Long Overdue - Curry College

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6 THE CURRIER TIMES NOVEMBER 2010 Vantage Points Fairness in Love and Sports ERIN POWERS The new women’s volleyball team at Curry was not started simply because students enjoy the sport. The team was also put together as a result of the federal Title IX law, which requires equality of opportunities between men and women in collegiate sports. The law goes further than just equality, though. It states that representation of female athletes, on a percentage basis, should mirror that of the student population: If 60 percent of students at a college are female, for example, then 60 percent of the athletes on campus should be female. This law is no joke, and Quinnipiac University in Connecticut found that out the hard way after being sued by members of its women’s volleyball team as well as the coach. The problem arose when the university threatened to cut the volleyball team for budgetary reasons. The plan was to replace the team with a competitive cheerleading squad, which didn’t sit too well with the volleyball ladies. In July, U.S. District Judge Stefan Underhill ruled that “competitive cheerleading had not developed enough to be considered a college sport for Title IX purposes.” Quinnipiac responded by bringing back the women’s volleyball team and even started talking about adding women’s golf and rugby teams. There are seven men’s teams at Curry: football, soccer, basketball, hockey, baseball, lacrosse and tennis. Now, with volleyball, there are seven for women, as well: soccer, cross country, tennis, basketball, lacrosse and softball. However, the men’s football team has something like 80 players on it, making the numbers a little uneven when compared to any women’s squad. The baseball, hockey and men’s soccer teams similarly have a large number of guys on their rosters. Recently, the college made the decision to manage and operate the Ulin ice rink in Milton, where the hockey team has long played its home games. This made me wonder: Why only a men’s ice hockey team? Adding a women’s squad would certainly even out the number of male and female athletic opportunities at Curry. After all, that’s the reason for Title IX’s existence: equality of opportunity. I have heard from several girls on campus who played ice hockey in high school but had to put the skates away when they came to Curry. I, myself, played the sport at Duxbury High School and would be very interested in getting back out there, playing at a competitive and organized level. Although the number of sports teams at Curry is now equal between the sexes, adding a women’s hockey squad would go a long way in evening out the numbers of male and female athletes at the college. Giving women equal opportunity to be involved in competitive collegiate sports isn’t only fair. It’s also the law. Erin Powers is a junior communication major. AMY O’HARA Since graduating from Curry in 2000, Amy O’Hara made history by becoming the first female sergeant in Revere Police Department history. O’Hara was also a contestant on Season 11 of “Survivor: Guatemala” and made it to the eighth elimination. This former professional women’s football player talks about her dedication, determination and how she achieved her goals. CT: You’ve done so much already in life. Is there anything else you would want to do? We All Suffer From Hateful Speech MICHAEL MILLER By now everyone knows about the racist and anti- Semitic vandalism that occurred on our campus the last week of October. What you may not know is that there have been other incidents, admittedly not as public, directed toward individual students. So what is the big deal? This is just kids being kids, right? Or maybe they were just alcohol-induced pranks or disagreements between roommates. The great majority of us are not Jewish or a person of color, and if you aren’t one of the individual students specifically targeted, who cares? Well, we all need to care. Hate crimes, and this is what these were, affect all of us. Speech or action that diminishes one individual or group demeans all of us. And let’s not kid ourselves; the swastika, while seen by many as an anti-Semitic symbol, is used by neo-Nazis and white supremacists. These individuals are anti-feminist, anti-Christian, and call for the overthrow of our government. So to the people of color, Jews and gays who are threatened by such groups, add women, Christians, and those who support our country. Do you see yourself now? So what do we do? Everyone—students, faculty and staff—have to speak out. To that end, the faculty THE CURRIER TIMES Reporters Andrew Blom, Craig Dudley, Sebastian Humbert, Nick Ironside, Brendan Lonek, Alexandra McGinnis, Erin Powers, Zack Weiss and Sam Zapora Contributing Writers Ana Bottary, Molly McCarthy, Tim McCarthy and Danielle Roy Contributing Designer Andrea Melchiorri Faculty Advisor Professor Jeff Lemberg unanimously approved a resolution condemning the incidents, recognizing the need for expanded education about the destructive nature of hate crimes, calling on the administration to promptly inform the community when such incidents occur, and asking all of us to treat each other with respect. What can you do? If you see someone participating in hate speech, say something. Let them know it is definitely not OK. If they persist or if you see evidence of a hate crime or hate speech but don’t see who did it, let an RA, faculty member or a member of the administration know. In all situations, treat people with dignity and respect. The only way to make this stop is for all of us to collectively say we don’t approve of this behavior and won’t let it happen. I often use the Hebrew expression L’shalom, which means “to peace,” as an ending to an e-mail or letter because we should always be moving in the direction of peace. That is what I hope we can do now. We are better than the recent actions. Let’s show everyone that is the case. L’shalom. Michael Miller is an associate professor in the Management Department at Curry and is faculty advisor to Hillel, the student Jewish group. The Currier Times is a student-written and produced print publication that publishes monthly throughout the academic year. Reporters are registered students of the News/Multimedia Journalism Practicum course, with other students contributing to the Times. The Currier Times is printed by MassWeb Printing Co. in Auburn, Mass. To contact the Times, e-mail: curriertimes@post03.curry.edu. O’Hara: I love my job. I’m a fourth generation police officer, so really my goal is to obtain rank every time I can. I’ve been a sergeant since 2002 and I’ve taken several exams, but there haven’t been any other openings. My goal is to get promoted as much as I can: lieutenant, captain, maybe even chief someday. CT: Is having three generations before you in law enforcement what helped steer you to become a police officer? O’Hara: Most definitely. My father was a state trooper and I have great grandfathers and great uncles that belonged to the Revere Police Department, so there’s no doubt that’s why I’m in this job, because of my family history. CT: Being the first female sergeant, do or did people treat you differently? O’Hara: Not really. I work with a great bunch of people, both men and women, and I really didn’t have too many problems. CT: What about after “Survivor”? Did people treat you any differently after your time there? O’Hara: It’s funny, when I worked out on the street I would go to people’s house to arrest them for serious crimes and they’d say to me, “Hey, weren’t you on ‘Survivor?’” They didn’t even care that they were going to be placed under arrest; all they wanted to do was talk to me about “Survivor.” And I still get it today. I still get fan mail from, like, Australia, and they will send it to the police station. CT: With an impressive resume like yours, what advice can you give to Curry students? O’Hara: Set goals. You can do whatever you want in life. I’ve proven it. Everything I’ve ever wanted to do I’ve done. Curry is a great school and students there should just set their goals high and just do whatever they want to do. Go for it. And setbacks sometimes are a good thing. It just makes you stronger to go further. Written and condensed by Danielle Roy.
NOVEMBER 2010 THE CURRIER TIMES 7 Back to School Dennis Void, 26, finishes off his college football playing career By De’Jon Berment Dennis Void Jr. has come a long way since his days growing up in Harlem, N.Y. Literally. A high school football standout at Mount St. Michael Academy in the Bronx, Void was named First Team All-City and All-State, a member of the state coaches association’s Golden 50 Team, and was ranked among the top running backs in the nation. He was showered with the kind of scholarship opportunities that most kids only dream about. Following his senior season, in the fall of 2002, Void chose to attend the University of Alabama, the Crimson Tide, but had to attend a prep school for a year to help bolster his grades and earn an SAT score that would actually enable him to play. Although he had so many exceptional accomplishments on the gridiron, Void had long struggled in the classroom. “Just being lazy and not studying for the SAT the way I should have,” he says. Void never did make it to Tuscaloosa. Instead, football and life took him to Maine, California, Pennsylvania and Nevada before landing this fall in Milton, Mass. At the age of 26, Void is finally at the end of a long and oftentimes painful college football career. After graduating from Mount St. Michael, Void took his talents to Bridgton Academy, an all-male postgraduate school in Bridgton, Maine. His success on the field continued, as did the tough times in the classroom. He was still unable to gain athletic eligibility by the NCAA Clearinghouse due to low SAT scores. That same year, Void became a father to a baby boy. With the clocking ticking on his college playing career, and a new son in his life, Void plowed on. He discovered Chabot Junior College in Hayward, Calif., through his first cousin, Steve Johnson, who accompanied him on the team. Johnson would go on to play at the University of Kentucky and is currently At age 26, Dennis Void, who led the Colonels in rushing this season with 588 yards, has finally played his final college football game. Void’s journey to Curry has been long and trying. a wide receiver with the Buffalo Bills. During his 2004 season at Chabot Junior College, Void accumulated more than 1,000 all-purpose yards and helped lead the team to the conference championship. He also received more Division I scholarships after the season. To this day, Void still holds the Chabot record for most yards per carry, at 8.4. From California, the traveled act would land in Pittsburgh, Pa. Void played for Duquesne University in 2006 and 2007, but was limited to just three games each year due to an ankle fracture and, later, a lower abdominal injury. He ended his Duquesne career with just 68 carries, 206 yards and two touchdowns. In search of another opportunity, Void found one at the University of Nevada. It was short lived. Void tore his ACL during spring football, leaving him on the sidelines the entire season. Milling about and with one year left of college playing eligibility, Void says he decided to reach out to Curry Head Coach Skip Bandini via phone and ask for one last chance to play ball. Void had good references, as Bandini is close friends with the head football coach at Bridgton Academy, Rick Marcella. Bandini actually went to school there himself and played alongside Marcella. According to Bandini, Void more than lived up to the hype. Given his experience and overall maturity, Bandini says Void was able to quickly adjust to the Colonels’ offense. In 10 games this past season, the 5-foot-10, 220-pound Void ran for 588 yards and three touchdowns, caught for 138 yards and two touchdowns, and was named All-Division Second Team. The Colonials finished the year with a 6-4 record (4-3 in conference play), winning their final three games. “As a player, he has great work ethic,” says Bandini. “He keeps a lunchbox mentality, bringing hard work, no matter what the circumstances. And as a person, he understands his roles and responsibilities being older and having a kid. He’s been around.” With his college career finally coming to an end, Void says he hopes to still find ways to put on the pads and play. But it’s no longer his top priority. “It is a sport that I love and will continue to play until I can no longer, regardless of age,” Void says. “The ultimate goal is to receive my degree.” Courtesy of Curry Athletics Sophomores Return to Lead Lady Colonels Women’s basketball team enters the season young and united By Zachary Weiss Three sophomores, all nursing majors, will be among the leaders of this year’s women’s basketball team. All three will bring certain intangibles to the court. Hailey Rafferty, Julia Scrubb and Carolyn Houston are coming off strong freshmen seasons in which each received conference player of the week honors at one point or another. Rafferty, from Worcester, Mass., co-led the team in scoring and led the team in rebounding last year, with 9.8 points per game and 6.1 rebounds as a guard/forward. Scrubb, from Stowe, Vt., averaged 9.6 points and 4.5 rebounds per game as a power forward, while Houston, from Melrose, N.Y., was and remains the Colonels’ defensive stopper. She average 5.7 points and 4.5 rebounds per game, and was second on the team in steals with 46 in 24 games played. Hailey Rafferty, left, and Julia Scrubb (along with Carolyn Houston, not pictured) hope to lead the Lady Colonels to the TCCC postseason this year. Either Rafferty or Scrubb led the Lady Colonels in scoring in 11 of the team’s final 13 games last season. According to the trio, their growing friendship away from basketball will hopefully translate into success this year. “Since we’re all friends off the court, that will take us far during the season,” says Rafferty. “We do everything. We all live together and eat together.” The team has become really close this year,” echoes Houston, “and that helps… chemistry.” The players said the team did a great job jelling toward the end of last season and return all but one player. The Colonels finished last year with a record of 9-16, 4-9 in The Commonwealth Coast Conference. That has led many to underestimate this year’s Lady Colonels; they’re ranked 10th in a TCCC coaches’ preseason poll. “One of the goals for this year is to make the playoffs,” Rafferty says. That journey starts with a tournament at Curry College Nov. 19 and 20 that will feature UMass-Dartmouth, St. Joseph’s and Mount Ida. It’s the first time the college has hosted a women’s basketball tournament in its new gym. That’s all well and good, according to the sophomore trio, but at the end of the weekend, “We want that championship,” says Rafferty. Zachary Weiss
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Long Overdue - Curry College

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