Detective Jamie Reardon Mini-Article

     Thirty-eight-year-old Amherst Police Detective Jamie Reardon met with 12 journalism students from the University of Massachusetts on Wednesday to discuss the complicated details of his position.

     

     The small audience, who had gathered at the Amherst Police Department, questioned Reardon about the varying responses by police to individual cases and different local festivities, such as Blarney Blowout, a pre-St. Patrick’s Day celebration, and Extravaganja, a festival created to raise awareness about the push to legalize marijuana.

     

     Reardon, who has been a police officer for 14 years, told his listeners that although there are plenty of regulatory procedures he follows every day, all cases are unique and therefore require different treatment.

     

     “In this job, in this field, nothing’s ever black and white,” Reardon said.  “I hate to say it.”

     

     Reardon explained that even though there were only four police officers on bicycles at Extravaganja in comparison to the massive gathering of 6,000 people, the police were not less prepared for the event than they had been for Blarney Blowout, a situation some people – particularly UMass students – feel the police handled brutally.

     

     In fact, Reardon estimated that the riot squad could have arrived at the Amherst Town Common, where Extravaganja took place this year, in a matter of 5 to 10 minutes.  He emphasized that the police “plan for the worst,” but “pray for the best.”

     

     Given the large number of people and the potential for rioting and other misconduct, Reardon said it only makes sense that the police staff themselves the best they can for events like Extravaganja, but that it’s also nice to have the riot squad and not to need them.

    

     Despite the 73 arrests made at this year’s Blarney Blowout, Reardon acknowledged that the majority of UMass students don’t encounter the police and he is content with that.

     

     “I honestly don’t like seeing college students arrested,” Reardon said.  “I have much bigger problems.”

    

     Reardon believes that the hype over Blarney Blowout that made the police subject to scrutiny was caused by the increased publicity in comparison to calmer events like Extravaganja.

    

     “Let’s face it: bad news sells,” Reardon said.  “Sometimes it sells better than good stories.”

     

     One of the highly regulated procedures in Reardon’s line of work is communicating with the press.  Reporters from The Massachusetts Daily Collegian, The Daily Hampshire Gazette and The Republican regularly seek media logs from the Amherst Police Department.  However, only certain information can be given to reporters.

     

     Although information on physical arrests is free for reporters to access, summons arrests are kept confidential until the person is arraigned at court.  In other words, data regarding citations issued is off limits to reporters.  However, it is possible for determined reporters to get a list of arraignments from the Eastern Hampshire District Court, which is located in Belchertown, Mass.

     

     Reardon further explained that several laws protect the privacy of victims, and even some criminals.  Due to what Reardon called the Rape Shield Law, the names of sexual assault victims are not released to the press.  No information on juvenile offenders is released either.

     

     Although Reardon and the other police officers must be versatile to combat crime in all of its varying shapes and forms that cannot completely be planned for, he recognizes the limitations in his line of work.  It is impossible to be on the scene of every crime and catch every criminal, many of whom are adept at hiding their behavior.

    

     “It’s like fishing,” he said.  “You’re not going to catch them all.” 

By Shelby Ashline

The Influence of Technology on Children

     The use of technologies such as iPads, iPods and iPhones has become mainstream in recent years.  However it’s not just the adult world who has been influenced by the modern age.

     

     Children have become so involved with technology that new products have been designed to enable their screen play.  Not only are there drool-proof tablet covers to protect the devices, but since just last year parents can purchase a toilet training potty with an attached stand for an iPad, appropriately called an iPotty, for just $40.  The model was even adapted into a bouncy seat by Fisher Price, which they call an “Apptivity Seat,” according to a Washington Post article.

     

     Children’s prominence in the technological world at a very young age has led psychologists like Dr. Daniel Anderson, professor emeritus in psychology at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, to study how their mental capacities, social skills and physical health might be affected. 

     

     In Anderson’s experience, he has found that media can both foster and inhibit learning depending on the content, although he said that touch screen technologies allow children to learn more than television because of their interactive qualities.  He also believes that advertisements can encourage unhealthy behavior and that frequent technology use contributes to obesity.

     

     During his 40 years working at UMass before retirement, Anderson primarily studied the effects of television viewing on children.  He also served as an educational advisor in the production of television shows such as “Blues’ Clues,” “Dora the Explorer” and “Sesame Street,” among others, for over 20 years.  As an educational advisor, Anderson gave producers his input regarding how to make the shows mentally stimulating for children.

     

     From his experience, Anderson said the effect of television on children mostly depends on their age, the content of the shows and then to a lesser extent, the amount of time they spend watching.  He does not condemn TV-watching by children.

     

     “Television can be a very effective educational medium,” Anderson said.

    

     As an example, Anderson explained a study of “Sesame Street” that he and other professors at UMass had participated in in collaboration with professors at the University of Kansas, where they observed the progression of 560 kids from Springfield, Mass. and Topeka, Kan. from preschool through high school graduation.

     

     “We found that the more they had watched “Sesame Street” as a preschooler, the better grades they got in high school in English, math and science,” Anderson said.

     

     Parents take notice of the educational quality technology can have.  Dawn Kennedy, a resident of Leverett, Mass., has found that watching television and playing on the iPad has helped her 22-month-old daughter Anika learn to speak clearly.

     

     “Anika’s clearest vocabulary is words that she’s learned from apps or TV,” Kennedy said.

     

     In fact, Kennedy said her daughter’s most-clearly pronounced word is “map,” which she learned from watching “Dora the Explorer.”  Kennedy believes this may be because even though she spends a lot of time having conversations with her child, she isn’t saying the same words repetitively as is often the case in children’s television shows, so Anika doesn’t learn the words as quickly.

     

     Sue Kelly, coordinator at the Amherst Family Center in Amherst, Mass., agrees that technology “could definitely be an educational tool,” but that socializing is equally, if not more important.  For this reason, she doesn’t use any technology at AFC.

     

     “They need to practice being with each other, not being with a mouse,” Kelly said.

    

     As it is, the effects of technology on children aren’t entirely positive.  Anderson recognizes limitations, saying that “there’s plenty of junk on television and in the digital media,” that can harmfully affect children, such as violent programming that can cause children to act more aggressively and impulsively.

    

     In fact, the study of the 560 “Sesame Street” viewers demonstrated some of the effects of viewing television violence at a young age, as the researchers had very detailed information about the children’s television viewing habits.

    

     “The more they watched action and violent programming, the worse they did in high school,” Anderson said.  “This effect was particularly true for girls.”

    

     Furthermore, Anderson explained that the content of commercials is key in triggering unhealthy behavior.

    

     “Spending too much time watching television, because it’s inherently sedentary can be bad for kids’ health, but also the food advertising on television really tilts heavily towards foods that aren’t very healthy, so it can contribute to obesity and other health problems,” he said.

    

     Because of the often sexual content of media, Anderson said that some advertisements encourage premature sexuality.  Still other ads, which focus on alcohol and tobacco, encourage kids to experiment at much earlier ages.

     

     The content of advertisements is one of the reasons why Cameron Carey and his wife Sarah of Hadley, Mass., don’t allow their four-year-old son Devin to watch any television at all.  Carey said he doesn’t want Devin to hear bad language or watch adult-level content, whether it’s from an advertisement or a television show.

     

     “He picks up bad language or bad behavior if he happens to see something in a cartoon,” Carey said.

    

     When Devin was allowed to watch television, Carey said he saw his son try to duplicate in real life what he had watched on television.  Even the violence of older cartoons, that can seem innocent to adults, like hitting someone on the head with a frying pan, can have a negative impact on children’s behavior, Carey said.

    

     Nonetheless, in today’s high-tech world of touch screen devices, television isn’t the only form of media affecting children.  Anderson is continuously broadening his area of study to include newer technologies.  However, he said that the health risks are the same as with watching television, since for the most part interactive media remains sedentary and advertising is still prominent.

      

     Yet because technology such as tablets and other touch screen devices are still so new, their long-term effects on children are not fully understood since in-depth studies can take years to complete.  Anderson said he’s currently working with another faculty member and one of his graduate students to develop a proposal to study the effects of touch screen devices.

     

     All the same, Anderson spoke of one of his former students, now a professor at the University of Wisconsin, who is just finishing up an essay about her studies of children and touch screen devices.

     

     “She’s basically found that babies learn more from touch screen media than they do from TV,” he said.  He explained that this could be because touch screen media is far more interactive than television, allowing children to learn certain mental skills that are not fostered by television.

     

     As a recommendation, Anderson cites the advice of the American Academy of Pediatrics: no screen time should be allowed before the age of two, then from the ages of two to five about one hour of screen time a day can be permitted, and after the child is older than five, two hours a day is acceptable.

     

     Local parents like Phoebe Hazzard are setting limits on screen time that coincide with Anderson’s recommendation.  Hazzard says her five-year-old daughter Stella and her three-year-old son Sidney are only allowed 30 to 60 minutes with all forms of technology each day.  They often watch a show on PBS in the afternoon and are given some time before bed to watch a YouTube clip or play on a drawing app called Doodle Buddy.

     

     Hazzard has found that allowing her children to use technology too much can negatively affect them because she said it has “a very addictive quality.”  When Stella was younger, Hazard allowed her to use the tablet for short periods four times a day.  Her daughter began to ask to use the tablet so frequently that she minimized her screen time.

     

     Hazzard also commented on how absorbed her children become when they’re given the tablet.

     

     “They’re totally sucked in.  You can’t even talk to them,” she said.

     

     Carey noticed this addictive quality of touch screen devices with his son.  Carey said he used to allow Devin to play a language-learning game on the Kindle where he could match pictures to Spanish words, but Devin started to become overly involved with the game.

    

     “He quickly became demanding.  Almost like an addict,” Carey said.

    

     Because of Devin’s behavior, he hasn’t been allowed to play the game in a year.  Instead, he is allowed to watch YouTube videos for 20 to 30 minutes a day, which his parents choose for him.  Even then, Carey said it is necessary to give his son several warnings before taking the tablet away or he will push to watch more.

     

     Though there are parents like Carey who are highly restrictive concerning their children’s media use, Anderson has noticed that parents often seem proud of their children for their savviness with technology.

     

     “It is funny that parents take great delight in their babies’ media use,” Anderson said.  “When babies really pay attention or get excited by something they see on the screen, parents get extremely interested in that.”

    

     Carey would argue that he’s not proud, but impressed by Devin’s versatility.

     

     “I am very impressed and surprised at how quickly children can adapt to what’s going on on the screen,” he said.

     

     This feeling of bewilderment is a common theme among parents, Kennedy included, who said she’s “so amazed” that Anika can turn on the tablet and find her apps at 22-months-old.

     

     Elianis Gautier of Amherst said her two sons, four-year-old Boqian and two-year-old Kendrick are very adept with their children’s tablet, which allows for more parental blocks and is more durable than an adult tablet.

     

     “They’re really fast learners with technology,” Gautier said.  “I’m slow, but you give them an iPhone, they know how to use it.  You give them a tablet, they know how to use it.”

    

     Gautier also puts restrictions on her children’s media use, limiting it to an hour a day, although she admits she sometimes lets them go over the time limit.  For many parents, if they need to keep their children occupied or need a break from watching them, they allow them to use technology longer than usual.

    

     For example, Kennedy limits Anika’s media use to an hour a day, like Gautier, but says that if they’re on a road trip, the tablet is used to keep them occupied.

     

     Carey also said his son’s tablet use is often “purpose-oriented.”  The tablet is used to keep Devin quiet and immersed long enough to let his younger brother, Cameron Jr., fall asleep.

     

     Surprisingly, Kelly believes that this use of technology to keep children distracted can actually be a good thing.

     

     “There’s not a way to get a break and when a parent gets a break, they’re a better parent,” Kelly said.

     

     However, Anderson argues that there can be negative effects to utilizing technology as a distraction, even though it gives parents some time for themselves.

     

     “In two studies now, we’ve found that when kids are with their parents and there’s a TV going on, the parents’ behavior is really affected and it’s affected negatively as parents are less caregiving and less responsive to their kids,” Anderson said.

    

     In fact, Anderson found in his studies that when children are occupied with technology, parents talk less with them, with an average reduction of 315,000 words a year.  He cautions against parents getting too distracted themselves and not spending enough time talking with their children.

     

     Overall, Anderson thinks it’s necessary for children to have well-balanced lifestyles where screen time, creative play with toys and traditional education, particularly reading, can all play their roles in positively developing cognitive functioning.

By Shelby Ashline

UMass Western Equestrian Team Feature

     University of Massachusetts junior Neha Deshpande, a member of the Western Equestrian Team, circled the indoor arena at the Hadley Farm Equine Center on a recent afternoon atop a gleaming chestnut-colored horse named Chico. 

     

     Underneath her black cowboy hat, her expression was serious: if she placed first or second in her advanced-level class at the regional qualifying show, she would move on to the semi-finals.

     

     She directed her mount around the outside of the ring in both directions and at three different speeds, cued by the announcer, whose instructions bellowed out over the loudspeaker.

     

     Thus far, the regional qualifying show, held on March 15, had been no different than the several other shows Deshpande had competed in throughout the semester across Massachusetts and Connecticut.  Members of the Western Equestrian Team compete in only one class per show where they are judged on their form and their ability to control their horses.  They always wear the same entirely black outfits, with the exception of burgundy silk scarves around their necks, with the goal of looking uniform.

     

     But the regional qualifying show would offer a rather unfamiliar challenge to the competitors.  After having circled the arena, the riders lined up at the end, near the crowd of spectators – friends, family members, teammates and coaches – that stood on the sidelines, and one by one, rode through a pattern.

     

     Consisting of a series of circles, figure eights and sudden turns, the patterns are made clear to the competitors at the start of the show.  Each rider receives a paper with the pattern on it, although the difficulty of the pattern depends on the level the rider is competing at.  Large orange cones mark transition points, where the riders must cue their horses to change speed or direction.

     

     Every competitor is expected to memorize their pattern.  Some of the riders are so serious, that they can be seen before the start of their class practicing the pattern on foot in the parking lot, using cones that are just a few inches tall.

     

     Deshpande had done just that, minus the cones, and she skillfully directed Chico through the series of twists and turns.  Then she waited anxiously to hear the judge’s decision.

     

     Finally, the anticipation broke and the final placing was announced.  Cheers from Deshpande’s coach and teammates echoed around the arena when they heard that she had placed second and would move on to the semi-finals on March 28-30 at the University of Findlay in Findlay, Ohio.

    

     Deshpande was one of three UMass riders who qualified for the semi-finals, along with open-level rider Emily Messing and novice-level rider Alissa Baldarelli.

     

     This semester, the team’s roster includes 17 people: two men and 15 women.  The majority of the group participated in local shows, and whether first or last place, whether at a home show or regionals, the UMass Western Equestrian Team supports all of its members.  It provides them with an environment conducive to improving their riding ability where they not only have the opportunity to ride many different horses on a regular basis, but can find encouragement and helpful advice from their teammates and coach.

     

     Deshpande, who started riding when she was eight-years-old and has been a UMWET member since her freshman year, appreciates the opportunities being on the team has given her.  In particular, she likes being able “to ride a variety of different horses, which really helps your overall horsemanship.”

     

     The horse that a given rider will use each practice is a mystery to them.  Coach Michele Carver, a slim 37-year-old woman who rarely stands still and typically sports a baseball cap, selects mounts for each person based on the rider’s experience and whether or not they have ridden the given horse before.  Because mounts are picked randomly at the shows, the riders must be prepared to handle any kind of horse, whether energetic or lazy, and cannot grow accustomed to regularly riding the same horses.

     

     Sophomore Katie Flanagan, an animal science major from Wellfleet, Mass. agrees with Deshpande.

    

     “I like riding a variety of different horses because it helps you improve as a rider,” Flanagan said.   “Also, showing on a horse you have never ridden is a great way to test your ability.”

    

     Flanagan said she learned about the team when considering which college to attend.  While on a tour for animal science at UMass, a now former member told her about the Western Equestrian Team.  UMass was the only university of the ones she was considering attending that had such a team.

    

     Like Deshpande, Flanagan is a longtime horse enthusiast.  Because her mother had always had horses, Flanagan started riding when she was three-years-old.  She now has a golden brown mare named Daisy, which she keeps at home in Wellfleet.

     

     Junior Maylin Crouss, a hospitality and tourism management major from Pelham, Mass., said she wanted to join the team because she was a member of 4H when she was younger and used to love competing with the 4H team in horse shows.

    

     “I also am always looking for new techniques to use with my own horses,” Crouss added.

    

     Senior Caroline Eng, an animal science major from Westhampton, N.Y., said she only heard about the team last year from a friend who was a member.  She was interested in joining because she was familiar with riding but missed having the opportunity to ride during the school year.  She explained that riding is one of the ways she’s able to stay active.

    

     Eng also commented on the team’s spirit, adding that she loves “how nice and easy going everybody is and how everyone helps each other out.”  This helpfulness can take many forms, whether it be giving each other pointers on how to handle a horse or doing each other’s hair in preparation for a show.

     

      The shows, at all levels, are organized through the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association.  According to the IHSA website, www.ihsainc.com, almost 400 colleges throughout the United States and Canada are IHSA members, sending more than 9,000 riders to competitions.

     

     The UMass Western Equestrian Team regularly competes against Mount Holyoke College out of South Hadley, Mass., Sacred Heart University out of Fairfield, Conn. and the University of Connecticut out of Mansfield, Conn.  The schools are qualified under IHSA as competing in Region 1.5, Zone 3, according to UMWET President Emily Messing.

     

     There are six divisions at which riders can compete, ranging in difficulty: beginner, intermediate, novice, advanced, open and open reining.

     

     To prepare for shows, UMWET practices once a week in groups of five or six under Coach Carver.  Two groups ride Tuesday evening and a third group rides Friday afternoons.

     

     Practice is held at the Hadley Farm in two hour intervals.  However because the riders must groom and tack up their horses before practice, they only spend about an hour to an hour and a half of that time riding.

     

     Members of UMWET are also required to travel to Carver’s personal stable in Broad Brook, Conn. once a month for a private lesson.

     

     The Hadley Farm also is the home of two other riding teams: the UMass Equestrian Team and the UMass Dressage Team.  They ride and show separately from the UMWET because they specialize in different disciplines.

     

     Whereas UMWET uses Western equipment, like what is used on the horses in old Western films featuring cowboys like John Wayne, the other two teams use English equipment which is usually lighter and less bulky.

     

     When the Equestrian Team shows, they participate in classes similar to that of the Western Equestrian Team, where they are judged on their form and their ability to handle the horses.  However, the style of their disciple calls for them to encourage their horses to go slightly faster at each gait and they must position themselves differently in the saddle.  The riders on the Equestrian Team also guide their horses over jumps.

     

     The Dressage Team guides their mounts through intricate patterns, which they must have memorized, using large black letters located on the sides of the arena to pinpoint exactly where in the arena they should be.  Each member on the team rides separately in front of the judge, saluting him or her before and after their ride, which lasts about three to four minutes.

     

     Although the three teams practice different riding styles, they frequently help each other out.  When one team hosts a home show at the Hadley Farm, members of the other two teams will volunteer to help clean the barn or hold horses at ringside throughout the day.

    

     Because the upkeep of horses is costly, Hadley Farm requires that each member of UMWET pay $200 at the start of each semester to help fund the facility. 

    

     In addition, Carver receives $25 per lesson from each member in exchange for her instruction.  This $25 fee carries over to horse shows as well, where Carver advises her students from the sidelines.  A $36 entrance fee is required from each competitor in order for them to participate in a show.

     

     On an organizational level, UMWET functions similarly to many other campus teams and clubs with a president/captain, a vice-president/co-captain, a treasurer and a secretary.  This year, Deshpande holds the position of secretary and Messing, a senior, is president.  Senior Katie Rinaldi is vice-president and senior Alex Raftopoulos is treasurer.

    

     According to the team officers, there is a possibility that the team will relocate from the Hadley Farm in the upcoming semester. 

     

     Such a change wouldn’t be new to UMWET.  Founded in 2008, UMWET originally practiced at the Crimson Acres Equestrian Center in Orange, Mass.  In 2011, they made the transition to the Hadley Farm, according to Messing.

     

     The team will most likely begin holding all of their practice sessions at Carver’s facility.  Though it is a lengthy drive from campus, it would save the team money compared to practicing at the Hadley Farm.

     

     After this semester, five senior team members will graduate, leaving several open positions.  According to Deshpande, who has already been voted in as next year’s president, anyone who is interested in trying out for the team should like the UMass Western Equestrian Team page on Facebook.  Deshpande says information about tryouts will be posted on the page early next semester.

By Shelby Ashline

A Profile on Patricia Gorman

Patricia Gorman, an assistant professor of the Commonwealth Honors College at the University of Massachusetts, has always loved the Irish culture. Over the years she has written essays and dissertations about their literature and theatre. She has also traveled to Ireland many times.

“I’ve always had an infinity for Ireland,” she said. This passion springs from her family ancestry and being part of the third or fourth generation of Irish Americans, depending on which side of the family. She doesn't know where her family is from in Ireland, but she says that that adds to the "intrigue and mystery" that drew her.

This semester Gorman is teaching the course “Irish Writers and Cultural Context,” which is a class that she created. In the class, Gorman teaches her students about the Irish culture they have likely heard so much about though the medium of plays, short stories, novels, and movies. Plays such as “The Bog of Cats” by Marina Carr, “Eclipsed” by Patricia Burke Brogan, and “Dancing at Lughnasa” by Brian Friel, juxtaposed with the movie “The Magdalene Sisters” and poems by people who partook in political activism during the fight for independence from the English. This knowledge is what she has obtained from years of study and multiple trips to Ireland.

                        Her first trip was in her twenties. While she was there she went to the Yeat’s Summer Program in Sligo, where she did graduate work on Yeats, though she eventually changed her topic to James Joyce, and specifically on "Ulysses." Another one of Gorman's trips to Ireland was academic, earning her Ph.D. in Anglo-Irish Literature and Drama from the University College Dublin in 2008.  Another trip ended up being an extended stay, living there during 1983 to1985 with her husband, Douglas DaRif, and two children, Meghan and Devin.  Though the Irish culture is in a state of “dramatic influx”, she still found the culture widely accepting.

One of the aspects of the culture that was difficult to adjust to was the pub culture, she said. In Ireland, people go to the pub in order to hang out with people, and have a variety of drinks ranging from alcohol to tea. People also commonly brought their children to the pub because it was a place of community, which was a culture shock for Gorman because of the American culture of not bring children into institutions such as bars.

However, Gorman had more trouble adjusting to life in the States when she came back because the pace of life in America is much faster than Ireland. Gorman said that the cities, and even the towns, in the United States, were more fast-paced than life in Ireland.

Her other degrees include a Master's in English, Liberal Arts and Education. This is because she continuously wants to learn and enjoys being on both sides of the desk, she said. “I just want to keep learning in a broad way,” she said in reference to her multiple degrees. When she retires, she wants to learn Thai in order to prove to herself that she can.

She remembers how her father would come home and tell stories from the classroom. “He would then lean over and grab my arm and say ‘And Pattie, they pay me for this.’” Her father’s love for his job inspired her to want to have a job that she loved. This job is teaching. “I’ve always wanted to be a teacher,” Gorman said, citing her father as her inspiration.

                        Before Umass, she taught graduate and undergraduate classes at Clark University and Clark's affiliate, Worcester Art Museum. At Clark she created classes that were based in feminism and spirituality in literature.  She liked the unique experience of being able to work and draw from the museum, incorporating the art from the museum with the literature of the class. While there she not only taught, but designed courses as well.

She came to UMass because she wanted to live in a progressive rural area, and the Amherst area gave her that. At Umass she has taught the Dean's book course, "Metaphor and Creativity", "Gender Politics in Representation", an Honors seminar and, of course, the Irish Writers class.

Among her other achievements is receiving the Commonwealth Honors College Distinguished Teaching Award for her work in the class "Ideas That Change the World, an Honor's seminar required for Honors students at Umass. She, and the other winner in 2012, were the first winners of the award. Not only that but she was nominated and selected by students to receive the award. The honors seminar that she teaches is a ground level that most honors kids take. In her version of the class, she starts off with Plato, especially his essay known as “The Cave”, which is a way to teach to her students about questioning everything around themselves.

         She encourages her students to explore what they find interesting. Lena Golick, a sophomore biology major at UMass, says "In Irish Writers she has been allowing us to explore whatever facets of Irish literature most interests us. By doing this, we all learn more because we are actually invested in what we are learning." Instead of creating prompts, she wants students to find out about what interests them, whether that be the music, history, mythology or anything that sparks interest. She lets them pick their own subjects of essays and discussions, and allows them to have a say in the curriculum, something that is unique in the sphere of education. Albert Williams, a UMass junior computer science and math double major, said "Professor Gorman took the indifferent Math student in me and instilled him with compassion."

                        She is currently editing a book on Joyce's "Ulysses." Part of her work with the book is a 400 page dissertation that examines the gender politics in Joyce’s work. By focusing on gender politics, she is able to look at the intersection between paganism and Christianity, two very different religions.

by Lauren McArdle

Speech paper

With Syria broken into factions and fighting each other for power in a "proxy" war, people are fleeing Syria and crossing borders for refuge. The influx of refugees into neighboring countries, especially Lebanon, was one of the central problems Omar Dahi addressed in his lecture "The Crisis of Syria's Refugees in Lebanon," in the Commonwealth College Building, Events Hall -East at 4 pm on Wednesday.

                Dahi, an associate professor of economics at Hampshire College, was born and grew up in Syria and spent last semester in Lebanon and  spoke to 45 people of the problems that are affecting Syria and surrounding countries. He first began by explaining how the crisis was not simply an uprising, like it was at the beginning but is now a "proxy" war involving the many rebel factions, the government, the United States of American, Saudi Arabia and Israel.

                "Lebanon is the most effected, besides Syria," said Dahi. The influx of refugees due to the crisis in Syria has taken its toll on all surrounding countries but especially Lebanon. Most of the neighboring countries have closed their borders, not wanting anymore refugees. Lebanon has not.

                 Before the Syrian crisis, Lebanon was a poor country, but since the rise in population, money has gotten tighter. "They don't have the fiscal ability to take care of these refugees," said Dahi, speaking from his own experience.

                But that has not stopped the flow of refugees into the country.  The population of Syria right now is about 4 million people. Out of that number, 1 million of them are Syrian refugees. That means that 1/4 of the population is Syrian refugees. This number is predicted to rise, resulting in half the population being refugees.

                Dahi says that there were three things that led to this crisis: the Arab uprising, the war against Iran, and the decline of U.S. power in the Middle East. The Arab uprising, commonly known as Arab Spring, started when Tunisia rebelled against their authoritarian government, and other countries in the Middle East followed suit. This uprising, which turned into the "proxy war" that it is now, provided a moral cover for what was happening what is happening in Syria now.

                The war against Iran also helped to deteriorate Syria. The U.S., Saudi Arabia and Israel created economic sanctions against Iran in an attempt to weaken their power in the Middle East. The allies determined that "Syria was viewed as the weakest link." Therefore, Saudi Arabia used the uprising there to push for allegiance and to try to put into government a more supportive government. Iran felt that the Syrian uprising had been hijacked and put money into the Syrian regime.

                The United States' decline of power in the area is a similar concept because of the fluctuating support they give to different opposition groups.  "You have many different sides pushing against each other and reaching a stalemate in destruction," he said.

                The best outcome for Syria would be peace talks which recently adjourned in Geneva, Switzerland. The talks would involve Syria, Russia, The united States, Saudi Arabia and Iran. There are two possible outcomes, either to create an opportunity for a new leadership to emerge or to split up the region. "And the hope," said Dahi, "or the best outcome, is the these processes create a new space for these voices to be heard."

                What can the United States do? Dahi said that United States citizens can contact their delegates to urge them to put pressure on their allies, like Saudi Arabia, for a political settlement. The other part the United States can take is to recognize Iran as a legitimate country and enter talks with Iran to find a peaceful resolution.

                "I felt like I learned  a lot about the current situation in Syria and that it has gone from an internal uprising to a kind of international battleground from Dahi's organized presentation," said Mary Carey, a journalism professor at the University of Massachusetts.

                Morgan Morselli, a sophomore at UMass, said "Dahi did a great job of clarifying why the refugees have a big impact."

by Lauren McArdle

2012-2013 Fencing Season

Fencing Season