Photo credit Samantha Denette / The Amherst Wire

While rolling out bagels to James Taylor and Buffalo Springfield, Keough explains that at Wheatberry “its fun because everyone gets to do things…there’s an equal distribution of work.” The afternoon shift generally prepares the dough and the morning person shapes and bakes the dough. Wheatberry serves muffins, bagels, cookies, croissants, and breads, all baked fresh daily. Inside the café is an open floor plan to look directly into the kitchen and baking area.

“We want people to see the baking process and what we do,” says Keough. “Right now in the food world, it’s all about instant gratification but we’re slow food. We’re hand crafted and we try to put a lot of thought into the process.”

Owners Ben and Adrie Lester began baking for local farmers markets. “We were terribly afraid that we would come home with all of it,” Ben says, “but things just blew out of the case. We were sold out in an hour or two.” From there they moved into wholesale baking, supplying goods for local restaurants and cafes. Ben explains that when they found the space they are now located in, adding the café to their wholesale business, they “got too industrial,” and instead shifted their focus to the café and sustainable farming.

When the price of grain tripled during the 2007-08 winter, the Lesters decided to move towards locally grown grain. They helped found Pioneer Valley Heritage Grains, a local community supported agriculture (CSA) group.

“We’re trying to develop relationships with people in our community committed to sustaining local growing practices,” says Ben.

Ben and Adrie Lester approach their business at Wheatberry from a sustainability standpoint. They utilize local produce, cheese, and meats for all of their salads and sandwiches, all of which are seasonal due to availability. They also substitute local honey or maple syrup for sugar in many of their recipes. Everything that can be biodegradable is, down to the napkins and plastic bags they wrap their day old bread in. Though not everyone does compost and recycle them, the fact that they are offered is a “consciousness raising practice,” says Ben. “We’re always trying to push the boundaries but you have to push them in the right direction.”

More information on Wheatberry Bakery and Café
More information about Pioneer Valley Heritage Grains

Born and raised in the north side of Chicago, Papachristos grew up during the highest point of gang violence, with over 1000 homicides a year in the city. By the time he was 16-years-old he began working for not-for-profit groups counseling gang members, many of them peers and childhood friends. He received a Ph.D. for Sociology at the University of Chicago in 2007, and is now a research fellow in a program in Criminal Justice Policy and Management at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government.

Video credit Loraine Burger / The Amherst Wire

Papachristos knew he would get involved with legal services, and fell in love with criminology at a young age. But why go from ride-alongs with cops, research with gangs, and field work right in the streets of Chicago to a classroom in Massachusetts? A friend once told Papachristos simply to teach what he liked.

“I want [my students] to think differently than they have before about crime. I want them to put crime into a social context; to find out why these crimes happen. It’s rational to some people; it’s how they were raised,” said Papachristos.

A huge part of Papachristos’ research involves studying the environments in which gangs develop, reducing the violence that occurs between gangs, and making the transition from prison back into the real world more successful.

It’s not just what he’s teaching, but how he’s teaching it that’s attracting attention

“He puts so much of his personal experience into his lectures,” said senior Alyssa Montelbano, “it makes the class a lot more interesting, and he’s so funny.”

“I’m the same inside and outside the classroom,” said Papachristos. “It’s not a persona; this is the way I talk, this is the way I dress, this is it.”

Video credit Loraine Burger / The Amherst Wire

In 2008, Papachristos won the Professor of the Year Award by the Student Sociological Council, and has been nominated for the Distinguished Teaching Award, UMass’ highest honor.

“It made me feel really good because it means I can be myself,” said Papachristos of the award. “I’m very animated but it’s not for show—it’s who I am—and these students like the delivery of the material.”

He’s applied the same principles to teaching as he has to his field work: be yourself. Both his students and his study subjects, he believes, are more open when they trust that he is being himself. Especially when working with gang members, Papachristos found that he had to be in the field for a long time—six months to a year with the same people—before he built up enough trust with them to get valuable information.

So who is the man behind the beard whose “self” has won over so many students? He’s a father of two; a son, Theo, 4, and a daughter, Hazel, 2. He’s a resident of Greenfield, Mass, a practitioner of Okinawan karate, and a guitar player. He’s a passionate teacher and researcher who is reaping the benefits of being himself.

The march began at the Student Union with chants and shouts for economic justice. When the crowd, led by megaphone-brandishing Sarah Meunier of the March 4th Coalition, ceased their march, they were told to remain silent and respectful while inside Whitmore.

The procession moved to the second floor of Whitmore in almost complete silence. Tension and anticipation hung in the air while the delegates parted from the group and headed up to the Chancellor Robert Holub’s office.

Unfortunately, the Chancellor wasn’t in. The demands were issued to Vice Chancellor Kim.

Photo credit Lauren Scrima / The Amherst Wire

The delegates rejoined the crowd, led them out of Whitmore and resumed chanting. Some employees chanted in languages other than English, adding to the rally a feeling of importance that reached higher and deeper than the sounds of the angered students alone.

In an interview later that day, UMass spokesman Ed Blaguszewski communicated his views on the demands. “The University has advocated strongly to secure as many funds as possible and has worked closely with the legislative leadership and Governor Patrick to keep that high on the agenda. We’re very much in concert with the concern and the desire of folks in terms of providing more money for the University and having it focused on providing students with a good education, so I don’t think there’s disagreement on that at all. What people do need to recognize is that the administration of UMass Amherst and of the other UMass campuses are really part of a larger equation and we’re making due with less money each year. As we grapple with priorities we try our best to make the best decisions and manage a lot of different needs.”

One of the major demands is to halt the construction of the $12.5 million police station on campus. According to Meunier, “taking our fee money to build a $12.5 million new police station doesn’t equate to more safety for us.” Katie Roussos, a member of the UMass Coalition added that, “If [the administration] want to increase safety they wouldn’t close the only health care facility on campus from midnight to 8 a.m., making it so that there is no on-campus rape crisis.” Round the clock care at University Health Services and a rape crisis center were also included in the list of demands.

Unfortunately for the UMass Coalition, Blaguszewski explained that “the police have been in an outdated building for many years in Dickinson Hall and they were due to have a modern space to house modern equipment and manage a variety of security cameras and dispatch across campus, and those things are done now, but in very cramped quarters with limitations,” so, “that building is going up. The ground is broken and the money is committed and the building is under construction, so that is going to happen.”

Tiffany Yee, Vice President of the Graduate Student Senate, is especially concerned with the lack of ability students currently have to participate in the budget making process that seeks to make use of their money.

“There are students participating [but] we are there to listen. We have no say.”

Blaguszewski responded to this statement.

“The [budgeting] process in pretty much all colleges and universities involves assessing what the revenue is, what your expenses are, talking with key constituencies on campus. Chancellor Holub, drawing from all that advice, makes a decision and then forwards it up to the board of trustees and the president and they vote in a budget. There are student fees that are allocated to the Student Government Association and they really do have great influence and control over how those are spent.”

On the subject of reforming campus food costs, UMass Coalition Public Relations Officer, Evan Serio argued that “[students] don’t have affordable, healthy choices. We either have the choice of what they have given us: large corporation, really unhealthy food, or an increase in the amount that we have to pay for a smaller choice.”

Yee added that “It’s not just about healthy food; it’s about more affordable food. Every year the meal plans just keep going up and up. Now there’s talk about mandatory meal plans for all undergrads. We can’t afford that.”

In reference to these concerns, Blaguszewski offered sympathy and optimism. “We want to make sure that we’re giving [students] the right options…Food is basic and it’s something that everybody is dealing with three times a day and we should take a look at [the food plan] and evaluate what the economics are and decide if any adjustment can be made.”

Serio affirmed that the Coalition has “made a list of demands and we have demanded that in return we get a clear cut plan of implementation, of how they’re going to be able to respond and fulfill our demands by March 31st and we will continue to mobilize and organize until all of our demands are met.”

“I think everybody was impressed and pleased that the protest was respectful and orderly and people made good points and were strong advocates, but there was no conflict” said Blaguszewski. “Protesting really is an important aspect [of the processes at UMass]. If people feel they want to go that route we respect that and that’s part of the college experience.”

Blaguszewski reflected nostalgically on his own college years during the Vietnam War, during which he and most administrators who are from the same generation witnessed the glory days of college protests. He added that “It’s good that the students take the initiative and care. I think that’s a good sign for their interest and their engagement and that they care about the University.”

The next meeting of the March 4th Coalition is next Tuesday, March 9th at 5 p.m. in room 168 C in the Campus Center.

The evening’s focus was all about embracing Afro-Dominican heritage and culture, in addition to showing support to victims in Haiti. With a semi-formal dress code, everyone arrived looking good and ready to party. Beginning with a dinner provided by UMass Dining Services, the room was buzzing with friendly chatter; guests came from around the Pioneer Valley and included professors and students from all five colleges, as well as local Dominican families and their children. Charming hosts and fellow Casa members Gisel Saillant and Modesto Montero led the night’s festivities.

Photo credit Hollis Smith / The Amherst Wire

There were many high points of the evening, including theatrical skits performed throughout the night by Casa members. The intent of these skits was to provoke thinking and awareness of specific issues such as inter-racial dating as well body image insecurity. To celebrate their culture, Cayena, a Dominican dance group on campus, performed to the sounds of tambourines, maracas and flutes. Dancing a traditional Dominican routine, their performance proved to be a crowd favorite. Another memorable point of the evening was guest speaker, Agustin Lao-Montes, an esteemed UMass Sociology professor. Recounting the history of Dominican independence from Haiti, Lao-Montes gave an impassioned speech about the strength of the Dominican spirit.

Though the overall political climate between Haiti and the Dominican Republic is still hostile, Casa Dominicana pledged their support during the program and on March 8th are holding an event to raise funds for a new K-9 school in Haiti. The night ended on a hopeful note and dinner tables were cleared to create a dance floor. With couples starting to flood the space, moving to the sounds of an Afro-Dominican band, Kumba Carey, guests danced late into the night, making for a perfect end to this year’s Dominican Independence Day.

The UMass English department sponsored the Oct. 29 event as well as a weekend of Poe events to celebrate the bicentennial of the birth of one of New England’s most influential authors in 1809. The readings were an introduction to the weekend’s events where the guest authors would be present along with Poe inspired music and art and, a Poe impersonator.

photo credit Hollis Smith/Amherst Wire

Science fiction writer and Conway resident, John Crowley, explains that Poe’s work remains important because of its timelessness. “The reason to talk about him [Poe] and read his works is because they are deathless,” he says. Novelist, Elizabeth Hand, believes that Poe’s influence can be found in a lot of modern writing. “Things that you wouldn’t think of having been influenced by Poe, if you trace all the way back you’ll find him there,” Hand explains. For poet, Martín Espada, Poe’s work represents a window into the workings of humanity. For this, he will always remain relevant. “I think any writer who connects us with what it means to be a human is relevant,” says Espada. “I read Poe today, not just because it reminds me of what it means to be human today, but also because it gives me a glimpse into the mind of a 19th century man, who also happened to be a genius, who did something that had never been done before, and, in some ways, has never been done since.”

For Hand, Crowley, and Espada, their personal introductions to Poe’s work all came at a young age. Crowley says it is important to read Poe as a child to fully appreciate his work at an older age. “He is actually always the eternal adolescent. If you don’t read Poe when you’re an adolescent you aren’t going to enjoy him that much later on” he explains. “I started reading Poe when I was 8, 9, 10, 11 years old and Martín’s reading of the Cask of Amontillado is just great because it brought instantly back the feelings I had when I first read that story.”

photo credit Hollis Smith/Amherst Wire

For Espada, being exposed to Poe’s works helped to change him from a failing English student to a successful poet and English professor. “I flunked English in the 8th grade, and today I am a professor of English, which shows you something about the direction in which your life can go,” says Espada. “There were a number of turning points in my life where I heard something or read something that would give me a jolt, a bump in the right direction…When I was in high school, busy flunking English, I heard one day, in school, a recording of Basil Rathbone reading an Edgar Allan Poe story called The Cask of Amontillado… I had no idea that anybody could animate Edgar Allan Poe, or any writer, the way that he did. Listening to that story set me in the direction of reading Edgar Allan Poe. I loved it.”

The story that Hand tells of her first encounter with Poe’s works is almost stranger than fiction. “One day when we [Hand and her family] were camping somewhere, I kind of wandered off and I met a girl who was exactly my age, and she looked very much like me,” Hand recalls. “We sat down on a log and she began telling me this story. It was the most amazing scary story that I’d ever heard in my life.” After this meeting, she never saw the girl again. She later discovered that the story the girl told was actually Poe’s The Pit and the Pendulum. Hand says that even to this day, that girl’s retelling is the scariest she has ever heard.

Since their first exposures, the works of Edgar Allan Poe has meant something different to each author. From the moment she first heard The Pit and the Pendulum, Elizabeth Hand was set on her path as a horror writer. “I really did get jump-started when I was a kid by hearing somebody tell a ghost story that turned out years later, I learned, was The Pit and the Pendulum. And I just thought that the girl telling it was such a genius that she made up this great story,” says Hand. For her, being inspired by Poe’s work is nothing new. “I think he’s sort of in the DNA of anyone writing. Even what we now call ‘magic realism,” explains Hand.

photo credit Hollis Smith/Amherst Wire

John Crowley says he and Poe are very different writers. “I can’t say that Poe influenced anything that I’ve actually written,” claims Crowley. However, as a science fiction writer, it is interesting that Crowley is most fond of an aspect of Poe’s writing that is generally overlooked when it is read strictly for literary value. “The most interesting thing about Poe to me now, which wasn’t as interesting when I was reading him as a kid…was how he used what was then cutting edge science to make points in his story,” says Crowley.

This celebration of the 200th birthday of Edgar Allen Poe speaks not of the times, but rather how far his literacy influence has spread. As this event shows, Poe’s works are still worth talking about centuries later because they still have the ability to inspire and frighten us in a time when most thrilling entertainment is overly sensationalist. Hand, Espada, and Crowley demonstrate that the power of Poe’s writing is universal and has the ability to inspire modern day poets and science fiction writers alike.

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