Volume 134 No. 13

The Springfield Student Est. 1910

January 30, 2020

Volume 134 No. 13

[scstudentmedia.com]

Contact us: springfieldstudent@springfield.edu

Connecting communities

Derek Nesland came to campus Tuesday night as part of the ongoing Humanics speaker series.

Derek Nesland (left) with distinguished Professor of Humanics Judy Van Raalte (right) on Tuesday night. (Photo Courtesy of Springfield College Marketing & Communications)

By Caitlin Kemp @caitlinkemp09

Basketball is more than a game. Springfield College promotes this idea strongly while being the birthplace of the sport. On every inch of campus, there is an indication that this is the place Dr. James Naismith

invented the game. A game it may have started as, but so much more it became. Derek Nesland knows this as well as anyone.

Nesland is the founder and president of Courts for Kids, a

nonprofit organization that helps to create opportunities for developing cities and countries to build multipurpose athletic courts. Courts for Kids has built 192 courts in 30 different countries around the

world. These projects have included 3,924 U.S. participants from various high schools, colleges, and other groups.

As noted on the Courts for Kids website, their mission is “transforming lives through

building courts and cultural exchange.” Values that the organization focuses on are authentic relationships, genuine partnerships, transforSee Nesland on Page 6

welcome back to campus

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January 30, 2020

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Springfield’s untold mystery: Human Donor lab Few people on campus are aware that underneath the Health Sciences Center there is a cadaver lab that helps students in certain majors get valuable, hands-on experience in their field.

See Human Donor on Page 8 to read the full story

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By Irene Rotondo @irenerrotondo

Nestled in the underground depths of Alden Street, away from the prying public eye, lies Springfield College’s untold mystery - the cadaver laboratory, or as it is now called, the human donor lab.

Unless a student is studying in the programs of Physician’s Assistant, Athletic Training, Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy, or in the Master’s Exercise Science program, they have never seen -- and most likely will never see-- the inside of what this special lab is really like.

The lab sits underneath the Health Sciences Center on Springfield’s main campus. A long staircase leads down to a massive and brightly lit laboratory room.

The room is full of computer screens, plastic bones, x-ray imaging boards, textbooks, and whiteboards. At the back, a large refrigerator currently holds seven human donors that have been laid onto metal carts and zipped inside white body bags.

There is also a shelf filled to the brim with containers of actual human organs ranging from hearts with pacemakers to the inner parts of the abdominal system.

Dr. Kathleen Pappas is a faculty member in the department of Physical Therapy at Springfield College with the official title of Associate Profes-

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Students filled the Campus Union for paint night (pictured above) among many other activites over the course of welcome back week. (Nico Fiscella/The Student)

“The Roaring ‘20s” CAB welcomed students back to campus for the new semester and the new year in fitting fashion.

By Nico Fiscella @Nico_Fiscella

As students have continued to get settled in for the spring semester here on campus, CAB organized a funfilled first week back to give students numerous events to reconnect with their friends on campus.

CAB made sure to keep everyone busy.

While students were

unpacking and settling back into their rooms for the spring semester, they had the opportunity to grab a sweet treat from The Lil Nora Cupcake Truck.

The truck offered a variety of sweets that would make ruining your New Years’ resolution worth it. Flavors

ranging from a rich fluffy marshmallow chocolate cupcake, to the classic caramel drizzle cupcake, and even a limited edition minterland cupcake helped make it seem like winter break never ended.

With all those delicious flavors, it did not take long for the cupcake

truck to sell out.

It also wouldn’t have been a traditional Springfield College move in week without bingo. Per usual, CAB held bingo in the union last Wednesday. With a bingo theme of “Bees Knees,” students filled the seats in hopes of being able to scream

out that one infamous winning word and claim their prize: BINGO. As we enter into the ‘20s, it was only fitting for this week’s theme to be the “Roaring ‘20s.”

The prizes for bingo See Welcome Back on Page 7

January 30, 2020

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Hoophall Classic 2020 Each year, Springfield College plays host to the Spalding Hoophall Classic basketball tournament. A collection of elite high school teams from across the country come and play at Blake Arena. This year, several students in the Communications/Sports Journalism major had the chance to cover the event. Below are some of the best photos from the five day tournament.

Full coverage from the event remains available on scstudentmedia.com.

LeBron James at Hoophall. (Gabby Guerard/The Student)

Kris Rhim’s interview with IMG Acadmey’s Jaden Springer got crashed by some teammates. (Danny Priest/The Student)

DeMatha’s Earl Timberlake Jr. got the crowd excited with several big dunks. (Evan Wheaton/The Student)

Zaire Wade (left) and Bronny James (right) celebrate a Sierra Canyon basket at Hoophall. (Joe Arruda/The Student)

January 30, 2020

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Top row, left to right: Jack Margaros, Ian Snowdeal, Evan Wheaton, and Kris Rhim. Bottom row, left to right: Joe Arruda, Danny Priest, and Gabby Guerard.

The seven students who covered Hoophall. (Photo Courtesy of Meredith Perri)

Ian Snowdeal interviews the No. 1 rated high school player in the country Evan Mobley.

(Danny Priest/The Student)

Evan Wheaton with Montverde Acadmey’s and the nation’s No. 4 ranked player Scottie Barnes.

(Danny Priest/The Student)

LeBron James checking out the special edition of The Springfield Student newspaper during his time at Hoophall. (Kris Rhim/The Student)

January 30, 2020

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Nesland continued from Page 1

mational experience, and exceptional character.

Tuesday night at 7:30 in the Fuller Arts Center, Derek Nesland presented: “Who Says There’s No Traveling in Basketball? Community Development Through Court Building Around the Globe.”

“I feel like this is kind of a homecoming in a way, just because of the impact it has had in terms of basketball, I mean this is where it all began,” Derek said on being at the birthplace of basketball.

Nesland was an Academic All-American and Hall of Fame basketball player at Portland State University. During his freshman year, he was asked to travel to Bosnia and Croatia to play basketball. It was right after the Bosnian war, and the country was war-torn and very different from what he was used to seeing in the U.S. “For me, as a 19-year-old, just wide eyed college student it rocked my world. My mind exploded with ‘wow this world is a much, much different place than I ever imagined,’” Nesland said.

After traveling to 14 countries playing the sport he loves, he got an email asking if he knew of a team that would play in the Philippines.

He replied saying that he

Derek Nesland during Tuesday night’s presentation. (Photo Courtesy of Springfield College Marketing & Communications)

“

I’ve been to almost every corner of the world, I have never been to a place - and I don’t think a place exists - where kids aren’t playing sports,” - Derek Nesland

didn’t, but inquired if there was a need for a court.

Nesland woke up to three emails back to him with full interest in having a court made, and the rest is Courts for Kids history. He began to gain more and more interest in what he was doing and made the decision to commit his life to doing this.

Nesland recognizes the power of sport and how it is something that connects cultures around the world. “I’ve been to almost every corner of the world, I have never been to a place - and I don’t think a place exists - where kids aren’t playing sports,” Nesland emphasized. “...and if they don’t have access to sports like you and I think of access to sports, they’re going to make their own little nook and cranny and they’re going to find a way.”

The innate want to play sports in children shows how important athletics can

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be in communities. This is why the courts his organization builds are more than just the sport itself. The courts are often the center of the communities, and provide a place for people to gather and celebrate.

They also often serve as a “catalyst for economic development,’’ as Nesland stated. When a community builds the court, it allows for other opportunities for the economy to thrive, such as concessions at the location or a school being built nearby.

Head of the Humanics project this year, Judy Van Raalte, thought Nesland’s story was perfect for the community of Springfield College, as there is a heavy focus on Humanics, volunteerism, and of course, basketball. “[Derek] really embodies spirit, mind and body, and service to humanity, so I thought that he wrapped up the whole thing of what we stand for,” Van Raalte expressed.

Nesland truly defines what the ‘triangle’ means here at Springfield College.

Through recognizing the aspects of spirit, mind, and body and focusing on humanics, he has been able to change the world and create a bridge between communities and cultures, and it all started with basketball.

January 30, 2020

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Welcome Back continued from Page 3

were all themed around popular items from 100 years ago.

Prizes included movie baskets with tickets to the theater that also included classic movies such as “Bohemian Rhapsody.” Along with this, winners could bring home a candy bag filled with popular sweets from the past. For the larger prizes, students had the opportunity to bring home either a polaroid camera, or a brand new TV. On Thursday night, the union again filled up for paint night. Students would grab either a Mocktail or Shirley Temple drink and paint away any stress the early semester has given them.

“People can have a fun night and paint,” said Michaela Zegarelli. This week’s events would not have been possible without her help. Zegarelli is a first-year student who is a part of the board for CAB. “It’s a great way to get back into the swing of things,” said Zegarelli. While only being in her second college semester, Zegarelli has already made a huge impact as a CAB member.

“I spend over five hours a week with them… they have become some of my closest friends,” she said.

The events only continued as the week progressed. Friday night, students had the option to come to the union and play all types of video games.

For classic gamers, popular games such as the original Super Smash Bros, Mario Kart, and NBA Street were all

Madden tournaments (top left photo), a photo booth (bottom left photo), and psychic readings (bottom right photo) were all among the welcome back week activites put on

by CAB. (Nico Fiscella/The Student).

available to be played to bring back some old memories.

Several students huddled up and observed as two competitive racers took to the tracks in Mario Kart. The Mario Kart game was being projected onto a large screen, while the two racers laid back in an inflatable car seat.

On the other side of the union, two TVs were set up for a Madden tournament. It was a very competitive atmosphere, where some students had fun even though they did not get the outcome they felt was deserved.

“My hands are so sweaty,” said Bonifacius Sidharta. Sidharta played two games of Madden and fell short on both games.

“I had a great time, I missed this atmosphere and this group of people… it feels good to be back,” Sidharta added.

To finish off the week, Springfield hosted Samantha Ruddy for the Roaring Laughs Comedy Night.

Ruddy kept students holding their stomachs laughing. It seemed to be the perfect ending to a great first week back.

Things are only going to improve as time goes on. Zegarelli hinted at CAB hosting string art, make your own dream catchers, and a student favorite DIY tie-dye night.

With one full week down in the new semester, things could not be off to a better start. Students enjoyed welcome back week laughing, cheering, and catching up with friends they’ve missed. Hopefully that is the sign of a great new year for ahead for both Springfield College and its students.

January 30, 2020

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Human Donor continued from Page 2

sor of Human Anatomy.

Pappas not only teaches students within the PT curriculum, but also coordinates and organizes all that goes into maintaining a human donor lab. Dissections and the overall preservation of the lab are part of her daily roles as professional coordinator.

Between all of the programs that are involved, Pappas says that there are approximately 200 students that utilize the lab every week.

As for the donors themselves, Pappas explained where exactly they came from.

“We borrow them -- and there is a fee involved, of course -- from UMass Medical Center.

They are an anatomical gift program, authorized by the state of Massachusetts, to take gifted donors and preserve them and use them for medical teaching,” Pappas said.

“We work with them

primarily because they are considered a person-first gift program.

This means the actual donor, while they are alive, consents to donating their body for medical teaching and research. So, it is the wishes of the donor that we follow,” Pappas added.

Donors typically stay at the medical center they are sent to for one to two years while their body parts are studied as much as they can be.

Afterwards, they are sent back to the UMass Medical Center, where the team follows the wishes of the donor and their family. Usually, the donors are returned to their family for cremation, services, or final burials.

There is also an endof-year event held at both Springfield College and the University of Massachusetts where a service is held to recognize what these donors

Dr. Kathleen Pappas (left) and one of the teacher donors. (Irene Rotondo/The Student) have provided for the students that have been studying.

Students in the aforementioned majors offered at Springfield can expect to work with the human donors to provide themselves with real-life situations.

Danielle Hoffner, a senior in the Occupational Therapy program, has worked in the human donor lab since her junior year of college.

She says that some people react poorly when she tells them she works with actual human bodies, but it’s not actually scary or disgusting at all. Each of these donors wanted this to happen to them after they passed away, and those associated with their lab are purely just following their final wishes.

“Working with the bones and the muscles has been crazy cool. It really

A wide-angled picture that showcases a part of the human donor lab. (Irene Rotondo/The Student)

enhances your learning more than what you’re learning on paper. It’s one thing to learn it on paper and it’s another to actually see what it looks like in the body,” Hoffner said.

“The cool thing about using human donors is that they’re all unique and they’ve all had their own stories so when they come [to us] and are opened up we get to see different aspects of it. Like, we found on one donor that he had open heart surgery and we were able to see the chicken wire in his chest… you’re really getting more than just textbook stuff, you’re getting real life people,”

she added.

One thing that both Pappas and Hoffner made clear was that the donors were people too.

When one hears that ‘Springfield College has bodies on campus,’ they generally react with discomfort or repulse.

However, Springfield College is extremely grateful for the learning opportunity this lab provides for their students.

The donors were once living, walking, breathing, conscious people, and the appreciation that the students who work with the donors have for them is immeasurable.

January 30, 2020

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Flipping through the years

The first gymnastics team at Springfield College was established in 1904, a year before the first basketball team. (Photo courtesy of Springfield College Archives)

__________ By Kevin Saxe __________ @ksaxe98

You walk past the Richard B. Flynn Campus Union. Students, faculty and other college employees funnel in and out for a variety of reasons from getting a quick bite to eat to visiting one of the many offices the Union has to offer.

Sitting across from the entrance of the Campus Union is a small monument that is passed by most people on a daily basis. The bronze-colored statue features a man sitting there with a basketball and a peach basket.

That man has been ingrained in pretty much everyone who’s learned about basketball; they know it’s James Naismith.

Yes, he invented basketball, but not many people realize he can be credited for being an integral part of another sport on

campus.

A sport with an even longer history than basketball.

“A lot of people don’t know that Naismith was actually a great gymnast and he actually performed at various gym shows here at Springfield College as early as 1890,” Springfield College Archivist Jeffrey Monseau said.

Senior gymnast Giancarlo Lawrence also points out, “James Naismith coined this college as the birthplace of basketball, but let’s not forget he was a gymnast before anything.”

Not only does the sport of gymnastics predate basketball at a college that rightfully so is coined the “Birthplace of Basketball,” but as a competitive team it also outdates bas-

‘James Naismith coined this college as the birthplace of basketball, but let’s not forget, he was a gymnast before anything.’

ketball. While basketball’s first competitive team was in 1905-06, the first gymnastics team was actually established a year prior according to Monseau.

“It got its start in 1904 and immediately picked up as a traveling exhibition show where they’d go off and perform.”

In 1904, the groundwork for what we know as Homeshow was laid down. According to the archives, “Beginning in 1904, the Springfield College Gymnastics team would travel to cities to perform their Gymnastics routines. At the end of their travels, they would perform a ‘Home Show’ at Springfield College, a show they continue to perform to this day.”

When you have a program with so much history it’s not the gymnasts but the coaches as well.

One of those coaches was Leslie Judd, a member of the US Gymnastics Hall

of Fame. Judd coached the team and is still widely considered “a father of modern gymnastics,” who helped turn the exhibition team into a way to, “promote and maintain an interest in gymnastics, dance, and the artistic phases of physical education,” according to the Springfield College archives.

However, it’s not just men’s gymnastics that has a long history on campus. The entire sport of women’s gymnastics as a whole has some of its direct roots dating back to the infancy of the sport tied directly to Springfield College. The college had the privilege of hosting the first-ever women’s collegiate gymnastics championships in 1969.

Led by Mimi Murray as their head coach, they were pretty successful from the get go.

“The women’s gymnas-

tics team here at Springfield College won the first ever national championship of women’s gymnastics. That is not just Division I, II or III, it was the national championships of women’s gymnastics in 1969,” Monseau said.

Being part of a sport and a program with so much history is not something to be taken for granted. Head coach of men’s gymnastics Matthew Davis understands what it’s like to be part of the program at various different levels. His journey with the Pride started as an athlete competing on the men’s gymnastics team under legendary head coach Steve Posner before graduating in 2008. Following his graduation, Davis would return for two more years as a graduate assistant coach. Seven years after See Gymnastics continued on Page 15

January 30, 2020

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‘A voice for the voiceless’ Amanda Kulas makes sure student-athletes never have to feel the way that she did. __________ By Kris Rhim __________ @krisrhim1

Amanda Kulas was confused when one of her classmates at Windsor Locks High School in Conn., handed her pages torn from the bible.

This classmate was also Kulas’ teammate on the track team and even sat next to her on the bus in sixth grade. She remembered him being someone that enjoyed starting trouble. Most people, however, use the Bible as something positive, so maybe he wanted to give her his favorite scripture and wish her a blessed day.

Instead, he handed Kulas these torn pages accompanied with him saying, “God says it’s wrong for you to be gay.” *** For a while, Kulas had been living her life filled with anger, frustration and confusion. Nothing made her happy. She loved music and performing in concerts with the orchestra, but hated the dress code that forced her to wear a dress. She didn’t understand why big boys jeans or hand me downs from family friends felt so much more comfortable

to wear and why people would criticize her when she would wear those kinds of things to school.

Sports were her safe haven.

Playing basketball, pole vaulting, and soccer helped her clear her head.

Unlike concerts, baggy jerseys and shorts are welcomed in basketball, which allowed her to do what she loved and feel comfortable.

In addition to the comfort, and the tight-knit family that her sports teams gave her, doing well in sports made her feel that her parents finally had something to be proud of her for.

“My sister was the academic one, perfect gades, perfect everything and I wasn’t,” Kulas said. “I struggled in school, but I knew that at least on the court my dad could be like, ‘number two, that’s my kid,’ he could say that to people and be really proud about it. “ Finding a date to eighth grade formal was problematic.

She was supposed to dress really “pretty,” which meant wearing makeup, and of course, a

Kulas is a graduate assistant coach for the Springfield track and field team.

(Photo courtesy of Amanda Kulas)

dress. These requirements made her feel uncomfortable and often left her wondering why she didn’t fit the mold of what a girl was supposed to be or look like.

Instead of saying anything, she would suppress these feelings and try to be the girl she thought she was supposed to be.

For years, Kulas was walking around with this gorilla-sized burden. It negatively affected her relationships and caused her to be so enraged that she would frequently punch holes in her walls.

“Amanda has struggled a lot coming into her own.

She’s always known she

was a little different than the crowd — not quite fitting in the typical molds that are preset for most.

And for a while that was something that really troubled her,” said Lexi Higgins, a friend of Kulas for 13 years. “So because of that there was a time where she would cut off bits and pieces of herself to allow herself to fit a little more neatly into those circles of people.”

Kulas had already told her older sister that she was gay, and she supported Kulas, but she was unsure about how the rest of her family would react.

After a scary situation in high school involving the

homophobic mother of Kulas’ then-girlfriend, in which the police had to be called, she finally had to tell her parents the truth.

“I didn’t have a negative experience at all, my family was very much okay with it and I’m lucky in that aspect,” she said.

“I know so many kids that can’t come out or they feel so petrified to come out because their family isn’t supportive. It was great to be able to come out and live freely as who I was — and especially not wearing those super feminine clothes anymore.” *** Today Kulas has her hair cut low, slicked to the

January 30, 2020

left side of her head. She is wearing red slacks, a tucked in wrinkled dress shirt — because she hates ironing — with a gray sweater over top to hide those wrinkles, and gray Nike Janoski shoes. On her left hand she dons a black silicone engagement ring.

She got engaged in February, but her and her fiance decided to save their fancy engagement rings for special occasions only, for fear of damaging them.

Kulas, a graduate assistant track and field coach at Springfield College, is at Blake track with a group of sprinters. She’s making sure their hips, arms and legs are in the proper running form.

During breaks, she laughs and jokes with some of the athletes about how her favorite football team — the Dallas Cowboys — are going to the Super Bowl next year. Almost seven years since she came out publicly, Kulas is far from that scared, uncomfortable and depressed girl she used to be. She’s embraced who she has become and brings her experiences to her coaching.

For 60-meter school record holder and openly gay athlete Damian Mackay Morgan, Kulas has made track practice a place for him to be a version of himself that he couldn’t be elsewhere.

“Having someone like her who understands the hardships associated with growing up homosexual, and understands what it means to live life out of the closet and the target that puts on your head for others who do not support, is the last puzzle piece I needed to call this team and this place my

family and my home,” he said.

When Mackay-Morgan was speaking one weekend in the Field House at the student-athlete panel for open house, an uncomfortable feeling overwhelmed him and he had to sprint off the stage. He was having his first ever panic attack. The first person he looked to for love and comfort was Kulas.

“I did not go to her specifically because we are both homosexual,” he said, “but I went to her because sharing this characteristic opened so many doors to unite us and make me trust her completely and complete our family on the team and at Springfield College.”

Kulas didn’t come into this job looking to be a role model, but her passion for fairness and equality has made her become just that.

To this day she still thinks about a time where she and her girlfriend were given Saturday detentions in high school for kissing goodbye in the hallway, when a heterosexual couple did the same. The detention was deemed for being late because it came a second after the bell for class, but for Kulas, it didn’t feel right.

“It felt like hatred. It felt so terrible,” she said. “ I just want everybody to be treated fairly no matter what we’re doing. A label should never define you.

If any punishment is necessary it needs to be equal.”

Andrew Weller has been friends with Kulas since they were freshmen in the exercise science program at Central Connecticut

Sports

State University in 2012.

He still talks to Kulas once a week, and says after each phone call that he’s always left with a broad ear-toear smile because of how excited and happy he is for the person she’s become.

“She’s becoming a voice for the voiceless and I can remember a long time ago when she felt she didn’t have a voice of her own,” said Weller, “Of course I’m proud. I’m proud of her growth in every dimension of her being.” *** While she has grown largely from that uncomfortable girl that punched

holes in her walls, unsure of where she fit and who she was, she understands that there will always be people who will never accept her.

When president Obama signed the Same-Sex Marriage Bill in 2015, that same student that handed Kulas those torn pages from the Bible in high school got in contact with her. He wanted to remind her that it was still very wrong for her to be gay.

Even more recently, he contacted her at 2 a.m. one night through Facebook messenger to remind her, again, how wrong it is for

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her to be herself. Just one month ago, when Kulas was holding hands with her fiance and walking down a pier, a man yelled, “f---k the gays!”

“It kind of takes you back and makes you wonder, like what year are we in? And why do you have so much hate?” she said. “I went through a phase in my life where I was mad at myself (because of what people said) and struggling, but I’m at peace with who I am.”

And no amount of torn Bible pages or bigots will ever change that.

Since coming out, Kulas has been a role model for openly gay athletes at Springfield College.

(Photo courtesy of Amanda Kulas)

January 30, 2020

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Dyslexia is no match for Jack Anastopoulos ___ By Joe Arruda ___ @joearruda9

He lays in bed, a family-sized bag of original flavored Cape Cod brand potato chips by his side.

A 10-page paper is on his mind.

Jack Anastopoulos types and deletes, types and deletes.

He had already been in constant communication with his professor, asking for help with the prompt.

Hours later, when that block was still there, he kicked off his navy blue sherpa throw blanket, got out of bed and walked three doors down the Gulick 4C hallway to his friends room.

He knocks on the door.

No response, so he walks in. The sound of the wooden door opening wakes up his friend, “Jack what do you want?”

“Will you help me with my paper?” he asks. “I just need help with the outline, how is this going to be 10 pages?”

On the eve of spring break, most college students celebrated the completion of their assignments, looking forward at

the week to come. But, for Anastopoulos, it was grind time.

“He’s a good guy, but he doesn’t sleep a lot,” his first-year roommate Sean Andrews said. “He would always be doing his work in his own space, on his laptop, very focused on it. He talks to teachers a whole lot.

“He would email with all our teachers all the time. I had a ton of classes at the same time as him because we were both taking the same gen-ed classes and if I didn’t know what the homework was, he always was like, ‘Oh, yeah I emailed the teacher it is this and this, she wants it like this.’”

The tennis team was leaving for Florida in the coming days, but before he could get excited, one grueling assignment stood in the way.

That late night grind just before a deadline was nothing new for Anastopoulos when he first stepped foot on the Springfield College campus. *** Beginning as early as kindergarten, reading and writing posed significant

Anastopoulos is in his sophomore season on the Springfield College men’s tennis team.

(Photo courtesy of Springfield College Athletics)

challenges for him. He wasn’t able to write his name, and fell behind from the start.

He was just different.

Years later, the problems continued. He sat in a fifth grade classroom composed entirely of children who were caught up with the curriculum, going to school was no chore for them. But, Anastopoulos still could not manage to read a book.

“I could read small things, like those books that would say stuff like, ‘cat,’ ‘pig,’ ‘dog,’ stuff like that,” he said. “I could read like the one syllable and sometimes two syllable words, but when it got into longer words, or even with more letters, it just confused me, I couldn’t. And also words that would trick a lot of people, like ‘island,’ I just wouldn’t understand. I would think ‘is-land.’”

The public school system in Brookline, Mass. was not well enough equipped to accommodate him.

He was constantly being removed from class to get extra support which often consisted of being read to for a short period of time and then spending the remaining time playing basketball or other games. It wasn’t for kids with problems with the classroom, it was for kids who were problems in the classroom.

After realizing how much of an issue his setback with learning had become, Anastopoulos underwent a series of tests to diagnose what was causing his trouble.

The doctors discovered that he had a learning disability, and diagnosed him with dyslexia. *** After his diagnosis, Anastopoulos and his family knew that they would be able to get financial assistance in paying for a school that would be more fit to help him succeed. So, they found Landmark school in

Beverly, Mass., just under an hour away from his home in Brookline.

“Landmark specializes with kids with learning disabilities, like dyslexia, ADHD, ADD, to the point where it affects them in the classroom,” he said.

The environment was well-suited to his needs.

Landmark featured an almost utopian structure intended to benefit students with his exact complications.

“The unique thing about Landmark is that there’s a one-to-one tutorial for each student which is very uncommon, and the class sizes are very small compared to public school.

At Landmark the largest class is eight students so it really allows teachers and students to work together more closely, work on areas of weaknesses, and exploit those areas of strength that those students have,” one of Anastopoulos’ tennis coaches at Landmark,

January 30, 2020 Khiet Chhu, said.

The school focuses on teaching students strategies which they can use to manage their time and workload in order to be successful doing similar work as other students at that age.

“It was weird actually doing homework, because I never did homework before because they knew I couldn’t do it. A big change was that the teachers were on you now,” Anastopoulos said. “There was nowhere to hide in the classroom. It was like six to 10 kids in the classroom compared to my public school where it was like 30 to 45.

“So I couldn’t just like sit in the back and they couldn’t just forget about me. They were on you the whole time, so it was weird because I actually had to do homework now and I was used to just sitting at home after school because I couldn’t do it. Now I actually had work to do.”

The strategies taught at Landmark worked substantially, and what used to be confusion over polysyllabic words turned into a greater understanding of what he was looking at, and the world around him.

Anastopoulos said, “When I finally did learn how to read, it was so crazy to me because I switched schools and it only took them a year to get me learning like the basic parts. And it took my other school six years and they couldn’t do it.

“My big thing was I remember being able to read like cereal boxes now, I was able to read signs, small things like my own road sign, things like that. That was the biggest difference I’d say because now I wouldn’t just be looking at things for the colors, and now I could actually understand what was going on.”

The change was difficult for him in a slew of different ways.

As with any child, switching schools means losing a group of friends who they have often grown up with for the majority of their lives. This is followed then by entering a brand new, uncomfortable situation in which a child is isolated, forced to find a new group who might, or might not, open their circle to draw him in.

For Anastopoulos, leaving his friends entering the sixth grade meant leaving most forever. To his surprise, only two or three of his friends from public school would continue talking and hanging out with him when he was home.

But, the situation he entered was a friendly beast.

“Making friends at the new school was actually pretty easy because everyone was the same in a sense,” he said. “Everyone had similar issues, everyone came from a similar background, similar school experiences, similar problems with the districts about IEPs and things like that.”

But, because Landmark is a private school, most of the students live far away, and it was hard for Anastopoulos to find a group that would still exist outside of Beverly.

The difficulties translated further than just the social aspect.

As a person with a learning disability, fitting in was hard enough. And transferring to a school widely known for its focus on that exact difference would only make it more difficult when he returned home.

He welcomed questions of, ‘Isn’t that school for kids who are like stupid?’

Those comments made an

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impact on him, hurting him in the moment but motivating him as time went on.

“Going through all of that made me a better person I would say because now seeing someone who is different getting taken advantage of or getting pushed around just because – for me it was over the smallest thing, it was about reading,” he said.

“Also in like sixth, seventh, and eighth grade when I switched schools and would come back, they would be like, ‘How’s the slow school?’ It’s just another school. We all go to college now, we all work now, we all do the same thing, we just went to a different school.”

The words sometimes translated to physical altercations. The ignorance of adolescence was too much to handle as a middle school student who didn’t necessarily understand

what made him different. *** For Anastopoulos, the way to overcome this was through sports.

“When I was younger, playing a sport was a way that I could be like everyone else, no matter what sport it was,” he said.

“Whether it was soccer, baseball, football, basketball, anything it was the only way I could be like similar because I was just as good –if not better– than everyone else, compared to in the classroom where I was horrible.

“In the classroom it was tough because I couldn’t do the same things as everyone else, but when I could play a sport and be better, that’s why I loved it so much.”

The internal push that got him through tough academic assignments translated to his playing style and attitude he brought to the tennis court.

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Chhu said, “He started out playing doubles for us, which was probably not where he wanted to play, but he was always a team player. In doubles, he played with a senior on the team when he was a freshman, and he was always a really scrappy kid.

“I remember that about him when he first started, just fighting, clawing for every point. I knew we had a good one for our team in the future, and I think his best year was his senior year by far.”

It was a different kind of fight when it came to sports; one that he was more prepared for.

But, the childish taunting did not cease.

“We always knew that other schools were going to say stuff whether it was tennis, soccer, anything, they were going to make fun of us whenever they could,” he said. “My attitude towards tennis wasn’t

Anastopoulos was the first Landmark School tennis athlete to sign a letter of intent to continue playing the sport in college. (Photo courtesy of Jack Anastopoulos)

January 30, 2020

always the best especially going into freshman year because it was just so mental. You’re all on your own out there.”

The banter was not only noticeable to the players, but it was almost expected to come – especially in more physical sports like soccer.

“It’s usually in the form of trash talking. Particularly in soccer, there’s a lot of stuff that goes on on the field, other kids, other teams, some of it is trash talking, and some of it is just harsh,” Dan Ahearn, one of Anastopoulos’ tennis and soccer coaches at Landmark, said.

As he got older and more mature, Anastopoulos turned to the sense of humor that he is now recognized by to deflect the negative comments. He knew that at the end of the day he had friends to fall back on, and opponents were running out of sayings that he hadn’t already heard. *** Towards the end of his high school days, Anastopoulos had developed from a kid who first picked up a tennis racquet at a club in Florida to pass time with his grandparents, into an athletic player who had a chance of actually moving on to a collegiate career.

This was something new for the tennis program at Landmark.

Clad in a gray Vineyard Vines quarter zip, which was unzipped to show off his blue and white dress shirt, all topped off with a matching tie, Anastopoulos sat at a table that was draped with a blue and gold cloth with his high school coaches, and a representative from Springfield College.

He grabbed a red pen in

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It was important for Anastopoulos to choose a school that was able to accomodate him academically first, and athletically second. (Photo courtesy of Springfield College Athletics)

his right hand and with a smile stretched across his face, signed his name on a letter of intent to play tennis for the Pride, instantly becoming the first –and only– Landmark tennis player to sign with a college.

The college search process was much different for Anastopoulos than it would be for most other athletes. His main focus never veered from the academics. Getting enrolled was one step, but getting through school was a larger one.

“In terms of choosing, for us it was always more important for Jack to have the right academic fit where he was going to get the sup-

port he needed,” Chhu said.

“We knew that he would be okay in terms of his tennis, he was going to work hard, he was going to be able to make an impact on a team and work his way up the ladder, but the tricky part would be to make sure the academics don’t fall off because of that.”

When it came down to it, Springfield offered the best mix of both a tennis program where he would fit in well, and an academic system that would support him. Ultimately, the commitment of the Springfield College coaches, actually travelling to watch him play, is what drew him in.

Time management: A concept that is hard to

grapple with for any student, and one that is much harder for students with learning disabilities, let alone student-athletes. But, with the strategies that stuck from Landmark and the Academic Success Center at Springfield College, Anastopoulos is able to pair his scrappy nature and get it done.

“The three weeks getting ready for a paper, a student with dyslexia might need additional time and planning to really get rolling,” Andrew Wilcox, director of the Academic Success Center, said. “Sometimes it’s just making sure that they’re really getting that time to ask the professor more questions, because

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dyslexia impacts your ability to break down text, which can then affect your comprehension of what it is, and then also to produce.

“But before you produce, you really have to understand clearly what is being asked of you. Professors usually come up with a little, sort of brief summary or they may have a rubric which then explains things.

Being able to have the time to talk through fully what is being asked of you is a pretty key step.”

Juggling the amount of time he spends with tennis – whether it be practice, lift, or matches – and in class, a forced set period of homework time has benefited Anastopoulos. But, sometimes that self-designated time is not enough, forcing him to stay up late.

“It started in high school because I would have sports after school and I would take the train back home to Boston and I wouldn’t get back until like 8 or 9 p.m., and I would get my homework done at 11 or 12:00, and wake up at 5:30 a.m. to go to school the next day. So I was used to not much sleep, obviously it’s good to get sleep and you want more, but it’s prioritizing at the end of the day,” he said.

“A big thing from that is that it taught me that fight.

To keep working, to keep trying, and it is something that I can carry on in life as well because if I don’t work my hardest I’m not going to get anywhere.” *** Just as the clock struck 4:00 a.m., Anastopoulos hit the period key one last time, submitted his essay on BrightSpace, and finally laid his head on his pillow and shut his eyes.

January 30, 2020

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Springfield College hosted the first-ever women’s collegiate gymnastics championships in 1969. (Photo courtesy of Springfield College Athletics) Gymnastics continued from Page 9

getting his masters degree in Athletic Administration, Davis would be named the head coach of the team replacing Posner who coached for 34 years for the Pride.

For Davis, he knows how lucky he has been in his journey throughout his various roles in the gymnastics program at Springfield.

“Not many people can say they were an athlete, an assistant coach, and a head coach at one particular school,” Davis said.

“This is something that I do not take for granted and is a driving force in working hard to continue to make the program grow each day and year to continue to add to the rich gymnastics history” For Davis, it’s not just

about adding more history to an already historic program but also making sure every year his teams are appreciative of everyone who’s had a part in building the program to what it is today.

“We’re one of the older gymnastics programs in the country. It’s something that I tell the guys that they represent more than themselves,” he said.

“There’s so many people who put time and effort into the program to get the program to where it is today. From past coaches like Frank Wolcott to Steve Posner to myself and a lot of gymnasts.”

It’s not just alums who look to build on the success of the programs, but also non-alums. One of those non-alums is current head coach of women’s gymnastics Jenn Najuch. Najuch, who is

in her fifth season and competed collegiately at SUNY Cortland, knew Springfield was special before she even got to Alden Street.

“I distinctly remember my coach Gary Babjack on the bus rides to Springfield talking about Springfield and talking about the philosophy and the Homeshow,” she said.

Despite not having a connection to the college like Davis on the men’s side, Najuch was also tasked with replacing a coaching legend. She replaced Cheryl Raymond, who coached the Pride for 35 seasons. For Najuch, she knows while she has a lot to live up to, there is also a benefit to having such legends of the sport be part of the team’s history.

“It certainly gives me something to live up

to. Following Cheryl Raymond, and [Mimi] Murray and coach [Diane] Potter,” Najuch said.

“It makes me want to talk to those coaches and ask what they did and ask how they were so successful so we can continue that growth.”

It’s not just the coaches who take pride in being a part of such historic programs. One of those is senior Giancarlo Lawrence. Lawrence, who could’ve stayed closer to his home in Jacksonville, Fla., detailed why he chose to come to Springfield for gymnastics.

“I knew it was my calling to participate in keeping this tradition of Homeshow, the bond between the men and women’s team, and the program altogether thriving, and that’s where I get my motivation and pride

to compete for this team,” he said.

With over a century built into the men’s program and over a half century built into the women’s program, gymnastics continues to build their “Tradition of Excellence” on Alden Street.

The men next compete on Feb. 9 at the University of Illinois with their next home meet coming the following Sunday, Feb. 16 against Temple and Washington.

Meanwhile, the women’s next meet is Saturday, Feb. 1 where they do battle with the host Westchester College as well as NCGA East region foe Rhode Island College. The women are next home Sunday, Feb. 9 against Ithaca and Ursinus both fellow NCGA East Region teams.

SPORTS Amanda Kulas contributes more than just her knowledge to the Pride track and field program.

A different learning experience

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JANUARY 30, 2020

Eight years after learning how to read, Jack Anastopoulos has played singles against school his whole life.

[See inside] VOL. 134 NO. 13

(Springfield College Athletics)

Springfield College has one of the oldest gymnastics programs in the country with a very interesing history.