The Daily Collegian Magazine - Vol. 4 by The Massachusetts Daily Collegian

Volume3

Executive Board

Luke Ruud, Editor-in-Chief

Grace Fiori, Managing Editor

Kelly McMahan, Creative Director

Justin Truong, Business Manager

Design Coordinators

Isaac Brickman, Head Graphics Editor

Ally Black, Graphics Contributor

Copy Editors

Luke Halpern

Johnny Depin

5 Chancellor Reyes interview

14 Beauty doesn’t equal morality

16 Third places are disappearing

18 Year of the girl

22 Marching Band celebrates 150th anniversary

26 How fatherhood sparked a record-breaking season

32 The Baxby’s return to Amherst

36 A glimpse into UMass’ Disability Services

38 At the intersection of identity, community and belonging

By Luke Ruud, Grace Fiori and Jack Underhill

I would say the first thing that I try to do every morning is wake up and exercise. I try to go to the Rec Center when there’s enough time but if not, I’ll do something at the house. Then after that, I’ll have a quick breakfast … and then get to the office by 8:45 a.m.

My first meeting is with my leadership team and some of the vice chancellors like the student affairs, academic affairs, HR, government relations, public relations … [to] get a sense of what’s on the radar screen, what’s happening.

After that is meeting after meeting after meeting. If I get time to go get lunch, I’ll try to walk to another cafe, other than [the Whitmore Cafe]. I like to do that because I get to see people that I don’t otherwise get to see and I get to see students.

Today … I’m hosting a pizza dinner with a group of students. They are not [in] student government, they’re just from different parts of the campus that I met while I was walking … I get to hear things that may not be at the top of the list of student government or faculty affairs … I hear what is going on and how they’re feeling about the campus.

We actually asked on our social media account if anyone had a question for you, and one of their questions was: if we see you on campus, how should we approach you?

If you see me around campus, stop me and say hello, tell me how things are going. Sometimes I’ll say, ‘Hey, walk with me as I’m getting to the next meeting.’ Or, if I don’t have a chance to really stop and have a conversation, I’ll get their name and try to follow up. But I love to hear from students.

I have learned when you’re on the elliptical to say, ‘This is not the time for a conversation.’ So what I tell people is, put your headphones on when you’re on the elliptical and then everybody understands that you’re in your zone. Once you take the headphones off, now you’re open to conversations.

So not on the elliptical, but anytime else?

Oh, yes.

UMass has a critical role in the surrounding towns and community. How do you perceive our relationships with Amherst and Hadley? How do you want to strengthen that working relationship? It has a history of being contentious at times.

Note:TheAmherstCommunityResourcesCommitteehasbeeninthe processofrevisingthetown’srentalbylaws,oneofwhichwouldbroaden thedefinitionofwhatisconsideredanuisanceinthenuisancehouse bylaw“toincludereferencestoMassachusettsgenerallawsrelatingto disorderlyconduct,aswellasAmherstgeneralandzoningbylaws.The bylawcurrentlyissues$300finestothosewhocreatea“publicnuisance.” Anotherrevisiontothebylawwouldmake“itanuisanceoffensetohave morethanfourunrelatedindividualslivinginasingle-familyrentalunit.”

[I’m] getting to know the perspective of the community and the University. I’ve been going to the different chambers talking to different town leaders. Just getting to know them before we have something to talk about, something to resolve.

Note:ReyessaidthathehasmetwithHadleyandAmhersttownofficials aswellaslocalhospitals,emergencyservicesandfiredepartments.

We’re an economic engine for the community, we bring with it perhaps a big weight … all of the sudden the whole town doubles in size overnight. So it comes with its challenges.

Amherst is exploring changing the rental bylaws to limit how many unrelated individuals could live in together. Could you speak to that?

We have someone from our side talking to the town of Amherst.

The campus has a great history of activism. I’m interested if you could walk me through how the Chancellor’s Office makes a statement about a world event or a tragedy on campus.

We assess when and how it will impact our campus and society around it. We tend to not necessarily be more present and political on statements that we have no reason to partake in. We try to always start by making sure that the students have resources because of the world event.

There’s definitely a culture of activism in Amherst and UMass Amherst that makes our campus what it has always been. And I think we will continue to ensure that we have freedom of expression, we have freedom of speech, we ensure that we have academic freedom for our faculty, these will always continue to be our northern stars. But we have to make sure that it’s not at the cost of infringing upon the rights of others, or the operations of the University, or disrupting the peace or affecting our community or endangering anyone.

So that’s where we have to make sure that we communicate with everyone who wants [to demonstrate] — whether it’s a faculty or student or staff — that we have certain expectations … and as long as those demonstrations are happening within the lines that have been set by policies, and in many cases the code of conduct, we will be able to continue to celebrate the activism.

If that activism breaks into the rights of others – [that] includes the rights of staff to work, the right of students to be in their classes, to have their lunch – that’s where we have to abide by our code of conduct, otherwise, it would be very, very problematic.

When they want to exercise the right to demonstrate and to be activists, let’s make sure that they understand what resources are available for them to remain safe. And activism does come with visibility on a topic that usually has different sides of the equation there. So there will be repercussions that come from social media or the media in general, they may ask those students questions, and then they would put their names out there.

[We are able] to help our students understand that their activism comes with some consequences that are not negative, they’re just the outcome of being an activist and being able to present them as such, and just stand ready to help them and protect them if things get to be a [to] their safety.

Note:Reyesreferencedanemailsentoutbythevicechancellorforstudentaffairswithresourcesforparticipatinginpublic demonstrationsandvisibilityonsocialmedia.

I’m sure you’re aware of the fears and safety concerns that a lot of students partaking in the demonstrations and protests feel; people have been subjected to doxxing and threats. How do you navigate that as a figure that many community members look to you for a response and for guidance?

In higher education we’re seeing students saying, ‘We want Chancellor Reyes to put out a statement in support of Palestine.’ When affirmative action was threatened by the Supreme Court, the University put out a statement that [the University] would still take a holistic approach to admissions, and that is a political statement. So in some cases, [UMass] makes political statements and other cases [it] doesn’t.

I’m glad that you picked affirmative action, because although it might be seen as a political statement, it really isn’t, right? I mean, you’re looking for the interests of all students and including everyone in our mission of education. So it’s such a wide audience that you’re trying to reach out to [and] making that statement to ensure everyone hears the University’s commitment is important because it’s impacting such a large proportion of our population.

But you’re talking about the political statements, [they] should never be part of a university. [Universities are where] all views of an argument should be able to be presented, right? And we should be able to have dialogue about it and debate about it and have civil discussions about it.

Conflicts like affirmative action issues or with respect to the Palestine and Israel and Hamas conflict, you could see how many people would like to just ask the question about what’s happening to try to gain understanding. Because some people have not been following the news for the decades or centuries that this conflict has been going [on], and they feel afraid of asking about it. That should not happen at a university. A university is a place where you should be able to raise your hand without fear and say, ‘Hey, I’m trying to understand this. Can somebody help me understand why this is happening?’

Have you noticed that whenever we decide we don’t like someone, we then decide that they’re ugly? It seems like whenever I go on TikTok, people who are making fun of misogynists usually include something about them being smelly and unshaven, even referring to them as “neckbeards.” People on both sides of the political spectrum portray the other side as ugly, even those who consider themselves progressives. But calling someone ugly doesn’t have anything to do with the views they have. Why are all of us so drawn to this childish insult?

Studies have shown that we inadvertently judge people we deem to be physically attractive as more socially competent, more intelligent and to have better prospects in life than those deemed unattractive. The reverse is also true. We judge people we find unattractive unfavorably and consider them to be less intelligent than people seen as more attractive. Considering this, it makes sense that internet users, even ones that consider themselves to be progressive, would resort to painting their political opponents as physically undesirable, such as the example of calling misogynists “neckbeards.” It’s physiologically easier to convince others of someone’s moral inferiority if you’ve shown examples of them looking unattractive.

Beauty doesn’t equal morality

Grace

What about people who are perfectly nice and respectful, but also possess these same traits? I regularly see people online making fun of sexist men by calling them bald or short, traits that are seen as undesirable but have nothing to do with their opinions. I know plenty of short and balding men who are good people. It most likely does not make them feel good to be generalized with a bad group of people.

Thinking about this habit of calling people we don’t like ugly also calls into question what we consider ugly at all. What exactly created these beauty standards that we judge morals by? The short answer, in most cases, is plain old bigotry. Think of any old Disney movie. Chances are the dastardly murdering or child-stealing villain has traits usually associated with Jewish people or gay people. Being overweight is also often used as a shorthand for evilness in media, like cousin Dudley in “Harry Potter.” The beauty standards of our society are overwhelmingly biased towards bodies that are white, skinny and “conventional.” This causes a bias towards anyone who falls outside of this narrow range, as well as anyone who is disabled in a way that affects their appearance or choses to style themselves in a way outside the norm.

Sure, people who consider themselves to be progressive don’t usually focus on these things when they are making fun of someone politically opposed to them, but that doesn’t mean that it’s right to judge someone based on their appearance. We can’t reserve that type of bullying for people we think “deserve” it, because really, is that who we’re affecting? Do the sexist TikTokers care that we think they’re ugly and undesirable because they’re balding? No, but the people who are actually going to be hurt by these kinds of comments are the people who agree with us, who are on our side of the issue and therefore value our opinions.

Sometimes these insults targeted at “bad” people focus more on things that can technically be “controlled,” like not showering, neckbeards or, according to some people, being fat. But none of these things have any relation to morality, either. There are a plethora of valid reasons someone might not look as “put-together” as desired by the public, such as mental health, socioeconomic status or disability, but those things also shouldn’t matter. Health, genetics, personal hygiene; none of these things are affected by someone’s opinions or overall goodness.

I don’t like jokes that make fun of peoples’ appearances, even if it’s someone I don’t like or disagree with. Someone on the side of progressives, who just happens to have the physical trait that is being made fun of, is far more likely to be negatively affected by the insults than the bigoted person they are aimed at.

doesn’t morality

Grace Jungmann

THIRD PLACES ARE DISAPPEARING

Think of a place you frequent where you have no obligations to be there or complete a specific task; no money is earned, and the only things gained are connections with others and a comfortable place to exist. This would be considered a third place. If you can’t think of a place like this, you are not alone.

A third place refers to a location outside of the home (first place) and the workplace/school (second place) that enhances one’s community. Third places are a key component in building a community and support system, yet they seem to be vanishing.

Coffee shops, bars, local stores and parks can all serve as third places. Now, however, we live in an age where people are being antagonized for existing in public spaces. This demonization of socializing has encouraged people to avoid third spaces, effectively decreasing their popularity.

I’ve witnessed harassment from bystanders for simply existing in public places. Oftentimes, I see posts on my town’s Facebook page targeting children for hanging out in parks or outside coffee shops after school. While these kids often aren’t causing any trouble, they are consistently at the center of this issue.

The harassment of individuals by others for existing in public spaces is exemplified by the archetype of a “Karen,” and has led to spending time in public spaces becoming synonymous with loitering.

For adults, the lack of a third space can be explained by the need to work more to compensate for so cietal issues like inflation. Working more hours forces people to spend less time making connections with others. Aside from the workplace and the home, making connections with strangers is becoming nearly nonexistent.

The rising popularity of social media is also contributing to the disappearance of third places. While social media can create communities, it doesn’t replace the need for face-to-face interactions.

It’s clear that loneliness is becoming an epidemic. A study found that between 1976 and 2019 the rate of loneliness has increased almost every year among young adults. With the increased hours spent working and social interactions becoming limited to social media, more people are finding themselves without friends or a community.

The generational differences among third places also must be

DISAPPEARING

By Katherine Varrell

acknowledged. Generation Z seems to be overly concerned with how they are perceived — the idea of conversing with strangers is my personal worst nightmare. In these instances, I fear being seen as a bother or annoying, yet my father, a member of Generation X, does not have the same fears. While it can be expected for social norms to evolve, we should still be able to interact with members of our communities without these anxieties taking over.

An essential aspect of the third place is that they must have little to no financial commitment. Ray Oldenburg, who coined the term “third places,” explained, “In the absence of informal public life, living becomes more expensive. Where the means and facilities for relaxation and leisure are not publicly shared, they become the objects of private owner ship and consumption.”

of goods. Many people can no longer afford to spend $7 on a cup of coffee every day, or even once a week.

While the rate of new business formations set a record in 2021, they are becoming a commercial commodity. Seen as a financially-driven endeavor, business owners are becoming hostile to acting as a public forum. Whether it’s managers of fast-food chains calling the police or unfriendly employees or patrons, creating a community has become tedious and dangerous.

Finding active third spaces should not be difficult. Whether it’s the coffee shop you walk past every day or finding an interest group, these third places should be convenient and easy to fit into one’s daily routine.

Many public spaces require a fee to enter, from a gym membership to requiring proof of purchase. While third places are essential to one’s well-being, they are becoming a luxury. Many people are not privileged enough, whether financially or timewise, to engage with third places. Third places such as coffee shops or pubs are also on their way out with the rising costs

The idea that socialization is intimidating must end. Fostering a healthy, active community with convenient third places is essential to personal well-being. Speak to others. Engage with new people. Join a new club. Challenge yourself to talk to a new person every day. Through this effort, we can bring back third places.

While reflecting on 2023, we can safely say we learned Barbie is that b***h, Taylor Swift controls NFL ratings (and the U.S. economy) and pink is the new black.

YEAR OF

THE GIRL

By Caroline Tiernan

In the wake of #MeToo and the COVID-19 pandemic, young women are reclaiming the fads of their youth at full-force, ditching the darkness of womanhood for the lighthearted, femme-tastic girlhood community.

2023 marked 40 years since the release of “Girls Just Want To Have Fun,” the song that skyrocketed Cyndi Lauper’s music career. Whether it’s blasting on the dancefloors at proms or weddings, through the backseat speakers of Honda Odysseys or the stale airwaves of grocery store radios, the glitzy synth-pop hit has cemented itself as a timeless anthem for girls seven to 70. These “girls” include Lauper herself, who was 30 years old and well into womanhood at the time of the song’s release.

“I remember one time, the Happy Meal toy was a little mini-CD of Kidz Bop songs,” Kate Dahlman, senior English major at the University of Massachusetts, said.

“I remember that the CD I got was ‘Girls Just Want To Have Fun,’ and having so much fun listening to that in the car, and feeling like I just won a big prize.”

This past summer was loosely referred to in the TikTok-sphere as “the girl summer,” largely because of two record-breaking, girly mega-franchises. “Barbie,” the highly anticipated feminist blockbuster, was the highest-grossing film of 2023. In March, Taylor Swift embarked on her Eras Tour, a 44-song tribute to her career. Swift was not only the most-streamed Spotify artist of 2023, but she was also named Time Magazine’s Person of the Year for 2023.

Chloe Koontz, a 21-year-old senior at Florida State University, is one of countless young women who celebrated “girl summer.” In September, she penned the article “Why Summer 2023 Was for the Girls” for her school’s Her Campus page. Koontz cited “Barbie” and Swift’s tour as just some of the pop culture staples of this “summer for the girls.” She discussed shamelessly enjoying things that may be viewed as overly feminine or immature, such as liking pink and wearing hair ribbons.

This is “girlhood” redefined — a community of women embracing youthful femininity, defying the long-standing dismissal of “girlish” expressions and interests. The enticing allure of Barbie pink, besties holding hands and wearing friendship bracelets (a Swift concert staple) has made this space irresistibly welcoming for many young women.

Womanhood, on the other hand, is often associated with heavier experiences. A monologue from Kristin Scott Thomas’ character from the dark British-comedy series “Fleabag” says it best: “Women are born with pain built in. It’s our physical destiny: period pain, sore boobs, childbirth, you know.” Combining these factors with the shared trauma from years of abuse from individual men and the patriarchy overall, it’s no wonder that in 2023, girls just wanted to be girls.

The distinction between “girl” and “woman” is murky, especially for women in their twenties. The tumult and uncertainty associated with the early twenties — as Swift puts it in her hit “22,”

“happy, free, confused and lonely at the same time” — is being dragged out even further. Women are not only connecting more with younger fads but hitting major milestones later in life.

According to data from Pew Research, the age of the average first-time bride in the U.S. rose from 21 in 1969 to 28 in 2020. Many of these young people are also staying in their childhood homes longer; nearly half of Americans aged 18-to-29 live with their parents, according to Bloomberg. Most adults surveyed cited financial reasons as to why they still lived at home, which was largely influenced by student loans and the job insecurity many faced because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Koontz and many others have experienced a sensation referred to as the “pandemic skip” where they still identify as the age they were at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“There have been times when people have asked me how old I am and for just a split second, I’m thinking I’m 18,” Koontz said. “You know, like, imposter syndrome? Like how people in super fancy jobs think that they don’t belong there, or something? I feel that way sometimes with womanhood. I still feel like I’m just a girl, I’m just a kid.”

“I always joke that I’m 24 and I feel like I’m still in college,” Elisa Kennedy, a Medford resident, said. “I definitely feel like I lost a couple of my prime years. I turned 21 during COVID, so I still feel like I’m kind of like a 20-year-old.”

Kennedy, Koontz and many other young women playfully refer to themselves as a “teenage girl in her twenties,” a recent social media phenomenon. “I feel like it’s a very supportive space for allowing yourself to explore those interests that get brushed off as sort of being younger and being girlish,” Koontz explained.

“I definitely relate to it,” Kennedy said. She cited COVID-19 and the resulting influx of social media use as being responsible for the

the creation of this community. “I’ve always been really into celebrities and pop culture,” Kennedy continued. She mentioned Taylor Swift and the Hunger Games as recent obsessions, ones she shares with her early-teenage self.

“It’s a cool way to meet people through that … It makes me feel connected to people, and young,” she said. “But, also like, I am 24, but it makes me feel like I don’t have to grow up super fast.”

In 2019, rapper Megan Thee Stallion released her song “Hot Girl Summer,” popularizing the phrase and phenomenon. “Being a Hot Girl is about being unapologetically YOU, having fun, being confident, living YOUR truth, being the life of the party etc.,” the artist tweeted a month before the song’s release.

appointment. More recently we saw “girl math,” an unserious way of justifying an $8 latte, or that by shopping in the clearance section, you’re earning money rather than spending it.

This summer, TikTok served us “girl dinner,” a trend showcasing the odd feminine urge to eat a mishmash of little snacks in lieu of a normal meal. “It’s stuff that you don’t really realize is normal until you see like all the other girls around you doing it,” Koontz said. “It’s okay if I want to just eat a plate of mac and cheese and four Takis!”

But the popularization of “girls” in mainstream media has been around since long before the late 2010s. In 1992, Kathleen Hanna formed the all-female punk band Bikini Kill, a primary influence in the larger underground “Riot Grrrl” punk-feminist movement.

Thus followed a tidal wave of “girl” trends: the “hot girl walk” that dominated the early lockdown era, where girls laced up their Nikes to strut through their neighborhoods. There was the “live, laugh, love” parody catchphrase “gaslight, gatekeep, girlboss” that spawned from Tumblr in early 2021, poking fun at the commodified and cringy “girlboss” feminism of the 2010s.

2023 brought in the hyper-saturation of “girl” TikTok trends, most obviously the aforementioned “teenage girl in her twenties” and the unifying buzzword “girlhood.” There’s been the phrase “I’m literally just a girl,” a play on No Doubt’s 1995 hit “Just a Girl,” and a relatable reaction to not wanting to schedule a doctor’s

“The Riot Grrrls invented the modern usage of girl-power,” Robin Wasserman wrote in her 2016 essay, “What Does It Mean When We Call Women Girls?” “The word has become a weapon with which to fight back.”

Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History unveiled its exhibit, “Girlhood (It’s Complicated)” in October 2020. The exhibit tackled the experience of the under-21 crowd, drawing from Riot Grrrl influences.

“The whole design of the show was based on zines,” Dr. Kathleen Franz, project director and lead curator of the exhibit, explained. “[Zines were] very important for reclaiming ‘girl,’ and sort of the radicalizing of the idea of ‘girl’ and ‘girlhood’ … to be a kind of liminal space where you could really define yourself before you have to go to work, or before you have to get married.”

Franz explained that the desire to remain “girly” is relatively new. “Women really tried to recapture or extend youth because youth culture, by the 1920s, was a full-blown entity,” she said. This phenomenon only grew stron

ger with the introduction of the teenager as an age demographic following World War II.

Wasserman’s essay explores the usage of “girl” in book and television show titles, à la “Gone Girl,” “The Girl on the Train,” “New Girl” and of course, — arguably the archetype of the “teenage girl in her twenties” — HBO’s 2010s sitcom, “Girls.” Wasserman found that “girls” are those who are still becoming women, as well as those who have not yet given up their personal power to the role of wife or mother. “Girl attunes us to what might be gained

aged 18-24 reported being sexually harassed in public spaces, according to a 2021 report.

Kennedy views womanhood as a community rooted in this collective battle against injustice and oppression. “It’s respecting other women and having that shared bond of just not being equal in the workplace or in life,” Kennedy said. “But, knowing that women are strong, women will hopefully stick together.”

comedian Louis C.K., who has since had multiple sexual harassment allegations against him. “[You] might say, ‘I’m 22, I’m totally a woman,’” the comedian said. “Not to me, sorry. To me you’re not a woman until you’ve had a couple of kids and your life is in the toilet … When you become a woman is when people come out of your vagina and step on your dreams.”

Wasserman’s article was published in 2016, one year before the allegations against Louis C.K. became public and the #MeToo movement gained mainstream recognition. #MeToo, “a global and survivor-led movement against sexual violence,” opened dialogue and created a supportive sub-community within womanhood.

To classify it as a sub-community, however, is an extreme understatement — 97 percent of women

The May 20 show has since been lovingly dubbed “the rain show” because of an unrelenting downpour that lasted through the entire concert. But this didn’t stop fans from making the most of their experience. Kennedy traded homemade bracelets with fellow fans and security guards, and ran into old friends who happened to be seated in her section.

If anything, the rain elevated the concert experience. “It was really special,” Kennedy said. “The rain obviously made it different, but it was cool to see some songs in the rain, and just how iconic she was in the rain.”

Kennedy was one of two million attendees of the Eras Tour this summer. Swift’s sixth tour, a celebration of her 10 albums and their corresponding “eras,” grossed $1.04 billion, and now holds the Guinness World Record for the highest grossing tour of all time.

UMASS MARCHING BAND CELEBRATES 150TH ANNIVERSARY

“Band is for everyone. It doesn’t matter if you’re crashing the symbols, playing the flute or tossing a flag. No matter what you do, you’re part of the same group, the same family if you will,” said Dr. Timothy Todd Anderson, director of UMMB. Dr. Anderson, or TTA to the band members, has served as director of the band since 2011.

His passion for the band and for its members shines through during our talk, eager to chat about any part of the vast organization. With so many rehearsals and so many moving parts, how does everyone stay organized and functional? Anderson attributes their organization to the “incredible student leadership” who stay committed and dedicated to doing the work behind the scenes.

“I went to a lot of music competitions in high school, and UMass would play as an exhibition show at a lot of these competitions,” said Gianna Borowski, a senior music education major adorned in a firefighter hat. “To be super young, and maybe in schools where music wasn’t the priority, to see this 400-person band burst out on the field and knock your socks off, was life changing.” In the band, she plays the flute and serves as travel manager.

“This thing would not work without them, that’s for sure.”

The band, along with professional, hired adult staff, has a whole host of administrative and field staff, all roles filled by students. For some of them, their passion for UMMB started before they even got to the UMass campus.

“In 11th grade, my high school went to UMass Band Day at Gillette Stadium and it was just the best day I’d ever had,” Lilly Madsen, a senior economic and political science major said. “They blew me away, and I just always was like, ‘I’m gonna be a part of the band at UMass.’ And now here I am,” Madsen said. She plays tenor saxophone in the band and serves as personnel manager. At the Band-O-Ween rehearsal, she was also in a firefighter costume, matching with Borowski and a few others in their section.

“You know they say, ‘if you love what you do, you never work a day in your life.’ And it doesn’t feel like work here at all,” Borowski said. At this point in the rehearsal, a few members of

CELEBRATES 150TH ANNIVERSARY

BY SHANNON MOORE

the band staff dressed as characters from “The Lorax,” came marching on the field, blasting the movie’s “Thneedville” at the highest volume. We all couldn’t help but laugh.

Dressed as Mr. O’Hare from “The Lorax” was saxophone player Qeanu Smith, a senior music education and saxophone performance major. She serves as a drum major in the band, “a kind of middle point between pro-staff and the whole band,” Smith said. According to Smith, they are in charge of running rehearsals, etiquette and anything else that might be needed. Smith reaffirms the band operates as a family and are constantly “just making sure everybody’s good,” she said.

A big requirement for all members of the band is Band Camp, a week-long intensive rehearsal before the semester begins. For staff members like Smith, Borowski and Madsen, Band Camp is even longer, with some returning 12-to-14 days before the semester starts.

“We’re always like, ‘there’s so much ahead of us,’ but we’re all really excited. After seeing each other almost every day, we go the whole summer without band,” Borowski said.

Members of the band arrive in waves; leadership, field and administrative staff come first to prepare for the upcoming week, followed by new members who spend a day with staff for orientation. Then, the rest of the band joins, marking the official start of the “8 a.m. to 9 p.m. days,” according to Smith.

The band has a whole host of incredible performances, including a pregame, halftime and postgame show during football games. This year, they’re performing a UMass Marching Band fan mix, which includes songs by Earth, Wind & Fire, Elton John and Stevie Wonder.

Additionally, they’re performing a “West Side Story” medley, and a percussion feature entitled “Malagueña.” They switch it up each year, but this year UMMB tried to pick music that was “our most popular, as a nod to 150 years,” Dr. Anderson said. When I asked students what their favorite piece was to perform, however, almost everyone’s answer was the same: “My Way” by Frank Sinatra.

Performed at the end of every postgame show, the song is half-sung, half-played by the band. The energy on the field is electric and warm, it’s easy to tell it’s a crowd favorite. As they shout the lyrics, “A life that’s full,” one can tell the meaning of the words is not lost on the performers.

The tradition, according to Anderson, began in 1979. The song was played at the end of a Frank Sinatra-themed halftime show, and “it just kind

of stuck around,” he said. The band members enjoyed performing it so much, they just kept playing it. It’s now the last number played at every band performance.

“The meaning of it from when you’re a freshman, versus when you’re a senior, is so different. I’m already thinking about our last time playing it. Just with how much the song changes, and how much you’ve changed. I think it’s a beautiful thing,” said Borowski.

“I don’t even know if I could put it into words, it’s just such an amazing feeling. At the last game, everyone was crying playing ‘My Way,’ and I turned to Gianna [Borowski], and she was crying too. We held hands for a second, and that’s just what band means,” Madsen said.

Smith had a different answer than Borowski and Madsen. She cited “Malagueña” as her favorite piece this season.

I was able to watch this number in action, during the Band-O-Ween rehearsal. It’s a mesmerizing performance; sections walk in boxes, weaving in and out of one another’s with perfect steps, perfect lines and perfect timing all while playing their instruments. I thought their first go was incredible, until the band director chimed in, telling members to “get it perfect, please!”

It’s clear that perfection is the standard with UMMB, and most likely one of the reasons they’ve lasted 150 years. Current students reflected on what this milestone means to them.

“I mean it sounds a little silly, but I just think it’s cool to be a part of this tradition. I think it shows how far we’ve come as a band, how far the marching arts have come, and where they’re going,” Borowski said.

“I’m just so proud to be, not just a part of the band, but one of the leaders for this year. It’s just such an important honor, and I’m so excited to be a part of it,” said Madsen.

As for the future of the band, they have big plans on their horizon: UMMB has been selected to march at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade

WHAT OTHER CAMPUS ORG. DO YOU KNOW WOULD BE OVERJOYED TO WAKE UP AT

7 A.M. ON A SATURDAY TO MARCH THROUGH SOUTHWEST?

in November 2024. Anderson expressed his excitement, but admitted that preparing for the parade will be a challenge.

Anderson hopes the band continues to represent the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. They’ve already been around the state, playing at the city of Gardner’s birthday celebration this year, and Quincy’s Christmas day parade last year. They’ve also been asked on repeat occasions by former governors Deval Patrick and Charlie Baker to perform at the State House, something Anderson hopes to continue.

“I don’t want us to just be viewed as UMass Amherst’s band, I want us to be viewed as the State of Massachusetts band,” said Anderson.

The band has already represented the state on numerous occasions, including during some the Commonwealth’s toughest times. He shared a story of one of the most meaningful moments for himself with the band. In the spring of 2014 on the one-year anniversary of the Boston Marathon bombing, the Red Sox held a special presentation before the game to honor the victims and survivors. UMMB was asked to play at that event.

“It was such a significant, healing moment for the people of Boston. We were the ones that were invited onto the field, we were the ones that played the ‘Star Spangled Banner,’” Anderson said. “That was an incredible honor.”

The legacy of the UMass Marching Band is more than 150 years, more than all the incredible honors and performances that have taken place — it’s the people, the community, the alumni and the members of the band themselves. What other campus organization do you know would be overjoyed to wake up at 7 a.m. on a Saturday to march through Southwest? To its members, the band is more like a family than anything else. Here’s to another 150 years!

HOW FATHERHOOD SPARKED A RECORD BREAKING SEASON

BY MIKE MAYNARD

Jan. 17, 2023, at 4:23 a.m. The moment that Kay’Ron Lynch-Adams’ life changed forever.

AvaRose Tomara Adams was born, coming into the world at seven pounds and seven ounces.

Lynch-Adams was right there to greet her and welcome her into the world. The moment of seeing her in his girlfriend Alyssa Deslandes’ arms for the first time really showed him how much his life was about to change.

“When I saw [Alyssa and AvaRose] both laying there, that’s when it really hit me, like oh snap, this is real,” Lynch-Adams said

The miracle of childbirth was mesmerizing to Lynch-Adams, who was shocked by the realization that his baby was a part of him. The effort by Alyssa to make the miracle happen also did not go unnoticed.

“In the delivery room, I could just tell there was an overabundance of joy that just went over [Lynch-Adams] face,” Alyssa said. “He just kept saying over and over, ‘You’re so amazing, this is crazy, you’re amazing,’ … all kinds of stuff like that.”

As a young man in his early 20s, this new challenge of raising a child was about to put an entirely new spin on how Lynch-Adams valued life.

‘RUNNING FOR MORE THAN

MYSELF ’

The biggest change that needed to happen was to get Alyssa up to Massachusetts. The couple had both grown up in Ohio and had been forced into doing things long distance, traveling back and forth to each other before finally coming together to take care of their daughter.

The pair met back in high school at track meets between Lynch-Adams’ Warren G. Harding High School and Alyssa’s Austintown Fitch High School. They’ve been together ever since and now were finally able to move in together and begin their family.

Their connection was strong from the start, with Alyssa even rooting for Lynch-Adams when he was on the football field scoring touchdowns against her high school.

The dynamic of watching Lynch-Adams on the football field has changed immensely since those high school days. She now had a partner to root with.

“[AvaRose is always] cheering when I’m cheering and clapping when I’m clapping and screaming when I’m screaming,” Alyssa said. “So it definitely gives a different feel when I’m watching the games because it’s our family now. Even if [Lynch-Adams] is on the phone or I’m in the stands, you could just feel like we’re still like all together.”

Things have changed a lot outside of the stadium as well, with the young family all learning more about each other every day. Lynch-Adams worked hard to ensure that his family could be with him in a new environment. He wanted to be around his daughter as much as possible.

“We just had to make adjustments and realize now “We’ve really got to grow up and now it’s not all about us,” Alyssa said. “It’s about our daughter now. It was definitely an adjustment, but it’s going pretty good.”

Lynch-Adams is a very active father in many aspects, especially when it comes to AvaRose’s sleep schedule. Even though Alyssa sometimes doesn’t mind letting her sleep out of schedule, Lynch-Adams is punctual and will make sure that she gets tucked in and is taken care of.

There was some skepticism as to how difficult it may be to make things work considering how much was already on the plate of the redshirt junior

25 MORE THAN

running back. His usual schedule and freedom changed to better support his daughter on a daily basis.

“When [Lynch-Adams] had [AvaRose], I heard him say, ‘You know mom, you were right, once you had us, I used to hear you say your life was about us. My life is definitely about [AvaRose]. I’ve got to grind, I’ve got to get it,’” Lynch-Adams’ mother Katiea said.

As a student-athlete, most days for Lynch-Adams were already jam-packed. Now adding a child to take care of was really going to switch things up.

Up until this point, the main focus for Lynch-Adams had always been the game of football. Ever since he was just four years old, he’s been suiting up in the pads and putting on a show for spectators.

He was following in the footsteps of his brother Keith, who, being five years older, had some experience with the sport and taught his brother the ins and outs.

The two brothers played outside the house through the day and night, with the only breaks in play coming when Lynch-Adams came inside to complain to Katiea about not being able to beat his older brother.

“[Keith] was roughing [Lynch-Adams] up, so what I did was I bought them football gear for

Christmas,” Katiea said. “That was the best thing I ever did. I never [saw] my kids inside the house [after that].”

From then on, football remained Lynch-Adams’ and Keith’s main interest growing up, no matter what the circumstances were.

“We could go to Walmart, and [the brothers] would find a football,” Katiea said. “… They would throw the football around the whole entire store.”

Keith took Lynch-Adams under his wing in multiple aspects, but especially on the field. The two would do drills with each other, constantly trying to make each other better while also using their competitiveness to attempt to win at whatever it was.

Before Lynch-Adams had an organized team to play on, he attended his brother’s practices and games, running around and getting the other kids who were too young to play to practice in their own way.

The time spent on the sidelines of his brother’s games and practices caught the attention of the other parents, who asked how old that “little kid” was. When they found out he hadn’t even turned five years old, they were astonished.

Lynch-Adams got his chances to play with the kids his brother’s age and made sure not to disappoint. His brother also made sure no one

took it easy on him.

“I told everybody, ‘Y’all’ve got to hit [Lynch-Adams] like you’re going to hit me, and if not, he’s switching teams, so I can hit him,’” Keith said. “I wanted him to get better. When you’re younger, if you get to work with older people, once you play with people your age, it should be a cakewalk.”

Having his brother as a mentor and role model was crucial for Lynch-Adams, especially going through life without his father around. When he was just two years old, his father went to prison and hasn’t been physically around since.

The lack of a father figure being around forced Lynch-Adams to grow up faster than the average kid. Even though he hasn’t been around in person, Lynch-Adams still talks to his father almost every single day and has been able to gain wisdom from him. Katiea took her boys there to see him three times a year before they could go on their own.

The most frustrating aspect of Lynch-Adams’ dad not being around is that he hasn’t seen him play football. There was some speculation recently that his father might’ve been getting out soon, but instead he was given six more years. The news shocked Lynch-Adams, who had gotten his hopes up that he’d finally get to spend time with his dad.

“It just broke all of us,” Katiea said. “That really crushed [Lynch-Adams] because he was really looking forward to looking in the stands, seeing his dad in the stands for the first time. Because it was always just me, you know, and the other family, but never his dad.”

Keith filled in as a father figure when necessary to teach Lynch-Adams how to grow as a man and avoid some of the mistakes he made.

The impact of Keith’s presence on his life has been instrumental in Lynch-Adams becoming the person and player that he is today. Lynch-Adams even wears the jersey number of his brother, to pay tribute to all that he’s done to help him get to this point.

“My big brother had [the number] 15, and I just came into the offseason, and I told myself I was going to [make the change],” Lynch-Adams said. “I had to take a little bit of [Keith] and add it to me. Even though that’s my brother and I’ve got a

lot of him in me, I had to have [15] on me, just had to let him know how serious I was.”

To this day, the two brothers talk on a very regular basis, sometimes multiple times a day. Even while trying to go through their own lives and look after their families, the pair rely on each other heavily for any type of advice.

With the newfound responsibility of taking care of a child, football became an even more important aspect of Lynch-Adams’ life.

“I already had a chip on my shoulder, and I already had a lot of stuff and things that I feel like are depending on me,” Lynch-Adams said. “[Now] my daughter got added to the list.”

There is a different feeling for Lynch-Adams behind every Saturday during football season now, with his daughter attending every game that she can. He makes sure to FaceTime Alyssa and talk with both her and his AvaRose before stepping on the field each game.

“They’re my babies, they’re [at the stadium] to watch me, there to see me,” Lynch-Adams said. “I always tell them, ‘I got y’all.’ That’s just how it is. I just know I’m running for more than myself out there.”

This added motivation has resulted in a breakout season for Lynch-Adams, becoming a star on the field and leading the Minutemen to a 3-9 season, their best record since 2018. The offense received a huge boost in production, scoring their most points per game since 2018 as well.

The individual stats for Lynch-Adams were exceptional, finishing with 1,157 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns, with both setting new UMass program records at the FBS level. His yards total slotted him in at No. 19 and touchdowns at No. 22 in the national rankings.

“I didn’t have those individual goals, but I definitely did expect myself to hit the ground running and have a good season,” Lynch-Adams said. “I did expect myself to come out and work because my off-season was really serious.”

UMass has only seen one other rusher eclipse over 1,000 yards in a season since its move to the FBS, coming from Eilis Merriweather who finished with 1,138. On the final play before halftime in

the season finale against UConn, Lynch-Adams rushed for seven yards to take the No. 1 spot in the record books.

“I’m just happy that he’s been healthy, because that’s the piece that’s been able to allow him to showcase his talent level,” UMass head coach Don Brown said. “This year he’s been healthy and has been able to show the world what kind of running back he can be, against quality opponents as well.”

Even while breaking records all season long, the numbers were never enough for Lynch-Adams. He always felt like he and his team could be better, never satisfied with any result that didn’t end with a UMass victory.

“It feels good [having individual success], but we aren’t winning games,” Lynch-Adams said. “So it feels like I’m not doing my job.”

Throughout his career, Lynch-Adams’ feeling of never being satisfied fueled him to work as hard as he can.

“[Lynch-Adams] has long days of practices but will still come home and do push-ups and workouts in our room,” Alyssa said. “He’s just always looking for a way to just be better and better, [always asking] ‘How can I better myself?’”

This success for Lynch-Adams in 2023 didn’t come easy. It was earned, having to work through some less-than-ideal situations. None much bigger than battling past a broken ankle.

It happened soon after arriving at UMass and was the first time in his career that he’d ever not been able to play the game of football. The injury forced him into depression.

“When I got hurt and I was away from [football] so much, it really changed me and messed me up because I had never been without it,” Lynch-Adams said.

Dealing with a significant injury was a new experience for Lynch-Adams, but he leaned on the help of his father who had suffered a similar injury in his high school days. Even though he wasn’t around to physically help with the rehab process, Lynch-Adams talked through his experience with his father and gained insight into how he could deal with the obstacles he faced.

“[Lynch-Adams is] definitely a hard worker,”

Alyssa said. “I feel like he’s had to work so hard for everything in his life because he hasn’t had anything handed to him. Everything he’s had to get he’s definitely had to work for. So, I feel like he’ll always have that mentality.”

Lynch-Adams initially blamed the depression and injury on UMass and was upset with his decision to transfer to the school. The school was there for him through the rehab process, though, and he has grown a love and appreciation for how they have helped him through his tough time.

“I’m just blessed to be here and have the opportunity to really like play football and do what I like to do,” Lynch-Adams said. “Because when I got hurt, UMass took care of me, got me surgery when I needed it and still gave me the opportunity to compete and get myself on the field.”

What had become basically his entire life at the time was put on hold, and it was hard for him to even watch the game as he usually would. He came up with a plan to switch to the defensive side of the ball, telling all his coaches that he wanted to play the viper position within Brown’s defense instead of running back so that he’d stop getting hurt.

“He just felt like his career was over,” Katiea said. “My mom had to stay there for like a whole month up there with him.”

The mental side of things was where Lynch-Adams really struggled with being off the field. The depression ate away at him, making him reconsider all aspects of his life to that point.

“It was really hard to see,” Alyssa said of Lynch-Adams’ time dealing with injuries. “You could just see a complete change in his spirit. Like just the way he went, day by day and everything. When he returned [to the field], I could tell he was a little nervous about it just because any little thing he’s feeling like, ‘man, I can’t be having no other issues.’”

AvaRose came at the right time, with her presence giving Lynch-Adams the kick in the butt he needed to get back on track.

“[AvaRose] kind of healed me,” Lynch-Adams said. She’s been my motivation, for real. She’s my healer.”

THE NUMBERS WERE NEVER ENOUGH FOR LYNCHADAMS

The responsibility of having someone who is reliant on you for everything has been a welcome addition to the life of Lynch-Adams. The biggest thing for him is consistently being present. With his father missing out on much of his life, he doesn’t want to miss any milestones or special moments with his child.

“I just make sure that I’m the best father I could ever be,” Lynch-Adams said. “I make sure I don’t miss nothing. I want to be there to see every single thing.”

Being around for his child has been easier with the help of the staff at UMass. Whether it’s teammates, coaches or anyone in between, Lynch-Adams has had the support of those around him, who are there to assist him in taking care of his daughter if need be.

Even after long days, Lynch-Adams makes sure to come home with a smile on his face, never missing doctor’s appointments or any other time that can be spent with AvaRose.

The two get a lot of alone time together, with Alyssa working overnights most of the time. Lynch-Adams has matured through all his previous life experiences and feels comfortable ensuring that his daughter is safe and has everything she needs.

“I’m a spoiler,” Lynch-Adams said. “Anytime [AvaRose] makes a noise, or she’s crying or wants something, I stop what I’m doing and get it to her. She just gets her way with me. I’m just super catering to her.”

Lynch-Adams does take some time to enjoy himself too, playing Madden and relaxing when he gets the chance. AvaRose is right there with him, sitting on his lap screaming at the game along with him.

To this point in life, there have been some bumps in the road to go along with the good times for Lynch-Adams, but he’s never worried that things won’t work out. The next big goal for the redshirt junior running back is making his dream of going to the NFL come true. Whether it happens now or down the road, he’s motivated by his family to give it everything he’s got. “Wherever [Lynch-Adams] wants to go, we’re with him. 100 percent,” Alyssa said.

On Jan. 17, 2023, at 4:23 a.m. AvaRose was born. Almost a year later, Lynch-Adams made his decision. On Dec. 1, 2023, he declared for the NFL Draft.

The baxbys

After a string of shows up and down the East Coast, The Baxbys have returned to Amherst. The psychedelic-pop band returned to their western Massachusetts roots on a bill supporting the bands Native Sun and Dead Tooth on Friday, Feb. 23 at The Drake.

Upon graduation from their respective universities, The Baxbys – composed of Alex Nordland, 23, James Miller, 22, Spencer Rosenfeld, 22 and Chris Sciucco, 22 – have defied the odds of many bands that formed in college. Though only two of The Baxbys attended the University of Massachusetts, and another is enrolled in college elsewhere, the group’s kinship has proven deeper than any distance or passage of time could strain.

return to amherst

by shanti furtado

“Three of us actually live in Amherst now, and Spencer [Rosenfeld] still goes to Northeastern. It honestly has worked out really well, even easier than when we were still in school,” Miller said. “Two of us work nine-to-five jobs, we don’t have homework now to worry about. We come together to play and write songs together whenever we can.” “Hopefully in the next year we’re all going to be living together. We’re coming together one at a time,” Rosenfeld said.

Following an ongoing run of shows in New York City and Boston at venues such as Arlene’s Grocery and Rockwood Music Hall, The Baxbys have laid the groundwork for a music career that reaches far beyond the artistically rich but otherwise geographically limited Amherst music scene.

“There were so many shows that we played in New York that felt good,” Miller said. “There were a couple that we had a pretty big turnout for, too. It just felt awesome to see some growth in a new place, especially that being New York. A lot of new faces and familiar friends came out, and [laughs] always some French people who loved us at every show.”

Outside the traction they have gained, seemingly even into European waters, The Baxbys still find themselves attracted to the community where it all began. Three years since their inception, the group initially made a name for themselves in the now-fading Amherst “basement show” scene, drawing in routine crowds of hundreds on weekends.

“I love Amherst, I love playing here. Those house shows we played here were some of the most fun things we’ve done,” Rosenfeld said.

“We’re trying to move away from the basement thing. It was so fun while it lasted. But with Amherst, regardless of where specifically we play, it is always going to be the place we started with our fan base, if you want to call it that,” Miller said. “I think we still have some people here that listen to us, most of our friends don’t live in Amherst anymore, though. We’re excited.”

In my own first few years as a UMass student, some of my initial notions of the Amherst music community was in relation to The Baxbys; their energetic shows and distinctive branded stickers atop students’ laptops being the talk of campus.

The excitement in which The Baxbys stirred amongst those invested in the greater Amherst music scene is one that helped paved the way for the onslaught of bands that have emerged alongside, and after the group.

“I THINK IT’S NATURE OF PIONEER VALLEY, ROSENFELD “IT JUST FEELS A VERY CREATIVE SPACE, ESPECIALLY IN A COMMUNITY OTHER COLLEGE-AGED KIDS.”

IT’S JUST THE THE VALLEY,”

ROSENFELD SAID. FEELS LIKE CREATIVE

ESPECIALLY BEING COMMUNITY OF COLLEGE-AGED

“I mean, that’s where we all met – in college. People are excited to mingle and join forces in different ways. I think we are a product of that. But maybe it is amorous too, we have all of these former legends that hailed from Amherst. I’m sure everyone knows who I am talking about, like J. Mascis,” Sciucco said.

With their experiences in Amherst — and now New York — the mark they left is paying dividends for The Baxbys.

“Just playing one show, I find that always leads to just some other little opportunity, another step for us. One venue leads to another venue somehow, and then you just meet a lot of great people and friends. We haven’t really been seeking anything out, just going with the flow right now and that seems to be working,” Rosenfeld said.

After being contacted by the booking agent of New York City based punk-rock group Native Sun, another gig came The Baxbys’ way, this time bringing them back to The Drake – a sort of homecoming to kickoff a new year set for heightened success.

The Baxbys are in the midst of recording their third release, following their EPs “Side By Side” and “Meet The Baxbys.” Though there is no official release date for their new music, the compilation is set to deviate from the new-wave indie psychedelia of their past works.

“We are working with some new people on [the record]. I’d say it’s definitely going to be a bit different from the last two,” Miller said. “But hopefully we retain some of our familiar sound.”

“We all agree that this is our favorite, we try to be better each time we release something new. We can’t wait for people to hear it,” Rosenfeld said.

During their 45-minute set at the Drake, The Baxbys played sneak peaks of their upcoming release and even newer unreleased tracks; a special ode to the place that started it all.

“Once we release more music, we’ll take it from there and keep seeing what happens. We are just having a lot of fun right now and are going to keep playing shows in the Northeast region. This is very cool for us,” Miller said.

“The biggest thing I am thankful for is that the four of us want to keep pushing this as much as possible. These shows at places like The Sinclair that are coming up and the new music — we are very excited,” Sciucco said.

Regardless of what the future holds for the group, it is clear the synergy they cultivate has the capability to transcend their impact on Amherst, to even greater heights.

A glimpse into UMass Disability Services

The strengths and setbacks of UMass’s accommodation of students with disabilities

By Zoe Rakarick

Michal Applebaum has a disability that makes academics difficult for her. So, during her first semester at the University of Massachusetts Amherst in the fall of 2022, she sought help from Disability Services, which assigned her a learning specialist.

Applebaum said her learning specialist and accommodations contributed to her academic success. But, when she applied for a learning specialist her second semester, Disability Services told her they could not accommodate that request.

“It’s a struggle to get the resources I need from them,” Applebaum said. “Letting yourself take the accommodations is hard as it is.”

Disability Services at UMass is determined to assist students in need of accommodations. However, not all students feel accommodated on campus.

In 2020, the Center for Student Success Research asked UMass Amherst students, “Do you think of yourself as a person with a disability?” 7 percent of students answered “yes” and 9 percent answered “unsure.” According to the Center for Student Success Research at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, finding statistics for disabilities can be challenging, though many students are affected by disabilities at UMass.

For the past 11 years, Trisha Link has held the position of exam accommodation coordinator at Disability Services. Link maintains the two testing centers and oversees over 30 exam proctors who observe students when completing an exam and help with exam transcription in the Whitmore Building.

“It’s a complicated position but I do love it, I’ve always worked with

students,” Link said. “I wouldn’t have a job if it wasn’t for the students on this campus so I try to give 100 plus percent and not take stuff too personally.”

Many eligible students use Disability Services, although some do not reach out to them for resources, Link said.

“I would just want students to learn more about it and if they are eligible and just get the help that they need so that they can get their degree,” she said. “But we need students to speak up to help us.”

She added that students can transfer their 504 Plan from high school to college. A 504 Plan guarantees that a student with an identified disability receives specialized support.

Some students’ hesitation to reach out to Disability Services is because they say not all students are provided with the accommodations they need, including Applebaum.

In fall 2022, Applebaum completed a form for a learning specialist to accommodate her specific needs — a process she compared to choosing a therapist. Applebaum said her specialist was understanding and easy to work with. The Learning Specialist program at UMass has a budget of $161,013.80 annually , according to Associate Chancellor for Compliance Christine Wilda. Applebaum’s academic accommodations include extended time for assignments and exams and she is provided a notetaker.

“I have to be in contact with the professors daily,” Link said. “They are always willing to help but some of the professors proctor their own exams with accommodations.”

“My class last spring would book a room when we had exams and my professor would have us start an hour early and we had to be there for like, at least until the normal exam started. So it was really nice because when it was evening exams, we could start early instead of going late,” Applebaum said.

Applebaum asked Disability Services for a learning specialist for her spring 2022 semester and Disability Services did not provide one for her. Although she still received academic accommodations, she said that a learning specialist was vital for her. So, she hired one privately, although it was a financial burden. Link acknowledged that Disability Services does need more help and Applebaum’s experience is an example of this.

“Our staff, we work very hard for the students on this campus,” Link said. “We need more rooms, we need more resources.”

For the fall 2023 semester, Applebaum said she expressed her need for a learning specialist to Disability Services via email twice.

“This semester they were really slow at responding; I filled out the survey and I didn’t hear anything,” Applebaum said.

She said that not having a learning

specialist this semester makes her classes difficult.

Disability Services still provides notetakers for her; there is typically a notetaker for every class offered at UMass.

“I get a notetaker but it’s frustrating because they don’t get them immediately and like nobody wants to do it,” Applebaum said.

“It gives me the freedom to pay more attention to the lecture,” she added. “I have trouble figuring out what I should write.”

Applebaum accesses her notetaker’s work through Clockwork, a UMass Amherst website created by Disability Services. She said Clockwork was “outdated and confusing.” Ilgaz Hakioglu started working as a notetaker in the fall semester of 2022 and also described Clockwork as “outdated.”

Hakioglu is a notetaker for three classes that she is not enrolled in, meaning she is required to take notes for them to post to Clockwork.

“At the end of the day… I collapse,” she said. “It’s physically tiring because I’m running around all day trying to go to five classes.”

Despite this, she enjoys doing it. “I just like helping people, it makes me feel better about myself contributing to someone and making their life easier,” she said. “I think it’s just important to acknowledge the disabled people are on campus because I don’t think a lot of

people actually realize how hard their life [is] compared to ours.”

She said that Disability Services needs many more notetakers.

“Maybe they can make the job more appealing so that more people can take it,” Hakioglu said.

Zoe Kopec, the assistant director for information access for Disability Services at UMass, expressed the need for more notetakers and resources too. Disability Services spends $18,570 annually to support notetaking, according to Wilda.

Kopec oversees multiple programs that Disability Services offers including the notetaking program. She was formerly the notetaking coordinator from 2019 to 2021.

“The note-taking staff gets like hundreds of emails a day for the first few weeks so there is a little bit of a delay. There’s just so much information,” she said.

Link said that Disability Services needs more resources and students should speak up about which resources would help them the most. She hopes that Disability Services has the budget for more resources in the future to better assist students.

AT THE INTERSECTION OF

Identity,

For international students at the University of Massachusetts, several transitional experiences shape their adjustment to campus life. With strong bonds to culture, religion, geography and family, these contexts form the bedrock of identity and sense of self.

Over the past 10 years, the international student community at UMass increased significantly. According to University Analytics and Institutional Research, this fall, international students accounted for 37 percent of the entire graduate student population, and eight percent of undergraduates.

Just 10 years ago, this figure hovered below four percent in both undergraduate and graduate international student populations.

Within this group, a smaller yet growing community of international LGBTQIA+ students navigate the intricacies of sexuality and gender identity with a dual lens.

For first-year international student and biology major Alex Nguyen, a goal of self-discovery coincided with the intent to pursue an education abroad and find meaning in his identity—all in relation to his studies and interests.

“The first time I came here, I knew that I could always find my community in America,” Nguyen said. “The whole reason I came here [was] to explore myself more than back in my home country.”

The means of embracing identity, and the plurality of identity are inherently personal. But the common threads between students of all backgrounds extends beyond a shared campus, and into a sense of place formed in connection with space and time.

But what does it mean to be queer? And what does it mean to be a queer international student?

The story is told at the crossroads of both identifiers, starting with queer international students’ country of origin. When first arriving on campus, many queer international students have varying perspectives on how to express their identity with respect to a new environment.

Just as different cultures play a role instilling different values within people, these contexts are evident when considering what queer international students bring with them to a college campus space. Stonewall Center Program Coor-

dinator Robert Cahill emphasizes this, shedding light on the extent to which student concerns are shaped by their diverse backgrounds.

“It can often be a very isolating experience trying to find resources as an international student and as a queer student—and having to deal with that intersection,” Cahill said. “Oftentimes, a lot of queer international students are coming in alone, and they have a lot of questions and might not really know where to reach out.”

In consequence, not all queer international students come to UMass having accessed the same resources conducive to exploring and understanding their sexual orientation and gender identity. Sometimes, students are only given the means to figure out such identities once they arrive.

Hailing from Vietnam, Nguyen reflected on the dichotomy of values from his home country and how they impact his understanding of queer identity in the United States. Without explicit discriminatory law against LGBTQIA+ people in Vietnam, Nguyen said the culture towards queer individuals is generally receptive. But a cultural acceptance does not counteract the lack of legal

protection for the LGBTQIA+ community in Vietnam.

“There’s a misconception that Southeast Asians hate the gays, but my country is really open to them,” Nguyen said. “We can do anything in Vietnam as gay people, but we cannot tell the government to do something for the gay people.”

The work of a vibrant and active advocacy scene has led the Vietnamese government to make several advances in recent years, including the end of a ban on same-sex marriage in 2015, and the outlawing of conversion therapy in 2022. While such progress may point to changing social attitudes, the availability of resources and educational material relevant to LGBTQIA+ issues is still insufficient.

Because culture plays a role in the way sexual orientation and gender identity are conceptualized in Vietnam, here at Umass, Nguyen hopes to learn more about the LGBTQIA+ community in ways he could not back home.

“Even though I’m part of the community, there are a lot of things that I don’t really get,” Nguyen said.

community & belonging

CATHARINE LI

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“The first time I heard about nonbinary and genderfluid [gender identities] was when I came here. It’s really great for me to study more about it.”

At the core of LGBTQIA+ aligned programming, activities and workshops is the Stonewall Center—often the first stop for queer students, and a case study in community and transformation on the University campus. To those who have witnessed the center’s development, it’s as much a reminder of progress as it is a driving force to continue adapting.

First established in 1985 as an administrative office within Student Affairs, the Center joined just two other U.S. schools at the time to serve as a resource hub for queer students, community members and allies. Director Dr. Genny Beemyn says the mission of the Center has evolved in parallel with the evolution of LGBTQIA+ student needs on campus.

The implementation of gender-inclusive housing, gender-inclusive restrooms and the designation of preferred name and pronouns for University records are all initiatives which highlight this change. But Beemyn believes it is always the Stonewall Center’s intent to accommodate to LGBTQIA+ students’ and allies’ interests as different trends materialize.

Most pressing of these trends in recent years is the growth of the queer international student population.

“We see more students who are international who are out about their sexuality, out about their gender identity,” Beemyn said. “That was something that was rare a decade or more ago, especially [at the] undergraduate level.”

As much as the growth excites Beemyn and the Stonewall Center, they remain conscious of the factors that can affect how international students view their identities in relation to the campus environment.

Just 10 years ago, this figure hovered below four percent in both undergraduate and graduate international student populations.

Within this group, a smaller yet growing community of international LGBTQIA+ students navigate the intricacies of sexuality and gender identity with a dual lens.

“The first time I came here, I knew that I could always find my community in America,” Nguyen said. “The whole reason I came here [was] to explore myself more than back in my home country.”

But what does it mean to be queer? And what does it mean to be a queer international student?

Cahill emphasizes this, shedding light on the extent to which student concerns are shaped by their diverse backgrounds.

“Even though I’m part of the community, there are a lot of things that I don’t really get,” Nguyen said. “The first time I heard about nonbinary and genderfluid [gender identities] was when I came here. It’s really great for me to study more about it.”

Most pressing of these trends in recent years is the growth of the queer international student population.

“I still get why many international students are not out,” Beemyn said. “You come here, you’re in a foreign country, you don’t know the culture [and] customs all that well, [and] you don’t fit in very well with [the] majority white, majority US-born and raised LGBTQIA+ population. So that doesn’t necessarily feel like a home. And at the same time, you don’t want to stand out, be separate from the folks from your home country.”

For one first-year international student from India, navigating how to reconcile these two clashing realities was challenging. Conscious of the more participatory culture regarding LGBTQIA+ acceptance in the United States, the notion of fully embracing identity only began to make more sense with the right people.

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community & belonging

After meeting their primary friend group through LGBTQIA+ talk spaces hosted by the Stonewall Center, the student found a greater sense of direction partaking in dialogue that captured a range of experiences, strengthening their own understanding of self.

“I didn’t realize it until my friends pointed it out, but I kept being queer according to them, only in the queer spaces,” the Indian international student said. “They were like, ‘it’s okay.’ ‘You can say these things. You can say you’re bi.’ I didn’t realize [I had] been subconsciously holding myself back. It was like holding your breath and then letting go.”

These experiences—queer experiences, are what serve as a springboard for outward expression.

“I’ve never had an issue with my sexuality growing up,” the Indian international student said. “I’ve never had that inner battle. I think coming here, it’s become more external. I don’t have to just internally process that.”

Reckoning with a new sense of “responsibility” as the student reflects, is an earnest but complex effort to make the most out of identity-affirming opportunities at UMass while not losing sight of progress yet to be made.

Because who you are matters where you are. As this student puts it, seeing past microaggression and ignorance as a symptom of cultural values calls for a recognition of generational influence.

“It’s an American thing to be gay,” the Indian international student said. “[Families would] be weirded out if you came out. Sometimes you even get disowned if you do, because it’s just such an otherworldly concept.”

Acknowledging the difficult relationships queer international students often share with their country of origin, Beemyn clarifies how a sense of isolation can manifest when attempting to piece together their new and old surroundings.

“International students I think are different,” Beemyn said. “They don’t really have that community here beyond the folks they meet from their home country or from regions. And that’s one of the reasons why it’s so important to reach out to them, because they don’t have that community.”

Program Director Cahill amplifies these perspectives while recognizing that both specificity and diversity of offerings must be considered when providing programs for LGBTQIA+ students, and particularly those studying from another country.

“I think that we should be doing a little bit more to create experiences catered specifically towards [international LGBTQIA+ students] so they feel supported,” Cahill said. “Because it is such a small community, they definitely need a lot of support from us.”

Another first-year international student in the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences speaks to the importance of contextually sensitive programming and resource curation for queer international students who come from countries unsupportive of their identities.

“Being international and queer, I do not relate to some of the perspectives [of] Massachusetts [queer people,]” the SBS student said.

Coming from an Islamic nation, the student notes the influence of religious values on their country’s complex, but often unsupportive stance towards LGBTQIA+ people. This impacted their outlook surrounding personal expression of queer identity.

“I’m not very vocal about it in the way that I think some other people are,” the SBS student said. “And not to say that as a bad thing. A lot of people are very out and proud and make it a focal point of their identity. For me, it’s like a background feature.”

The merging and contradiction of values saturate this student’s thoughts while unpacking layered emotions about what their queerness can mean. This is most evident in their perspectives on understanding queerness as it pertains to geographic context.

“If you come from a culture that’s predominantly very closed off then [interact] with the culture that’s over here, very loud and very vocal, it is a bit of a struggle,” the SBS student said.

Common ground all three students stand on is an appreciation for the people they have met since coming to UMass.

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The sense of camaraderie that the students desire is the same one the Stonewall Center prioritizes with student-led and student-oriented event planning.

“Having people show up for you and support you is so important, not just as a student, but as a person,” Cahill said. “It’s important to have events cater to specific queer students, so we know that there’s that connectivity taking place. So people know that there’s people to go to if they’re struggling.”

THESE EXPERIENCES, QUEER EXPERIENCES, ARE WHAT SERVE AS A SPRINGBOARD FOR OUTWARD EXPRESSION

Having a physical hub on campus representing key values of LGBTQIA+ inclusivity, education and outreach is perpetually significant for students at various stages of their gender and sexuality development.

“Even with my other queer friends when we were deciding [on] colleges, we’re like, ‘Ok, this would be our time,’” the SBS international student said. “I think just having that option open, people are definitely exploring. And everybody’s exploring in college. We do have the facilities to know more about queer talking points [and] queer events to link with other queer people.”

Where much of the college experience is built on immersion and first-times, the Indian international student found joy truly experiencing a culture they had only observed for so long.

“Part of the reason why I managed to get the courage to open up and come out to some of my friends is because [of] a lot of American artists [like] Lady Gaga, Troye Sivan,” the Indian international student said. “Many of them [are] openly queer and I was able to relate to them through their art and their work. I got the courage from them and when I came here, it’s even more evident in the way people are.”

With hope for a swelling queer international student community, the student remains confident in their story—one they are always willing to tell.

“Obviously, not everyone is going to accept me, but knowing that there’s this small group of people that I can go back to, wave a little rainbow flag, and they’ll wave it back at me just gives me a lot of relief,” the Indian international student said. “Especially coming from a country that doesn’t approve of it.”

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