November 10, 2022 Vol. 95 Issue 4

Black and Queer Artist Jake Blount Gives Historically Inspired Concert

BY LILY RICHARD STAFF WRITER

A journey through histor ically inspired music was led by one artist, his violin, and his banjo at the Church Street Center.

There was a positive stu dent and community turnout for instrumentalist, vocalist, and scholar of Black Amer ican music, Jake Blount on November 2nd.

“I thought the perfor mance was incredibly soul ful and vibrant and I love how he pulled us into these

musical worlds across the United States, like these hid den sorts of seeds of Ameri cana that you don’t often get exposed to. I like how it took those roots and put them out in such a dynamic and color ful way for us as listeners,” said Benjamin Ross ‘24.

Blount began with some songs from his new album but throughout the show played multiple different pieces while explaining some of their histories.

“It’s (his new album) called The New Faith, and it is the latest installment of Smithsonian Folkways re cordings, Afri can American legacies series.

If you’re not familiar with what I do, I dig up a lot of tunes and songs from black and in digenous mu sicians, mostly from the south east but also farther at times, and tell the sto ries that come alongside those tunes,” Blount explained to the audience.

As a Black and Queer mu sician, Blount challenges the dominant White narra tive in Amer ican Folk mu sic. His work speaks about

the African roots of the banjo and the subtle, yet profound ways African Americans have shaped and defined the amorphous categories of roots and Americana music.

When asked in a brief in terview with the Beacon why he does what he does, Blount answered, “I think it’s just being a part of a culture, the traditional music came down a lot through the church in my family and a couple of those songs I sang, my grandparents knew before I dug them up somewhere because they heard them in church when they were chil dren. It was there but I think it’s kind of about historical text to me and wanting to

know more about my family and our history and that be ing the way.”

Some pieces were strict ly instrumental while oth ers had vocals, but all piec es were captivating. Matt Lewellyn ‘26 said, “I really liked just kind of closing my eyes and getting sent into some other world.”

In his descriptions, Blount expressed that he has spent a lot of time in West Virginia finding inspiration and new pieces. He later explained some of his processes after finding these historical piec es.

“If I’m doing a solo perfor mance like this and I’m doing a lot of fiddle tunes and stuff

there’s a lot that I keep ex actly the same about them in terms of the bowing patterns and note choices but they are also things that wind up not sounding anything like the original recordings, even when I copy the bowings ex actly. I’m going to sound like myself no matter what but I always try to do a deep study of the original and then also be open to where my own ef forts take me,” said Blount.

Blount’s performance was in coordination with two MCLA classes to create both an educational and live per forming arts event and is supposed to be the first of more alike events.

PHOTO BY JOHNLUKE KUNCE

Many audience members found Blount’s performance to be captivating and unique.

PHOTO BY JOHNLUKE KUNCE

Artist Jake Blount uses his music to tell the stories of black and indigineous communities, and emphasizes the importance of learning the history behind the songs.

SGA

Campus Climate Survey, Curriculum Changes, and Upcoming QSU Events

BY DYLAN SLONKA STAFF WRITER

The Student Government Association meetings of October 24th and 31st dis cussed several different things that will impact stu dent life in a positive way on campus.

On October 24th, the meet ing proceeded with Chris topher MacDonald-Dennis, MCLA’s Senior Advisor for Institutional Equity and Be longing, and Jason Canells, the Director of Institutional Effectiveness and Planning. They discussed the Campus Climate Survey, an anon ymous online survey last conducted in 2017 that aims to gather student feelings about their campus envi ronment. Allegedly, stu dent concerns still have not been recognized, especially students of color.

“50 percent of black male students did not return after last year,” MacDonald-Den nis said.

This is disheartening for the college community and those it encompasses. The Campus Climate Survey this year will be a more in tensive way to look at how students interact in this giv en environment, where dif ficult questions will be ad

dressed. Faculty members intend to use the data generated by the survey to create a more welcoming and inclusive en vironment here on campus.

Executive Vice President Callis ta Motta noted that SGA mem bers are still needed on the Textbook Equity Committee. The All-College Com mittee produced some curricu lum changes that would affect stu dents in those particular majors and concentrations. The Film concentration will be changed to Film and Vi sual Culture. History and Political Science majors will have access to a new course called Superheroes and Pro fessional Society. Two new concentrations have also been added to the Political Science major: Pre-law and International Affairs.

The question of profes sors not having Canvas pag es was brought up. Profes sors can decide if they want to have a Canvas page, but students in those courses

will not be able to view their grades in that case. Presi dent Ian Crombie stated that Vice President Jeannette Smith would be notified of this problem as well as the All-College Committee.

Edgar Perez, the Senior Class President, noted that the old fitness center has been overtaken by the Mul ticultural Education Re source Center (MERC) to be the new MERC space. It had been voted on to re ceive funding by SGA in the last year to be a student space that was designed by students for their personal

use. $50,000 was supposed to be allocated to redo the space, but that money nev er materialized, and neither did the space. The administration did not tell those in charge of cre ating this stu dent space any thing, and any other projects of this type will likely not move forward.

The meeting on October 31 did not have as much content, but guest speaker Ara Phoe nixx, the Programming Co ordinator for Gender and

Sexuality, was present to discuss the Queer Student Union’s upcoming events for the month of Novem ber. Bringing awareness to what the QSU offers for students is pivotal in get ting students to engage with the club. Their Transgen der Awareness week is the week of November 14, and the Transgender Day of Re membrance will take place on November 20. QSU meet ings in November will take place every Thursday from 6:30 to 8:30 PM and their Self-Defense Series will be taking place from Novem ber 11 to 13 from 7:30 to 9:30 PM.

SGA Meetings are open to anyone every Monday at 7:00 p.m. in the conference room of Murdock.

OpiniOn

A Letter to the Editor

To the Editor of the Beacon:

In light of the recent SGA meeting, in which two new concentrations were add ed to the Political Science major, I want to address the blatant disrespect that the English and Communi cations departments have faced in the last few years.

First, as Professor Birch mentioned in the last edi tion of the Beacon, the Communications depart ment has only one full-time professor, the programs that are essential to the con tinued success of students in this major have been revoked, and the Beacon itself has been relocated to the basement of the Freel Library, a room which is insufficient for everything this paper needs to thrive, and treats those who work for the paper as insignifi cant members of the MCLA community. Even worse, the old Beacon room is now a computer lab. The school

has plenty of computer labs already, despite the fact that most of the time, the labs are empty.

The English department has faced similar challenges. Some of the best professors we’ve had no longer work here after being underap preciated and overworked, and this was almost certain ly under the guise of “budget cuts.” Now, the remaining professors are working over time to put classes together. And let’s not forget when the offices of several members of the English/Communications staff were abruptly relocated with little to no warning, just to make room for the unnec essary nursing program.

Whenever registration rolls around, English and Commu nications students struggle to piece together schedules that meet requirements since there are almost no classes left un taken. As an English major myself, I would love to take new classes that are relevant to my academic interests, but instead find myself dipping into other subjects like psy

chology and sociology just to get the necessary credits.

So I ask MCLA this: are you really cutting the essen tial programs and wonderful, hardworking professors, re locating students and faculty, and not helping professors create the necessary cours es, just for the sake of saving money? If so, then why are you funding two new concen trations for a major that is not being stamped out? Why are you funding a nursing pro gram?

At a liberal arts college, one would think that the preservation of English and Communications would be of great concern. I don’t know a single English or Com munications student who would recommend coming to MCLA; the school does not care about us, although the very name of our school would suggest otherwise. It’s disrespectful and hypocriti cal.

Something needs to change.

Sincerely, A concerned English Major

Radiology Program Aims to Prepare Students for Successful Careers

BY LILY RICHARD STAFF WRITER

The Radiology program is focusing on the success of its students and hopes to have a positive impact on the local medical community.

“All of our students that graduated last semester had job offers before they even graduated and before they even took their boards, they all had job opportunities and offers. Some of them had multiple,” said Julie Walsh, Program Director of the Ra diology Program.

In an interview with the Beacon, Walsh expressed the need for technologists and the profession locally.

“There is such a need for technologists in the area, at all of our local hospitals. They’re using travel techs, technologists who sign up with a company and then go wherever the need is in the country, and so all our hos pitals are using that because they don’t have the technolo gists to fill their departments. So, there is a real need, there are sign-on bonuses, there are shift differentials in order to get people into this profes sion, so it’s desperately need ed,” Walsh explained.

Behind Registered Nurs ing, Radiologic Technology/ Science was the most popu lar undergraduate major at Southern Vermont College

(SVC). After the closing of SVC in 2019, MCLA took on its Radiologic Sciences pro gram as a Teachout along with many SVC students.

“We still have all of the same clinical sites that we had when we were at SVC and we’ve added Berkshire Health, so if anything, our clinical sites have grown,” said Walsh. Rutland Hospital, Brattleboro Hospital, Glens Falls Hospital, Southern Ver mont Medical Center, Albany Med, and Berkshire Hospital are their clinical sites.

Since 2020, the program has grown, and the department hopes for it to continue to do so. Walsh, a former teacher at SVC, communicated that as a public school, more grants are available, and they are more involved in the commu nity than SVC was.

Clinical involves, “Our students go in scrubs and are part of the department… The technologist is right with them as they do everything and they start in the normal phase of learning, they ob serve first, then they start assisting and then they start performing. What they need to do is get the competencies that are required in order to sit for their boards. So this semester, our junior students have to get three competen cies, so they have to perform three exams completely on their own,” explained Walsh.

The students go to clinical in a variety of settings such as urgent cares, orthopedic offices, and operating rooms, getting multiple important experiences. Therefore, not only is it important for them to have technical skills but communication skills as well.

“Communication is half of our profession, you have to be able to communicate with fellow technologists, with

patients that are in pain, pa tients that can’t communicate with you, patients that have had major trauma going on. Communication and getting that patient from where they are to where you need them to be and doing breathing instructions and positioning, you have to be a really good communicator,” said Walsh. The department prioritiz es the success of students to

get them into these important roles.

“Our goal is to have stu dents succeed. If we have to spend time doing private tu toring, having students meet us on teams at night just so that they can get through, we all do that and are willing to do that,” said Walsh.

The department encourag es students to join the pro gram.

PHOTO BY LILY RICHARD

MCLA’s Radiology program is looking to expand their outreach into the North Adams community and also prepare students for careers in the field.

OpiniOn

Do Celebrities Deserve Second Chances?

BY JILLIAN CURRIER CO EDITOR IN CHIEF

I feel like every time I open my phone in the morning, I see another article or post about some famous person doing something wrong and getting exposed for it. Which is all fine and dandy until you open the comments and see people siding with them for their wrongdoing. This applies with A-list celebri ties, famous actors, internet celebrities, even YouTubers. Why is it that so many people side with famous personali ties when they do something wrong?

I think the problem starts with the fact that we don’t really know these celebrities. When you think about it, you really only know what they post about online. You could be someone’s biggest fan and have been obsessed with them since being a child, but you still don’t really know the person at all.

You don’t know their likes and dislikes, their favorite hobby, their favorite foodliterally anything that you would know of your clos

est friends is completely un known of a celebrity. And yet fans treat them like friends and support them when they mess up, and I don’t get it.

The big problem is that social media allows people to share a glimpse into their lives, and people take that and run with it when it comes to celebrities.

Kim Kardashian could post a picture modeling SKIMS, and people will automatically zoom in and analyze the pho to to see if it’s photoshopped or not to criticize her. Real istically, who cares if it is? People who aren’t celebrities edit their photos all the time and no one comments on it, but because someone has a platform you have to critique their choices? The power im balance and parasocial rela tionships between celebrities and fans is weird, and it needs to change.

With that being said, when it comes to celebrities making mistakes, in some cases it can be warranted to critique them.

For example, famous YouTu bers come under fire for past videos and old jokes all the time. And what do they do

when this happens? They sit down in front of their camera, with tears in their eyes, and film a one-take video apol ogizing for “all the people they’ve hurt”, while taking

accountability and promising to be better in the future. It’s the same thing every time, no matter what the scenario is.

I’ve seen this type of video from someone who was under fire for sexual assault, some one who was accused of bes tiality, someone who know ingly approved poor quality makeup, and even someone who very severely injured their friend. The range from very problematic to not prob lematic at all with YouTubers is huge, yet the same video is reused for every scenario, and people will still be sending their love and support.

I think people need to re alize that these famous peo ple that they only see on their screens are not their friends, they’ll never be their friends, and there was never a shot that you would ever be friends.

It might sound harsh, but social media is allowing this to happen more and more ev

ery day, and it’s ruining the way people act and react to serious things. If someone you knew in real life were to face any accusations a famous per son has, you wouldn’t be in their comment section send ing love and support, you’d be holding them accountable. This needs to start happening through social media before it gets more out of hand than it already is.

So, circling back to the ti tle, my answer is no. When you’re in the public eye, you know of your exposure to the world and to the many, many people you can influence. At the end of the day, you are still a real person with emotions and feelings and responsibilities just like the rest of us, so why not take a page from our books and hold yourself accountable. Don’t rely on the strangers in your comment section to fight your way out of it for you.

PHOTO FROM SHUTTERSTOCK

Kim Kardashian is a prime example of a celebrity who has been “cancelled” before, but seems to always bounce back from whatever scandal she’s involved in.

PHOTO FROM UNSPLASH

Celebrities in Hollywood often end up being forgiven for any wrongdoings because of their influence over the general public. Should this change? Should we hold influencers to a higher standard?

Fun and Games

Arts and entertainment Theatre Department Kicks Off 20222023 Season with “The Tempest”

BY NICOLE LEMIRE CO EDITOR IN CHIEF

The MCLA Theatre Depart ment put on their opening per formance of “The Tempest” on November 4 at 8pm, kicking off their 2022-2023 season.

“The Tempest” is a play by William Shakespeare which follows Prospero, portrayed by Caitlyn Falzone ‘23, a wizard who uses his magic to torment the survivors of a shipwreck, and his plan to restore the loss of his throne from his villainous brother, Antonio, portrayed by Comfort Acheampong ‘23. The story tackles themes of free dom and forgiveness, as Pros pero eventually learns that re venge is not always the answer and the conflict is resolved.

Throughout the play, Pros pero is a protective father over his innocent and naive daughter Miranda, portrayed by Ysabel Cardona ‘25, who eventually falls in love with Prince Ferdinand of Naples, portrayed by Rachel Lamarre ‘25. Other integral characters include the magical spirit Ari el, portrayed by Zurie Adams ‘23 and Prospero’s slave, Cal

iban, portrayed by Howard Brown. Ariel and Caliban are both under the control of Pros pero, with both wishing for their freedom. “The Tempest” is described by the MCLA The atre Department as a “timeless story of love, revenge, and re demption.”

Deviating from the original work, this production of “The Tempest” has a 1920s circus theme, whereas the original play was set in 17th century England. A new character add ed to the cast who does not ap pear in the source material is the Ringmaster, portrayed by Jheneay Watkins ‘24. The Ring master’s main role in the play is to narrate the story and set each scene, also regularly breaking the fourth wall and providing comedic commentary on what is occurring onstage.

“The Tempest” was directed by Tom Truss and featured mu sic direction from MCLA alum Trevor Wheelock ‘19. Audience members praised the cast for their performances, as well as the set and costume designs.

“It was definitely one of the best plays that I have seen so far at MCLA,” said Domenica Go

mez ‘23. “All of the actors were really in character, and it looked like everyone was having fun and were genuinely passion ate about doing theater. I saw a production of “The Tempest” when I was in high school, but this version was definitely my favorite. Some characters were really funny and I was smiling

the entire show!”

“The cast and crew did a great job at bringing the show to life,” said Miranda Maciejowski ‘23. “I loved the costumes and overall design of the show.”

“The Tempest” has three more additional shows coming up: Nov. 11 at 8pm, Nov. 12 at 8pm, and Nov. 13 at 2pm in the

Venable Theatre. The show is 90 minutes total with no intermis sion. Tickets are free for MCLA students, $5 for faculty, staff, and alumni, and $10 for the general public. Tickets can be pre-purchased online at www. eventbrite.com/e/the-tem pest-tickets-439883702997 or can be purchased at the door.

Friday,

Thursday,

PHOTO BY KARESHA GRAHAM

Jheneay Watkins ‘24 (The Ringmaster), Rachel Lamarre ‘25 (Prince Ferdinand), and Ysabel Cardona ‘25 (Miranda) during a scene of “The Tempest.”

Features

Love Smoothies and Supporting Local Businesses?

Check Out Berkshire

BY CHLOE GOLEBIEWSKI STAFF WRITER

Stephanie Burdick, a small business owner residing in Florida, Massachusetts had dreamt of opening her own business for a while. As of May 2022, she accomplished that with the new smooth ie shop, located at 20 Mar shall Street in North Adams, Berkshire Blends.

Burdick thought about opening her smoothie busi ness in Pittsfield but decid ed that with the traction of Mass Moca within walking distance, Marshall Street was the perfect location.

The menu holds a wide variety of fruit smooth

ies, coffee, smoothie bowls, muffins, cookies, etc. “Go ing into winter, I’m trying to do a weekly soup special, and I’m also just starting to try sandwiches to help get through the cold months, be cause not everyone wants to drink a cold smoothie when it’s 30 degrees outside,” Burdick told the Beacon, in hopes of broadening the number of customers during the wintertime.

There are many different concoctions of smoothies to choose from, including some seasonal ones (such as apple cinnamon), and “kickers”, which are smoothies with Red Bull.

According to Burdick,

the most popu lar smoothie sold is “Berkshire’s Best” which is a strawberry ba nana smoothie.

“I think it’s be cause people are comfortable with strawberries with banana. I mean, who doesn’t know about that flavor?” Burdick said.

Berkshire Blends makes de cent smoothies that consist of the fruit listed on the menu, milk, and yogurt. It’s a great healthy alterna tive if you’re look ing for a refresh ing snack after a workout, or even just as a treat! There are two siz es available, the smaller size is a good idea if you’re just looking for a quick drink, but if you want some thing more filling, the large is for you.

Business has been going well for Burdick thus far. “I actually expected to see more [people visiting Mass Moca],” said Burdick, “It’s crazy when 1,200 people come into town for an event and don’t visit any local businesses… My business comes mostly from locals, and I have a lot of regulars who are from town.”

“I love to see college kids and I even offer a loyalty card, where you can buy five smoothies and get one half off, and if you buy five more you get a free one,” Burdick told the Beacon, when asked about how college life in town affects business.

Plans for Berkshire Blends’ future include more season al flavors and making more specials for the menu.

Blends!

Overall, Berkshire Blends is a great place to try, with lots of options if smoothies aren’t your cup of tea. You can follow Berkshire Blends on all different social media platforms, including Face book and Instagram, for more information about the business, and for special an nouncements!

Instagram: berkshireblends

Facebook: Berkshire Blends

PHOTO BY CHLOE GOLEBIEWSKI

The strawberry banana smoothie, also known as “Berkshire’s Best”, is the businesses best selling flavor so far.

PHOTO FROM BERKSHIRE BLENDS FACEBOOK PAGE

The small business opened just this year, hoping to rope in museum traffic from MASS MoCA located across the street.

SportS

Athletic Training: The Backbone of the MCLA Athletics Department

BY SAVANNA AMARAL SPORTS EDITOR

Athletic training is a key part of athletics here at MCLA, and head athlet ic trainer Matt Boillat has been the driving force in keeping athletes healthy since 2008.

Boillat graduated from Quinnipiac University with a bachelor’s degree in Athletic Training/ Sports Medicine in 2003. He then moved to California where he got his master’s degree in Kinesiology at San Jose State University.

While in California, Boil lat worked as head athletic trainer at Menlo-Atherton High School and worked with the San Jose Sharks in the NHL. In 2006, Boil lat began work at Merri

mack College in Andover, Massachusetts where he worked as an instructor for the Introduction to Sports Medicine lab and Thera peutic Rehabilitation lab.

Boillat came to MCLA in 2008, he is a Berkshire native, and volunteers for the Clarksburg Volunteer Fire Department. Boillat is the third captain for the department, “we do all the things that paid firefighters do, we go to medical call, vehicle accidents, fires, any type of emergency we end up attending to.”

As head athletic trainer at MCLA, Boillat’s job is to primarily take care of MCLA athletes from per forming preventative care to helping them care for in juries and referring them to orthopedic doctors if neces

sary.

There is also a mental health aspect to Boillat’s care, “physi cal injuries are often connect ed to mental health, and when you have an ath lete who is being com petitive and playing for a long period of time that gets hurt it is very mentally tax ing for them, so talking with them, and sup porting them is a huge part of my job,” said Boillat.

Boillat and athletic train ing are very important to student-ath lete wellbeing, “taking care of my body and having access to athletic training has allowed me to help my self recover better,” said Men’s Bas ketball player Dylan Mor ris-Gray ‘23.

In 2019 MCLA began renovations on the Cam

pus Center, including re placing the pool with a new athletic training room, fitness center, athletic of fices, and an indoor track. The new athletic training room is three times the size of the old one, and in cludes state-of-the-art ath letic training equipment.

New equipment includes electric stim ultrasound units, Game Ready ma chines, Normatec boots with multiple attachments, new whirlpools which stay permanently filled, a new ice machine, new hydro collator, a fanbike, and all new tables.

The new hot and cold whirlpool tubs are the highlight of the training room, “the tubs being per manently filled is helpful,

that way athletes can go in them much easier. The old tubs had to be filled, and the temperature had to be regulated, whereas the new ones do all that for you,” said Boillat.

For athletes, “the best thing about the new train ing room is the hot and cold whirlpool tubs… Be ing able to have access to the whirlpool cold tub for recovery after a hard prac tice or games as well as having the hot tub for get ting relaxed and loose is a great tool to have,” said Gray.

From the functional sup port of the new equipment to the health support Boil lat offers, MCLA’s student athletes are set to succeed throughout their seasons.

PHOTO BY SAVANNA AMARAL Athletic Trainer Matt Boillat assisting an athlete in the training room.

PHOTO BY SAVANNA AMARAL Boillat in the athletic training room, which was renovated in 2019 to feature new equipment and tools.

Young Roster, Hard Work Crucial to Upcoming Men’s Basketball Season

BY OWEN BROWN SPORTS WRITER

The MCLA Men’s Basket ball team entered the pre season this year coming off a heartbreaking loss. Up one with eight seconds left in last year’s MASCAC quarterfi nals, Fitchburg State’s Dayne Allen would hit a pair of clutch free throws to take the lead by one. The Trailblazers would miss two shots to take the lead, and just like that, the season would end when ev eryone thought it would con tinue.

Nevertheless, the team has been able to use that experi ence as fuel and motivation to bounce back and improve this upcoming season.

“Obviously, we thought we had that one,” said Head Coach Derek Shell. “We real ly thought we let that one get

away…but just in conversa tions I had afterwards before we went to our summer break with veterans I knew were coming back, they were all excited and optimistic to get back to work.”

The team last year went 10-13 overall, facing adver sity and different challenges along the way, specifically the COVID-19 pandemic where restrictions didn’t allow fans at games and altered the avail ability of players on game day numerous times throughout the season. With the restric tions being lifted this year, the mental block from COVID is being unlocked for all the players, allowing them to stay optimistic and be able to give their all on the court.

“One thing I can say is that… our players catching COVID was a big hit, because we were just dropping one by one, and sometimes we didn’t even have enough players for practice,” said Mamadou Di ablo ‘24. “This year, we can’t control injuries once again, but I love the team we have. We all fight hard, and we all wanna win, so that is a plus,” he continued.

The roster going into this year loses seniors Lukas Zelazo and Bright Afful, along with All-MASCAC second-team player Hayden Bird. However, the returning players are very optimistic about the incoming freshmen who are joining the roster this year.

“One thing about the fresh men we have is even when they’re making mistakes, or they are unsure of some thing... they have been open to critiques of the returning players and the coaches,” said Dylan Morris-Gray ‘23. “They have all been ready to learn and just try and get better.”

The team is so optimistic about the underclassmen, that

many key returners expect them to make an impact in the early regular season right away, especially with the tal ent and size they bring on the offensive and defensive ends.

“I do think a number of freshmen will play right away,” said Shell. “Jackson Potter, Jayden Mills I think will have an immediate im pact in some capacity. We’re not a big team, they have some size, but they’re also pretty good basketball play ers, so I’m excited about that.”

The preseason itself con sisted of team practices fo cusing on technique, as well as learning and demonstrat ing the offensive and defen sive plays. The team further got to demonstrate what they have learned with scrimmag es against SUNY Adirondack and Anna Maria College.

Despite losing both games, the team is optimistic about what they have seen, as the bench players were getting the majority of the minutes

and kept both games extreme ly close.

“Preseason was amazing,” said Diablo. “I believe we lost the first game (SUNY Adiron dack) by five with our starters and rotation guys not playing much, just seeing what our bench can do and our newer guys can do, and they exceed ed expectations.”

Shell’s ultimate goal for the team is to have the team play their best basketball by the time the playoffs begin. To do this, the main area of focus during the preseason is play ers being able to show cooper ation and teamwork in order to understand each other’s strengths and weaknesses on the court and create the best opportunities to score or get a stop on defense.

“I think my vision for this team coming into the season is just getting guys to learn how to play together,” he said. “Not only from an unselfish

PHOTO BY JOHNLUKE KUNCE

Ken Fukuda ‘24 during the Men’s Basketball pre-season game against SUNY Adirondack.

PHOTO BY JOHNLUKE KUNCE

Reece Racette ‘23 during the Men’s Basketball pre-season game against SUNY Adirondack. The Trailblazers lost the game by five points.

Senior Day Loss Wraps Up the 2022 MCLA Women’s Soccer Season

BY OWEN BROWN SPORTS WRITER

An early Bridgewater State goal by Skylar Conrad set the tone early for the Bears, as they cruised to an easy 3-0 win over MCLA on their Senior Day. With the loss, the Trailblazers finish the regular season at 2-10-3, which will not qualify them for the MASCAC tourna ment.

Before the game, the team honored their 10 se nior members of the team: Katelyn Piccolo, Em Mar lay-Wright, Sophie Elser, Savanna Amaral, Skyelyn Haynes, Claudia Bresett, Sarah Tomczyk, Jillian Cur rier, Alyssa Porter, and Jess Halverson.

The team expressed how much each of them meant to the program and how dearly they will be missed as they move on to the next chapter of their lives.

“Seeing their progress on the field in four years is special, but I also remember what they were like as peo ple walking in the door,” said Head Coach Deb Ra ber. “That’s our primary focus, better people make better Trailblazers... To be able to watch them progress as a person, that’s something spe cial,” she contin ued.

Whilst being leaders both on the field and around campus, the rest of their teammates have been able to pick up advice and lessons that they will take with them for the rest of their time as student-ath letes at MCLA.

“The thing that the se

niors have taught me, and I’ll take with me is just be ing kind and being there. Throughout the whole sea son, they have shown up

way they showed their love and kindness for us,” said Cidnee Frymire ‘26.

and been there for us no matter what or when we needed it. It was a huge deal to us, and they became like older sisters. If we can sup port the incoming players the way they did for us, it is all because of them and the

With that, it was game time, and it was all Bears soccer from the ground run ning. Only two minutes and 20 sec onds in, Skylar Conrad would head in a goal assisted by Erin Clancey and Michelle Belcher to give Bridgewater State an early 1-0 lead. From there, more goals kept com ing, with the Trailblazers ac cidentally knocking the ball into their own net to make

it 2-0 at the 13:48 mark. Just under a minute and a half later, Conrad would add an assist on Michelle Belcher’s 11th goal of the season to make it 3-0 just over 15 min utes into the game.

On MCLA’s side, there were very few offensive opportunities, as the team had only a combined three shots, with one being on goal, compared to Bridge water State’s 44 shots and 23 being on goal.

The game would remain scoreless throughout the rest of the first and second period and would end three to zero. With the loss, it of ficially concluded the 2022 MCLA Women’s Soccer Season, and the end of ten NCAA careers for the Trail blazers.

As their careers wrap up, it has been an emotion

al time. Going into her last game, Currier talked about how much the program meant to her, as well as how the program has been all that she hoped for and more.

“In high school, I was nev er given proper treatment as a goalkeeper, so I had high expectations entering the program with Coach Raber being a goalkeeper herself,” she said. “My expectations were exceeded tremendous ly. I’ve learned more and achieved more than I ever thought was possible as a keeper and even as a stu dent through the program. I’m not the same player I was when I came in my freshman year, and I’m ex tremely proud of that

PHOTO BY MCLA ATHLETICS

The 10 seniors of the Women’s Soccer Team posing for a photo on Senior Day. Photographed from left to right: Em Marlay-Wright, Katelyn Piccolo, Savanna Amaral, Sophie Elser, Sarah Tomczyk, Jillian Currier, Claudia Bresett, Jess Halverson, Skyelyn Haynes, and Alyssa Porter.

“Seeing their progress on the field in four years is special ...

That’s our primary focus, better people make better Trailblazers.”

MCLA Hoops Are Back for First Home Game

BY SAVANNA AMARAL SPORTS EDITOR

Men’s Basketball had their home opener on Tuesday, Nov. 8th against Norwich University. The trailblazers lost in a very close 77-76 finish, fighting back hard from a fifteen point deficit in the last 15 minutes.

Noah Yearsley, a grad uate student, joined the 1000 point club in the 2nd period. Six years at MCLA and “just consistent hard work” has led him to this point, said Yearsley.

Both Dylan Morris-Gray ‘23 and Yearsley put up 23 points each. Yearsley was assisted by Morris-Gray and made a 3 point jump shot to close Norwich’s lead to 75-74. In a crucial play following the three pointer, MCLA used an aggressive defensive strat egy that caused the Nor wich player to step out of bounds. Yearsley made use of the opportunity and scored a layup with 15 sec onds remaining, putting MCLA in the lead. Unfor tunately MCLA could not

hold on when Norwich play er Owen Liss dunked with 2 seconds remain ing.

The energy in the gym was magnetic due to the packed student section.

“The energy was great, the fans brought an amazing vibe to the gym and it felt great be ing back out there with the fans,” said Mor ris-Gray.

Head Coach Derek Shell is hopeful of the season moving forward and was happy to see that “[MCLA] bounced back in the second half, especially since we were down a signif icant amount,. They didn’t quit, and were more aggressive. If we do that from the outset then hope fully we can get some dif ferent results moving for ward,” said Shell. Mor ris-Gray ac counts the shift in ener gy in the sec ond half to, “know ing that we had to make something happen, and hope fully we can get to a point of bring ing that ag gression all game.”

lost 77-76.

moving forward. “We have a lot of young guys so it’s going to take some time, but we are starting to look a lot better,” said Yearsley.

“We want to focus on tak ing it day by day instead of looking forward to the championship because we

der 6 foot and 10 of their players being under 6’3. Being one of the smaller teams in the conference, “is motivation to work hard er, there are some bigger teams we will have to face and we can’t hide from it, the key is to do the work before they can get on the inside” said Shell.

Yearsley is also hopeful of the season

can’t win it tomorrow, we just want to get 1% better everyday.”

The team has 10 first years on the roster, and three seniors. Along with being a young team they are also on the shorter side, with five players being un

“In order to get bet ter we made a tough first semester schedule to give us a test and get us ready for those conference games” said Yearsley, who is looking ahead to conference play.

The Trailblazers will be home on Friday, Nov. 11th against Plattsburgh Col lege at 2pm, and will trav el to Dartmouth College on Saturday, Nov. 12th at 7pm.

PHOTO FROM MCLA ATHLETICS

Graduate student Noah Yearsley joined the 1000 point club at the Men’s Basketball game against Norwich University on Nov. 8. The Trailblazers

PHOTO BY SAVANNA AMARAL

The Men’s Basketball team is confident about the upcoming season despite having a younger roster.

“It felt great being back out there with the fans.”

SportS

SOCCER

From Page 12

fact,” Currier continued.

Reflecting on the season, the team feels that the final record does not tell the whole story, and the time and effort everyone put in from top to bottom.

“I think if you take it from a numbers point of view, it’s a different story,” said Raber. “They’re so many things that happen behind the scenes that are never attached to a team’s record. I’m very proud of our program and how hard our

BASKETBALL

From Page 11

standpoint but really trusting your teammates that they are going to be in the right spot, or they are going to make the right play,” he continued.

Above all, the team is excit ed for the opportunity to come back from last season, and with the team finishing sixth out of a possible seven teams with 11 points in the MASCAC presea son poll, the team is hungry to get out there and bring back

team has worked, consider ing our first game at Nichols [College] to how far we’ve progressed since then.”

“It’s just been leaps and balance for our progress, and I’m excited for the future and what we all have to look for ward to,” Raber continued.

With the season ending, the returning 11 players on the roster already have ideas of what work needs to be put in to come back even stronger in 2023. Physical and mental work, a strong spring season, and getting next year’s fresh men acclimated into the pro gram serve as the ways to be successful next year.

the MASCAC championship.

Morris-Gray is looking for ward to building on the school spirit from the team last year, with the fans expecting a gritty play style of basketball, and no matter the result, will fight to the end.

“My only message would be that our team is going to play hard every single game, and I hope they take the same pa tient approach as we do, and just that every single game we’re trying to win, and we’re also just trying to build to wards winning the champion

ship in February,” he said.

“Every game is just gonna be hopefully a great experi ence for fans. Bring the hyped energy, and I think we’ll be able to have a lot of fun this season,” he continued.

The Trailblazers begin their season on Tuesday with a home game against Nor wich University, followed by a Friday night game against SUNY-Plattsburgh, and will travel to New Hampshire to take on Division I Opponent, Dartmouth College, on Satur day.

PHOTO FROM MCLA WOMENS SOCCER INSTAGRAM

The Women’s Soccer team wrapped up their 2022 season with a loss to Bridgewater State on Senior Day,

PHOTO BY JOHNLUKE KUNCE

Korey Greenland ‘25 during the Men’s Basketball’s pre-season game against SUNY Adirondack.

Editorial

MCLA Class of 2023 Falls

Victim to Senioritis

Uh oh… It looks like there’s a plague going around MCLA.

No, I’m not talking about COVID. Or a case of food poisoning after eating some questionable dining hall food. Not even mold poisoning from spending a little too much time at Mark Hopkins. This plague is more contagious and even harder to be cured of, although it seems to only be affecting one class. It’s safe to say that the class of 2023 can officially be di agnosed with Senioritis.

What is Senioritis, you might ask? It is a disease plaguing college seniors all over the country, with symptoms that include procrastination, laziness, ac ademic burnout, and lack of motivation. Students with Senioritis may also experience a fear of the fu ture, and anxiety surrounding the thought of grad uating college and having to enter the “real world.”

Although Senioritis makes its rounds every year, this year’s senior class seems to be particularly im pacted by it. This could be due to the impact of the pandemic on this class, who only had one full “nor mal” semester before being sent home in Spring

2020. Our entire college experience has been de fined by COVID, and now that we’ve finally begun to reach a sense of normalcy and be able to have a semi-regular college experience, our time is almost up.

We’re all aware of the fact that our college ex perience is drawing to a close, and are experienc ing so many “lasts,” such as last season playing a sport, last performance in the theatre department or Dance Company, last Halloween on campus, last time taking a class with your favorite professor, among many other experiences.

“Senioritis is terrible because you feel as though you’ve done the same essays, projects, and routines so many times over the last couple of years that it starts to get repetitive,” said Macayla Flanigan ‘23. “College is an intense few years and when you’re so close to the end it’s hard to keep up momentum.”

“Senioritis is definitely starting to kick in even though it’s only been two months,” said Emily Hendricks ‘23. “I think that just knowing that you have one semester left is making us less motivat ed to do our schoolwork and attend classes. We also want to spend time with our friends because this is our last year together before we go our separate ways.”

Here at The Beacon, the majority of our staff are seniors, and it seems we’ve all come down with a case of Se nioritis. I wish that I could give you a step-by-step tutorial on how to fight off the symptoms of Senioritis, but consid ering I procrastinated writing this ed itorial until the day of my deadline, I might not be the most qualified person to give that advice.

But I will say this: I know firsthand that senior year is tough, but just re member to try your best to finish strong. We’ve had a crazy college jour ney so far, but it’s not over yet, so just make the most of your time left here and remember that it will all be worth it once you have that degree.

The Beacon is published every other week during the academic year and is distributed to the MCLA community. The Beacon is a designated public forum and content is determined by student staff members. The Beacon is funded by the Student Government Association, the English/Communications department and ad revenue. Single copies are free and additional copies can be purchased at 50 cents each. If you wish to purchase additional copies, please contact a staff member.

ContactNews desk number: 413-662-5535 Business number: 413-662-5404 Email: beacon@mcla.edu Website: theonlinebeacon.com Office: Freel Library Room B02

PHOTO FROM UNSPLASH

P hoto E ssay

On Saturday, November 5, students, parents, and music lovers alike gathered at MASS MoCA for indie-rock sensation Soccer Mommy with opener Lightning Bug. Soccer Mommy, also known as Sophia Allison, performed songs from her latest album Sometimes Forever, as well as some of her most popular singles.

Photos by Sarah Tomczyk and Jillian Currier