K-ZONE WPKZ FM105.3/AM 1280

Your Hometown Radio

listen nowLISTEN NOW
listen nowLISTEN NOW
K-Zone Studio Line 978.348.1280

Fitchburg State University

Fitchburg State presents ‘Do the Right Thing’

by

FITCHBURG — The Center for Italian Culture (CIC) at Fitchburg State University will present a free screening of Academy Award winner Spike Lee’s classic film “Do the Right Thing” in November as part of its year-long exploration of the Italian immigrant experience.

The series, “Nuovo Mondo: A Century of Migrations from and to Italy,” will present “Do the Right Thing” (1989) at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 30, in Ellis White Lecture Hall in Hammond Hall, 160 Pearl St.

Lee’s acclaimed comedy-drama explores the simmering racial tensions in a Brooklyn neighborhood between African-American residents and the Italian-American owners of a local pizzeria, culminating in violence and tragedy on a hot summer day. Admission to the screening is free and open to the public.

In addition, the Fitchburg State University Archives and Special Collections, the CIC, and the Fitchburg Historical Society have collaborated to present a digital exhibit on Fitchburg’s Italian-American neighborhood, the Patch.

All materials were sourced from the Amelia V. Gallucci-Cirio Library, the Center for Italian Culture Archives, and the Fitchburg Historical Society.

This digital exhibit was created by Ross Caputi, archival assistant at the Center for Italian Culture Archives, and Asher Jackson, archivist at Fitchburg State University, in collaboration with the Fitchburg Historical Society. It can be viewed at https://fitchburgstate.libguides.com/c.php?g=1188881&p=9980974.

Additional information on the CIC’s series can be found online at FitchburgState.edu/Nuovo-Mondo.

(Courtesy Fitchburg State University)

Fitchburg State junior takes top honor in statewide summit

by

BOSTON — Fitchburg State University student filmmaker Isaiah Manuel took first place in the recent Student Media Summit, where he competed against students from 14 institutions of higher education, including Emerson College, Northeastern University and Boston University.

In addition to networking opportunities, the summit, held at Emerson College on Oct. 27, included a “pitch contest” where student filmmakers had two minutes to articulate their vision for a narrative or documentary film project.

Manuel, a junior from Leominster, submitted a proposal for his documentary “Thrown Away,” about where Massachusetts’ trash goes once it is shipped out of state. It was one of 77 submissions to the contest, from which 14 were selected for oral pitches at the summit. From that pool, he won the $1,000 cash prize, with additional funds for equipment rental to produce the film.

“I was surprised, especially because most of the other projects were narrative films,” Manuel said. “It was a great experience.”

The annual contest is organized by the Massachusetts Production Coalition’s Education Consortium. In addition to Fitchburg State, participating colleges included Bentley University, Boston University, Bridgewater State University, Emerson College, Endicott College, Lasell University, Lesley University, Massachusetts College of Art & Design, Middlesex Community College, Northeastern University, Suffolk University, Tufts University, and Wheaton College.

Manuel’s project spawned from his curiosity about the trains full of trash he saw being shipped on the tracks from Leominster. With long-held interests in photography and trains, the documentary film project started to take shape in his mind.

“I took (Associate Professor) Kevin McCarthy’s documentary development class last spring, and I spent the whole semester learning about something I really wanted to know more about,” Manuel said.

His research included finding out that vast quantities of waste produced in Massachusetts is shipped to a landfill in Uniontown, Ala., where more than half the population lives below the property line, and that raised additional questions in his mind about societal habits toward waste and recycling, and how those attitudes have an impact extending far beyond the trash cans in our driveways.

Manuel said he hopes to pursue a career in film or television. This fall, he has enjoyed McCarthy’s multi-camera television production class that is taught in collaboration with Fitchburg Access Television (FATV). The class includes work in the FATV studios downtown, and additional hours as a member of the production crew in community settings, including scholastic sports and election coverage.

“It’s been really interesting,” Manuel said. “It’s what I look forward to doing for my career.”

(Courtesy Fitchburg State University)

Fitchburg State Concert Band performs LGBTQ composers Nov. 16

by

FITCHBURG — Fitchburg State University’s Concert Band and Community Orchestra will perform their fall concert, “We Are One Sound,” at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 16, in Weston Auditorium, 353 North St. Admission is free and open to the public.

The Concert Band will be featuring music by LGBTQ composers. This is the culminating semester concert for the Fitchburg State Concert Band and http://gty.im/154932887 http://gty.im/1753041765 http://gty.im/1730512275 ensembles.

“We are excited to present a concert of music by LGBTQ composers of the 20th and 21st centuries, including Aaron Copland, Randall Standridge, Omar Thomas, Julie Giroux and Rossano Gallante,” said Assistant Professor Amy McGlothlin, a member of the university’s Humanities Department faculty and the conductor of the Concert Band.

While admission is free, the university will be collecting donations of non-perishable microwavable meals to stock the Falcon Bazaar, the campus food and necessities pantry.

The Concert Band at Fitchburg State is open to all people with experience playing a band instrument and includes students, alumni, faculty and members of the surrounding community.

The Fitchburg State Community Orchestra, led by Prof. Hildy Schilling, is also composed of students, faculty members, and other musicians who live in the Greater Fitchburg community. The orchestra performs at numerous campus and community events.

Learn more about Fitchburg State’s musical offerings at fitchburgstate.edu/music.

(Courtesy Fitchburg State University)

Fitchburg State hosting Moot Court Tournament

by

FITCHBURG — The question of whether a constitutional right to privacy includes use of contraception will be among the legal issues analyzed when Fitchburg State University hosts the American Moot Court Association’s Eastern Regional Tournament on Friday, Nov. 17 and Saturday, Nov. 18.

Competing students are judged on their oral and written arguments on opposing sides of legal principles, with this year’s tournament case posing questions about access to contraception and the intersection of law and religious belief. During the competition, the students will present arguments and answer questions from a panel of judges, as in an appellate court proceeding.

The teams with the highest scores at the regional tournament will move onto the national finals in January.

Fifty teams of students representing 17 colleges and universities will gather for the regional tournament this month, including five students from Fitchburg State.

“My kids have worked hard,” said Professor Paul Weizer of Fitchburg State’s Economics, History and Political Science Department, who founded and coaches the university’s moot court program. “I’m proud to have them represent Fitchburg State and am confident that they will be ready.”

Lydia Palmer, a senior from Ashby, competed in last year’s tournament and hopes to advance to the nationals this year. “This class has taught me invaluable research skills, an understanding of the law that no other class could give, as well as a chance to develop my leadership skills as team captain this year,” said Palmer, who is studying pre-law with a minor in political science. “As with representing any institution in competition, it is an honor.”

Adam Quinlan, a sophomore from Westford, said he joined moot court to prepare himself for law school after completing his bachelor’s degree, and that the experience has already improved his confidence in public speaking, among other valuable skills. He added that he was grateful for Dr. Weizer’s support in encouraging him to give it a try.

“Honestly when I began moot court the idea of representing Fitchburg State in such a large competition was very intimidating,” Quinlan said. “I felt like I was just a kid who likes arguing, staring at this mile-tall wall that is the rest of the nation’s competitors. As I have progressed in moot court I have begun to understand that I do deserve a seat at the table in a national competition, and I have felt overwhelmingly proud to represent Fitchburg State in such a large scale tournament.”

Fitchburg State’s Moot Court program launched in 2000 and has advanced teams to the national competition in almost every year of its existence. Earlier this year, the American Moot Court Association ranked Fitchburg State in its top 25 programs nationwide in appellate brief writing.

(Courtesy of Fitchburg State University)

Local Notebook: Resilient Falcons victorious in home opener

by

As far as home openers go, Saturday’s game against Anna Maria is unlikely to go down in annals of Fitchburg State hockey as one that should be studied on how to win.

Still, a win is a win and despite play being heavily controlled by the visiting Amcats and facing a huge deficit in shots for most of the contest, the Falcons were indeed able to pick up a victory to kick of their slate of games at the Wallace Civic Center.

It was a showcase of the Falcons’ resolve and put a spotlight on a young netminder, shining in his collegiate debut.

The guests often pinned the Falcons in their own end for decent spans of time and held advantages in shots of 15-5 after 20 minutes and 38-17 after two periods, but the figure that truly mattered was the 3-2 final score as Fitchburg State held its own in the third period and took control in overtime.

Even though they were outshot throughout, the Falcons (1-1-1, 0-0-1 MASCAC) never trailed. Samuel Rennick gave FSU a 1-0 lead in the second and after the Amcats pulled even in the third, freshman Nicklas Millhorn put the Falcons ahead with a power-play marker.

Though Anna Maria tied things midway through the final frame, the Falcons never wavered. Their effort was rewarded with just over a minute left in the extra frame as freshman Kristopher Zapata used an exceptional burst of speed to get around a defender and snapped the game-winner past Anna Maria goalie Matthew Hennessey.

It gave freshman netminder Frederick Soderberg his first collegiate victory and it was certainly deserved. The first-year goalie from Harrison Township, Michigan, stopped 46 shots and kept the Falcons in the game even when the ice seemed tilted against them.

Bernardians put it all together

In a renewal of a Thanksgiving Eve rivalry game on Friday night, the St. Bernard’s football team put together a strong effort in a 38-8 road victory over Lunenburg.

St. Bernard's Jarius Williams had a pair of rushing touchdowns in Friday's win over Lunenburg. (Sentinel & Enterprise File Photo)
St. Bernard’s Jarius Williams had a pair of rushing touchdowns in Friday’s win over Lunenburg. (Sentinel & Enterprise File Photo)

After making their way through a season of close games that they came up on the wrong end of, the Bernardians (2-7) left no doubt in the non-playoff consolation game. After a scoreless first quarter, the guests took a 20-0 lead into halftime after a trio of touchdowns in the second.

They visitors never relented, scoring the first touchdown of the second half and rolling to win No. 2 on the season.

As it had been in the past, the ground game was the key for St. Bernard’s. Keegan Rose racked up 131 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries, while Jarius Williams had 118 yards on 11 touches, scoring twice.

The Bernardians will host Quabbin Regional on Friday night and close the campaign on Nov. 22 with St. Paul visiting on Thanksgiving Eve.

Week 10 football schedule set

While the football postseason rolls on, the non-playoff slate for Week 10 has been announced.

Westboro will visit Doyle Field to take on Leominster, while Fitchburg heads to Assabet. North Middlesex Regional will host Tantasqua, Oakmont Regional faces old rival Gardner and Algonquin Regional will travel to Bolton to play Nashoba Regional.

Rounding out the locals, Lunenburg plays at Narragansett and Ayer-Shirley hosts Worcester Tech.

Lapidus to retire as Fitchburg State president

by

FITCHBURG — Fitchburg State University President Richard Lapidus announced Monday that he will be retiring at the end of the 2023-2024 academic year. Lapidus joined Fitchburg State in July of 2015 and is the University’s 11th leader.

Lapidus has led school during the creation of new academic programs such as the expansion of online offerings, has deepened ties between the campus and the city, and has guided the University through the challenges of the global pandemic.

During his time as president, Fitchburg State’s institutional accreditation was renewed and a new strategic plan was adopted.

“From the day I first interviewed for the position on campus, I knew that Fitchburg State was a special place, and it has been an honor to have contributed to its positive evolution,” Lapidus said. “This is a campus of dedicated individuals who care deeply about our students, and as I have said many times, each of you makes a difference every day and for that I can’t be more appreciative.”

C. Deborah Phillips, chair of the Board of Trustees, said it has been an honor and a privilege to serve during Lapidus’ tenure. She cited his navigation of the University during the pandemic as an example of his contributions to the Fitchburg State community.

“During the COVID -19 health crisis, President Lapidus demonstrated strong and compassionate leadership as the University faced uncharted territory,” Phillips said. “Because of his foresight in upgrading the university’s technology platforms in the years prior to the COVID crisis, Fitchburg State was uniquely positioned for the virtual teaching and learning environment essential for the campus community to function during those uncertain days and months.”

The Board of Trustees chair said that, under the leadership of Lapidus, Fitchburg State didn’t just survive COVID but was able to also thrive.

“Not only did the university function during COVID, but new ways of serving the student body were developed, new programs were implemented, and even new traditions were established,” said Phillips. “For nine years President Lapidus has led Fitchburg State with calmness and agility. His intuitive and gracious leadership will be missed, but he leaves the University well positioned to face the challenges ahead.”

A comprehensive national search will be undertaken for Lapidus’ successor.

Founded in 1894, Fitchburg State has more than 30 undergraduate programs and 22 master’s degree programs; in total the school serves 6,000 full and part-time students. Learn more at fitchburgstate.edu.

(Courtesy Fitchburg State University)