10-01-2010

The GaTeposTvolume 79 l number 3 O c t O b e r 1 , 2 0 1 0 [email protected]

Faculty, staff and students gathered Monday at noon to celebrate the “topping off” of the new residence hall.

The topping off ceremony, also referred to as a “top-ping out” ceremony, is a widely followed tradition in the construction world.

According to an email sent to the student body by Dean of Students Melinda Stoops, when a new building reaches its highest structural point, the final steel beam is signed by those involved and then lifted into place, topped with a small tree and an American flag as symbols of “good luck and fortitude.”

President Timothy Flanagan welcomed several admin-istrators, faculty and members of the Board of Trustees to sign the final beam that was to be lifted into place on top of the new building.

“You will be making a little bit of history and memo-rializing this event. You can tell your children and grand-

children and great-grandchildren that your name is on this building,” said Flanagan.

Ed Adelman, the executive director of the Massachu-setts State College Building Authority, said, “Any other day if we catch you writing on the building, it’s a problem, but today is the one day you can get away with it.”

He recognized Consigli Construction Company and its employees for all the hard work they have done thus far in the construction of the new dorm.

“This is a huge milestone,” Adelman said.He said that in the tradition of the topping off ceremony,

the tree is placed on top of the building to represent the cy-cle of construction and a new beginning. Adelman pointed out the importance of new buildings to address “the need and the capacity” at the State Colleges, but he also stressed reinvesting in existing buildings so that “the student ex-perience at Framingham State University is of one quality - it’s a high quality.”

By Krysta DavisEditorial Staff

Ceremony marks milestone in new residence hall construction

-Continued on page 4

Arts & Features:“Architecouture”:

a professor’s ventureinto the world ofhistorical fashion.

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Framingham State College’s Independent Student Newspaper Since 1932

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Sports:With the hiring of new

head coach, Paul Wholey,FSC men’s basketball

begins a new era.

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Photo courtesy of Nick Hamilton

President Timothy Flanagan signed the final beam before it was placed on the new dorm.

Newlyrenovatedcaf opens

By Nenia CorcoranEditorial Staff

Framingham State College’s cafeteria was renovat-ed this past summer with federal stimulus money and funding from Sodexo Corporation.

According to Dr. Dale Hamel, senior vice presi-dent of administration, finance and technology, FSC received $1.4 million in federal stimulus funding and $1.5 million from the extension of the Sodexo dining contract in order to pay for the renovations.

The extension of the dining services contract was for five years, meaning that FSC plans to continue to partner with Sodexo over that period.

The cafeteria renovation was completed in six phas-es over the last few years.

FSC will have more students than ever living on campus next fall as a result of the construction of a new residence hall.

The renovations “have provided us with modern, energy-efficient facilities that will allow us to sustain the anticipated growth of the university over the com-ing years,” Ralph Eddy, director of dining services, said in an email.

Hamel said, “I think the students are very excited about it, which makes me excited and I think the facul-ty and staff like the idea of additional variety as well.”

The caf now offers five new venues to FSC’s stu-dents and faculty.

The new “Ram’s Den Grille” is located in the for-mer McCarthy’s Pub. This specific venue offers a range of breakfast items and late night burgers, which were formerly served at the State Street Grille.

Other additions to the dining commons include the “Pizzeria Collina,” which serves brick oven pizza and other culinary creations. “The Fire Pit” allows chefs to prepare “ready-to-go” items on a state-of-the-art Mon-golian grill.

The new “State Street Deli” offers a variety of sand-wiches, and the “Snack Bar” features new sandwiches, salads and snacks to go.

“The idea of [the] venues was to make it more at-tractive to both residents and commuters to eat on both sides of the dining facility,” Hamel said.

A Sodexo staff member, Christine Wright, who works in the Snack Bar location, likes the idea of hav-ing venues as well. “I like it. There’s a lot more space and it’s not as hot in here without the grill. It’s more of a self-serve place and a lot of people like the meal plan exchange. It’s convenient,” she said.

As reported by Eddy, the grills’ red/orange palette for The Fire Pit and Pizzeria Collina provide a “fire” concept to the visual eye. Its structural design, created by Chris Pitman from CBT Architects and Mark Con-nor Architecture, provides a layout students can enjoy, he said

Freshman Tim Kiernan said, “I think [the new ven-ues] are sick, with different types of food and its de-sign.”

Freshman Jackson Brunsdon also liked the idea of incorporating venues within the caf. “I like it a lot bet-ter than the dining commons. I think the food is also better,” he said.

-Continued on page 3

GP: What is your educational background?Bailey: I’m a double alum from Framingham State. I graduated in 1998 with a bachelor’s in sociology and a concentration in deviance and social control and I had a minor in psychology. Then, I graduated in 2001 with a master’s in public administration.

GP: Why did you decide to major in sociology?Bailey: I think honestly it had to do with a couple of the professors that I had. [They were] just very engaging and I enjoy working with people - I’m definitely a “people person.” Sociology was just a really good fit for me. As an undergrad, though, I had concentrated in deviance and social control because I thought that I wanted to go into law enforcement when I graduated, but I did have a change of heart my senior year. I had interned at Big Brother Big Sister and re-ally liked working with the volunteers and also with the children, and so I actually ended up working there for a year, and then came back to Framingham State as a grad assistant in 2000 and worked for campus events for a year. … Phil Dooher was the dean of admissions and he approached me and asked if I wanted to come work for admissions for a year and finish up my mas-ter’s degree and I said “sure.” … I loved my undergradu-ate experience here at Framingham State, so I thought admissions would be a perfect fit. I thought my ultimate plan was just to go over there for a year, [but] I ended up staying.

GP: What is your favorite part of your job?Bailey: My favorite part of my job is talking to prospec-tive students who really don’t know anything about Fram-ingham State. When I’m at a college fair, I will talk to a student or a parent and tell them about Framingham State, show them the brochures and they’ll say to me they’ve never seen the campus, and I tell them they’ve got to come for a campus tour - they have to see what we’re all about. I enjoy when I actually see them, when they’re here, downstairs waiting for the tour guides and they’ve gone on a tour and come back and … they said, “It was so much better than what I ever thought.”

GP: What was your best experience in college?Bailey: My best experience in college I would say was the year I had done orientation. ... I didn’t know anyone on staff. … My peers at the time are now still some of my closest friends. My whole group of orientation leaders - we just had a lot of fun that year. We all really enjoyed

the campus … and I think sort of telling our stories to in-coming freshmen was just a great experience for us. That whole year was just wonderful. It was a fun time.

GP: What do you like best about FSC?Bailey: I think the sense of community everyone has here on campus. That was something I thoroughly enjoyed as an undergraduate and also as a professional working here. … Faculty members care about you as a person - you’re not just a number in their class. They’re going to make sure that they’re giving you the best information and help-ing you in terms of your needs and I think that’s the same thing as a professional working here. … I enjoy coming to work every day. I enjoy saying hello to various people on

the campus. That, I think, is really the best part of FSC. I think the fact that students get such a wonderful edu-cation in the classroom and also their experiences out-side the classroom. I think we do a very good job with our study abroad program, with our internships. … Everyone is really work-ing hard to make sure our students are getting some great experience outside the classroom.

GP: What has it been like for you to see the campus change over the years?Bailey: The one thing that really made an impact was when the Athletic Cen-ter went up because I can remember coming in as a

first-year student and then talking about a new Athletic Center being built and that didn’t open up until 2001. … That was just a great addition to the campus. … There are just so many more opportunities for students these days. … I think it’s very, very impressive to prospective stu-dents. They come to campus and they’re just very, very impressed with the facilities.

GP: Do you have any advice for students?Bailey: The biggest piece of advice I can give to students is, get to know your professors. You’re paying to get their knowledge. Get involved. You want to take every op-portunity you can and I think one of the big things stu-dents don’t take full advantage of is study abroad. It’s a big world out there and after you graduate … sometimes traveling gets put on the back burner.

GP: What are your hobbies?Bailey: I love to ski - skiing is definitely my passion. I run, take walks, hike. I enjoy walking my dog. I think spending time with my family and friends is really what I’m all about.

[Editor’s note: This interview was conducted in spring 2010.]

2 October 1, 2010News

By Lauren ByrnesEditor-in-ChiEf

Gatepost InterviewShayna Bailey

Associate Director of Admissions

Shayna Bailey

Police LogsFriday, September 24, 2010

03:01 Fight - Linsley Hall.

03:13 Medical (Alcohol related) - Maple Parking Lot 1.

03:35 Suspicious activity - O’Connor Hall. Suspicious female attempting to get in res. hall.

06:00 Well-being check - Maynard Road Parking Lot. One intoxicated female. Placed into protective custody.

Sunday, September 26, 2010

16:31 Suspicious activity - O’Connor Hall Parking Lot. Report of non-student driving vehicle around campus in a suspicious manner.

Lauren Byrnes/The Gatepost

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According to both Hamel and Eddy, the inspiration for the Fire Pit came from an emerging trend in the restau-rant industry, known as Mongolian Grills. These grills help provide fresh-er foods as well as an increased variety in an appealing way, such as new con-tainers that resemble Chinese take-out boxes and chopsticks.

Chris Cola, a junior, was concerned about the cost of the new Mongolian Grill. “It’s not bad other than the fact that it’s really expensive, especially when you only have 150 dining dol-lars a semester. But, I don’t mind the grilled chicken, rice or lo-mien.”

Students had a range of opinions on the dining commons layout. Sopho-more Jill Michniewicz said, “The best thing I like about the layout [in the din-ing commons] is that it’s more spread out and has more variety in foods and that’s very good for a college.”

Shana Cohen, a senior, said, “I like the design of it. It’s very different and eye-catching. It’s very modern and I like that. Also, there’s a lot of seating now, which is always a good thing.”

Another senior, Jessica Pollastro, said, “I think it’s more complicated. In general, it’s less crowded, but more complicated.”

Eddy said after looking over data collected within the past several years through surveys, food preference ques-tionnaires, focus groups and market research, the univer-sity and dining services recognized the need to modernize the existing “State Street Grille,” as well as cut down the traffic within its facility.

Sodexo has hired additional employees in order to provide faster service as well as to enhance the customer experience.

“The renovation and expansion was driven by many factors with a singular theme - creating exceptional stu-

dent experiences,” Eddy said in an email. Because of the renovation, lines have been reduced due to the extra square footage, “creating a much better customer experi-ence.”

Sarah Blake, a senior, said, “It looks a lot nicer. [The renovations] spread things out so it’s less crowded.”

Patrick Laurent, a junior, also liked the caf’s renova-tions. “[The renovation and expansion] make it feel like a new place. … When I first went there, it was all new to me. I like the Chinese food. That’s a good addition. … It gives more variety,” he said.

According to Eddy, the new College Center dining area seats approximately 200 people and with the addition of seating at the bar counters and the bench, seating will in-crease by roughly 25-30 seats.

Not all students agree that the seating problem has been fully resolved with the dining facilities’ expansion.

Sophomore Kasey McAteer said, “If they’re going to have more stu-dents with the new dorm construc-tion, there should be more seats. The 1:20 lunch is always packed and at the 6:30 dinner, people are standing with their plates searching for a seat. It’s stupid how they won’t let students go elsewhere.”

Aside from additional seating, two new meal plans were intro-duced to make dining options more flexible for students. The 120 and the 120 Plus provide students with 120 meals to use any time as well as 150 dining dollars per semester.

Commuters looking for a suitable way to eat while on campus can sign up for meal plans such as the Block 50, Block 50 Plus or the Block 25 per semester. Also, students who are in a rush can now exchange one of their meals in the Snack Bar instead

of eating in the dining commons. According to Eddy, the term “block

plan” refers to a block of meals for the semester rather than a set number per week. Additional block plans include the 120, 19/19 Plus, 14 Plus and 10 Plus, which gives students more flex-ible and versatile meal plan options.

Senior Meredith Palmer didn’t like the new meal plans offered to those who commute. “I think they are a little unfair. I had to do the Block meal be-cause I’m a commuter, but I can’t use the Grab-and-Go with it.”

In addition to new meal plans this fall, the dining facilities’ operating hours have expanded. These changes consist of an extra half hour added to dinner on the weekends in the dining commons. The Snack Bar will be open until 10 p.m. on Friday and The Juice Bar is now open earlier at 9 a.m.

“One of the most exciting aspects of the renovation to me was the ability to make our operations more energy-efficient and also reduce our carbon

footprint on campus,” said Eddy. He added the addition of the Balance Station was de-

veloped over the summer in the dining commons for stu-dents interested in following a nutritionally balanced diet. This station offers vegan entrées as well as gluten-free selections.

This station provides food with more nutrition, pro-tein and carbohydrates. “This provides customers with an easy-to-find healthful and balanced meal without really having to think about it,” said Eddy in an email.

Junior Leah Kymalainen believes the renovations are “visually appealing,” and likes the fact that the dining commons offer a new Balance Station. “It’s good that we are offering more,” she said.

Andrew Irwin, a senior, said, “The renovations are bomb!”

Hamel responded positively to the caf’s improvements. “Oh, I love it! I’m glad to see the project end as well after seven years of construction activities over the course of summer. It’s nice to finally complete the project.”

October 1, 2010 3News

New meal plan offered to students-Continued from page 1

The new addition to the cafeteria.

Drake McCabe/The Gatepost

The new Simply To Go venue is now open.


“I like the design of it. It’s very different and eye-catching. It’s very modern and I like that.”

- Shana Cohen, senior

The Dining Commons

Monday- Thursday7:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.4:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.

Friday7:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.4:30 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.

Saturday10:30 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.4:30 a.m. - 7:00 p.m.

Sunday10:30 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.4:30 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.

New Meal Plan Changes and Dining Location HoursRam’s Den GrilleMonday- Thursday7:30 a.m. - midnight

Friday7:30 a.m. - 8:00 p.m.

Saturday4:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.

Sunday8:00 p.m. - midnight

The Fire Pit/Pizzeria Collina/State Street

DeliMonday- Thursday11:30 a.m. - midnight

Friday11:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m.

Saturday4:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.

Sunday8:00 p.m. - midnight

Simply To GoMonday - Friday

9:00 a.m. - 10:00 p.m.

The Cyber CafeMonday - Thursday7:30 a.m. - 7:00 p.m.

Friday7:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.

The Whittemore Smart Market

Monday- Thursday8:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.

FridayClosed

The Juice BarMonday - Thurdsay9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

Friday9:00 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.

Meal Plan ChangesSimply To Go Meal Exchange

Students participating in a full meal plan can now use a meal in the snack

bar rather than just theDining Commons.

New plans: the 120 and the 120 PlusThey can be used at anytime

throughout the semester. They can also be used for guests. The 120 Plus

includes 150 Dining Dollars.Meal plans aren’t just for resident

students - commuters can alsoget them!

Administrators closed Dwight Hall’s “old gym” to all athletic and intramural activities most of this week due to a “squirrel infestation.”

On Monday, a student playing basketball notified school administrators that a squirrel was attached to a net in the “old gym.” Bay State Wildlife Management was contacted and the company responded immediately, ac-cording to Maureen Bagge Fowler, Framingham State’s environmental health and safety coordina-tor.

Removal of the one squirrel led to the discovery of an entire squirrels’ nest on top of some of the pipes in the gym.

Bay State Wildlife Management urged the school to shut down the facility so they could properly catch the squirrels without any distur-bance. Two humane-style traps were installed in the gym-nasium - such “catch-and-release” traps ensure the safety of the squirrels.

Mark Greenfield, facility manager, said the gym had to be closed because “noise would have prevented their capture.”

According to Fowler, Bay State Wildlife Management has been called in for past instances involving squirrels and other animals on campus.

Fowler said the gym was closed because “the wildlife company couldn’t guarantee anyone’s safety.”

Junior Kerrin Duffy said she has seen the broken win-dows in the gym, which “makes it very sad looking in there. They should have taken care of it ahead of time. They waited until it was too late.”

Caitlin Eno, a junior, said, “I think that the prob-lem should have been fixed right when they noticed the windows were like that be-cause it could have been a lot worse than just squirrels in there!”

Greenfield said that bro-ken windows are unavoid-able because both the base-ball and intramural soccer teams play at the gym.

Although the gym had a number of broken win-dows, Fowler said the squirrels were able to enter the gym through pipes. “It was an unusual problem because we have the bro-ken windows, but that was not the cause of the nest.

They [the squirrels] were coming in whether the win-dows were broken or not.”

Fowler added the squirrels are no longer occupy-ing the gym, and did not have to be trapped because “they left on their own.” The traps were removed late

Thursday.In addition, another squirrel was removed from Peirce

Hall early Thursday.Mike Delsanto, a sophomore, jokingly said, “Squirrels

are taking over Framingham State. They’re freakin’ nuts - pardon the pun!”

Kimberly Sharpe, a senior, said, “We have squirrels on crack here! Once I saw one open a lollipop and eat it. ... I was very impressed and yet kind of creeped out.”

“The University staff is commited to providing the same high quality experience whether it’s a resi-dence hall, a dining hall or academic building,” added Adelman.

Chairman of the Board of Trustees Robert Richards was among the guests who signed the final piece of steel.

“Seeing the transformation of this place ... it’s amazing what’s going on with the dormitories and the other buildings.”

Flanagan then began the signing of the beam by saying, “Lets make history! Everybody pre-pare to grab your sharpies and follow me!”

As faculty, staff and students became a part of Framingham State history, Flanagan spoke of the top-off practice. “I think it’s a nice tradition that marks a really important benchmark in the con-struction of the building. It’s nice that so many people are going to be able to record their pres-ence here. This will be a really nice memory.”

Max Morrongiello, the student trustee, was happy to have added his John Hancock to the new dormitory. “I’m very grateful that the administra-

tion and Res Life really reached out to students and en-couraged student feedback in the design of this building.”

Freshmen Sam Gray and Lindsey Philpot added their

names to the beam as well. “We were part of our elemen-tary building and now we’re part of our college building,” Gray said.

Philpot joked, “We leave our mark every-where we go.”

Unfortunately, very few students were able to attend the ceremony.

Rachael Bell, a junior, would have liked to participate in the beam signing. “I hadn’t heard anything about the ceremony beforehand, but either way, I was in class at noon.”

Junior Tom Coughlin-Jaroug was also in class during the ceremony. “You would think that the college would want students to be at something like this. Seeing as everyone has 1:30 off, why wouldn’t you have the ceremony then?”

Construction of the 410-bed residence hall began last November and is expected to be com-plete for the start of the fall 2011 semester.

“It’s amazing how quickly it’s going up. I can’t tell you how impressed I’ve been as a neighbor watching this,” said Flanagan.

October 1, 20104 News

Flanagan, admins sign new res hall beam

President Flanagan addresses the crowd at thetopping off ceremony.

Photo courtesy of Nick Hamilton

-Continued from page 1

The sign on the gym door in Dwight Hall.

Julie Ann Giebler/The Gatepost

Squirrels “infest” Dwight Hall’s “old gym”By Julie Ann GieblerStaff WritEr

Want more news?Check out our new and

improved website!

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• Commenting option

The squirrel infestation prompted a visit from Bay State Wildlife Management.


SGA approved SUAB’s funding request for its year-ly conference trip and discussed ways to make Colle-giateLink more accessible for Framingham State students and club members at Tuesday night’s meeting.

Rachel Keir SUAB president, and Ally Chisholm, SUAB treasurer, spoke at the meeting, requesting an al-location of $3,518 for the group’s travel expenses to the National Association for Campus Activities. This funding will provide six students and one advisor their registration fees, room and board, food and transportation.

SGA unanimously approved this request for SUAB’s trip.

President Michael Long addressed stu-dents’ discontent with FSC’s new website, CollegiateLink. “Stu-dent government funded $7,000 towards Col-legiateLink. It is in our best interest to think positive and work in CollegiateLink, and check on it.

“Since we funded the vast majority that went into CollegiateLink we

should be advocates for this service which we are provid-ing,” Long said.

According to Long, although this site was “thrown” onto students and possibly “rushed,” he believes this ser-vice should still be given a “fair chance” to work. “We’ve got to roll with the punches and actually make this work. I think CollegiateLink is going to be a much more effective way of running club life,” he said.

As one solution, Long informed members that Student Involvement and Leadership Development (SILD) will be starting workshops within the next few weeks for general members of clubs who want to become more familiarized

with CollegiateLink.According to SGA’s

Class and Club Trea-surer Rachel Keir, class and club accounts have made it onto the Colle-giateLink website. This allows members to bet-ter monitor their club accounts.

Student Trustee Maxwell Morrongiello spoke about his follow-up meeting with Dr. Dale Hamel, senior vice president of administra-tion, finance and tech-nology, regarding stu-dents’ concerns about

the 120 meal plan offered at FSC. According to Hamel, students are not paying more to

eat at the dining commons. Rather, only one meal plan - the commuter meal plan - is discounted. The 120 meal plan for residents is offered at a standard cost.

Morrongiello also met with FSC’s new Academic Vice President, Dr. Linda Vaden-Goad. He told SGA senators that she intends to improve the six-year graduation rate at FSC.

According to Vaden-Goad, only 29 percent of students graduate in four years and 51 percent graduate within six years, not including those who transfer.

Morrongiello said, “She seems very interested in working with students.”

At the conclusion of Tuesday night’s meeting, Long said, “This is our time to discuss our purposes and our goals. I think everything is going much better this week. Everything is going really well.”

Other business addressed at the meeting included the need to concentrate on students’ bad experiences with the student accounts office and the Presidents’ Council’s meeting suggestion to get more supplies for club rooms on campus.

In other news:• The Diversity Club has been given a budget of

$50,000.• SGA intends to upload a link to its CollegiateLink

page onto the old SGA website for quicker and easier ac-cess to the group’s page.

SGA allocates SUAB’s funding requestOctober 1, 2010 5News

Love to write?Join The Gatepost!

Meetings are held Tuesday nights at 6:00 p.m. in College Center room 410.

By Krysta DavisEditorial Staff

SGA senators at this week’s meeting.


Friday, October 1• 6:30 p.m. - Feature presentation: “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” in the

Forum

• 8:15 p.m. - Hypnotist and Comedian Jim Spinnato in the Dwight

Performing Arts Center (DPAC)

• 10 p.m. - midnight - Annual Moonlight Breakfast in the Dining

Commons

Saturday, October 2• 10:30 a.m. - Doughnuts with Dean of Students Dr. Melinda Stoops

in the Faculty and Staff Dining Room in the College Center

• 11:30 a.m. - Pre-game Brunch & Family Fun in the Alumni Tent and

Maple Field Parking Lot

• 1:30 p.m. - Football Game vs. Mass. Maritime at Maple Field. Indi-

viduals wearing Framingham State apparel admitted free.

• 7 p.m. - Comedy Night: Hilltop Players’ Suit Jacket Posse opening

for the Improv Asylum in DPAC

Homecoming WeekendSchedule

Op/EdOctober 1, 20106 Op/Ed

We at The Gatepost welcome Op/Ed submissions from all members of the FSC community. Please limit opinions to

300 words and letters to the editor to 200 words.E-mail submissions to [email protected].

Op/Ed submissions reflect the opinions of their authors only and do not necessarily reflect those of The Gatepost or its staff.

Tea Party not so hot Share the roadI am a commuter and I sometimes cycle instead of drive my

car to school. I am a longtime cyclist (that is, I don’t just use my bike to commute, but I also cycle as a sport). As a cyclist, I have found that drivers generally don’t know how to approach bikes. They don’t understand us and don’t seem to know the rules of the road. As a matter of fact, more often than not, they get irritated at us for sharing the road. I’ve had people shout out the window at me to “get on the sidewalk.” Other motorists have honked at me.

A bicycle and its rider’s place is on the road. Believe it or not, the law considers bikes to be vehicles. In some places it is illegal for us to be on the sidewalk. In Massachusetts, it is illegal to ride on the sidewalk in business districts and some towns prohibit it. Yes, you see people riding on the sidewalks, but these people probably aren’t regular cyclists. Several bicycling websites quote statistics that say it is actually more dangerous for cyclists to ride on the sidewalk because of cars backing out of driveways, riding into intersections where cars cannot see you and, of course groups of pedestrians. Also, bikes don’t have turn signals or the ability to stop as quickly as a car.

So watch for our hand signals, pass us with caution - leaving enough room between you and the rider - don’t cut us off (you could wipe us out and injure us), and please, please be patient with your fellow two-wheeled vehicles. Share the road!

You may have heard snippets about the bizarre political climate overtaking the nation recently concerning a group calling themselves the “Tea Party.” Yes, this moniker is in reference to the Boston Tea Party of the Revolutionary War era, a protest carried out to fight oppression and monopolization by an abusive ruling regime.

The modern-day partiers take part in adamant protests as well, except with a marked difference from those of the 18th century - they don’t really have any progressive purpose. I’m all for the concept of protesting to unite the power of the people when you have good cause. But these people simply protest for the sake of protesting, causing conflict and slowing the progress of those in power, offering no actual advice toward changing things for the good of the country. It is what Nancy Pelosi called “Astroturfing,” or fake grassroots activism to serve a selfish purpose.

This idiocy comes as little surprise given the fact that the vast majority of Tea Party members are conservative Republicans, a group which lately has been known as the party of “No” due to their refusal to allow any progressive legislation to be passed. These are the same people who can often be found protesting against the rights of homosexuals and immigrants. However, some good has perhaps come from the actions of the Tea Partiers. They’ve now begun to act so crazy that even other Republicans have grown to distrust them, causing a rift throughout the entire party. And the fact remains, the less unified the Republican Party stands, the better off the country is.

If you are a conservative Republican or Tea Partier and are offended by this, I apologize. I don’t know that you are crazy or idiotic, and don’t mean to accuse you of such. I do, however, know that the ones in Washington and organizing all over the country are crazy idiots. How could anyone honestly trust a group whose top supporters are people like Sarah Palin? My advice to everyone is simply to stay informed, look deeper and understand who to trust and who to regard skeptically.

More views on this matter can be found from the Tea Party’s many websites, as well as reactions such as the Coffee Party, and Jon Stewart’s Rally to Restore Sanity.

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Joe KouriehEditorial Staff

Jen PerrinEditorial Staff

Jen PerrinEditorial Staff

I took a five-week course at FSC this past summer. Our first class met during the heat wave of July. Fans had to be used since the hall does not have air conditioning. Unfortunately we also lost valuable time while we searched for a more suitable room (the fans just could not possibly keep up with the heat). Our professor (fortunately) was willing to continue the search and determined that the only viable location for us to meet would be in the library. I do realize that many of the buildings are older, however it is very dis-quieting to be seeking a valued education in an environment that does not appear to be willing to address the needs of its staff and/or students by providing more environmentally controlled rooms. I do realize that we had an unusual heat wave. In the future, however, the administration should provide guidance as to other lo-cations that "may" be able to be used rather than our losing valuable class time, or professors having to use theirs to find alternative locations.

Keep it cool

Patrick BleakneySenior

Yesterday, Massachusetts became the 30th state to ban texting while operating a motor vehicle. The Safe Driving Act, signed into law by Gov. Deval Patrick on July 2nd, also prohibits those under 18 from talking on cell phones while driving, and requires senior citizens 75 and older to take a vision test every 5 years. While this new law is certainly a step in the right direction toward curbing the state’s apparent “erratic driver syndrome,” it falls short of actually preventing any real reckless driving behavior.

It’s obvious to most common-sense people that texting while driving is dangerous. The reason is simple: anytime you are looking away from the road while behind the wheel, you aren’t doing your job as a responsible driver. You should certainly be fully aware of your surroundings while operating a two-ton vehicle, and if you’re busy making smiley faces on your smartphone, you’re just asking for an accident.

But this same rule applies for more than just texting. Any type of distraction can cause an accident: reading a newspaper, kids in the back seat, putting on make up. So why only target the texters? Answer: because the state isn’t serious about minimizing reckless driving, only maximizing revenue. And at $100 per text-in-motion, the new safe driving bill is just the way to do it.

In other parts of the world, drivers aren’t as negligent as they here in the U.S. Go to Europe and you’ll find that most cars aren’t equipped with many of the luxuries we take for granted in our cars today, such as radios or even cup-holders. This is because the Europeans realize that when you’re driving, you’re driving. They aren’t chatting on cellphones or mowing down Big Macs. Much as I hate to admit it, I’m afraid the Europeans actually got this one right.

Driving a motor vehicle is a privilege, not a right, and needs to be treated as such. People need to be held personally responsible for their actions behind the wheel to ensure safety on the roads. Texting is just the tip of the proverbial iceberg. If the state wants to be serious about safe driving, it should enforce harsher penalties not just for texting, but any form of carelessness on the road. Until then, I’ll continue to eat my breakfast and shave on the way to class.

7October 1, 2010 Op/Ed

We at The Gatepost welcome Op/Ed submissions from all members of the FSC community. Please limit opinions to

300 words and letters to the editor to 200 words.E-mail submissions to [email protected].

Op/Ed submissions reflect the opinions of their authors only and do not necessarily reflect those of The Gatepost or its staff.

Texting ban not enough

Nothing is more bothersome to my ears than the F-word. “Fuck” is not the word to which I’m re-ferring (especially as I’m a Jersey girl, who’s stereotyped to have the vocabulary of a truck driver).

Faggot - although, internationally the word has a very broad meaning and long history of use, its main use in America revolves around the derrogitory slang for a male in the homosexual com-munity. The term has managed to seep its way into the daily vocablulary of America’s woefully ig-norant population, along with the frequent use of the word “gay” as a means to descrcibe someone or something that is “stupid” and/or “lame.”

Standing in line at the cafeteria, anxiously waiting for my turn at the vat of mashed potatoes (or something of the like), I heard someone refer to his friend as a “faggot.”

I’m sure there was no malicious intent behind this exchange. However, I had been standing with a friend who is openly gay. Nothing is more heartwrenching than having to see a friend personally affected by the ignorance of others, no matter how brief the moment or small the act may be.

On another occasion, I literally heard these words come out of someone’s mouth: “I saw two guys all over each other in public today. It’s one thing to be gay but to openly show and spread your ‘gayness’ in public is repulsive.”

Apparently, we still live in a time where “gayness” is a health risk to those who witness any sort of affection by members of the same sex.

Personal friends of mine, an openly gay couple, often hear disgusted remarks when they are simply holding hands in public.

PDA (public display of affection) has its limits: there is a definite line between acceptable PDA and openly sexual acts in public places - no matter what sexual orientation. Last time I checked, no one looks twice at a heterosexual couple for simply holding hands to show affection.

Americans pride themselves on coming so far in terms of equality, both in race and gender, and being a country where people live free of judgement. Massachusetts, for that matter, puts itself high up on a liberal and acceptance scale. If we esteem ourselves to be so accepting, why is it that the term “faggot” or even the nonchalant use of the word “gay” cannot be avoided?

To those who use such words: not only do you hurt members of the gay community and make heterosexual allies cringe, but you make yourself look unbelievably ridiculous and ignorant - the second they leave your mouth.

The F-Word

Julie Ann GieblerStaff Writer

Chris KopackoOpinion Editor

Student space expendable

At Monday’s SGA Presidents’ Council Meeting, a gathering of all club presidents and SGA’s vice president, some student leaders expressed their frustration about the lack of space for student organizations on campus. One club president even requested SGA change its meeting time because there is such a high demand for the Alumni Room, where students can serve food at their groups’ events.

The frustration expressed by student leaders this past week is nothing new to The Gatepost. We have been fighting for student space in the College Center for years.

When the College Center was renovated in 2006, student groups lost a significant amount of dedicated space in the building. The editorial board decried the poor planning that went into this. In the May 1, 2009 editorial, “Still fighting for more student space,” the editorial board said, “Student groups got screwed. They have been paying for the administration’s bad planning, mistakes and denial of those mistakes for over three years.”

And students are still paying.The administration did not learn from the mistakes made in 2006. The cafeteria construction, which added more dining venues for students, was also a product of poor planning.

Students may have gained more dining options, but they once again lost club space in the College Center. Every time the administration decides to undertake another construction project, students lose more space.

McCarthy’s Pub and CC216, which were frequently used by clubs and college committees alike, were absorbed by the construction, leaving less space for students to host meetings and events.

The new Ram’s Den Grille is now located where McCarthy’s once was and CC216 is used as catering offices.

Students have few places to hold their meetings. They can use the newer Club Room 4, Club Room 3 or Club Room 2, a hole-in-the-wall poster-making room with tiny cubbies for organizations to store their belongings.

Clubs can also reserve space in the Alumni Room, DPAC or College Center forum for larger events, but because the competition for space is so fierce, it’s difficult for students to reserve these spaces at the times they want.

Students were given Club Room 4 when the administration finally acknowledged the lack of student space and converted a College Center classroom into a club room last fall.

When the room was unveiled, students were pleased to find a cozy space with nice chairs, long tables for meetings and a large screen to which laptops can be hooked up. Because Club Room 4 is the only student space with matching chairs and an organized layout, it is in higher demand than the other, smaller and less attractive club rooms.

Student leaders hoped Club Room 4 was just one of a few classrooms which might be turned into club space. It was not. Because of the cafeteria construction, students now have less club space than before Club Room 4 was unveiled last fall.

The Hilltop Players and Dance Club still have no easily accessible storage space on campus to hold their sets, costumes and supplies.

The magazines on campus - The Onyx, Journal of Critical Thinking and the Fashion Magazine - need a space with multiple computers, a secure storage area for submissions and a place to work and collaborate with editors. They have yet to get that space.

The administration sees student space as expendable - it is the first to go when construction needs to be done.

More classrooms should be turned into club rooms to replace what was taken from students. Classrooms never should have been put in the College Center in the first place. It is student space, not academic space.

In order to offer current and incoming students a more active campus life, there should be more space offered to clubs so they can hold their meetings and events when they want, where they want.

We at The Gatepost believe students should not have to beg for space to hold their meetings and events.

Student involvement is a key aspect of college life. The skills and sense of responsibility students learn from holding leadership roles on campus are innumerable and invaluable.

Co-curricular activities are just as important as academics. Students should be given the space they need for their clubs to function and grow.

Instead of wasting their time and energy fighting for any available space, students’ efforts would be better spent managing their clubs and acquiring the skills they’ll need for their futures.

T h e G a t e p o s t Editorial Op/Ed

October 1, 20108

ARTS & FEATURESThe Gatepost’s monthly update of May Hall’s artistic happenings.

Linda Clancy’s sculpture of her father features transcriptions

from his journal.

Lisa Valeri creates works of art from photographs.

Niki Orphanos makes carvings to be used in book printing.

"I like pushing the limits of the material and letting it take on a whole new meaning.”

- Linda Clancy

By Spencer BuellAssistant Arts and Features Editor

Spencer Buell/The Gatepost






Fashion is a living, changing organism, evolving its way through history based on so-

ciety’s active perspective of “what looks good.”

The most recent exhibition at Framingham State’s Mazmanian Gallery, created by FSC profes-sor of consumer science Brianna Plummer, is a collection of fashion pieces with a purpose - an investi-gation into the construction and in-tent of some of history’s most gau-dy (or god awful) couture fashion.

Settled about the gallery space, a multitude of bold, eye-catching costumes stand at attention. Rows of vivid dresses from different eras of history fill the well-lit exhibi-tion, frozen in time like phantom party-goers caught in the snapshot of a timely waltz. The pieces are truly striking, and even though the gallery lacks any pretty Victorian ladies, these reproductions make it easy to imagine how grand a room full of them would appear.

And though the beauty, original-ity and intricacy of each dress has withstood the test of time, these vibrant period pieces do more than just transcend - they transform! That’s why this massive art col-lection is aptly named - “archite-couture” - the architecture behind some of history’s most famous dress fashion trends.

That is, this collection specifi-cally showcases dressmakers’ abil-ity to alter the human form in ways the body could not do on its own, transforming and ultimately em-phasizing parts of the human figure to fantastic proportions. The goal? To manufacture a more ideal sil-houette.

The exaggerated collars and shoul-ders, and outrageous hats and fringe, made different by their varying periods in history, become connected in this uni-versal theme of image fabrication. Us-ing gossamer material and biolab style cross-sectioning, space on the dresses is left free of fabric, exposing skeletal undercarriages - the painful truth be-hind some of history’s most elaborately shaped outfits.

These shape-forming objects like bracing and stays line the walls, looking more like a display of medieval torture devices than objects a woman would willingly wear - each one a different modifier of a woman’s form. The ob-jects altogether are an elegant, yet har-rowing sight, considering women wore these uncomfortable devices frequently - probably more than they wanted.

You can thank society for peoples’ bizarre fixation with eccentric dress shapes. Couture, meaning custom-produced wear, became a social neces-sity for women of certain classes. The

widely set side-hoop dresses of the 1770s, the drape-like skirt and bustel apparatus of the 1880s, all were staples of their eras’ fashion world - and staples of women’s fashion changed quickly! Much more quickly than men’s did.

So quickly, in fact, that with a little research, it’s actually possible to ascertain a date to a historic photograph solely by examining a woman’s attire.

Think Marie Antoinette. Think Scar-lett from “Gone with the Wind.” Think they look uncomfortable? You’re prob-ably right, and that’s where this exhibi-tion gets even smarter.

By seeing the true architecture behind these dresses, it is nearly impossible not to sympathize with the historical wear-ers, and that is another one of the artist’s intentions. Not to pity the women of past societies, but to appreciate what they have done for the fashion world. Appre-ciate the works of art that have created due to the lifestyles of which women

were a part.Observing historical trends through

the lens of fashion is just another way to learn about past societies. By thinking retrospectively, it is easy to see the ab-surdity of dress in the Maz Gal exhibit’s newest faux-harleqeuins, and can help observers to form their own opinions on the fashion/comfort relationship of to-day, as well.

As stated in the gallery’s mission statement, “The question arises: how much manipulation is tolerable for the sake of fashion?”

By Tom O’BrienArts & FeAtures editor

Plummer with cream couture creation, bustel

’27 DressesA couture venture into the realm of historical fashion, where there’s always more than meets the eye

Kelsey Loverude/The Gatepost


October 1, 2010

“I like that it looks like a science museum.”

- Joey Bazinet, seniorSpanish & food science major

“

“It’s more convenient than using a meal in the cafeteria.”

- Samantha Conrad, freshman communication arts major

“I think they should have gotten better food instead of just focusing

on how it looks.”

- Chris McCready, sophomore communication arts major

How do you feel about the caf renovations?

“I think they should make the Com caf food the regular cafeteria food - that’d be

awesome.”

- Cat Alfamo, sophomore history major

“I love it. I crave stir-fry all the time.”

- Alysse Janes, senior English major

“It looks cool. You get to have a fire to look at.”

- Garrett Fortin, freshman business major

“I think it was unwise. We need air conditioning and other

things for the dorms, first.”

- Amaria Edwards, sophomore, undeclared

“I’m waiting for it to take off [like a spaceship]!”

- Jake Luth, juniorvideo production major

“I love the decorating - especially the wok!”

- Kyle Rodrigues, junior visual communications major

“Nine dollars is too much to pay for shrimp around here.

For that price I’d rather go to Legal’s.”

- Greg Fraser, junior communication arts major

“It bugs me how you have to wait ’till certain times to get

certain types of food.”

- Hannah Prescott, freshman biology major

Campus ConversationS

Photos by Drake McCabe

By Tom O’Brien & Spencer Buell

“I wish that they made more regular [food] instead of what

they ‘think’ people want.”

- Chris Connolly, junior, undeclared

9 Arts & Features

Arts & Features

Photos by Drake McCabe

The Atlanta-based heavy rockers known as Norma Jean released their fifth album, “Meridional,” the summer 2010.

The Jean had recently signed with Ra-zor and Tie Records, where they evolved in their lyrical process. This American metal-core band from Douglasville, Geor-gia, brought their music to life with vo-

calist and guitarist, Corey Brandon, Scottie Henry (guitars), Jake Schultz (bass), Chris Day (guitars) and Chris Raines (drums).

The metal-hardcore band or also known as progressive hardcore, has collaborated styles in to their sound, one may recognize from other bands’ sounds, such as Chariot (old school), Bury Your Dead, or in some songs, Killswitch Engage.

In this album, the Jean used melodic riffs while still giving away the pure essence of their lyrics. The Jean consistently cap-tured their intensity of past albums while still maintaining their fury throughout each song.

In one of their songs, “Septentrional,” one can hear the bands ability to grasp mel-ody and slow down their rhythm, rather than having an album consist solely on heavy riffs and yelling. The Jean experimented with their sound using forceful songs while still being able to maintain balance between melodic riffs and singing.

In comparison, “Falling from the Sky: Day Seven,” gave vocalist, Brandon, the oppor-tunity to show off his evolved vocals. In this song, Brandon used his skill to work with sing-ing combined with faint screams, something many Jean fans are not used to hearing from him. This album provided a change in this bands ability to embrace new styles, while still maintaining the group’s well-known passion throughout each song.

This recent album focused on the ability to face life’s challenges, mainly bad, while still learning to embrace yourself. Specifically, “A Media Friendly Turn for the Worse,” has a sound comparable to the song “My Last Ser-enade,” byAmerican metal-core band from Westfield, Massachusetts, Killswitch Engage. Norma Jean resembled this song, with its ag-gressive breakdowns, but also melodic regu-larity throughout. This song also contains very strong rhythmic sections while throwing in some heavy tribal drums during and between riffs and versus.

rite Food,” seems more like a lullaby than a wake-up call - but it all hits eventually. Just like the album, the intro never rushes the music. The band takes its time developing a song and it’s al-ways for the better.

Vocalist, Dave Monks, spits this introduction in a few poetic verses built around a sole acous-tic guitar and his voice. This bare bones tone is a crisp juxtaposi-tion to the cavalcade of instru-ments that gives the rest of this album such a meaty sound. The band shows that they can do it all - from thin, trebly recordings like the intro, to catchy, shout-filled romps that will leave toe-tappers tapping, and hummers humming.

Also, “Champ,” has grown from “Elephant Shell” in its di-versity of song forms. The band’s last album seemed to show a bit of pattern forming in its song se-lection. That is, many songs on the album shared similar textures (instrument sounds) and similar implementation of riffs, both

to come.

Review

round UpNorma Jean

Tokyo Police Club Champ

Listening to this album, one can hear how the Jean has grown - testing their limits to sing - as opposed to past albums which consisted mainly of en-raged roars and screaming. This album has taken a turn from hardcore to a more metal-based sound.

On this album, the Jean has grasped their ability to embrace melody, rather than just heavy songs Brandon is used to singing. The album’s experimental tal arrangements allow for a range of ruthless screaming, as well as solid, but still complex, instrumentation.

For all those Jean fans out there, this album is one to get your hands on if you enjoy powerful songs with a dose of screaming and singing. This multi-layered album is sure to blow not only Jean fans’ ears away, but those who can appreciate metal-core and music evolu-tion of all kind.

10

By Tom O’BrienArts & FeAtures editor

By Krysta DavisAsst. Arts & FeAtures editor

These northern boys are back with their lovable, upbeat indie sound.

Though it’s only been two years since the debut of Tokyo Police Club’s first full-length, the riff-laden powerhouse, “Elephant Shell,” it’s pretty apparent that - time and tours later, this band has grown up.

While still maintaining that jangly, almost brit-pop tone, the new album, “Champ,” is a punchy step in the right direction for TPC. Opening with slow, hymn-like vocals, the first track, “Favou-

By Zack ComeaustAFF Writer

“NHL 2011”

Photo courtesy of www.nhl.easports.com

October 1, 2010

“Meridional”

guitar and keyboard. It seemed as if every song on the album began with a drum beat to set the meter and sent in a synth riff to set the hook.

No longer is the band’s sound backed into a corner by simple, linear song structures (though it worked before). On the band’s newest musical venture, parts seem more original, and their arrange-ment - more clever. Keyboard and guitar cascade in and out of one another, successfully forming a wall of sound rather than isolated nuggets of melody as in “Elephant Shell.”

Though this type of song was successful at pounding catchy numbers into the brains of early TPC listeners, “Champ” follows suit more efficiently and more tastefully. The new album has got the hooks and riffs. It’s got rhythm and lyrics, but most importantly, each song is voiced so differently than the next that it gives the track-list many different themes. The al-bum’s got feelings - give it a listen.

Music

Photo courtesy of www.TokyoPoliceClub.com

Photo courtesy of www.NormaJeanNoise.com

As if slamming people into the boards or aiming slap shots in from the blue line couldn’t

be any more pleasing to the avid sports gamer, here comes NHL 2011. Perhaps the most realistic team sports

game in existence, EA’s new hockey hit is truly exciting.

NHL 2011 features broken and dropped sticks, bigger, harder hits and an all-new physics-based engine, dif-ferent from the animation-based engine used in past hockey titles.

NHL 2011 also features a revamped passing system. The longer the button is held, the stronger the pass.

A timing based face-off system features the ability to push or block the opponent. A brand new “hustle button,” similar to the speed burst in past games, allows players to race for the puck, or to gain the advantage in breakaways.

Perhaps the most entertaining

feature of the game is the all-new hit stick, which gives players the oppor-tunity to choose the location of body checks, leading to possible injuries and/or penalties.

As far as difficulty goes, anything past the “Pro level” will have you stomping your feet in disbelief as the computer players ruin your breakaway chance with a dive. Solid defense is a must, as it seems the computer simu-lated players have perfected the art of deking.

“The All-Star” and “Superstar” dif-ficulties will, without a doubt, test your true skill and precision. New game modes include the “Be a GM” mode, the equivalent of the “Franchise mode”

popular with the “Madden NFL” games.

The new “Rookie Generation” sys-tem allows you the opportunity to cre-ate a player and develop his skills and control the path of his career. Also new to the NHL franchise is the addition of the Practice mode, so you can practice your power plays and penalty killing to prep your team for the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

If you love exciting plays and heart-pounding moments, NHL 2011 is the sports game of your dreams.

Games

Music

11 October 1, 2010Arts & Features

The College Center forum was filled with laughter Tuesday night, as six FSC

students who call themselves the “Suit Jacket Posse” performed vari-ous improv skits.

Among the performers were An-thony Reed, Rob Mulligan, Miles Bergstrom, Josh Graveline, Darek Sychtysz and Luis Roberts. Josh Halladay hosted the event.

Many of the games were simi-lar, and some nearly identical, to the show “Whose Line Is It Any-way?” Among the games played by FSC’s improv team were “Switch,” “Scenes From a Hat” and “Slow Motion Commentary,” which seemed to be a crowd pleaser.

“The slow-motion commentary game was my favorite,” said Marie Diehl, a junior history major. The game required two performers to act out a “mundane activity” in slow motion, the subject of which was suggested by an audience member.

“Eating dinner!” berated a mem-ber of the already raucous crowd.

Cues like these were sparks in the flaming imaginations of the

Improv “suits” FSC well

By Zack ComeaustAFF Writer

improv team and in no time, Bergstrom and Mulligan, with the commentary of Roberts and Reed, had the entire forum erupting in laughter, as a “mundane ac-tivity” quickly turned into a vicious slow-motion food fight.

For Bergstrom and Roberts, this im-prov show was a first. However, they performed excellently. Their timing was smooth and their horseplay, original - the tell-tale signs of natural improv comics.

“I really thought the new guys, Miles and Luis, were very funny and they add-ed new kinds of humor to the show,” said Diehl, who auditioned for the Posse.

Although Diehl was in the audience for the show, she still participated, sug-gesting a theme for “Press Conference,” in which Reed was arrested for breaking and entering. It didn’t stop there, though, as an audience member spiked up the laugher even more by suggesting Reed’s character be the Kool-Aid man.

During this bit, the rest of the Posse sat in the audience, as Anthony remained on stage, taking questions from his fel-low improvisers while trying to guess his character. With an “Oh yeah!” from Reed, the audience exploded with laugh-ter and applauded Anthony for guessing correctly.

One of the most refreshing and re-

assuring aspects of the show was that the performers were clearly enjoying themselves, finding it hard not to laugh at their own jokes. When they sat out a game, they were laughing out from the sidelines.

“When I am watching the games, I think I laugh more than the audience,” said Reed, a senior economics major, who was one of the more vibrant and colorful performers.

Senior applied food science major Rob Mulligan said, “It's usually easy to keep a straight face when I say a joke that lands well, but sometimes someone else in the scene will say something per-fect and I wont be able to keep a straight face.”

Another crowd favorite was the game “Switch,” which set Mulligan and Rob-erts on a steamboat cruise. Whenever Halladay said the word “switch,’’ the performers had to say the opposite of what ever they had just said. A few genu-inely funny sequences and sexual innu-endos later, laughter could be heard from the parking lot.

“I really like ‘Switch.’ It keeps you on your toes and just creates outrageous scenes which are great,”said Bergstrom, a junior communication arts major.

For Roberts, a freshman biology ma-jor, improvisation seemed to come natu-rally to him. Although not as outspoken and loud as his partners, his dry, awk-

ward, Michael Cera-like humor was a hilarious change from the usual improv routine.

Mulligan first declared he was from Alaska, and was then prompted to switch, stating he was from Montana.

“Oh, well, less exciting,” answered Roberts dryly, which gave the audience a good, healthy laugh.

“The scene changes really quickly and it's funny to see what crazy direction it ends up going in,” says Roberts, who added that “Switch” is his favorite game to play.

Matt Vajda, a junior history major, was laughing along with the audience, and also auditioned for the Suit Jacket

Posse. “I loved every aspect [of the show].” On performing, Vajda said, “It was something different. You have to be yourself.”

According to him, improv requires one to be quick, and build a joke off of another joke, which can be difficult at times.

“We rehearse,” said Bergstrom. “It lets us get comfortable with how the games work and lets us get better at them.”

Mulligan said, “[We] do a lot of the-atre warm-ups to get us going and then run a lot of the games we perform with intentionally difficult suggestions.” He also mentioned that improv helped him to build confidence, stating that it “kick-started” his interest in stand-up comedy, a hobby he is now pursuing.

“For something like improv, there’s no way to rehearse since there are no set lines to follow. Instead, what we do is practice,” says Sychtysz.

“Practice consists of us playing games that we haven’t done in a while, or feel that we’re weak in, so that when we do finally have a show, we at least know how to play a game.”

This is evident when the Posse played “Two-line vocabulary,” which restricted two performers to two lines each. Set in a spaceship, Sychtysz’s lines were, “Not in there” and “What’s that smell like?” while Mulligan’s vocabulary consisted

of the classic, “That’s what she said” and “Help me now.” Reed controlled the scene, and acted as the pilot of the space-ship.

Those four lines, along with Reed’s witty humor, made for one hilarious im-prov act.

“There’s a real sense of accomplish-ment when you can hear a room fill with laughter because of the way a scene turned out,” exclaims Sychtysz.

“In my opinion, there’s nothing better than knowing that you’ve made someone forget their worries for just a moment and caused them to laugh.”

“There’s a real sense of accomplishment when you can hear a room fill with laughter because of the way a scene turned out.”

- Anthony Reed

It’s all in the scene as Reed lays into Graveline during one the crew’s sketches



By Josh Primak SportS Editor

12 October 1, 2010

Sports

DID YOU KNOW...?

It takes 3,000 cows to supply the NFL with enough leather for a year’s supply of footballs.

New era for men’s basketballWholey replaces Spellman as head coach

In his nine-year tenure as the head coach of FSC men’s basketball, Don Spellman took a struggling program and built it into a perennial contender, reaching the MASCAC finals three times and becoming one of only two coaches in school history to amass 100 victories.

With his resignation in April, as well as the loss of key players to graduation, the program will be in need of new leaders, both on the court and bench.

FSC Athletic Director Tom Kelley hopes the hiring of veteran basketball man Paul Wholey as Spellman’s replacement will bring both leadership and stability to a program looking to continue its recent success.

Wholey’s hiring came after an extensive search which began with 100 candidates before the selection of the South Shore native.

“He’s been in coaching a long time, so he brings a lot of experience,” said Kelley. “In his interview, it came across loud and clear that he would be more of a full-time coach than a part-time coach, so that was very attractive to the search committee.”

A retired probation officer, Wholey has been coaching basketball in one capacity or another for over two decades, with most of his time spent in the high school ranks.

From 2006-10, he was the head coach of the Pembroke High School varsity basketball team, which captured the 2008-09 Patriot League Championship. He also has spent time as assistant coach for Bridgewater State College, as well as Div. II Stonehill College.

Looking for his first collegiate head coaching job, Wholey was excited about the prospect of commanding the Rams.

“I felt it was a great opportunity to coach on the college level with a university that has tremendous potential. It is affordable, close to the city, a nice campus and has an excellent academic reputation. All of these characteristics will make it easier to recruit potential players.

“I have coached 23 years of high school basketball as well as AAU and some college basketball. I have always wanted to coach college basketball, but was busy raising three

children and working full time. … My kids are grown now and it seemed like a perfect opportunity to accept this type of a challenge.”

With the loss of seven seniors, including guard Darius Yarrell and forward Josue Almodovar, who finished his Rams’ career as the second leading all-time scorer, the team will begin the year without much on-the-court experience.

Wholey is hoping to instill a style of play on his Rams that will keep them competitive despite the lack of veterans.

“We will play an aggressive, up-tempo style of basketball and we will be an exciting team to watch. We are small in team size, we are young and inexperienced, but I see great potential for improvement as the year goes on. After a monster non-league schedule to start, we will be ready for league play, come January.”

For returning senior Steevan Fernandes, the new coach represents a new team philosophy - one that he hopes will bring a MASCAC crown to the Dwight Gym.

“He knows what he is doing and what he expects from the players, which is just be determined to play

hard and make the effort to win. … Being a senior, I just ask my teammates to play hard and stay focused and just try to get a MASCAC championship before I leave.”

Coming off a season that saw FSC fall just an overtime period short of the MASCAC championship, expectations will be high for the team to continue its winning tradition. Wholey is excited about taking his program to the next level.

“I plan to build a ‘R.E.A.L’ team based on Respect, Effort, Attitude and Loyalty. I want us to become the class of the MASCAC Conference, competing for the league championship and NCAA bids on a yearly basis. That is my goal!

“I have high hopes for our ability to attract student athletes that are ‘gym rats’ and just love to play basketball. I am hoping we can create an atmosphere of excitement surrounding the basketball program that the faculty, staff and student body will be proud and excited to be part of. I really can’t wait to get started.”

Photo Courtesy of Kathy Lynch

Paul Wholey takes over as FSC men’s basketball head coach with over 20 years of experience.

The Rams will lose seven seniors from last season including Josue Almodovar, who finished his FSC career as

the second all-time leading scorer.

Gatepost Archives

On The SidelineFootball Captain

Anthony Pappagallo

Baltimore at Pittsburgh(-1.5)Josh’s Pick: 24-10 BaltimoreNenia’s Pick: 21-10 BaltimoreRyan’s Pick: 13-10 PittsburghMatt’s Pick: 21-17 Pittsburgh

New England at Miami (+1)Josh’s Pick: 34-24 New EnglandNenia’s Pick: 21-17 New England

Ryan’s Pick: 31-28 MiamiMatt’s Pick: 27-13 Miami

Editor’s NFL Picks of the Week

13October 1, 2010 Sports

By Ryan CreedintErim ASSiStAnt SportS Editor

Gatepost Archives

GP: How did you get involved in the sport?

Pappagallo: I started playing football when I was seven in Malden Pop Warner. My father and all my uncles played, so it was pretty much expected for me to play and I’ve loved the game ever since.

GP: Who was your favorite athlete growing up?

Pappagallo: My favorite athlete growing up was Barry Sanders. My days of running back are over, but I still love watching old highlights of him run.

GP: What has been your most memorable moment as an athlete here at FSC?

Pappagallo: My most memorable moment here at FSC was when we came back to beat Coast Guard 25 - 23 two years ago. I just remember thinking with 40 seconds left that we had no chance, but we kept fighting, caused a fumble and punched it in to win.

GP: How do you think the team has performed so far this year?

Pappagallo: So far this year we are playing pretty well. There are times when we look like a championship team and

times when we look average, but we are becoming more consistent each week.

GP: What does the role of captain mean to you?

Pappagallo: The role of captain definitely brings a lot of responsibility and it’s an honor to be the leader of a great group of guys.

GP: What will you miss most when the season is over?

Pappagallo: What I’ll miss most is just being with the team and working toward a goal together. The bonds shared in football are like nothing else in the world.

GP: Do you have any pre-game rituals or superstitions?

Pappagallo: A pre-game ritual I have is meeting with all the other defensive backs in the endzone after our pregame warm-ups. It just helps us get focused and confident before we take the field.

GP: Is it difficult to balance school and sports?

Pappagallo: Sometimes it is difficult to balance school and football, but once I’m organized and have a set schedule for a semester, it’s easier to manage my time.

Anthony Pappagallo leads the football team in the 2010 season.

AFTER SCHOOL SITTER

I am looking for a sitter who can pick up my two children (ages 13 and 10) from school (M-F) in Needham and spend Tuesday,

Wednesday and Friday afternoons watching my 10 year old son. Pay is $10-15 per hour. I am looking for somebody who is available

throughout the school year and who has a car. Hrs. flexible.

Please contact Amy at [email protected] or (617) 413-8107 if interested.

Last week, in the article “Roadblock for the Rams,” The Gatepost incorrectly reported that Jason Silva scored the first goal. The goal was actually scored by Chris Wilkins. The game-winning goal by Babson was scored at 3:04 in overtime, and not at seven minutes, as the article states.

14 October 1, 2010Sports

By Nenia CorcoranSportS Editor

Nenia Corcoran/The Gatepost

Volleyball ends losing streak to Bridgewater

It’s been over 15 years since the last time the Framingham State volleyball team beat the Bridgewater State Bears. Wednesday night, however, the Rams changed all that.

FSC struck down the Bears 3-0, led by Captain Ashley Trudeau, who totaled 14 kills on the night.

The Rams charged into the first match maintaining a large lead over the Bears until Bridgewater mounted a comeback to tie the score at 15. A solo block by senior Nicole Donofrio stirred the Rams back to life and started them on a scoring streak.

A kill from Trudeau and a block by Jackie Friel led to the 25-18 win of the first match.

Set two featured big plays from both sides, with both teams fighting for the lead. With the match tied at 19, Framingham capitalized on a BSC mistake to take the lead. A block by Friel put the Rams up 21-19, which was followed shortly after with the combined efforts of Friel and Lauren Kasischke on a block that made the score 23-20.

The Bears were not willing to give the match up easily, however. They fought back to tie the score at 23 and then called a timeout to rattle the nerves of the Rams. Upon resuming play, the Rams were awarded the point on a service error by the Bears. The long volley that followed was won by the Bears, again tying the game at 24.

Two plays later, the match was again tied at 25. FSC won the serve from Bridgewater, putting them in position to serve for game point for the third time in the match.

Freshman Andressa Fernandes served BSC with a ball that barely slid over the net. Bridgewater returned Fernandes’ serve, only to have Trudeau spike down the game-winning point, finally ending the match, 27-25.

Up two matches, Framingham State fought to gain the advantage in what would ultimately be the final match. Ahead 18-9, the Rams were beginning to look confident. Despite the Bears’ attempts at rallies, they were only able to score nine more points throughout the entire match.

Trudeau stood in to serve the game point, which was tapped over the net by Friel to seal the victory, 25-18. Having downed the Bears in three matches, the Rams secured a long overdue win against rival Bridgewater State.

In addition to Trudeau’s 14 kills, Donofrio added nine, and Friel had six. Friel also finished with three blocks, while Jessi Goode contributed 19 digs on the evening.

Sophomore Courtney Moylan said, “Bridgewater has had an extremely skilled program for years and the fact that we beat them gives us a lot of hope for possibly being the top team in the MASCAC.”

Goode. a senior, said, “I think that it was our best performance thus far. We really played as a team and never let down.”

Trudeau was thrilled with her team’s performance Wednesday night. “The rivalry between the two teams has been apparent for many years and this win was especially crucial to the seniors on the team because we have never beat them in our career at FSU,” Trudeau said.

Ask A RamWho is your favorite team to play against?

Tucker HenrionMen’s Rugby

Rhode Island College because it was the only team we

could beat.

Molly MalloyVolleyball

Worcester State because it’s our toughest competition.

David SimaoCross Country

We race multiple schools in one meet, so I have a rivalry

with everyone I race.


Rachael CooperCross Country

We ran against Mass. Maritime and that was awesome

because we got to run the canal.

The volleyball team beat Bridgewater State for the first time in 18 years on Wednesday night.

15October 1, 2010 Sports

Rams dominate MASCAC play, fall in tough non-conference matchup

Coming off a tough overtime defeat at the hands of Babson College, the Framingham State College men’s soccer team prevailed in conference play, defeating Worcester State College last Saturday 4-1, at Maple Field.

It was clear from the opening whistle the Rams were the better team, controlling the ball and the pace of the game with ease.

The only sign of life from the Lancers of Worcester State was the chippy play that took place in the beginning of the match.

Two yellow cards were handed out within the first five minutes, first on Framingham’s Jepherson Cardoso and just a minute and five seconds later on the Lancers’ Anthony Bourget. After Bourget’s infraction, some minor pushing and shoving took place. The tone was set and the match had the feel of a conference battle.

Once the game was back in order, the Rams were all business outshooting Worcester State eight to three in the first half.

The Framingham offense was rewarded for their efforts in the 21st minute as senior forward Jason Silva was able to find freshman midfielder Ronaldo Vieira streaking down the field for a perfectly executed goal.

The Lancers kept fighting though, and appeared to answer the Rams’ goal just two minutes later, but the goal was called back on a controversial offsides penalty, preserving a 1-0 FSC lead.

The Rams would go into the intermission leading 1-0. However, it could have been a lot worse the way WSC was competing on the field.

The Rams were able to keep momentum early in the second half thanks in large part to a suffocating defense and outstanding goalie play from senior Greg Halle.

The play of the defense allowed the offense to stay in sync. In the 58th minute, Framingham State enhanced its lead to two on a goal by senior Scotty Faria, who put the ball in the back of the net off a rebound.

Moments later, in the 63rd minute of play, Jason Silva added to the onslaught beating the Lancers’ netminder Evan Wiga on a penalty kick.

Up 3-0, the Rams were in complete control of the game. However, WSC’s Dan Goodine would rain on the parade, beating Halle to put the Lancers on the board.

Framingham didn’t let up and played a full 90-minute game despite the fact the game was in hand early on.

FSC’s hard work would pay off as in the 89th minute of play, Vieira was able to connect for his second goal of the game. The win kept the Rams’ undefeated in MASCAC play so far in the season.

FSC’s momentum would not carry over into their clash with non-conference opponent Rhode Island College. Rhode Island was riding a five-game win streak coming into Maple Street.

After both teams were unable to find the open net in the first half, RIC scored two quick goals to open the second. Framingham State’s Silva was able to score for the second straight game, but his goal was not enough as the Rams fell 3-1, dropping FSC to 7-2.

The Rams now will be away for a mini three-game road trip where they travel to Salem State Saturday at 3 p.m. They will then go on to face Springfield College on Wednesday night before finishing up the road trip with a visit to Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts a week from tomorrow at 1 p.m.

By Ryan CreedintErim ASSiStAnt SportS Editor


The women’s soccer team will face off against MASCAC rivals the Salem State Vikings this Saturday. The Rams, currently at 4-5 overall, with a 1-1 conference record, can move out of the middle of the MASCAC standings with a victory against the lowly Vikings, who are 0-2 in the conference. The Rams have been paced offensively by freshman midfielder Marissa D’Angelo’s four goals and nine points overall.

Coming off a 46-7 stomping of its conference rival Bridgewater State on the road, the football team will be looking to continue its hot start to the season this Saturday against Mass. Maritime. The Rams, currently 3-1 overall, picked up their first division victory in Bridgewater last week. Framingham dominated from beginning to end, getting two touchdowns from quarterback Kurt Leone, two defensive touchdowns on a fumble recovery and an interception, and 146 yards on 32 carries from running back Melikke Van Alstyne. The game this Saturday will have huge conference implications as Mass. Maritime sits atop the MASCAC divisional lead with Framingham and Worcester State.

Homecoming Preview!Football Women’s soccer

Cory Ferris is one of eight players who have scored goals for the Rams this season.

By Josh Primak SportS Editor

1:30 p.m. 10:00 a.m.

GOOD LUCK FRAMINGHAM STATE!

- Students working on their art projects.

- Involved in campus activities.

- Laughing at the Improv Show.

On this week’s Menu










September 31, 201016

10-01-2010

Documents

new dorm

new era

new beginning

importance of new buildings

construction world

final beam

framingham state university

consigli construction