Massachusetts Daily Collegian: January 20, 2014 - Back to School Spring 2015

DailyCollegian.comTuesday, January 20, 2015

DAILY [email protected]

Serving the UMass Community since 1890

A free and responsible press

ROBERT RIGO/COLLEGIAN

As spring semester kicks off, many students arrived to an icy campus Monday. The temperature hovered around freezing all day.

It’s Ice to be backUM plans partnership with NASA

By ShelBy AShline Collegian Staff

Former Gov. Deval Patrick announced in December he planned to allocate up to $5 million to the University of Massachusetts to sup-port the creation of an Aeronautics Research, Development and Training Center at the Westover Airport in Chicopee. The project is one of four initia-tives outlined in the former gov-ernor’s new business plan, which focuses on growth opportunities at the airport. Specifically, the plan aims to help “grow the economy in Western Massachusetts and to support the mission of Westover Air Reserve Base (ARB),” according to a Dec. 19 news release. The Westover ARB, the largest Air Force Reserve base in the country, is the joint user of the 91-acre public use airport. The UMass Amherst Center in Chicopee is part of the Aviation/Aerospace Education Initiative outlined in the plan. Funds allo-cated for the project will be used to renovate a vacant Westover ARB building. According to the release, when the building is finished it will house “state-of-art” laboratories. John Collura, associate dean for Research and Innovation at UMass’ College of Engineering, said the new aviation center will include a particularly noteworthy 360 degree air traffic control simulation that will be used to train air traffic con-trollers and pilots. “There will be a 360 degree screen where you can see planes taking off,” Collura said in a recent phone interview. “You’ll be able to hear air traffic controllers.” The 3-D simulation will also be able to produce different weather conditions. “The aviation center will pro-vide us with a more effective environment to teach students so

Aeronautics center to open at Westover ARB

Search is on for president

By MArie MAccuneCollegian Staff

The search process for the next president of the University of Massachusetts system is in its beginning stages, with plans to be completed before the resigna-tion of current president Robert Caret in July. President Caret announced his resignation in December to become chancellor of the University System of Maryland. He has held his position at UMass since 2011. A press release from the University cited the many accomplishments of Caret’s tenure, including the opening of the first UMass system cen-ter in Springfield, instituting an Efficiency and Effectiveness program, the American Bar Association’s provisional accred-itation of the Commonwealth’s only public law school at UMass Dartmouth and rising rankings both nationally and internation-ally. Before his time at UMass, Caret served as the president of Towson University, part of the University System of Maryland, for eight years. In a statement released by USM, Board of Regents Chair James Shea said, “The Board of Regents is very pleased that Bob Caret will take the helm as USM’s fourth chancellor. He brings years of experience as the outstanding leader of two public universities and a public system of higher education. He is adept at building partnerships that benefit institutions and the surrounding communities.” Rick Berndt, chair of the search-and-screening com-mittee for USM said in a news conference held in Baltimore that Caret’s appointment is a

Current UM President Caret to resign in July

Gov. Baker’s inauguration met with mixed reactions

By JAclyn BrySonCollegian Staff

The front doors of the State House swung open on Jan. 7 as Deval Patrick emerged. Following the blasts from the 19-gun salute that echoed through the air, he took the traditional “lone walk” down the steps on Beacon Hill, marking the end of his eight years as governor of Massachusetts. The next day, Charlie Baker would take his place. “I’m well aware of the author-ity and privileges that come with this office. But they’re inconse-quential in comparison to the responsibility of serving and pro-

tecting the people of this great state,” Baker said at the begin-ning of his inaugural address. “And the obligation to always live up to their trust.” Fellow Republicans Mitt Romney, Chris Christie and Scott Brown applauded as Baker placed his left hand on the bible and swore the oath at the State House on Jan. 8, officially mak-ing him the 72nd governor of Massachusetts. And while many University of Massachusetts students said they didn’t take much interest in Baker’s inauguration, those who did had differing opinions. Ilana Morris, a sophomore, said she heard bits and pieces of his address on the radio and has mixed feelings.

“The part I did hear, I thought it was interesting because I was agreeing with some of his views,” she said. “But I’m afraid he’s just saying what we want to hear.” “I’m definitely Democratic, but I’m trying to be optimistic about this,” junior Aldila Yunus said. “I feel like he’s going into this the correct way. I think he’s starting off incredibly bipartisan.” In his speech, Baker addressed what he believes are the big issues facing Massachusetts today, including public education stan-dards, the budget deficit and opi-ate addictions. “I’ve said a thousand times, I want every community to be a place where people believe

UM students uncertain after inaugural speech

IPO gives UMass students a chance to study abroad

By JAclyn BrySonCollegian Staff

With the help of the International Programs Office, five percent of University of Massachusetts students take their studies across the globe, learn-ing the Romance languages of Europe, tasting the food of Asia, experiencing the culture of Africa or meeting the people of South America. “Study abroad is widely known as a high-impact educational prac-tice in the world of higher educa-tion pedagogy,” said Jack Ahern, vice provost and director of IPO. “Students gain a greater apprecia-tion for diversity. They appreciate that the world doesn’t stop at the borders of the United States.” IPO has been around since the 1970s and was first started by Barbara Burn, who worked there for decades until her death. Today, the office is divided into two sec-tions – education abroad and

international student and scholar services. With a team of advisors and staff educated in different parts of the globe, the goal of IPO is to guide students through the study abroad application process so they are prepared for a chance to live in a foreign country. “We have a large advising staff who are experts in different regions of the world,” Ahern said. “The advisers try to understand the students’ personal interests and also the needs of their aca-demic programs.” “(Advisers) help from step one,” said peer adviser Gabrielle Cook, who added that her job begins when a student enters IPO know-ing they want to study abroad, and continues until the advisers have helped them set up an online account, talked with them about their finances, helped them choose exactly where they wish to travel and what program is the best fit. According to Ahern, there are approximately 400 pro-grams around the world offered at UMass. Last year, 1,200 stu-dents took part in many of these programs, a slight increase from

the year before. According to the National Association of Foreign Student Advisors, only about one percent of students in the United States study abroad. “We recently signed onto a program that’s coordinated by the Institute of International Education. They are on an ambi-tious program to double the num-ber of American students who study abroad by the year 2020,” said Ahern, who has also made this a goal of IPO. “We’re aiming for a substantial increase, hope-fully to double the number of stu-dents who study abroad.” And in order to offer these students a wide variety of study abroad opportunities, there are three distinct categories of foreign programs students can participate in through IPO. Faculty-led programs are cre-ated when professors take a per-sonal interest in creating their own study abroad program for students, while exchange pro-grams are designed to allow for UMass students to go abroad while a foreign student comes to campus in their place. The most popular

however, according to Ahern, is partner programs, where UMass forms ties with private businesses that specialize in study abroad programs. “Every program has its own story,” he added, and according to Ahern, making these options available is no easy task. Faculty-led programs require a strong

initiative from UMass staff, and today, this has resulted in various programs such as biology stud-ies in the Amazon and theater classes in South Africa. For many exchange and partner programs, staff will research what foreign

About 400 programs are offered around the world

JACLYN BRYSON/COLLEGIAN

Eleven programs are offered in Paris, France through UMass’ International Programs Office.

see IPO on page a2

see CENTER on page a4 see PRESIDENT on page a3see BAKER on page a3

THE MASSACHUSETTS

PAGES A5 & A6

THE NEXTBIG THING

2014Music’s most

important moments

Opinion:Charlie Hebdo, the new

Congress, what’s next

for standardized tests

and more

PAGE B5PAGE B1

THE MASSACHUSETTS DAILY COLLEGIANA2 Tuesday, January 20, 2015 DailyCollegian.com

T H E R U N D O W N

ON THIS DAY...In 1986, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day was celebrated as a federal holiday for the first time.

China BEIJING — Chinese police shot and killed two members of the Uighur minority group late Sunday as they attempted to cross the border illegally into Vietnam and assaulted Chinese border guards who tried to stop them, state media reported Monday. It was latest clash between police and Uighurs – a largely Muslim ethnic group from China’s west-ern frontier – who were apparently trying to flee the country. According to state media, the would-be exiles clashed with police in Pingxiang, a town near the border with Vietnam. A third Uighur escaped. China Daily reported that the three attacked police with knives, a detail not included in a report from the China News Service. Uighurs are a Turkic-speaking ethnic group, largely Muslim, whose homeland is what is now China’s Xinjiang region. Many resent China’s rule over the area, and some have rebelled against increasing restrictions on their ability to travel and practice their religion. China has characterized many of the would-be exiles as “terrorists,” attempt-ing to foment unrest from abroad. Human rights groups say some simply are trying to escape persecution and threats of violence at home. Because of China’s increasingly close ties with Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan to the west, the exodus of Uighurs from Xinjiang has shifted over the last decade to countries that border southern China. These include Myanmar, Laos and Vietnam. In April, two Vietnamese borders guards and five Chinese nationals were killed in an apparent clash over immigrants trying to cross the border ille-gally into Vietnam. Some 16 people, many believed to be Uighurs, were reportedly detained and sent back to China by Vietnam. Their fate is unknown. Last week, China announced it had arrested 10 Turkish nationals in Shanghai for allegedly supplying Uighur “terror-ists” with fake passports to escape the country. So far, China has yet to provide details to support claims that the Uighurs arrested had links to insurgent activ-ities, at home or abroad. Some experts say the exodus of Uighurs from China is relatively small and largely confined to those trying to escape Xinjiang because of contin-ued violent unrest there. Chinese officials have claimed that more than 100 “Xinjiang terrorists” have joined Islamic insurgents in Syria and Iraq, a figure not easily confirmed. As of Monday, Chinese media had not reported any capture of the suspect who reportedly had escaped from Sunday’s clash with border police. According to China News Service, the Uighur-speaking man is about 5 feet, 8 inches tall, and wore a red t-shirt and jeans. He was last seen in a mountainous border region where one could easily slip into the jungle.

MCT

A RO U N D T H E W O R L D

UM ends confidential informant program

By AvivA LuttreLLCollegian Staff

U n ive r s i t y o f Massachusetts Chancellor Kumble Subbaswamy has decided to end the University’s confidential informant program, he announced in a campus-wide email on Jan. 15. The decision comes after an 11-member work-ing group completed a full review of the school’s con-fidential informant policy this week. Subbaswamy suspended the program in September after a report by the Boston Globe about a student informant who died of a heroin overdose in 2013 raised concerns that the University was not doing enough to protect members of the program. “After careful consider-ation of the panel’s find-ings, I have concluded that enlisting our students as confidential informants is

fundamentally inconsis-tent with the core values of our community and I have ordered an end to the pro-gram,” Subbaswamy wrote. The panel’s report stat-ed that the UMass Police Department considers confidential informants a “core component” of its drug enforcement strate-gies. During the 18-month period from September 2012 to February 2014, nearly half of drug arrests made by UMPD were based on the cooperation or information provided by informants. However, the panel found numerous costs associated with retaining the pro-gram in its current form, including potential missed opportunities to intervene with students who have drug addictions, increased distrust of UMPD and lack of communication about informants’ status with other offices on cam-pus, including the Dean of Students office, Residential Life and University Health Services. The report also cited concerns about poten-

tial adverse effects on infor-mants themselves and lack of parental notification regarding drug use or con-fidential informant status. The student in the Globe’s initial story, Eric L. Sinacori – identified as “Logan” – became a con-fidential informant for UMPD after he was caught selling LSD and Molly to an undercover police offi-cer a year before his death in October 2013. Police also seized a hypodermic needle during the bust. By becoming a confi-dential informant, UMPD allowed Sinacori to keep the incident a secret from his parents, who would have otherwise been notified of the offense. The UMass junior was found dead of a heroin overdose in his off-campus apartment a year later. The Globe’s story on Sinacori raised ques-tions about whether the University did enough to help the student who was struggling with addiction, and whether officials failed

to recognize a heroin prob-lem on campus. On Thursday, the Globe reported that Sinacori’s mother began receiving anonymous hate mail after her son’s story was pub-lished, including some that suggested his heroin dealer poisoned him on purpose for being a confidential informant. Now she won-ders if her son was mur-dered. According to the pan-el’s report, all 11 members unanimously found that the program in its current form should be ended, but deferred to the chancellor on the ultimate question of whether to completely end the program or whether to mitigate its costs by impos-ing various safeguards. In October, the Student Government Association found that there were no potential safeguards that could address student con-cerns with the program. “The personal, social and ethical costs of the confidential informant pro-gram clearly outweigh its

benefits and the review’s findings, along with the administrative realignment of the police department under Student Affairs and Campus Life, will allow campus police to employ other approaches as they continue to combat ille-gal drug use, possession and sales, and protect the members of our campus,” Subbaswamy wrote. According to the Globe, Sinacori’s mother applaud-ed the chancellor’s deci-sion. The panel was chaired by Diane Curtis of the politi-cal science department, and was comprised of UMass students and staff. In his email, Subbaswamy wrote that he was also advised by former Middlesex County District Attorney Gerard Leone, who is currently an attorney with Boston law firm Nixon Peabody LLP.

Aviva Luttrell can be reached at [email protected] and followed on Twitter @AvivaLuttrell.

Decision comes after a full review

IPO continued from page a1

institutions are best suit-ed for UMass students, for example, by going to the NAFSA conference where 10,000 people gather for aca-demic sessions and a trade show where study abroad programs are on display. “I guess we can say we’re a little ‘status in rankings’ conscious,” Ahern said. “We’re not obsessed with

that, but we like to aim high and we like to work with equivalent or better part-ners.” And the IPO staff doesn’t stop working once a student has chosen a study abroad program. Ahern added that the office pays atten-tion to risk management, making sure students are safe during their time away

from UMass. They are also investing time in increas-ing student interest in programs abroad, through events such as their annual education abroad fair, to be held this year on March 4. But despite the challeng-es and efforts that go into getting UMass students to embark on a study abroad program, many agreed that

it was all worth it in the end. After spending a semester in Barcelona herself, Cook was motivated to become part of the IPO advising team upon her return to UMass. “When I studied abroad my junior year fall semes-ter, I had the most amazing time ever, and I really owe it to the peer advisors who

were helping me when I was abroad,” she said, add-ing that her advisors helped push her out of her com-fort zone. “(Study abroad) taught me to say yes to things – to not be scared of different experiences and to take advantage of every-thing that is happening.”

Jaclyn Bryson can be reached at [email protected].

THE MASSACHUSETTS DAILY COLLEGIAN Tuesday, January 20, 2015 A3DailyCollegian.com

result of his “dynamic and effective” methods as well as his successes in “advanc(ing) diversity and inclusion.” During that same news conference, Caret called the search and vetting process challenging. He said, “It’s an emotion-al experience, especially as a president. You become attached to your campuses, it is a very personal endeav-or. … You feel like you’re abandoning children when you leave, so you want to do it in the most positive way for everyone.” He continued, saying that his move to the USM has both professional and personal motivations. “Twenty-nine years of my professional career I spent with the University System of Maryland,” Caret said. He added that he was looking forward to being able to spend more time with his only grandchild and other members of his extended family in Maryland. According to UMass spokesperson Robert Connolly, the Board of Trustees is in the process of “doing outreach to poten-tial candidates” to replace Caret. He added that the Universities are also in the process of “developing a search committee that will

consist of alumni, faculty, students, community lead-ers, and so on.” Connolly predicted com-mittee members would be finalized by the beginning of February. Sarah Freudson, student trustee from the Amherst campus, said of Caret’s resignation: “President Caret’s announcement … was something I was in support of. He loves UMass, it became his home but I understand why he had chosen to resign. Being back in Maryland with his family is honorable and I am extremely happy for him.” In terms of what she is looking for in potential candidates to replace Caret, she said, “I personally hope we can find a candi-

date who makes UMass his home as President Caret had. Someone who is dedi-cated to the wellbeing of the students and strives for success in all matters per-taining to running such a large university system.” “But not only that,” Freudson continued, “I hope we can find a candi-date who has the passion to bring UMass to the next level. UMass is the best and we deserve the best candi-date who can bring our cul-ture to the next level, unify-ing in creating school spirit for students and spectacu-lar futures for our alumni.”

Marie MacCune can be reached at [email protected] and fol-lowed on Twitter @MarieMacCune.

PRESIDENT continued from page a1

COLLEGIAN FILE PHOTO

University of Massachusetts President Robert Caret is resigning to become chancellor of the University System of Maryland.

BAKER continued from page a1

tomorrow is going to be better than today,” Baker added in his address. “I say that not just because I believe it, but because I believe in it.” Junior Brian Jing said he hopes to see Baker decrease unemployment, while Yunus said she wants to see a change in educa-tion, agreeing with some of Baker’s statement about the importance of high-performing public charter schools. And while Baker said he was hopeful for the future, he made it clear there is more to be done. “We’re nowhere near our full potential,” he said in his speech. “Some of our tough-

est challenges have been ignored and lost amid the successes. Or have become the equivalent of kicking a can down the road because they’re not politically con-venient or easy to fix.” “I agree,” Jing said. “I feel you should always strive to be better.” But some UMass stu-dents are skeptical. “Obviously we have our shortcomings but I think that is being a little too pes-simistic,” Yunus said. “I think he should be focus-ing on good stuff about Massachusetts too.” In Hampshire County, Charlie Baker earned only 34.9 percent of the vote

during the 2014 gubernato-rial election, but won with 48.5 percent of the total Massachusetts vote. Yet despite the mixed opin-ions across the state, many UMass students agreed they will just have to wait and see what the future holds. “I have a lot of concerns, but at this point you just have to see how it plays out,” Morris said. “Generally, our Republican governors have been really good,” Yunus said. “I’m hopeful.”

Jaclyn Bryson can be reached at [email protected] and followed on Twitter @MackyMouse93.

UMass to replace textbook annex with Amazon store

By AvivA LuttreLLCollegian Staff

A new contract between the University of Massachusetts and Amazon.com will soon make the Textbook Annex a thing of the past, replacing the brick-and-mortar store with a vir-tual bookstore that is expect-ed to save students money. This will be Amazon’s first online university store in the Northeast and its third in the nation, accord-ing to a UMass press release. The deal is expected to save students 30 percent com-pared with current prices on course materials, with potential savings adding up to about $380 per student. It will also provide free, one-day shipping to campus and surrounding communities. “We know students struggle with the high cost of textbooks and other course materials, and they have been moving to online purchasing,” said James P. Sheehan, vice chancellor of administration and finance at UMass, in the release. “We are delighted to help them get the most competi-tive prices and first-rate ser-vice.” Beginning in May, stu-dents will be able to order and rent textbooks, digital textbooks and other course materials through Amazon or through personalized

links in SPIRE, according to the release. Amazon will also include course and sec-tion information on custom-ized product pages to make finding textbooks easier for UMass students. The University’s five-year contract with Amazon will provide free ship-ping to campus, as well as to addresses in Amherst, Hadley, Northampton, Pelham, South Deerfield and Sunderland. “For years we’ve offered students low prices on everything from textbooks to electronics to dorm essen-tials on Amazon,” said Paul Ryder, vice president of media and student programs at Amazon, in the release. “We’re excited to team up with UMass to bring a new bookstore experience to campus that saves students money and makes it more convenient to get the course materials and other school supplies they need.” The University’s 8,553-square-foot textbook annex will be replaced by a staffed 3,000-square-foot Amazon pick-up location in the Campus Center in June, according to the release. Students will also be able to pick up their orders from Amazon Lockers at residential areas on cam-pus. Additionally, Amazon Student and Amazon Prime members at UMass will be

eligible for free one-day pick-up on other items purchased through Amazon.com when shipped to the new Campus Center pick-up location, according to the release. Follett Corp., which man-ages the University Store and textbook annex, will contin-ue to operate the University Store in the Campus Center, which sells clothing, elec-tronics and more. According to the release, UMass officials selected Amazon from six companies that submitted proposals because of its low prices and “superior” customer ser-vice. Amazon will also work with faculty to collect infor-mation on textbooks and course materials each semes-ter, according to the release. It will also provide faculty with an online tool to find, compare and select course materials, and will work with the UMass Libraries and the Online Web-Based Learning program to ensure that professors and students can access free or low-cost course materials on campus. Amazon currently has similar arrangements with Purdue University and the University of California, Davis.

Aviva Luttrell can be reached at [email protected] and followed on Twitter @AvivaLuttrell.

Obama, Republicans clashBy MAtt FuLLer

And HuMBerto SAncHezCQ-Roll Call

WASHINGTON — A revi-talized President Barack Obama and newly empowered Republican leaders are head-ing into Tuesday’s State of the Union address on a collision course. At their joint retreat in Hershey, Pa., Republicans – fresh off triumphant mid-term elections – said they are looking for the president to become a legislating partner – even as they promise bold, or even quixotic, clashes with Obama. But Obama has been on offense, pushing a bolder agen-da while raining down veto threats on the new Congress. And even if many of his initia-tives seem destined to become legislative cannon fodder, his pen-and-phone agenda has been in hyperdrive, most nota-bly with his temporary execu-tive amnesty for millions of immigrants. Obama’s poll numbers have been buoyed in recent weeks amid signs of an improving economy, with the president looking to build momentum heading into what he calls the “fourth quarter” of his presidency. “America’s resurgence is real. Our job now is to make sure that every American feels that they’re a part of our country’s comeback,” he

said in his radio address pre-viewing the speech, adding Congress should join him and stop the “games.” Obama’s agenda, headlined by a push for free community college and middle-class tax cuts paid for by new tax hikes on the wealthy and the biggest banks, represents the initial Democratic ask heading into negotiations over a tax over-haul and the budget. It’s effectively a dare to Republicans to side with the rich or come to the table on fighting income inequality. Either Obama gets an unlike-ly win or Democrats get cam-paign talking points for 2016. Republican leaders have generally panned Obama’s policy rollout, but they are holding out hope for deals on trade, transportation and a tax overhaul later this year and are hopeful he’ll send sig-nals Tuesday that he’s ready to meet them in the middle. Republicans – whose retreat featured speakers like comedian Jay Leno, for-mer British Prime Minister Tony Blair, columnist Peggy Noonan and pollster Frank Luntz - seemed to be angling for a return to the deal-mak-ing 1990s, when Bill Clinton worked with the GOP after they took over Congress. “There’s much we can accomplish for the American people, if the president is

willing to work with us,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said on the Senate floor Friday. But alongside those hopes for productivity, they readily acknowledge some of their most ambitious legislative plans are aimed at showing stark differences ahead of the 2016 elections. “We’re going to take actions where we want to show the country how we would do things differently, pass our bold reform ideas, and know that the president won’t sup-port them,” Ways and Means Chairman Paul D. Ryan told reporters in Hershey. Fundamentally, the two sides remain at odds. Obama wants more spend-ing and higher taxes on the rich; new majority makers like Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, picked by GOP leaders hopeful her heartland demeanor will win over voters, ran a cam-paign ad talking of castrat-ing hogs to demonstrate her commitment to cutting spend-ing and make Washington “squeal.” And Republicans remain concerned about Obama’s pen-and-phone approach as he looks to cement his legacy.“What I’m hoping to hear is the president is going to work with us and not go it alone,” said Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D.


they’re better prepared to enter the aviation work-force,” Collura said. Collura explained that engineering students will have the option of using the Westover facility or staying on campus, where they will be able to view the simula-tion on computers. He said that all related classes will still be taught on campus. Together, UMass and its industry partner M2C Aerospace, a Massachusetts based female-owned small business, will conduct research at the aviation cen-ter. Additionally, UMass is in the process of part-nering with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) on several research projects. They hope to produce new technologies that will “pro-mote efficiencies, safety and economic growth in avia-tion,” according to the press release. “This partnership involv-ing UMass Amherst, NASA and industry will address vital national needs in the aviation sector and help revitalize the Western Massachusetts economy (sic),” Chancellor Kumble Subbaswamy said in the news release. “This is a perfect match for our role as one of the country’s top research universities, apply-ing our expertise to enhance the safety of air travel and foster economic opportuni-ty.’” According to Collura, the aviation center will oper-ate “under the umbrella of the UMass Transportation Center.” Mike Knodler, direc-tor of the Transportation Center, said the addition of the new center also

reflects recent efforts by the Transportation Center to become more “multi-mod-al.” Knodler explained that in the past few years, the Transportation Center has broadened its area of research to include pub-lic transportation, biking, rail travel, etc. However, up until now, he said there hasn’t been much focus on air travel. “We’re really excited about this new center and the opportunities that come with it,” Knodler said in a recent phone interview. The addition of the avia-tion center will provide new opportunities for graduate students who intend to con-duct research, as well as for undergraduates, who may see more aviation-related electives become available. Knodler said that there aren’t many aviation train-ing centers in New England and that the new facility will help meet the demand. According to Collura, one of the next steps is to secure additional research funding. He hopes that either NASA or the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), or both, will contribute fund-ing. Knodler said that the design plans for the build-ing renovation are nearly finished. Collura explained that they need to modernize it to accommodate the com-puter facilities. Both Knodler and Collura expect that the aviation cen-ter will be operational some-time during spring 2016.

Shelby Ashline can be reached at [email protected].

CENTER continued from page a1

Dec. 19 WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama criticized Sony Pictures Entertainment on Friday for retreating on a film that seemingly instigated a devastating cyberattack now blamed on the North Korean government. Amid escalating con-cerns over porous U.S. electronic security, the FBI said it had amassed evidence linking North Korea to the massive hack. Obama denounced the cross-border assault even as he said Sony “made a mistake” in canceling the planned Dec. 25 release of the film “The Interview.” “I’m sympathetic that Sony as a private company was worried about liabili-ties and this and that and the other,” the president said, but “I wish they had spoken to me first. I would’ve told them, ‘Do not get into a pattern in which you’re intimidated by these kinds of criminal attacks.’“ In an interview on CNN after the president’s remarks, Sony Pictures Entertainment CEO Michael Lynton took issue with Obama’s interpreta-tion of what the company did and why. “I don’t know exactly whether he understands the sequence of events that led up to the movie not being shown in the movie theaters,” Lynton said. “Therefore I would dis-agree with the notion that it was a mistake.”McClatchy Washington Bureau

Dec. 20 BEIJING — Denying U.S. allegations that it was behind a cyberat-tack on Sony Pictures as an “unfounded rumor,” North Korea on Saturday proposed a “joint investi-gation” into the hacking that prompted the studio to cancel the theatrical release of the comedy “The Interview,” which centers on a plot to assassinate North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. “We have a way to prove that we have noth-ing to do with the case,” North Korea said in a statement carried by the official Korean Central News Agency, quoting an unidentified spokes-man from the North Korean Foreign Ministry. Pyongyang warned that the “U.S. should bear in mind that it will face seri-ous consequences in case it rejects our proposal for joint investigation and presses for what it called countermeasure(s).” The FBI on Friday blamed North Korea for the cyberattack on the studio, which divulged execu-tives’ salaries, sensitive emails and scripts. The attackers took and released full-length films including “Annie” and “Fury.”

Los Angeles Times

Dec. 21 NEW YORK — The man who gunned down two New York Police Department officers in their patrol car Saturday had a long criminal record in Georgia and Ohio and expressed his anger at police and gov-ernment in “rants” on social media, police said Sunday. Ismaaiyl Brinsley traveled to New York on Saturday after wound-ing his ex-girlfriend in Maryland. He shot the two officers – Wenjian Liu, 32, and Rafael Ramos, 40 – at point-blank range four times as they sat in their patrol car in Brooklyn’s

Bedford-Stuyvesant sec-tion. Just before the killings, Brinsley, 28, told two male witnesses, “Watch what I am doing to do,” Boyce said, adding that Brinsley told the two to follow him on Instagram. He then walked past the officers, circled around and came up behind them, Boyce said. The officers never saw him coming, Boyce said. Boyce said, through surveillance video and eyewitness state-ments, they had been able to track Brinsley’s movements starting in Maryland and up until his suicide on a New York City subway platform.

Newsday

Dec. 28 New York City Police Commissioner William J. Bratton Sunday rebuked members of his depart-ment who publicly turned their backs on Mayor Bill de Blasio at a funeral for a slain police officer. The protest occurred Saturday when the mayor spoke at the funeral of Officer Rafael Ramos, one of two patrolmen killed on Dec. 20 by an assailant who had vowed to avenge the deaths of blacks at the hands of police. The mayor has been criticized by a police union leader and others for some of his remarks about rela-tions between police and blacks, and for his adminis-tration’s closeness with Al Sharpton, the minister and cable television talk show host. Scores of officers turned their backs when De Blasio’s remarks at the funeral were broadcast outside on a giant video screen.

Los Angeles Times

Dec. 29 JAKARTA, Indonesia — The hunt for an AirAsia passenger jet lost over Indonesian waters resumed under gray skies Tuesday after the first full day of searching ended with few clues to its dis-appearance and a grim acknowledgment by one official that “the worst may have happened.” The U.S. Navy said late Monday it was sending a guided-missile destroyer to help other nations in the region look for the air-liner carrying 162 mostly Indonesian passengers and crew. Investigators suspect the plane crashed into the water after losing contact during a severe thunderstorm. The plane departed Surabaya roughly on schedule at 5:35 a.m. Sunday. Indonesian trans-port authorities said the pilot communicated with air traffic controllers at 6:12 a.m. asking permis-sion to take a left turn off the scheduled flight path and climb from 32,000 feet to 38,000 feet to avoid clouds. State-owned AirNav Indonesia, which pro-vides navigation services, approved the left-turn request but relayed the altitude question to Singapore, which said the plane could only climb to 34,000 feet due to other aircraft in the area, the Jakarta Post reported. “But when we informed the pilot of the approval at 6:14 a.m., we received no reply,” AirNav safety and standard director Wisnu Darjono told the newspaper. The plane disappeared from radar at 6:18 a.m.

Los Angeles Times

Dec. 30 JAKARTA, Indonesia — Recovery teams early Wednesday pulled bodies of people aboard Indonesia AirAsia Flight 8501 – including a woman in a flight attendant’s uniform – from the rough, shallow waters of the Java Sea as the three-day mystery over the plane’s whereabouts reached a heartbreaking resolution for the families of the 162 people aboard. The discovery of a metal cylinder, a near-intact blue suitcase and other debris floating about six miles from the plane’s last known location confirmed that the Airbus A330-200 jet crashed into the sea during a thunderstorm and moved the multination search operation into an urgent recovery effort. Indonesian officials said bodies would be taken ashore to a town on Borneo island, where more than 162 coffins had been prepared, before being brought to relatives in the Indonesian city of Surabaya, where the flight originated Sunday morn-ing before vanishing from radar during a two-hour trip to Singapore.

Los Angeles Times

Jan. 5 BOSTON — A federal judge began the search for a jury in the April 2013 Boston Marathon bombing case, holding two prelimi-nary sessions with juror candidates Monday and asking defendant Dzhokhar Tsarnaev to stand and present himself to those who may decide whether he lives or dies. U.S. District Judge George A. O’Toole Jr. has repeatedly rejected requests from Tsarnaev’s legal team to move the trial out of the Boston area, deflecting the lawyers’ insistence that Tsarnaev cannot receive a fair trial in a city still grappling with the worst U.S. terror-ist attack since Sept. 11, 2001. Three people were killed and another 260 were injured when two pressure-cooker bombs exploded near the finish line. Tsarnaev, 21, has plead-ed not guilty to 30 felony charges, including 17 that carry the death penalty, such as using a weapon of mass destruction. O’Toole said the jury – not he, the lawyers, the press or the local commu-nity – will decide whether Tsarnaev is guilty, and if so, whether he should be sentenced to death or spend the rest of his life in prison, without the possi-bility of parole. “What you do need is a commitment to justice,” he told the potential jurors, 1,200 of whom will be sum-moned this week. The chosen 12 jurors and six alternates must show that they would be willing to sentence Tsarnaev to death if the government proves beyond a reason-able doubt that he and his older brother, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, were responsible for the twin bombings. Tribune Washington Bureau

Jan. 6 WASHINGTON — The first Republican-controlled Congress in eight years got off to a rocky start Tuesday after a brazen revolt by GOP conservatives failed to oust House Speaker John A. Boehner but cast a familiar shadow over his ability to lead the embold-ened majority. Boehner ultimately won the opportunity to return as speaker with the biggest

GOP delegation since the World War II era, but the surprisingly robust effort to topple him was just as historic. In all, 25 rank-and-file Republicans withheld their support, more than twice as many as during a similar 2013 coup attempt and the highest number of party defections in a speak-er’s race since 1923. The dramatic opening, occurring on an otherwise heady, ceremonial first day of the 114th Congress, renewed doubts about the Republican Party’s ability to implement its agenda, despite an impressive showing in the November election. Acknowledging the difficulty ahead as a Republican-led House and Senate prepare to confront President Barack Obama, an upbeat Boehner told colleagues they could still accomplish big goals.

Tribune Washington Bureau

Jan. 7 PARIS — Gunmen struck the heart of Paris with a commando-style execution of a dozen people Wednesday at the offices of a satirical magazine that had carica-tured the Muslim prophet Muhammad, angering the Islamic faithful with its taunting push against the boundaries of free speech. The dead are the chief editor of the Charlie Hebdo weekly, Stephane Charbonnier, nine others at the magazine office and two policemen. One of the officers was gunned down in the street by the masked attackers as their escape was captured on video broadcast by French televi-sion. Attacks by outraged Islamic militants had been threatened for years, and the raid on the magazine offices in the shadow of the Bastille monument shat-tered the nervous calm and creeping complacency that had settled over the French capital in the absence of major terrorist attacks since Charlie Hebdo’s pub-lication of controversial cartoons in 2011. “#JeSuisCharlie” – I am Charlie – became a rallying cry among journalists and average citizens who took to social media by the tens of thousands to send mes-sages expressing horror at the deaths and support for the magazine’s provocative lampooning of religious and political leaders.

Los Angeles Times

Jan. 9 PARIS — Three days of terror that left at least 20 people dead across greater Paris ended vio-lently Friday when police stormed a suburban print-ing plant and killed two brothers with al-Qaida con-nections as a nearly simul-taneous raid in the capital took out an accomplice holding hostages. SWAT team commandos shot to death Said Kouachi, 34, and Cherif Kouachi, 32, as they attempted to flee the print shop in the small town of Dammartin-en-Goele near Charles de Gaulle Airport, authorities said. The Kouachi brothers, suspects in Wednesday’s massacre at the Charlie Hebdo satirical magazine, were killed as they exited with a blaze of automatic weapons fire.

Los Angeles Times

THE PAST FIVE WEEKS:A RECAP

By Michael a. MeMoliTribune Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON — Citing the words of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., Vice President Joe Biden said Monday that the U.S. needs to “bridge that separation” that exists between law enforcement and communi-ties of color and suggested a return to “genuine commu-nity policing” to restore trust between the two. In a possible preview of recommendations coming from the president’s so-called Task Force on 21st Century Policing, Biden recalled a major component of the 1994 crime bill he wrote was an infusion of billions in federal dollars to help hire 100,000 new police officers through what was known as the COPS program. Funding for that program has dropped by 87 percent since 1998. “That means fewer cops in the streets, in the neighbor-hoods, building recognition, trust – seeing one anoth-er,” Biden said at a Martin Luther King Day breakfast in Wilmington, Del. “The result - more separation, less communication, more hos-tility, and a place for crime to thrive in a neighborhood (where there) are decent and honorable people.” Biden used the holiday speech to discuss the polariz-ing political issue, presenting himself as a bridge between the two camps by playing up his reputation as a law-and-order politician and his per-sonal connection to the local black community without which, he said, he “wouldn’t have this job.” “I know when I see the decency and the honor and the dignity that exists in each of the communities of this

city, they’re a reflection of the decency all of you repre-sent,” he said. “But through that same period of time I’ve also worked with thou-sands of honorable women and men wearing a uniform. ... And at times I’ve seen in their eyes the uncertainty and fear that comes with being asked to put their lives on the line, them wondering, ‘Who has my back?’“ He said Americans all need to agree on two points: that “cops have a right to go home at night” and that minorities “no matter what the neighborhood, have a right to be treated with respect and with dignity.” Weeks after he attended a funeral service for one of two New York police officers who were murdered in the line of duty, he noted that both were minorities - and that in fact the city police department is now a majority-minority force. “They had a humanity that was denied them by an assassin’s bullet, who judged them by the color of the uni-form they wore, as Dr. King would say, not by the content of their character,” Biden said. President Barack Obama formed the policing task force in December in the wake of violent confronta-tions between law enforce-ment and individuals protest-ing the death of an unarmed black man, Michael Brown, in Ferguson, Mo. Its recom-mendations were to be deliv-ered in 90 days. In addition to beefing up community policing pro-grams, Biden said the com-mission was looking at ways to increase diversity in police forces, increase the use of technology like body cameras, and new training methods that would educate officers “how to respond to dangerous situations with-out inflaming them.”

Biden tries to unify police and citizensCommunity policing promoted by VP


Not surprisingly, the face of the newly inaugurated United States’ 114th Congress is a

face of privilege: male, white, Christian and wealthy. What does this mean for citizens who do not fit these criteria? It means that the rest of us are severely underrepresented in lawmaking in a country that considers itself the ultimate upholder of democratic values. According to The Washington Post, about 80 percent of the members of the 114th Congress are men while only 20 percent are women. Of course, this does not reflect our nation’s reality. Women are not a minority in American society, making up just over half of the population and 64 percent of the electorate. Yet in Congress, the voices of women are far and few between. Drastic under-representation aside, this num-ber has increased from nearly zero in the 1960s, but has gone up only slightly in the past 15 years. As for race, House members are 79.8 percent white, and the Senate is 94 percent white. Only 10.1 percent of the House and two percent of the Senate is black, 7.8 percent of the House and 3 percent of the Senate is Hispanic, and 2.3 percent of the House and one percent of the Senate is Asian.

According to Pew Research Center data, people without religious affiliations are also hugely underrepresented in Congress. While 20 percent of Americans do not have religious affiliations, only 0.2 percent of Congress, one Congresswoman, reflects this trend. While 92 percent of Congress is Christian, 73 per-cent of American adults con-sider themselves Christians. Half of representatives in Congress are millionaires, while one in sixteen house-holds are worth one million dollars. I should also mention that the 114th Congress is also the most diverse Congress in American history. Lack of diversity in the leg-islature is an issue because it means that the interests of these underrepresented groups may not be heard or considered by lawmakers. This is not a liberal or conservative issue; it is a serious flaw in our democ-racy. In theory, lawmakers should represent voters, but when mainly wealthy white Christian males dominate the political scene, the views of oth-ers (minorities, women, non-Christians or the middle class) may be illegitimated. Whether this illegitimiza-tion is intentional or not is not the question. American dissat-isfaction with lawmakers is evi-dent, and this may be a result

of privileged lawmakers’ dis-connection from the American public. Voter turnout is decreasing, and it may be because individu-als consider their votes to be insignificant. Only 36.6 percent of eligible voters actually voted in the 2014 midterm election, and only 22 percent of voters were minorities. When citizens do not see their votes making impacts or when their con-cerns are not reflected through lawmaking, there is no reason to vote, representing a flaw democracy that does not truly reflect citizens’ views. Disapproval of Congress is extreme. According to a Dec. 2014 Gallup poll, only 16 per-cent of people approve of “the way Congress is handling its job,” and 81 percent of people in September 2014 said that most Congress members were out of touch. Americans are clearly dis-satisfied and underrepresent-ed in Congress, but how can this be fixed? Creating more incentives to vote (such as a tax deductions for voters) could result in higher voter turnout but may not change citizens’ approval ratings of Congress. But if more eligible voters participated in elections, there may be more responsibility inherently placed on Congress members. For example, issues regarding race would need to be considered more heavily

since the number of constitu-ents would increase and would hopefully be more diverse. The other solution is sim-ply encouraging more diversity in politics by improving edu-cation, particularly in urban areas with failing school sys-tems and large minority popu-lations. Reducing the cost of higher education could also allow more minorities and middle or lower-class citizens to receive a college diploma. This may improve economic inequality by assuring that a quality education is not only intended for wealthy white chil-dren, but for everyone (hence President Obama’s recent proposal to make community college free). This could even-tually allow for more political representation and increased voter turnout because educat-ed citizens are more likely to vote. The new Congress may be the most diverse in American history, but this does not even come close to representing the demographics of our society. This lack of diversity and abun-dance of wealth in politics may be contributing to Americans’ dissatisfaction with lawmak-ers. In an improved democracy, I must hope that as a woman, my vote starts to become more valuable.

Brianna Zimmerman is a Collegian colum-nist and can be reached at [email protected].

Brianna Zimmerman

Congress still doesn’t look like America

Ask any public school student between the ages of nine and eighteen about their

thoughts on standardized test-ing and chances are they’ll all say something along the lines of “it’s a total waste of time,” despite the strong measure of accountability they offer on a national scale about school and student performances. It seems as though some Republican Senate aides share the same outlook about these tests; in fact, the aides are working on a bill that “would leave deci-sions about testing schedules up to states” and nullify the fed-eral mandate for annual testing with the reauthorization of the No Child Left Behind Act that’s due later this year. It’s a sugges-tion that’s favorable for educa-tion organizations, but not so much for civil rights organiza-

tions, a problem that will resur-face when the decision is made. The idea is still in its infan-cy. But that’s not stopping people from constructing their own alternatives to standard-ized tests. NPR reports that the growing concern over stan-dardized testing from its incep-tion back in 2002 is “the num-ber of tests kids take and the time they spend taking them.” The network also provides us a detailed list of testing meth-ods that could fill in for these tests, with significant emphasis on the social and behavioral aspects of learning and less on the technical skills like math-ematics and grammar. It’s hardly a surprise. Surely the lack of attention given to the arts and critical thinking skills in schools is detrimental to a student’s academic growth, but can we just lift standard-ized tests straight off from their ever-growing, ever-unyielding

roots? Texas House Bill 5 lim-ited the number of benchmark exams for public schools at the district level, but individual campuses are still holding fast to the practice in fear of being left behind. Schools want to diversify their academics to include social and emotional skills, high-order thinking and student learning on national tests, but any pioneer is sure to be lost in a system obsessed with efficiency. Public schools just can’t afford that loss. I feel that standardized tests are a time-consuming insults to my intelligence, but I’ve been privileged enough to graduate from a high school of a higher standing. Funding based on Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) scores was inconsequential for my hometown, but that’s not the case for everyone. I hope Congress has a solid backup plan if they erase these tests,

or that we can find a balance between logic and creativity for future exams. So is it fair to say that the No Child Left Behind Act killed innovative practices in schools, replacing them with exam-ori-ented syllabi? Perhaps. Sure, it may be a waste of time for almost everyone involved, but higher performing schools gain more funding from the state, which in many cases can be the only source of funding for that entire district. New age schools and their students can afford to be pretentious and complain about standardized tests, but if critics have an alternative that’s as widely accountable as testing and has the potential to be practiced across the nation, I’m all ears.

Noosha Uddin is a Collegian contributor and can be reached at [email protected].

Noosha Uddin

‘Death to standardized testing’

Speech is perhaps the sin-gle most important byprod-uct of liberty. People often

say that actions speak louder than words but forget the fact that words themselves are indeed actions. In a 1775 let-ter to Representative Archibald Stuart, Thomas Jefferson wrote, “I would rather be exposed to the inconveniences attending too much liberty than those attending too small a degree of it.” While those words were written over two hundred years ago, their mean-ing still seems to echo similar sentiment in today’s world. The attack on the French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo comes at a very con-tentious time. Whether it is the continued grief over the beheadings of journal-ists James Foley and Steven Sotloff over the summer or the systematic beheadings of 75 Syrian soldiers in mid July, the spread of global jihad has left many perplexed as to how to effectively resolve such trag-edy and devastation. But while watching news feeds reporting on the world’s most recent ter-ror attack, another issue – one I wouldn’t have considered to be part of the national conversa-tion – began to surface. The focus seemed to change from the Kouachi brothers killing 12 people, two of which

were police officers, and injur-ing 11, to a discussion about censorship and appropriate speech. Charlie Hebdo, a news-paper known for pushing the envelope of political satire and particularly for publishing car-toons depicting the prophet Muhammad, lost 10 journal-ists. Charlie Hebdo editor Stephane Charbonnier, known as Charb, was killed in the attack and had a strong-held belief system regarding free speech rights. When the mag-azine received death threats for depicting the prophet Muhammad in 2012, he told the French newspaper Le Monde, “I’d rather die standing than live on my knees.” The sanctity of speech is important to those that dedi-cate their lives to it. Many have argued that we as a soci-ety should understand speech within its proper context. Therefore, we must under-stand Charlie Hebdo through the lens of a satire. Satire, like so many other forms of humor, is used to shed light on events and issues that are important to people. Part of satire is to shed light on the stupidity of seriousness when it comes to certain issues and the taboo qualities they may possess. The Colbert Report, for example, can be thought of as a nine-year satire on con-servative political ideology. And while some vehemently

disagree with the premise of the show and might even take offense to Colbert’s style of delivery, no one is trying to kill Stephen Colbert, or any of his writers. All democracies should have this country’s first amendment. But again, others in our society have diverted away from the real issue of terrorism, and instead moved towards the issue of permissible speech, a debate that seems unneces-sary. And of course, the issue of what is and isn’t permissible should not be decided by ter-rorists. To concede to the real hat-ers, the Islamic fundamental-ists who practice and profess the views of radical Islam, and to then appease their viewpoint through censorship is not how a democracy should be run. Rather, we should protect all speech regardless of whom it may offend. Since the attack occurred, people have used the words ‘blasphemous’, ‘provoca-tive’ and ‘offensive’ to describe the kinds of cartoons Charlie Hebdo published. But what we have to remember is that blasphemy is in the eye of the beholder and can be consid-ered a byproduct of satire. The events that unfolded should not initiate a dialogue about whether it is okay to depict the prophet Muhammad, but how we can live in a free society where people are not killed for expressing their opin-

ions and ideas. The truth of the matter is this: there is nothing specific in the Quran saying that you can’t depict the proph-et Muhammad. Disagreements, however upsetting or unnerv-ing they may be, should stop at disagreements. Censorship is something that will ultimately never be achieved in part because of the varieties of interpretation that arise from any given issue. The countless French citizens holding up signs saying “I am Charlie” are not so much sup-porting news venues which print cartoons depicting the prophet Muhammad as they are fighting for the right to pro-tect speech of all kinds. The words of Patrick Henry in his speech that became known as “Give me Liberty or Give me Death” still seem to resonate today: “If we wish to be free if we mean to preserve inviolate those inestimable privileges for which we have been so long contending if we mean not basely to abandon the noble struggle in which we have been so long engaged, and which we have pledged ourselves never to abandon until the glorious object of our contest shall be obtained, we must fight!” To be offended is one thing. To take away someone’s right to be offensive is another.

Isaac Simon is a Collegian columnist and can be reached at [email protected].

Isaac Simon

Terrorizing free speech

Opinion EditorialEditorial@DailyCollegiancomTuesday, January 20, 2015

THE MASSACHUSETTS DAILY COLLEGIAN

“Our summers of riots are caused by winters of delay.” - Martin Luther King, Jr.

The Massachusetts Daily Collegian is published Monday through Thursday during the University of Massachusetts calendar semester. The Collegian is independently funded, operating on advertising revenue. Founded in 1890, the paper began as Aggie Life, became the College Signal in 1901, the Weekly Collegian in 1914 and the Tri–Weekly Collegian in 1956. Published daily from 1967 to 2014, The Collegian has been broadsheet since January 1994. For advertising rates and information, call 413-545-3500.

EDITOR IN CHIEF - Nick CanelasMANAGING EDITOR - Patrick Hoff

MANAGING EDITOR/DAILYCOLLEGIAN.COM - Conor Snell

Business Manager - Omer SanderAdvertising Manager - Andrew CarrDistribution Manager - Nick GoriusAdvertising Production - Nick Damren

BUSINESSProduction Manager - James Desjardin

Special Issues Manager - Randy Crandon

GRAPHICS

NEWSNews Editor - Aviva Luttrell

NEWS ASSISTANTS

Catherine FerrisMarie MacCune

Jaclyn Bryson

OPINION & EDITORIALOp/Ed Editor - Zac Bears

Maral Margossian

Op/Ed ASSISTANTS

Ian HagertySteven Gillard

ARTS & LIVINGArts Editor - Cory Willey

Alex FrailARTS ASSISTANTS

Jackson MaxwellSarah Robertson

SPORTSSports Editor - Mark Chiarelli

SPORTS ASSISTANTS

PHOTOGRAPHYPhoto Editor - Cade Belisle

Araz HavanPHOTO ASSISTANTS

Robert Rigo

PRODUCTION CREW on s ta f f f o r th i s i s sue

NIGHT EDITOR - Nick Canelas | Patrick Hoff

COPY EDITOR - Collegian Staff

WEB PRODUCTION MANAGER - Christina Yacono

NEWS DESK EDITOR - Aviva Luttrell

Op/Ed DESK EDITOR - Zac Bears

ARTS DESK EDITOR - Cory Willey

SPORTS DESK EDITOR - Mark Chiarelli

COMICS DESK EDITOR - Tracy Krug

GRAPHICS DESK EDITOR - James Desjardin

Anthony ChiusanoAndrew Cyr

Ross Gienieczko Christina Yacono

Comics Editor - Tracy KrugOp/Ed Producer - Claire Anderson

COMICS

News Producer - Christina Yacono Sports Producer - Marc Jean-LouisArts Producer - Robert Rigo

t h e m a s s a c h u s e t t s D a i ly C o l l e g i a n

Kate Leddy

GRAPHICS ASSISTANTS

Avery CampbellCaroline O’Connor

Social Media Coordinators - Charlotte Hoff | Ariel KallenbachSOCIAL MEDIA

Noa Barak

Anthony Rentsch

As Matt Yglesias at Vox noted in December, Barack Obama has been the most successful president since

Lyndon Johnson. He passed huge new legislation that has helped to control health care costs, a prob-lematically large percentage of our economy, while insuring a near-record percentage of Americans. But with the media focusing the public gaze on scandal and image, they barely noticed student loan reform, military reform, the great-est pro-environmental record of any president, the most diverse execu-tive cabinet and staff of all time or the record number of judicial appointments. Not to mention the increase in Democrat-nominated majorities on the 13 U.S. Appeals Courts from one to nine or the exec-utive action on the large number of undocumented persons languishing in the nation’s shadows. This status gives him immense power over the next two years. Republicans, still playing from a weakened position and having inter-nal discord both at party headquar-ters and now on two sides of the U.S. Capitol, will only play into Obama’s political hand, allowing him to box them in on every issue, no longer having to kowtow to a third power center in Harry Reid. Now it’s Obama vs. Republicans. The Democrats in the minority are far more united, allowed by GOP gerrymandering in the House, the Blue Dog evisceration of 2014 and a strong 2016 Senate map to con-solidate into a more liberal faction without facing the splintering that the GOP has faced when moving more rightward. Economic numbers for the aver-age citizen are not promising. In 25 years, national GDP has gone up 83 percent. Profits have doubled as a percentage of the economy and worker productivity has doubled. So what have workers seen in return for a generation of corporate prof-its? The median wage is down in 81 percent of U.S. counties over the past 15 years. Democrats across the country can rally around a message that corporations have too much power. Unfair competition hurts small businesses around the country, as

we’ve seen with Walmart decimat-ing the mom-and-pop shop indus-try. On average, people work more hours and make less money, and profits are still on the rise. Unjust practices on Wall Street caused homelessness, unemploy-ment and poverty, and yet no one is in jail and they have insiders in Congress, like Trey Gowdy, and the Treasury Department, where ‘Goldman Sachs’ on a resume seems to be an employment guarantee. Banks are still risking public and private retirement money on stock market gambles. Streamlining regulation for small businesses, means taking thousands of outdated regulations off of the books, but not making it easier for big corporations to gobble up competitors and use market share and power to outcompete everyone. That’s bad for innovation. It’s also anti-capitalist, even in purely neo-classical theory.

Small businesses, particularly newly founded ones, drive American success. Recent research into small businesses shows that firms less than one year old offered almost all new jobs over the last 30 years, as Derek Khanna discussed in a May 2014 “American Conservative” article. The data show that “exist-ing businesses,” more than one year old, lost about one million jobs per year, while new businesses added three million jobs per year. Clearly, continuing down the path of corpo-rate consolidation won’t be the key to boosting job prospects or raising incomes. The biggest barrier to wage and job growth in the U.S. is not the federal government, which has seen a drastic shift in regulatory policy as American politics have moved rightward, but the growth of cor-porations and big business through consolidation. As large corporations gained more influence in the 1980s and 1990s, they attacked campaign finance laws, further opening the political avenues for increasing the return on lobbying while reducing the return on investment. The public nature of profit endan-

gers America’s economy. Corporate leaders now need the best lobby-ists and the best workers, the best government relations team and the best R&D team. That hampers innovation. Small businesses, where all job growth comes from, cannot hire a lobbyist. The next Apple in a Los Altos, California garage can-not partner with a government rela-tions firm. Khanna calls these issues to attention for Republicans for an obvious reason: they would be incredibly popular. But getting the anti-government activists, of whom the GOP establishment is very afraid, on-board may be impossible. Regulating the economy for innova-tion is not libertarianism. Creating an economy that supports small businesses is not in the interests of the major party corporate backers. But the GOP establishment and message machine is far more inter-twined with corporations than the Democratic Party. And Republicans have not had a truly pseudo-popu-list message since the 1994 Contract with America, while Democrats often only win as candidates of the people, like Obama and Bill Clinton. Democratic candidates, activists and voters can campaign for roll-ing back the corporate takeover of America, an American deal that returns economic power to the peo-ple on economics, small business, cutting regulations and retirement, and shows the people that govern-ment can be used as an instrument of good. Khanna talks about making the GOP the party of innovation. I think the Democrats need to get there first, and realize that a people’s con-tract making the business environ-ment fairer and more competitive is good for wages, innovation, civic responsibility and respect for gov-ernment and its service of the pub-lic good. Using the congressional minority to work with an empowered Obama to create a real Democratic message for 2016 that Elizabeth Warren or Hillary Clinton could rally around? That’s the lesson of 2014.

Zac Bears is the Opinion & Editorial Editor and can be reached at [email protected].

Zac Bears

Hey Dems: Support new small business. Fight inequality. Win.

“Now it’s Obama vs. the Republicans.”

“From 2006-2011, Muslims comprised 82-97 percent of terrorism-related fatalities, and Muslim

majority countries “bore the greatest number of attacks involving 10 or more deaths.”

Where’s the ‘national dialogue’

on terrorism? Meaningful discussion of terrorism and its implications appears to have been replaced

in the United States with a ques-tion: “are all Muslims terror-ists?” This is an asinine question, which adds no value to any dia-logue, and which Democrats and Republicans in the media enter-tain every time innocent people die because of terrorism. While France made sure to project unity among its people against terror, gathering and marching in support of the fall-en at every opportunity, citizens of the United States sat at home wringing their hands and ponder-ing whether there is a “Muslim problem.”

Worse still, an acceptable response to generalizations about Muslims and terrorism appears to be separating Islam from ter-rorism entirely. The result is a complete lack of dialogue, and a lack of any demonstrable sympa-thy for the victims of these attacks from U.S. media. Islam and terrorism in the modern world, at least for now, have an intertwined destiny and relationship. Radical Islamic terrorism does not comprise a small percentage of violence due to terrorism. Sunni extremists accounted for 70 percent of the fatalities caused by terrorism in 2011, according to the National Counterterrorism Center. Furthermore, Muslims bear the brunt of terrorist attacks across the globe. From 2006-2011, Muslims comprised 82-97 percent of terrorism-related fatalities, and Muslim majority countries “bore the greatest number of attacks involving 10 or more deaths.” Terrorism done in the name of jihad is particularly violent, and particularly prevalent in the mod-ern world. So even though it is particularly provocative phras-ing when Sean Hannity and Bill O’Reilly call international terror-ism a “Muslim problem,” the fact is that Muslims are the people who bear the real burden of inter-national terrorism. To reduce all terrorists to the lowest common denominator (a terrorist is a ter-rorist and nothing more) is to sab-otage any nuanced approach to combating terrorism done in the name of Islam. As a pointless war of seman-tics rages on in the United States, through both televised and social media, world leaders have made a clear stand on terrorism. David Cameron, shortly after a three million strong rally for solidar-ity in Paris, called radical Islam a “fanatical death cult.” According to the Prime Minister of France, Manuel Valls, France is at war “against terrorism, against jihad-ism, against radical Islam.” There is no solidarity in the United States regarding terror-ism, despite the promises made on behalf of the American people to

other nations that we would be the vanguard of counter terrorism. Next month there will be an “anti-extremist conference” held by the White House, apparently meant to discuss extremism within immi-grant communities abroad. This is laughable. After eight years of being president, Barack Obama and his administration have shown a poor understanding of terrorism. This lack of understanding has made the world less safe in very concrete ways. Libya has splin-tered into a hotbed of terrorist activity and civilian casualties. Obama has dropped the Syrian Civil War as a topic of discussion, even though this is the true epi-center of radical Islam and terror-ist activities at the moment. This is probably due to the “red line”

debacle that effectively restricted U.S. involvement in Syria indefi-nitely. And yet, when millions rallied after the attack in France, nobody represented the United States in that show of solidarity. Angela Merkel, Francois Hollande, David Cameron, Benjamin Netanyahu and Mahmoud Abbas all stood in support of the international war on terror. Barack Obama “revealed” that we would be dis-cussing terrorism in February. The United States declared the war on terror, but it could not be bothered to stand with its allies when that war spilled into friend-ly territory. The 24-hour news cycle is an easy target when discussions throughout the country become more about semantics than infor-mation. And yet social media reflects the kind of information people our age seek out. So is your feed populated by statis-tics on where terrorists are from and what they want? Is it a place where your friends have pondered on the social ramifications of such an attack? My experience thus far, and the experience of my peers, has been pointless debates and obser-vations that delay the inevitable confrontation with what it means to fight terrorism. Maybe #jesuis-charlie isn’t the best hashtag, after all some of the views of that magazine are quite offensive and I could not possibly be those people. We should all be careful not to be hasty, and understand that there are Muslims in Malaysia and Indonesia who aren’t part of international terrorism. Derisive sound bites showing how igno-rant and racist your least favor-ite commentator is. These are the thoughts that populate my feeds, and it is clear that nobody wants to talk about fighting terrorism. As a group, Americans have decided they would rather moder-ate the discussion, telling others what they should and should not believe about terrorism. Hopefully this is a temporary trend.

Julian del Prado is a Collegian columnist and can be reached at [email protected].

Julian del Prado

@MDC_SPORTS [email protected], January 20, 2015


H O C K E Y

THE WAITING GAME After missing the fall semester, the Minutemen’s most

dynamic player has finally arrived.

CADE BELISLE/COLLEGIAN

Brandon Montour (far left) celebrates with teammates after assisting on a goal by Troy Power (22) in UMass’ 6-4 victory over New Hampshire on Jan. 16.

By Jason KatesCollegian Staff

Brandon Montour was among hundreds of players which filed into the Wells Fargo

Center in Philadelphia agonizingly close to their dream of becoming professional hockey players. Once there, he didn’t have to wait long. Surrounded by his family and advisor at the 2014 NHL Entry Draft, Montour’s dream became reality when the Anaheim Ducks selected him with the 55th pick of the draft. It was the highest any member of the Massachusetts hockey team was ever selected, and it happened before Montour ever stepped foot on the ice for the Minutemen. “It was an incredible feeling

that I’ll probably never forget,” the Ontario native said. “Me, my friends and my family used to watch it on TV in years past at home, and to see those guys walk up to the stage and get their jersey and meet the staff, it definitely gave me chills watching them. “For me to actually be there and hear my name called by Anaheim was definitely a moment I’ll never forget.” UMass coach John Micheletto, who made the trek to Philadelphia alongside assistant Joey Gasparini to be there, thought it was a won-derful moment when Montour’s name was announced. “It was nice to be there and nice to witness,” he said. “You know, you go through a period of rewards for the hard work and sacrifices that both the player and parents

make over time. Obviously, get-ting committed to school was a big one for Brandon and his family, to make sure he would get an educa-tion. “Being drafted where he was, it was a really special moment for Brandon and his parents.” Montour spent a week at Ducks rookie camp and was prepared to bring his game to Amherst. But the wait to see the Minutemen’s newest star would be longer than usual.

Easy Choice Despite Montour’s impressive capabilities, he was a late-bloomer on many schools’ recruiting radars. UMass targeted him early and capi-talized. It took him just one visit to Amherst to realize UMass was the place he wanted to spend the next

four years of his hockey career. “I always wanted to go to college, and didn’t really want to wait it out and look for another place to go,” Montour said. “I came for a little visit before last year started with my parents, and ever since then I loved it. The coaches were probably a big influence on that. I loved them and everything they’ve done for me. “I think the upside in this (pro-gram) was also a big boost and the facilities here did not make me think twice.” Before receiving the commit-ment, Micheletto recognized Montour’s talent and potential, and knew it would be crucial to get to him before others did. “In the recruiting process, it

UM needs defensive

consistencyI’ve long been a proponent of

the old adage that defense wins championships.

And while the Massachusetts hockey team isn’t in position to be discussed as a title contend-er this season, UMass’ hopes

of finishing 2014-2015 on a positive note and advanc-ing in the Hockey East tournament for the first time in six years rests on its defense. T h e M i n u t e m e n ’ s offense has had its share of prob-lems and incon-

sistencies this season. However, with a variety of players emerg-ing as scoring threats this sea-son – ranging from expected contributors such as Frank Vatrano, Steven Iacobellis and Dennis Kravchenko to more experienced breakout goal man-ufacturers like Shane Walsh – UMass’ offense has shown the potential to stay competitive and put up points. But more often than not, late defensive breakdowns, avoid-able penalties leading to pen-alty-killing situations and care-less turnovers have led to ines-capable deficits and extended losing streaks. The Minutemen have allowed a conference-high 98 goals, 22 more than the next closest team. Of these conceded goals, 45 have come in the final period of play – also a Hockey East high. These third-period blunders have proved costly this season, turning competitive games into easy wins for the opposition, starting in UMass’ season open-er against Boston University. The Minutemen appeared to find momentum heading into the final period against the Terriers, tallying a goal with 47 seconds left in the second to head into the locker room with a manageable 2-1 deficit. But BU hastily reestablished control after the break, scor-ing six unanswered goals and

Coleman, Esho fuel comeback

By MarK ChiarelliCollegian Staff

Zach Coleman arrived at the postgame press confer-ence, stopped, and looked around. He was flanked by his coach Derek Kellogg and two veterans Maxie Esho and Trey Davis, who have fulfilled their fair share of postgame com-mitments during their time with the M a s s a c h u s e t t s men’s basketball team. But this was all new to Coleman. “I don’t know how this goes,” he said as he tried to grab a seat. If he keeps playing like he did Saturday against Rhode Island, he’s bound to get the hang of it. The redshirt freshman scored a career-high 13 points and helped UMass erase a six-point second half deficit en route to a 60-56 vic-tory over URI at the Mullins

Center. “It was very rewarding,” said Esho of Coleman’s play. “Right before I came out of the game I told him ‘Just hold it down.’ And he did exactly that. It was real good for him to do that.” Coleman replaced Esho after the senior forward picked up his fourth foul with nine minutes, 15 sec-onds remaining. After two URI free

throws made it 46-42, Coleman answered imme-diately, making a layup as he was fouled. He hit the free throw to

complete the 3-point-play. But the Rams extended the lead to 53-47 with 6:22 left. Minutemen center Cady Lalanne missed the front-end of a 1-and-1 free throw opportunity two different times as the lead grew. But Coleman brought UMass back. The Minutemen grabbed two straight offensive rebounds which set up a Coleman 3-pointer from the wing to make it 53-50. He forced a steal on the ensuing

possession and dribbled the length of the floor, attempt-ing what would’ve been a thunderous right-handed dunk.Only he hit the front iron as a Rams defender contested it. But Donte Clark grabbed another offensive rebound and the ball found Coleman, who was again camped on the wing, and he drained another 3-pointer. And like that, it was tied, much to the delight of the 5,273 in atten-dance. “It was a great feeling,”

Coleman said. “I was in the moment, and when I saw them I felt good when they left. So I wasn’t surprised with the result.” But he wasn’t done. After Clark gave UMass the lead with the layup, Coleman extended it to two possessions, hitting a fade-away jump shot to give the Minutemen a 57-53 lead with 3:17 remaining. The Rams cut it to 57-56 on a Gilvydas Birutas layup with 90 seconds left. Davis

Minutemen erase second-half deficit

M E N ’ S BA S K E T BA L L

By Matthew ZaCKManCollegian Staff

Many University of Massachusetts students spent their New Year’s bun-dled up inside, tucked away from the frigid tempera-tures. The Massachusetts men’s and women’s swim-ming and diving teams, however, did just the oppo-site. The group of approxi-mately 60 swimmers and their coaches spent a por-tion of their winter break in Puerto Rico. It was not all fun and games, as the goal of the trip was improve-ment. “We improved our con-ditioning, we improved our skills and we improved our strength, power and speed,” men’s coach Russ Yarworth said. “You name it, we improved it.” The teams completed a serious, high-level workout regimen over their 10 day

stay in Puerto Rico. They spent five hours training during the day, which in the eyes of Yarworth brought home a better team than he had during the months leading up to the tropical excursion. “Everyone has really done what I have asked of them and we are starting to make some real big strides, and the progress we have made has been really posi-tive,” Yarworth said. On the women’s team, Molly Smith blossomed over the span of the trip, according to coach Bob Newcomb. “She has been the dis-tance leader since she has been here and she has real-ly done an exceptional job of continuing her training and being able to perform at a very high level during the hard training that we have been doing,” he said Despite the remarkable improvement in the pool, the development of team

UMass heats up in trip to Puerto Rico10-day trip used as training, bonding

S W I M M I N G A N D D I V I N G

see MONTOUR on page B3 see CONSISTENCY on page B3

see URI on page B3


Zach Coleman scored a career-high 13 points in UMass’ victory Saturday.UMass 60

URI 56

see PUERTO RICO on page B3

AnthonyChiusano

THE MASSACHUSETTS DAILY COLLEGIANB2 Tuesday, January 20, 2015 DailyCollegian.com

W O M E N ’ S BA S K E T BA L L

By Frank CoronaCollegian Staff

While students returned home for winter break, the Massachusetts women’s bas-ketball team solidified that it isn’t the same team the school is used to seeing. The Minutewomen (8-9,2-3 Atlantic 10) notched their eighth win of the season Thursday night, beating La Salle 71-68 at the Mullins Center. While it may not seem like much of a milestone, the eighth victory surpassed the accumulated wins of their previous two season combined, and matched the total number of wins from UMass’ 2011-12 cam-paign. Keep in mind, the Minutewomen still have nearly half their schedule left to play. Not bad for a team previ-ously pegged to finish dead last within the conference. “I think in terms of the mixture of talent this is the best group we’ve had in a while,” coach Sharon Dawley said. “We’re having fun which wasn’t always the case and this year I think it shows”. So what’s been the X-factor? Although a lot is going right for UMass – includ-ing, but not limited to, its defensive play keeping them in close games and the con-sistency of veterans Kim Pierre-Louis and Rashida Timbilla – much of the buzz surrounding the team is due to their younger play-ers; most notably freshman Cierra Dillard. “When I heard (Dillard) committed I was ecstatic because I knew the type of player she was and I knew that she could make a dif-ference right away,” Dawley said. “I think my favorite thing about her is that she just loves to play basketball and when it comes to crunch time you just see her out there having fun and that’s really great to see.”Dillard collected some of her first collegiate hard-ware over the winter recess. She was recognized as the Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Week twice in the span of less than a month for the weeks of Dec. 15 and Jan. 12, and was named UMass Co-Athlete of the Week

along with men’s basketball player Maxie Esho on Dec. 16th The freshman earned these awards by breaking her own career records in the process.She set career highs in both points (21) and rebounds (six) during a Dec. 14 victory over Holy Cross, a career high in steals (four) despite a loss to St. Bonaventure on Jan. 3 and surpassed her previous scoring best with 23 points during a loss to St. Louis on Jan.7. Dillard has been a cata-lyst for the Minutewomen offense, and her ability to pick her spots while oppos-ing teams focus primarily on Pierre-Louis is a large rea-son for the team’s success. “The upper classman and the coaching staff have been really great at helping us adjust,” Dillard said. “It’s been a great transition and we have a lot of success due to our coaching staff and our teammates with all of our chemistry.” Dawley is also quick to praise her star freshman. “I like the way we played, the intensity we had,” Dawley said after the Holy Cross game. “Cierra Dillard, a freshman, dropping 21 (points) and six (rebounds) with four assists was also

phenomenal today.” As well as Dillard has been playing, there seems to be a special connection with her and the team’s senior leader. During the Holy Cross game, both Dillard and Pierre-Louis posted career highs to combine for 48 of the team’s 72 points. The two were once again in sync against St. Louis as they combined for 49 points off of an efficient shooting night in which they for a field goal percentage of 59.4 percent. “I feel that we realized in the beginning of the sea-son that we had chemistry even playing pickup and as the season went on my teammates allowed for me to get comfortable on the floor and they opened up my eyes,” said Dillard. “[…] as long as the post players and our guards are on the same page, which they are, it opens up our game.”Dillard isn’t the only young Minutewoman shining for the team, as was evi-dent in the game against St. Bonaventure. Dillard and fellow freshmen Leah McDerment, Maggie Mulligan and Ciara Rosten combined for 28 points, including a career-high scor-ing night for McDerment, who notched 10 points.

Despite the eventual loss, McDerment and Lillard combined for seven points in a critical 9-2 run for UMass that brought the game to within three. A week later, the Minutewomen notched an 18-point win on the road against St. Joseph’s, a game that once again showcased the talented youth on this squad. Dillard had an impressive stat line against the Hawks that included 18 points, four assists, four rebounds and two steals. McDerment added six points, all from the charity stripe. “It’s been a great flow for the last few months, me and all the freshmen are really enjoying it getting playing time,” Dillard said. “It’s a privilege as a freshman just trying to help make a state-ment on the floor and help our upperclassman as much as we can.” While Dawley was keen on this year’s youth from the get-go, the underclass-man have quickly become an integral part of this team’s success and are help-ing UMass raise its overall play. “Our future looks bright and we’re buying into what our coaching staff says and shows us and I believe that as the years go on we’ll have a great program,” Dillard said. “I’m so unbelievably happy and excited to con-tinue with the success of this program.”

Frank Corona can be reached at [email protected].

Cierra Dillard earns praise, accolades

Freshman keys improvement


Cierra Dillard (15) dribbles into the lane against George Washington on Jan. 18 at the Mullins Center.

UMass begins to see progress

By Tom mulherinCollegian Staff

Since the fall semester ended, the Massachusetts women’s basketball team continues to build on its early success with a modest 4-4 record in the previous eight games. With victories over Holy Cross, Boston University, La Salle and Saint Joseph’s, the Minutewomen (8-9, 2-3 Atlantic 10) have reached as many wins as the pre-vious two years combined. UMass won just four games last year and three the year before. The last time the program was so close to a .500 record this late in the season was in the 2008-2009 campaign, where it posted a similar winter break record of 3-5. “The rebuilding process takes a while and a lot of patience,” Minutewomen coach Sharon Dawley said. “It’s looking like the pieces are coming together. Some of these seasons go better once you catch a break, catch momentum, and grab a couple more wins. That’s what we’re trying to do.” As the team enjoys improved success, here are some of the most important things that happened with the team over the break.

Freshmen providing good minutes

With almost a third of the 13-player roster being true freshmen this season, UMass has depended on the younger core to produce opportunities and provide depth. As key veterans Emily Mital and Amber Dillon pro-vide better numbers coming off of the bench, freshmen guards Leah McDerment and Cierra Dillard are left with the responsibil-ity of starting regularly for the Minutewomen, while Maggie Mulligan and Ciara Rosten produce as role play-ers. “(McDerment) has done a great job at the point… and Dillard at the two is a just a special basketball player,” Dawley said of the first-year players. “Maggie Mulligan has been a good sub for us. She’s a good shooter, good passer. An up and coming

post player for us is Ciara Rosten. Solid defender, good rebounder, I think you’ll see more of her in the confer-ence (matchups). “I think all four freshmen are playing extremely well.”

Defense continues to thrive

Along with the improv-ing defensive play of the freshman group, the team as a whole has trended upward defensively since winter break began. The Minutewomen feature good defenders in Rashida Timbilla and Kymber Hill, which has helped them hold opponents to 63.8 points per game, 36.2 defensive rebounds per game and 15.7 forced turnovers per game. “Defensively we’re better,” Dawley said. “We’re add-ing more zones, so I hope to be that team that can show multiple defenses and make people really pause and take time off the clock to see what they’re going to run.” The Minutewomen have no t allowed more than 75 points in a game so far this season.

Kim Pierre-Louis receives A-10 honors

The star senior forward continued to display her offensive dominance in the past month, highlighted by a career-best scoring out-put of 33 points in a win over Boston University. She added 14 rebounds that night and was awarded A-10 Player of the Week in the highest single-game scor-ing total for a UMass player since Melissa Gurile’s 38 points in 1993. When asked about some of the things that have stood out to her about the team in recent weeks, Coach Dawley mentioned the excellence of Pierre-Louis on the offen-sive end and the effort she has put in to improve. “Kim is a great scorer, obviously,” she said. “She’s pretty hard to defend, and had some games where she’s been a great rebound-er as well. She made a com-mitment to conditioning, dropped 56 pounds, and she’s reaping the benefits of making that commitment.” Tom Mulherin can be reached at [email protected].

Catch up with the Minutewomen

“When I heard (Dillard) commited I was ecstatic because I knew the type of player

she was and I knew she could make a difference right away.”

Sharon Dawley,UMass coach

UMass stymied vs. GWUBy Frank Corona

Collegian Staff

The Massachusetts wom-en’s basketball team entered Sunday’s game with high expectations in front of a nationally televised audience. But the Minutewomen were slow out of the gates and it cost them as they fell to George Washington 69-54 at the Mullins Center.` “I walked in today totally expecting to beat these guys,” said UMass coach Sharon Dawley. “I had no doubts that we were going to come out ahead.” `Although the confidence was there for UMass, sloppy play early contributed to a 24-6 deficit with nine minutes, four seconds left in the first half. The Colonials opened in a full court press and forced early turnovers. Even after beating the press, it became evident that the UMass offense was taking a hit after constant defensive pressure from George Washington. “St. Joes has a good press, La Salle has a good press, we see it day in and day out we just have to do a better job,”

Dawley said. “I thought our problem was after the press, then what, I didn’t think we attacked from that point.” Junior forward Rashida Tambilla led the team in rebounding, finishing with 11 boards after collecting four in the first half. She attributed some early miscues to pres-

sure both on and off the court. “It was a big game, any time the No. 1 team in your conference comes to town, and you’re

on T.V. it’s big,” Timbilla said. “Maybe nerves got in the way of that, but it is another game and one that’s a good test of a learning curve for us.” The Minutewomen pulled within eight points with 30 seconds remaining in the first half. “When we got down early we had just as many good shots as they did but they just didn’t fall, so it wasn’t like we weren’t getting to the basket,” Dawley said. “The play never bothered me. This team never quits; they don’t know what it means.” UMass shot just 32 percent in the first half. UMass was more efficient

shooting in the second half (45 percent), but turnovers contin-ued to haunt the Minutemen as the George Washington collected 20 points off of 24 Minutewomen miscues. UMass was also out-rebounded 45-31. “There were a lot of defen-sive plays that I thought we did a really great job with, but then we couldn’t secure the rebound at the end of the play which was problematic and we lost the rebounding war by 14, Dawley said. George Washington opened the second half on a 7-2 run which pushed the lead to 43-28. UMass did not mount a comeback. Kim Pierre-Louis led UMass with 15 points. Despite the loss, Dawley was high on her team’s perfor-mance. “We talk about it in the locker room, the fact that we’re right there, pretty much this was a 10-point difference, we know that we’re right there we had 24 turnovers, a lot unforced, we have to take care of business there and we can’t wait to see these guys in the tournament.” Frank Corona can be reached at [email protected].

GWU 69

UMass 54

THE MASSACHUSETTS DAILY COLLEGIAN Tuesday, January 20, 2015 B3DailyCollegian.com

was readily apparent that he had a tremendous amount of skill, particularly a good skater, and a guy that could provide offense,” Micheletto said. “All of those things pushed us to a point pretty early on to want to pursue Brandon quickly because we thought his ceiling was going to be very, very high and that he was a bit under the radar at that point.” When the Minutemen received the commit-ment, the feeling amongst the coaching staff was of pure ecstasy. He was join-ing a recruiting class that also consisted of Dennis Kravchenko, Patrick Lee, Maddison Smiley and Dominic Trento. “It was good, we were really excited,” Micheletto said. “He and his parents drove down here from where they live in Ontario and spent a better portion of the day and then drove home. When he called to let us know that he wanted to be a part of what we were doing here, we were very excited and knew he would be a big piece of the puzzle moving forward.” The Minutemen were also getting a player rooted within the sport of hockey.

Family Matters

Growing up as the mid-dle child, Montour was always with his two broth-ers, Cameron and Colin. All three were put into skates by their father at a young age, and became a competi-tive trio. “We’re definitely a com-petitive family you could say,” Montour said. “A few broken windows and stuff like that, but it definitely helped us in our growth and our skill level throughout our careers.

“They don’t play too much anymore,” he added, “but they still give me texts and ask me how I’m doing, so it’s good motivation and good to have them with me.” Throughout their child-hood, Cameron said that often there would be when times two of the three boys would be at the other one’s games, which brought them even closer . “All three of us were really close,” he said. “We spent basically every single day together. I’m a couple years older than (Brandon) so we’d watch our young-est brother play, and then we’d be playing so we were together a lot. “Whenever we weren’t actually playing on the floor, we’d be out shooting pucks around the road or playing catch in the yard with lacrosse sticks,” said Montour, who was also a gifted lacrosse player. With the amount of trav-eling required for hockey and lacrosse, there was a big weight on the shoulders of Montour’s parents Tammy and Cameron. To their cred-it, he said they delivered. “From my dad’s stand-point he was always working and traveling far away, so my mom had to do most of the traveling when we were younger,” said Montour. “We were three boys playing lacrosse in the summer and hockey in the winter, so it was definitely busy for her driving us three. “When my dad was around, he’d be all-in, and would come to every prac-tice and game whenever he could, so they take full cred-it and I can’t thank them enough for what they’ve done.”

Delayed Arrival

Montour took an unorth-

odox path to Amherst. Before the season began, the freshman was ruled inel-igible by the NCAA for the entire first semester due to Clearinghouse issues. So he improvised. Montour returned to Iowa to play for the Waterloo Black Hawks – a United States Hockey League team which drafted him a sea-son before and a place he excelled. He did the only thing he knew how to do: he kept working. “It was definitely tough,” Montour said of his time out. “When I was in Waterloo I was just thinking about working on my skills, but as the weeks went on and (UMass) got closer, it was just all excitement. When I finally got here it was unbe-lievable.” Montour racked up the accolades while in Waterloo. He was named both the USHL Defenseman of the Year and Player of the Year in the 2013-14 season. Through 60 games played, Montour recorded an out-standing 62 points, including 48 assists. Playing there, Montour said, was probably the best decision of his life, even though he didn’t know much about where he was going. “I didn’t really know what Iowa was or what to expect from Iowa, but I headed out there last year and loved it ever since,” he said. “The team we had last year was probably one of the better junior teams in the USHL ever. The team and coaching staff helped me as a person and a player.” Montour’s oldest brother, Cameron, knew sitting out was not what Brandon had anticipated, but made sure to let him know to not get down on himself. “He kind of bummed

out because he was pretty excited to start the season,” Montour said. “I just told him to keep his head up and that these things happen for a reason and that he’d be just fine where he was.” Micheletto credited Montour’s ability to handle the unfortunate circum-stance and his willingness to continue his commitment to UMass and college hockey. “He definitely made the best of it,” Micheletto said. “It certainly could have gone south and he could have not used the time to continue to push his game, strictly from a hockey standpoint. “He certainly could have gotten discouraged and not done what academically needed to take place in order for him to be here, starting at the end of the first semes-ter in the fall. “All in all, he took what could’ve been a really dis-couraging and negative situ-ation and did everything he could to make sure that he

was here on campus ready to go to school and ready to play hockey.”

Time to Fly

On Dec. 16, the wait for Montour came to an end. There was a game pitting the Minutemen against con-ference foe Northeastern, and he was able to suit up and put on a Massachusetts sweater for the first time. Eight games later, Montour has already col-lected his first goal and recorded six assists. Micheletto can already tell the freshman will play a major role. “Skating is a real obvi-ous one,” he said regarding some of Montour’s greatest strengths. “You recognize it mostly on the offensive side, and people appreciate the fluid skating and mobil-ity that allows him to play defense and not only be com-mitted to the offensive side of it, but being able to get back and defend.

“He’s a dynamic player and a guy who teams will have to pay attention to.” It is always a transition for players once they get their first taste of Hockey East action, but Montour thinks he’s adjusted well. “It’s been good,” he said. “I think I’m doing a lot of good things but there’s a lot of things I can work on, but that just comes with matu-rity and the games that keep coming. I thought I’ve played well and getting more comfortable with the guys is the biggest thing and getting to see what they like to do and see where they are on the ice, but I think it’s gone well so far.” If these last eight games have shown anything, it is that watching Montour over the next four years will sure-ly bring joy to Minutemen fans.

Jason Kates can be reached at [email protected] and followed on Twitter @Jason_Kates.


Brandon Montour (left) celebrates his first career goal Jan. 2 against Connecticut.

leaving UMass a sour taste to begin the season and the first of many lopsided defeats. A conference-high 14.6 penalty minutes per game has often attributed to these defensive struggles, especially late in games. With accumulations of losses and in-game strug-gles, frustration penalties can become a problem, as senior captain Troy Power admitted following a 4-0 loss to Notre Dame on Dec. 6 in which the Minutemen spent an astounding 48 minutes in the penalty box. However, even after an impressive comeback win the previous night, penal-ties still remained an issue on Jan. 10 against Maine. UMass committed nine penalties, including two 10-minute misconducts, in an uninspiring 3-0 defeat. It’s no secret that penal-ties kill a team’s offensive flow. In addition to put-ting pressure on a defen-sive backline that already shows inconsistencies at full strength, it prevents its offense from going into complete attack mode. This hindrance becomes apparent when examin-ing these two particular games against the Fighting Irish and Black Bears in which the Minutemen tallied their highest pen-alty minutes, resulting in the team’s only two shut-out losses this season. If UMass wants to reach its full potential on offense – and give its defense some much needed aid – then it must limit these trans-gressions. Fortunately for UMass, its defensive performanc-es have improved since resuming play following winter break. With a large chunk of the gauntlet of a Hockey East sched-ule behind them, the

Minutemen have benefit-ted from much more con-sistency. This progress starts with the play in net by Henry Dill. In the weekend series against Maine Jan. 9-10, the freshman goal-tender looked to be in his best form since his first two starts of his UMass career in October after unofficially seizing the starting job. Dill rebounded from December struggles to post 35 saves in a 3-2 victory over Maine. The next day, he responded with 34 saves in a 3-0 defeat in which he only allowed one goal in 5-on-5 play – once again proving the importance of penalty reduction. Dill’s emergence at the beginning of the season provided the Minutemen with a momentary boost and assurance in net. If he can continue to expand on his success to start the new calendar year, the freshman can offer a simi-lar jolt come postseason play. But UMass’ defensive success truly hinges on the efforts in front of Dill or whoever is in net for the Minutemen. The UMass blue line is at its best when it blocks shots and creates turn-

overs to lead to transi-tional opportunities for its array of speedy forwards. While this type of defen-sive performance was evi-dent in wins over inferior teams such as American International College and Air Force, the Minutemen have failed to maintain this high-pressure, aggres-sive approach for a full 60 minutes against the Hockey East’s elite. If UMass truly wants to compete in the postseason, now is the time to translate its in-season adjustments and defensive aggressive-ness into success against some of college hockey’s best programs. With eight out of its last 10 games remain-ing against nationally ranked opponents, UMass now has this chance to make a statement and seek redemption for its early season struggles in Hockey East play. Whether the Minutemen continue to sink or pull off some surprise victories in this challenging stretch ahead largely depends on defensive persistence and execution.

Anthony Chiusano can be reached at [email protected] and followed on Twitter @a_chiusano24.

MONTOUR continued from page B1

CONSISTENCY continued from page B1

missed a 3-pointer on the following UMass posses-sion, but Esho and Lalanne grabbed two separate offen-sive rebounds to extend the possession. Clark hit two free throws to make it 59-56 with 15 seconds left. URI’s E.C. Matthews fum-bled the ball away to Davis on the following Rams pos-session and the Minutemen walked away with a victory. “I thought we made some plays down the stretch to come away with the win,” Kellogg said. “It was nice to see some different guys make some big plays for us.” While Coleman starred in the second half, it was Esho who kept UMass with-in striking distance. He scored a game-high

18 points while grabbing six rebounds and registering three blocks in 23 minutes. He often went toe-to-toe with URI forward Hassan Martin (13 points, four blocks) and single-handedly kept UMass’ offense in the game. “Maxie carried us in the first half,” Kellogg said. “Zach carried us for that stretch and I thought Trey played a nice solid game as far as not turning the ball over.” It was UMass’ seventh straight victory over the Rams. The Minutemen beat URI three different times last season in similarly tight affairs. Clark (10 points) was the only other UMass player to score in double-figures.

Lalanne finished with four points and 10 rebounds. URI guard E.C. Matthews, who averaged 17.7 points per game entering Saturday, was held to 11 points. But UMass dominated Rhode Island on the offen-sive glass, grabbing 18 offen-sive rebounds and scoring 18 second chance points. Yet Kellogg said the play of his Coleman and Esho decided the game. “The one thing is, to get 31 points and seven rebounds from (Coleman and Esho) in 37 minutes, I think was huge for us tonight,” he said. “That was the difference in the game.”

Mark Chiarelli can be reached at [email protected] and followed on Twitter @Mark_Chiarelli.

URI continued from page B1

chemistry grew by leaps and bounds. They were surround-ed by one another for 10 straight days with similar aspirations, which created a common bond. The time the team spent in Puerto Rico was instrumental in enhancing the togetherness of the group. “We do so many things to try and get the team togeth-er,” Newcomb said. “Being in Puerto Rico for those 10 days is one of the best things we do. Everybody enjoys the trip…they spend so much time laying around getting a little sun, finding different places to eat and doing different

things together. It becomes a great bonding experience for everybody.” The team took several afternoons off. In fact, for one of those afternoons the entire team traveled to a beach that neither Newcomb or Yarworth had been to in past Puerto Rico trips. There were opportu-nities for snorkeling and an up-close view of fish and coral. “We have taken them to Old San Juan for shopping and to see some of the beau-tiful history,” Newcomb said. “We have also gone into the rainforest. If the swimmers have little trips that they want to do or see

the island, we allow them to do that as long as it does not affect what they are doing training wise.” Looking forward, both teams will continue their arduous training in antic-ipation of the Atlantic 10 swimming championships that are just around the cor-ner in mid-February. “The goal of our team is to perform at our best for that meet,” Yarworth said. “Our preparation is focused on that and we are finishing training camp and we have a couple more weeks of work-ing on things.”

Matthew Zackman can be reached at [email protected].

PUERTO RICO continued from page B1


UMass has allowed 98 goals this season, 22 more than any other Hockey East Association member.

Arts Living“Holy clam, Batman!” - Guy Fieri [email protected], January 20, 2015


Keeping realistic resolutions

By Beth CormaCk Collegian Staff

At one point in our lives, we have all attempted to become a better version of ourselves in the New Year. We promise ourselves we’ll lose that extra 10 pounds, we promise ourselves that we’ll drop the nasty habit that is procrastination, we promise ourselves to just be better. The problem is, the goals that we set for ourselves to become better are naturally unattainable and unrealistic. Jan. 1 likely isn’t going to be the day that you you’ll give up cookies forever or even keep your room tidy all the time. For most people, it’s just not possible. It’s impor-tant to set goals for yourself, but it’s more important to not set yourself up for failure. Not to say that you shouldn’t strive for greatness, but as students, there are some res-olutions that are far more realistic than others and can aid us in setting up a more successful future.

1. Become better at budgeting your money.

Do you really need those heels? Will you wake up tomorrow morning be pat-ting yourself on the back for buying three rounds of shots for your friends? Budgeting money means something different to all of us. Some people don’t need to worry about buying that extra pair of shoes, while some strug-gle to pay tuition on time. However, we can all agree on one thing: money doesn’t

grow on trees. At some point, we won’t be able rely on our parents to fall back on when funds become scarce. Maybe you don’t have to worry about paying your car insurance or phone bill yet, but setting up a budget plan can help you save for future plans. Whether it be a backpack trip around Europe or an apart-ment in San Francisco, hav-ing money of your own as a safety net is important.

2. Travel. If I could, I would pack my bags tomorrow and buy the next one-way ticket to anywhere. It’s incredible what you can learn about yourself when the familiar doesn’t surround you. Life is easy when you have a set routine in place. Having a routine is safe, it provides a feeling of content. Promise yourself to break that rou-tine in 2015. You don’t have to spend thousands of dollars to travel. You can drive 2 hours out of your way and explore something you’ve never seen before. Allow yourself to be open to what else the world has to offer you and you’d be amazed at the people and places you will find along the way.

3. Stop watching so much Netflix.

I love Netflix as much as the next person, but seri-ously, shut your laptop and go do something. There are hundreds of organiza-tions around campus to get involved with that are far more rewarding than watch-ing “Dexter” or “House of Cards” for countless hours on end. You have the rest of your life to be a couch

potato, take advantage of the minimal responsibilities you have now and pick up a new hobby.

4. Become acquainted with the Rec Center.

Remember those 10 pounds you wanted to lose? You can make it happen. The gym is free for students and this will probably be the only time in your life you’ll have unlimited access to such a nice facility. There are many things in our lives that are out of our control, but the way we treat our bodies is something we can control. Hate the gym? Go for a hike and check out the beauty that western Massachusetts has to offer. You don’t need to completely alter your life-style or strive for a six-pack by graduation, but minor changes can make all the dif-ference.

5. Let them go. Let him go. Let her go. Let anyone go who is no lon-ger holds a fulfilling piece of your life. Moving on from past boyfriends, girlfriends and former best friends is one of the hardest things you can do. By holding on, you’re simply holding yourself back. You’re holding onto your past, something that you shouldn’t define your-self by. Don’t allow anyone to come into 2015 with you who will only constantly remind you of the disappointments of the past. Focus on yourself and your happiness. Letting go doesn’t mean you’re eras-ing your past, it means that you’ve realized that the future holds so much more

Beth Cormack can be reached at [email protected].

Strive for greatness and attainability

L I F E S T Y L E

Dressing functionally and fashionably in the winter

By eriCa GarnettCollegian Staff

In the winter, female fash-ion lovers may think dress-ing warm takes precedence over looking hip and trendy. Truth is, there’s no compe-tition. Fashion is possible and can be functional for the hectic schedules of a college student while still protecting them from the harsh winds and freezing temperatures in easy ways. When it comes to winter coats, a North Face is not a necessity to staying warm, especially on a student’s bud-get. Even a jean jacket can be worn throughout the winter – the key is not the jacket but the layers worn underneath. The simple use of accesso-ries such as scarves, gloves and hats do not have to be of the gaudy, hand knit vari-ety from grandma that your parents always forced you to wear. Popular beanies by the brand Neff can be purchased on Amazon for around $11 and are available in thirty-nine different colors that will be sure to liven up any outfit. The popular store Forever 21 also sells trendy patterned scarves, almost all under $10, perfect to match your hat and gloves. Layering a thin thermal long sleeve shirt underneath a dress, and underlaying that with a thick sweater and a jean jacket can guarantee a combi-nation of warmth and fash-ion. Complete the ensemble pair with fleece-lined tights and cover the tights with

thigh high socks. Although tights may seem like an easy way to catch hypothermia in the winter, for some people they can be warmer because they are so close to the body, whereas pants can let air in. This look is capped off with a beanie, scarf and gloves, and a pair of mid calf boots. For a professional, afford-able and warm alternative to business attire in the winter is again accomplished by the art of layering. Start with a long sleeve thermal shirt under-neath a button up shirt. For a third tier, pick your favorite blazer and wear an infinity scarf, instead of one that is very long or has fringe at the ends, as this suggests a more clean cut appearance. Rather than wearing a beanie to your internship, a wool hat is a sophisticated alternative that still keeps your head cozy, such as H&M’s select styles for $24.95. Choosing black, beige or white would be the most reasonable options in terms of matching to all outfit prints and colors.

After a long day of classes or work, a night on the town is needed. Just as necessary is a warm outfit to survive walking around in single digit weather. Instead of bare legs and open-toed shoes, take your favorite mini skirt and pair it with leggings and tall boots. Complete the look with a cute top of your choice. For another option, start again with a pair of leggings and wear them underneath your favorite pair of ripped jeans. For a pop of color, opt for a colored pair of leggings like purple instead of plain black. Pair with closed toed black pumps and a leather jacket for a sultry and savory look. Long sleeved jumpsuits and romp-ers also serve as easy, weather efficient and affordable looks to go out in. Purchasable at Forever 21 for around $30, you’ll still be able to afford drinks at the bar and wait outside for your cab without freezing.

Erica Garnett can be reached at [email protected].

Stay warm and stylish in the snow

FA S H I O N

Academy Awards nominations continue a tradition of snubs

By alexander FrailCollegian Staff

On Feb. 22, the 87th Academy Awards will air on ABC, but this season promises little surprises or excitement. The nominations, which were announced on Jan. 15, not only failed to offer any under-dog upsets, but also snubbed several legitimate contenders for the coveted film awards. The Oscars, long the target of criticism for its pretentious conceit, didn’t help itself with this round of nominations. Take a look at the Best Picture category. It features four biopics, but only “Selma” was a truly excellent film, while “The Imitation Game,” “American Sniper” and “The Theory of Everything” were mired in the genre’s blander storytelling. Despite “Selma’s” excellence, cour-tesy of a concise and pointed narrative about Dr. Martin Luther King’s historic march to Montgomery, it prob-ably won’t contend with “Boyhood’s” epic charge. The film, director Richard Linklater’s 12-year experi-ment, has become an unstop-pable juggernaut that seems destined for Best Picture. The nominations of “The Grand Budapest Hotel” and “Birdman” are outli-ers here. Wes Anderson, a genius auteur, enjoys his first Best Picture nomina-tion for “Grand Budapest.” Meanwhile, “Birdman,” an

avant-garde, faux one-act play, studies a washed-up actor (Michael Keaton) as he faces his last shot at star-dom. It has the best chance of upsetting “Boyhood,” a possibility compounded by its originality amidst the clut-tered biopic field. Although these biopics are great films, they’re clas-sic Academy bait that clouds the chances for better, fresh-er films like “Gone Girl” and “Nightcrawler.” I wrote last year how “Gone Girl” wasn’t director David Fincher’s greatest effort, but that meant it was still better than almost anything else you’d see. I stand by that statement. Even after the awards-bait rush through December, no film, especially the nomi-nated biopics, topped “Gone Girl.” Adding insult to injury, Fincher received no nod from the Academy. Similarly, “Nightcrawler” missed out big, snatch-ing a single nomination for

Original Screenplay. While well written, the film’s script is actually its weak link. The film itself, Dan Gilroy’s direc-tion, and Jake Gyllenhaal’s performance all stood out far more than the screen-play. A nod for Best Picture or director was unlikely, but Gyllenhaal’s taut perfor-mance of an unhinged lunatic should’ve made the Best Actor list. Only Keaton and Eddie Redmayne (“The Theory of Everything”) might’ve topped Gyllenhaal. Otherwise, no one in the Best Actor race had an edge on him. In this case, his greatest strength might’ve been his greatest weakness. Gyllenhaal, like “Nightcrawler,” was too edgy to survive as Academy bait. Another snub for Best Actor was David Oyelowo (“Selma”), who gave a stellar performance as MLK. Biopic roles often earn many tro-phies – six of the top ten act-ing nods were from biopics. Oyelowo, however, received

no recognition. “Selma’s” director, Ava DuVernay, also saw no Academy recognition. Controversy surrounded her film for its supposed depic-tion of President Johnson’s disposition towards MLK, complaints that have been disputed. You have to wonder if these grumblings dashed her chance. It wouldn’t be the first time the Academy let that happen. 2012’s “Zero Dark Thirty” seemed a shoe-in for Best Picture before peo-ple denounced its depiction of torture, and then its chances went up in a wisp of smoke. DuVernay represents the biggest snub this year. While she probably wouldn’t have won next to Linklater’s 12-year effort or Alejandro González Iñárritu’s mind-bending direction in “Birdman,” her artistic reviv-al of MLK’s pivotal march in the civil rights movement deserved Academy recogni-tion. Like how her lead actor excelled in a field of biop-ics competitors, DuVernay brought style and intrigue to “Selma,” the best biopic this year. The Best Supporting act-ing categories saw more adventurous choices for the Academy. Emma Stone (“Birdman”) gave a perfor-mance that was equal parts unhinged, like when she gets high and berates her father, and powerfully contained, like when she glibly spars with her father’s cast. Both Ethan Hawke and Patricia Arquette scored for their transformation as separated

parents in “Boyhood.” The actors were as subtle as the script, slowly and patiently adding new layers to their characters as a decade came and went. Finally, J.K. Simmons, heretofore a minor supporting actor in films like “Juno,” scored big. The favor-ite in his category, Simmons leveled audiences as Fletcher, a sadistic and abusive mae-stro in “Whiplash.” Beside “Boyhood,” Simmons is the surest lock this year. Of course, this long list of snubs doesn’t detract from the truly excellent films that are nominated. As I said, however, the Academy has long faced criticism for its

predictability, lack of diver-sity and pretension. This field, while containing excel-lent films and performances, strays little from the assumed path that we could’ve pre-dicted it taking. If it had sought those edgier nomina-

tions, the “Gone Girls” and Jake Gyllenhaals of the year, then it would both make the race more interesting to a wider array of film fans and encourage directors, screen-writers and actors to pursue different types of films while maintaining the excellence of Academy bait roles. There have been a few glimmers of hope for shaking up the routine. “Argo” topped “Lincoln” in 2012, “Slumdog Millionaire” over “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” in 2008 and, of course, “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King” in 2003. We’ve seen the Academy encourage films that go against the grain in the past.

Even if they dropped the ball this year, I still have hope for a year when half of the race looks more like “Birdman” than “The Imitation Game.”

Alexander Frail can be reached at [email protected].

87th Oscar’s whiff on important films

F I L M

MCT

David Oyelowo (second from left) was wrongly left off of the Best Actor list.

MCT

JK Simmons’ nomination was a bright spot in a season full of snubs.

COLLEGIAN FILE PHOTO

Don’t get stuck wearing shorts in the coming cold months.

THE MASSACHUSETTS DAILY COLLEGIAN Tuesday, January 20, 2015DailyCollegian.com B5

A year of unusual releases, surprise returns and innovation

By Jackson MaxwellCollegian Staff

2014 was a fascinating year for music. Superstars, up-and-comers and unknowns alike brought fresh sounds to the table, while numerous artists sought to change the very method in which new music is released. U2 placed “Songs of Innocence” in the music library of anyone with an iTunes account, Azelia Banks simultaneous-ly announced and released “Broke With Expensive Taste” and Radiohead front-man Thom Yorke decid-

ed to release his second solo album, “Tomorrow’s Modern Boxes,” through BitTorrent. Extended hiatuses

were broken, as electronic music legend Aphex Twin returned with “Syro,” his first album of new mate-rial since 2001, while soul music’s mystery man, D’Angelo, exceeded all expectations with the sud-den, Dec. 15 release of “Black Messiah,” his first album in 14 years. New arrivals, like FKA twigs and indie rock favorite Frankie Cosmos also made considerable waves, alter-ing the status quo in their respective genres. All in all, a bevy of unique records saw the light of day in 2014. Here are four of the best. Mac DeMarco, a Canadian singer-songwrit-er, first came to the music world’s consciousness in

2012, with the release of his debut album, “2.” “2” estab-lished DeMarco’s style- a mix of jangling guitars, laid-back vocals and whim-

sical lyrics about love, relationships and coming of age. His second album, “Salad Days,” released in April, is more or less a con-tinuation of the ground DeMarco covered on “2”. But, on “Salad Days,” DeMarco sounds more self-assured and wizened, ready to make his music a more personal affair. As such, “Salad Days” is a perfect mix of aloof breez-iness and restrained seri-ousness. DeMarco’s lyrics are grounded in reality, but the not-quite-in-tune gui-tars, light but catchy mel-odies and relaxed tempos exist in a more open world. Though one might think that these two elements contradict each other, they work beautifully together. “Salad Days” can be care-free and positive, but also introspective and solemn. It is the rare sort of album that works equally well in both contexts. March saw the release of The War on Drugs’ mag-nificent third album, “Lost in the Dream.” Recorded over a tumultuous two-year period, “Lost in the Dream” is an expansive masterpiece, with cavern-ous, densely layered songs that take numerous listens to fully decipher. Inspired by the depression and anxi-ety attacks the band’s lead singer and songwriter, Adam Granduciel, suffered during the album’s lengthy recording process, “Lost In the Dream” features a cap-tivating haze of psychedelic guitar leads, glimmering

keyboards and metronom-ic, steady percussion. Granduciel’s dark, tense mental state defines the album’s lyrics. But, the claustrophobic, forebod-ing emotions he expresses create ample room for the album’s massive musical scope. The ten songs on “Lost In the Dream” are almost infinite in scale, with impenetrable, but meticu-lously engineered layers of guitars and keyboards driving each track. The lay-ers are meant to show the overwhelmed mind of the album’s creator, without actually overwhelming the listener themselves. It is an incredibly fine line, but one that “Lost In the Dream” walks with ease. Though musicians and listeners alike are con-stantly proclaiming that rock music is dead, one listen to Cloud Nothings’ third album, “Here and Nowhere Else,” is enough to prove that theory wrong. Released in April, “Here and Nowhere Else” is a visceral listening experi-ence, culling the best of pop-punk, emo and noise rock. Its eight tracks attack the listener with hurricane force, with lead singer/guitarist Dylan Baldi, bass-ist TJ Duke and drummer Jason Gerycz creating a breathtaking wall of noise. But, through the squall, one can easily lose sight of Baldi’s phenomenal song-writing. While the music is strictly in the vein of noise-rock and shoegaze, Baldi’s melodies are entire-

ly distilled from the pop-punk and emo genres. Not only are the eight tracks on “Here and Nowhere Else” breathtakingly intense and enthralling, they are incredibly catchy as well, with choruses that will stick in your head for hours. As both a punk and a rock album, “Here and Nowhere Else” is the full package- experimental, well executed, well played and riveting at every turn. It can be hard to view Mark Kozelek’s music through an objective lens, after his childish, mean-spirited and mostly one-sided feud with Adam Granduciel this past fall. Though the feud revealed the darker side of Kozelek’s character, and significantly damaged his reputation, it failed to damage the bril-liance of “Benji,” the album Kozelek released under the Sun Kil Moon moni-ker on Feb. 11. Through painfully honest vignettes

culled from his own experi-ences, Kozelek ruminates on death, family, aging and love. “Benji” plays out more like a stream of conscious-ness than a set group of stories. Kozelek’s memo-ries branch out from one another, with various char-acters slipping in and out of the album’s narrative. In that way, it works more like our own memories, with one recollection provoking another without warning. Over his omnipresent, pro-digious acoustic guitar play-ing, Kozelek truly bares his soul, and gives the listener an insight not only into his conscience, but a look at his past and how it came to shape the person he is today. As both a cohesive narra-tive and an album, “Benji” still stands as a staggering achievement, one without parallel in 2014.

Jackson Maxwell can be reached at [email protected].

2014’s best, most noteworthy albums

Icon Nicki Minaj leaves her ‘Pinkprint’ on hip-hop

By elena lopezCollegian Staff

Inspired by the genius of Jay-Z’s 2001 album, “The Blueprint,” Nicki Minaj has paid deserved homage with her own masterpiece, “The Pinkprint,” released on Dec. 12. On “The Pinkprint,” Minaj lays to rest her alter egos Roman and Barbie, leaving only what Manaj’s die-hard fans affectionately call, “mix-tape Nicki.” Some may say she never left, some may say she went soft in her past work. But, if there is anything to be said for Minaj as of now, it is that she is possibly the best rapper alive at the moment. Every year a hip-hop great seems to be crowned, either by himself or others, as the great-est of their time. For decades, various men have held the fictitious title – including Lil’ Wayne, Drake, Kanye West, Jay-Z and many others. But in 2014, it was Minaj who took her own turn at the top. Her non-album single, “Lookin Ass,” and her appearance on a remix of the Beyoncé track, “Flawless,” placed her in the upper echelon of hip-hop, months before “The Pinkprint” would even hit the airwaves. “The Pinkprint” delivered in a way no other rap album did in 2014. It marks Minaj as the only relevant female rapper at the moment, or rap-per at all, for that matter. The album’s 22 tracks take the lis-

tener on an emotional jour-ney from experiencing the destruction of her decade-long relationship to shutting down various rumors surrounding her and label-mates like Drake and Lil’ Wayne. In 2014, Minaj proved not only that she was one hip-hop’s biggest starts, but that she has the staying power of one of the greats, if not the greatest. Minaj recently broke Michael Jackson’s record of

50 songs on the Billboard Top 100, with “Anaconda” being Minaj’s 51st appearance. Due to her range of guest spots, Minaj accomplished this feat in only four years. And, when it comes to guest spots, Minaj has made it clear that no one does it bet-ter. Considered by some rap critics as possibly the greatest verse of all time, Minaj’s spot on Kanye West’s “Monster” proved she had what it takes to roll with hip-hop’s elite boys

club before dropping her first album. Holding her own with the likes of West, Jay-Z, and Rick Ross, Minaj spat fire on the track, and has not let up since. Her undeniable pres-ence on featured tracks has kept listeners consistently amazed and enthralled. Once Beyoncé crowned her worthy of a “Flawless” remix, Minaj was fire for the rest of the year. Blessing the masses with her radio-friend-ly hits “Anaconda,” “Pills

and Potions” and “Bed of Lies,” critics wondered if the hardcore rap of her past was behind her. But, Minaj comes out hit-ting hard on tracks like “Only,” “Four Door Aventador,” “Shanghai” and “Want Some More.” Whether she is rav-ing about her own talent, her skills in the bedroom, family and relationship woes, or the stresses of fame, Minaj man-ages to appear in control of

every bar, word, and rhyme on the album. I’ve have had a complicated relationship with Minaj in the past, my issue being the shrill voice alterations on her tracks, courtesy of her alter egos. On “The Pinkprint” though, Minaj trades in these charac-ters for low-measured flows mixed with sung hooks by powerhouses Ariana Grande on “Get on Your Knees” and Beyoncé on “Feelin’ Myself.” The improvements Minaj has made over the years to her singing voice are obvious, while on the other side she continues to push her rap abil-ities. Minaj is the best rapper alive because she is constantly dismembering the pop/rap binary. On “The Pinkprint”’s opening track “All Things Go,” she firmly announces “this is the pinkprint,” Minaj refuses to let anyone else categorize her, telling her audience clear-ly that she is in charge of her music and her defining sound. 2015 will almost certainly continue Minaj’s rise, as both her and Young Money label-mates continue to dominate the charts. A woman at the top of what has long been a man’s world is just what the hip-hop and music commu-nity as a whole needs to keep both momentum and cre-ativity flowing. If anything can be gathered from “The Pinkprint,” it is that Nicki Minaj is out for the blood of anyone who steps in the way of her rise.

Elena Lopez can be reached at [email protected].

New record is her strongest work yet

CORRADO/FLICKR

Thom Yorke released “Tomorrow’s Modern Boxes” through BitTorrent Sep. 26.

NRK P3/FLICKR

Mac DeMarco found the perfect musical and emotional balance on “Salad Days.”

NRK P3/FLICKR

“The Pinkprint,” released Dec. 12, is Nicki Minaj’s most fully realized album to date.

THE MASSACHUSETTS DAILY COLLEGIANB6 Tuesday, January 20, 2015 DailyCollegian.com

WE WANT YOUR COMICS!Put your comics in front of thousands of readers.

Questions? Comments? Email us: [email protected]

This is my last first day as comics editor.

Go about your last first day of school much like your first: with nutritious lunch of graham crackers and apple juice, followed by a nap.

H O R O S C O P E S aquarius Jan. 20 - Feb. 18

Oh, so you think you can just waltz back onto campus this semester? Oh, you can? You should consider joining ballroom dance.

pisces Feb. 19 - Mar. 20

Get back in the swing of things by going to the gym this week at 4, but to reintroduce yourself to your peer’s bodily outpours.

aries Mar. 21 - apr. 19

It was more important than anything that you brought your whole wardrobe home with you on break.

taurus apr. 20 - May. 20

Ain’t nothing quite like dining hall food to set your system straight after all that holiday food.

gemini May. 21 - Jun. 21

If your goal was to go into every building on campus, the look on people’s faces tell you that it doesn’t mean to also go into each room too.

cancer Jun. 22 - Jul. 22

To another semester of spending over $10,000 just to sit and play solitaire in a lecture hall.

leo Jul. 23 - aug. 22

While chicken and tuna taste great mashed up with mayonnaise and pepper, the same cannot be said for the idea of “boloney salad.”

virgo aug. 23 - Sept. 22

Inviting your friends over for a home–video film festival is not the same kind of “nostalgic reminiscing” night they thought it would be.

libra Sept. 23 - Oct. 22

scorpio Oct. 23 - nOv. 21

Go to sleep early tonight and wake up at 4 a.m. just to get your body in gear for the semester stress schedule.

sagittarius nOv. 22 - Dec. 21

More than any pen or notebook, a small portable shovel is the most useful tool to help you get through this semester.

capricorn Dec. 22 - Jan. 19

Yes, bringing a single hard–boiled egg to your 9 a.m. is odd, and yes, though nutritious, there are other cheap options.

Dinosaur ComiCs By ryan north

This is depressing.

Poorly Drawn lines By reza FarazmanD

Massachusetts Daily Collegian: January 20, 2014 - Back to School Spring 2015

Documents

Transcript of Massachusetts Daily Collegian: January 20, 2014 - Back to School Spring 2015