Volume 134 No. 8

The Springfield Student Est. 1910

October 31, 2019

[scstudentmedia.com]

Contact us: springfieldstudent@springfield.edu

Volume 134 No. 8

In loving memory of

Connor Neshe A tribute story for Connor can be found on page two.

His story, told through the eyes of teammates, coaches, and friends.

Photo Courtesy of Dana Neshe

Campus News The response to events on campus

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Cousteau lecture: One ocean, one people

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“I wonder why..� board explained

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Incident on roosevelt ave. full details

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October 31, 2019

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Remembering Connor Neshe A selfless sole and a loving teammate dedicated to Humanics.

By Joe Arruda @joearruda9

The question was: “Why? Why do you do what you do?”

Most players wrote “family” and/or “friends.”

But Connor Neshe’s response was different.

His was a little more thoughtful, more significant.

The first-year stood with his teammates and coaches, holding a piece of computer paper with green writing that read: “To wake up better than the day before.”

A statement that they will never forget.

A statement of motivation that was not foreign, coming from the person who held that paper.

Though he does not physically remain with them, what he wrote will. The philosophy so delicately articulated maintains of relevance in the hearts and minds of each and every person he touched.

On the desk of his teammate, Jack Anasto-

Photo Courtesy of Dana Neshe polous, there is a picture of Connor. Woven into the middle of a group of his teammates, he is holding up that white piece of paper showcasing the phrase that Anastopolous will never forget. Anna Woosley, the assistant coach for the women’s tennis team, had the picture printed for every member of the program.

Springfield tennis head coach Mike Louis has the picture posted on a memory board in his office.

“I think understanding that message, ‘to wake up better than the day before,’ that is the approach that I think we’re all trying to take in our hearts,” Louis said. “For me, it is just trying to support our players as best as I can, support our coaching staff as best as I can, to be there, to be as present as I can for them. Family, as a new father, just trying to be the best father and husband that I possi-

bly can for my family. Be the best individual that I can; finding those ways to challenge myself, to be uncomfortable. If it’s, ‘Man, I really don’t want to get this workout in today,’ well, do it. Just little things like that.”

“The best way to tribute and honor his legacy… is within our hearts and within the actions of how we treat each other and those that we interact with on a daily basis,” he continued.

“Just trying to appreciate the moment, trying to celebrate, trying to bring in joy and help others be a little more joyful in their day.”

Connor’s attitude wasn’t only recognized by his coaches, but also by his teammates.

Hieu Ton added, “Connor will be remembered as a positive and supportive teammate.

I’ve never met someone so dedicated to tennis like he was. Always looking to be one percent better every time he

steps on the court. He impacted me to always be better than I was yesterday. Looking to always get that next ball no matter what.”

In his first collegiate practice, Connor pulled his hamstring, which kept him from ever competing at the college level. But, that did not keep him from supporting his teammates and providing an energy from outside the cagedin court.

“As a teammate, he showed up every day with so much energy and enthusiasm, inspiring me to always give my all and want to improve every day,” firstyear teammate Greg Baker said.

“He supported me through my tough games, sets, and matches with all positive energy,” said Michael Kendrick, another first-year on the team. “This helped me a lot and will continue to help me stay positive in matches. Although it

never got to be complete, his legacy will be carried on by the team for many years to come.”

“Connor was always a great voice to hear on your court, especially in tough matches. His tennis IQ was very knowledgeable and he always had great input to help me better myself during my matches,” Anastopolous added.

Connor Neshe devoted himself to the sport, and he knew that he wanted to play tennis in college years before that time came. He was healthy, and when his injury could have brought him down, his work ethic only got stronger.

He would say to Louis, “Coach, I can get on the court, I can get on the court. I can’t move very well, I can’t move the way I want to, but I can do other things, so let’s just get started.”

His mindset was one See Connor Neshe on Page 8

October 31, 2019

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Time to take action Rather than just talking about change, it’s time to cultivate it on campus.

By Danny Priest @dpriest3

This story is not a column -- it is a reported piece providing student perspectives. It features quotes from an open-discussion with a group of students focusing on the events of the past two weeks at Springfield College and the response from both the administration and the student body. Students voiced in the story went on record willingly. This story is not intended to place blame, point fingers, or attack any one individual, but rather it is meant to get a discussion going and encourage students, faculty, the administration, alumni, trustees, and the Springfield College community as a whole to evaluate how they’ve handled events and reflect on their decisions.

It’s been a trying past few weeks at Springfield College. From the sudden and tragic passing of freshman Connor Neshe, to the “I wonder why…” art board put up in the campus Union, and the accident in President Mary-Beth Cooper’s front yard - things have been difficult.

A big topic of discussion on campus has been the response by Cooper and the administration at the College.

Some feel the school has neither talked about these incidents enough, nor been there to com-

fort students and assure them that appropriate actions have been taken.

Others feel the school has done all that it can and speaking up should not solely be the administration’s responsibility.

Last week, Cooper acknowledged how although she shared all the information she had, and explained there were no additional updates available, this could be frustrating. She urged the community to “respect the privacy of Connor’s family, friends and teammates. They need our support, please continue to keep them in your thoughts and prayers,” in a statement published by The Student.

Regardless of what one’s opinions may be, discussion is happening.

It’s critical that everyone on campus is listening -- from top to bottom, every voice is important.

On Tuesday night, the Men of Excellence Club (MOE) held their weekly meeting in the Campus Union. Men of Excellence is a club on campus that attempts to empower college men by fostering leadership skills, pride, and humility.

Last week, the club posted an IGTV video of the “I wonder why…” board that ended up getting over 1,400 views, and included reactions from club members.

Senior Marcel Diaz is the president of the club

and junior Kris Rhim is the vice president. On Tuesday, MOE members expressed their thoughts on what has happened on campus and how the reaction of the administration and students should be viewed.

The views expressed by the members of MOE are consistent with many thoughts around campus, but their key focus was on keeping the discussion going and taking action.

One thing that has upset a majority of the student body is the feeling that the administration has been light in its response to the passing of Connor.

Junior Suraji Omoru

was frustrated with the lack of details surrounding the passing of Connor, which left him feeling hurt.

“Like everybody was out doing this and that and that one of our members, one of our family needed help and I wasn’t there. They didn’t clear any of that up, so I sat with that feeling like I could’ve done something. I was out while this was happening and someone was suffering,” he said.

Those frustrations were common across campus. At the same time, the argument could be made that it’s not the school’s place to inform students about the de-

tails of a death or write a tribute via email.

That type of demonstration is more common through reported journalism, which The Student provided.

“I almost feel as though that initial email that was sent out was somewhat appropriate.

Because Mary-Beth is not going to know every person on this campus and people are already talking about there was a passing on campus and it was a freshman, she had to get that information out and she’s not going to be given the time necessary to go out to his coach or to people See MOE on Page 10

Photo Courtesy of Tyler Merullo

October 31, 2019

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Fabien (left) and Celine (right) on stage during Thursday’s event. (Photo Courtesy of Springfield College Marketing and Communications)

Here for the environment Fabien and Celine Cousteau deliver powerful talk on issues related to the Earth’s oceans and land.

By Brody Still bstill@springfield.edu

As people flooded through the doors into the Springfield College fieldhouse, the hundreds of inexpensive folding chairs began to fill, the stage shrouded in maroon. With light jazz filling the background, bodies both young and old sat eagerly awaiting

the arrival of environmental advocates Fabien and Celine Cousteau, grandchildren of renowned aquatic explorer Jacques Cousteau.

The event took place at 7:30 p.m. on Oct. 24 as part of the College’s Arts and Humanities Speaker series and featured talks in which the Cousteau siblings discussed current issues present in the Earth’s

oceans and on land.

The first to speak was Fabien Cousteau, the older of the two siblings. Fabien graduated from Boston University, with a degree in environmental economics.

Along with embarking on many expeditions and dives with his grandfather at a young age, Fabien has continued his love for adventure and exploration by embark-

ing on his own aquatic journeys.

Fabien explained in his opening remarks how even though the Earth’s oceans contain virtually all known life, researchers have explored less than five percent of the ocean world.

The reasoning for this, Fabien explained, is that the ocean represents the vast majority of Earth’s living space.

“The ocean and the water bodies on this planet represent 99 percent of our world’s living space,” he said.

Using this statistic, Fabien explained that most people only think about Earth’s oceans covering a surface of the planet, when in reality and on a three-dimensional level, there is more space throughout the oceans in terms of

October 31, 2019 depth then there is space on land.

From this point, Fabien moved on to his next topic, the current plastic crisis in oceans.

He explained that nearly 50 percent of all sea life in supermarkets and restaurants is laden with micro plastics.

After discussing manners in which plastic is misused by society daily, Fabien began to discuss his experience on Mission 31, a 31-day underwater research adventure in which he, along with five other scientists, lived in the underwater research base Aquarius. Fabien discussed how on this expedition he and his team were able to complete three years’ worth of scientific research in only 31 days, and because the underwater research base was equipped with Wi-Fi, Fabien was able to video-chat with over 100,000 students and educate them on aquatic life throughout the entire process.

Fabien concluded his time by providing insight to the future of our planet by sharing a quote from his grandfather Jacques: “For most of history, man has had to fight nature in order to survive. Today, in order to survive, we are now starting to understand that we must protect it.”

With that quote, Fabien’s time concluded, as he introduced his younger sister to the audience.

Celine Cousteau graduated from Skidmore College where she ma-

jored in psychology with a minor in studio art.

Like her brother, Celine has embarked on many journeys with her father and grandfather and has been diving in the oceans since a very young age.

Celine began her time with a few statistics that left the audience in shock, stating that over 70 percent of deep-sea fish have ingested plastic and by the year 2050, there will be more plastic than fish present in the oceans.

Celine began to discuss “ghost ships,” which are large vessels that stay on the oceans for up to a year at a time and catch thousands of fish which are then distributed to retailers. Celine then went on to describe how most of the work done on these ships is slave labor.

From this, she began to discuss her journeys to the Amazon and the issues plaguing the beauty of the rainforest.

An example that Celine used frequently throughout her presentation was simply asking the audience to take five deep breaths. The symbolism behind this act was present when Celine began to describe how the Amazon rainforest accounts for nearly 20 percent of oxygen that living things breathe, or every fifth breath taken.

Celine began to discuss her work in the Amazon and her new independent documentary, Tribes on the Edge, which tells the stories of native Amazonian tribes

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Celine listening to a question during the presentation. (Photo Courtesy of Springfield College Marketing and Communications)

and how they have dealt with the environmental issues surrounding their land. Celine described her passion for solving environmental issues, stating “I wear a fin on one foot and a hiking boot on the other.”

After Celine’s closing remarks, the Cousteau’s were met with thunderous applause from the audience in great appreciation for the duo’s insight and hope for the future.

Upon the discussion’s conclusion, the typical “post-event” chatter erupted from the crowd with a general sense of pleasure among audience-members.

Springfield College’s own Bob Gruber, Professor of environmental ethics and philosophy, stated that the presentation was “a good way of starting a discussion” about the environment.

Gruber went on to say, “It’s good to have an event that gets the whole campus together and hopefully people keep talking.”

Cait Kemp, a freshman in the com-

munications/sports journalism major, agreed that, “The topic was a very important one to share.” Kemp then stated that the “statistics are scary, and to see and to hear it all, it definitely makes me want to see more action being taken.”

The Cousteau presentation addressed many important issues present in the world today, and also provided valuable insight to the future of the planet if people do not make a change in their daily lives. The Cousteau siblings managed to express their knowledge in a way that demonstrated the dangers of plastics in the oceans, as well as ways in which people can make a change in their everyday lives, which has the potential to leave a lasting impact on the Springfield College campus between students and faculty alike, and inspire them to make a change in the world.

October 31, 2019

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“I wonder why...”

The reasoning behind the powerful art exhibit put on display in the Union.

By Graciela Garcia @ggarciax13

When people apply to go away for college, they daydream about living on campus and being on their own for the first time. Getting the chance to finally go to school for what they want to do in their future careers, the idea of anything happening or the change of environment doesn’t really cross anyone’s minds until they’re fully in it.

People deal with adversity all the time because of who they are and what they have been through. Culture shock when moving onto a campus that looks different from home can be tremendous, and felt heavily by students.

These are the thoughts of many on campus, particularly at Springfield College. Consequently, people have a lot of thoughts about the state of the campus. A week ago, a community art piece was put up in the Union and gained tons of traction as people on campus answered the prompt, “I wonder why…” with responses as practical from, “Why is college so expensive?” to more serious topics such as, “I was raped,” with numerous arrows to that statement saying,

“Me too.”

Jessica Poser, Assistant Professor of Art and Community Engagement / Gallery Director, and her class put the “I wonder why…” wall in the Campus Union on Tuesday afternoon before it was taken down.

Poser explained the inspiration and background for the art piece in the Union.

“Every semester, I do a chalkboard piece with my students. It’s inspired by the artist Candy Chang whose done these chalkboard pieces all over the world that are interactive and participatory. (A piece Chang has done before) says, ‘Before I die, I want to…’ and then there’s a blank space. It gives the opportunity for anyone passing by to interact with the piece and add their own personal perspective and story,” Poser explained.

However, Poser gave her students the opportunity to pick the prompt and they decided to do things a little differently this time. “We normally do one here (second floor, Blake Hall chalkboard) and this semester my students said, ‘Well let’s do it in the Union.’ So although we do it every semester, this was the first time we did one in the Union.”

According to Poser,

the goal for this community art piece was to create a forum for people to participate anonymously to share their thoughts and feelings without any judgement and direct questioning.

Opening this forum allows students to state any opinions, either funny or serious.

“They tried to come up with a prompt that would be the most inclusive. So, ‘I wonder why…’ you can take it in a serious direction, or you can take it in a more silly direction. It’s completely personal and open to interpretation.”

Poser said, explaining more on her ideas behind the prompt.

Although the wall quickly filled up and gained tons of traction towards students, it’s immediate removal did not give other students a chance to write on it.

“We knew that in the morning that we were going to take it down, save it, get it back to Jessica (Poser) because we have the board of trustees and homecoming starting, so that wasn’t the only thing in the lobby, everything was cleared out of the lobby to set it for homecoming,” Vice President of Student Affairs Patrick Love told SCTV3’s Cam Smith.

Some students didn’t

Jessica Poser. (Photo Courtesy of Springfield College) even know it happened, until people started sharing it on social media.

One specific social media explosion was from a club on campus, Men of Excellence (MOE), that spotlighted the video on Instagram using the IG TV feature which was a two minute and 50 second video that featured voices of students in the club and their opinions while showing many of the things that were written on the wall.

What was just a regular Tuesday night meeting for the students in MOE, turned into something much different than planned once they stumbled upon Pos-

er’s class’ community art piece. Kris Rhim, Vice President of MOE, explained the background process of what went behind the video and how it became a huge social media discussion.

“Our plan was for Tyler Murello (member of the club who takes videos of MOE’s meetings) to edit the video together and for us to post it on social media.

The intentions of putting the board on social media was so that the board can stick around forever,” Rhim said.

“What our video did was just add on to the things that were on the wall and highlight those frus-

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October 31, 2019

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The wall on display in the Campus Union. (Daniela Detore/The Student)

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I thought this was really cool, being a person who is always telling my friends to speak up, stand up for what you believe in, if you see something say something… I thought this was a great step for students to speak up about what they feel,”

- Kris Rhim

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trations even more on social media so that other people can see it outside the school and can enforce the school to do something by hearing from multiple students who feel strongly about these issues.”

Rhim touched on the topic of how he personally felt as a student attending Springfield College and seeing different things on the wall.

“I thought this was really cool, being a person who is always telling my friends to speak up, stand up for what you believe in, if you see something say something… I thought this was a great step for students to speak up about what they feel,” he said.

However, he did exclaim his personal feelings of shock as well.

“Seeing the things about people being raped, the amount of ‘Me too’s,’ and ‘they didn’t believe me,’ was really alarming and stood out a lot. As a man who has never been assaulted or raped, as a person, that has never affected me. I knew it existed but when I saw it on the board, it really surprised me and helped me learn more about something that I didn’t know was as prominent, especially at the SSBD open forum, hearing people’s stories and the process after,” he said.

Jay Sophalkalyan, a senior, also shared his feelings on what he felt when seeing the wall.

“I’m surprised with what was written on the community art piece, especially the ones regarding sexual assault and rape… it makes me wonder how many more silent rape victims are out there on our college campus,” Sophalkalyan said.

“It is easy for all of us to overlook emails from Title IX preaching on about consent or to sit and listen to different talks about unlawful act of sexual violence. But really, it is an incident of the art piece being taken down, that catalyzed the warriors and protectors in all of us to rise up to the occasion and band together to demand for action from our college administration and truly bring changes.”

Having an open and honest forum for students, faculty and anyone on campus is important because no one place is perfect.

Everywhere, no matter the school or setting, will have its faults. What Jessica Poser and her students did was give a voice to people on campus to express themselves as any form of art helps do, and it sparked important, real discussions.

October 31, 2019

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Connor Neshe continued from Page 2

often seen in a scripted feel-good movie – that kid who would do anything to help his team, and to push himself through a sidelining injury.

“He stayed on task as best as he could in terms of like, ‘Okay, this is not how I envisioned this, starting my college career, but I’m going to get myself better. I’m going to work with our ATs, I’m going to work with our strength coaches, to try to at least maintain, get healthy, and try to push myself in all the areas that (I can),’” Louis said.

“To his credit, he was able to get himself back on the court. Not in a time where he was going to be able to contribute in matches, and in the lineup, but he got back on the court with some practices left and he just wanted to get better.

“He wanted to look for that extra time that he and I could get on the court, whether it be before practices or after practices, to just work on the things that he felt like he needed, work on the things that we both felt would help him in the future. And he was focused, he was committed, and he stayed on task. He was very organized in that way about his day, and the athletic pursuits that he wanted to work towards.”

Anastopolous recognized this quality too, adding, “I will remember

Connor by his worth ethic, he showed up to practice 30 minutes early and stayed 30 minutes late to get his body and his game in the perfect condition to play his best on the court.”

In his short time on campus, being at Springfield for less than half of a semester, Connor made a point to utilize all of the wellness facilities as much as he could. He devoted his time to being healthy, whether that was physically or mentally, and people noticed that.

“Connor was a loving young man who loved tennis and training in general. He loved hanging out with friends, and I almost never saw him walking alone,” Fabian Jensen, a sophomore on the team, said. “His hard work is what impacted me the most. He was always ready for 6:30 a.m. morning session 30 minutes early. I cycled with him some of the times before we started. He was my ‘wake up’ buddy, so we went early sometimes. He was always happy and always knew what to say.”

The second he stepped foot on the Springfield College campus, Connor knew that’s where he was meant to be. In the recruiting process, the tennis coaching staff saw Connor as a well-rounded individual with an upside in tennis.

In a community that prides itself on holding

Photo Courtesy of Dana Neshe the door for each other, respecting the grass, and leadership and service to others, Connor fit right in.

“We in the athletic department and us coaches, we all talk about the ‘Springfield kid,’ we’re all trying to find ‘Springfield kids,’ and Connor was exactly that,” Louis said. “Last year being my first year in the role of head coach at Springfield, you often hear that term tossed around and you think you understand what a Springfield kid is.

Connor was that kid that made it real life for me.

“The character, integrity, his positive attitude, and the way he always sought to challenge himself and to support his teammates really is that thread of a Springfield kid. As a teammate, from a coaching perspective, that’s the type of kid

that you look at, that is who you want on your team.

“We always say when we’re recruiting we are trying to find those pieces that fit into our puzzle, and in my perspective, he did exactly that. He fit in, and he made himself a part of this program in that short period of time.”

His positive attitude and genuinely caring personality translated not only within the tennis realm, but was also clear in his everyday interactions. Connor made an impact on students in his classes, talking to them and sharing a smile with them each time they connected.

He would make sure his friends were okay.

He would make sure his peers who were still strangers were okay. He would make sure faculty and staff members were

okay.

Connor wanted everyone to be happy – he wanted to share the light that shined so bright inside him.

“Connor was a very nice kid, he always had a smile on his face and always had something kind to say. Whether it was cracking a joke and just starting a conversation, it was always so nice to talk to him because you could feel he was such a warm and loving soul,” said Tino Pizzarella, a floormate of Connor’s in Gulick 4C. “He gave off an entity or this light that was unmatchable. You could tell he was truly a good person inside and out.”

After the devastating news was shared of his passing on Sunday, October 20, students, faculty, and staff gathered in Marsh Memorial Chapel to remember him. They

October 31, 2019 shared a somber moment together -- some prayed, some just tried to wrap their head around the tragic event.

And then, some reflected. They shared memories that they had made with Connor in his short time on campus.

There were members of his orientation groups, students who shared classes with him, people who saw him in their dorm, and just random people who he would say ‘Hi’ to in passing.

“I think you look at this unfortunate event, but then you get all of these stories coming out that I don’t think people think otherwise to talk about,” Louis said. “I think there are so many more layers to Connor.

I think the sky was the limit for him. He won’t be able to work towards those things, but he did everything he could on a daily basis to at least try to chip at the things that he wanted to try to accomplish immediately.

“I can come off pretty direct sometimes like, ‘That’s not good enough,’ or, ‘You’re doing great here, this needs to be a bit better, here’s how we can do it, what are your thoughts on this?’ So you work on that two-way communication with your players.

His attitude was always like, ‘I love it, Coach, you’re just trying to make me better. I want to be pushed, I want to be challenged so let’s keep going.’ I think that’s a great perspective to have as a freshman,

you don’t always get that.”

While Connor preferred to be pushed from a coaching perspective, he was the first to offer encouragement and positivity to his teammates as they played.

Teammate Lucas Van Deventer shared, “I had the opportunity to get to know Connor a lot.

We would watch a lot of the matches together and his encouragement for players was always positive. That helped me to see that I needed to spread positivity to get our teammates to refocus and get back into the match.

“One memory I have with Connor is warming up with him at the Grass Invitational Tournament in Providence and he was so excited to be there and was pumping me up as we hit. He was coming off of his hamstring injury and he was smiling so much that day. It was awesome to see.”

“My favorite memory of Connor was during our grass court tournament and I hit a winner down the line and he yelled, ‘Federer!’ It showed a funny side of him that I wish I got to know better,” Anastopolous said.

All that encompassed Connor will forever be remembered by his teammates, and by all who came in contact with him. His work ethic and personality inspired others to be the best they can be, and he radiated positivity everywhere he went.

News “Connor was one of the hardest working members of the men’s tennis team. He came to practice every day with the goal of being better than yesterday,” senior tennis captain Freddie Moffa said. “He impacted me personally by showing me how much fun someone could have while playing tennis. His first day back at practice coming off his injury he was all smiles and pumped to be back.”

“As a June Orientation leader, one can pick up on the qualities and personalities of people fairly quickly. Connor was actually one of the first students in my group that I talked to. Although quiet and reserved, he quickly opened up,” said one of Connor’s June Orientation leaders, Liz Chew.

“I remember speaking to him within the first five minutes of his orientation group forming, and he said that he was ready for orientation and couldn’t wait to get onto campus in the fall.

“It is a truly rewarding experience to watch a person grow in a matter of hours, and Connor did just that. He was able to display his easy-going nature, and quickly made friends that day as well.

It was evident that he was excited to join the Springfield College community. Although he was taken so early on in his life, it was clear that he enjoyed playing on the tennis team, being with his friends, and embodying the campus’ philosophy of Humanics.

PAGE 9

“Although only being on campus for a short two months, he impacted the lives around him in such a positive way, and subsequently leaving behind a legacy that will not be forgotten. It was an honor to be Connor’s June Orientation leader, and I wish his family all the best as they raised a model student, athlete, and friend.”

Through the grieving, gloomy days on campus, and in his town of Framingham, Mass., Connor would encourage people not to be sorrowful. To go into their next day inspired to make it

better than the previous one.

To wake up better than the day before. *** Connor Neshe’s service will be held Monday, November 4 at 1:30 p.m. at First Parish in Framingham Unitarian Universalist, which is located at 24 Vernon Street in Framingham Mass. Parking is available at Village Hall (across the green) or behind the Plymouth Church at 87 Edgell Road (right across the street) or along Grove Street.

Photo Courtesy of Dana Neshe

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MOE continued from Page 3

at the administration, students must recognize who that entails.

“I just think that people are quick to blame Dr. Cooper for everything when you should be blaming her as well as her leadership team. So that’s Patrick Love, Steve Roulier, Calvin Hill, Stuart Jones, Dr. (Craig) Poisson, the Provost, the whole leadership team,” Rhim said.

There’s not many colleges across the country where the president is so active and engages with students as much as Cooper does. However, in doing so, it is widely expected that she will continue to be just as vocal and have as much of a presence during the negative times, as she does during the positive times.

“As students we can’t point our fingers anywhere else. She’s taken that upon herself by going public and saying I am the face of this college, I am making all these decisions, I am making all this change,” junior Tyler Merullo said.

“So if you’re going to be responsible for the institution on such a public level, you need to be able to take the responsibility as a public level for the negative things as well as the positive things,” Merullo added.

While Cooper has not made any further statements beyond emails regarding campus events, she’s not the sole person who is responsible for the school’s response.

In fact, the administration isn’t the only party involved in this, either.

The students play a large role in shaping the

“

We’re trying to find a common ground for everyone, this isn’t about one group getting more prevalence over the other. We should be coming together in unity and working on issues for everything,”

-.Tyson JONES

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screaming to be heard,” Omoru said.

“My thing is if you took it down and you don’t want alumni and trustees to see it, that means you’re ashamed of it. Work on it to fix it, show the people who can actually help you change things, what’s going on here. Listen to your students,” he added.

Rhim made the argument that it would have been appropriate for the administration to send out an email explaining what the board was and its contents if students hadn’t seen it, and talking about how the school was or was not working to fix the issues.

Instead, it was silence.

“But the silence is just...I would have rather preferred them to say something wrong. I just wanted to hear something like what are you doing about that,” Rhim said.

Junior Tyson Jones added to that point made

by Rhim.

“If they were to have said something, it would have been a lot better than nothing. They’re just making it worse for themselves,” Jones said.

“I feel like they’re downplaying our intelligence sometimes like we’re stupid and we’re not going to know what’s good. People understand the stuff on the wall is bad, everybody knows,” he added, receiving snaps and head nods from those in the room with him.

Again, the argument can be made that the administration dropped the ball in terms of its response. But if the finger is to be pointed

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who live next to him to gather all this stuff so that we know his story,” Diaz said.

He argued that more information from the school would have been beneficial, but that it’s not necessarily the College’s responsibility.

“I think his legacy is something that shouldn’t be entirely placed onto the administration and something that they put into an email,” he said.

“It should be his friends spreading all this joy about him. If it was one of my friends who passed, I’m going to make sure that everybody knows everything good that this person did and everything that he was involved in. I’m not going to leave that up to the College.”

Another key point of contention is the “I wonder why…” board in the Union. According to multiple sources, the board was taken down because drapes for homecoming were going to be hung up over the curtains in the Union, which would have blocked the board from visibility anyway.

The board was returned to Jessica Poser’s community arts class and they were offered to choose another location to put the board on display. The class ultimately decided they didn’t want the board anywhere else except its original location, and when that was not an option, it was not put back up.

“Whatever reason it was taken down I feel like that’s unacceptable, because what was on there should have been seen. There’s people on this campus who are

...

October 31, 2019

... campus’s environment, and eventually, the topic of conversation at the meeting shifted to what students on campus are actually doing, or not doing.

“With the wall, I feel like a lot of those issues are things that we knew were already happening on campus. Nothing is new to us, like we knew there (were) issues with sexual assault, we knew there were issues with racial tension on campus, we knew all that was occurring, it’s just now people are talking about it,” Diaz said.

“I think the main thing we should get from that is to continue having that conversation and not allow for that to die down and get swept under the rug because that’s when nothing gets done. Whether it’s through us, or anybody, it’s just having

those conversations. If you know something’s wrong, speak up, use your voice and allow for your opinions to be heard,” he added.

The mood on campus right now is tense. Everybody’s talking about action, but not many are actually taking it.

“People need to be mad at the right people, but the issue is that people just want to be mad. Last week being mad was trendy, being upset was trendy. People are just angry and it’s empty anger with no substance and no backing and they’re not doing anything about it,” Rhim said.

Last Saturday, MOE hosted an event focused on the importance of using one’s voice to make change and the importance of doing so.

Student activists from the late ‘60s and early

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The Men of Excellence helping out neighbor Awelida Sanchez with cleaning her yard. (Photo Courtesy of Chad Tousse) ‘70s were present to aid in the presentation. The event, which was held in Marsh, was sparsely attended by students, even after the difficult week the campus community had just endured.

“If you really want to know how to use your voice and channel that anger for positivity and change, why didn’t you come to this event?”

Rhim asked.

An ugly truth on campus is that while some individuals’ may have good intentions, they just don’t follow up with action. Too often, on-campus events -important ones at that -- are sparsely attended by students.

Everyone is busy. But is it fair to get frustrated with the administration during times like these when students are not stepping up? The administration may not be perfect, but in reality,

neither are the students.

“We can’t just point the finger at the administration and expect everything to be solved because us as students do have a responsibility for how we interact with each other, how we go about clubs. There were four or five open forums last week, MOE planned a forum way before that but nobody was there,” sophomore Xavier Washington said.

“When that wall went up a lot of students were angry, but angry about what? What are you doing? Why are you angry? What are you angry about and tell me what you’re doing to change that,” he added.

As mentioned above, there’s no argument in this story. It’s not the students versus the administration. It’s not ‘did Springfield College fail in the way it handled these situations last

week?’

The point is that it’s time for a reality check.

A reality check for every student, staff member, faculty member, administrators, alumni, trustees, whoever it may be.

If one’s fighting for a cause, then it’s time to be present.

“A lot of the things that we’ve been talking about are really hard things to talk about, but the fragility has got to stop. The fragility has got to stop because I’m a big believer in no decision is a decision, if you’re not speaking, you are speaking,” Omoru said at the meeting.

“If you don’t act and you’re just being fragile and you’re scared to speak and you’re scared to actually discuss these things and reach out to your students; whatever the reason is for pulling down the wall or whatever, it’s fragile and it

needs to stop. Because if you aren’t discussing these things, these things are never going to get fixed.”

“We’ve got to become knowledgeable about these issues and there’s no reason as to why that room (on Saturday) should not have been filled. We can’t voice our opinions on all these issues when we don’t know how other people are feeling because we’re not showing up to all these events. The school needs to show up, the student body needs to show up in ways that we haven’t before,” Diaz said.

“We’re trying to find a common ground for everyone. This isn’t about one group getting more prevalence over the other. We should be coming together in unity and working on issues for everything,” Jones added.

Maybe the simple solution is everyone needs to be better.

Change happens slowly and nothing will be fixed in a day. As a community we got knocked down last week, but now is the chance to stand up and cultivate change.

Whatever it is that you’re feeling inside: act on it, and don’t be afraid to speak up and be the change you want to see on campus. That goes for everyone -- from students to trustees.

A lot of students were upset by what they felt was a quiet response from the administration, but aren’t we being silent too? Let’s start the dialogue now and keep it going forward. If we really do care, we’ll show it by making sure action takes place.

October 31, 2019

News

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Roosevelt Ave. incident spills over onto campus The latest on last Thursday’s accident in President Cooper’s front yard.

By Gabby Guerard @GabbyGuerard

Danny Priest/The Student

After a tragic start to last week, campus was faced with another alarming situation last Thursday night. Police cars from both Springfield College Public Safety and the City of Springfield filled Alden Street in front of Presiden Cooper’s house.

Students watched from the townhouse parking lots as a scene from the city spilled over onto campus. The details of the situation can be found below: At 9:39 p.m. the Springfield City Police Department made a statement to The Springfield Student regarding Thursday night’s incident on Roosevelt Ave: “At approx 8:10 p.m., SPD officers conducted a traffic stop of a known suspect on the General Edwards Bridge. That suspect drove his car towards officers. Two officers fearing for their safety discharged their department issued firearms. The suspect continued driving before crashing on Alden St. The driver was taken to Baystate with a non life threatening leg wound. The female passenger was taken into custody. The officers who discharged their firearms are in the SPD’s normal protocol for an officer involved shooting. The SPD Detective Bureau is investigating the use of force in conjunction with the Hampden District Attorney’s Office.

The incident did not occur on the Springfield College campus. Mayor Domenic Sarno & Commissioner Clapprood are with Springfield College President Cooper since the crash ultimately ended near her home. The individuals involved are in custody and there is no threat to the students or the public.”

Then at 10:04 p.m., the community received an e-mail from Springfield College President Mary-Beth Cooper: “To Our Campus Community, As many of you may know, there was an incident on Alden Street tonight at around 8:15 p.m. involving Springfield Police. Our Springfield Campus Police assisted as two suspects were apprehended after a targeted narcotics arrest that started at the X in the City of Springfield and ended near Lot 15 on Alden Street.

Our students, faculty, staff, and guests are safe and in no danger. While Alden Street will remain closed for several hours to vehicle traffic, pedestrian traffic is allowed on the street. I spoke with Mayor Domenic Sarno and Springfield Police Commissioner Cheryl Clapprood and they confirm there was no shooting on campus and at no time were our students in danger.

Any additional information will be shared with the community as it becomes available.

President Cooper” At this point, there has been no further information released regarding last Thursday night’s situation.

October 31, 2019

Sports

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Chrissy Conley leads a Springfield back four that has allowed 2.59 goals per game. (Jack Margaros/The Student)

The Glue of the Team Springfield College women’s soccer will honor its five seniors Saturday

By Hayden Choate @ChoateHayden

The Springfield College women’s soccer team’s 2019 regular season is coming to a close.

After Tuesday’s tie at Wheaton, the team sits at 11-4-2 with one game left on the schedule. Saturday afternoon’s home contest against NEWMAC opponent WPI is not only the final game of the season, but it’s also senior day.

The Pride will honor five seniors on Saturday at Brock-Affleck field before

their final match of the 2019 regular season. Nikki Kerr, Mackenzie Luiz, Shannon Anfuso, Sydney Wine and Renee Melisse are the five seniors participating in their last regular season game of their college careers.

Senior Chrissy Conley already had her senior day on Oct. 16 before the pride took on Babson as she will not play on Saturday to attend her sister’s wedding.

“This team’s incredible they had their own senior day for me,” Conley said.

“I’m so grateful that I was

able to pick this school as my second time around in college because its changed my life for the better.”

Springfield began the season on a very strong note winning their first four games of the year then tying defending national champion Williams.

However, they found themselves in a tough spot after losing to Wesleyan then NEWMAC opponent Coast Guard. The Pride then picked their play right back up going on a five-game winning streak.

The team did drop a non-conference game to Amherst but were still riding a six-game winning streak in NEWMAC play before being shut out by defending NEWMAC champion MIT. Senior captain Nikki Kerr believes the Pride have had a good season and is optimistic heading into their last game. “I just feel like the energy going into NEWMACs, going into the end of the season, it’s going upwards every single day, every practice I think we’re working hard-

er and every game, I think we’re really proving how good of a team we are.”

Kerr said.

Although the Pride have enjoyed a successful season, they have had some tough losses but the team has always had a positive outlook moving forward.

“We’ve always said that failure is the first attempt at learning, F.A.I.L. as an acronym, we kind of just take that and build off it and go forward in See Women’s Soccer continued on Page 19

October 31, 2019

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Don’t trust Lamar; Ekeler will bounce back Looking ahead to week No. 9

By Jacob Johnson @JacobJ_7

Love: Austin Ekeler Ekeler has effectively established himself as the No. 1 back in San Diego, after an impressive start to the season in Melvin Gordon’s absence.

Since Gordon has returned to the team he’s been less than impressive, averaging 2.5 YPC and 11 catches for 37 yards in four games, compared to Ekeler who has continued to produce points through the air (over 500 receiving yards on the year, averaging 9.9 YPC) rather than the ground game. Last week Ekeler faced a tough Bears front seven that held him in check, but this week plays the Green Bay Packers, who’s achilles heel all year has been stopping the run. While Ekeler makes most of his plays through the short passing game, I expect the Chargers gameplan to get the ball in Ekeler’s hands however possible and let him go to work.

Hate: DK Metcalf

Metcalf has surprised many analysts in his rookie season, as he’s put up some solid numbers early in his career, when many scouts listed him as a long term project. The Ole Miss product is a big time deep threat receiver and has racked up 4 touchdowns on the year, two coming last week against the Atlanta Falcons. The Seahawks return home this week to face the Tampa Bay Buccaneers; they’re giving up the second most passing yards per game in the league (285.9 YPG) and the third most points per game (30.3 PPG). The Seahawks are going to utilize their freakishly athletic WR on Sunday.

Lamar Jackson Jackson has enjoyed a stellar sophomore campaign, but this week he faces possibly his toughest defense he’s ever seen in the New England patriots.

The Patriots defense has been on another level this year, they gave up 13 points last week against the Browns, the most points allowed on the season for this unit. Jackson has only thrown for over 300 yards once this year, and hasn’t had a passing touchdown in the last two weeks. The Patriots game plan going into this game is to let Jackson throw the ball, and a heavy dose of contain plays.

Bill Belichick is not going to let Jackson run loose, expect him to be very uncomfortable on Sunday Night Football.

Kyler Murray Murray makes my fade list for the second straight week. After the Cardinals started getting a groove and were in the midst of a three game win streak led by Murray’s impressive play, they ran into the red hot saints who for the most part shut Murray down for 10.1 fantasy points.

It doesn’t get any easier this week for the rookie, as he’s got a Thursday night Matchup with an elite 49ers defense. Rookie Nick Bosa has not only established himself as a clear favorite for defensive rookie of the year, he might even walk away with overall defensive player of the year.

I don’t see murray picking apart this defense, especially if David Johnson is not playing.

October 31, 2019

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First-year Overload Pride wrestling brings in 21 first-year students in preparation for 101st season.

Ian Tolotti competed in the NCAA Div. III Wrestling Championship last year for the first time in his career. (Photo courtesy of Springfield Athletics)

By Kevin Saxe @ksaxe98

The shriek of the whistle, the sound of the shoes on the maroon mats that adorn the Doug Parker Wrestling Room, and the heavy breathing after another practice is finished are all sounds that signal wrestling season is close.

The Springfield College wrestling team is in full swing preparing for the 101st season in team history. After 100 seasons and over 1,000 dual meet wins, the Pride are looking to kick off the second century of the wrestling program at Springfield with a bang.

For this Pride team who lost guys like Kearney Gutierrez and Aarin Feliz, they have a large team that includes a large freshmen class that will look

to fill the void. According to third-year Graduate Assistant Jimmy Kaishian, the freshmen have already made their impact felt in practice.

“The freshmen are pushing the pace in practice, motivating our older guys, and bringing a ton of enthusiasm to our practices,” Kaishian said.

For the Pride who are carrying nearly 50 guys, including the large freshmen class, senior Roger Moyer, much like Kaishian, has been impressed with the freshmen thus far.

“What I really like about this freshman class is that they aren’t afraid to compete,” Moyer said. “They didn’t come in scared of the upperclassmen. They didn’t come in really cocky either. It was a great blend of respect your opponent

but don’t be afraid to compete and show us what you have.”

Not only do the Pride bring in a large freshman class, but they return a number of talented returners who have been mainstays for the Pride.

These wrestlers include seniors Joe Fusco, Ian Tolotti, and Nick Almonte as well as juniors Nick Monteleone, Ryan Peters, and Michael Vietri along with sophomores Jaques St. Jean, Chris Trelli, and Jared Tolotti.

With a team that has a great deal of youth, Kaishian emphasized the importance of the returners building a good culture.

“Having a young team it is important to get ahead on expectations, and culture setting,” Kaishian said. “Fortunately for us coaches we have a group

of strong upperclassmen that set the tone in the room. Mike Vietri, Ian Tolotti, Joe Fusco, Ryan Peters, and honestly a bunch more are great leaders for our younger guys.”

With the combination of a talented class of firstyears and a skilled group of returners across all classes Kaishian says the energy surrounding this team is the highest he’s seen in his three years here.

“I have never seen the energy surrounding the team like I have this year,” Kaishian said. “It really is amazing how the culture set by our upperclassmen is rubbing off on our younger guys.”

Wrestlers to Watch: The first wrestler to watch is one of the two

members of the Pride with experience on the national stage, Ian Tolotti.

Tolotti, who came just one point away from being an All-American a season ago, is someone who both Kaishian and Moyer believe will have a big year.

“Ian Tolotti is one of the guys to look out for,” said Moyer, who’s been teammates with Tolotti for his entire time here at Springfield. “He’s one of the most decorated wrestlers we have coming back. He was one point away from being an All-American.

He’s put that work in and is deserving of what he gets.”

“Returning national qualifier Ian Tolotti is shaping up to do some damage this year,” Kaishian said.

See Wrestling continued on Page 17

October 31, 2019

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Ambassador for the Game Mike Strong receives 2019 Guy Tedesco Award for outstanding leadership and talent.

Mike Strong was also awarded MASCAC Golfer of the Year. (Photo courtesy of Springfield Athletics)

By Lucas Van Deventer @Lucasvd_26

Hard work runs deep on the Springfield College men’s golf team, and preparation has followed what they looked out to accomplish this season.

Mike Strong has seen what it can do.

The senior golfer has been a prime example of working hard all the way until the end. Through his four years on the team, he has seen how much a program can change and be improved.

“Since I have been here I tried to take leadership, and when I came here the program wasn’t really good to be honest, but with me and the help of Matt [Gazaille] who is a senior too, we really were able to change the program around to become a legitimate team,” Strong

said.

During Strong’s career, the program was able to learn how to make things better for a culture and an experience to see the hard work being paid off.

He was awarded the 2019 Guy Tedesco award during their tournament at the New England Intercollegiate Golf Association (NEIGA) to cap off the season. The award is given to an individual who displays the qualities of unselfish leadership, outstanding talent, the love for golf, and willingness to promote positive aspects to others. Strong has worked hard to represent the golf team and make a name for the golf program.

“Mike has worked so hard and has been so committed all year long and he deserves it more than anybody else,” sophomore

teammate Corey Roya said.

It goes to show that being able to make a change allows the team to realize the progress. The process to have a better program takes trust to believe in someone. Strong was able to accomplish that and the award is evident to his progress.

“When we go to tournaments, people don’t look at us like a washed-up team, they look at us like a real team who can compete when we’re on our game, and that speaks to what we started and how we changed the culture inside of it,” Strong said.

The talent that the team showed along with Strong, was a way to gain attention from other teams. At the NEIGA, men’s golf placed fifth at the championship which was the best finish in program history.

The Springfield Pride also captured the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletics Conference (MASCAC) for the second straight season.

At MASCAC, Strong was able to grind it out to finish with a 152, claiming the Golfer of the Year Award. Roya also made his presence known, placing third overall and receiving all-conference honors. The team was able to prove that their talent gave them a reason to compete and go up against tough opponents.

Strong’s personal goals adapted to how he wanted to end the season and how the team would look.

Strong was able to see what needed to improve in his game and how the team would end up by the end of the season. The goals rely on preparation and the abilities to achieve

them.

“My goals that I set, I wrote it out in my notes, like the pros do. I did the same thing. I accomplished five out of the six. I won the conference player of the year, and I wanted to accomplish the big goals,” Strong said.

Strong knows that having a talented core will also provide for more support to getting goals achieved as a team. The team depends on one another in order to face the goals that are at hand.

“I’m happy with what our team accomplished and the way we are moving forward with Jake Raichle and Corey, it’s exciting for them,” Strong said.

The way that Strong went about changing the program, receiving the award, and working hard with his team highlights the leader that he became.

October 31, 2019

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PAGE 17

He was able to spread his voice for change and motivation to compete throughout his whole team.

“I have had two incredible seasons playing alongside Mike. He has been a leader to me ever since I got to Springfield College and I will miss traveling with him. I remember watching him win the conference and accomplish his goal, that was really cool,” Roya said.

When the chance comes to see someone’s goal accomplished, it makes a team realize what it takes to compete and that is all that Strong asks for. He is a presence that motivates and helps others experience their own moments when the time comes. Strong’s experiences helped to share many memories in his senior year with the team.

“Winning the conference was most memorable this

season. Coming back on the van with the guys we always had a joke that we would take a spring trip, but only if we won the conference. All we were saying on the ride from winning the conference was, where are we going?”

Strong said.

When Strong steps on the course, he knows what he has to do to get the job done and his expectations influence his teammates to try harder and work

Wrestling continued from Page 15

giate level.

The other class mentioned was 197. Right now the three wrestlers listed at that weight class are all freshmen. The three are Dante Morris, Dakota Grover, and Sam Ware.

With a young weight class, it should be interesting to see if any wrestler can take control of that spot.

better,” Kaishian said.

For the Pride, sticking to the “win the moment” motto is what they plan to do according to Kaishian this weekend as they travel to his alma mater for their season-opening invitational.

“We always have goals they may different from person to person, but our focus right now is winning the moment, we have the Ithaca invite Friday,” Kaishian said. “What can I do now to win that’s where our head is at?”

The Pride begin their season traveling to New York for the This is a Pride team that Ithaca Invitiational on Nov. 1. (Helen Lucas/The Student) returns a large amount of experience as well as tlers to the NCAA tourna- shian said. “Often we set two wrestlers with NCAA ment this year, especially goals for our self that tournament experience in if they get big perforlabel as ‘reasonable’. What Fusco and Tolotti. They mances both from the happens is those goals bealso return Ryan Peters returners as well as poten- come limits, or self-made at 141 who came one win tial impact newcomers. As ceilings, and we begin to away from joining Tolotti the Pride get set to begin settle. So instead of setat NCAA’s last season. a season that could have ting those boundaries we It is not unreasonable high expectations for both are going to operate with to believe that if Fusco, individuals and the team, the goal of being champiTolotti, and Peters stay Kaishian says the team is ons right now.” healthy then the Pride not limiting themselves to could have a chance to “reasonable goals”. send three or more wres“Sky’s the limit,” Kai-

Kaishian would also point out the weight classes of 133 and 197.

“We have a lot of young talent there it will be interesting to see how that shakes out,” he said.

Listed at the spot of 133 is Tolotti, but after that is where it gets interesting.

The two other returners at this weight are sophomores Jaques St. Jean and the younger brother of Ian Tolotti, Jared Tolotti.

There are also two freshmen listed at 133, Gianni Manginelli and William Parrot. At this weight class it’s clear that barring any unforeseen circumstances that the elder Tolotti is the top dog, but after him, it should be interesting who can prove themselves at this class whether it be the returners both eager to build off of solid freshmen campaigns or the first-years looking to prove worthy of competing at the colle-

Outlook: For the Pride wrestling team, it is clear that energy is high as they enter into the first weekend of competition at the Ithaca Invitational, a two-day event to kick off the season this Friday, Nov. 1 and Saturday, Nov. 2. For the Pride this season Kaishian and the team have seemed to embrace the motto of “win the moment.”

“Our motto this year is ‘win the moment’ and the guys are taking that to heart, taking advantage of every opportunity to get

until the very end. In this way, he will remember the golf program and he saw that as something which benefited both himself and the team. In every tournament, the effort had to be at the highest level to meet his goals.

“It’s a grind. My main grind was in the summer spending four or five hours a day strictly just practicing. I think that was the grind in itself and I’m glad it paid off this

year. It took a lot of hard work and dedication to get where I’m at and I know Corey and Jake as well as the rest of the guys are following up doing the same thing,” Strong said. vtv For Strong, being able to see the progress being made means much more than just for himself.

When the hard work pays off, his leadership role impacts everyone around him.

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Conley becomes seventh to score 50 goals

By Tyler Browne @t_browne1124

It’s just after 5:00 p.m. on a brisk October evening. The Springfield College field hockey team is playing an intersquad scrimmage. Half the team are in white jerseys, the other half in maroon. One player in a white jersey stands out among the rest.

Wearing the No. 14, Taylor Conley steals the show, scoring goals and recording assists as her coaches look on.

Conley, a senior in the Physical Therapy program, is a starting forward for the Pride. She’s started 61 of her 70 collegiate games, and has logged 54 goals. Only six other women have scored 50 goals in the history of the field hockey program at Springfield.

For Conley, this achievement is even more special because of who she shares it with.

“I really looked up to Maggie Kennedy, who was like right above me, so I learned a lot from her, and I’m happy to have the same milestone as her,” Conley said.

Kennedy finished her collegiate career with 56 goals scored. Conley is only two goals away from tying her former teammate with one regular season game remaining.

“I think it just shows

Taylor Conley joins a group of six other women in the history of Springfield College field hockey to score 50 career goals. (Helen Lucas/The Student)

a consistency she’s had in her career with scoring throughout her four years,” said coach Melissa Sharpe.

At this point, Conley scored another goal in practice.

“There’s another one,” Sharpe remarked.

In her rookie season, Conley started in all 19 games for the Pride, recording 15 goals.

“She was a goal-scorer as a freshman, which was great,” Sharpe said.

Now in her senior season, Conley continues to score goals. On October 19, she recorded two goals in a come-from-behind win against Wellesley. A week later, she scored all four Springfield goals against Wheaton.

“I couldn’t do it without Taylor Low, who’s been feeding me great balls to shoot in the goal,” Conley said.

Despite some setbacks, Sharpe noted that Conley has never given up.

“I know she’s been frustrated at times, but she’s just kept pushing and pushing,” Sharpe said after the Wellesley game.

Conley was recognized as the NEWMAC Offensive Athlete of the Week for her accomplishments, the first time she has received the honor.

“It feels pretty good to get it in my last year,” Conley said.

Sharpe felt that the honor was extremely well deserved.

“It’s well-deserved for sure. She had a huge game for us against Wheaton.

She had all four goals, three of them coming in the first quarter, so it was great for her to get recognition for her offensive efforts.”

However, Conley recognizes that her success isn’t all on her.

“I feel like my field hockey intelligence has definitely improved with Coach Sharpe and all the great GAs that we have...

Having more confidence as an upperclassman really helps,” Conley said.

Since her standout freshman season, Conley’s play has evolved each season.

“I think the [biggest] difference in her play is she’s gone from finishing goals as a freshman to now helping to create some of those goals as a senior,” Sharpe said.

Sharpe has also noticed some other changes in Conley’s play style.

“Her hits are a lot harder than when she came in.

But she’s done a great job, especially on offensive corners for us. She’s been a key force for us these past couple seasons,” said Sharpe.

Conley has just one regular season game left with the Pride, but she has the potential to be a huge difference maker in the upcoming NEWMAC tournament.

October 31, 2019

Sports

Women’s Soccer continued from Page 13

our other performances and the atmosphere that we’re around with each other and the coaches and everyone’s really supportive.” Conley, another team captain, said.

Mackenzie Luiz, another captain, also believes the team coming together has been a big part of their success this season.

“I’d say this year especially our team is super close compared to previous years that I’ve been here so I think that team cohesion has really helped

us on the field in games this season,” Luiz said.

Part of the togetherness of this team has come from this year’s senior class.

Kerr added, “We have a very strong class not only on the field wise but as people, some of the most caring individuals on the team are in our senior class and that just shows we lead by example.”

“The passion, preparation, perseverance that literally all of the seniors and honestly the entire team has across the table so far this season has been incredible,” Conley added.

Luiz, who has dealt with injuries this season, has high praise for her class who has shown they lead from off the field as well.

“I feel like our class is strong mentally and physically because on the field we do lead by example but off the field, I know myself I was injured for a long portion of the season so that was kind of hard for me, I kind of had to learn to be a role model and lead others in a different way not just on the field but off the field as well, and I think that a lot of our class is able to do that too,” Luiz said.

Kerr added, “With only one regular season game on Brock-Affleck Field for the seniors they still can not believe it. “I don’t really want to believe it yet, I just can’t believe that it’s been four years here, four years with this program, four years with these girls that I’ve honestly couldn’t imagine myself growing as close as I did to not only the seniors but the underclassmen that I’ve gotten to know the few years that they’ve been there.”

Springfield, who tied Wheaton 1-1 on Tuesday afternoon, is still in the

PAGE 19

No. 2 spot in the NEWMAC standings with a 6-2-1 record in conference play heading into Saturday and are ready to battle in their final game of the season.

“This is an opportunity where we need to win because going into NEWMACs this will just set us up for greater success and I think ultimately when it comes down to it our entire team’s goal is to win NEWMACs and that starts Saturday,” Kerr said.

Earn 3 credits in 3 weeks

Get caught up. Get ahead.

Register now for Winter Session Dec. 26, 2019––Jan. 15, 2020 For the complete list of courses and to register:

umassd.edu/winter Questions? 508.999.9202

SPORTS Mike Strong wins 2019 Guy Tedesco Award

Women's soccer to honor large senior class on Saturday

From the Ground Up Springfield wrestling will lean on a large first-year class to blend with senior leadership for a successful season.

[See inside]

OCTOBER 31, 2019

VOL. 134 NO. 8

(Helen Lucas/The Student)

Taylor Conley nets career goal No. 50