Th u r s day, S e p t e m b e r 2 0 , 2 0 1 2

Student Newspaper of Massachusetts College

of Liberal Arts

North Adams, Mass.

For more content,visit online at:

theonlinebeacon.com

Volume 76 ◆ Issue 1

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New Dean joins MCLA community

Howard Eberwein brings years of experience to new position

News, page 4 Arts & Entertainment, page 8

Pedrito Martinez shakes up the Quad

Volleyball offense comes to life

Students gather for a day of music, food and dance.

Team wins three straight before Tuesday’s loss to Sage

Sports, page 10

News 2-5Arts & Entertainment 6-8Sports 9-11National/World News 12Campus Opinion 13Advertisements 14Fun & Games 15Photo Essay 16

The Beacon

“We should all be beaming today,” Mayor Richard Alcombright joked during the Topping O� ceremony for the Center for Science and Innovation.

� e � nal beam was � tted onto the skeleton of the building � ursday, Sept. 13.

Construction on the Center, beginning with the groundbreaking ceremony attended by Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick and Lt. Gov. Timothy Murray in October of 2011, has hit a major milestone and is running on schedule.

James Stakenas, vice president of Administration and Finance, con� rmed that the project will be completed by fall 2013. With the completion of the steel frame, work will begin on laying the cement � oors and raising the steel-panel walls.

“� ey’ve loosely discussed August 6 as the possible date that we could have full access to the building,” Stakenas said.

� e date is contingent on the building passing inspection and commission. During the process, the building’s ventilation, electronics, doors, and windows will be tested, Stakenas added.

“By � anksgiving time, it should look like the science building,” he said.

He also stated that the construction process has stayed on budget with the allotted $30 million from the state of Massachusetts.

As construction is being completed, MCLA prepares for the arrival of its � rst academic building in 40 years.

Biology Professor Ann Billetz is preparing for the number of opportunities the new Center will provide, including a number of labs and research areas for independent study.

� ere will be a research area utilizing 40 aquatic tanks, using roughly three tons of water, according to Billetz.

“We wouldn’t be able to sustain that size program in the building we’re in now,” she said. “It literally has changed the scope of what we

can do.”� e Center will also provide

more opportunities for jobs and sustainability programs across Massachusetts.

Andrew Martin, a junior, expressed his hopes that the new center will provide more interconnectivity throughout the state for current students,

alumni, and sta� . “Research here is great, we have

a lot of opportunities to talk with local businesses,” Martin said. “I think with this they’ll realize that MCLA is really stepping it up with the sciences.”

Whether it is introducing tours of schoolchildren to the college sciences or working with teachers

and professors on sustainability and scienti� c research, Stakenas wants the Center to get people interested in the sciences and higher education in general.

“We want this to be a model of science education,” he said.

Come fall of next year, the 65,000 square foot, three-story high building will open.

This mural, one of three done by the artist collective Muralismo Publicó,

covers the back of the Mohawk Theater on Main Street.

The mural, along with two others, is part of a new initiative by

Downstreet Art to revitalize downtown North Adams.

Marta Gil and Estibaliz Vera created this � rst public mural which was dedicated

during their Kick-O� celebration on June 28.

For more coverage of art in downtown North Adams, see Arts & Entertainment

Page 8.

A di� erent side to North Adams

Photo by Siyun Wu/Beacon sta� President Mary Grant addresses the crowd during the Topping O� ceremony on Sept. 13.

Topped o� By Nick Arena

Sta� Writer

O� cials gather as � nal steel beam is placed atop the Science Center

Thursday, September 20, 2012 News theonlinebeacon.com2

Voter registration stations and absentee ballots for the November elections will be available at sev-eral upcoming events.At Monday night’s Student

Government Association (SGA) meeting, Senator Catt Chaput stated that the Political Science club will have laptops available at the Activities Fair on Sept. 20, where students will be able to reg-ister to vote.MASSPIRG coordinator Caro-

line Webster added that hard copies of Massachusetts absentee ballots will also be available at the Activities Fair, as well as at the Rock the Vote concert on Oct. 5.Parliamentarian Brycen Waters

inquired as to whether ballots for surrounding states could be in-cluded as well, as many students come from outside of Massa-chusetts. Currently, Webster ex-plained, only hard copies of Mas-

sachusetts ballots will be available, as MASSPIRG is a Massachusetts organization. According to President Jason

Brown, MCLA registered more new voters last year than any oth-er state school in Massachusetts, a trend he hopes to continue this year. He added that discussions are in the works to make absentee ballots available in residence ar-eas, although these plans are not finalized.

Student Leadership Summit

Adviser Jenn Craig announced that this year’s Student Leadership Summit will take place on Sunday, Sept. 30 at Camp Becket in Beck-et, Mass.“We are taking the leadership

summit off campus,” Craig said. Buses will leave campus at ap-proximately 8:30 a.m. from Mon-tana Street and return at around 5 p.m. the same evening.According to Craig, the summit

will provide a chance for students to meet with other clubs and learn about different organizations and leadership positions on campus. She added that anyone may at-tend, although students must sign up online beforehand. The link has been sent out on FirstClass via Announcements for Students.“It’s not just for club members,

it’s also for general students,” Craig said.

Executive Board retreat

According to Brown, the SGA Executive Board recently estab-lished a number of goals while on a retreat at Camp Becket.Brown hopes to get more stu-

dents interested in coming to SGA meetings and voicing their opinions. By setting these goals, Brown said he believes SGA will be better able to serve the stu-dents.SGA meets every Monday at 7

p.m. in Murdock Hall Room 218.

Police Logs

The week of 9/9-9/15

Sunday, September 9

◆ 5:34 a.m. - Public safety responded to a medical call in Hoosac Hall. The sub-ject was transported to the hospital.

Monday, September 10

◆ 3:33 p.m. - Public Safety responded to a report of a motor vehicle accident in the Hoosac Hall resident student lot. The report was investigated.

Tuesday, September 11

◆ 3:30 p.m. - Public Safety responded to a medical call at the Wellness Center. The subject was transported to the hospital.

Wednesday, September 12

◆ 4:50 p.m. - Public Safety responded to a well-being check in Berkshire Towers. No action was required.

Thursday, September 13

◆ 1:45 p.m. - Public Safety responded to a medical call in the Amsler Campus Cen-ter. The call was completed.

◆ 2:23 p.m. - Public Safety responded to a medical call at the Wellness Center. The call was completed.

◆ 11:20 p.m. - Public safety responded to a report of larceny/forgery/fraud at the Facilities building. A report was filed.

Friday, September 14

◆ 11:02 p.m. - Public Safety responded to a report of a drug offense in Hoosac Hall. Services were rendered.

Saturday, September 15

◆ 12:39 a.m. - Public Safety responded to a medical call in Hoosac Hall. The call was determined to be unfounded.

◆ 12:43 a.m. - Public Safety responded to an alcohol offense in the Flagg Town-house Complex.

Weekend Weather 9/20 - 9/23Thursday,

September 20Friday,

September 21Saturday,

September 22Sunday,

September 23

SunnyHigh: 65°Low: 41°

Precip. Chance: 0%

Partly CloudyHigh: 70°Low: 48°

Precip. Chance: 0%

ShowersHigh: 70°Low: 52°

Precip. Chance: 20%

ShowersHigh: 60°Low: 39°

Precip. Chance: 40%

Photos by Siyun Wu/Beacon staffLeft: The signed beam is hoisted into the air. Right: Workers prepare to secure the beam into place.

Students work to boost voter registration By Chris GoodellEditor-in-Chief

SGA Fall 2012 Elections

Tuesday,October 2:

Bowman Hall

Wednesday,October 3:

Campus Center Marketplace

11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Thursday, September 20, 2012 News 3theonlinebeacon.com

Hoosac Hall underwent a ma-jor facelift over the summer, with the construction and renovations finished before new and returning students came back to campus.

Some of the new restorations include a new entryway and com-mon area that was built on the ground level of the building. The common area includes a multi-purpose room, meeting room, laundry room, kitchenette, sitting areas and offices for the building staff.

The former lobby level was gut-ted and turned into a residential floor with 12 double bedrooms, two single bedrooms and two lounges.

“The former study lounges on floors two through seven were each converted into two single bedrooms,” Dianne Manning, di-rector of Residential Programs & Services said. This creates more room for new and returning stu-dents who want to live in Hoosac Hall, she said.

“The new multi-purpose room, meeting room, informal seat-ing areas and pool table area all provide space for Hoosac Hall residents to hang out, watch mov-ies, study, chat with friends and more,” Manning added.

However, these new attractions are not accessible to all students.

Manning said the newly reno-vated Amsler Campus Center “is a facility that caters to the pro-gramming needs of the general student population.”

Adam Genest, a junior, lived in Hoosac Hall during his freshman year. The renovations to Hoosac were really needed, Genest said.

“The best improvement I’ve seen has been the bathrooms,” he said. “Since my freshman year, I’ve seen mix-matched sinks where each one has different faucets or different drains, and the showers were very small and enclosed.”

“Now, the bathrooms are more spacious, you can almost call it “Hotel Hoosac,” he added. Gen-est also said it was a great idea to change the quads to singles be-cause rooming with three other people makes college life more stressful.

Juliana Correia, a junior, said she loved living in Hoosac fresh-man year because it was the per-fect environment to meet close friends. Correia was disappointed to find out that The Harbor is not going to be recreated.

“The one down side is that ev-eryone who doesn’t live in Hoosac can’t enjoy it, because of how it’s in the lobby and not downstairs where we didn’t need to use our IDs to get in.”

Hoosac Hall renovations complete

Photo by Kayla Degnan/Beacon staffStudents walk toward the new Hoosac Hall entrance, located on the basement level.

By Amy CubelloStaff Writer

Photo by Kayla Degnan/Beacon staffThe summer renovations included a new laundry room adjacent to the common lounge area.

To read student opinion on the

newly-renovated Hoosac Hall, see the Campus Comment

on Page 13.

To see more photos, see the Photo Essay

on Page 16.

Thursday, September 20, 2012 News theonlinebeacon.com4

Over the summer, while most of us worked menial jobs or sat around at home being bored, Seniors Matt Ham and Jenna John-ston worked as co-interns caretaking the College’s community garden located direct-ly behind Smith House. Not only are they co-interns and both Environmental Studies majors, but they have also been dating since their freshman year.Mentored by Environmental Studies Pro-

fessor Daniel Shustack as well as the pre-vious intern, Felipe Aedo Avila, the pair worked steadily throughout the unseason-ably dry summer months to grow a myriad of vegetables, herbs, and flowers, which are

available to students for free. Vegetables currently available in the gar-

den are kale, cabbage, broccoli, bell peppers, beets, spinach, Swiss chard, carrots, Brussels sprouts, and a variety of tomatoes, including cherry, plum, heirloom, and golden. They have donated approximately 16 per-

cent of the produce to the Friendship Food Pantry in North Adams.“It has been a great opportunity to get the

community involved with the local food production and to raise awareness of issues with food security,” Johnston said.For those who have a green thumb or are

just looking to learn how to garden, stop by the garden on Sundays between 2 to 4 p.m. to help harvest produce. Students are al-lowed to keep what they pick.

Former Pittsfield superintendent joins MCLA administration

Photo by Takeya Lee/Beacon staffHoward Eberwein, dean of Graduate and Continuing Education, sits at his desk in Mark Hopkins Hall.

The College welcomes Howard “Jake” Eberwein III as the new dean of Graduate and Continu-ing Education.“I was offered the job in early

August,” he said. “I’m really im-pressed by the connectedness of everyone. There is a lot of pride in this school and a great level of passion, both on the student and faculty level.”Eberwein began his career as

a science teacher at Mt. Everett Regional High School in 1994. By 2007 he was the deputy su-

perintendent of Pittsfield Pub-lic Schools. During his time as superintendent, drop-out rates lowered while graduation rates went up.“I’m proud of my time there. I

enjoy being part of public edu-cation,” he said.Eberwein earned his Bachelor

of Science in biology and chem-istry from Skidmore College. In 2002, he earned his principal certification from MCLA as a graduate of the Berkshire Lead-ership Academy. In 2003, he re-ceived his Masters in Education from the College . While earning his doctorate in

education at UMASS Amherst, Eberwein wrote his dissertation:

“Raising Legal Literacy in Pub-lic Schools, a Call for Principal Leadership: A National Study

of Secondary School Principals’ Knowledge of Public School Law.” This earned him the Educa-

tion Law Association’s Joseph C. Beckham Dissertation of the Year Award.Cynthia Brown, vice president

of Academic Affairs said after looking at the College’s needs, Eberwein proved to be the best choice.“Jake is an accomplished and

dedicated educator who will be an outstanding leader for our graduate and continuing edu-cation programs,” she said in a statement.

Eberwein will have oversight for policy, curriculum, course delivery, recruitment, and en-rollment, as well as maintaining responsibility for administra-tion and management of off-campus sites.“I’m excited to be in a position

to work with prospective teach-ers and school leaders,” he said. “I want this college’s school of education to be a destination for those prospective teachers and school leaders.”Eberwein’s office is directly

adjacent to the Education De-partment on the second floor of Mark Hopkins.

By Marc LatourStaff Writer

By Tano HolmesA&E Editor

Photo by Jack Guerino/Beacon staffThe community garden is located behind Smith House.

Students cultivate community garden

“I want this college’s school of education to be a destination

for those prospective teachers and school

leaders.”

Thursday, September 20, 2012 News theonlinebeacon.com 5Pulitzer Prize winner talks immigration, foreign policy

Pulitzer Prize winning journal-ist and author Sonia Nazario ad-dressed the MCLA community this past Wednesday, delivering a passionate speech that focused on several key issues involved with immigration.

Using her award-winning book “Enrique’s Journey” as a plat-form, there was a re-occurring theme throughout her presenta-tion: determination.

Nazario discussed her personal life and the efforts she took to attend Williams College and go on to be an acclaimed journal-ist. She also noted that Enrique and his story taught her what it means to be truly determined.

“I couldn’t fathom this kind of determination,” Nazario said. “but to Enrique, it was nothing as long as he could get to his mom.”

“Enrique’s Journey” is a collec-tion of Pulitzer prize-winning articles previously published in the Los Angeles Times about a young boy embarking on a dan-gerous trek upon train tops from Honduras to the United States in search of his mother.

Complimented by a slide show of pictures, Nazario’s speech touched upon a massive epidem-ic in Mexico and Central Amer-ica. Single mothers are forced to migrate to the United States in

order to feed their children, leav-ing their families behind. As a result, these abandoned children illegally migrate to the United States on dangerous journeys that stretch thousands of miles.

The book, which was part of the First-Year Experience read-ing for freshman, was made more significant for some by at-tending the lecture.

“It was really eye-opening,” said freshman Catie O’Neill. “Seeing all of the pictures and hearing what she had to say re-ally emphasized on the whole thing.”

Nazario concluded her speech by elaborating on immigration and explaining what America should do to change current policies.

“Our goal should be to keep migrants with their families,” she said.

Nazario said the United States should spend money to create jobs in Latin American coun-tries, potentially eliminating il-legal immigration. She urged students and faculty to play a small part in helping struggling families by donating money or buying fair-trade products.

Nazario’s speech received a roaring applause. Paul LeSage, the associate dean of Academic Affairs, noted Nazario’s public speaking ability.

“She was not afraid to tell it,” he said. “Some people can write it,

but she can tell it.”Monica Joslin, the dean of Aca-

demic Affairs, was impressed by Nazario’s lecture as well.

“It was a very heartfelt presen-tation on an important and re-ally special subject,” she said.

Nazario said she was pleased by the positive reception of her speech. She also hoped the audi-ence learned from what she had to say.

“My hope is that people come away with a better understand-ing of migrants and that they will be moved to help with these conditions, even in a small way,” she said.

Though “Enrique’s Journey” was published in 2006, Nazario wanted to let it be known that this is a very prevalant issue. Ac-cording to her, 300,000 illegal immigrants are coming to the United States each year. She also mentioned that there are certain things Americans must become aware of regarding immigration.

“There are two things we need to be open to going into this: immigrants families and why they’re coming here. Also, it’s important to try and look at a new approach to dealing with immigration,” she said.

Nazario was the first featured guest speaker of the 2012-2013 year. Howard Kurtz, host of CNN’s “Reliable Sources,” will speak at Church Street Center on Oct. 17 at 7:00 p.m.

By Ryan FlynnStaff Writer

Photo by Jess Gamari/Beacon staff

Sonia Nazario addressed a full Church Street Center auditorium, using her own experiences to provide a different perspective on illegal immigration.

Semester Lectures

September 21: Brown Bag Lecture“Diversifying the Sciences” Presented by Chris Himes3 p.m. in Sullivan Lounge

October 17: Hardman LecturePresented by journalist Howard Kurtz

7 p.m. in the Church Street Center Auditorium

October 19: Brown Bag Lecture“Team Based Learning vs. Traditional Lecture”

Presented by Sharon Claffey3 p.m. in Sullivan Lounge

November 8: Public Policy LecturePresented by former senator George Mitchell

7 p.m. in the Campus Center gymnasium

November 16: Brown Bag Lecture“News Literacy & The First Amendment”

Presented by Joseph Ebiware3 p.m. in Sullivan Lounge

Thursday, September 20, 2012 Arts & Entertainment theonlinebeacon.com6

Senior Emily Minns exudes an image of sophistication without looking unapproachable. Wearing a vivid green sweater and a white scarf tucked around her neck, with minimal makeup and her red hair tied up neatly, this is what a suc-cessful student looks like.

Minns has never had lower than a 3.8 grade point average since her start at the College, even achiev-ing a 4.0 last year while taking 21 credits. She insisted that she does not devote more time to school than any other student.

“Time management is my secret to success,” she said, adding that reading is one of her hobbies. “I try to devote my time to things I love.”

It’s easy to wonder where she finds time for her school work with all the activities she is involved in on campus. Minns is currently the president of the Kappa Delta Phi sorority, a peer advisor, a student ambassador, and works as an aca-demic resource assistant. Current-ly, she is running for the Student Government Association’s (SGA) Greek Senate seat.

Minns, who hails from Gardner, Mass., has always been a very in-volved person. She was even active during her high school years, and was eager to submerge herself into the clubs and activities at the Col-lege, making sure she spent her time here well.

“I like being busy because I’m

never bored. Everything is worth doing if you’re going to do it well,” she said.

Her drive to be involved and busy does not simply end with the school year. This summer Minns worked as a children’s summer enrichment coordinator at Mount Wachusett Community College. She was even offered a full-time position but turned it down in fa-vor of seeing what the future holds for her.

Minns is an arts management and business major concentrated in event management and plans to declare another concentration in marketing this fall. She claims that she’s very “OCD” and would like to organize events for art mu-seums, do wedding planning, or even plan fashion week one day.

While she has no solid plans af-ter her graduation, she is confident that she will have a bright future.

Minns was an undeclared ma-jor in her freshman year and had no idea what she wanted to do. In fact, MCLA was not even her first choice. In her senior year of high school, Minns was accepted to every state school and planned on going to a college with a huge campus like UMass Amherst. However, a small liberal arts school tucked into the Berkshires offered her its Presidential schol-arship and the rest is history.

“Get involved. Make your mark because everyone has something to offer. Four years isn’t a long time,” Minns said, advising young-er students who are just beginning to find themselves at the school.

With sincerity coloring her face as her eyes slightly watered, Minns struggled to name just one thing she will miss the most after gradu-ation. Instead, she referenced her entire college experience.

“The people I’ve met, the teach-ers I’ve known,” she said, “there’s been such a great community helping me succeed. They’ve made me who I am. Other people who visit here just don’t understand.”

Minns added that one of her big-gest influences was one of her ad-visors, Lauren O’Neal, who always pushed her to reach out and take extra classes. She claims that she would not have been where she is today as an arts and business ma-jor without her.

The support of her family, espe-cially her mother and her aunt, inspired her to push harder and

encouraged her never to let failure get to her head. Her family never pressured her, Minns said, stating that she put the most pressure on herself in her desire to succeed.

“My main goal was to leave my mark.” Minns said with a solemn smile. “I’m happy with what I’ve done here. It’s most important not to do something to make others happy, but to do it for yourself.”

“The people I’ve met, the teachers I’ve known, there’s been such a great community helping me succeed. They’ve made

me who I am.”

Tano HolmesA&E Editor

Big promises and grand claims are being made by candidates in both the Democratic and Republi-can parties as the 2012 presidential campaign kicks into full swing. The majority of these will never come to fruition. There is one law, if passed, that should concern all of us attend-ing a liberal arts college.

The former Massachusetts gover-nor and current presidential candi-date, Mitt Romney, claims to have devised a strategy to lift the Ameri-can economy out of its continued recession, and to reduce the national deficit, which currently stands at a whopping $16 trillion. While Rom-ney has been widely vague about how he plans to turn around our stagnant economy, he did divulge some of his plan in an interview with CBS last month.

Romney claimed he would cut ‘Obamacare,’ a program which is estimated to cost the federal gov-ernment approximately 100 bil-lion dollars per year. Interestingly, Romney passed an extremely simi-lar plan while acting as Governor of the Commonwealth. Additionally, Romney has pledged to cut all fund-ing for PBS, National Public Radio (NPR) and the National Endow-ment for the Arts (NEA.)

In 2011 the grants given by the fed-eral government to PBS amounted to $444 million, while the NEA re-ceived $146 million from the fed-eral government and NPR received just under $10 million. While these numbers seem substantial it should be noted that the federal defense budget for 2011 was $265 billion.

While it is clear that the United States government needs to find ways to stimulate our economy and save money, the question we should be asking ourselves is what are we willing to sacrifice?

NPR has been providing neutral reporting of all major national and world issues since its inception. In a world where Fox News leans right and CNN leans left, it is all the more important to have at least one neu-tral news source to turn to.

NEA is one of the very few orga-nizations which provides grants for artists and their projects. It is an es-sential aid in an industry, where the artist often is overworked and se-verely under paid. (hence the “starv-ing artist” saying.) Destroying NEA’s funding would severely set back many of the large art projects of our country. Indeed North Adams’ own Mass. MoCA has received funding from NEA.

With the U.S. military being un-arguably the most powerful in the world, and the current price tag of just one Stealth Bomber sitting cur-rently at $1.07 billion, I am simply wondering if why we cannot build one less war plane. This would give the arts the fairly menial amount of money they need to continue exist-ing with $400 million (and change!) to go towards the national deficit.

Federal arts budget at risk?

Emily Minns balances academics and extracurriculars

Photo by Jack Guerino/Beacon staffEmily Minns maintains a 4.0 GPA while remaining active on campus.

By Haley CostenA&E Writer

Photo by Dennise Carranza/Beacon staffRena Douglas at an exibit by Sanford Biggers in one of the main gallery halls at Mass MoCA

Thursday, September 20, 2012 Arts & Entertainment theonlinebeacon.com 7Banquet honors successful multicultural students

What’s going on around town? A yummy recipe for the college budget

Students, faculty, and friends of MCLA’s African, Latino, Asian, and Native American (ALANA) group, joined together to celebrate diversity, academic achievement, and social progress at Venable Gym, last Wednesday evening.Over a buffet dinner of lasagna, salad,

and roasted vegetables, Tom Alexander, the advisor of Campus Conversations on Race opened up the evening.Students from each of the ALANA

groups: the Black Student Union, Asian club, Campus Conversations on Race

(CCOR), Latin American Society, and the Multicultural Student Society, congratulated their peers on bettering the College community. One of those students was Nalaja Caesar, a senior.“I started off working with ALANA

through a work study,” Caesar said. “Once I participated, I got hooked!”Caesar is now in the process of becoming

the official coordinator of CCOR.Along with the other clubs, the Asian

Club has made quite an impression on the college community by holding sushi dinners in the Campus Center’s Sullivan Lounge, which draws a large number of students.“I’m not part of the Asian club,” said

Jeanine Wong, a senior exchange student from the Shanghai Province of China, “but we all work together.” Wong also added how being affiliated with a club on campus can affect a student’s experience. “We have so many members that help

us out with so many things,” Wong said. “They help a lot. The Asian club has helped me settle in very well.”As well as congratulating the

accomplished students, President Mary Grant did not fail to mention that the ALANA banquet was “one of (her) favorite nights of the year.”“We have some very hardworking, smart,

and talented students,” Grant said.Some new faces appeared in the crowd

during the ceremony as well.“It’s been so easy to make new friends,

here,” Isaibella Gaston, a newly welcomed freshman, said. “It’s like an expansion of a big family.” Gaston plans on becoming a member of ALANA’s Latin American Society.“I heard from people that it was a nice

school,” freshman Tiarra Burges said. “I am definitely going to attend ALANA meetings.”Along with the awards ceremony,

students and faculty alike took a moment to celebrate Board of Trustee’s member Shirley Edgerrton’s birthday and Grant’s twenty-fifth wedding anniversary to her husband, Jim.

Photo by Takeya Lee/Beacon staff Multicultural students from multiple student organizations stand with Thomas Alexander, the director of ALANA (Left) and President Mary Grant (Right) at the ALANA banquet.

Who and When: MASS MoCA’s An-nual Freshgrass Concert on Sept. 21 - 23. $15 for students per dayWhat: Contemporay live Bluegrass music headlining David Grisman BlueGrass Experience, and Trampled by Turtles. Barn Dance on Friday, Sept. 21 at 8 p.m. and Saturday, Sept. 22 at 9:15 p.m

When: Sept. 21 6 to 9 p.m.Free Mini-golf, with student ID, at The Range, 1190 South State St.

When: Sept. 21 4 to 5 p.m Society of Music Meeting in Murdock 302

Who: Beliver, an Ozzy tribute bandWhere: The Polish National Alliance (PNA) 13 Victory St., Adams, Mass.When: Sept. 21 at 9 p.m., 21+

What: Autumn Arts and Crafts FairWhere: Main St., North AdamsWhen: Sept. 22 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

What: Campus GardeningWhere: Taconic LawnWhen: Sept. 23 from 2 to 4 p.m.

What: Dance Company auditions in the Campus Center GymWhen: Sept. 23 from 4 to 6 p.m.

By Michael FeloniA&E Writer

Ingredients:

-Bunch of fresh kale (free at the MCLA community garden)

-olive oil-salt & pepper

-parmesan cheese-garlic powder

Directions:

-Preheat oven to 320°F -While oven is heating, cut kale into bite-sized pieces and mix in a bowl with olive oil, salt, pepper and garlic

powder. -Spread over nonstick baking sheet.

-Sprinkle parmesan cheese over kale. -Bake for 20 minutes.

-Allow to cool and enjoy!

Photo Courtesy of Healthandloveandchoclate.comKale chips.

Kale Chips

Thursday, September 20, 2012 Arts & Entertainment theonlinebeacon.com8

The North Adams art scene nev-er sleeps, even when most MCLA students return home for the sum-mer.

An extensive mix of art ranging from traditional landscape paint-ings to sculptures made from tag sale furniture can be found in many of the galleries around Main Street.

While many of these exhibits are in their final weeks of showing, there is still time to catch a peek at the talent residing only a ten min-ute walk away.

MCLA’s Gallery 51 features Rich-ard Criddle with “Compendium”, an eclectic mix of intricate sculp-tures and drawings with a vivid sense of nostalgia. The exhibit runs through Sept. 23.

Criddle, director of fabrication and installation at Mass. MoCA, uses various objects in the creation of his sculptures. Old furniture, scrap metal, and antique props bring forth dynamic characters reminiscent of old science fiction movies, “steam punk”, and World War II propaganda.

Detailed mixed media portraits and conceptual designs accompa-ny the sculptures, providing view-ers with two different perspec-tives and a glimpse into Criddle’s thought process.

Criddle’s fusion of old and new accentuate his concept of a “do-it-yourself ’ work ethic and the “abil-ity to make a difference through [the] joy in discovering, extract-ing, blending, articulating, manu-facturing, building, sharing, and showing art.”

According to his website, Criddle studied at The Central School of Art and Design in London and the Royal College of Art. His work has been shown throughout the Unit-ed Kingdom and the United States.

Criddle’s meticulous sculptures

and designs show an incredible amount of innovation and self-expression, which provide viewers with exceptional accessibility.

PRESS, another MCLA-affiliat-ed gallery and studio focusing in traditional printmaking, features six artists who participated in an international mail exchange proj-ect, including the College’s own assistant professor of art, Melanie Mowinski.

Their collaborated efforts trans-formed the space into an interac-tive scrapbook. The exhibit, titled “Postal Pinacotheca”, runs through Sept. 27.

“Postal Pinacotheca” started in the summer of 2011 with a piece

featuring a certain theme, such as money, travel, or weather, due ev-ery two months.

A variety of media were used, in-cluding pen and ink, collage, and different kinds of paper and sta-tionary.

Every aspect of the artwork re-lated to each theme from the ad-dresses’ typefaces or handwriting, to the stamps and the envelope’s design.

The themes “Weather” and “Habitat” had an incredible varia-tion of interpretations ranging from eloquently folded and paint-ed envelopes, and bold and color-ful conceptual pieces.

While the exhibit exerts a certain

sense of minimalism and quaint-ness, it also expresses a great deal of intimacy and personality, mak-ing it a very unique approach to showing art.

Fans for more traditional ap-proaches may appreciate the exhibit titled “Black and White (more or less)”, which can be found at Studio21South on Eagle Street.

Amongst the wide selection of paintings and prints by several different artists are a plethora of creative tactics from the technical charcoal cityscapes by Eric March to the 150 small, earthy and fluid abstractions of the Natural Bridge by Karen Walter.

Impressionist enthusiasts may find the work of Thor Wickstrom to be especially appealing due to its soft colors, visible brush strokes, and picturesque scenery. Print maker Frank Curran displays nu-merous etchings and prints with a vague influence by the geomet-ric abstractions of Picasso while maintaining a complex eeriness that can be compared to Dali.

An even broader assortment of art can be found not only just within the galleries, but also around town with large-scale mu-rals, quirky and functional bench-es and bus stops, and other deco-rative touches added to the streets and buildings in town.

Pedrito Martinez brings hispanic culture to the Quad

North Adams offers a lively arts scene

Partnered with the Latin American Society (LAS), MCLA Presents! kicked off its 2012-2013 season with a Latin American musical perfor-mance by the Pedrito Martinez Group in the Quad on Saturday.

Jonathan Secor, the director of special programs at the College, said he wanted to start the season off with something “unique,” where everyone could have fun and listen to great musicians. Secor said Martinez is unique because he is a drummer and percussionist as well as the leader of the band, something that is uncommon in America.

“Pedrito meets the goal of talented musicians,” he said. “He makes you want to move and feel good.” Secor said he tries to find good musicians for MCLA Presents!, but also wants to bring a par-ty everyone can enjoy.

Pedrito Martinez is Cuban born, and his tight quartet consists of percussionist Jhair Sala from Lima, Peru; electric bassist Alvaro Benavides from Caracas, Venezuela; and keyboardist/vocalist Ara-icne Trujillo from Havana, Cuba.

The Pedrito Martinez Group played traditional

Latino beats throughout their entire set. Half way through, Martinez, Benavides, and Sala rotated each other’s instruments to give a crowd-pleasing performance.

Both students and members of the Berkshire community were dancing and eating food, pro-vided by Lucia’s Latin Kitchen in Pittsfield, as well as ARAMARK.

“The music was lively, and the food [was]deli-cious,” Chantel Baptista, a senior, said. “This truly is a first-hand experience of the Latin American culture.” Students from different backgrounds and cultures gathered in the Quad to enjoy the wel-coming atmosphere of Pedrito and his band.

“The musicians are fantastic. Their rhythm real-ly hits a chord,” sophomore Lynn McEnaney said. “The music is really inspirational and makes you want to do something.”

Sophomore Emily Fonseca said the food made her think of home and hopes the College can get Pedrito and his band can come back.

“I am, however, a little upset that more people aren’t here. Students need to experience more music, espe-cially good music like Pedrito,” Fonseca said.

To find out more about the Pedrito Martinez Group, visit their website at pedritomartinezmusic.com.

Left: Pedrito Martinez and his band mate jam out. Right: Williams students dance on the quad. Below: Students gather

for the concert and BBQ. Photos by Takeya Lee/Beacon staff

Photo by Jack Guerino/Beacon staffA vibrant mural by artist Maya Hayuk, painted this year in downtown North Adams.

Famous percussionist plays free concert for MCLA students

By Shannen AdamitesA&E Writer

By Aya LanzoniA&E Writer

Thursday, September 20, 2012 Sports theonlinebeacon.com 9

With players confident in their team’s chemistry and potential, the Men’s Soccer team hopes to have a winning 2012 season.

The team started its season with two wins at the Norwich Cadet Classic, winning against Newbury College on Aug. 31 and Green Mountain College on Sept. 1.

Senior Captains Jake McCall and Joe Mecca led the Trailblaz-ers to the win against Newbury. Mecca scored one goal, and Mc-Call, assisted by senior Pat Endy and sophomores Tyler Russell and Luke Fisher, punched in two scores of his own. McCall grabbed two more goals against Green Mountain College with Fisher and freshman Edgar Asamoah each scoring addi-tional goals for the team.

Goalkeeper Dillon Wager, a senior, feels the team’s chemis-try is what will lead them to tri-umph this season.

“The team chemistry is better than anything I’ve ever been a part of,” Wager said. “When a group of people come together to execute a common goal there is always great potential, and I think we have a ton of it.”

The team fell to SUNY-IT and Salve Regina in the CIAO Clas-sic Sept. 8 and 9. The final score was 2-1 against SUNY-IT, with

a goal scored by senior James Brown, and 1-0 against Salve Regina.

“Losing three games in a row is never a good thing,” Wager said, “but you learn from los-ing and hopefully we can gain from these losses and put it all together for more wins.”

Co-captain Ryan Shewchuck, a senior, also agreed that the team’s chemistry is something that will result in more wins de-spite previous losses.

“I wouldn’t want to be captain for any other team out there,” Shewchuck said. “We’re a team. If one of us struggles, we all struggle, and if one triumphs, we all triumph.”

On Saturday, the Trailblazers played their first conference game against Salem State and fell 4-1.

“We worked hard and that’s all we can ask for,” Shewchuck said.

Senior Pat Endy agreed, say-ing, “If we stick to our strengths and work on our weaknesses, we have the potential to have a playoff worthy season.”

Despite the team’s early sea-son struggles their coach is confident that the players will all come together and make the 2012 season special.

“I see us making MASCAC and making a name for the Trailblazers,” Shewchuck added.

The team will be in action at home against Mass Maritime on Sept. 22.

Senior Ryan Shewchuk takes on a Salve defender in the first home game of the season.Photo by Jess Gamari/Beacon staff

By Ariana TourangeauSports Writer

Men’s soccer hopes chemistry can beat early season difficulty

The Women’s Soccer team took a tough loss on their home field Saturday. The Trailblazers battled the Salem State Vikings but failed to come out on top.

Salem State struck early when Casey Connolly netted a goal in the first five minutes of play. As the half continued, the Trail-blazers struggled to possess the ball and create scoring opportu-nities. Salem kicked in two more goals at 30 and 33 minutes, leav-ing the scoreboard grim at half-time for the Trailblazers as it glowed with the 3-0 Salem lead.

Keshia Devoe scored on a through pass from Lindsay Borbolla at the 74 minute mark, finally putting the Trailblazers on the scoreboard.

The goal was an affirmation of what the team knows, they have

a great chance to be successful if they posses the ball and work it methodically upfield.

“The goal scored was a con-nection of the team as a whole,” Devoe said. “The movement from midfield allowed a gap in which I was able to do my part and finish. We are a strong team and I’m confident in our future endeavors.”

Salem hit the back of the net one last time with just a min-ute and a half left in the con-test, ending the game with a resounding 4-1 Vikings final score.

The team was supposed to face Sage on Tuesday but due to the torrential rain storm the game has been postponed to a later date.

On Thursday the team is look-ing to stop their two game slide on the road against Albany School of Pharmacy.

By Chris OxholmSports Writer

Sophmore Ashlee Schofield avoids the Salem defender to move the ball upfield.Photo by Kayla Degnan/Beacon staff

Women’s soccer falls to Salem

The Men’s Soccer team is home against Mass. Maritime on Saturday at 1 p.m.

Thursday, September 20, 2012 Sports theonlinebeacon.com10

MCLA junior Anthony Cancilla was named the MASCAC Runner of the Week on Sept 9 for his win at the Castleton State Spar-tan Invitational. The win was the first of his college career. Not only did Can-

cilla have success, but the team finished second at the meet.

Cancilla, a Pittsfield na-tive, went on to lead MCLA to a win at the Vermont Tech Inviational on Sept 15.

The Men and Women’s Cross Country teams are both in action this week at Elms College on Sept 22 at noon.

As music blared last Sat-urday in the academic quad outside, the MCLA Women’s Volleyball team was finishing off a resounding third win in a row inside the Amsler Gymnasium. This one came in a 3-0 victory over Green Mountain College.

What seems like an entire season ago from the team’s current winning streak was the seven-loss slump the team started in.

Even after suffering repeat-ed hard-fought losses early in the season, coach Amanda Beckwith knew her team was getting through their slump. “It’s going to come together, it’s gelling,” she predicted af-ter an emotional battle the team lost 3-2 last Tuesday against Worcester State.

Her prediction couldn’t have been more right.

After the Worcester State heartbreak in their home-opener and first MASCAC contest last Tuesday night, the Trailblazers have been clicking individually and as a unit. This last week since

going winless the Trailblaz-ers have won their last three matches by a combined nine games to their oppo-nents’ two, including the win against Green Mountain

State last Saturday. One of the most striking

turnarounds for the team has been their serving. In the first games of the season, Beckwith watched the team

struggle. “We had six service errors

during the first game (against Worcester State). You can’t give away 6 points and win the game,” she said.

Lately serving has become a strength instead of a liabili-ty. In the game against Green Mountain College the Trail-blazers dominated with 22 aces to Green Mountain’s 4.

The team’s turnaround has been led by their juniors. Captain Kelley Bryant was an all-MASCAC player last season and is the anchor to the Trailblazer defense. Any spectator would be hard pressed to watch an MCLA game without seeing Bryant diving and flying across the court, putting her body on the line again and again to save the point. With junior talent and sophomore stand-outs like Allie Chang, Beck-with doesn’t see a lack of se-niors as a negative.

“It’s exciting that our team is so young,” Beckwith said.

After going 12-21 last sea-son, and with two upcoming MASCAC matchups against Bridgewater State and Fram-ingham State—as well as the MCLA Tournament to end September— the team hopes they can ride this current wave of success all the way into the MASCAC playoffs.

By Andrew HodgsonSports Editor

Photo by Tekeya Lee/Beacon staff

Volleyball offense springs to life

In the summer when the recruiting season began, the Women’s Tennis team moved back to the College earlier than most students and started to work toward success in a season that has already presented the team with many new challenges.

The team is undergoing several changes this year in-cluding a new coach and a new conference. On top of that the team is almost com-prised of freshman.

The team hit off their sea-son with two home matches and one away match. The squad collectively struggled, outscored in the three meet-ings by a combined 24-3.

Now a member of the North Atlantic Conference (NAC), MCLA will now have their conference matches with teams outside of the Massachusetts State Col-legiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC). Colby Sawyer, Lyndon State, Johnson State, Castleton and Thomas Col-lege are some of the oppo-nents MCLA will face in the NAC.

Being in a more competi-

tive league, MCLA looks to step up their game to meet the challenge of a new con-ference with unfamiliar teams. The changes for the team this season didn’t end with the conference change.

On July 1, Holly McGovern was introduced as the head coach of the team. The new coach is excited for a suc-cessful year with a fresh start in a new conference , “We are going to improve as a team and individually throughout the season,” she said.

The team has two return-ers from last year and the rest are entirely freshmen. Sophomores Sara Murphy and Megan Holmes will have to bring experience and competiveness to the young squad during the 2012 sea-son.

The new coach is ready for some great competition on the court but she is also mindful of her student-ath-letes’ performances in the classroom, “As much as I want my players to do well while in their matches, their academics come first,” she said.

The team has two games this week, the first at Worces-ter State Sunday at 1p.m.

Changes Abound for Women’s Tennis Team

By James HunterSpecial to the Beacon

Junior Kendra Hobbs prepares to serve.Photo by Kayla Degnan/Beacon staff

Junior Julia Christian and Junior Kendra Hobbs try to save the ball.

Cancilla Starts Season Strong

Anthony CancillaPhoto by Jess Gamari/Beacon staff

Thursday, September 20, 2012 Sports theonlinebeacon.com 11Scores, Schedules and Standings

(at press time)

Men’s Soccer

Women’s Soccer

Women’s Volleyball

AllConf

AllConf

AllConf

Men’s Soccer

9/22 Mass.Maritime 1 p.m.

9/26 Castleton St. 12 p.m.

Women’s Soccer

9/20@ACP 4:30 p.m.

9/22@Mass Maritime1 p.m.

9/25@Mt Holyoke 4:30 p.m.

Cross Country

Men/Women

9/22@Elms College11:00a.m.

Women’s Volleyball

9/22 @ Bridgewater St. 7 p.m.

9/26 Framingham St. 7:00p.m.

Andrew HodgsonSports Editor

Women’s Tennis

9/23 Worcester St. 1:00p.m.

9/26 St. Joseph’s CT 3:30p.m.

As Michael Vick stumbled backwards, his arm jerked for-ward sending the football ca-reening, only to thud into the turf about three yards in front of him. The officials ruled it a fumble before over-turning the decision after what seemed like an eternity of deliberation and replays.

Monday morning, Sportscen-ter ran a montage of coaches and players complaining about their season’s NFL officiating. But where is the focus on the real issue?

Last off-season, when the threat to the NFL was a player lockout, commissioner Roger Goodell was eager to settle the dispute. (Billions of dollars in revenue will usually do that.)

Now when the NFL officials want a slice of the behemoth that is the NFL, all we hear are complaints. No reassurance from the league, no Roger Goodell talking about the “in-tegrity” of the game. It seems Goodell’s focus has switched from the integrity of the game to the almighty dollar.

Players are the face of the league, millions of Americans tune in every week to see Tom Brady and Victor Cruz. But officials serve a vital function, they keep the athletes as safe as possible. In any NFL play you have 23 highly trained athletes moving fast and injuries are likely to happen.

Maybe it is just the fact that being aware of new referees has made players more likely to try and give away with infrac-tions. We have certainly seen more pushing and scuffles this last weekend than would ever stand in years past. The players are familiar with their bound-aries with old officials, and the NFL admistration should see the value of having officials who can control the fiercest athletes in the world.

The reign of Roger Goodell has seen the rules tightening to prevent injuries, but with-out adequate enforcing of the rules, there is no protection. So let’s see Roger Goodell explain why money, not the game’s integrity, is his number one priority.

Money or Integrity for Goodell

September 27- Due to a grant provided to the MCLA Choices program, the College will host former NBA player Chris Her-ren in the Campus Center gym on Sept 27 at 7 p.m.

Herren, a native of Fall River, Mass., was drafted into the NBA in 1999 by the Denver Nuggets. He played one season for Den-ver and the following for the Boston Celtics until 2001.

Herren was plagued his entire college and NBA career by ad-diction, first to alcohol and then to cocaine and heroin. He was out of the league for three years

before his life would change for-ever.

In December 2004 Herren was charged with possession of her-oin and driving under the influ-ence. Since that moment he has dedicated his life to overcoming his addiction and communicat-ing his journey to others all over the country.

Being clean now from drugs and alcohol since 2008, Herren is now a sought-after motiva-tional speaker, inspiring stu-dents and athletes all over the country. He is also the subject of an ESPN documentary, “Un-guarded” and runs a basketball training program called Hoop Dreams that has been running since 2009.

“Having a former NBA star come to North Adams is very exciting,” MCLA athlete Tia Po-lona explained. “Everyone likes a good comeback story.” With admission being free, the Col-lege Administration is especially excited for an event of this na-ture being so close to home.

“I think I can speak for ev-eryone when I say that we at MCLA can’t wait to host such an inspiration and mentor,” Ce-lia Norcross, director of Student Development explained, “Chris Herren has a great story to tell and North Adams is a great place for the story to be heard.”

Former NBA player visits the College

Standings

Scores

Women’s TennisAllConf

Westfield St. 1-0 2-2-1 Bridgewater St1-0 2-4 Salem St. 1-0 2-4 Framingham St1-0 1-3-1 Mass. Maritime0-1 3-1-1 MCLA 0-1 2-3 Fitchburg St. 0-1 1-4-1 Worcester St. 0-1 1-4

Westfield St. 1-0 6-0-1 Bridgewater St.1-0 4-2-1 Salem St. 1-0 3-2 Worcester St. 1-0 3-3 Framingham St0-1 1-4 MCLA 0-1 1-4 Fitchburg St. 0-1 1-6 Mass. Maritime0-1 0-4

Framingham St1-0 10-3 Worcester St. 1-0 6-5 Bridgewater St. 1-0 4-4 Westfield St. 0-0 1-9 MCLA 0-1 3-8 Salem St. 0-1 1-6 Mass. Maritime0-1 1-8

Colby-Sawyer 3-0 6-2 Castleton 3-0 4-3 Thomas 2-3 2-3 Johnson St. 1-3 1-5 MCLA 0-1 0-3 Lyndon St. 0-3 0-5

Men’s Golf

9/22 @ Williams College 11:30a.m.

9/23 @ Williams College Tee Times

9/26 @ Elms College 10:00a.m.

Schedule

Chris HerrenPhoto courtesy of A Hoop Dream

By Justine CozzaSpecial to The Beacon

Men’s Soccer

9/9 Salve Regina L, 1-09/15 @ Salem St. L, 4-1

Women’s Soccer

9/12 @Castleton L, 2-19/15 Salem St. L, 4-19/18 Sage Postponed

Women’s Volleyball

9/13 @ Castleton W, 3-19/15 Becker W, 3-19/15 Green Mt. W, 3-19/18 Sage L, 3-2

Women’s Tennis

9/8 Johnson St. L, 7-29/9 Bay Path L, 8-19/12 @WENU L, 9-0

Women’s Cross Country

9/8 @Castleton St. 3rd9/15 @Vermont Tech 2nd

Men’s Cross Country

9/8 @Castleton St. 2nd9/15 @Vermont Tech 1st

MCLA tries to contain a run by Westfield on Sunday Sept. 16Photo by Jess Gamari/ Beacon staff

Thursday, September 20, 2012 National/World News theonlinebeacon.com12

WASHINGTON (AP) - Republican Mitt Romney has seven weeks before the U.S. presidential election to overcome his lat-est campaign stumble, a secretly made video that shows him telling wealthy do-nors that nearly half of Americans are de-pendent on government and that his role “is not to worry about those people.’’

More footage was released Tuesday morning from the same event, with Rom-ney saying Palestinians are “committed to the destruction and elimination of Israel’’ and suggesting that efforts at Mideast peace under his administration would languish.

Not long after the video surfaced Mon-day, a tired-looking Romney held a hast-ily called late-night news conference and conceded his “off the cuff ’’ remarks were not “elegantly stated.’’ The Romney cam-paign has not disputed the video’s authen-ticity.

President Barack Obama’s campaign quickly seized on the video, obtained by Mother Jones magazine and posted online just as Romney’s campaign was saying it needed a change in campaign strategy to gain momentum in the still-close race.

As Obama opens a lead in the polls, Rom-ney has been fighting off criticism from powerful Republican voices blaming him for missing opportunities at the party’s re-cent national convention, on Middle East

unrest and on the U.S. economy, which is seen as the president’s weakest point.

Obama’s campaign called the video, tak-en in May at a gathering of wealthy donors in Florida, “shocking.’’

“It’s hard to serve as president for all Americans when you’ve disdainfully writ-ten off half the nation,’’ Obama campaign manager Jim Messina said in a statement.

In the video, Romney says, “There are 47 percent of the people who will vote for the president no matter what. There are 47 percent who are with him, who are depen-dent upon government, who believe that they are victims, who believe that govern-ment has a responsibility to care for them, who believe that they are entitled to health care, to food, to housing, to you name it.’’

Romney added that 47 percent of Amer-icans pay no income tax and said his role “is not to worry about those people. I’ll never convince them they should take personal responsibility and care for their lives.’’

About 46 percent of Americans owed no federal income tax in 2011, although many of them paid other forms of taxes such as sales taxes, property taxes and state and local taxes. Many were poor or in the mili-tary. More than 16 million elderly Ameri-cans avoid federal income taxes solely be-cause of tax breaks that apply only to the elderly, according to the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center.

In the video, Romney also said his father had been born in Mexico and joked, “Had

he been born of Mexican parents, I’d have a better shot of winning this.’’

In the seven-minute news conference late Monday, Romney did not dispute the authenticity of the video, but he called for its full release, not just the clips posted on-line. He sought to clarify his remarks but did not apologize.

“It’s not elegantly stated, let me put it that way. I was speaking off the cuff in response to a question. And I’m sure I could state it more clearly in a more effective way than I did in a setting like that,’’ Romney said. “Of course I want to help all Americans. All Americans have a bright and prosper-ous future.’’

He continued: “It’s a message which I am going to carry and continue to carry, which is that the president’s approach is attractive to people who are not pay-ing taxes, because frankly my discussion about lowering taxes isn’t as attractive to them. Therefore I’m not likely to draw them into my campaign as effectively as those in the middle.’’

In the footage released Tuesday, Rom-ney criticized Obama’s foreign policy ap-proach as “naive.’’

“The president’s foreign policy, in my opinion, is formed in part by a perception he has that his magnetism, and his charm, and his persuasiveness is so compelling that he can sit down with people like (Vladimir) Putin and (Hugo) Chávez and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, and that they’ll find that we’re such wonderful people that

they’ll go on with us, and they’ll stop do-ing bad things,’’ Romney said. “And it’s an extraordinarily naive perception.’’

The private remarks are the latest com-ments from the multimillionaire business-man whom Democrats have criticized as out of touch. During the primary cam-paign for the Republican nomination, Romney insisted that he was “not con-cerned’’ about the very poor and said that his wife drove a “couple of Cadillacs.’’

According to the August 2010 AP-GfK poll, a majority of Americans who make less than $30,000 a year are Democrats. But 27 percent identify as Republicans, and 15 percent say they’re independents.

Looking to change the subject, Romney’s campaign rolled out a television ad Tues-day featuring a mother and infant, aimed at cutting into Obama’s advantage with fe-male voters.

Romney had fundraising events planned Tuesday but no public appearances.

Obama headed to New York on Tuesday for a $40,000-a-ticket fundraiser with Be-yoncé and Jay-Z.

Voters say they believe Obama has a better understanding of their problems and concerns than Romney does. A CBS/New York Times poll showed 60 percent of likely voters said Obama understands the needs and problems of people like them, while 37 percent said he did not. For Romney, the same question found that 46 percent felt he did understand people’s needs, while 48 percent said he didn’t.

Associated Press

More leaked video of Romney emerges

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) - First lady Michelle Obama drilled the number 36 into the heads of supporters Monday as she asked for help in re-electing her husband.

While President Barack Obama carried Florida by nearly 205,000 votes in 2008, the race was even closer when broken down to the local level, Mrs. Obama told a crowd of nearly 9,000 at the Tallahassee-Leon County Civic Center.

“That’s just 36 votes per pre-cinct. Alright? That’s 36. Now get that number in your head,’’ the first lady said. “That could mean just one vote in your neighbor-hood, in your dorm. Just one vote in your apartment building can make a difference.’’

And she said the 2012 election will be closer than the last one.

“In Florida you all know about close elections, don’t you?’’ she said, a reference to the 2000 presidential recount, when it took five weeks to sort out Presi-dent George W. Bush’s 537-vote Florida victory. “If there’s any-one here sitting and thinking to themselves that maybe their vote doesn’t matter, if there’s anybody here thinking that maybe my involvement doesn’t count, or maybe in this complex political process ordinary folks can’t pos-sibly make a difference, if any-body here is thinking about that, I want you to think about those 36 votes.’’

Florida is the largest of the tos-sup states, with 29 of the 270 electoral votes Obama or Re-publican Mitt Romney will need to win the November election. Many political strategists from both parties call Florida the key to the election.

Mrs. Obama was wildly re-ceived by a crowd that was largely made up of students from Florida A&M and Florida State universities. She was of-ten drowned out by cheers as she talked about her husband’s accomplishments, possibly the loudest when she said the health care overhaul he signed into law

will allow people to remain on their parents’ health insurance plans until they’re 25.

She also depicted her husband as someone who realizes that the American promise means that even if someone doesn’t start out with much, they can be success-ful by working hard and doing the right thing.

She said he also believes “that when you’ve worked hard and done well and walked through that doorway of opportunity, you do not slam it shut behind

you. No! You reach back and help other folks.’’

A large part of her speech was used to encourage people to register others to vote, to volun-teer and to make sure they vote early by absentee ballot or when in person during Florida’s early voting period.

“We don’t want to leave any-thing to chance,’’ she said. “We want as many of you to vote as early as possible so you can spend election day getting other people to the polls, right?’’

Frederick Cooper, 24, a Florida A&M graduate student, said he’s already encouraging whoever he can to vote.

“I’m spreading the word,’’ he said. “It’s important, it is our right. I honestly say it doesn’t matter who you vote for just as long as you vote.’’

He also said he’s personally been helped by Obama’s presi-dency, saying he was kicked off his mother’s insurance plan when he was 23 and now he’s back on it.

“When he came into office, it helped me,’’ he said, adding that he thinks the first lady is a good messenger for her husband’s pol-icies. “She’s elegant and classy. She always says the right thing and she’s good for our country.’’

The first lady earlier spoke to a similar-sized crowd at the Uni-versity of Florida in Gainesville, where she delivered a similar message.

“All our hard work, all the progress we’ve made, it’s all on the line,’’ she said.

Associated Press

Michelle Obama rallies the student vote

“It’s important, it is our right. I honestly say it doesn’t matter who you vote for just as long as you vote.’’

NEW YORK (AP) - A group campaigning against obesity pre-dicts that by 2030 more than half the people in 39 states will be obese _ not merely overweight, but obese.

Mississippi is expected to retain its crown as the fattest state in the nation for at least two more de-cades. The report predicts 67 per-cent of that state’s adults will be obese by 2030; that would be an astounding increase from Missis-sippi’s current 35 percent obesity rate.

The new projections were re-leased Tuesday by Trust for America’s Health and the Rob-ert Wood Johnson Foundation. The two organizations regularly report on obesity to raise aware-ness, and they rely on government figures.

But in this case, their dismal forecast goes beyond the 42 per-cent national obesity level that federal health officials project by 2030.

About two-thirds of Americans are overweight now. That includes those who are obese, a group that accounts for about 36 percent. Obesity rates have been holding steady in recent years.

Trust for America’s Health of-ficials said their projections are based in part on state-by-state surveys by the Centers for Dis-ease Control and Prevention from 1999 through 2010. Those num-bers come from what residents say are their height and weight

when asked by interviewers over the phone. People aren’t always so accurate about that.

The researchers then looked at other national data in which resi-dents were actually weighed and measured and they made adjust-ments for how much people in each state might fudge the truth about their weight. They also tried to apply recent trends in obesity rates, along with other factors, to make the predictions.

Officials with Trust for Ameri-ca’s Health said they believe their projections are reasonable.

But their outlook suggests that even in the thinnest state _ Colo-rado, where about one-fifth of residents are obese _ 45 percent are predicted to be obese by 2030.

Perhaps more surprising _ Dela-ware is expected to have obesity levels nearly as high as Missis-sippi. Delaware currently is in the middle of the pack when it comes to self-reported obesity rates.

The report didn’t detail why some states’ rates were expected to jump more than others.

CDC officials declined to com-ment on the new report.

Whichever estimates you trust most, it’s clear that the nation’s weight problem is going to contin-ue, escalating the number cases of diabetes, heart disease and stroke, said Jeff Levi, executive director of Trust for America’s Health.

By 2030, medical costs from treating obesity-related diseases are likely to increase by $48 bil-lion, to $66 billion per year, his report said.

Associated Press

Thirty states’ obesity rates to surpass fifty

percent by 2030

Thursday, September 20, 2012 Campus Comment theonlinebeacon.com 13The Beacon

Sports Editor Andrew Hodgson

A&E EditorTano Holmes

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Editorial Board

Staff Writers

Nick ArenaRyan Flynn

Amy CubelloMarc Latour

Holly JohnstonAya Lanzoni

Haley CostenMichael Feloni*

Shannen Adamites*Chris Oxholm

Ariana TourangeauMaci Estrella

Photographers

Takeya LeeKayla DegnanJess Gamari*Jack Guerino

Siyun Wu

Copy Editors

Topher LewisLindsay Green

Shannen Adamites*Korinna Dennehey

Videographers

Ken Rodriguez*Michael Dahlroth

Adam Larson

Advisers

Advertising

Adrianna CarusoLauren Coffey

Jenifer AugurJim NiedbalskiGillian Jones

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Online at:theonlinebeacon.com

What do you think of the renovations to Hoosac Hall?

“I like Hoosac Hall a lot more than last year because of the spacious basement and a lounge to socialize in. Plus it looks a lot better.”

- Angel Baez, 2015

“There’s always something to do here with friends and you can be loud.”

- Kelsey McGonigle, 2016

“Hoosac is a place to want to be, not where we need to be.”

- Evan Patev, 2016

“Hoosac is very new, clean, and homey; a lot nicer than [Berkshire Towers].”

- Hannah Ewing, 2016

“I like the study lounge because it’s quiet and you can hang out and work effectively. People respect that it’s a study lounge.”

- Sam O’Brien, 2016

“I was going to live in [Berkshire Towers] but I’m glad I got switched, especially because of the nicer bathrooms here.”

- Liz Staal, 2016

Compiled by Kayla Degnan/Beacon staffEditor-in-Chief Chris Goodell

Design Team

Michael Feloni*Nalaja CaesarJess Gamari*

Staff

*Holds more than one position

Photography EditorDennise Carranza

To My Fellow MCLA Stu-dents,

First of all, welcome back! I hope you all had an amazing summer and are ready to get back down to business. This year, I have the honor of being your Coordinating Vice Presi-dent of the Student Govern-ment Association. As such, I have the privilege of work-ing with the various clubs on campus. This also means that if you have any questions, comments or concerns with regards to clubs, please let me know.

We have some exciting events coming up this semes-ter! The first one is the Ac-tivities Fair Ice Cream Social from 2 to 4 p.m. on the Quad this Thursday, Sept. 20. This is an opportunity to learn about

the clubs and organizations on campus and what they have planned for the upcoming se-mester. On Sunday, Sept. 30, the Leadership Summit will take place at Camp Becket in Becket, Mass. This will be an opportunity to join members of SGA and other student leaders from around campus for an off-campus leadership building experience.

The semester promises to be a good one with everything the clubs have planned. Make sure to check out some up-coming events and support our students and clubs!

I wish you all a happy and healthy fall semester!

Sarah DiMarinoCoordinating Vice President

of SGA

Coordinating Vice President welcomes students

Letter to the Editor

Today, Thursday, September 20Activities Fair & Ice Cream Social

2 to 4 p.m. in the Quad (Rain Location: Venable Gym)

Did you know The Beacon gives each campus club and

organization one FREE quarter-page advertisement a semester?

[Your Ad here]

Contact Business Manager Yvonne Camacho on FirstClass

for more information.

*All subsequent advertisements will be offered at a reduced rate.

Thursday, September 20, 2012 theonlinebeacon.com14

FINANCIAL AID ANNOUNCEMENT

ATTENTION FIRST TIME DIRECT LOAN BORROWERS:

You must complete the online promissory note and entrance

counseling before your loan can be disbursed!

Loans that are not completed will be canceled.

Contact the Financial Aid Office at 413-662-5219 for more information.

Intramurals department offering Aqua Zumba

NORTH ADAMS, MASS.—Massachusetts College of Lib-eral Arts (MCLA) Intramurals department has announced a new addition to their activity list for the semester. Aqua Zumba, taught by instructor Becky Min-er, will be offered in the Cam-pus Center pool every Tuesday and Thursday from 4 to 4:45 p.m. This event is free for MCLA students with a student ID. The price for community members is $5.

According to Zumba Fitness, Aqua Zumba incorporates Zum-ba techniques and traditional aqua fitness disciplines for “a safe, challenging, water-based workout that’s cardio-condition-ing, body-toning, and most of all, exhilarating beyond belief.”

“This pool party,” as Miner called it, “transforms the body and provides an additional type of workout. It’s important not to get stuck in the same routine.” Miner also stressed that partici-pants may wear workout clothes instead of a bathing suit.

In addition to Aqua Zumba, Miner offers 12 types of classes in her studio at 69 Union St., North Adams, Mass. Prices vary from $5 to $10 per class. For more infor-mation, check out her Facebook page, Zumba in the Berkshires.

What:

Aqua Zumba

When:

Tuesdays and Thursdays

4 to 4:45 p.m.

Where:

Campus Center Pool

Cost:

Free for MCLA students with ID

$5 for general public

Thursday, September 20, 2012 Fun & Games theonlinebeacon.com 15

Aries: March 21-April 19Something new takes over your mental space today, and it could mean that you’ve got someone new in your life as well. You feel totally up to any new challenge, so embrace the novelty!

Taurus: April 20-May 20Avoid snap decisions today – in fact, it’s best if you avoid making decisions at all. It’s not that you’re confused, just that you won’t get all the info you need for another few days.

Gemini: May 21-June 21Listen carefully when people start telling you what’s what – they know things you couldn’t yet have learned. Things should be pretty great, but only if you’re willing to listen and adapt.

Cancer: June 22-July22You are in a big hurry, but try to do things right. If you go too quick-ly, you are sure to mess up the crucial detail that sends everything into a tailspin. Slow and steady wins the race.

Leo: July 23-Aug. 22Try to enjoy yourself today – though it isn’t hard! If you can slack off at work or skip out entirely, so much the better. Your people are sure to find your energy exhilarating!

Virgo: Aug. 23-Sept. 22Your colleagues are getting on your nerves – even more than usual! It’s a good time for you to step up and make sure that they’re at least listening to you. That does go both ways, of course!

Libra: Sept. 23-Oct. 22Business matters are much easier to attend to now – as long as you are focusing on the right people. Fortunately for you (and them), your ability to discern important relationships is strong now.

Scorpio: Oct. 23-Nov. 21A simple disagreement could get really ugly today – so try to recog-nize it while it’s happening and then pull back as soon as you can. Things should be smoother in a few days.

Sagittarius: Nov. 22-Dec. 21You’re playing games – but you’re not trying to play anyone. You’re just having fun and getting things done, so if anyone asks why you’re smiling so broadly, just tell them it’s all good.

Capricorn: Dec. 22-Jan. 19Take responsibility for whatever went down recently – even if it wasn’t all your fault. You should impress the right people with your willingness to take a hit for the team, and that’s all you need.

Aquarius: Jan. 20-Feb. 18You can see patterns where others just see random noise – and on a day like today, there are hidden patterns everywhere! It’s a good day for you to make predictions or to fill in the gaps.

Pisces: Feb. 19-March 20You need to get your head out of the clouds, at least a little. Things are getting even weirder for your people, and they need to hear from you. Make sure you’re speaking their language!

Horoscopes courtesy of Yahoo.com

Horoscopes

Upperclassmen React to the Campus Center Construction

Cartoons by Jackie Coughlin

ASSIGNMENTSBACKPACK

BATHROOMBELL

BINDERCAFETERIA

CHALKBOARDCLASSROOM

CLOCKCOURSES

DESKDOORS

ENROLL ERASEREXAMS

FIRST DAY

GYMNASIUMHALLWAY

HOMEWORKINTERCOM

JANITORLANGUAGE ARTS

LEARNINGLIBRARY

LOCKER LUNCHROOM

MATHNEW FRIENDS

NOTEBOOKNURSE

OLD FRIENDSPADLOCK

PAPERPENCILS

PENSPRINCIPAL

QUIZZES ROLL CALL

RULESSCHOOL BUS

SCHOOL OFFICESCHOOLYARD

SCIENCESECRETARYSEPTEMBER

SOCIAL STUDIESSTUDENT

STUDY

Back to School Word Search

Thursday, September 20, 2012 Photo Essay theonlinebeacon.com16

A group of students relax and talk in the lobby. Osa Igiede checks on his clothes in the new laundry room.

Colin Clement (left) and Nicole Ngoon (right) sit behind the RASM desk at the entrance.

Students play pool in the recreation area.

New furniture in the study lounge area.

A view of the new renovations of Hoosac Hall as seen from outside the Campus Center.

Hoosac Hall Renovations

Photos by Kayla Degnan