday after returning from break off and didn’t have to go to any classes.

We are also aware that the first day of classes for many courses is usually shortened, with the teacher only going over the syllabus and maybe doing a ‘name game.’ This leaves just one actual class during the add/drop period to really get a feel for what the course will be like, which I do not believe is enough experience.

I don’t believe one class is enough because most professors usually ease you into the material, making you think the class may be easier to manage than it actually is. This

easing into the material may also make you think the class is your style, and then a week later have you realize that it is not something you find to be interesting. By the time you find this out it ends up being too late and you may end up having to take a class you don’t like.

In my opinion, a student being in a class they don’t like or find interesting is never a good thing. For me personally, whenever I am in a class I do not like, I am more inclined to skip classes, not do the homework and end up trailing off in thought during the class itself.

According to an article from the Daily Texan, a study was done by UT College of Education Professor Erika Patall finding that students who reported they were interested tend to work harder, pay more attention and think more about how to remember the material.

I have come up with two solutions to

solve this problem. The first solution I came up with is extending the add/drop period to two, maybe three, weeks, which would allow students to fully know what to expect from a class they are taking.

Another solution I came up with is allowing students to see some of the feedback surveys that previous students did for the professors, which lets them know how their peers felt about the class and professor. These are changes that I think could truly work and I hope the school will consider them.

DISCLAIMER: This article is the sole opinion of Cristian Valentin Cristian Valentin can be contacted at cvalentin@kscequinox.com

Hillary Clinton is no stranger to backlash and it seems as if once again she has found herself in the middle of controversy.

A recent four-part documentary series about Clinton, titled “Hillary,” focuses on her life since the Lewinsky Scandal. Clinton also addresses elections and politics in the series. Along with this, she mentions the campaign efforts in 2016 when she beat out Bernie Sanders to be the nominee for the Democratic Party.

In one of the episodes where she mentions the elections and Bernie Sanders, she states that “nobody likes him” and that he obtains a “toxic culture” among his supporters. In response, the Vermont senator and candidate for the Democratic nominee for president said, “this is not the kind of rhetoric we need right now,” implying that there is simply no need to say something to that accord in the midst of other more important things to focus on such as impeachment, the primaries and other social and political issues.

Recently, former secretary Clinton also stated that she would be hesitant to support Bernie if he was to clinch the nomination from other Democrats. However, she quickly back-pedaled on Twitter, tweeting out, “the number one priority for our country and world is retiring Trump, and, as I always have, I will do whatever I can to support our nominee.”

Sanders’ campaign was asked if he was going to address Clinton’s statements, to which they had stated that in order to run a successful election they needed to focus on the matter at hand, which would be the primaries and the impeachment.

Personally, I think politics is a dirty game and I feel like politicians cannot expect to hear things like this and get hurt over it; in some ways many higher up officials are often times more popular than athletes, actors or singers. I also think, however, that Clinton cannot get over the fact that she is not relevant anymore and no one really cares what she has to say.

Her time as a career politician is over and she cannot let it go and feels the need to cause these scenes because she needs people to pay attention to her.

Considering the environment around Keene State, and being so close to Vermont, a lot of people like Sanders as a politician. To each their own, but I cannot say that I do. According to CNN, he is second in the pre-primary poles only to Joe Biden, which means that he is pretty well-liked. While I am a conservative and I do not hide it, I am going to put all politics aside for this next statement.

Examining his platform as a young person, I think Sanders is old and out of touch with what life is like for younger people today. Many people assume that younger people have an idealized version of society in their heads, but I think that the same can be said about older generations and I believe they do not understand what our generation must endure.

In addition to that, I think that Hillary has this same complex; older generations understand what they understand and refuse to learn what they do not.

Essentially, I think I can speak for both major parties by saying that we need more younger officials in places of power because they will truly understand younger generations better than older generations can pretend that they do. This ties back to what Clinton said because she is

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Thursday, February 6, 2020

Bringing the beat

SAM REINKE / EQUINOX STAFF

On Wednesday, January 29, resident artist Christopher Swist performed in a percussive fusion recital. Students, staff and faculty attended the event to hear Swist.

Christopher Swist performs his percussive fusion recital ISABELLA ECHAVARRIA

Equinox Staff On Wednesday, January 29, the Alumni Recital Hall at the Redfern Arts Center was filled with students, faulty and community members to see resident artist Christopher Swist’s percussive fusion recital. With 17 years at Keene State College under his belt, Swist debuted “fused possibilities and colors” to showcase the evolution of percussion music as the styles have changed over the years.

With a performance as unique as this, Swist stressed the importance of planning and programming in order to not only create continuity but move the audience as well. “I think programming is the first most important thing, how you go back and forth between

how you select the contour of the program.

Sometimes there’s a very acoustic piece that has no electronics and different instruments and that leads right into a completely contrasting piece, so programming and the order of the program is something that recitalists should think about quite a bit and how it impacts the audience,” Swist explained.

As for how long a performance like this takes to prepare, Swist stated that “some pieces are brand new and other pieces you’ve had in your repertoire for years.” The oldest piece in his set was “11 Solos for the Drum Set” from 1978, while the two newest pieces were from 2019.

One of the new additions to his set, “Dave,” was Swist’s favorite piece to perform due to the sentimental meaning behind it. The

piece was dedicated to Dave Samuels, one of Swift’s mentors and teachers who died last year.

As for the audience members, first-year Joshua Fellows expressed his appreciation for “Looking for Stars,” a new piece by Ted Mann that made its debut Wednesday night. Fellows said that the piece made him feel “tranquil and somehow in another world.”

Another first-year Holly Hujsak stated that she “liked the artisticness and creativity of some of the pieces” and that the performance was overall “very enjoyable to watch.”

The performance not only had a diverse array of musical instruments but also showcased a unique piece, composed by Leah Asher and performed by Amy Graphic, which only used paper and wood.

Overall, Swist’s recital was an amazing experience and he was very happy with the way it came together. “It’s nice to have my friends and fellow faculty here, that’s the best part of this. A lot of it is my show, obviously, but when you can invite your friends on stage they bring a lot of different ideas,” Swist said.

He also joked about his former students sharing the stage with him. “George Robinson was actually my student here at Keene State years ago and now he’s a faculty member. So other than feeling old, it’s nice to see them join me on stage for something like this,” Swist said.

Isabella Echavarria can be contacted iechavarria@kscequinox.com

Breaking away from the pack ALEX DUBE

Equinox Staff In the modern world of music, artists frequently branch out from the musical act that made them big to pursue their individual ideas and dreams.

An example of this is early 2000s pop-punk powerhouse Paramore. Founded in 2004, the band released many albums that topped popular music charts year after year. In May of 2019, lead vocalist of Paramore Hayley Williams released her first single apart from her world-famous band titled “Simmer,” switching from her pop-punk sound to a more mature, ambient and softer sound.

Keene State junior Colin Hobbs said that artists who manage being in multiple projects while also maintaining quality are the ones to watch for and remember.

“As long as the music they are making is still good, I’m fine with it. Misha Mansoor, one of the guitarists for the progressive-metal band Periphery, and Periphery’s lead writer have multiple side projects, and yet the band still makes very good music,” said Hobbs.

Artists leaving big groups to pursue their own sound has not just been a trend of this generation, however; one of the biggest and most well-known groups to branch apart so each musician could pursue their own personal style is The Beatles.

Samuel Foley, a sophomore at Keene State, said that while he loves the music that The Beatles put out together, he also has a passion for the music that came after the disbanding of the group.

“I have songs from The Beatles as a group, and a few songs from their individual works. I also have a few solo songs from Paul Simon, as well as songs from his time in Simon & Garfunkel,” said Foley.

The hip-hop community is another place where artists are known to break from their groups and create their own solo work. One of the most well-known examples is the group N.W.A., and all of the members who made solo music also topped popular music charts throughout the past three decades. Some of those popular solo acts include Easy-E, Ice

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REVIEW

'The Gentlemen' DYLAN O’CONNELL

Equinox Staff Director Guy Ritchie returns to his filmmaking roots with his latest British crime film “The Gentlemen” (2019), which is reminiscent of his early films “Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels” (1998) and “Snatch” (2000).

I have enjoyed some of his work over the years such as the two Robert Downey Jr. “Sherlock Holmes” films and “The Man from U.N.C.L.E.” (2015), but the prior mentioned early ensemble films are certainly some of his best. “The Gentlemen” has its own stellar ensemble including Matthew McConaughey, Charlie Hunnam, Hugh Grant and Colin Farrell, who deliver moments of action and comedy in equal measure.

“The Gentlemen” is a uniquely structured film in that the events of the plot are being retraced for the audience by investigative journalist Fletcher (Grant) and Raymond (Hunnam) over the course of an evening conversation. This retrospective look at events allows the story to get muddled, forcing Fletcher and Raymond to correct the narrative. Some scenes are shown to be pure imagination while others are shown from different characters’ perspectives. The core narrative of Fletcher and Raymond’s conversation and the film itself is the attempted departure of marijuana crime lord Mickey Pearson (McConaughey) from the criminal underworld. However, prospective usurpers deduce this as a chance to take Pearson’s empire for themselves and chaos ensues.

Many other crime films have plots where characters attempt to leave the business, but few make that character one of the most powerful men in the underworld.

As previously mentioned, the plot is ever-evolving as new details come to light over the course of the conversation, allowing for unexpected twists. Admittedly, the beginning of the film is slow, and I bordered on boredom before gradually getting hooked by the plot. As Pearson’s plan to retire encounters complications, “The Gentlemen” becomes interesting. The dialogue in particular is a component that the audience has to adjust to, especially if they are not familiar with British slang or able to keep up with accented speech. The dialogue is mostly humorous and witty, but there are certain issues with it. Some reviewers have accused “The Gentlemen” of being offensive to a variety of people by stereotyping characters. For example, Fletcher makes several homosexual innuendoes to Raymond and imitates a Chinese accent that some people find to be in poor taste. A specific sexist slur is also used extensively throughout the film, and those accustomed to American disdain for the word will have had their mentality forcibly adjusted by the credits.

“The Gentlemen” is an exciting and often funny British crime film that relies more on style than substance. There is no meaningful theme expressed; Ritchie seems content just telling a story about immaculately dressed criminals plotting to undermine one another. Its disinterest in polite speech may offend some audiences, but others will find an engrossing plot that keeps one guessing at developments and thoroughly entertains.

3 out of 4 stars.

GRIFFIN ELL / ART DIRECTOR

Cube, Dr. Dre and MC Ren. Keene State sophomore Robert Tarantelli said that his favorite example of a hip-hop group turned-solo project is the group Odd Future, a rap group known for giving each of the members a shot at creating unique, individual music.

“Most of Odd Future is a good example of this. I love the solo music from Tyler, The Creator, Frank Ocean and Earl Sweatshirt, and they were all in the same group. As long as the projects aren't rushed, I'm fine with as many being worked on at a time as they want to,” said Tarantelli.

Dylan O’Connell can be contacted at doconnell@kscequinox.com

For anyone interested in discovering new music based on what they currently listen to, the easiest thing to do is simply Google search your favorite artists to see if they have produced any solo work and from there you may be introduced to a new genre of music you may have never known you would love.

Alex Dube can be contacted adube@kscequinox.com

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ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT / A7

Thursday, February 6, 2020

Beginning a new semester

HENRY HOBSON / EQUINOX STAFF

On Thursday, January 30, The Thorne-Sagendorph Art Gallery opened its doors for the first time this semester. The opening featured a gallery event showcasing work from high school students and faculty.

The Thorne Art Gallery hosts it's spring opening reception KIANA WRIGHT

Social Media director Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “Every artist was first an amateur.” And for that, he might as well have been at the Keene State College Thorne-Sagendorph Art Gallery last Thursday night. The KSC Art Faculty Biennial Exhibition colliding with the Regional High School Art Exhibition was a presentation including the art of local high schoolers to scholared professors. It was represented with paintings, drawings, photographs, ceramics and more. This event brought together all artistic levels and ideas in one building at KSC. Art professor Paul McMullan, who has been teaching at KSC for about 13 years, said that the KSC Art Faculty Biennial Exhibition happens every two years, given the name, but this year they decided to invite Monadnock, ConVal, Nashua South and Keene High School.

Grade 11 Nashua South High School

student Kailee Beaudry was one of the four students chosen from her school to present her work at the gallery. She said the piece that she brought to the exhibit was for an AP art class she is currently taking. She went on to add that for her sustained-investigationlike project she had to use something that related to her. “I did my IBS, which is Irritable Bowel Syndrome. It’s what I suffer with,” said Beaudry. Her painting was a young girl tied up by her insides. “This one is about just my organs controlling my life,” she explained. Beaudry wasn’t the only artist in the room with very personal ties to her work.

One of the 13 KSC faculty members who added her work to the gallery just started working here in the fall. She left New York City behind and still finds herself getting used to New Hampshire season by season. Assistant Professor of painting and drawing Emily Noelle Lambert brought two large paintings with the focus around a stone structure. “These are a few of my

newest large-scale paintings that I've made since I’ve moved here. I’m inspired by landscape and, having lived in NYC for 20 years, moving to NH is such a different sort of landscape to get used to and I'm seeing how that infiltrates my work.” She said that the paintings are how she responds to the light, woods and colors that pass her by in New Hampshire. Lambert worked with her husband on the centerpiece of a carved phoenix and statue that consists of slate, marble and a stone that was formerly part of an old school in the Bronx.

McMullan also presented his work in the gallery. Displayed were photographs his father took between 1965 to 1978. McMullan explained a time when his father was suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. “As he got older he would mix the dates up and spill coffee on them,” McMullan said. Out of thousands of slides McMullan received when his father passed away, he displayed only a few on the walls. He added on stencils and created ceramics that captured his

emotional states at the time. He mentioned that it’s important for art professionals to keep at their separate artwork, even though some can agree it may not always be easy.

Mary Hamilton, a teacher from Keene High School who teaches ceramics, drawing and painting for grades nine through 12, said, “As teachers and educators we don’t often have the time to practice our own work. For me, personally, it gave me a benchmark to set some time aside to do my own.”

“Studio time takes a different kind of mindset, so finding space and time to get in there to work is a little challenging at first,” said Lambert.

But in return, it’s essential for the students to see. “Students know if you don’t make art,” explained McMullan. He went on to talk about the benefits of having this event. “It’s a real chance for our students to see what we do. It’s like setting an example; they see a show like this, they see how to set things up professionally.”

Beaudry said, “I’ve never really seen my art in a gallery before. I’ve seen it up in school, but it’s a totally different environment.”

Hamilton and McMullan were excited about the turnout of students, faculty and community members who attended the exhibit. “There was probably a couple hundred people here,” said McMullan.

Although events like these are represented and presented by art students and professors, McMullan said that the gallery is there for everyone. “We just want to welcome the community and students and we want [them] to know that it’s open to more than just art students.”

New hours for the gallery are posted on the Keene State College Thorne-Sagendorph Art Gallery Facebook page. Art from the event will be up until March 29.

Kiana Wright can contracted at kwright@kscequinox.com

Making award show history ERIN MCNEMAR

Managing executive editor On Sunday, January 26, the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards were hosted by Alicia Keys. The show opened with Lizzo performing her songs “Cuz I Love You” and “Truth Hurts.” She later went on to win three Grammys for Best Pop Solo Performance, Best Traditional R&B Performance and Best Urban Contemporary Album.

However, the night was dominated by 18-year-old Billie Eilish and her older brother Finneas O’Connell. Eilish started to gain attention in 2016 when she uploaded the song “Ocean Eyes” to SoundCloud. On March 29, 2019, Eilish, in collaboration with O’Connell, released her first studio album “When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?” The album was highly anticipated after the release of her critically acclaimed EP “Don’t Smile at Me” in 2017.

On Sunday, Eilish made history by becoming the youngest artist and the first female to sweep the four main Grammy categories in the same year: Album of the Year, Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Best New Artist. Eilish also took home Best Pop Vocal Album.

As for her brother, O’Connell also won Grammys for Best Engineered Album (Non-classical) and Producer of the Year (Non-classical).

The brother-sister team has said they worked in complete collaboration to create the awardwinning album, which they began writing in 2016.

The whole album was recorded at their home in Highland Park, California in O’Connell’s room.

Lyricially, the album features concepts of drug addiction, heartbreak, climate change, mental health and suicide. According to Eilish, the album was largely inspired by lucid dreaming and night

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terrors.

As well as making history, Eilish turned a few more heads due to her reaction to winning Album of the Year. Before the awards were announced, Eilish could be seen mouthing “please don’t be me.” Once she was announced as the winner, Eilish screamed out “No!” During her acceptance speech, Eilish said she thought Ariana Grande deserved the award for her album “Thank U, Next.” O’Connell jumped in and said, “We didn’t write a speech for this because we didn’t make this album to win a Grammy. We didn’t think it would win anything ever. We wrote an album about depression and suicidal thoughts and climate change and being ‘the bad guy’- whatever that means. We stand up here confused and grate-

ful.”

GRIFFIN ELL / ART DIRECTOR In addition to winning seven Grammys collectively, Eilish and O’Connell also performed the song “When the Party’s Over” from “When We all Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?” Other notable performances came from The Jonas Brothers, Camila Cabello, Lizzo, Ariana Grande and Demi Lovato. Many of the performances were dedicated to former basketball player Kobe Bryant who passed away in a helicopter crash earlier that day.

Erin McNemar can be contacted at emcnemar@kscequinox.com

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ARTS ENTERTAINMENT

A&E / A8

Thursday, February 6, 2020

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Creative expression

ERIN MCNEMAR / MANAGING EXECUTIVE EDITOR

Choreographers explain how they find inspiration JILLIAN RIVERS

Equinox Staff What inspires a dancer? Here at Keene State, dance majors take inspiration from just about anything that strongly impacts them. Dance majors come up with their own choreography for shows and performances every semester. The creative process of coming up with a dance routine is different from dancer to dancer.

Samantha Witham, a junior and dance major at Keene State, said her inspiration is always changing.

Witham has been involved in dance since she was two years old and has done various dance styles, such as jazz, contemporary and ballet. She has also competed in dance competitions and has done modern shows as

well. She said her inspiration is always changing, and she even uses apps like Pinterest for new ideas. “I think you can pull inspiration from pretty much anything. I think the inspiration also changes as you go through life,” Witham said. “I used to dance because my parents put me through classes, but then I learned to love it.”

Witham also mentioned how much choreography in and of itself speaks to her and how she uses it to express herself in a unique way.

Grace Lonergan is also a junior dance major and the things that give her inspiration are the people in her life as well as things going on in other classes. Lonergan is involved with the modern dance program, in which students can take jazz or ballet as well, but she said modern dance is what she mainly focuses on. “This

semester, I’m doing a project focused on international relations and politics, so that’s what I’m looking at right now for inspiration,” she said.

Lonergan added that her professors and other dance teachers she has had in the past have greatly influenced her art.

Lindsay Gibbons is a junior dance major as well.

She has been dancing since she was four years old. Gibbons did jazz growing up, however, she has focused more on modern dance since coming to college. Gibbons said her inspirations come from everywhere and mentioned some of the work she has done in the past. “I made a piece last semester that was inspired by a true crime case,” she said. “I’ve had dances inspired by fairy tales, music... it really depends on what the choreogra-

pher wants.” Gibbons also mentions how dancers can gain inspiration through personal experience by finding a way to make the feeling accessible to everybody.

One thing all three dance majors had in common was that they all gained inspiration from different classes at one point or another. They all agreed that dance allows them to challenge themselves by expressing themselves in a way that will allow the audience to see the emotion and work put into the performance.

Jillian Rivers can be contacted at jrivers@kscequinox.com

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STUDENT LIFE

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Student Life, B1

Thursday, February 6, 2020

Greek life recruitment week

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Oldest and largest mentoring program kicks off its semester KIANA JOLER

Equinox Staff

PUJA THAPA / ADMINISTRATIVE EXECUTIVE EDITOR

Last week, Greek organizations took over campus with there biannual recruitment weeks. During the week, members of the Keene State community have the chance to go and check out the various Greek Life organizations that Keene State has to offer.

Recruitment for the Greek community is in full swing TOM BENOIT

Equinox Staff “The whole idea of recruitment is for people who are thinking about joining a Greek Letter organization to just come out and meet us,” sophomore Chris Stimson, an Alpha Sigma Phi member, said regarding the fraternity recruitment process.

“Every fraternity puts on various events during the recruitment season; from bowling to video games and pizza, there’s usually a few different events every week for each organization,” Stimson said.

This week, brightly-colored signs with Greek letters appeared on Appian Way. This is due to the beginning of the Greek Life recruitment process, which is held the first few weeks of each semester.

During this process, many potential new members attempt to get into the Greek Letter organization of their choice. Greek Letter organizations will give potential new members a bid to join their organization.

“It’s a really good way for Potential New Members to see the philanthropies that we are involved in and what we’re

about,” said junior Emily Gosselin, a member of Delta Phi Epsilon.

“There’s an information night and some bonding to just show off how we interact. We want Potential New Members to feel at home,” said Gosselin. “[Potential New Members should] go to every sorority and see where they feel comfortable. It’s a very straightforward process.”

Charlotte Planeta, a sophomore Potential New Member, said of the process, “It’s a good time for Greek Letter organizations to show off which philanthropies they are involved in. It also shows students who aren’t in Greek Life what the Greek Letter organizations do for the community.”

In regards to actually joining a Greek Letter organization, Stimson said, “There’s a bunch of different reasons one might want to join a fraternity. One of the big things our organizations do is community service; I know that was big for me when I first considered joining.”

Other than that, Stimson said, “Another big reason is finding purpose in something bigger than one’s self. One of the most important parts of being in a fraternity is the brotherhood and community connection that comes with it.”

“It’s a really good time. You get a taste of each sorority so you just don’t see one of them. It’s a good time to gauge where you fit in and get to meet new people,” said Planeta.

“If anyone is thinking about joining Greek Life, feel free to come out to the events! Don’t hesitate to ask us about the philanthropy work we all do and all the different leadership conferences and events we go to,” Stimson said.

“It’s a good opportunity for Potential New Members to see what we’re about and to see what philanthropy we do and what we’re involved in,” said Gosselin.

“There’s a recruitment period at the beginning of each semester, too, so if someone wants to join a Greek Letter organization but couldn’t make it out this semester, come on out next time around and meet all the wonderful people that make up our Greek community,” said Stimson.

Tom Benoit can be reached at tbenoit@kscequinox.com

The Keene State College Big Brothers Big Sisters Club held its first meeting of the semester to reconnect and discuss plans for the rest of the year.

On January 29, the club met to make stress balls and welcome new faces for its Bring-a-Friend night.

Members of the executive board were present as well as Karen Brook, the program coordinator at the Keene office for Big Brothers Big Sisters of New Hampshire.

The club meets for half an hour every Wednesday at 7 p.m. to plan the three events it will throw during the semester. The club works with Brook to put on events for children in the Keene Big Brothers Big Sisters Program.

According to Brook, Big Brothers Big Sisters of New Hampshire has five offices throughout the state, including Keene. The program is the nation’s largest and oldest mentoring organization, and they carefully match children and volunteers. Bigs, the mentors, go through an interview and screening process, and they are paired with their Little, a child from the community enrolled in the program, based on their experiences and personality. Brook said the office likes to work with Keene State College not only so there are more Bigs for the children but also so the students can have the opportunity to work with children and get off of campus once a week.

“When you’re in college you have that bubble sometimes, so getting out of that bubble and having something to look forward to is important. It’s good for your soul,” Brook said.

Brook continued to explain how there are two programs offered by the Keene office, but most students are involved in the program that runs during the school year.

The Bigs spend an hour a week with their Little at their school or an after school program, playing games, having lunch with them or sitting in on their classes.

Courtney Drew, current president of the club, is a sophomore and has a Little through the sitebased program. She described her Little as a spit-fire who loves the monkey bar, and explained how the program has impacted both her and her Little.

“She is the highlight of my week.

I think it’s really important to her that I come every week, and that makes it important to me,” Drew said.

Similarly, Nicole Jones, sophomore and event coordinator of the group, and Daniel Humer, also a sophomore, have Littles they visit each week. Humer said that he noticed his Little has become more outgoing since he started visiting him. Jones mirrored his enthusiasm by talking about the experience she has had with her Little.

“There’s so many good things about it. She, honestly, helps me a lot. She brightens my day, and I know I do the same for her. Even just once a week for just an hour, I

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STAFF COMMENTARY

AB trip review: Student returns from Tennessee SLESHA TULADHAR

Equinox Staff “I am at the wrong place,” her dead mother kept saying in her dream. She kept having this recurring dream for a long time and when they dug her grave to see what was wrong, she was buried on top of

another person.

I, along with eight other Keene State students, went to Maryville, Tennessee on January 12 with the motive of serving the Cherokee community. We drove from Hoot ‘n’ Scoot at 4 a.m. and listened to the murderous and scary podcast the whole way to

Tennessee. We stayed with a host family at a place called “Once Upon a Time.” We stayed in a cabin that was built by our host, Ed. The biggest adventure for us was the outhouse.

It had seats like normal toilets, however, in the middle was nothing but a hole dug in the ground.

On the second day, we went on a trail from where we could see “Chota,” a village where Cherokees used to live. On a small piece of the wood with the direction was written “Spearfinger, Liver here.” We got curious and asked Arleen about it. In the Cherokee community, Spearfinger is a

mythical creature who has a forefinger like a dagger and likes to eat children’s livers.

We interpreted if they had created her to prevent their kids from going to the lake and drown themselves.

That day, we cleaned the bonfire area and headed back to cut two dead trees for

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STUDENT LIFE / B2

Thursday, February 6, 2020

BRIEF

Bingo back at the NOC ABBY LYNN

Equinox Staff Students went wild in excitement as trivia and bingo are starting back up in the Night Owl Cafe.

The Student Center is home to a colorful campus favorite. The Night Owl Cafe holds oncampus events every Wednesday and Thursday.

Students flock to the doors of the Student Center, eager to be first in line. Around 6:45 p.m., students started to line up and, since this was the first bingo night of the semester, the crowds were excited to start 2020 off with some friendly competition.

Keene State College junior Valerie Mamish has been running bingo for the past four semesters and was very excited about the turnout. Mamish loves to see new faces in the crowd every week.

“I’m hoping there is a great turn out. My main goal is that everything goes smoothly,” Mamish said. “I’m very excited to see everyone again.”

KSC student Josh Berthel was a little less optimistic. “I always lose, so I’m not very excited,”

Berthel said. Berthel came to bingo with a few of his friends and although he was doubtful he would win, he was still hopeful.

KSC student Genevieve Josephs was ecstatic for bingo and looking forward to meeting up with her friends. “This is where we all meet up during the week and have fun,” she stated.

Overall, bingo had an amazing turnout. Everyone was excited to see their friends and start the new year with popcorn, drinks, and snow cones.

Bingo is every Thursday at 7 p.m., and if you bring a non-perishable food item you get an extra sheet so you can play one more round of bingo before the end of the night.

Abby Lynn can be contacted at Alynn@kscequinox.com

CAROLINE WARE / EQUINOX STAFF

AB TRIP Cont. from B2

wood to heat our cabin. Ed, with his band saw, was no less than an action hero for me. We then split the wood with the wood splitter and some of us split it the old fashion way with an axe. After piling them all up, we called it a day. For me, this trip was memorable not only because we worked and went to different places but because, along with travelling, I got to share my culture. In the evening, I got to make Nepali dinner for everybody.

The next day we went to Sequoyah Birthplace Museum. Sequoyah was a Cherokee member who introduced the Cherokee syllabary. Cherokees had a language to talk with one another; however, they did not have any written language a long time ago. We got to learn about the history of the Cherokee language. We cleaned the storage of the museum that day.

The fourth day was a recreational day. We went to Knoxville, Tennessee. We had some difficulty in navigating the city, but eventually we arrived downtown Knoxville. In the downtown area, we had our lunch and left for the East Tennessee History Museum. That day was educational for me. I felt satisfied and tired at the same time.

On the fifth day, we drove to Cherokee National Forest. This is a recreational place for Cherokees. For the first time in my life I got to operate a leaf blower. I had a sore shoulder for days after blowing leaves for just three hours. This also made me appreciate the people who do it as a job for hours. Then I switched into painting. When we were done, Ed and Arleen drove us to Bald River Falls. The waterfall was beautiful and breathtaking.

On the last day, we went to the Snowbird Cherokee community. There we made some Valentine’s Day cards for soldiers and met some Cherokee members. We restored the trail that ran from the backyard of a pregnant lady’s house. Then we went to the Cherokee cemetery to do some cleaning. When we were done with work, we played a famous Cherokee game called The Fish Game. We were divided into teams of two, the girls’ and boys’ teams. There is a fish on top of a tall pole and either team must hit the fish with the ball to score. In this game the girls have an advantage because they can use their hands, but boys must hold the ball with a bat and can not use their hands. The girls’ team won. In the Cherokee community, people play this game prior to marriage. They test the guy and see if they are tolerant to whatever girls do to them.

This trip was satisfying and,moreover, I got to make friends. Nine of us who started as strangers are now friends. At the end of every day, we reflected on our day. This made me think about my purpose of being there. Two days after our trip, Arleen emailed me.

They wanted to cook Nepali food for dinner and now Maryville has my heart and my recipe.

DISCLAIMER: This is the sole opinion of Slesha Tuladhar Slesha Tuladhar can be contacted at stuladhar@kscequinox.com

CONTRIBUTED PHOTOS BY SLESHA TULADHAR

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STUDENT LIFE / B3

Thursday, February 6, 2020

Learning about the LGBTQ community

Monthly ‘Safe Space Sessions’ hope to inform KSC community about various LGBTQ topics CONNOR CRAWFORD

“The KSC community is diverse in a variety of ways,” Hines explained.

“The LGBTQ+ community is part of The first event from the Safe the larger KSC community and, as Space Committee took place on a human, it is important to get to Tuesday, January 28. The session know the community they live in.” was led by Hunter Kirschner, who After the games, Kirschner went is the program support assistant on to explain to the group the diffor LGBTQ students. ferences between sex and gender, The event, which was titled which are important to understand “LGBTQ+ Vocabulary,” was put when talking about this commuon to help the Keene State College nity. After that discussion, Kirshccommunity learn more about the ner transitioned into talking about vast vocabulary that comes along personal identity. with the LGBTQ community.

“It’s amazing,” Kirscher said, There were about seven people “new identities are being created present at the event. every day online.”

The night started out with a If you are looking for any name game where each particiresources to learn about the LGBTQ pant had to share where they got community, the Office of Multitheir name from and the story of cultural Student Support is a great their name. This was a great way place to go. Safe Space sessions are for everybody in the session to get also a great way to learn and to get to know one another on a more to know the community around personal level. you.

The reason that this game was If you are interested in attending played, according to Kirschner, is a Safe Space session, the next event that naming yourself can be chalis on Tuesday, February 18, titled lenging at times, especially if you “Coming Out.” are still trying to find your idenThis particular event is going tity. A name can mean more than to discuss the process of coming just a literal name. out and learn some dos and don’ts Kirschner leads the monthly when supporting someone’s coming event as LGBTQ issues impact his out process.

CONNOR CRAWFORD / STUDENT LIFE EDITOR life in a fundamental way. “My Above: Kirschner presenting during one of the monthly Safe Space Sessions. This particular session was about LGBTQ vocabulary and lasted If you have any questions relationship to gender growing about an hour. regarding Safe Space sessions [up] was really complicated and or any questions regarding the painful,” Kirshner explained. “It them most in his life. “It’s personal ticipants knew about LGBTQ vocab- allow the Keene State community to Kirschner argues that it is his role LGBTQ community, you can contact wasn’t [a better relationship] until I and it helps make sense of my life, ulary. This was also a great learning come together. as an educator to complicate narra- Kirschner at Hunter.Kirschner@ had the opportunity to think about and I want to share that with other opportunity for the words that “Safe Space activities are impor- tives and ideas. “We are offered flat, keene.edu. gender in different ways and more people. I wish I had a glimmer of people did not know much about, tant because they provide a space black and white versions of realexpansive ways, that gender wasn’t knowledge when I really needed it,” and Kirschner took the time during for the KSC community to come ity,” he said. Kirschner hopes that Lucas Dominick contributed to this just this either-or choice that people Kirschner said. article the session to talk to people about together to question and learn,” the events open people’s eyes to the are offered.”

The next game at the event was the definitions that they did not explained Hines. “Safe Space train- diverse world that is out there.

Kirschner went on to explain a matching game. In this game, par- know.

Connor Crawford can be contacted ing, workshops and mini-sessions Hines explained that learnhow personal these events really ticipants had to match up various at ccrawford@kscequinox.com Jayme Hines, a co-presenter and help to support individuals as they ing about the LGBTQ community are to him. In fact, he wishes that he LGBTQ words to their definitions. KSC faculty member, explained that seek out an understanding of sexual is important as everyone at Keene had these events when he needed This was to see how much the par- these events are important as they and gender diversity.”

State College is part of a community.

Student Life editor

Bookstore vendor search

T h i s

W e e k

SOREN FRANTZ / PHOTO EDITOR

On Thursday, January 30, Keene State College held an open forum for the upcoming contract renewal of the bookstore. The event was held in the Mountain View Room and there were two presenters: Barnes & Nobel and Follett Corporation. The two most qualified vendors who submitted bids visited to present their proposals and visions for the Keene State College bookstore. Vendors addressed various topics pertaining to the bookstore such as marketing, value for students and faculty, promoting campus brand and even a bookstore renovation.

Cont. from B1

can tell it’s such an impact on her and her life,” Jones said.

If students wish to get involved in the club, Drew encourages them to show up to the next meeting in room 154 of the Science Center. They can help plan and attend the events without being assigned a Little, or they can volunteer as a Big. The club will welcome any new members and connect them to Brook if they want to volunteer for Big Brothers Big Sisters.

Kiana Joler can be contacted at KJoler@kscequinox.com

“

When you’re in college you have that bubble sometimes, so getting out of that bubble and having something to look forward to, that’s important.

It’s good for your soul.

“

OLDEST

- Karen Brooks

a t

K S C

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STUDENT LIFE / B4

Thursday, February 6, 2020

INTERNATIONAL CULINARY TOUR

Elm

Salad

Daily Grill

Pasta

Vegan

Soup

Pizza

Dessert

Like to write?

Interested in life on campus?

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

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AN OPEN LETTER TO THE YOUNG PEOPLE OF AMERICA, FROM TOM STEYER

Your concerns about climate are completely justified and on target. It's ridiculously unfair for you to inherit an uninhabitable planet because self-interested politicians refuse to stand up to corporations. But they can’t dismiss you. Your voices rise with the conviction of truth and the willingness to act. You’ve called yourselves “the voiceless future of humanity,” but you are not voiceless. For too long, members of my generation have chosen short-term profit over anything else, even people’s lives. But you’ve broken through — using every tool at your disposal to demand a voice.

It’s imperative for those in power to treat the climate crisis with the urgency it demands. I'm the only candidate who will openly make fighting climate change my number one priority. If it's not number one, it won't get done ... and it has to get done.

On the first day of my presidency, I will declare the climate crisis a national emergency and invoke the emergency powers of the executive office, including enacting power plant regulations, instilling stricter pollution standards on cars, and revamping building codes.

I will hold all corporate polluters accountable for their environmental crimes against humanity.

No other candidate sees it this way, but we have no choice — we’re running out of time. It’s why I left my company a decade ago to start NextGen America, and worked with students all across the U.S. to mobilize the largest youth voter registration and turnout effort in American history. Young people lead the charge; and in 2020 you’ll vote out the most corrupt president this country has ever seen.

Climate justice is at the heart of this struggle. Far too much pollution is located in communities that lack political agency, and especially in communities of color. My climate justice plan (tomsteyer.com/climate) focuses on bringing justice to those whose air and water has been poisoned by corporations over decades of discriminatory, environmentally racist policies. We must redress this historic and continued discrimination if we are going to build a better America and transform our economy safely and equitably.

When we put justice at the center of fighting climate change, we'll bring this country together and create millions of good, high-paying, green jobs in the process. The future of this planet and our economic future can only be assured together. We must turn the most powerful tool in history — the American economy — toward healing our planet, restoring our communities, and building a government that is truly of, by, and for the people.

This is the election that will determine the course of all our lives. Trump has made it clear that he is willing to destroy our health and our planet to please the oil and gas industry. We must stop him. We can safeguard our futures while restoring the health of the planet. We can become global leaders again through climate action. And together, we can win.

On day one of my presidency, I will declare the climate crisis a national emergency and invoke the emergency powers of the executive office.

TOM STEYER, DEMOCRAT FOR PRESIDENT Text climate to 46866

Regardless of who you’re voting for in 2020, I know you’ll show up. I know you’ll speak out.

I know you’ll vote, because there’s so much at stake — everything.

Let’s save the world, and let’s do it together.

PAID FOR BY TOM STEYER 2020

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Sports / B6

Thursday, February 6, 2020

Cichon’s rise to the top Editor’s PICK (S)

Jeric Cichon becomes a go-to starter for the Owls basketball team MATT HOLDERMAN

EQUINOX STAFF

SOREN FRANTZ / PHOTO EDITOR

As of December 28, 2019, Jeric Cichon, a sophomore guard for the Owl’s men’s basketball team, had not started in a single game for the Owls in his entire collegiate career.

But in the Owls’ 10 games since December 28, he has been one of their starting five players every time they’ve stepped foot on the court.

In his second year with the team, Cichon currently plays for an average of 19.1 minutes per game while scoring an average of 5.3 points per game. While those numbers might not be the highest on his team, they still hold a lot of weight compared to his freshman year numbers, as Cichon played an average of only 5.3 minutes per game and scored a measly 1.4 points per game his first year with the team.

“It’s really God to be honest with you, it’s all God,” Cichon said on his improved numbers this season. “I didn’t see it, I’m going to be honest with you. I’m not going to act like I thought this was going to happen. But God put me in the right place at the right time and it happened.”

Before coming to Keene State College, Cichon went to East Longmeadow High School in East Longmeadow, Massachusetts, where he was one of the top players for the high school men’s basketball team, the Spartans. In his 2016-17 season with the Spartans, Cichon averaged 16.9 points, 8.9 rebounds and 6.1 assists per game, putting him among the elite at East Longmeadow High School.

However, having a stellar high school career only made the eventual dropoff in his performance at the college level even more emotionally challenging for Cichon to deal with.

“It was hard, I never went through that [in high school],” Cichon said. “I’ve always been the best player on my team, always been playing the whole game. So to not even play at all and still win, it did hurt some.”

After going from playing a lot in high school to hardly playing at all his freshman year at Keene State, Cichon almost decided to give up basketball.

“I was depressed a lot. There were days I really [questioned] if basketball was worth it,” Cichon said. “I wondered if I was doing all of this for a reason... why am I staying in the gym to not play?”

Luckily, Cichon had plenty of people

in his life who helped keep him motivated through his rough patch.

“I had my mom, I had teammates, I had a lot of the coaches behind me and a lot of the seniors too,” Cichon said. “Charles McClain last year and Josh DeGrenier [both] stuck with me and told me that it was going to pan out.”

Now that his tough times have passed, Cichon is ready to become a better player than he’s ever been before, and his coaches and teammates know exactly what he has to do to become an elite player at the college level.

“It’s a matter of getting in here and getting reps and working on our game on a daily basis,” said Ryan Cain, the head coach of the Owls men’s basketball team. “What we try to do is put our guys in as many positions as possible to make decisions so that as we move through our season our decision-making improves. So [with] a guy like Jeric, a guy that’s capable of getting in the paint, it really comes down to him making as good a decision as possible. I think for younger guys that are getting their first opportunity, one of the toughest things is to overcome their own minds because they want to play well so badly that when they make a mistake it ends up impacting future plays, because they feel so strongly about wanting to play and wanting to play well,” said Cain.

“The biggest change [this year] is the confidence in his game,” Miguel Prieto, a junior guard on the team, said. “And it’s funny I say that because that’s the thing he has to improve more too. But he has improved so much that now he’s gained the minutes playing and scoring at a high level, he just has to continue that and needs to stay consistent.”

With plenty of the current season still left to be played, and two more years of eligibility left to play and improve after that, the sky could be the limit for Cichon and his basketball career.

“He’s at a point where I think he can play with anybody in division three,” said Cain about Cichon.

Matt Holderman can be contacted at mholderman@kscequinox.com

SOREN FRANTZ / PHOTO EDITOR

JEFF HUNTER

MEN’S BASKETBALL FRESHMAN FORWARD

Jeff Hunter has been making waves since he first stepped onto the court at the start of the season.

However, this past week has proven to be Hunter’s best so far with an outstanding 21-point showing at the January 27 away game against Colby-Sawyer College.

Hunter followed that performance with another impressive showing in the January 29 home contest against Castleton. Hunter produced 12 points in that game following behind his teammates junior guard DeVon Beasley, with 14 points, and junior guard Sidi Diallo, with 13.

Hunter also sits in second place in the Little East Conference for field goal percentage with 54 percent. He sits only 2.9 percentage points away from the first place spot in the category, which is held by Plymouth State’s Manny Alisandro.

Hunter is one of this week’s editor’s picks because of the impressive number of points he has produced over the last week.

Editor’s Pick is the sole opinion of the Sports Editor.

Claire Boughton can be contacted at cboughton@kscequinox.com

President and student-athlete alumna Melinda Treadwell recalls her time on Keene’s basketball court RACHEL VITELLO

NEWS EDITOR President of Keene State College Melinda Treadwell is not only an alumna of KSC but a former student-athlete as well. Treadwell spent her freshman, sophomore and senior years of her college career playing on the KSC basketball team between the years of 1986 and 1990.

Treadwell was recruited to play basketball during her senior year of high school and felt drawn to Keene when she first came to visit.

“I grew up in Maine and originally really wanted to go to college out in New York. But when I came to Keene, I just really fell in love with the area,” Treadwell said.

Treadwell said that being a student-athlete taught her a number of life lessons and good practices that she still carries with her today.

“Playing on the team was really helpful in giving me a sense of structure in my dayto-day routine. I learned a lot about how to manage my time well and create a schedule that worked for me,” Treadwell said. “I learned how to understand both victory and loss and about the importance of putting in the effort.”

Working on a team also helped Treadwell develop skills and build meaningful friendships she still cherishes.

“When you’re working in a team environment, you have to count on one another.

We were all very motivating and supportive of each other and it was just a great environment to be in. I also learned how to be a leader and step up when necessary,” Treadwell said. “My teammates and I still get together today whenever we can.”

Today, Treadwell still sees many of these same values on the basketball team and other sports teams at KSC. “When I watch the team play, and when I’ve worked with the team, they are brilliant and energetic and they look like they’re having fun together, which is a really nice reflection on what that energy was when I played,” Treadwell said. “We were intense,

but we really enjoyed being together, and I feel that same energy when I’m with the team.”

Treadwell also said that she has seen the team hone their talent over the past couple of years and really come together.

“They’re doing really well this year and what I’m watching happen is that they’ve rebuilt. They’ve got some really great talent and they’re playing well as a team, not just as a group of individuals, and that’s really what I’d say about a lot of the other teams as well,” Treadwell said. “What I’m impressed by with all of our teams is we have outstanding individual contributors, but they hold together as a team. That’s a testament to our coaches.”

Treadwell said that she’s enjoyed watching the team develop and evolve over the years, from the time she was here as a student-athlete to today, watching the games as a faculty member.

“They have similar joy, camaraderie and friendship as we did. Really what I’ve seen is an intensification of the capacity for them to win, to close the deal,” Treadwell said.

“That’s because they’ve grown. They had a really young team, so they’re now growing into themselves and they know each other and they’re competing at a higher level each year. I’ve been really proud to watch that.”

SOREN FRANTZ / PHOTO EDITOR

DEVON BEASLEY

MEN’S BASKETBALL JUNIOR GUARD DeVon Beasley has been a staple on the team since his freshman year.

However, this past week especially showed Beasley stepping his game up and producing high numbers at both games.

In the January 27 away contest against Colby-Sawyer, Beasley scored 18 points for the Owls, trailing closely behind teammate fresh-year forward Jeff Hunter, who scored 21.

Beasley would then go on to scoop up 14 points during the January 29 home game against Castleton, making him the top scorer of the game for the Owls.

Beasley is one of this week’s editor’s picks because he has proven time and time again that he can produce points, and this week was certainly no exception.

Rachel Vitello can be contacted at rvitello@kscequinox.com

Editor’s Pick is the sole opinion of the Sports Editor.

Claire Boughton can be contacted at cboughton@kscequinox.com

HENRY HOBSON / EQUINOX STAFF

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Sports / B7

Thursday, February 6, 2020

Team Profile:

MEN’S ICE HOCKEY CLAIRE BOUGHTON

SPORTS EDITOR

SO

Here’s a story.

Fifteen years ago a group of students were playing pick-up hockey when they got an idea: Keene State College should have a club ice hockey team.

They brought the idea to Bert Poirier, a 1997 Keene State Hall of Famer, a member of Keene State’s admissions staff and a usual participant in the pick-up hockey games the students would play.

Poirier told the group that he wasn’t sure about the nuts and bolts of starting an organization on campus, but he knew the guy that would.

Turned out the students knew him as well.

The students were sent to Bobby Rodrigue, a Keene State alumnus who was the student body president during his time at Keene State and was also a usual player in the pick-up games. Because of his past position with the college he knew the ins and outs of starting organizations and clubs on campus.

“The kids came to me and said, ‘What do you think, can we do it?’ I said, ‘It’ll never work, but let’s try it,’” laughed Rodrigue when recalling the history of the team.

Fifteen years later, the men’s ice hockey team is nationally ranked with a multitude of titles under its belt.

The team is a member of the American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) and plays in the Northeast Collegiate Hockey Association (NECHA) in the Patriot West Conference. The conference includes the University of Massachusetts Amherst, University of Connecticut, University of Vermont, Norwich University and College of the Holy Cross, all of which the Owls have beaten at least once during the season so far.

“We’ve had success that we probably didn’t expect we would have when we first started this thing,” said Rodrigue, who is now the head coach of the team. “When we first started out we just wanted an opportunity for some kids to play hockey and be able to wear their school colors doing it, and now we are probably one of the top 10 teams in the country, one of the top two in the Northeast, and we have had some really good student-athletes come through here.”

At the time of writing this, the Owls are ranked second in the ACHA Northeast D2 rankings and are ranked tenth in the NECHA D2 rankings.

“It feels like we have a target on our back every time we go out and play,” explained senior forward Kyle Carignan (#8). “People are trying to beat us, so they play a little bit harder against us.”

Carignan originally took a year off before starting college to play juniors. However, after the year was up he had a choice to make: either keep playing or go to school. Carignan decided to tour Keene State and, after seeing an ice hockey game, decided the college was for him. Carignan is now one of the top players on the team, averaging 1.67 points per game and scoring 13 goals in the season so far.

Carignan is one of the 14 seniors on the team this year, which is the largest number of seniors the team has seen in

RE N

a while.

“I’m not worried about it,” said sophomore forward Andrew Lusignan (#18) when asked about his thoughts on the large number of seniors leaving at the end of the season.

“We have a bunch of players who are not playing this year but still can bring something to the team. Of course it is going to be a project next year to rebuild… but I think it will be good for the whole structure to get a new generation.”

Lusignan, who came to Keene State from Quebec, Canada, began playing for the Owls after hearing about the team from an old prep-school teammate. Lusignan ended up touring the college and going to several games before deciding to “give it a shot” at Keene State College. Lusignan is currently leading the team in goals scored with 18.

“We are all friends outside of the rink,” said Lusignan when asked about the teams dynamic on and off the ice. “It’s very rare for a team to have everyone get along, but I think that factor means a lot to us.”

“The team dynamic is fun,” said junior forward Joe Nutting when asked the same question. “We’re all kind of in it together. We practice at six in the morning or at 10:30 at night so it’s kind of extreme times; you have to be all in. We hang out outside of hockey as a team quite a bit.

We all go to breakfast together at the [dining commons] after practice together. Especially [with] having nobody graduated yet, we have a tight unit.”

Nutting originally played lacrosse at the University of Massachusetts Lowell before deciding to drop out and play juniors for the Monarchs for a year. After a year with the Monarchs, Nutting decided to come to Keene State to play lacrosse. That was when he heard about the club hockey team and decided to try out. Nutting made it through the tryout and now, a year later, he is one of the top players on the team.

Nutting was responsible for the game winning overtime goal at the January 31 home contest against the ACHA nationally top ranked team, University of Massachusetts Amherst.

“It was a really cool feeling, especially scoring right in front of my parents,” said Nutting after the game. “But, it was a team win. In games like that it shows the depth of our team; we made huge penalty kills in regulation and scored late in the third to tie it up.”

“Heading into overtime, our bench felt really good,” said Coach Rodrigue after the impressive win. “We are just behind UMass Amherst in both our league standings and the regional rankings, so we made the decision to let the boys loose to go after the win and it paid off. Our guys played a really smart, effective overtime. Definitely one of the three or four best moments of the season for our guys.”

While the win does not guarantee change in rankings, according to Rodrigue it is still a positive for the team.

The next home game for the men’s team is set for Friday, February 7, against the University of Connecticut at Keene ICE. Puck drops at 8:15 p.m.

FR AN TZ / PH

Claire Boughton can be contacted at cboughton@kscequinox.com

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“We’re all kind of in it together, I mean we practice at six in the morning or at ten thirty at night so it’s kind of extreme times, you got to be all in.”

- Joe Nutting

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This Week for the Owls Thursday 1/30

Friday 1/31

Saturday 2/1

Sunday 2/2

Monday 2/3

Tuesday 2/4

* - Home Contest

Wednesday 2/5

Women’s Basketball vs.

UMass-Dartmouth @ 5:00 PM

* Men’s Ice Hockey vs.

Indoor Track & Field: UCONN @ 8:15 PM at Keene Panther Invitational at ICE Plymouth State

Men’s Basketball vs.

UMass-Dartmouth @ 7:00PM No Contests

No Contests

No Contests

No Contests

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Sports / B8

Thursday, February 6, 2020

SPORTS

TEAM PROFILE: MEN’S ICE HOCKEY SEE B7

KSCEQUINOX.COM

An outstanding performance

Four indoor track athletes qualify for New The men’s and women’s swim and dive teams take home LEC victories Englands SPORTS EDITOR This past weekend marked the women’s swim and dive team’s 14th consecutive championship win in the Little East Conference.

The meet saw many Owls placing first in a multitude of events.

Senior Sydney McGough, senior Sophie Hayes, senior Madison Pechulis and senior Molly O’Connor won the 200 medley relay(1:53.23).

First-year Jaelin Jang took home wins for the 200 freestyle (1:59.57), 100 freestyle (55.35) and 200IM (2:16.27).

Pechulis also placed first in the 100 breaststroke (1:07.46) and 200 breaststroke (2:30.58).

Hayes won the 200 butterfly (2:13.57) and the 100 butterfly (59.85).

Junior Samantha Dickinson took home wins in the 50 freestyle (25.81) and the 500 freestyle (5:26.00).

Sophomore Paige Carey won the 1,650 freestyle (18:59.92) and was part of the winning 400 free relay (3:49.01) alongside Dickinson, Jang and senior Erin Morley.

Jang also received the Little East Conference Rookie of the Year award at the end of the meet alongside teammate Hayes who received the Little East Conference Swimmer of the Year honor.

For eight seniors this would be their last time competing in the Little East Conference meet. McGough commented on what it was like competing in her last LEC meet.

“The road to the LEC Championship Meet is not an easy one, but time and time again the training we do has paid off.

The depth of our team is something that sets us apart from the other teams in our conference, but again that is all credit to the hours we spend training. I am very proud of the team.

We fought hard and won with grace. As a senior, I am proud to be able to carry on a tradition that started when I was still in elementary school, and I am happy to be leaving college with four out of four LEC Championships won. I would like

to thank our coaching staff, Chris, Dave, Julie and Pat, as Sophomore Tyler Young took home a win in the 200 butthey all play a crucial role in making sure we are prepared to terfly (2:03.21) and 100 butterfly (55.19). defend our title, and again this year was no exception to that.

Sophomore George Colarullo won both the 1-meter dive I would also like to thank our athletic director, Phil Racicot, (213.75) and the 3-meter dive (236.60). for making the trip to UMass Dartmouth to watch the meet.

First-year Andrew Daur won the 200 backstroke (2:03.52).

I can speak for the whole team when I say that it was greatly As well as that, King, Kimmel, Payne and sophomore appreciated. All in all, it is bittersweet to be done with my Jacob Peters won the 400 medley relay (3:23.42). last LEC Championship meet, but I know the team will continue to thrive for years to come.”

Claire Boughton can be contacted Another senior on the team, as well as a fellow 200 medley at cboughton@kscequinox.com relay-mate to McGough, O’Connor also gave a statement on her last LEC meet: “All I can really say is that winning LECs is always a good feeling for the team. All of the hard work we put into the sport really shows at this meet. It’s very rewarding and helps us get excited for New England’s. To win this many years in a row also shows the depth our team has. Each year the team is completely different than the team before. We have different obstacles to overcome, but no matter the circumstances we trust the process and bring home the trophy. I’m really proud of this year’s team, we worked really hard and everybody stepped up when needed and refused to go down without a fight.”

Head Coach Christopher Woolridge was contacted for an interview, however, a time was not able to be made before the deadline.

With all the success the women’s team had, the men’s team’s success can not be overlooked either. The Keene State men’s swim and dive team won the first ever Little East Conference invitational with multiple notable performances.

Sophomore Quint Kimmel won the 1,650 freestyle (17:27.20).

Senior Zach Payne took home a win in 200 freestyle (1:51.68), 100 freestyle (50.10) and 200IM (2:02.93).

Senior Eric King won in the 100 backstroke (54.90), 50 freestyle (22.89) and 200 breaststroke (2:17.15).

Junior JT Barth won the 100 breaststroke (1:01.45).

“

“The depth of our team is something that sets us apart from the other teams in our conference, but again that is all credit to the hours we spend training.”

- Sydney McGough

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CLAIRE BOUGHTON

In Memory Of...

AUSTIN SMITH

EQUINOX STAFF

Kobe Bryant Gianna Bryant Alyssa Altobelli John Altobelli Keri Altobelli Christina Mauser Payton Chester Sarah Chester GR IF F

Ara Zobayan

IN EL L R / A IR T D EC T OR

Tragedy.

That is the only way to describe the unbelievable loss of Kobe Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter Gianna Bryant and the seven other people who died in the helicopter crash in Calabasas. For sports fans all across the country, this was a huge loss. Kobe Bryant was someone that athletes everywhere looked up to. Not only basketball players but athletes across all sports. Kobe was a legend; to many he was their hero, the guy they grew up wanting to emulate and be like. Children who grew up in Kobe’s era could not even throw a piece of paper away without yelling “Kobe!” As a basketball player, everyone knew Kobe as being one of, if not the best, players in the game, but Kobe was something else too; Kobe was a Laker.

Kobe was always the enemy, he was the best player on the rival team. Junior Cam Bassingthwaighte said, “I loved him, even though he was a Laker.

He was just so good that I loved watching him play”.

Kobe was truly one of the greats.

He was known by all for his incredible work ethic and “mamba mentality.” When he took on the challenge of retirement, he did it with the same attitude and work ethic that he used in the game of basketball. However, this time he wasn’t winning championships or winning scoring titles, he was something that goes far beyond basketball. He was a proud dad, a girl dad. After Kobe’s retirement he became immersed in family life. He even began to coach his daughter Gianna “Gigi”’s basketball teams. He had four children, all of them girls, which was something that he was very proud

of. At just 13 years old, Gigi was already showing signs of being the one to carry on his legacy on the basketball court. She was making highlight reels across the country and was even getting looks from the University of Connecticut, which is one of the marquee women’s basketball programs in the country. Gigi’s dream was to play in the WNBA, and she was on her way.

Kobe meant something to everybody.

Whether he was your favorite player or he was inspiring you with his incredible work ethic, he truly was special. For the diehard basketball fans, Kobe was the Michael Jordan of his generation. Head coach of the Keene State men’s basketball team Ryan Cain said, “To see the kind of growth that he had, obviously his work ethic, his mindset and attitude, that mamba mentality.” Kobe will be greatly missed by all, but he will live on in his wife Vanessa and their three daughters. For fans everywhere, this will hurt for a while. Kobe was a hero to many and he will always be remembered as a hall of fame basketball player and a hall of fame dad.

Nine people lost their lives in the tragic helicopter crash in Calabasas. Their names are John Altobelli, his wife Keri and their daughter Alyssa, Christina Mauser, Sarah Chester and her daughter Payton and the pilot Ara Zobayan. May they rest in peace.

Austin Smith can be contacted at asmith@kscequinox.com

JEREMY LANDERS

EQUINOX STAFF Track and field athletes Nicole De Almeida, Chloe Page and Skyler Gauthier qualified in the 500-meter run with Page recording a 1:21.58, De Almeida with a 1:20.26 and Gauthier finishing with a 1:22.58.

Lynne Hebert also qualified in the 1,000-meter race, running a 3:08.50.

When asked about the preparation involved leading up to the meet, Page, a Junior from Swanzey, New Hampshire, said, “To prepare, I’m really focusing on keeping my workouts challenging and high quality. I’m also focusing on recovery and rehab afterward to make sure I’m staying healthy and strong throughout the season.”

De Almeida has a similar approach to preparation. “I have been focusing on small details,” she said. “This includes hydrating, stretching and nutrition. Hydrating can be easy to forget about so that is something I’ve been working on. I have also been focused on doing my best to eat nutrient-dense food.”

Page hopes to be involved in other events. “The event I’m qualified in now is the 500, but I’m hoping to qualify in some other events as well as some relays,” she said.

Page is not new to the challenge of the New England Championships. “I ran this event plenty of times before, including at New England’s last year, so I’m really excited about it and looking to improve from what I did last year,” Page said. “Lastly, I think I’m most looking forward to pushing myself and my teammates as well as getting to compete at these big meets and have myself and others get personal records.”

De Almeida is also qualifying for the 500-meter race after only participating in it once before, a very impressive feat.

“I had never run the 500-meter before last weekend so I was a little nervous before doing it,” said De Almeida. “I am excited to see how much I can improve my time. It’s easy to get nervous, though.”

When asked what she is most looking forward to, De Almeida said, “Definitely the relays. I am not sure which ones we will do. The only one we have done so far was the DMR [Distance Medley Relay] at Boston University. We are running a 4x400 meter this weekend at Tufts. Track can feel like an individual sport at times so having the chance to work together as a team in a relay is a really exciting and special feeling. They have always been my favorite,” De Almeida said.

Assistant Athletic Director Abe Osheyack said, “We’re very pleased and proud of the young ladies who have qualified for the New England Division III Championships.

It’s one of the three big postseason meets that you can qualify for and they’ve done it very early in the season, which means they’re off to a very strong start. We hope for improved performances throughout the season that will hopefully get them around the conversation of the NCAA,” Osheyack said.

Jeremy Landers can be contacted at jlanders@kscequinox.com

GRIFFIN ELL / ART DIRECTOR

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