Volume 136 No. 17

The Springfield Student Est. 1910

February 17, 2022

scstudentmedia.com // @TheSpfldStudent

Volume 136 No. 17

2022 Undergraduate Commencement Speaker

Women’s rights champion Billie Jean King will address the Class of 2022 at Undergraduate Commencement.

See page 2

inside Springfield’s new Covid Policy, Page 3 The third Black History Month event, Page 4 Get to know Jeff Monseau, Page 5 Minimizing food waste on Alden Street, Page 7 And more...

(Photo Courtesy of Michael Cole/wimbledon.com)

Winners/Finalists for five Society of Professional Journalist (SPJ) awards in 2021

Campus News

February 17, 2022

PAGE 2

A special send-off

On Wednesday, Springfield College announced women’s rights icon Billie Jean King as the 2022 Undergraduate Commencement speaker. __ By Irene Rotondo __ @irenerrotondo

Springfield College has announced that Billie Jean King, a champion for equity and women’s sports, will be the 2022 Undergraduate Commencement speaker at the graduation ceremony this May. In a Zoom forum with the Springfield College community on Wednesday President Cooper said, “Title IX means access, and there is nothing more fundamental than access to education. The road to getting Title IX passed, though, was arduous: a committed group of advocates lobbied tirelessly for the legislation, including our very own Dr. Mimi Murray, and paved the way to June 23, 1972, the day Title IX was passed into law.

“Our 2022 Commencement speaker is one of

those advocates. An icon whose career in sport and activism is truly legendary.”

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the creation of Title IX. The College said it was looking for a candidate who speaks to its Humanics philosophy, keeping in consideration the demands for a diverse social justice warrior.

“There is a committee formed, and actually goes through the Provost’s office and Billie Jean King’s name has been on that list for years,” Cooper told The Student in an interview following the announcement.

“We looked at the list this year, understanding that we’re celebrating 50 years of Title IX, and knew that she would be

the perfect candidate.

Fortunately for us, Bridget Belgiovine -- who is one of our trustees and a graduate of Springfield College, now retired -- had the chance to have dinner with Billie Jean King. Over dinner, she talked a little about Springfield College: what our mission is, who we are, and Billie Jean King said, ‘Yes.”’ King is a former tennis superstar who has continuously fought for women’s equality in sports since her own career began in the 1960s.

In 1972, King testified before Congress on behalf of Title IX, which prohibits sex discrimination in all federally funded school programs -- including sports.

“From my perspec-

tive, when we look at this year, and not only thinking about Title IX, but also equity and our LGBTQIA+ population, in general it’s about access,” said President Cooper.

Title IX has had a lasting impact on women’s sports. Since its passage, female participation in sports has grown by 1,057% in high schools and 614% in colleges across the country, according to King’s personal site: billiejeanking.com.

King’s backing of the law emphasized its importance, fueling other women to compete and coach as a career. In efforts to protect the sports provisions of Title IX, she also created the Women’s Sports Foundation. The organization hosts pro-

grams such as Sports 4 Life, the Travel & Training Fund, and GoGirlGo! to support girls beginning to play sports through financial assistance, diversity advocacy, and promoting physical health and development.

As stated on billiejeanking.com, “Title IX is still the only law that grants women any kind of equality in America.”

The College is thrilled to welcome women’s rights pioneer Billie Jean King to Springfield for Undergraduate Commencement, scheduled to take place at the MassMutual Center in downtown Springfield on May 15, 2022.

Campus News

February 17, 2022

PAGE 3

Updated COVID policy

When the City of Springfield lifts its mask mandate, which is set to be reassessed on March 1, the College will only require masks inside academic buildings, including the Learning Commons. __ By Irene Rotondo __ @irenerrotondo

After almost two full years of COVID rules, oscillating between strict and semi-strict, Springfield College is getting ready to roll back the majority of its regulations regarding masking indoors, along with immediately reducing the number of days students who test positive need to quarantine.

In an email sent to the College community on Thursday, Feb. 17, President Cooper and her leadership team announced that masks will be optional for fully vaccinated (meaning boosted) students everywhere on campus except when inside academic buildings, including the library, when the City of Springfield lifts its mandate. The City currently has a mask mandate that is scheduled to be reassessed on March 1.

Cooper also stated that the 10-day quarantine period the College currently holds for students who test positive will be reduced to a five-day quarantine, effective Monday, Feb. 21. Students who test negative on their sixth day and have been fever-free and without symptoms for the previous 24 hours will be allowed to leave isolation, but they will need to wear an N95 or KN95 mask at all times

indoors upon release until day 10. However, if a student tests positive on their sixth-day retest, they will need to continue their quarantine until day 10.

This relaxation in regulations comes after Mass. Governor Baker announced the mask mandate in K-12 public schools will expire on Feb. 28 this past week. Cooper and her team have been following multiple different guidelines since the beginning of the pandemic, and said her most current intelligence has pointed the College in this direction.

“We have been looking at a variety of resources, not only the CDC and the City of Springfield,” said President Cooper.

“There is a group of presidents who meet every Friday; we’ve met since March 2020. It’s called ACUM, Association of Colleges and Universities in Massachusetts. There’s 64 schools and almost 64 presidents get on the phone at 11:00 a.m. every Friday morning and talk about COVID.” Dr. Slandie Dieujuste, Vice President for Student Affairs, stated, “Mask wearing has certainly made communication much more difficult, as it has restricted our abilities to fully see facial expres-

sions and read nonverbal cues. It has taken out some of the intimacy associated with communication and probably impacted how students connect on a personal level.

“We know that mask wearing slows the spread of the virus, but one of the things that I think it has also done is that it has encouraged us to listen more intently to better decipher what is being said… This pandemic has taught us that we do not live on an island by ourselves and that we have a responsibility towards one another.”

Springfield College’s positivity rate has remained low to this point in the semester and currently stands at 6.62% for the last 30 days. The majority of students who have tested positive have had mild symptoms and in addition to their compliance with the College’s COVID guidelines, Cooper said she wants to ensure students’ mental health is being protected too.

“Many staff and faculty have sponsored and supported students that are in isolation… It’s hard.

I’m very concerned about students’ mental health, and the feelings of isolation and loneliness. I think the quicker we can get students out of isolation

Springfield will reduce its quarantine period for positive tests to five days, rather than the current 10. (Photo Courtesy of Springfield College)

back into the community, as safely as possible, is really the guiding principle,” said Cooper.

When the City of Springfield lifts its mask mandate, fully vaccinated students will be allowed to be unmasked in all buildings on campus except for academic buildings and the library. This will include the PE Complex, the Union, Cheney Dining Hall and all residence buildings. The previous standard of a booster shot to be considered fully vaccinated will hold, and is pivotal to being allowed without a mask in the designated locations.

Dieujuste is excited for what this means for the

community as the semester continues.

“One of the things we have learned about this pandemic is that it is unpredictable. I am, however, encouraged by the signs pointing that we are progressing in the right direction. We hope to see rates of COVID-19 on our campus and in the community continue to decline and will respond to those changes thoughtfully and purposefully,” Dieujuste stated.

“I believe we will continue to see students being responsible in their decisions, particularly how they impact others in the Springfield College community.”

Campus News

February 17, 2022

PAGE 4

Black church: Friend or foe?

Springfield College Division of Inclusion and Community Engagement hosted Dr. Terrlyn L. Curry Avery for its third Black History Month event.

Speaker Terrlyn L. Curry Avery (Photo Courtesy of Springfield College)

__ By Cait Kemp __ @caitlinkemp09

For the third installment of ‘Celebrating Black History Month’ as put on by the Division of Inclusion and Community Engagement, Springfield College hosted Reverend Dr. Terrlyn L. Curry Avery for a discussion titled, “The Black Church: Friend or Foe to the Community?”

Dr. Calvin Hill, Vice President for Inclusion and Community Engagement, introduced the event at the start of the webinar, and Director of the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Felicia Lundquist gave a land acknowledgement and introduced the distinguished speaker.

Dr. Avery presented a unique perspective of all the aspects of life within a Black church community. Traditionally, the church is

the epicenter of life in Black communities. In her own experience, the church was a family to her. Historically, it was often a safe place for Black families, especially during the Civil Rights Movement.

People would gather at Sunday mass, where they would learn the latest information about what was going on in the Movement. It was a symbol of togetherness, and represented much more than just a place of worship.

“You don’t think that the 1955 boycott movement happened by accident? It wasn’t just about Rosa Parks being tired,” said Avery.

“It was a planned movement, where they had many meetings about that movement, and one of the places where they would have meetings would be in

church because it was, again, a safe place to go and talk about what we would do to advance the movement, to advance the cause for us.”

The entity of the Black church came to be in the earliest days, with ancestors like Frederick Douglass and Harriet Tubman bringing their own ideals of religion and the belief of God. They needed to make it something for themselves, rather than what the white colonizers were preaching.

However, Avery brought to light some negatives that can be seen in Black church communities.

Through these early beliefs, a safe place for Black people was developed -- yet, after over a century of standing for inclusivity, the tradition of the Black church has been seen to oppress

other marginalized groups, such as the LGBTQ+ community.

“We in the Black church will talk a lot about sexual immorality, and we often want to hold up being LGBTQIA+ as the thing that is most sinful,” said Avery.

“We don’t take a look at our own behavior and what we are doing.

In other ways, we look to point the finger and therefore people who are LGBTQIA+ feel that you’re being hypocritical and feel judged.”

She also explored the idea of youth within the church, and how religion is starting to have a different meaning for the new generation than it does traditionally.

Young people are bringing new ideas into the church, and even seek spirituality outside of the physical four walls.

They want to see and hear themselves represented; as time goes on, there will be evolution and growth of ideas within the Black church.

Avery’s overarching message: the Black church is both friend and foe to the community.

She stressed the importance of making the church a place where people can go to get their spiritual, mental, emotional and physical needs met. To be inclusive of all, and be accepting and forgiving of all people and their journeys. In a world where there is so much negativity, the church should be that safe haven that it stood for all those years ago.

Campus News

February 17, 2022

PAGE 5

A jack of all trades

Jeff Monseau, longtime archivist at Springfield, is the mastermind behind the protection and distribution of the College’s storied history.

Springfield College Archivist Jeff Monseau. (Photo Courtesy of Springfield College) _ By Braedan Shea _ @othafishinthes1

On the lower level of Judd Gymnasia at Springfield College lies the office of the person who knows more about the history of the school than any book or document. Jeffrey Monseau, the campus archivist, is the mastermind behind preserving and allocating the college’s long, decorated history.

Monseau is responsible for collecting, preserving and providing access to the official records of

Springfield College, along with other primary source materials that support the research interests and the humanities philosophy.

“Essentially – I do everything,” said Monseau.

“I am a jack of all trades.

I digitize materials, I put those materials online, I arrange materials so that anyone can get access, I describe them, I supervise interns, I work with all levels of the college, from the president through all

the vice presidents and deans.”

Before he made his stop on Alden Street, Monseau never even intended to be an archivist.

“This is sort of my second career,” he said.

He attended the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where he majored in Classics; meaning that he studied Greek, Latin and Sanskrit. After graduating he worked in higher education for a short period of time but he wasn’t happy with what he was doing.

“It wasn’t really a career,” he said. “It was a job.”

A majority of this time was spent at home, where he was a stay-at-home husband and father. As his son grew older, Monseau realized that he was interested in learning about everything. He decided to follow his passion and attend Simmons University (then Simmons College), located in the heart of Boston, in hopes of becoming an archivist. “[Simmons] has a graduate program. There are no programs that are archives only, so you become a librarian and you specialize in archives.

Simmons offers one of the best programs out there,” Monseau said.

After graduating from Simmons, Springfield College was the first place to reach out to him. A place that, even as someone from Massachusetts, he had never heard of.

“A job opened up, I did research, I came down and interviewed, and it was a perfect match,” he said.

Monseau has loved his almost 14-year tenure at Springfield, but much like everyone else during these trying times, the ever looming Covid-19 pandemic has added a ripple into his job, making it a bit harder.

Before the pandemic, Monseau was able to work alongside a part-time staff member. But that person has been moved into the library in an effort to help students more during this period, leaving Monseau as something he refers to as the “lone arranger.”

The second, and much tougher change for him, has been that previously, nothing had been online.

This was preventing those who wanted to know more about the College from doing so. He was then tasked with moving all of the physical documents into an online version.

“If you want to research something, you need to follow the trail,” Monseau said. “If you are

just looking at the online stuff, that is just a small portion of what’s there and you’re not seeing the whole trail. So it makes it really hard to do research online, unless you digitize everything. And that is not easy to do. We are a small school that doesn’t have a lot of money, and it costs an awful lot to digitize everything. We have digitized a fair amount, but not enough to really do true research online.

You have to do a hybrid, and that made it really tough for me to handle researchers.”

Although faced with these struggles, Monseau prefers to look on the brighter side of things.

“It’s helped me sort of deal with student requests.

If you didn’t have the answers that you needed, we could have had discussions on how I could digitize whole folders for you. So in some ways, Covid was a positive.”

Despite these hard times, Monseau wants it to be clear what he is trying to do with his work: “I have tried really hard to let people know what this school was.”

Campus News

February 17, 2022

PAGE 6

The art of thriving between two worlds Dr. Slandie Dieujuste, Springfield College’s Vice President of Student Affairs, hosted a lecture about her home country of Haiti. __ By Jac St. Jean __ @jacsaintj

Sounds of Haitian music accompanied the buzzing of students and faculty in the Dodge Room of the Campus Union on Thursday, Feb. 10, as Vice President of Student Affairs Dr. Slandie Dieujuste prepared to present “The Haitian Diaspora: The Art of Thriving Between Two Worlds and Cultures.”

Dr. Calvin Hill, Vice President of Inclusion and Community Engagement, began the event and introduced Springfield College student-athlete Mikaili Charlemagne, who then introduced Dr. Dieujuste.

Dr. Dieujuste started with a warm welcome to the crowd, and addressed a few of her key objectives in this talk about the Haitian diaspora. One common highlight that she presented about her home country of Haiti was that it is the poorest country in the western hemisphere.

“That is something that is almost always highlighted in every video clip, every newspaper article you read [about Haiti], without

so much a thought to explain why that might be,” uttered Dieujuste.

This reason behind the poverty of Haiti derives from the year 1804, when Haiti declared its independence from France. This was the first time that a Black nation gained independence. Haitian people expelled France from the island, but the conflict between the two nations was not over. Two years after separating from France, Haiti was forced by the European country to pay them for a loss of labor. “[Haiti] had to pay about twenty-one billion dollars,” Diejuste stated.

“In today’s dollars to the French for gaining their independence… they didn’t finish paying until I think 1947.”

Dieujuste continued through the history of Haiti which led to the late 1900s, where many Haitians began to migrate to the United States in the 1960s, and again in the 1980s. To display the continuance of the Haitian diaspora to this day, Dieujuste showed a picture of

Dr. Slandie Dieujuste addressing the audience. The lecture took place on Feb. 10. (Photo Courtesy Jac St. Jean)

Haitian migrants being attacked by U.S. Border Patrol agents on horseback for crossing the border from Mexico to the United States.

“These [photos] do not represent a moment in time,” Dieujuste explained. “Haitian migrants have always been treated that way, it just never made national news.”

The long history of the Haitian diaspora stigmatized Haitians and caused widespread

discrimination across the United States that is still seen to this day.

“It’s nothing really that’s in the past,” Dieujuste exclaimed. “Just over the summer in May, there was a twelve-yearold boy in Brooklyn who had come to this country just a couple years ago.

He was beaten, bullied, and died because he was Haitian and spoke with an accent… this [diaspora] is still very much happening.”

The Haitian diaspo-

ra personally affected Dieujuste in many ways.

She came to the United States when she was nine years old, and went to elementary school in Boston, Mass. Dieujuste, her brother, and other Haitian children at her school were beaten by their classmates and discriminated against by their teachers.

“I decided to commit cultural suicide,” See Haiti continued on Page 8

February 17, 2022

News Campus

PAGE 7

Food fight

Springfield College has taken the necessary steps to contribute toward the minimization of food waste on campus and encourages students to do the same. __ By Cait Kemp __ @caitlinkemp09

Up to 40% of all food ends up in landfills, according to FoodRescue.net. Energy, water and land are all necessary in its growth and culmination, and all of that goes to waste along with the food itself. It is a never-ending cycle that seems impossible to break, all due to largescale industrialized agriculture required to provide food for the almost 8 billion people around the world.

It might seem redundant to take initiative when one person’s efforts appear miniscule in comparison to the massive issue, but it is important to do a part to source food ethically and sustainably.

All humans leave ecological footprints, dependent on decisions people make in their everyday lives. Is food purchased locally sourced, fresh, and unpackaged? Are houses being powered

Springfield College student grabbing food at Cheney Dining Hall. (Photo Courtesy of Springfield College)

with efficient appliances? How much exhaust is entering into the atmosphere by driving a car every day? One may think their ecological footprint isn’t bad, but take on the challenge and look at an ecologi-

cal footprint calculator online to see just how conscious these choices are.

In the meantime, doing little things to make improvements within a community is a great way to get involved in

the betterment of the environment.

Start to become more aware of how much food is taken at Cheney Dining Hall, and try to avoid having a lot of waste at the end of a meal. Make an effort

to carpool, exert less energy and fumes into the air, and don’t run the shower water for an excessive amount of time.

Even Cheney recently implemented a reusable to-go container system that allows for students to get food to take back to their dorms without having single-use takeout containers. They use reusable plastic containers that are returned after use, washed, and given back out for another student to use.

“Overall it is very easy and these to-go containers are reusable, reducing waste,” said junior Rachel Perry, a social student influencer for Harvest Table.

Cheney makes it a very easy process for students and the College to maintain a sustainable and environmentally friendly dining experience.

See Climate continued on Page 8

Campus News

Feburary 17, 2022 Climate continued from Page 7

A factor that people can consider is their diet.

A common misconception is that plant-based diets do not provide enough nutritional value as a meat diet might.

However, many plantbased substitutes can supplement the protein, carbohydrates and other nutrients that meat does.

Along with that, plant-based products can often be sourced much more efficiently than meat products. The meat industry takes a lot of energy consumption to function. Not only do farms need to grow food for humans, they also need to grow food for the livestock, maintain them with energy sources and add a large portion of water.

This is why the industrial agriculture busi-

Haiti continued from Page 6

Diejuste expressed. “I no longer wanted to be Haitian, it was part of my safety. I didn’t know if it was a really good place to be safe, and I had become so ashamed to be Haitian.”

When Dieujuste arrived at Boston College, she suffered from an identity crisis being at a predominantly white school. After taking a black history course, Dieujuste de-

ness is so detrimental to the environment.

Efforts are being made in Springfield, at both the College and in the community, to work toward making these significant impacts on the world.

“Our goal is to get a community garden going, and I have been working with (Director of the Center for Service and Leadership) Charlene Elvers and another person from the community,” said Professor of Environmental Biology Justin Compton.

“The three of us have been working to develop a community garden.

We’re trying to figure out physically where it’s going to go. What the purpose is, in terms of is it going to be used for educational purposes as well as community engagement, actually

growing some vegetables that the community members can have access to.”

Compton emphasized the importance of knowing where food comes from. Purchasing food from local farm stands or Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) programs can give people more knowledge about how their food is grown while supporting smaller farms and gardens as well.

“I think of the idea of food, understanding where it comes from because we can often be disconnected from our food. We don’t really know where it’s coming from, how it’s prepared, that sort of thing,” Compton said.

It can be difficult to imagine changing many daily factors in life to make the effort to be-

cided to pick up a black history minor, and even petitioned for a black history major at Boston College. Though she was not successful, she was advised to take some classes that the college offered to learn more about the topic.

Dieujuste studied abroad in Barbados and became more comfortable with her Haitian heritage.

However, upon returning to the U.S. from her semester abroad with her Haitian passport and

green card, Dieujuste was pulled aside at customs in Boston-Logan Airport for questioning.

This experience really brought Dieujuste to the reality that is the Haitian diaspora.

“The first thing that I learned is that it really doesn’t matter how much I’ve gained or how much I’ve acquired,” Dieujuste spoke.

Dieujuste continued, “I’ll never be treated or regarded the same as my white peers. I learned

PAGE 8

Springfield College students picking up food at the Student Union. (Photo courtesy of Springfield College)

come more ecologically mindful, but all it takes is time. Time is a big factor that turns people away from a variety of challenges. However, it shouldn’t stop us from taking little steps in bettering the world we live in.

The biggest takeaway: attempt to minimize waste. The climate,

environment and world we live in becomes extremely affected by all the waste that we create as humans, whether it is food, energy, or water.

Although one person cannot make an entire world’s worth of difference, a small contribution is still a step in the right direction.

that there…we were all students. Same university, different experience.”

Though her experience as a Haitian person in the United States has been tattered with struggles, Dr. Dieujuste is one of the many examples of the success that Haitians have achieved, and is proud to share her story and experience to the students at Springfield College.

“I hope [students] get that they too can be vulnerable and own their

own story,” Dieujuste stated. “Whether they’re marginalized students or not, we all have a story to tell right? We all struggle to some certain extent with our identity or our ability to fit in, so I hope that they’re inspired to know that they do matter, because they do… I hope they find strength in that.”

February 17, 2022

Sports

PAGE 9

Springfield’s Super Bowl connection

Springfield College alums AJ Smith, Brendan Burger, Allie Brennan and current senior Sean Russell all played a part in Super Bowl LVI. __ By Amanda Coelho __ Contributor

Whether it was on a common room TV or a janky laptop, Springfield College students were eager to tune in to the Super Bowl this past Sunday. SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, was packed with fans, but three Springfield alumni and one current student were involved in the behindthe-scenes operations of the two teams.

Springfield prides itself on the quality of its athletic programs and areas of study. The most popular programs -- Physician Assistant, Physical and Occupational Therapy, Athletic Training, Exercise Science, Sport Management -- and many more in related fields are key motivators to prospective students. Many current students have taken advantage of these opportunities and tackle the difficult courses to reach their full potential.

With a total of 79 international students and 66.6% of the student population coming to Springfield from out-of-state, many are unseasoned to

the athletic nature of the campus and are new to the unique atmosphere the school has.

Tim Christensen, a graduate assistant coach for the football team, reflects on the impact of Springfield College’s reputation and its programs linked to athletics on campus. “With our academic programs that have such high relation into every level of sport -- whether it be P.E in high school, college athletics, coaching, sport management, and the professional level -- Springfield just gives students a realistic goal of what they could achieve when it comes to their career,” said Christensen.

The proof of this is evident with Springfield alums and a current student being involved in major sporting events of all kinds.

“Since I’ve been here I’ve seen a few -- an example being on both teams during the Super Bowl, their athletic trainers were from Springfield College and that’s pretty impressive. Our program has

good regards, is well respected, and can send out professionals to the sports teams and it’s great that they’re actually represented in the Super Bowl,” said Gary Berte, professor of Criminal Justice.

Seemingly far-fetched goals that students have are actually realistic-whether it be playing in the NFL or becoming athletic trainers at the professional level just like alumni AJ Smith ‘21 and Brendan Burger ‘08, who work full-time for the Rams. Sean Russell, a current student at Springfield also works as an intern for the Rams, and Allie Brennan ‘21 works with the Bengals.

This is one of the big factors that sets Springfield apart from other colleges.

NFL expectations and norms are also taking a turn. Christensen, who was a NEWMAC All-Conference selection for the Pride, stated, “I think there’s a difference in college sports right now with everything that’s going on. A lot of

Springfield College alum, AJ Smith secured a full-time position with the Los Angeles Rams following his internship with the team in 2021. (Photo Courtesy of Springfield Athletics)

players beginning to look into transferring and not staying at the same spot, where I think in the NFL the teams are more so looking to find a home where they can try and develop and build a winning program -- you know, as a Patriots fan with Tom Brady [and seeing Brady make the switch to the Buccaneers] -- so I think a couple of differences is mostly in the mindset.”

Springfield College gives students the opportunity to reach their goals and gives students a unique experience in doing so. Students who may not even be football fans have felt prideful in the popularity and diversity of our academic and athletic community. The prominence of serious athletics also ensures that no student is bored on campus because there is always an event to attend.

Athletic staff, coaches,

and trainers also believe in the importance of balancing school life with sports life. A typical schedule for a varsity student-athlete involves practices, lifts, and a required study hall, where teams come together in classrooms periodically to focus on academics.

With a balance in academics and athletics for student-athletes, they are not bombarded by their schedule like D-I teams.

Berte, who has worked at larger universities with DI teams, stated, “I like DIII because students are held accountable as an entire person but also as a student and not just a star athlete who has a different kind of accountability. I think NCAA athletics here are a lot more meaningful because of the commitment to scholarships and learning along with athletics.”

February 17, 2022

Sports

PAGE 10

MacKenzie MacLeod Senior gymnast MacKenzie MacLeod led the poll with 44.9% of the vote after a magnificent floor routine that scored her a career-best 9.775.

Rachel Vinton followed her with 25.4% of the vote. The junior guard for the women’s basketball team tallied 24 points, nine rebounds, and seven assists in two games this week.

She also scored extremely efficiently with a 69% field goal percentage.

Junior mid-distance runner Brenna Lachapelle trailed closely with 21.2% of the vote. She outdid herself twice - breaking two personal records.

She ran the mile at a 5:18.12 pace

MacKenzie MacLeod at Blake Arena.

(Gillian Dube/The Student)

at the Dave Hemery Valentine’s Invitational, then completed the 1,000-meter in 3:10.40 the next day at the Gordon Kelly Invitational.

Rounding out the voting for this week on the women’s side was MacLeod’s teammate, Sophie Parquet.

The senior gymnast also notched a career-best on the floor routine with a score of 9.700. Parquet’s and MacLeod’s performances helped the women’s gymnastics team achieve 183.75 points at their tri-meet, which were the second-most points they have scored this season.

Jacques St. Jean After picking up two victories on Saturday to bring his college total to 100, senior wrestler Jacques St. Jean caught the attention of the Athlete of the Week voters, as he got 46.9% of the vote to win by almost 20%. This was St. Jean’s last run in collegiate wrestling, and his story can be told amazingly on page 12.

Senior outside hitter for the men’s volleyball team, Brennen Brandow, followed St. Jean with 27.2% of the vote. Brandow tallied 33 kills over the week, which included a season-high 18 against Stevens on Saturday. He also compiled a total of 16 digs and

six service aces while Springfield won all three matches.

Jacob Morales received 13.6% of the vote. The first-year forward for the men’s basketball gathered 35 points, 11 rebounds, and seven assists in two games during the week.

Senior distance runner Russell Allen rounded out this week’s vote, as he had a career race at the Dave Hemery Valentine’s Invitational.

He ran a 16-second personal best (8:42.18) in the 3,000-meter race.

Be sure to follow The Student (@TheSpfldStudent) on Twitter to vote in next week’s polls!

Jacques St. Jean at the 2021 Doug Parker Invitational. (Photo Courtesy of Springfield College Athletics)

Sports

February 17, 2022

Gionta: There is a lot to look forward to with the men’s basketball team Sports Editor Chris Gionta explains why there should be optimism for the Springfield men’s basketball team despite its disappointing 2021-22 season.

First-year Jacob Morales attempting to pass a Clark defender. (Photo courtesy of Springfield College Athletics) __ By Chris Gionta__ @Chris_Gionta

Blake Arena has certainly made an adjustment to its men’s basketball team after the departure of Jake Ross and Heath Post.

There has been a shift in the program’s culture at Springfield College, but it does not necessarily mean it is going to be worse.

The 2019-20 and the 2021-22 teams are completely different despite the lack of time between them. Only three of the

players from the 2019-20 team are on the 2021-22 roster, which shows the youth of the Pride this year. In fact, seven of the 15 roster spots on the team are filled by firstyears, and 10 of the spots are occupied by underclassmen.

The team does not necessarily lack talent, but they surely lack experience, which is out of their control. With two-thirds

of the current roster in their first year of collegiate competition, there is a large amount of room to raise their level of play. A few of these underclassmen have already shown the ability to compete well at the collegiate level, which makes their potential improvement even more encouraging for the Pride.

Sophomore Zeke Blauner has been a

PAGE 11 standout player since the beginning of the year for Springfield. He began the season as a starter, and made his presence known in his first appearance in front of the Blake Arena crowd. In that game against Eastern Connecticut State, he tallied 27 points after shooting 8-for-12 from the field and 9-for-9 on foul shots.

Overall, coming into Wednesday’s game against Clark, he was the team’s leading scorer and tied for the team’s most steals, and averaged 12.4 points per game and 1.5 steals per game.

First-year Jacob Morales has emerged as a top player for the Pride. He came into Wednesday’s game riding a streak of eight games with double-digit points. During this streak, he averaged 17 points and 6.9 rebounds per game.

Sophomore Nick Bray has also been establishing himself as of late. His standout performance came off the bench at Babson, where he scored 21 points after shooting 6-for-9 from the field and 4-for-6 from beyond the arc. He has started every game since, and in the previous 11 games heading into Wednesday, he averaged 11.5 points per game.

The 6-foot-8 Justin Dunne and the 6-foot6 Curtiss Blische have each had some standout performances down low.

Dunne showcased his defensive ability at home against Clark with eight blocks, and Blische’s best game thus far has been at home against Emerson.

He grabbed a career-high 10 rebounds, and his stiff

defense helped hold center Jarred Houston, who came into the game averaging 18.9 points per game, to five points.

The Pride have a bevy of underclassmen that are already making an impact, and who are only improving.

This team has quality senior leadership with Daryl Costa and Collin Lindsay, as well as with Casey Lane, who has been like a coach after running into injury trouble. However, there are not many other upperclassmen around them, which makes it difficult for the team to succeed at the level that Springfield is used to.

Much of the team chemistry is being built with the first-years and the sophomores. By the time Blauner and Bray are seniors, this group of players in the Classes of 2024 and 2025 will be in their third year playing together. Not only will their skill be enhanced by this time, but the experience playing together will make the team even more dangerous.

Walking back from Blake Arena after a men’s basketball game disappointed with the result is something Springfield College should not get used to. This season has been a transition year, almost by default due to the youth on the roster. Although transition years are not exciting as they are happening, they prelude a brighter future ahead. People should be confident in this team turning it around soon given how talented their young players are.

February 17, 2022

Sports

PAGE 12

St. Jean reaches triple digits Senior wrestler Jacques St. Jean won his 100th collegiate match — adding to his already-impressive resumé, which includes being a four-time NWCA Scholar All-American.

__ By Garrett Cote __ @garrett_cote

Jacques St. Jean etched his name into Springfield College wrestling history last weekend during the Pride’s dual meet with WPI. Heading into the day needing just two wins to reach 100 career wins, St. Jean picked up two convincing victories – 9-3 and 12-3 – in what were his last two matches of his shortened career.

Yes, shortened.

Not only did St. Jean eclipse the century mark; he did it in only three seasons (no junior year due to COVID-19).

“He’s been very consistent with us wrestling the last four years.

Well, really the last three,” said Pride head coach Jason Holder, who was at the helm for all of St. Jean’s Springfield College career.

“It’s pretty crazy he’s only wrestled for three years and he has 100 wins. That hasn’t happened since I’ve been coaching. That’s extremely impressive.”

As the waning moments ticked away during St. Jean’s final

Jacques St. Jean competing in a match against Wesleyan. (Photo Courtesy of Springfield Athletics)

match, his emotions began to take control knowing it would be the last time he wore THE jersey.

“I remember when the whistle blew and I kind of just looked up at the score and realized I had won,” St. Jean said.

“I turned over to the guys on the bench and the crowd and that was

when I really started to break. That’s when I realized that this was it for me. It was really special.”

When St. Jean arrived on Alden Street, his impact was immediate both on and off the mat. Whether it was being a vocal leader in the room or placing in the top-five of seem-

ingly every tournament he competed in, he was constantly turning the heads of the coaching staff.

“He came in as a leader right away,” Holder said. “He speaks his mind and will let you know how he’s feeling and what people should be doing.

“He’s big on account-

ability. He will hold himself and others accountable and that’s great for our culture…

And in these tournaments during his freshman year he was getting a lot of wins which was surprising to us because he didn’t have a lot of experience at the collegiate level.”

It wasn’t much longer until Holder and the staff became accustomed to St. Jean’s winning ways. He finished his first year with a 38-5 record. St. Jean followed that up with a sophomore campaign of 34-12 before wrapping up his career going 28-9 as a senior. Out of the 100 wins St. Jean tallied, 41 of them came by way of pinfall.

And, on top of his outstanding efforts on the mat, St. Jean has been recognized as a NWCA Scholar All-American in each of his four years wrestling for the Pride – the definition of a true student-athlete.

“One thing he (St. Jean) should be proud of is he’s only the second four-time scholar All-American we’ve ever had,” Holder said. “That

February 17, 2022 can be very difficult to keep that consistency going.”

But St. Jean’s winning ways didn’t come easy. During his middle school years he wasn’t the most talented kid, in fact, he lost many more matches than he won.

At a dual meet with his club team when he was in seventh grade, St. Jean was given a total of seven matches. Disappointingly, he lost every single one of them and went 0-7 on the day.

“We went down to Danbury, Conn. for a dual tournament, and I was just there to get exhibitions,” St. Jean said.

“I got like seven matches and didn’t win a single one. He was trying to find something positive so he asked how long I’ve been wrestling and I told him six years, so he probably was thinking in his head, ‘I don’t know if this sport is for him.’

Except St. Jean didn’t care. He loved the sport.

He continued to work, continued to train and hit his stride soon after.

Things started to click in high school when he won two Division II New Hampshire state championships and an All-state title. That’s when Holder took notice and began his recruiting process on St. Jean.

“His high school coach called me and said, ‘You’ve got to get

on this guy, he’s pretty tough and he’s a state champ,’” Holder recalled.

“So I reached out the summer going into his senior year and told him to come visit and check out the campus.

We got him here for his visit and apparently this campus was a good fit for him so he came here.

And we’re lucky he did.”

Looking past the pure relentlessness and motivation St. Jean possesses, which certainly led him to his success, he credits his parents, Craig and Katie, for a good portion of the achievements he was able to collect over the course of his career with the Pride.

“They pushed me through it all, they have supported me through everything,” he said.

“My dad introduced me to wrestling, and I remember when he asked me if I wanted to start and the first thing I said to him was ‘can I use a chair?’ because I was so used to watching pro-wrestling with my dad.”

Because each team is only allowed to send one wrestler from each weight class to the NCAA Division III New England Regional Tournament, St. Jean will have to take a backseat to fellow 141-pounder and classmate Chris Trelli – who was an All-American two years ago. Instead of dwelling on miss-

Sports

PAGE 13

Jacques St. Jean celebrating a victory. (Photo courtesy of Springfield College Athletics)

ing out, St. Jean will now take initiative in the practice room to improve his teammates through intense training.

“I’m more excited now in these next two weeks to wrestle with the guys in the room and get some of the starters ready for regionals, because I know they’re really going to tear it up,” St. Jean said.

Set to graduate in May of 2022, St. Jean has plans to move back to his hometown of Goffstown, New Hampshire. From there, he will continue training at the New England Professional Wrestling Academy (NEPWA) in North Andover, Mass., a professional wrestling school he has had ties with since June 2020.

“I’m really excited to go back into (training at the NEPWA)

and hopefully become a successful professional wrestler,” St. Jean said.

“I also kind of find it funny that I came full circle with that, when I started wrestling [pro wrestling is] what I thought I was getting myself into. Now I’m actually doing that. I’ll be hitting the ropes and maybe swinging a few chairs.”

Wrapping up his collegiate career with his entire support group looking on was the cherry on top for St. Jean, although the ending did bring forth many emotions.

“To end my career with two wins was just really great,” he said. “It was great to have the majority of the guys on the team there, coach Holder, my parents and my girlfriend. It was a really sweet moment for me, and I’m definitely

going to miss this sport, but I will always be around it.”

Despite St. Jean not ever placing first in any tournament, his career was nothing short of remarkable, and he won’t let anybody tell him differently.

“One of my family friends reached out to me and sent me a quote by (former professional wrestler) Mick Foley saying, ‘I get to define for myself what being a success is,’” St. Jean said.

“And I think that over my college career and the entirety of my career, I was able to carve my own path and define that success. Yeah I’m not an All-American or a National qualifier, but I’m a 100-win wrestler and a four-time Scholar All-American, and I define that as a success.”

February 17, 2022

Sports

PAGE 14

A new start on Stagg The Springfield women’s lacrosse team looks forward to playing a full year after two consecutive abbreviated seasons.

Taylor Pichel (8), Arielle Johnson (13) and Katie Martel (21) in a huddle during the 2020-21 season. (Photo courtesy of Springfield Athletics) __ By Braedan Shea __ Contributor

It has been nearly three years since the Springfield College women’s lacrosse team has had a full 17-game season. But they believe that this will finally be the year where they can return to a full season, hoping for some normality to come back to Alden Street.

The culprit of the shorter seasons is the ever looming Covid-19 pandemic, where in the past two seasons, the team has only played ten total

games — five in each.

“It was really frustrating,” said junior Arielle Johnson. “We really wanted to play.”

But there is a different tone for this year. Thanks to high vaccination and low positivity rates, the confidence of this season being played in full is high.

“It’s exciting because it is starting to feel more normal,” said head coach Kristen Mullady. “Everything has been more con-

sistent, in terms of what we are able to do, so we are certainly just taking it day by day, but it is more definitely already more normal than last year. We are heading in the right direction.”

With the opportunity for more games, it does beg the question of how the team is going to adjust to playing that many more games, something many of the upperclassmen haven’t done in a few years.

“Honestly, it is going

to take time for us to get fully prepared, but I feel like they have been locked in through the good and the bad of the pandemic,” says Mullady. “Certainly we have had a lot of bads, but they have been locked in from day one. We don’t even talk about the shift of having five games to 17. Just because of the type of individuals we have on our team, we just kind of go. They don’t think about that kind of stuff, which is good.”

For the returning players on the team, they do have something to think about. After going undefeated in last year’s regular season, and cruising through Wheaton in the New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) semifinal; the Pride fell to Babson 22-4, in a one-sided championship game.

“We definitely remember that,” said Johnson.

“We are ready to come back. That is definitely fueling us for this season.”

With their talent and leadership, combined with the fire from last year’s championship loss, there is definitely optimism within the team that it will get back to the championship again this year. But this time they hope there will be a different, more favorable, result.

“I have no doubt that

we can make it back to the championship game, and we definitely can win,” said Johnson. “Obviously I’m biased, but for my three years here, this is the strongest that we have been, and in terms of depth we have so many good players, great leadership, and I think we have a chip on our shoulder.

Especially my class, who has lost two seasons now.

We have been practicing and we are ready to play.

We are all antsy to get out there, and we all want revenge from last year. We are ready to go.”

While winning the championship is surely one of the team’s larger goals, Mullady believes that there is an even larger one at hand.

“Our biggest goal is to get better after each game, going into the next. We are balanced in terms of years on the team, so put aside the pandemic, we have a lot of experienced players, which certainly only helps. Obviously we have had juniors that haven’t had away games yet, so there is that piece to the puzzle, but if we can just get better from one game to the next, that is only going to help us come conference championship play.”

Sports

February 17, 2022

PAGE 15

Ready for a dogfight The NEWMAC remains extremely competitive for men’s lacrosse, and Springfield is preparing to climb the ranks in the conference. ___ By Hayden Choate ___ @ChoateHayden

The Springfield College men’s lacrosse team is gearing up for what it hopes is the first full season since 2019. Having only played a total of seven games over the last two years, the Pride hopes to get back to a normal season where it can compete for the NEWMAC title.

Despite losing all three games the team played last season, 39-year head coach Keith Bugbee is excited about this year’s team.

“Obviously the last two years have been tough,” Bugbee said. “(The team has) been really excited all year. Fall ball, everything, just a lot of energy, it’s a really good bunch.”

The last time the Pride won a game was May 8, 2019 in the second round of the NCAA tournament. The team’s current seniors were first-years then, having only played

in eight games since and not a single full season, game experience is something Bugbee is stressing.

“Our true seniors are really sophomores in terms of game experience,” Bugbee said. “Game experience is really everything, you can practice all you want but a game is a game.”

Coming into the season, the Pride do have an older roster this season, as one-third of the roster is seniors, fifth-years and graduate students.

“It’s kind of an older team,” Bugbee said.

“That’s probably the biggest nucleus that the team is and then there’s some sophomores who are contributing, then some juniors, definitely a good junior class.”

Although the team does have many upperclassmen in all three areas of the field, the Pride have a small roster overall – one of the smallest Bugbee

Graduate student Patrick Watson (20) advancing down the field (Photo courtesy of Springfield Athletics)

has had in a long time.

This means a lot of players will play big minutes.

“We’re a little smaller squad,” Bugbee said. “But I’m okay with that because the nucleus is bigger so there’s less fringe but we got some warriors, we got some guys that are going to log a lot of minutes in games.”

Last year, Springfield played one game in March and two at the end of April. Bugbee believes the hardest part of that was being able to establish the team’s culture, something that has been a large part of the program’s success in the past.

“The biggest thing for us is our culture is so important,” Bugbee said. “Our culture was completely absent even if it’s little things like, they have all their meals together or they hang out together. We couldn’t be in our locker room, they couldn’t socialize, they couldn’t eat meals togeth-

er, culturally it was awful.

We hardly ever practiced as a full team. We practiced in pods, we couldn’t scrimmage ourselves, and just when we thought we were ready to go we’d have a game canceled.”

The team was unable to scrimmage last year but has had three so far this season. Bugbee believes that outworking their opponents will be the strength of this year’s squad.

“The overall strength of our team is we have to outwork our opponents,” Bugbee said. “That’s what I saw in the two St. A’s scrimmages. We just worked harder especially in the fall we really outworked them. If we do that, we’ll be in all these games, if we don’t do that they’ll be long games but I feel good about this team, the leadership is really good, I think they’re dialed in.”

Back in 2019 when Springfield was in the NCAA tournament, they

had won their 13th consecutive NEWMAC title.

Springfield’s schedule in 2022 will be a good test for the team.

“We play a really good schedule,” Bugbee said.

“Our league has gotten so good. Half of our schedule include top 20 teams in the country.”

Springfield has non-conference matchups with Nazareth, Stevens, Union, Tufts, Endicott, Amherst, Middlebury, Western New England and Wesleyan. In addition to that, the NEWMAC has gotten a lot stronger since Springfield’s last championship.

Bugbee expects Babson who won the championship last year, MIT, Coast Guard and Clark to all be in the mix.

“I’m amazed how far it’s come,” Bugbee said. “It’s a really good league, clearly the second best league in our region, NESCAC is the best league, every game is going to be a little bit of a dogfight.”

SPORTS The Springfield Student

VOL. 136 NO. 17

(Photo courtesy of Springfield Athletics)

FEBRUARY 17, 2022

100 wins

Jacques St. Jean achieved a major milestone in Springfield’s last meet, which adds to his long list of accomplishments.

[See Page 12]

Chris Gionta writes why there should be optimism about Springfield men’s basketball.

Springfield women’s lacrosse looks to reach NEWMAC Championship once again.

Springfield men’s lacrosse prepares to battle competitive schedule.